The world’s first neighbour-to-neighbour car rental service is set to come to London.

For the first time, private owners will able to rent out their cars to random strangers, in a completely safe and convenient way. Sound odd? We thought so too, but the new service from WhipCar.com launches in London this month and will help motorists get more out of their cars.

The idea works much in the same way as a car club, except that it is private car owners who allow their cars by the hour. Motorists wanting to make some money out of their cars can advertise their vehicle as available to hire during certain times of the day/days. People who want hire a car, can access the website and search for nearby suitable cars, providing that both parties pass the necessary security checks through the website, the car owner is notified by text and email when there is an approved driver in their area who wants to use their car.

According to the DVLA, the UK currently has 29 million registered passenger cars on the road, many of which are used for less than an hour a day according to research and come at an average cost of £5,523 per year to own. For owners whose cars meet a set of safety criteria, the WhipCar service creates an opportunity to generate income from renting out their car when it is not in use. Owners have complete control of the price and timing of rentals and all drivers are vetted.

Vinay Gupta, Founder of WhipCar commented on the launch: "The cost of owning a car and the amount of time it’s left unused, makes it a person’s most valuable idle asset. Our research has shown that there are many people who would be happy to pay for car rental services if they could be delivered locally. Putting the two together, we recognised this as an untapped opportunity to provide a new peer-to-peer service which links excess car capacity to potential renters. Simply put, WhipCar enables car owners to put their cars to work, and for those in need of a car, they can literally rent the car next door."

It takes just a few minutes to join the website (for both owner and driver) and it is free to register. All cars and drivers are screened by the website before a booking is completed, and each journey is fully insured through a comprehensive insurance package that temporarily replaces the owner’s existing insurance for the duration of hire.

For more information, check out WhipCar.com

Nissan is predicting it will have a shortage of its all-electric LEAF models even before the car has gone on sale in the UK.

The Japanese carmaker has already taken over 7,000 pre-orders for the model in the US and around 4,000 in Japan after the order books opened early this month.

However the C-segment electric car isn’t available to order in the UK until July ahead of the first deliveries set for March 2011.

Initial capacity for orders from the US stands at 25,000 units for the year, with the carmaker stating that it is already on track to meet this target. According to Reuters news agency the carmaker expects that demand will outstrip supply meaning that the carmaker will be making money on its first electric car.

Mark Perry, Nissan’s North America director of product planning and strategy, told Reuters on the sidelines of an industry conference: "We are on a double time march [for launch]," Perry said. "We are on our way to have 25,000 firm orders by December."

In Japan, orders for the LEAF model reached 3,754 in three weeks- more than half its target for the entire year. The carmaker launched the pre-order process for its all electric model in its home country on April 1, and orders now are fast approaching the 6,000 unit sales target set for the whole year.

The carmaker is predicting that there will be shortages of the  Leaf within the first three months of sales worldwide.

The LEAF is a four seater hatchback, is powered by lithium ion batteries capable of delivering a top speed of around 90mph and a range of the 100miles. It’s price has yet to be confirmed for the UK, but is expected to stand just over £20,000 once a £5,000 Government grant is taken into account. This figure should mean that it is priced competitively against rival carmaker Toyota’s hybrid offering, the Prius.

Government intervention is needed to drive demand for fuel cells, chemical and metals firm Johnson Matthey has said.

According to the firm further government regulations on emissions are needed to force the uptake of greener vehicles which use clean technologies such as fuel cells.

Speaking exclusively to news agency, Reuters, Martin Green, strategic fuel cell development director at Johnson Matthey said: "Hydrogen fuel cells are still developmental for the colossal markets but there is commercial market today for forklift trucks and telecom tower back-up power systems.”

Explaining that markets for fuel cell technology will take a long time without Government incentive, Green added: "Diesel car penetration took 40 years to get 50 percent in Europe. These sorts of transitions take a long time unless regulation is there," he said.

Fuel cells cars are not yet mass-produced. Only a handful of carmakers are even involved in developing fuel cell vehicles due to the cost involved and lack of infrastructure to support their use. Hyundai and Honda are among the few to plan fuel cell vehicles launches, with Hyundai planning to market them from 2013, while Honda aims to launch a small number by 2015.

According to Reuters, it is estimated that 5-10 million fuel cell cars will be on the roads within 15 years.

In the United States, California has a zero emission vehicle mandate that requires carmarkers to put 7,500 fuel cell or electric vehicles on the road in 2012-2015. According to Green, fuel cell vehicles will launch in the state as targeted ‘”because they have to, they are regulated to.”

Green explains that just as London has become the biggest market for hybrid vehicles thanks to their exemption from the Congestion Charge, so fuel cell vehicles, if properly incentivised will have a healthy market if they are supported through Government support and regulations.

The firm was awarded £500,000 from the UK government this year for a £2 million project to develop catalyst components which form the part of a fuel cell.

However using fuel cells in cars does come with other problems beyond market regulations. Green adds:"It is still too expensive. It would be $20,000 intrinsic cost into the vehicle rather than $5,000."

Read the full article on Reuters

Making hydrogen powered cars is child’s play apparently- at least that might be the impression you get from the HICE vehicle- constructed by students from Los Altos Academy of Engineering in California.

High school students from the academy have produced a fully functional combustion vehicle using a Honda engine converted to run on hydrogen.

The HICE vehicle-which stands for Hydrogen Internal Combustion Engine-originally appeared in the Shell Eco Marathon of 2008- but has since undergone further work to produce it in a full body casing. The students at the academy now intend to enter the new improved model in next year’s Eco Marathon too.

The HICE is a three-wheeled, single seater vehicle which uses a modified internal combustion engine to generate electric power instead of an expensive fuel cell. In it , gaseous hydrogen is injected into the engine, which then burns the hydrogen fuel much as it would burn gasoline.

Students at the school have already produced their own electric vehicles, and another hydrogen vehicle called Infusion . 

The eyes of the motoring world may be focused on Beijing, but it was at the Busan International Motor Show where Hyundai Motor Corporation chose to unveil its all-new Avante compact saloon car – which is badged as the Elantra in markets outside Korea.

The company’s best selling model worldwide features a new 1.6l Gamma petrol direct injection engine and a six-speed automatic transmission. It’s the first time that GDI and a six-speed automatic have been applied to a compact saloon car in Korea.

The new Hyundai Elantra/Avante.

Among the features of the Gamma engine are a 150bar direct injection fuel system, a variable induction system, a dual continuously variable valve timing and anti-friction coatings.

The vehicle has a peak output of 140ps and a maximum torque of 167Nm. It is around 10 per cent more fuel efficient than its nearest competitors and now Hyundai will hope it furthers the success of the badge which has sold more than six million units worldwide since 1990.

A new joint development agreement indicates that Mercedes-Benz may soon boast more carbon fibre reinforced plastics in its vehicles.

Toray Industries is teaming with Daimler to promote the joint development of diverse carbon fibre automobile components by using high cycle resin transfer moulding and a moulding process technology developed by Toray. 

Under the terms of the agreement, Toray will be responsible for developing optimal carbon fibre reinforced plastic materials, as well as for handling the design and moulding processes; while Daimler will be responsible for developing joining technologies. Then by combining these technologies, the companies hope that they will develop a shorter moulding cycle with the newly developed parts to feature in Mercedes-Benz vehicles within the next three years.

Toray is currently the world’s largest manufacturer of carbon fibre and in June 2008 established the Automotive Centre, a development base for automotive applications, as well as a centre for developing technology and applications for carbon fibre reinforced plastics known as the Advanced Composite Centre. Now with its collaboration with Daimler it hopes to establish mass production technology for carbon fibre reinforced plastic car parts, while also expanding its carbon fibre and advanced composite business.

It’s just a week since we told you about Enova Systems extending its electric zero emission drive system to include a Ford F-150 utility truck and a Chevrolet Express cargo van (see article). Now we have news that it is working on a next generation electric drive system that could be as much as 50 per cent more efficient and less expensive than its current offerings.

According to Jarett Fenton, the company’s chief financial officer, the system could be delivered in early 2011 and will feature a new motor controller unit that houses the power electronics to power the vehicle.

Also included are optional controllers for power steering, heat pumps and air conditioning; a DC-to-DC converter; and a 6.6kW AC-to-DC on-board conductive charger.

The electric drive solutions will be offered for both hybrid and all electric applications with medium and heavy duty vehicles expected to be the focus. The company has already been awarded an exclusive supplier contract by the General Services Administration in the US which provides vehicles for both the Armed Forces and government agencies.

While some vehicle manufacturers are focusing on making the switch to electric cars, Audi is going one step further by trying to ensure that its electricity is produced in a sustainable manner.

The company has signed an agreement with the international consortium Desertec Industrial Initiative with the long term goal to produce electricity in a climate-friendly manner from the deserts of North Africa and the Middle East. Today, the Desertec Industrial Initiative is working to develop conditions for targeted investment in solar and wind energy.

Speaking about the agreement, Rupert Sandler, the chairman of the board of management of Audi AG, commented that he hopes electric cars from Audi will run on sustainably produced electricity and to achieve the goal the company will support the development of solar- and wind-driven power plants.

Audi hopes to introduce its first small series electric car to the market in 2012 and is looking at taking an above average percentage of its energy from renewable sources including placing photovoltaic panels on its roofs to feed green electricity into the German grid.

The United States should become a leader in the production of biofuels, the President told workers at a bio-ethanol plant in Missouri on Wednesday.

According to the Kansas City Star, President Obama stated that he intends to meet a target for the country to triple its production of biofuel within the next twelve years.

He told the 200 strong crowd that clean energy, including ethanol, would reduce U.S. reliance on foreign oil and be part of the foundation for future prosperity.

“There shouldn’t be any doubt that renewable, homegrown fuels are a key part of our strategy,” he told reporters in Missouri.

A stimulus package passed last year including $800 million for biofuel research and infrastructure will help to deliver the United States goal of tripling U.S. ethanol use by 2022.

“I want to be first when it comes to biofuels,” he said while at the POET Biorefining plant.

Obama also said renewable energy, including ethanol, wind and solar power, should save or create 700,000 jobs by the end of 2012.

The visit came as part of a tour of America’s Midwest, starting on Tuesday in Iowa, where he travelled to a wind turbine plant.

The President’s commitment to ethanol is likely to stir up controversy among environmentalists who are concerned over the impact of producing crops for fuel.

Scientists in the country hope that the US can start to move away from corn-based ethanol to cellulosic ethanol which can be produced from waste products such as wood chippings. The current federal Renewable Fuels Standard calls for cellulosic ethanol to account for about half of the 36 billion gallons of biofuels mandated by 2022.

However according to the US publication little cellulosic capacity has yet been built, in part because the plants are expensive and financing has been hard to get.

Electronics superstore group, Best Buy, is set to open the first superstore to retail electric cars, scooters, bicycles, and motorcycles.

The US electronics retailer is set to open its first UK store tomorrow in Thurrock, Essex ahead of the launch of further stores in locations including Southampton, the West Midlands and Liverpool.

A new and exclusive green technology area in the Best Buy stores simply called the ‘GreenTech’ area will will showcase everything from energy management products to solar chargers and even electric vehicles-a first for any UK consumer electronics retailer.

For the first time, consumers will be able to find electric cars, motorcycles, scooters and bicycles (as well as the helmets, lights and a comprehensive accessory range to go with them) all under one roof.

The store will host all kinds of electric modes of transport from the super-pricey Telsa Roadster at £86,950 to smaller, more affordable options such as the electric bicycles like the Gocycle.  Electric scooters will include the Xero Tech and the Urban Citi while Best Buy will be the only place in the UK to retail the Brammo Enertia electric motorcycle .

Along with the 244 mile range Tesla,  the Citroën C1 ev’ie four-seater city car – made by Electric Car Corporation (ECC) with a top speed of 60mph and around 75 mile range – will also be available in Best Buy stores for customers to test drive and order.

Paul Antoniadis, CEO of Best Buy Branded Operations said: "We want our customers to know that Best Buy is different and this innovative and inspiring range is just one example. Never before has a consumer electronics retailer in the UK had an entire area devoted to green technology nor had such a comprehensive choice of electric vehicles. Our customers can pop in to browse for a movie and could end up riding home on a super-cool bicycle or something else!

“As with all our products we want our customers to try before they buy and we’ll have test drives available on a wide selection of our vehicles – licence dependent of course! And all of our car parks will have electric charging points so customers can power-up for free while they browse.”

Best Buy will open its first store in Thurrock, Essex on 30 April 2010 at 7am, followed by stores in Hedge End (Southampton) and Merry Hill (West Midlands) that will both open in June and then followed by Aintree near Liverpool in the following weeks. The retailer has also confirmed that it will be opening a store in Croydon, Surrey in Autumn 2010 and Bristol by early 2011.