2009 Mazda Sports Car RX 8 Hydrogen RE

2009 Mazda Sports Car RX-8 Hydrogen RE

2009 Japan Mazda Motor Corporation (HIROSHIMA) announced that it has built the first Mazda RX-8 Hydrogen RE vehicle with Norwegian specifications, developed specifically for participation in HyNor, Norway’s national hydrogen project. The first unit will take part in ceremonies marking the official opening of HyNor’s hydrogen filling stations.

2009 Mazda Sports Car RX-8 Hydrogen RE

The initial opening ceremony will be held in Oslo on May 11, 2009. The RX-8 Hydrogen RE will then undergo certification to meet local standards and will be used for maintenance staff training. Mazda plans to commence leasing of Norwegian specification RX-8 Hydrogen RE models in Norway in summer 2009.

2009 Mazda Sports Car RX-8 Hydrogen RE

Unlike the RX-8 Hydrogen RE currently being leased in Japan, the HyNor-specification Mazda RX-8 Hydrogen RE is based on the latest European-specification Mazda RX-8 with left-hand drive and a manual transmission.

2009 Mazda Sports Car RX-8 Hydrogen RE

The HyNor project aims to enable hydrogen vehicles to travel along a 580-kilometer stretch of highway by establishing a chain of hydrogen stations between Stavanger and Oslo in Norway.

2009 Mazda Sports Car RX-8 Hydrogen RE

Mazda agreed to collaborate with HyNor on the project in November 2007 and began validation of the RX-8 Hydrogen RE’s driving performance on Norwegian public roads in October 2008.

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Lexus RX 400h Ad Banned For Misleading Low Emissions Implications!

Our friendly British advertising watchdog has done it again by banning a Lexus magazine advert for the RX 400h on the grounds of false claims! For those of you with a hefty memory, the British Advertising Standards Agency (ASA) had banned Ford’s “Focus Zetec Climate” TV ad last year due to complaints from two viewers who said that it was misleading.

The magazine ad for the Lexus RX 400h was headlined “HIGH PERFORMANCE. LOW EMISSIONS. ZERO GUILT”. Following the picture of the SUV, there was a text stating “RX 400h. The world’s first high performance hybrid SUV … category-leading low CO2 emissions. A combination without equal. Or compromise”. In the small print, Lexus stated that the RX 400h’s carbon dioxide emissions figure was 192g/km CO2. -Continued: Click “Read More…” below

ASA received 10 complainants stating that Lexus’ advert was misleading as it falsely implied that the SUV caused little or no harm to the environment. Lexus argued that the CO2 emissions of the RX 400h were very low compared to those of core competitors within its category and that the prominence of the illustration of the vehicle in the ad clarified the type of car the headline claims referred to and also the class of vehicle to which they applied.

The British advertising watchdog wasn’t convinced. In their release, they scold Lexus not to imply in future that a car caused little or no harm to the environment and had low CO2 emissions in comparison with all cars if that was not the case. Ouch…

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2011 Lexus RX 450h Review

The 2011 Lexus RX Hybrid blends a luxurious interior and a refined powertrain with excellent fuel economy.  Though it’s expensive compared to the gas-only RX, reviewers say it’s an excellent hybrid SUV.

The Lexus RX 450h is like that old Reese’s commercial. With the RX hybrid, Lexus got a hybrid in their luxury and luxury in their hybrid.  Go for the RX Hybrid and you’ll get a high-end and high-tech interior, smooth performance, and the satisfaction of saving some gas.

Other luxury brands are introducing hybrid SUVs.  If you don’t want a hybrid but do want a Lexus, go for the Lexus RX 350.

The 2011 Lexus RX 450h is a five-passenger midsize luxury SUV available in front- or all-wheel-drive versions. The Premium package adds leather seating, a sunroof, a power tailgate, driver seat memory, a rear-seat armrest and an iPod interface.

Additional option bundles require the Premium package. The Luxury package includes 19-inch wheels, LED headlights, power-retractable outside mirrors, upgraded leather seating, side-view cameras, a wood and leather steering wheel and extendable front seat cushions. The Navigation package features a hard-drive-based navigation system (with real-time traffic and voice control), the Lexus Remote Touch interface, a back-up camera, increased Bluetooth functionality and Lexus Enform telematics.

Powering the 2011 Lexus RX 450h is a combination of a 3.5-liter gasoline V6 engine and electric motors. The all-wheel-drive version adds a third electric motor to drive the rear wheels

Standard safety equipment for the 2011 Lexus RX 450h includes antilock disc brakes, traction and stability control, front and rear seat side airbags, full-length side curtain airbags and dual front knee bags. Optional is the pre-collision system that comes packaged with adaptive cruise control. In Edmunds brake testing, a front-wheel-drive  Lexus RX 450h came to a stop from 60 mph in an acceptable 127 feet. In government crash testing, the  Lexus RX 450h earned perfect five-star marks for front and rear passenger protection in frontal and side impacts.

The 2011 Lexus RX 450h doesnt disappoint when it comes to a smooth ride.

By most standards, Lexus’s luxury SUV hybrid has been a smash success since its introduction in 2005. A significant number of Lexus SUV buyers opted for the “hybrid upgrade,” making the Lexus RX 400h, as it was previously known, almost as popular as the Ford Escape Hybrid and the Toyota Highlander Hybrid.
After leaving the original RX hybrid series dormant in 2009, Toyota came back in the 2010 model year with the 450h, which offers more power and significantly improved fuel economy. The Lexus RX 450h was the most popular hybrid SUV for most of 2009, and all of 2010.

Lexus nudges those numbers up on the hybrids, because  Lexus RX 450h’s combination of a 3.5-liter V6 engine and rear-mounted electric motor-generator gives it the performance of a 4.5-liter engine.

The  Lexus RX 450h is available in a two-wheel drive model starting at $43,935, and an all-wheel drive version priced at $45,525. The 2011 RX 450h boasts the latest incarnation of Toyota’s Hybrid Synergy Drive, which works in tandem with a new and improved gas engine. Two new fuel-saving strategies have been implemented in the hybrid system. This feature boosts fuel economy by reducing engine pumping losses.

The  Lexus RX 450h hybrid has a few styling features that are distinct from the RX 350, including a stylized grille and front bumper, hybrid badging with blue-trimmed Lexus logos, a 19-inch optional wheel design, and blue-tinted headlamps and tail lamps.

The Lexus RX 450’s mileage over the course of our 127-mile route was 31.6 mpg, easily beating EPA numbers.

The Lexus 450h claims government fuel economy of 28 city/27 highway—a healthy jump over the previous model, the RX 400h, which carried a rating of 27 city/24 highway. The 15 percent improvement in the new model is due to a number of modifications in the Lexus Hybrid Drive system

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