cobalt

Ethanol alternative gains ground with new plant

Fuel tech start-up Cobalt Biofuels launched a California plant on Tuesday that will produce biobutanol from forestry byproducts.

Biobutanol, butanol made from biomass as opposed to fossil fuels, already has approval for use in fuel blends for vehicles under U.S. Environmental Protection Agency guidelines.

Cobalt and others have claimed that biobutanol has an advantage over ethanol, which has been known to have corrosion issues in some older fuel systems and pipelines and is conventionally used in fuel blends and in newer cars with ethanol-ready engines. Biobutanol can be used as a standalone fuel even in conventional gasoline car engines, … Read more

Production 2011 Chevrolet Cruze previewed

Chevrolet has confirmed details and unveiled images of the 2011 Cruze compact sedan, which is set to be revealed in the sheet metal at the 2009 LA Auto Show on December 2. Set to compete directly with the Honda Civic and the Toyota Corolla, Chevrolet expects the Cruze to stand out because of its expected highway fuel economy of 40 mpg.

The Cruze achieves this 40 mpg rating (and a cruising range of more than 500 miles) when equipped with its new, small-displacement Ecotec 1.4-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine with variable valve timing. Standard on LT and LTZ models, the … Read more

110: Cadillac puts wireless Internet in the CTS

Cadillac offers wireless Internet in the CTS, sporty hybrids on the way from Honda and Toyota, gadgets that do a virtual repo when you miss a payment, and a very slick little car PC.

Listen now: Download today's podcast SHOW NOTES

• Cadillac rolls out in-car Internet access

• New way to make scratch healing paint

• Stealth PC great for the car

• How GPS can make a car use less fuel

• TomTom map update service

Finally! A menacing-looking Wii gun attachment

This is not the first Wii gun attachment in the market and definitely not the last we'll see. But the Dark Ops Wii Light Gun from Cobalt Flux sure looks a lot more menacing than its angelic white counterparts available on retail shelves.

Priced at $19.95, it features an ergonomic pistol grip, plus a lock and load capability for easy loading and unloading of the Wii controller just like a gun magazine. More importantly, international shipping is available though it's limited to FedEx.

(Via Crave Asia)

92: GM in hell, but BMW isn't exactly in heaven

GM, BMW have a lousy week; Dash Navigation pulls the plug on it's device; Delphi is convinced we want in-car Internet; and a romp in the tire smoking Chevy Cobalt SS. Listen now: Download today's podcast

SHOW NOTES

• Delphi gets interested in putting Internet in lots of cars

• Dash pulls the plug on its connected nav device

• AT&T CruiseCast sat TV for cars

• Audi A4 3.2 Quattro road test

• Fujitsu works on antidrowsy pulse detection

• See Ford's SmartGauge in action

Reconfigurable performance display gives Ecotec owners a peek under the hood

When we looked at the Nissan GT-R, we were impressed by the amount of engine information available through the vehicle's touch-screen display. It seems that Nissan really understands that the performance enthusiast is very interested in what the vehicle is doing behind the scenes.

Now Chevy Cobalt and HHR drivers can pretend they're behind the wheel of the GT-R with GM's new Reconfigurable Performance Display for use with Ecotec engines, according to GM's Tuner Source Blog. Intended for use with performance Ecotecs, such as the turbocharged mills in the Cobalt SS or HHR SS, the display … Read more

Latest DS Lite gets the blues

Given how often Nintendo introduces different colors for the DS Lite, it's hardly remarkable that the handheld gamer is getting yet another new look. This one, according to Mobile Magazine, is a two-toned model in colbalt blue and black.

What does seem surprising, however, is that Nintendo isn't doing a special edition for Valentine's Day. (So far as we know, anyway.) Maybe that's because it already comes in red and pink, the two standard colors for the holiday. But even if they do decide to play the Cupid game, remember, it can always be worse.

The Open Source CEO: Kelly Herrell, Vyatta (Part 7)

In this seventh installment of the Open Source CEO Series, I talked with Kelly Herrell, CEO of Vyatta, the open source network software company (router and firewall).

I first bumped into Kelly back in 1998 when my employer (Mitsui Comtek, the high-tech subsidiary of Mitsui & Co.) invested in Cobalt Microsystems (Linux microserver company acquired by Sun for $2.1 billion). I bumped into him again years later when he was running operations and strategy for Monta Vista, an embedded Linux pioneer.

Kelly is one of those people that you respect even when he's kicking your tail (as was the case at Monta Vista - I was at rival Lineo). Once known for being "the world's best-dressed Linux backer" [Correction: I inadvertently linked to an article on Peder Ulander, who dresses much better than Kelly, though I do have to say the first time I met Kelly he was wearing a green shirt and matching green shoes :-) ], Kelly's reputation is now right where it should be: a tier-one open source executive.… Read more