Good News!

OK, I’ve spent a lot of time in the last two days looking for some morsel from the auto world that is not completely depressing. It hasn’t been easy, but hey, I’m working for you, loyal readers, so I don’t mind the drudgery. So here’s what I came up with:

1. The impending failure of the Big 3 in Detroit means our society, our way of life, and all of our cars will be consigned to oblivion in the near future. Prepare to eat a diet of coarsely ground grain, fend off large mammalian predators, and drag a sledge behind you …

… um, er, haha, little joke. Moving right along …

1. (for real this time) if you live in Europe and have a hankering for really big luxury cars that get good economy (who doesn’t?), then you might like the new BMW 730Ld. Kidding aside, this car really points out why diesel engines, in my mind, play a really important niche. The 730Ld (which is a huge car, by the way, at 205” long and weighs close to 6,000 lbs) will get 32 MPG on the European combined cycle test. I don’t think it will break any speed records, but diesels are getting a lot better. And for folks that want their cake and don’t want to have to fill up the tank while they’re eating it, the idea of a huge luxury sedan that gets Toyota Yaris fuel economy might be just what the doctor ordered. [Source: BMW via Autoblog Green]

2. Plus, if you get a 730Ld, in the near future you might be able to fill it up with fuel derived from algae. Seriously. There are still a ton of economic obstacles to making this a really competitive fuel source, but the advantages are numerous: high productivity, noncompetition with human food sources, ability to grow in ponds on unutilized land, etc. As long as it doesn’t spur the rise of a super-advanced sentient algae species that we will have to fight in order to survive, it should work out well. [Source: Nevada News]

3. Finally, Ford, the healthiest of the Detroit 3 automakers, has announced that if you actually want to buy one of their 2010 Fusion hybrids, you’ll get the full $3,400 tax credit. It does get impressive economy, at 41 MPG in the city. The hitch? In April, the credit gets halved, and in October it gets halved again. Nevertheless, if you absolutely crave a midsize hybrid that gets the best fuel economy, the Fusion is the way to go. It’s significantly more efficient than any other hybrid in its class. [Source: Ford]