Two British and French warships and the American aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln had entered the Gulf on Sunday to show Tehran they would not tolerate any interference with global shipping, Philip Hammond told reporters.

Iranian leaders have repeated long-standing threats to close off the Strait, which handles a fifth of the world’s oil, after the EU imposed the embargo Monday as part of sanctions to pressure Tehran into resuming talks on the country’s controversial nuclear program.

Iran summoned the Danish ambassador to Tehran on Tuesday over the EU’s oil embargo; Denmark is currently the head of the rotating EU presidency.

“Elements within the European Union, by pursuing the policies of the U.S. and adopting a hostile approach, are seeking to create tensions with the Islamic Republic of Iran,” the official IRNA news agency quoted Ali Asghar Khaji, a senior Foreign Ministry official, as saying. He called the EU decision “irrational” and “without logical justification.”

Other Iranian officials argued the sanctions would not work, or could even benefit Iran.

“The oil embargo will lead to higher prices. Europe will be the loser and Iran will earn more because of high prices,” Iran’s oil ministry spokesman Ali Reza Nikzad Rahbar told state TV.

During talks in London on Tuesday, Australia said it would also sign up to the embargo — though acknowledged it currently has negligible oil imports from Iran.

The three warships — which included Britain’s HMS Argyll frigate and France’s frigate La Motte Picquet — that entered the Gulf on Sunday had sent “a clear signal about the resolve of the international community to defend the right of free passage through international waters,” Hammond said.

“We also maintain mine-counter measures vessels in the Gulf, which are an important part of the overall allied presence there, and of course the U.K. has a contingent capability to reinforce that presence should at any time it be considered necessary to do so,” he said.

Britain’s defense ministry declined to offer specific detail on what assets and personnel are currently in the Persian Gulf, but said it had about 1,500 Navy personnel in the region east of Suez, which includes the Middle East and Indian Ocean.

Four anti-mine vessels are based out of Bahrain, while Britain also has two frigates — including HMS Argyll — three support ships, a survey vessel and one hunter-killer nuclear submarine in the region, the ministry said.

In Paris, French military spokesman Col. Thierry Burkhard said the French warship, which specializes in countering submarine attacks, has since separated from the British and American warships, but remains on a “presence mission” in the Persian Gulf.

France doesn’t have plans to deploy more forces to the zone, said Burkhard, noting that France has a small base in the United Arab Emirates, which currently houses six Rafale warplanes and about 650 troops, including an infantry battalion.

The United States and allies have already warned they would take swift action against any Iranian moves to choke off the 30-mile (50-kilometer) wide Strait of Hormuz.

At the center of the dispute is international concern over Iran’s nuclear program, which Tehran insists is aimed at providing civilian power. The U.S. and other nations accuse Iran of attempting to build nuclear weapons, and Tehran is now under several rounds of U.N. sanctions over its failures to be forthcoming about its work.

Hammond said recently that Iran was “working flat out” to produce a nuclear weapon.

Australia’s foreign minister Kevin Rudd, in London with Australian defense minister Stephen Smith for talks with British counterparts, said his country would join the EU’s oil embargo.

“We in Australia will undertake precisely the same parallel actions in Australia,” Rudd said. “The reason is very clear — the message needs to be delivered to the people of Iran, the wider political elites of Iran, as well as the government of Iran that their behavior is globally unacceptable.”

Iran responded angrily to the new EU sanctions Monday, with two lawmakers escalating threats that their country would close the Strait of Hormuz. Lawmaker Heshmatollah Falahatpisheh said Iran had the right to shutter Hormuz in retaliation and that the closure was increasingly probable, according to the semiofficial Mehr news agency.

“In case of threat, the closure of the Strait of Hormuz is one of Iran’s rights,” Falahatpisheh was quoted as saying. “So far, Iran has not used this privilege.”

Some commentators are declaring that Iran should cut the flow of crude even before the new measures go into effect in July, to punish Europe, while others say the embargo is a “gift” which will allow the country to diversity its economy.

“Ineffective Western sanctions are not a threat to us, but an opportunity that has brought a lot of benefits,” Moslehi said at a gathering in the central city of Isfahan late Monday.

The measures, approved in Brussels by the EU’s 27 foreign ministers, include an immediate embargo on new contracts for crude oil and petroleum products. Existing contracts with Iran will be allowed to run until July.

Iran’s Oil Ministry said the country can find new markets.

“Iran can easily find new customers for its oil,” Mohsen Qamsari, a senior ministry official, was quoted by the semiofficial Mehr news agency as saying.

Some 80 percent of Iran’s foreign revenue comes from oil exports, and analysts say that any sanctions affecting its ability to export oil would hit its economy hard. With about 4 million barrels per day, Iran is the second largest producer in OPEC. It exports about 2 million barrels a day and consumes the rest domestically.

The EU has been importing about 450,000 barrels of oil per day from Iran, making up 18 percent of Iran’s oil exports.

Some in Iran said the country should stop selling oil to Europe now, instead of July, to punish the bloc before it can find suppliers to replace Iranian crude oil in the midst of winter. CBS News

IBM’s lithium-air batteries, which have more than 1,000 times the energy density of typical lithium-ion batteries, could push the range to 500 miles, New Scientist reports.

That would solve one of the major barriers that electric-vehicle manufacturers face in attracting a large-scale customer base. Current technology provides a range of only about 100 miles before the vehicle needs to be charged again.

The lithium-air batteries are under development in San Jose, Calif., at IBM’s Almaden research lab, according to New Scientist, a news website. If all goes well, the batteries could be released commercially in 2020.

For now, Amp is hoping smart use of current technology will earn it a top spot in the electric-car industry, as the Business Courier reported Friday. The early-stage company converts popular vehicles such as the Jeep Cherokee and Mercedes-Benz ML 350 to electric power.

Amp has a deal to supply 1,000 vehicles to an Icelandic company over several years. But keeping the company operating until revenue starts arriving means a fundraising treadmill. And selling substantial numbers of electric vehicles will require convincing consumers that they won’t be making any sacrifices. By James Ritchie, Business Journal

The comments by Iran’s OPEC governor, published Sunday, came as Saudi Arabia’s oil minister was quoted the same day denying that his country’s earlier pledges to boost output as needed to meet global demand was linked to a potential siphoning of Iranian crude from the market because of sanctions.

World oil markets have been jolted over concerns that Iran may choke off the vital Strait of Hormuz in retaliation for sanctions hampering its ability to sell its oil. Saudi Arabia and other key Gulf Arab producers have recently said they are ready to provide stable and secure supplies of oil.

The U.S. recently imposed sanctions targeting Iran’s central bank and, by extension, refiners’ ability to buy and pay for crude. The European Union is also weighing an embargo on Iranian oil, while Japan, one of Iran’s top Asian customers, has pledged to buy less crude from the country.

Mohammad Ali Khatibi, Iran’s OPEC governor, was quoted Sunday by the pro-reform Shargh newspaper as saying that attempts by Gulf nations to replace Iran’s output with their own would make them an “accomplice in further events.”

“These acts will not be considered friendly,” Khatibi said, adding that if the Arab producers “apply prudence and announce that they will not participate in replacing oil, then adventurist countries will not show interest,” in the embargo.

The embargo concerns are linked to Iran’s nuclear program. The West maintains Iran is enriching uranium for weapons purposes while Tehran says its program is for purely peaceful purposes such as generating electricity.

Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest oil producer and a close U.S. ally, had said that it was ready to raise its output to accommodate global market needs. The country is the only member of the 12-nation Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries that has significant spare capacity, currently estimated at roughly more than 2 million barrels per day.

With concerns building amid the standoff between Iran and the West over Tehran’s nuclear program, a string of Asian and Western officials have visited Saudi Arabia over the past week. While offering assurances that it could meet a shortfall in supply through its spare capacity, Saudi officials have also been careful to say that it was an internal matter if nations chose to abide by any sanctions.

Oil Minister Ali Al-Naimi appeared to try to further clarify the country’s position in comments published Sunday in the daily Al-Ektisadiyah newspaper.

“We never said that Saudi Arabia is trying to compensate for Iranian oil in the case that sanctions (are enacted),” Al-Naimi was quoted as saying. “We said that we are prepared to meet the increase in global demand as a result of any circumstances.”

The kingdom has a production capacity of 12.5 million barrels and is believed to be producing slightly over 9 million to 9.5 million barrels per day.

Iran’s warning introduces a new layer of complication to an issue that has the potential for broad regional and global fallout.

“If the regional countries … say no to what is harmful to the security of the region, then nothing will definitely happen,” he said. But if the security of oil traffic in the Strait of Hormuz is violated, “all will be lost,” he said.

“If these countries make a mistake and give the green light, this will be a historic green light,” Khatibi said.

Saudi Arabia, the Arab world’s largest economy, is widely seen as the main counterweight to Iran in the region. Any attempt by Iran to close the Strait of Hormuz, through which a sixth of the world’s oil flows, would also affect the export abilities of the major Gulf producers, including Saudi Arabia, Iraq, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Qatar.

While momentum appears to be building for the sanctions by the West, China, another major buyer of Iranian oil, has come out against the measures.

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao was in Saudi Arabia on Saturday for meeting with officials in which the two countries “pledged to work together to further expand all-around exchanges and cooperation,” according to China’s Xinhua news agency

Wen said the two sides “should expand trade of crude oil and natural gas and energy-related cooperation as to deepen their energy partnership,” Xinhua reported.

During the visit, Saudi state-owned oil giant Aramco and Chinese refiner Sinopec finalized an agreement to develop a 400,000 barrel per day joint venture refinery in the Red Sea city of Yanbu. The deal is just one between China and Gulf producers as the Asian powerhouse reaches out across the world to secure energy supplies for its booming economy. By Tarek El-Tablawy, my SA

Yet environmentalists, experts and politicians from El Salvador to Japan to South Africa have flocked here in the past year to learn how Feldheim, a village of just 145 people, is already putting into practice Germany’s vision of a future powered entirely by renewable energy.

Chancellor Angela Merkel’s government passed legislation in June setting the country on course to generate a third of its power through renewable sources – such as wind, solar, geothermal and bioenergy – within a decade, reaching 80 percent by 2050, while creating jobs, increasing energy security and reducing harmful emissions.

The goals are among the world’s most ambitious, and expensive, and other industrialized nations from the U.S. to Japan are watching to see whether transforming into a nation powered by renewable energy sources can really work.

“Germany can’t afford to fail, because the whole world is looking at the German model and asking, can Germany move us to new business models, new infrastructure?,” said Jeremy Rifkin, a U.S. economist who has advised the European Union and Merkel.

In June, the nation passed the 20 percent mark for drawing electric power from a mix of wind, solar and other renewables. That compares with about 9 percent in the United States or Japan – both of which rely heavily on hydroelectric power, an energy source that has long been used.

Expanding renewables depends on the right mix of resources, as well as government subsidies and investment incentive – and a willingness by taxpayers to shoulder their share of the burden. Germans currently pay a 3.5 euro cent per kilowatt-hour tax, roughly euro157 ($205) per year for a typical family of four, to support research and investment in and subsidize the production and consumption of energy from renewable sources.

That allows for homeowners who install solar panels on their rooftops, or communities like Feldheim that build their own biogas plants, to be paid above-market prices for selling back to the grid, to ensure that their investment at least breaks even.

Critics, like the Institute for Energy Research, based in Washington, D.C., maintain such tariffs put an unfair burden of expanding renewables squarely on the taxpayer. At the same time, to make renewable energy work on the larger scale, Germany will have to pour billions into infrastructure, including updating its grid.

Key to success of the transformation will be getting the nation’s powerful industries on board, to drive innovation in technology and create jobs. According to the Environment Ministry, overall investment in renewable energy production equipment more than doubled to euro29.4 billion ($38.44 billion) in 2011. Solid growth in the sector is projected through the next decade.

Some 370,000 people in Germany now have jobs in the renewable sector, more than double the number in 2004, a point used as proof that tax payers’ investment is paying off.

Feldheim has zero unemployment – despite its tiny size – compared with roughly 30 percent in other villages in the economically depressed state of Brandenburg, which views investments in renewables as a ticket for a brighter future. Most residents work in the plant that produces biogas – fuel made by the breakdown of organic material such as plants or food waste – or maintain the wind and solar parks that provide the village’s electricity.

“The energy revolution is already taking place right here,” says Werner Frohwitter, spokesman for the Energiequelle company that helped set up and run Feldheim’s energy concept.

But it’s not only in the country. Earlier this month in Berlin, officials unveiled a prototype of a self-sustaining, energy-efficient home, built from recycled materials and complete with electric vehicles that can be charged in its garage.

The aim of the prototype home is to produce twice as much energy as is used by a family of four – chosen from a willing pool of volunteers who will be selected to live in the home for 15 months – through a combination of solar photovoltaics and energy management technology, in order to show the technology already exists to allow people to be energy self-sufficient.

“We want to show people that already today it is possible to live completely from renewable energy,” said German Transport Minister Peter Ramsauer as the project, dubbed “Efficiency House Plus,” was unveiled. The house is part of a wider euro1.2 million ($1.57 million) project investing in energy-efficient buildings.

“The Efficiency House Plus will set standards that can be adopted by the majority in the short term,” Ramsauer told The Associated Press. “The basic principle is that the house produces more energy than needed to live. The extra energy is then used to charge electric-powered cars and bicycles or sold back to the public grid.

“Germany’s four leading car makers are also participating in the project with BMW AG, Daimler AG, Volkswagen AG and Opel, which is part of Buick’s parent company, General Motors Co., each making an E-car for use by in the home.

Such strong cooperation between Germany’s industrial sector coupled with a political landscape that emphasizes stability and a heightened public ecological sensibility makes Germany fertile ground to lead the way in the transformation from a post-carbon economy to one run on renewable energy.

“Germany has the most robust industrial economy per capita. When you talk about industrial revolution, that’s Germany. It’s German technology, it’s German IT, it’s German commutation,” said Rifkin, who outlines what he calls the “The Third Industrial Revolution,” in a newly released book of the same title that explains how the economies in the future could swap fossil fuels for renewable energies and still maintain growth.

Robert Pottmann, an asset manager with Munich Re, one of the world’s biggest reinsurers, says the company seeks to invest about euro2.5 billion ($3.27 billion) in the next few years in renewable energy assets such as “wind farms, solar projects or maybe new electricity grids.

“Alan Simpson, an independent energy and climate adviser from Britain who visited Feldheim as part of a wider tour of Germany last month to see what the renewable revolution looks like up close said it was inspiring to view what is being accomplished on the ground.

“It’s great to think about Germany delivering on everything that we are being told in Great Britain is impossible,” Simpson said.

Amid the excitement, there is also an awareness of the real need for the German experiment to succeed.

“If Germany can’t pull this off,” said Rifkin. “We don’t have a plan B.” By Melissa Eddy, Lexington Herald-Leader

Granted, it may take a while to catch on. And it won’t be cheap.

The first lab-grown hamburger would cost around e250 000 (R2.73 million) to produce, said Mark Post, a vascular biologist at the University of Maastricht in the Netherlands, who hopes to unveil such a delicacy soon.

Experts say the meat’s potential for saving animals’ lives, land, water, energy and the planet could be enormous.

“The first one will be a proof of concept, just to show it’s possible,” Post said from his Maastricht lab. “I believe I can do this in the coming year.”

It may sound and look like some kind of imitation. Although in-vitro or cultured meat is a real animal-flesh product, it has never been part of a complete, living animal.

It is quite different from imitation meat or meat substitutes aimed at vegetarians, and made from vegetable proteins like soy.

Stem cells

Using stem cells harvested from leftover animal material from slaughterhouses, Post nurtures them with a feed concocted of sugars, amino acids, lipids, minerals and all other nutrients they need to grow in the right way.

So far he has produced whitish, pale muscle-like strips, each around 2.5cm long, less than 1cm wide and so thin as to be almost see-through.

Pack enough of these together – probably around 3 000 of them in layers – throw in a few strips of lab-grown fat, and you have the world’s first “cultured-meat” burger.

“This first one will be grown in an academic lab by highly trained academic staff. “It’s hand-made, and it’s time- and labour-intensive, that’s why it’s so expensive to produce.”

Not to mention a little unappetising. Since Post’s in-vitro meat contains no blood, it lacks colour. At the moment, it looked a bit like the flesh of scallops, he said.

Like all muscle, these lab-grown strips need to be exercised so they can grow and strengthen rather than waste away.

To do this Post exploits muscles’ natural tendency to contract and stretches them between Velcro tabs in the Petri dish to provide resistance and help them build up strength.

Supporters of the idea of man-made meat, like Stellan Welin, a bioethicist at Linkoping University in Sweden, say this is no less appealing than mass-producing livestock in factory farms where growth hormones and antibiotics are commonly used to boost yields and profits.

Conventional meat production is also notoriously inefficient. For every 15g of edible meat, you need to feed the animals around 100g of vegetable protein, an increasingly unsustainable equation.

This meant finding new ways of producing meat was essential if we were to feed the enormous and ever-growing demand for it across the world, Welin said.

Not sustainable

“Of course you could do it by being vegetarian or eating less meat. But the trends don’t seem to be going that way. With cultured meat we can be more conservative – people can still eat meat, but without causing so much damage.”

The World Health Organisation said annual meat production was projected to increase from 218 million tons between 1997 and 1999 to 376 million tons by 2030, and demand from a growing world population was seen rising beyond that.

Post said: “Current livestock-meat production is just not sustainable. Not from an ecological point of view, and neither from a volume point of view.

“Right now we are using more than 50 percent of all our agricultural land for livestock.

“It’s simple maths. We have to come up with alternatives.”

A 2006 UN Food and Agriculture Organisation report said industrialised agriculture contributed on a “massive scale” to climate change, air pollution, land degradation, energy use, deforestation and biodiversity decline.

The report, entitled Livestock’s Long Shadow, said the meat industry contributed about 18 percent of global greenhouse-gas emissions. This proportion was expected to grow as consumers in fast-developing countries, such as China and India, ate more meat.

Hanna Tuomisto conducted a study into the relative environmental impacts of various types of meat, including lamb, pork, beef and cultured meat. She said the lab-grown stuff had by far the least impact on the environment.

Her analysis, published in the Environmental Science and Technology journal earlier this year, found growing our favourite meats in-vitro would use 35 percent to 60 percent less energy, emit 80 percent to 95 percent less greenhouse gas and use around 98 percent less land than conventionally produced animal meat.

“We are not saying we could, or would, necessarily want to replace conventional meat with its cultured counterpart right now.”

Tuomisto led the research at Oxford University’s Wildlife Conservation Research Unit.

But she said cultured meat “could be part of the solution to feed the world’s growing population and at the same time cut emissions and save both energy and water”.

Tasty?

While experts in the field agree that within several years it may be possible to produce in-vitro meat, like sausages or chicken nuggets, in a processed form, producing more animal-like products, like pork chops or steaks, could be much more complex and take many more years to develop.

Post is financed by an anonymous private funder keen to see the Dutch scientist succeed.

He hopes to hand the world its first man-made hamburger by August or September next year. But for the moment he admits what he had grown was a long way from a mouth-watering meal.

He hasn’t yet sampled his creation, but others’ reviews are not great. A Russian TV reporter, who came to his lab, tried one of the strips and was unimpressed.

“It’s not very tasty yet,” Post said. “That’s not a trivial thing and it needs to be worked on.”

But with the right amounts and right types of fat, and perhaps a little lab-grown blood to give it colour and iron, Post is confident he can make his Petri-dish meat look and taste as good as the real thing.

He also hopes the ability to tweak and change things will mean scientists will ultimately be able to make meat healthier – for example, with less saturated and more polyunsaturated fat, or more nutrients.

“The idea is that since we are now producing it in the lab, we can play with all these variables and eventually hopefully turn it in a way that produces healthier meat.

“Whereas in a cow or a pig, you have very limited variables to play with.” By 6Kate Kelland, Independent Online

Nissan’s American-built mid-size car, the Altima, is catching on with car buyers this year.

Through the first nine months of 2011, the pleasantly styled and well-powered Altima posted U.S. sales of more than 200,000 and outsold a perennial top seller, the Honda Accord. The Altima also was the fifth most popular car or truck in the United States in sales last month, and its September sales were just 495 shy of the month’s total Toyota Camry sales.

The Accord and Camry traditionally are No. 1 and 2, respectively, in U.S. car sales.

The sales gains aren’t just because the Nissan was able to resume production faster than Honda and Toyota after the big earthquake in Japan early this year and have readily available cars on dealer lots.

The five-passenger Altima, which made its U.S. debut in the 1993 model year, has been coming into its own for a while, Nissan officials said.

Buyers find the 2012 Altima largely unchanged from the 2011 version, which has been known for spunky performance, comfortable ride and easy-to-use controls and gauges. The 2012 models with four-cylinder engine also are competitive in fuel mileage, ranking seventh overall among non-diesel and non-hybrid 2012 mid-size sedans.

Adding to the appeal: The Altima, with above average reliability, is a recommended buy of Consumer Reports.

And the 2012 sedan earned four out of five stars for passenger protection in a frontal crash and five out of five stars for side crash protection.

Plus, it’s built in not one, but two assembly plants in the United States — Smyrna, Tenn., and Canton, Miss.

The biggest change for Altima for 2012 is that the slow-selling, high-priced, gasoline-electric Altima hybrid sedan is no longer being produced.

Starting manufacturer’s suggested retail price, including destination charge, for the 2012 Altima sedan is $21,170. This is for the base 2.5 model with 175-horsepower, four-cylinder gasoline engine and continuously variable transmission (CVT) that a driver operates like an automatic transmission. The upscale Altima 3.5 SR sedan, which has sport-tuned suspension and 270-horsepower V-6, has a starting retail price, including destination charge, of $26,190.

In comparison, the competing, mid-size 2012 Ford Fusion sedan has a starting MSRP, including destination charge, of $20,645 with 175-horsepower four-cylinder engine and manual transmission. The lowest retail price for a 2012 Fusion with automatic is $21,540, which is $370 more than the base Altima.

The 2012 Honda Accord sedan with 177-horsepower four cylinder and manual transmission starts at $22,150, or $980 more than the base Altima. With automatic, the 2012 Accord sedan starts at $22,950.

The Altima also is sold as a two-door, five-seat coupe with a starting MSRP, including destination charge, of $24,360. This base coupe comes with 175-horsepower four cylinder and manual transmission. The lowest starting retail price for a 2012 Altima Coupe with automatic is $24,860.

The test Altima was the mid-range 2.5 S sedan that topped out at more than $26,000 with power driver seat, moonroof, Bluetooth connectivity, dual climate control and alloy wheels among the options. With standard curtain air bags, traction and stability control, the tester did not have leather-trimmed seats or navigation system.

The test Altima immediately impressed with its power. The 2.5-liter, double overhead cam four cylinder moved the car quickly and in sprightly fashion on city streets and country roads.

There was engine buzziness on uphill sections of highway, but the car still kept up with traffic.

The CVT worked well, without making passengers hear a lot of high-engine revving. In fact, it was one of the best experiences I’ve had with a four-cylinder and CVT working together smoothly to power a sizable car that’s nearly 16 feet long.

The Altima’s steering was nicely responsive, too, and better than expected. I appreciated that the car came with both tilt and telescope steering column, so I could adjust the wheel to the best spot for me.

The interior was quite quiet, and I didn’t hear much from passing trucks or motorcycles. I didn’t notice wind noise, either.

Fabric seats looked and felt good, and side windows in front and back were good-sized. But back-seat headroom was about an inch less than what’s in the Fusion and Accord. All gauges, buttons and knobs were easy to understand and within reach. I was especially impressed by the huge Altima glovebox with nearly half a cubic foot of space.

Cubbies on the doors were large enough to hold 20-ounce drinks, and there were three cupholders in the console between driver and front passenger — a nice touch.

There also was a handy covered cubby at the base of the middle of the dashboard that was just right for storing a cell phone.

It is, however, easy to drive the four-cylinder Altima with gusto, because it powers along so easily. Often, I found myself going over the speed limit in the city, but I still averaged 26.5 miles per gallon in travel that was 70 percent city driving.

This was enough to go 530 miles on a single tank of regular gasoline, because the Altima’s big tank holds 20 gallons. In comparison, the Accord’s gas tank is 18.5 gallons.

For the record, the four-cylinder Altima is rated at 23 mpg in the city and 32 on the highway.

Unfortunately, there already have been two safety recalls of the 2012 Altimas. One, announced in July, was for certain 2011 and 2012 Altimas that had suspension bolts that weren’t tightened to specification and could lead to vibration and possible loss of vehicle control.

The second recall, announced in August, was due to an air bag control unit not being assembled properly. This could mean the air bag wouldn’t properly inflate in a crash. 

But in this age of volatile gas prices and climate worries, these clean, quiet vehicles are winning new fans. Advances in technology have improved their range and power. Companies are rolling them out in every flavor.

Need a small SUV? Take a look at the Toyota RAV4 electric hitting the market next year. How about a luxury sedan? There’s the Fisker Karma plug-in hybrid, which the automaker compares to a Maserati Quattroporte but with better mileage and lower emissions than a Toyota Prius. Do you lean toward small, practical sedans that seat five? The Nissan Leaf may be your ticket.

Although existing offerings and the EVs about to come out are comparable to many conventional gasoline-powered vehicles in virtually every aspect but range, they aren’t for everyone. Here’s what to consider if you are thinking of making an electric vehicle or plug-in hybrid your next drive.

BE PREPARED TO PAY MORE: A glance at the sticker prices says it all. You are going to pay more for the privilege of being able to zip along powered by electrons rather than fossil fuel. The cost of a home charging station adds an expense you don’t have with a gasoline car, but it does add convenience.

When you take the purchase price, add in the cost of three years of maintenance, three years of fuel and a home charging station, then back out the expected resale price, a Chevrolet Volt will run almost $9,000 more than a similar-size conventional-engine Hyundai Elantra and about $5,000 more than the current Prius hybrid before sales taxes and registration fees. A Leaf has a lower sticker price and qualifies for more incentives, depending on your state. It will cost about $6,500 more than an Elantra and about $3,500 more than a Prius before taxes and registration fees.

PHILOSOPHY OR ECONOMICS: Is it worth the added expense to reduce your dependence on oil? What are you willing to pay to reduce carbon emissions in your neighborhood? The Leaf creates about 1.8 tons of carbon emissions in a year’s driving, or about 13,500 miles, according to federal estimates. A Honda Accord spews 6.2 tons of carbon emissions traveling the same distance. If you can keep a Volt — which has a gas engine to kick in and make electricity when the battery runs out — on mostly electric power, you will put up carbon numbers closer to the Leaf.

THINK ABOUT YOUR DRIVE: Face it. If you have a mega-commute, you will be better off in a hybrid or conventional fuel-efficient vehicle.

Motorists who commute about 40 miles or less, or who have easy access to a workplace charging station, will be able to make better use of an EV because they won’t be limited by the shorter range of the vehicles.

But even then, be careful. The Toyota Prius Plug-in Hybrid that goes on sale next year will have an all-electric range of only about 13 miles. After that, the gasoline engine starts. People who drive more than 13 to 15 miles a day might be better off buying a conventional hybrid or fuel-efficient gas-powered car and saving the premium they would pay for the plug-in and the expense of a home charging station.

A Nissan Leaf, and some of its rivals hitting the market in the coming months, will go roughly 75 miles or more on one charge. That’s enough for a longer commute, but because the Leaf, the Ford Focus Electric and similar cars are pure electric vehicles, there’s no backup gas motor to engage and provide a safety net.

CHARGING INTO CHARGING: EVs make the most sense for people who can charge at home, and that rules out most apartment and condo dwellers for now. A home charging station is going to set you back about $2,000 and possibly more, depending on the wiring in your home. You also will need to clear out space in your garage to park a car — imagine that!

And you are going to have to research electricity rates. According to the Union of Concerned Scientists, a Leaf owner who drives 13,500 miles annually will pay from $393 to $725 for Los Angeles Department of Water and Power electricity, depending on off-peak or peak charging schedules.

KNOW THE INCENTIVES: Electric vehicles on the market and coming models are expected to qualify for the $7,500 federal tax credit. But various state and other incentives beyond that get tricky, and you need to research the appropriate government agency before you buy.

WHEN TO JUMP IN: This is the classic conundrum of all advanced-technology products. Do I buy now or wait for something to come along later? The big issue with electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids is how long you can go before the juice runs out. That’s dependent on the size of the battery and its energy density. Tesla vehicles claim the biggest ranges — around 200 miles. But unless you are a seriously eco-conscious driver, it’s going to be hard to get even close to 100 miles out of the other vehicles. Plug-in hybrid ranges will be much larger because you will have the gas engine as a backup.

Most automakers believe there will be only small improvements to batteries in the near future. The price will go down as manufacturing volumes increase, but we won’t see a sudden jump that doubles the range of the Leaf or the Focus Electric.

Buyers also need to be concerned about battery life. Theoretically, the batteries have long warranties — eight to 10 years, depending on state regulation and the individual automaker. But they also are expected to degrade, and that will hurt range. It is not clear when an automaker might step in and replace a battery as it degrades.

In the near term, many buyers may decide to lease an electric vehicle instead of making a purchase. That would insure them against issues with performance and the battery. At the end of 36 months, you can hand the car and keys back to the manufacturer and see what new cool EV is on the market. Or by then, maybe you will be ready to check out the first of the hydrogen fuel-cell autos. By Jerry Hirsch, Los Angeles Times

Passenger car sales declined 10% to 1,44,156 units, a month after the industry reported a 16% slowdown in July. Market leader Maruti Suzuki, which sells every second car in the Indian market, posted a 19.21% decline in sales, to 63,296 units, as it continued to face labour unrest at its factory in Manesar. Referring to Maruti’s labour problems and a two-week maintenance shutdown of a Tata Motors plant in Sanand in Gujarat, Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers’ Director General Vishnu Mathur said, “Production has also been affected with large players not able to churn out optimum production in August.”

While Tata Motors reported a 39.45% decline to 13,508 units, Hyundai Motors posted a 7.51% decline in sales to 26,451 units.

Industry players said the September-November period would prove critical. “While the new launches will propel the sales in coming months, the prevailing high interest rates and prices of fuel could spoil the customer sentiment,” Hyundai’s director (marketing & sales) Arvind Saxena said.

All eyes in the industry are now on the slew of new launches and the upcoming festive season. “The Indian market has strong fundamentals and is expected to outperform most automotive markets in the region. This (slowdown) is a temporary phenomenon and as we move forward the real potential is expected to bring it back on the track,” Jeffrey M Henning, analyst with international consultancy Ernst & Young said.

According to figures released by SIAM, the market for two-wheelers remained robust with sales growing by 16% to 11.11 lakh units. The main trigger was the huge demand for scooters, which grew 25% to 2.12 lakh units. The market leader Hero MotoCorp posted a 20% rise in sales to 4,62,196 units. Commercial vehicles also posted a sharp increase of 22.62% in sales. The Times of India

Nevertheless, this silent killer has no taste, color or odor, but at high levels it can turn deadly in a minute which is why the installation of gas detector is very vital. What many do not realize is that according to research over two million gas appliances in homes, rental properties and businesses could be faulty.  And industry sources reveals, hundreds of people in western countries die every year from carbon monoxide produced by non-automotive consumer products. These include fuel-burning appliances such as furnaces, room heaters, water heaters, ranges, and engine-powered equipment in the like of portable generator.

BMW, on the other hand, said it is not ready to concede the position just yet and would redefine leadership by taking it to a new level of brand positioning, customer satisfaction, technology and also being an employer of choice.

“Our entire product portfolio relevant to the Indian market will come here in the next three years… I think, we will have 9 to 10 new brands by then,” Mercedes-Benz India Director (Sales & Marketing) Debashis Mitra told PTI.

The new products will also include the company’s smaller cars, he added.

On its losing numero uno position in the luxury car market in India to compatriot BMW, Mitra said: “We are the market leader in all the segments we are present, except the E-Class… The actual game of numbers will start when all luxury manufacturers will have their all products here.”

He said when the company has its full range of products in the next three years, Mercedes Benz would try to regain the number one position in the Indian luxury car market by 2015.

Mercedes Benz India had first lost its leadership position to BMW in 2009. Mercedes Benz had sold 3,247 units as against BMW’s 3,619 units.

In 2010 too, Mercedes Benz sold 5,819 cars compared to 6,246 units of BMW.

Mitra said Mercedes Benz’s aim at present is to have a “profitable growth”, adding BWM had gained in volumes due to the entry level SUV X1 and not necessarily due to growth in other core segment of luxury cars.

“During January to July period this year, Mercedes Benz has sold 3,991 units. However, BMW has sold 5,364 units and out of that 1,620 units comprise of its small SUV X1,” he said, adding Mercedes Benz is not present in that category.

BMW, however, refuted it saying its success in India was not product specific but attributed it to brand positioning wooing customers across generations.

“Our cars are positioned to attract all generations of people who aspire to have a BMW. We have no problem in selling cars to uncles, fathers, mothers and pops. Maybe that is the reason for our success,” BMW India President Andreas Schaaf said.

On the market leadership position, BMW said it is confident of maintaining its number one position, which it has done for the last two years, in future too.

“For us leadership is not just about sales numbers. We want to take it to a new level by leading in every perspective of brand positioning, customer satisfaction, technology and also being an employer of choice,” he added. Deccan Herald