The Saturn and Pontiac fire sale isn’t exclusive to hybrids or SUVs, but for a large number of our readers - that’s where your interest lies (try here for information on the hybrid Saturn Aura ). MORE

For us the new architecture means we can sharpen our design language still further, carving out just the right athletic and dynamic aura that is so important to the most demanding prestige car buyers. The new Concept You show car is an example of coming designs based on the SPA. Click to enlarge. MORE

The Malibu hybrid shares components with two other GM mild hybrids: the Saturn Aura and Vue hybrids. General Motors has announced that there will be no retail production of the Chevrolet Malibu hybrid for model year (MY) 2010 due to “elevated inventory levels of the 2009 model.” MORE

GM hybrids currently comprise the Chevrolet Malibu, Saturn Aura and Vue BAS hybrids; and the Tahoe, Silverado, Yukon, Sierra, and Cadillac Escalade two-mode hybrids. Hybrid new vehicle market share by month. Click to enlarge. Reported sales of hybrids in the US increased 5.2% MORE

26 units of the Saturn Aura hybrid (1.3% Reported US sales of hybrids. Click to enlarge. US sales of hybrids in March 2009 as reported by the automakers dropped 44% by volume year-on-year to 21,433 units; that performance was worse than the total light duty vehicle market, which posted a 36.8% MORE

GM would continue production, on a contract basis, of the Saturn Aura, Vue and Outlook. General Motors Corp. and Penske Automotive Group confirmed details of a proposed transaction under which Penske would acquire the Saturn brand. If completed, the deal would save more than 350 dealerships and 13,000 jobs at Saturn and its retailers in the United States, and would preserve the Saturn brand. MORE

The researchers used tropospheric NO 2 columns retrieved from the Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) on NASA’s Aura satellite, which measures NO 2 throughout the atmosphere in the afternoon around the world. MORE

Aura Systems, Inc. The order calls for Aura to retrofit 20 existing Thermo King based trailer mechanical solutions with an electric solution and provide 15 tractors with 18 kW AuraGen generators. Trucks that utilize the Aura solution will no longer need to use the diesel engine connected to the refrigeration system when the truck is in motion, typically 10 hours per day. MORE

The Föri initially entered service in 1904, after the City of Turku commissioned local shipyards Aktiebolaget Vulcan to build a city commuter ferry to take passengers across the Aura River to Åbo. MORE

As depicted above, the international Afternoon Constellation includes OCO-2, GCOM-W1, Aqua, CALIPSO, CloudSat, PARASOL, and Aura. GCOM-W1, Aqua, CALIPSO, CloudSat, and Aura are currently on orbit. by Jack Rosebro. MORE

The Aura II , scheduled to be delivered in spring 2012, will be a multi-purpose dry cargo ship that can also be used for oil recovery operations in the Baltic Sea. Wärtsilä’s LBF specification. Click to enlarge. MORE

Nitz also noted that the coming next-generation of the mild GM Hybrid System ( earlier post ), which in its current form is applied in the Malibu, VUE and Aura, will offer equivalent power to Honda’s IMA system in the new Insight. by Jack Rosebro. MORE

Aura Systems, Inc. The customer selected Aura’s all-electric transport refrigeration after numerous tests and evaluation including comparison on actual routes with traditional diesel based solutions. Aura’s all-electric transport refrigeration for midsize trucks consists of Aura’s patented AuraGen mobile power solution and private label transport refrigeration system from Zanotti of Italy. MORE

General Motors: The company sold 1,534 units in April which consisted of: 523 two-mode SUVS (Tahoe, Yukon Escalade); 95 two-mode pick-ups (Silverado, Sierra); 547 Malibu hybrids; 338 Saturn VUE hybrids; 31 Saturn Aura hybrids. Yesterday we told you how hybrid sales continued their downward trend in the US. Today we have more information with a breakdown of those sales. Overall, reported sales of hybrids dropped 45.5 MORE

Aura Systems, Inc. and Cyclone Power Technologies, Inc. have formed a technology development alliance to combine the all-fuel Cyclone Engine with the AuraGen induction motor and control unit ( earlier post ). The partners anticipate that the integrated renewable power generation system will be able to provide a turn-key distributed solution for customers looking to produce grid-tied or stand-alone electricity from renewable and waste resources. MORE

But look around a little complaints can be easily found that Whole Foods isn't green enough and it doesn't live up to the aura it has claimed for itself. Whole Foods is in a way emblematic of the Green Living movement. MORE

The Saturn Aura sold 29 units, down 17%, for 2.0% Reported US sales of hybrids. Click to enlarge. Reported US sales of hybrids rose 21% year-on-year by volume in November 2009 to 20,003 units. MORE

31 units of the Saturn Aura hybrid, representing 1.7% of Aura sales. Monthly US sales of hybrids. Click to enlarge. Reported sales of hybrids in the US reported by Toyota, Honda, Ford, GM and Nissan dropped 45.5% MORE

GM hybrids currently include the Chevrolet Malibu, Saturn Aura and Saturn VUE BAS; as well as the Tahoe, Silverado, Sierra, Yukon and Cadillac Escalade two-mode hybrids. After months of doom and gloom for the auto industry in the USA, there is finally a ray of hope courtesy of hybrid cars. Reported sales of hybrids in the US increased by 5.2 per cent by volume in June 2009 compared to the same month in the previous year. MORE

Azure Dynamics Corporation incorporated Aura Systems ’s AuraGen motor/generator into its Balance Hybrid Electric vehicle delivered to the United States Postal Service fleet (USPS). In addition to hybrid applications, Aura is using its AuraGen and advanced power management system to support alternative energy solutions such as WePower Inc.’s Aura Systems. The original founders left in 2002 and from 2002 to 2005, Aura had a number of new management teams. The AuraGen. MORE

The Saturn Aura posted 23 units, representing 1.5% of all Auras sold. Reported sales of hybrids. Click to enlarge. Reported sales of light-duty hybrids in the US dropped 29% by volume in February year-on-year to 16,020 units. MORE

Currently Saturn sells two hybrid vehicles - the VUE and Aura with GM hybrid system - and was also scheduled to offer a two-mode hybrid Vue with a Vue plug-in two-mode hybrid version scheduled for 2011 to be used in a test fleet with the US Department of Energy. In an online blog, General Motors’ (GM) vice chairman Tom Stephens stated that the company will apply plug-in hybrid technology to one of its four core brands followings its’ restructuring. MORE

Aura Systems, Inc. In 2006, Aura introduced a 5 kW hybrid APU for long-haul trucks. Aura’s integrated capability of providing and managing both AC and DC power simultaneously is a key to such a solution. is working with Corvus Energy, a lithium-ion battery company, and an internal combustion engine maker, to bring to market a hybrid auxiliary power unit (APU) using the AuraGen power solution. MORE

I was able to spend 10 minutes driving a Saturn Aura sedan with an (HCCI) engine system. by Bill Cooke. The Saturn version of the two-mode plug-in hybrid at the Milford Proving Grounds. Click to enlarge. MORE

These included daily global observations of trace gases and clouds from NASA’s Aura and CALIPSO spacecraft; ozone measured by instrumented balloons; meteorological data and atmospheric models. A NASA-led study has documented an unprecedented depletion of Earth’s protective ozone layer above the Arctic last winter and spring caused by an unusually prolonged period of extremely low temperatures in the stratosphere. MORE

After ten years in orbit, the Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) on NASA’s Aura satellite has been in orbit sufficiently long to show that people in major US cities are breathing less nitrogen dioxide. New NASA satellite images released this week demonstrate the reduction of air pollution across the US. MORE

Studies suggest that discrepancies of as much as 30 to 50% exist between estimates of ground nitrogen dioxide inferred from the Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI), an instrument on NASA’s Aura satellite launched in 2004, and measurements from ground-based instruments. DISCOVER-AQ instrumentation deployment strategy. Source: NASA. Click to enlarge. MORE

19 Aura hybrids, representing 1.4% of all Aura sales. Monthly reported sales of hybrids in the US. Click to enlarge. Reported sales of hybrids in the US in January dropped 32.2% MORE

Prototype Saturn Vue PHEV plugging in to a Coulomb Chargepoint ( earlier post ) in San Jose, CA. Click to enlarge. MORE