Up to 40 Dodge Sprinter Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles (PHEV) will be placed in operation with customers in California, Kansas City and New York among other locations within the United States. So now DaimlerChrysler are having its customers test drive these new hybrid cars, what I found interesting was that if you wanted to drive [...]

Today the Stockholm Motor Show opened and Saab premiered its Biopowered Hybrid Concept. The Saab 9-3 convertible concept is the first of it kind, especially the fact that it runs on 100% Bioethanol, hence CO2 emissions are zero. The Stockholm Motor Show runs from 30 March – 9 April. For more information, check out Saab [...]

The other day Krissy and I were somehow got talking about buying a second car (like that is going to happen anytime soon), she was interested in a FFV, so I told her one of the major problems would be finding a gas station near us that supplies E85. Currently, there are only six E85 [...]

Subaru has confirmed plans to make a diesel version of the popular Liberty/Legacy. Parent company Fuji Heavy Industries’ turbodiesel development program appears to have been fruitful, with Subaru Australia expected to offer a diesel version of the Liberty within 18 months.
I could not get any specs on the new diesel Legacy/Liberty model, but the [...]

There is no need to hold your breathe too long because Smart cars have been around for sometime in the US, unfortunately the demand for these cars are generally associated with urban city centers. If you want one go check out Zap!
When I was in London last year, I did see a few of them [...]

Toyota Motor Sales said Monday the new 2007 Camry Hybrid sedan will have a base sticker price of $25,900, plus shipping, that’s $6,580 more than a similar four-cylinder 2007 Camry with automatic transmission but without its Hybrid Synergy Drive system.
See what I mean, I like said in my post yesterday about new technology being expensive. [...]

Ever wonder when you could go out and buy a car that looks like it just stepped out of the movie iRobot, look no futher the future is here. Toyota has about nine concepts lined up. The PM (Personal Mobility Vehicle) is just one of them. Cutting-edge vehicle-to-vehicle communications technologies are employed under the concept [...]

One of my close friends from University back in London, who now lives in Texas was checking out the site and this was his feelings:
He just reiterated that I do not drive a hybrid and also that since I have not been to any of the current motor shows, how can I be comfortable being [...]

Coming soon to a Lexus dealer near you, the Lexus GS 450h, which will be powered by a gas-electric hybrid engine. Toyota plans on launching it in the North American market by April. Lexus states that it gives 34 MPG and the cool features are the new safety devices. Like the fact that Toyota has [...]

In continuation of yesterdays post about research being supported by the EPA at Univ. of Toledo, I just wanted to make it clear as to why the work these people are doing is extremely important, we all have a basic sense about how hybrid cars such as the Toyota Prius and its relatives use the [...]

Alert all hybrid car owners especially those in Michigan, if you were wondering where would you go once that bumper-to-bumper warranty elapsed, then this news should put you to ease. Macomb County Community College in Warren, Michigan plans to start a 16-week hybrid repair course for its 950 students for the academic year 2006-07 school [...]

To save energy and help the environment, EPA and the University of Toledo signed a cooperative agreement worth $1 million to develop advanced vehicle technology that will maximize fuel economy benefits and minimize emissions. EPA is providing $450,000 and the University of Toledo will cost share in support of the three-year agreement.
Albeit that a million [...]

Mark had posted an article about the German super-efficient Loremo LS coupe that costs only EUR11,000 (approx. USD13,240) and featured a mind-blowing 157MPG mileage. Loremo AG has scheduled production to begin in 2009. Now the Loremo boast of being about two times cheaper and three times more fuel-efficient than the Toyota Prius. We will have [...]

Did you know that only 16% of energy is transferred to the wheel from a conventional gasoline engine, and apparently 70% of it is lost in the form of heat via the exhaust and the radiator, and then divide the rest between drag, friction and braking. On the other hand a Toyota Prius transfers about [...]

By the looks of things there is a big push on car makers to develop a plug-in hybrid car that can travel a 100 miles on a single gallon of gasoline. The million dollar question is, are plug-in hybrids economically viable at this point of time and when the technology hits the market are hybrid [...]

In next week’s Stockholm Car show, Saab is going to unveil its electric hybrid car which runs on E85. Saab have been developing this engine at Lund Technical University, Sweden and Saab claims that the CO2 emissions will be down to 15-20 grams/km compared to Prius 104 grams/km.
Source: Saab to showcase world’s first ethanol hybrid [...]

If you plan on buying a hybrid and wish to take advantage of the tax breaks, which could amount to $3000 or even a bit more depending on certain factors. But hurry soon, because once the car manufacturer reaches the magic number (60,000) the tax credit will be phased out.
Toyota is expected to hit that [...]

GM plans on developing a gas-electric hybrid by its European acquired company Saab. What this means to you: Environmentally friendly vehicles would fit nicely into Saab’s image — but shouldn’t hybrids be part of every GM brand’s offerings?
Does GM still think that hybrids are foreign concepts and that small, fuel efficient cars are not meant [...]

EPA named the Honda Hybrid Insight as the most fuel efficient vehicle in its class (66 MPG/MT only). For under $21,000 this car is a sporty little thing. For a car with only 1.0L , 3 cylinder engine, this car sounds peppy and probably is too. Now here is a car I would like to [...]

Honda Accord Hybrid
Toyota Prius Hybrid

Price:
Approx. $30,000
Approx. $20,000

MPG:
30/37
60/51

Engine:
3L V6
1.5L 4 cylinder

Speed (0-60):
6.5 seconds
10.2 seconds

Source: Vehix
I wanted to see how the Honda Accord Hybrid was in comparison to the Toyota Prius, if you want a car with some oomph and the Honda Accord Hybrid 253-hp, V-6 gives you just what you want. You end up [...]

Now come on, even a child can tell you that we do not need hybrid SUV’s. I mean, you go from a SUV such as the Ford Escape which gives about 22/26 mpg city/hyw, depending on engine specs to a Ford Escape Hybrid 36/31 mpg city/hyw (31 mpg combined). I can understand when the [...]

BMW Group has plans of introducing bi-fuel (Gasoline-Hydrogen) 7 series this year. With the 170-liter liquid hydrogen tank storing about 8 kg of hydrogen, the car has a hydrogen-fueled range of 200 to 300 kilometers (125 to 185 miles). On gasoline, the car has a range up to 500 kilometers (310 miles). Now from past [...]

Hybrid Myths: The Truth about Hybrids, go to the site and then at the bottom click on the slide show segment and check out the slide show put on by these guys.
Fact: Over 100,000 Toyota Prius had been sold in the US in 2005.
Myth: Hybrid batteries need replacing.
Source:http://www.hybridcars.com/cars.html

Saw a car with 60MPG sticker on its bumper. Now that is definitely rubbing it in gas guzzlers faces. Want to find out your cars average fuel cost, go to http://www.fueleconomy.gov/
Want one sticker with your MPG on it, check out http://www.cafepress.com/mpgstickers

The team from the University of Michigan had taken top honors at the 2005 North American Solar Challenge, crossing the finish line first in Calgary, Alberta, Canada after 2,494 miles of driving from the start of the race in Austin, Texas. The University of Michigan’s solar-powered car, Momentum, made the trip in a total of [...]

For people in the Washington DC area and in California, Ford is offereing interest free loans on its Escape Hybrid SUV. Previously I had mentioned about the $1000 rebate that came with it, well this cannot be added on to onto the 0% APR financing plan that Ford is offering, plan ends in 3 weeks, [...]

SYNOPSIS: ECD Ovonics’ hydrogen hybrid has been equipped with hydrogen storage tanks using the company’s proprietary solid metal hydride technology that gives the modified Toyota Prius a range of just under 200 miles.
Source: EV World. The Future in Motion

There are some really fun cartoons about hybrids on Hybridcars.com.
Source: http://www.hybridcars.com/cartoons/taxing-problem.html

In continuation from yesterday’s article in Mercury News by Gary Richards, Roadshow: The Other side: Readers tell why they won’t buy a trendy hybrid. I do agree with some of the criticism, yes battery replacements are expensive, car pooling does work, but the fact that some people still do not care for the environment and [...]

Roadshow: Hybrid owners driven by desire to help environment, cut oil use.
Check out the reasons hybrid car owners give for buying a Hybrid. Tomorow we will hear from the critics, so stay posted.
Source: MercuryNews.com

The Ford Motor Company is going all out by increasing factory discounts and spending more on advertising. Apparently Ford spent $2.5 million on the Super Bowl XL ad just to launch the Escape Hybrid. When we went to a Ford dealership earlier this year in Detroit and asked about incentives in general, we were told [...]

So you bought a Honda Civic Hybrid, but no one notices the difference because the car does not pop out like the Toyota Prius. How much is it worth to you to make a social statement by driving a vehicle that’s green? If it’s attention you’re after, this may not be your car. Read [...]

Krissy and I were driving around Ann Arbor today and wherever we drove we were either behind, in front or passing a Prius. At one point we though we just may be seeing the same cars passing by, but that does not see to be the case, Ann Arborites have definitely taken the green car [...]

Nissan Altima (Toyota’s Hybrid Technology): Fall 2006
Toyota Camry: Fall 2006
Hyundai Accent/Kia Rio (Indigenous hybrid technology): Late 2006
Lexus GS: Spring 2006

Source: http://www.hybridcenter.org/hybrid-timeline.html

Research shows that by 2007 there will be close to 1 million hybrids on the roads in the US. Now all these hybrids have one thing in common, Ni-MH (nickel metal hydride) batteries. These batteries do risk polluting the environment but its toxicity level and impact is much lower than convential lead acid batteries and [...]

And the Razz award goes to “Dodge RAM SRT 10″. With whooper of an engine 8.3L, 500 hp, 10 cylinder, it give 9/12 mpg (city/highway). Way to go Dodge (Source: Hybridcars.com), I cannot even begin to imagine the CO2 emissions of the car but, hey who cares about the environment.

Nissan plans to unveil a hybrid in the Altima model in sometime in 2006. Nissan has bought the hybrid technology from Toyota. Instead of focusing primarily on fuel economy and reduced emissions, Nissan will try to match the performance and acceleration of non-hybrid models.
So let see if Nissan can actually make these improvements to the [...]

The Hybridcenter.org been set up by the Union of Concerned Scientist, who are citizens and scientist who care for our environment. If you are buying or reviewing or just want to know about a hybrid vehicle for someone other than the DOE and carmakers, you definitely need to check this site out, I found it [...]

All hybrids are are not necessarily green cars. So with this whole push for “go green” by automakers, we tend to forget that not all cars which are now coming under the “hybrid” label are actually not hybrids, go figure that now. And to think that I was actually going to trust the car manufacturers [...]

Concept car designers need to move away from the boxy looking cars. I would love to drive a car that runs of an electric motor and does not pollute the environment as much, but I do not see myself in a box. Its time the designers started thinking outside of the box.
For more pics [...]

Will driving a battery only car give you a queasy feeling that you are running out of juice? With a car such as the Blue Car or Mitsubishi’s Concept-EZ MIEV (Mitsubishi In-wheel motor Electric Vehicle) it make us very conscious of where we go and how far we have to go?

Bollore Group of France, which is mainly a French battery company has come up with an electric car named “Blue Car”. Designed by Philippe Guedon and is claimed to go 0 to 60 kmph (37 mph) in 6.3 seconds and has a range of 250 km (155 miles) on a single battery charge, with a [...]

Ok, this is as far as I got today, as of 2003 there were 204 million vehicles and 191 million drivers Number of Cars.
Anyone else got some more facts.

http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/transportation/14037080.htm
I read this article and it goes to show that driving a green car can attract a lot of unwanted attention from other drivers.

Here are some images of the Saab Aero X which was showcased at the Geneva Car Show.

This is something car companies should definitely research. Mitsubishi Motors has developed a car interior which uses materials such as bamboo fiber and plant based resin, polybutylene succinate (PBS). This definitely helps reduce CO2 emissions and are dependence on plastics. We do need fuel efficient vehicles but we also need a car that is made [...]

There are 13 Biodiesel locations in Michigan. That is 9 more than E85 locations.

So wonder what happens to the oil your fries where fried in, well Biodiesel comes from here (new and/or used veggie oil and animal fat). Again the same pattern emerges, an alternative that is actually more costly that E85 and gasoline. Buyers could end up paying anywhere between .20 to .40 cents per gallon for [...]

The US DoE has posted a list of AFV’s.
AFV List 2006

The VW Polo Bluemotion uses a modified version of the 3-cylinder 1.4-liter TDI diesel engine in the conventional Polo to produce the same power output—59 kW (79 hp)—and torque—195 Nm—but with a reduction in fuel consumption of 11% (0.5 liters/100km) to 3.9 liters/100km (60 mpg US). Emissions of CO2 drop by 13% from 119 g/km [...]

So GM, Ford & Chrysler are pushing for E85 FFV vehicles, but with approximately 5 million FFV’s on the road, only 600 out of 117,000 gas stations dispense E85 nationwide. Another reason why automakers are pushing for E85 FFV’s is because these companies get credit to help meet federal fuel economy standards. All these companies [...]

Now going out and a buying a Green car does not mean that you can throw caution to the wind when you go out driving. Definitely, the car one buys is a very important factor, but how well you maintain and drive your car will be the determining factor on how you help reduce the [...]

Consumer Reports picked the Toyota Prius as one of it Top Ten picks and it came out a winner in the “green car” category which was based on it overall fuel economy at 44 mpg.

Found this article on USA Today, it just proves my point about the E85 sales pitch by GM, and Ford.

According to the US Dept. of Energy FFV’s burn 1.4 times more E85 when compared to gasoline. The problem with E85 is that as an alternative to gas, it cost more and people who buy these FFV may actually never use E85. So we have to choose wether we want to pay more for E85 [...]