Beginning this month, Cincinnati (Ohio) Metro is fueling all of its buses with a B50 biodiesel blend (50% biodiesel). Metro intends to use the 50% blend in months when the average temperature is higher than 40º F (April to October) and switch back to a B20 blend in colder months.
According to this article Ohio is [...]
If you own a Ford, Lincoln or Mercury vehicle, and you want to find out how much CO2 your car emits, then you are in luck. Ford and TerraPass have come together and launched the Greener Miles program. The Greener Miles program invites Ford car owners to go online to create a personal emissions report, [...]
Chrysler plans on selling FFV models of the Jeep Cherokee and Jeep Commander in 2007. Both models will come with E85 engines. However, with an EPA estimate of 17 mpg combined on both these vehicle, I do not see them being of any good use, I know that some people will say its better to [...]
A survey conducted by the Wall Street Journal Online/Harris Interactive Personal Finance Poll found that one-third (33%) of US adults who plan to purchase or lease a new vehicle say they are most likely to seriously consider an alternative-fueled vehicle for their next purchase.
Of those people polled, 47% would buy a “greencar” because it [...]
The 2007 Toyota Yaris has hit the roads, with a starting price of $10,950 for the lift back or hatch back MT model (34/40 city/hwy mpg) all the way to $14,050 for the S sedan AT (34/39 city/hwy mpg). Alas, if only our Jimmy or Geo had lasted us for 4 more months, Krissy and [...]
With soaring gas prices currently between $2.83 – $2.95 in Ypsilanti, MI, even hybrid car drivers are feeling the pinch, allbeit not as much as the conventional car owners. Companies such as CalCars, California’s EDrive Systems and Canada’s Hymotion are offering consumers the option of converting they current hybrids in to higher fuel saving plug-in [...]
As promised in my earlier post (Mazda RX8 Hydro Rotary Engine) here is some more information about them. Currently, Mazda has leased out four such vehicles in Japan, the latest two being to government authorities in Hiroshima.
Mazda RX-8 RENESIS Hydrogen Rotary
Gasoline Vs Hydrogen
Power: 206 hp, 107 hp
Torque: 222 Nm, 140 Nm
Fuel Tank Capacity: 16 Gallons, [...]
Nissan is being extremely secretive and is only revealing limited information about the new 2007 Altima Hybrid. The Altima Hybrid continues Nissan’s best-selling car’s performance tradition in a new variation – a hybrid powertrain mates the 2.5-liter 4-cylinder engine and Xtronicâ„¢ CVT (Continuously Variable Transmission) with an electric motor and generator that increases fuel economy [...]
If faced with the choice, would you rather buy a hybrid vehicle which runs on gasoline and electricity and gives good city mileage and burns fuel more effectively while emitting way less CO2 and other pollutants. Alternatively, would you opt for a diesel vehicle, which will give you more mileage than a hybrid but diesel [...]
Toyota has decided to jump onto the ethanol bandwagon and plans on selling FFV in the US by 2008. A Toyota spokeswoman in Tokyo acknowledged that Japan’s top auto maker was developing flexible-fuel vehicles, mainly for the ethanol-smitten Brazilian market for starters, but declined to disclose specific product plans.
Source: http://www.washingtonpost.com/
Carl Dietrich, MIT doctoral candidate in aeronautics and chief executive of Terrafugia, is working on a new hybrid car-plane concept based just like the one in the cartoon The Jetsons. The working prototype has been dubbed Transitions and will not be ready for about two years. This caroplane will use super-unleaded gasoline and have a [...]
The completely redesigned 2006 Honda Civic Hybrid has won the World Car of the Year Award for greenest car.
In an earlier post I said if I where to buy a sedan today, I would probably go for the 2006 Honda Civic hybrid based on its performance and the fact that when compared over the [...]
Analyst predict that by the year 2020 a billion cars will be on the roads all around the world. That’s one for every 61/2 people on the planet — and over 25 percent more vehicles than we have today.
Source: http://www.contracostatimes.com
GM plans to launch the Saturn Aura Greenline Hybrid sedan by the end of this year. GM had a low key launch event at the New York International Auto Show for this car. Even though there is only a 20% increase in fuel economy when compared to the Saturn Vue SUV (using the same hybrid [...]
Ron Cogan’s Green Car Journal Online has nominated 5 alternative fuel/FFV/hybrid cars etc. out of the many that are there. Judging criteria was based on environmental impact, but newness was the primary factor. Check them out at Green Car’s Top 5.
2006 Honda Accord Hybrid
2006 Honda Civic Hybrid
2006 Lexus RX 400h
2006 Mercury Mariner Hybrid
2006 Toyota Highlander [...]
GM has littered the New York International Auto Show with Flex Fuel vehicles and to make sure attendees do not miss them, all of them are in bright yellow and green, hence touting the “live green, go yellow” GM motto. We have already been through this people, just by putting out an Avalanche or any [...]
Ford is recalling 134,365 Escape and Mercury Mariner SUV’s 2005 models, so that there can adjust the padding on the drivers side to prevent injuries during a collision, according to U.S safety regulators.
So people who own a 2005 Ford Escape or Mercury Mariner SUV, please contact your local Ford dealer asap. It caught my [...]
Here are some of the “Hybrids” which we should plan on seeing going on sale sometime between now and 2008. All these cars where showcased at the New York International Auto Show.
Nissan Altima Hybrid 2007.
Saturn Aura Greenline Hybrid to go on sale by the end of 2006.
Lexus LX 600h Luxury Hybrid.
For example the Lexus [...]
The Mazda RX8 Hydro Rotary engine car is on display at the New York Auto Show. Once I find some engine and performance specifications I will post them here.
Did you know that the Toyota Prius emits 90% fewer harmful pollutants than a comparable conventional engine in its class.
Hybrids are definitely environmentally friendly.
Cost more than conventional vehicles in its class (upto $6000). So if you think you are going to save money on gas forget it.
Tax breaks are available, but beware after an automaker [...]
Toyota is bringing its Fine-T fuel cell hybrid in-wheel motor concept car to the New York Auto Show next week. The concept made its world premier at the 2005 Tokyo Motor Show as the Fine-X.
I was reading the postings at the bottom of this article and for some reason the main problem was whether this [...]
Toyota plans on launching the Next-Gen Prius by 2008. The engineers at Toyota are redesigning the entire electrical system and also plan on moving over to lithium-ion batteries instead of the NiMH packs which are being used at the momemt.
A car that actually gives 94mpg, look out competition. Not bad for Toyota, a company that [...]
Students at a suburban Detroit high school have designed a four-wheel hybrid vehicle. Unlike conventional hybrids, it supplements its electric motor with pedal power, not a gasoline engine.
Daimler Chrysler AG and the Detroit Science Center have sponsored a competition called 2006 Closing the Technology Gap in Education Awards, in which 170 entries were made, the [...]
The need for speed for those environmentally conscious drivers has finally been answered, but there is a hefty price tag that comes with this sleek solar speed demon.I just cannot wait to see what this baby will look like. Hybrid Technologies will launch the LIX-75 (totally powered by batteries) at the New York Auto Show [...]
Now look what Chrysler has gone and done, man if this is not stupid, then I do not know what is stupid. Dodge released the Dodge Durango 2007 (here comes the good part) HYBRID at the Dallas Auto Show. This gas-guzzling hybrid with a combined fuel efficiency of a whooping 17 mpg will be available [...]
The first of several retrofitted Toyota Prius Plug-in hybrids by EnergyCS have been delivered to California’s South Coast Air Quality Management District (AQMD) to undergo test trials. Preliminary test results have indicated that these plug-in hybrids can average about 100mpg by combining charging the car from an outlet at home and current hybrid technology. Using [...]
Amberjac Plug-In Prius: Hail the 130mpg car Clever new electrics and batteries have transformed a hybrid into an amazing car…..
Now these guys have taken a Toyota Prius and reversed-engineered this puppy to give more mpg. Now another main factor to remember is that one has to change his/her driving habit if one to to maintain [...]
That is the question many people are asking now, as I have found the real question one should ask is “How much CO2 does it emit?” All car companies foreign or homegrown have leapt onto the “green bandwagon” and are touting their hybrid fuel efficient vehicles, but the fact that even the most fuel efficient [...]
As Americans become increasingly interested in fuel economy and global warming, they are beginning to make choices about the vehicles they drive…
Yesterday I posted a comparison between my Mazda 3 and the Honda Accord Hybrid, using the Gas mileage impact calculator on the Hybrid Cars website, the results were interesting (Honda Accord Hybrid Vs Mazda [...]
Toyota in the UK has recalled all first-generation Prius hybrids after it was discovered the hybrid battery pack can leak. The leakage, which Toyota says does not pose a safety threat, can affect all models sold in the period of 2000-03 and affects 1,239 petrol/electric….
If memory serves me right (Iron Chef), sometime last year [...]
I was just curious as to how much impact my Mazda 3 would have on the environment and my wallet. Using the Gas Mileage Impact (GMI) calculator on the Hybrid Cars website, this is what I found:
My Mazda 3 cost just over $16,000, the Honda Accord Hybrid cost approx. $30,000.
Fuel Economy on my Mazda is [...]
If you want to view a clip from South Park’s “Smug Alert” episode go to http://www.hybridcars.com/south-park-hybrid-smug.html
When we talk about green cars, we would generally assume that one is talking about cars on the road, but now its time the aviation industry to do its bit and ground support companies for the aviation industry should convert to “greener fuels”. You have probably seen those men & women driving those luggage tractors [...]
Japan’s Nihon Keizai Shimbun reports that Toyota Motor plans to offer gasoline-electric hybrid versions for all vehicle classes to meet its target of quadrupling annual worldwide hybrid sales to 1 million vehicles by 2012…
What does that mean for us the potential hybrid buyers?
Yes, you read my mind and this article, this will lower the prices, [...]
Honda Canada gave us a peek at the future of motoring with real- world demonstrations in Vancouver this week of its FCX hydrogen fuel cell cars.
Apparently there are 20 FCX cars on the roads in the US and 7 in Japan. Honda is the first car manufacturer to get an approval and certification for an [...]
I tried to get some pictures of the Saab 9-3 E100 concept from the Stockholm Motor Show. So I decided to go onto the official site for the Stockholm Motor Show and the site really sucks, check it out for yourself. This show comes around once ever three years, its claims to be the biggest [...]