Hybrid News

Filed under: MPG, Legislation and Policy, USA

In some ways, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) doesn’t have it easy. But there is one thing that the agency can point to and say, once again, we’re moving forward: mpg averages. The EPA issued a statement today (available after the jump) that said that the average mpg rating for all new cars and light duty trucks sold in the U.S. will increase in 2008. This year’s increase should be up 0.2 mpg from last year, to a solid but uninspiring 20.8 mpg. I say “should be” because the final tally won’t be known until early 2009. This will be the fourth annual increase in a row and the highest since 1993, and the agency is pushing further.

The main reason for the increase, the EPA said, is not just more efficient vehicles (esp. light trucks) but also that fewer light truck are being sold. The more fuel efficient small cars are sold, the better the nation’s average gets.

[Source: EPA]

Continue reading EPA: Average fuel economy goes up in U.S.

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Original post by Sebastian Blanco

Filed under: EV/Plug-in, Transportation Alternatives, On Two Wheels

Click above for more images of the Bricycle Concept

A man by the name of Brian has taken an interesting approach to designing an eco-friendly vehicle to replace some of the single-passengers cars driving all over the roads in America, and he calls it the Bricycle. Using three wheels — one up front and two in the rear — the Bricycle allows human power in the form of pedaling along with forty-eight volts of electric assist at the front. The rider/driver sits in a reclined position inside a canopy of composite bodywork. Brian’s design also features twenty-one different gearing choices for the operator.

While a vehicle such as this will likely never see mass-market appeal, it would serve to eliminate a certain amount of traffic and allow those who would choose to ride to work anyway an opportunity to do so with some weather protection. Additionally, the concept shouldn’t be too expensive to recreate after the initial design work is complete. We like it.

[Source: Bricycles.com via Engadget]

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Original post by Jeremy Korzeniewski

Filed under: Biodiesel, Ethanol, Flex-Fuel, Saab, Legislation and Policy

click for high-res gallery

A TV ad for Saab BioPower was yanked off the air in the UK for tying bioethanol to reduced carbon output. According to the UK’s Advertising Standards Agency, Saab’s “Release Me” commercial (watch it below the fold) incorrectly states that using bioethanol-capable cars reduces your carbon footprint. The ad said carbon is reduced thirty percent when you drive with bioethanol. Unfortunately for Saad, it’s closer to carbon neutral if you measure from seed to tail pipe. However misleading the ad campagn, I think the “more horsepower and a smaller carbon footprint” idea is very compelling.

[Source: Telegraph via Crash.Net, AOL Lifestyle]

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Original post by Lascelles Linton

Filed under: Transportation Alternatives, SMART, European Union

Everywhere you go, you are bombarded by advertisements. It’s true when you’re watching TV, surfing the internet and even while you’re driving. We’ve all gotten used to seeing billboards on the side of the road, and nobody thinks twice about hearing commercials on the radio - some even pay extra to avoid them. So, how would you feel about being behind the wheel of a rolling advertisement? O2 Media is betting that you’ll go for the deal since it would end up costing you less than $8 per day, not including gas, to drive a smart fourtwo all around Helsinki, Finland. There are a few conditions, though. You need to drive at least 18 miles in a 24 hour period and you can’t pick what you’re advertising. The car could be festooned with advertisements for something you don’t care for, but the company is currently not accepting political ads. If you’re interested, you get up to 62 miles (100 kilometers) per day, so get out and enjoy the scenery.

[Source: Inside Line]

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Original post by Jeremy Korzeniewski

Filed under: Green Culture, SMART, Green Daily

click above image for more pics of the smart fortwo

cute [kyoot] (adjective)

1. attractive, especially in a dainty way; pleasingly pretty by means of smallness, prettiness or quaintness
2. affectedly or mincingly pretty or clever; precious

Guys: want to drive around in a smart fourtwo, a car which has been called “cute” more times than Katie Couric? That’s the question that Mens Vogue set out to answer, and their findings might surprise the overtly-masculine among us. As might be expected, driving a smart in an urban setting, such as in New York, proved to be fun and relaxing, despite the smart’s cute and perky demeanor. Perhaps driving a smart in a more rural setting would prove less appropriate, but, that’s not what it was designed for.

Still not convinced? The car proved useful for picking up girls … and nothing’s more manly than that.

[Source: Mens Vogue]

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Original post by Jeremy Korzeniewski

Filed under: EV/Plug-in, India

Photo of new Delhi by Wili Hybrid. Licensed under Creative Commons license 2.0.

Drivers interested in an electric cars in New Delhi will likely soon be able to get a government subsidy that will cost the government around Rs 25 crore (Rs 35 crore if two- and three-wheelers are added). Since early February of this year, a 25 paise tax has been added to each liter of diesel fuel and should generate around Rs 48 crore for the governemnt. Up to 2,000 EVs could be subsidized this year, the government estimates, but the exact subsidy per vehicle has not been decided. A 15 percent “significant” amount is possible. The Hindustan Times reports that the Council of Ministers is likely to pass this proposal at its next meeting. The overall intent is to clean the air in New Delhi. Other Indian cities already exempt BEVs from the road tax and some states exempt them from the VAT.
[Source: Hindustan Times]

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Original post by Sebastian Blanco

Filed under: Etc., Fiat, European Union

Although the Fiat 500 is made in Poland, Fiat is an Italian brand. What’s something else that we associate with Italy? Pasta! Naturally, it was high time to put these two together. With headrests that look like ravioli and a gear stick that finishes in a giant “agniolotto,” the Fiat 500 Giovanni Rana can’t be more Italian (or weird). Don’t miss that the car painted to look like freshly baked ciabatta and the pedals look like linguine.

The car pays a tribute to one of Italy’s best-known pasta manufacturers, Rana. The car was introduced by Mr. Rana himself during a food fair called “Cibus” in Parma last week. Without a doubt, this’s one of the funniest conversions we’ve ever seen in a car. We won’t see it being on showrooms any soon, but we do wonder what would happen if we drove it into a boiling pit of water.

[Source: La Reppubblica]

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Original post by Xavier Navarro

Filed under: EV/Plug-in, Hybrid, Chevrolet, GM, Saturn, USA

Click the Volt for a high-res gallery

Round and round we go… where we stop, nobody knows! That sounds like an apt description of the merry-go-round that is the Chevrolet Volt, especially when pricing and delivery date are concerned. Perhaps what we are witnessing in this case is the first truly transparent product launch in history. Do major shifts like this happen with all vehicles, or is the new technology needed to make the Volt a reality causing pricing headaches for GM management? Maybe it’s all of the above. Whatever the case, GM CEO Jim Wagoner has been quoted on Forbes as suggesting that General Motors will be selling an electric car for less than $30,000 by the year 2010.

Another possible explanation for this pricing confusion could involve the upcoming plug-in Saturn Vue. How can we be sure that Wagoner was referring to the Volt when he cited the pricing and deadline of the electric vehicle? We can’t. It’s possible that GM could have a plug-in Vue ready for the market in 2010 with an electric-only mode, making it an electric car of sorts. We’ll just need to take a wait-and-see approach when it comes to the Volt’s, and the Vue’s, debut.

[Source: Forbes]

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Original post by Jeremy Korzeniewski