Hybrid News

Filed under: Green Culture, Transportation Alternatives, Green Daily, USA

The video above is a France 24 news report about City Car Share, a not-for-profit car sharing program based in San Francisco. The video report says City Car Share has 15,000 members that pay rates of $4 an hour and 44 cents a mile. A mother of two was interviewed in the report and she says that the most she ever spent in a month, which happened when her family moved, she only spent $80. Below the jump is a video ad, by San Francisco State University, showing the benefits of City Car Share. The benefits include no insurance cost, no fuel cost, free parking and no maintenance. Are you sharing a car?

Related:

• Carsharing, yes; owning, no - An AutoblogGreen writer’s story
• Zipcar in San Francisco: 5,000 members strong and growing
• Car-share programs heat up Chicago
• UHaul enters the car-sharing system with U Car Share
• CityWheels carsharing program offers alternative to car ownership
• Car sharing is the new hip thing in Japan
• “Swipe a Car” is how Charter Drive pitches their car sharing service
• Now you can WhizzGo in York

[Source: YouTube]

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BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD Step behind the curtain at Ford Motor. Experience the documentary first-hand.

Original post by Lascelles Linton

Filed under: Green Culture, Hybrid, Toyota, Green Daily

The LA Times reports that Rainn Wilson, better known as Dwight from NBC’s comedy The Office, says he “recently installed a gun rack in my Prius.” Fans of the show will laugh because a very popular exchange from the show includes a reference to gun shows. You can see the exchange in video above and there is even a line of t-shirts celebrating the moment.

Rainn will host the 2008 Film Independent Spirit Awards on February 23rd and you can see him in the movie Juno currently in theaters. Do you have your tickets?

[Source: LA Times via Ecorazzi]

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BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD Step behind the curtain at Ford Motor. Experience the documentary first-hand.

Original post by Lascelles Linton

Filed under: Transportation Alternatives

Brookings Institute did a field survey on the walkability of metropolitan areas and published a list ranking the best 30. Washington, where the Brookings Institute is based, came in first in the list that considered things like the number of walkable places and access to public transport. The top 10 cities are - drumroll:

1. Washington
2. Boston, Massachusetts
3. San Francisco, California
4. Denver, Colorado
5. Portland, Oregon
6. Seattle, Washington
7. Chicago, Illinois
8. Miami, Florida
9. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
10. New York

You can read the remaining 20 cities in the ranking below the fold. IMHO, Washington deserves the top spot but I would have put Boston a little lower and New York a little higher on the list. Tell us in the comments about getting around on foot in these cities or other and how you would have ranked them.

Also, enjoy the video above which has an unpredictable ending and great animation and music.

[Source: CNN]
11. San Diego, California
12. Los Angeles, California
13. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
14. Atlanta, Georgia
15. Baltimore, Maryland
16. St. Louis, Missouri
17. Minneapolis, Minnesota
18. Detroit, Michigan
19. Columbus, Ohio
20. Las Vegas, Nevada
21. Houston, Texas
22. San Antonio, Texas
23. Kansas City, Missouri
24. Orlando, Florida
25. Dallas, Texas
26. Phoenix, Arizona
27. Sacramento, California
28. Cincinnati, Ohio
29. Cleveland, Ohio
30. Tampa, Florida

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BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD Step behind the curtain at Ford Motor. Experience the documentary first-hand.

Original post by Lascelles Linton

Filed under: Hybrid, Honda, Subaru, Toyota

In Subaru’s probably several-year-old video above (I’m basing the age on changes in car availability, fuel and mileage), the Subaru Legacy is compared to its “very direct competitors” the Toyota Camry hybrid and Honda Accord hybrid when it comes to the price of the car, fuel use costs and time of payback for the price hybrid price premium. Subaru presents the price and mileage as showing a “pretty big advantage to the Camry and Accord. Right? But wait, lets look at what these numbers really mean.” After some number crunching, we find it will take 10.8 years (”that’s a long time”) and 32.4 years (”that’s certainly no bargain”) to make up for the “cost penalty” of buying these hybrids and not the Subaru Legacy.

The video also points out hybrids can go “at very low speeds” on electric power alone but “it is no easy task to coordinate the efforts of the electric motor and the gasoline engine.” Batteries, the video notes, are “heavy and expensive” and hybrids require “complex systems” to shut off at stop lights. Subaru says they “are not trying to make light of the fuel economy achievements of the these hybrids vehicles. But we are also not convinced that they are worth the price premium as these numbers illustrate.”

Has this video convinced you the Subaru Legacy is better than the Toyota Camry hybrid and Honda Accord hybrid? How will today’s arguments for and against hybrids look in five years?

Related:

• Diesel Subies to beat hybrids to market
• Geneva Motor Show: Subaru will bring Justy back, is considering all-electric small car
• Subaru announces diesel engine for 2008
• Subaru aims for diesel cars by end of 2007
• Subaru sells 100,000 PZEVs and sends nothing to the dump for three years

[Source: YouTube]

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BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD Step behind the curtain at Ford Motor. Experience the documentary first-hand.

Original post by Lascelles Linton

Filed under: MPG, Legislation and Policy, USA

Outspoken California senator, Barbara Boxer, had a memorable visit to the NewsHour yesterday, supporting California’s right to regulate tail pipe emissions. In the highlights clip above which, you can see choice lines like “the cheese stands alone” and the mention of a Washington Post article that says the entire EPA staff told EPA head Stephen Johnson to allow the waiver. Here is a quote from that Washington Post article:

Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Stephen L. Johnson yesterday denied California’s petition to limit greenhouse gas emissions from cars and trucks, overruling the unanimous recommendation of the agency’s legal and technical staffs.

The Governator says he “will sue to overturn this ruling as quickly as possible.” Rep. Waxman has started an investigation and more lawsuits and investigations are widely expected. This isn’t over.

Related:

• President Bush explains why EPA denied California’s waiver to regulate tailpipe emissions
• EPA says no to California greenhouse gas rules waiver

[Source: Newshour, Washington Post]

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BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD Step behind the curtain at Ford Motor. Experience the documentary first-hand.

Original post by Lascelles Linton

Filed under: Green Culture, MPG, Chevrolet, GM

Corvette’s chief engineer, Tadge Juechter, tells the Kansis City Star that the muscle car could be an “endangered species” because of the new CAFE standard Bush signed into law Wednesday. GM, the parent company of Corvette, would have to make a 45 MPG car, explains Tadge, to offset supercars. The 2009 Corvette ZR1 - a $100,000, 620 horsepower car with a top speed of more than 200 MPH - could be the last of its kind because “high-performance vehicles such as this may actually be legislated out of existence” says Tadge.

Sigh. It’s always sad to read about the death of such a beautiful, majestic, natural creature. What do you think about the death of the muscle cars like the Mustang of Steve McQueen’s 1968 movie Bullitt in the video above? Do you think polar bears are the real endangered species or should the Corvette be added to the endangered species list instead?

Related:

• Classic and muscle cars can get in on the E85 action, too
• So, who wants to get into Daryl Hannah’s biodiesel El Camino?
• MTV’s Pimp My Ride building 800hp biodiesel ‘65 Chevy Impala
• Detroit 2008 Preview: Dodge Zeo Concept
• Left Coast Electric converts 1978 Triump into an EV in three minutes - Video

[Source: Kansis City Star]

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BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD Step behind the curtain at Ford Motor. Experience the documentary first-hand.

Original post by Lascelles Linton

Filed under: Emerging Technologies, EV/Plug-in, Transportation Alternatives, Lightweight

According to the Reuters video above, London’s Heathrow Airport will use electrically-powered, driver-less pods to transport passengers from Terminal Five, which should open in 2008, to the business car park. The biggest selling point of this small vehicle system is the cars are queued up on-demand, so the wait time is just 12 seconds. The electric cars, which only go 25 MPH, drive on 1.5 meter wide dedicated paths and have possible applications in office parks and cities. Below the fold is another video all about the personal transport system.

If you think you seen this system before, you might have in a James Bond movie or two. Also below the fold is a video of fictional Bond villain SPECTRE’s personal transport system.

Related:

• Cool videos: street lamp electric bubble car, Disney’s 1958 hovering solar car
• Video of “naked streets” and how banning stop lights will save gas
• A Prius that needs no driver enters the DARPA challenge
• Video: Car-free city coming 2009

[Source: BBC, Reuters]

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BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD Step behind the curtain at Ford Motor. Experience the documentary first-hand.

Original post by Lascelles Linton

Filed under: Green Culture, Green Daily

The video above is an old version of the trailer for the upcoming Speed Racer movie and at about 34 seconds in, there are a few frames of a desert race. In the newest version of the trailer, wind turbines have been added to the desert as you can see below the fold. Is the Speed Racer movie going green? I wonder what else they might make green? What if the new Mach 5 is a flex-fuel hybrid or maybe even a fully electric race car? We’ll have to wait until May 2008 when the movie makes it into theatres to find out.

In related old TV, new show car news; a Knight Rider TV movie will air in February but the new KITT is definitely NOT a hybrid.

Related:

• Transformers want to do a sequel, but only if there’s a hybrid involved
• Pixar’s “Cars” gives biofuel a hippie, 1960s’ face, George Carlin’s voice
• In the future, everyone will live in parking lots
• Al Gore drives hybrid Taxi in Futurama movie
• Why the Transformers movie is terrible (no, it’s not because Michael Bay is directing)
• “Who Killed The Electric Car?” movie review
• Americans would rather skip a movie than take the bus

[Source: AOL Video, Yahoo! Movies]

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BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD Step behind the curtain at Ford Motor. Experience the documentary first-hand.

Original post by Lascelles Linton

Filed under: Emerging Technologies, Transportation Alternatives

The Skysail, a giant kite used to help propel ships, has made its debut as you can see in the Reuters video above. MV Beluga Skysail is the world’s first cargo ship to use the Skysail and the ship will make its maiden voyage in early 2008 from Germany to Venezuela. The Skysail is 400 feet long and the kite can rise 100 yards into the sky, controlled by a computer system. The system costs $725,600 but it pays for itself in a few years because it saves 20 percent in fuel (about $1,600 a day). Below the fold is another video of the Skysail in action.

Related:

• Kite sails could help lower ship emissions and fuel mileage
• Build a kite big enough for a ship, and you’ll save fuel

[Source: Reuters, YouTube via Treehugger, Gizmodo]

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BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD Step behind the curtain at Ford Motor. Experience the documentary first-hand.

Original post by Lascelles Linton

Filed under: Green Culture, Hybrid

Soon-to-be hybrid owner Paris Hilton ran out gas recently and, go figure, the paparazzi stalking helped out by picking some up for her. The video above is a Jimmy Kimmel Live routine about the incident that includes footage of the entire incident taken by the paparazzi. In the video, we hear Paris say she “has never put gas in the car” to which Kimmel comments “usually when she runs out of gas, she just buys a new car.”

Now it all makes sense. I think this video explains the logic behind Paris’ statement that she will buy a hybrid: they get good mileage which, ta da, means more time before you have to buy a new car. If that is not funny enough for you, what Paris does with the, well, just watch. What she does proves that the rising price of gas is not a big concern to super-rich heiresses who drive $200,000 Bentleys.

Related:

• Paris Hilton: “I’m buying a hybrid car right now”
• Paris Hilton is getting a hybrid Hummer “designed”
• Paris Hilton gives up her Range Rover for an Escape Hybrid, is scared for the environment
• Video: Paris Hilton in a Prius

[Source: YouTube via AOL’s Video Blog]

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BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD Step behind the curtain at Ford Motor. Experience the documentary first-hand.

Original post by Lascelles Linton

Filed under: EV/Plug-in, Chrysler, Mercedes Benz, China

The video above is a local news report about Fly Bo, a Chinese all-electric car, available for sale in Michigan. The speedometer on the car goes to 40 MPH and in the video Dave Latarte, owner of Great Lakes Auto Sales, which sells the Fly Bo, says the car has a range of 70 to 150 miles. Do you think Fly Bo looks a little like the Smart? So does DaimlerChrysler and they did threaten to sue.

We have kept you updated of the controversy since October 2006 and now this news report and the Great Lakes Auto Sales website seem to prove you can pick one up in red, green or yellow for $10,000. Although, I would not recommend it because I am a little concerned about the quality of the cars. The news report says they are not recommended for use in the Winter.

… who decided to sell Fly Bo in balmy Michigan of all places?

Related:

• Mercedes may sue to stop Euro sales of Chinese Smart clone
• Chinese Smart cloner backs down
• Electric Smart coming from China without DCX?

[Source: ClipSyndicate via Ecoegg]

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BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD Step behind the curtain at Ford Motor. Experience the documentary first-hand.

Original post by Lascelles Linton

Filed under: EV/Plug-in, On Two Wheels, EVS23

In the video above, NextGear talks to Brammo, the maker of the Enertia electric bike, at EVS-23 and they say the bike will be released the second half of 2008. Here is exactly what Brammo said about the release date:

We would like to be building and shipping these bikes towards the second half of next year. We will be able to give a firm date, I would say towards the beginning of next year but right now we are not giving you a hard date but we will say second half of next year.

The NextGear interview includes a close look at Enertia’s organic display and Brammo talks about why they choose the Valence battery. Brammo also talks about making the bike and the company history which includes making an Ariel Atom for Jay Leno.

The Enertia will cost about $12,000 which is a little more than the Vectrix scooter. You can see a video of Enertia below the fold.

Related:

• The Brammo Enertia electric motorcycle
• MSN Autos gets first ride on the Brammo Enertia electric cycle

[Source: NextGear]

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BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD Step behind the curtain at Ford Motor. Experience the documentary first-hand.

Original post by Lascelles Linton

Filed under: Diesel, Hybrid, BMW

At September’s Frankfurt Motor Show, BMW showed off a concept version of their new X6 crossover. The X6 is expected to launch in 2009 and will be built at BMW’s Spartanburg, South Carolina assembly plant alongside the X5 and X3. Aside from the coupe-like roof-line of the X6, the other distinguishing feature of the vehicle was the first BMW application of the Two-Mode hybrid system. At the 2007 Detroit show, BMW featured diesel engines prominently and it had been expected that the first U.S. applications would be in the the X5 and 5-series. A promotional video featuring the production X6 has now surfaced and, as the camera scans details of the new vehicle, it lingers prominently on the X-Drive 35d badge. Like the X5, the X6 will almost certainly be sold with the diesel overseas, The question is will US buyers get a chance to sample the X6 35d? How about the first diesel-Two-Mode-hybrid application? We can only hope. The video is after the jump.

[Source: YouTube, via CarScoop]

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BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD Step behind the curtain at Ford Motor. Experience the documentary first-hand.

Original post by Sam Abuelsamid

Filed under: Emerging Technologies, AutoblogGreen Exclusive

The video above describes the idea of a gravity train, which imagines drilling a hole through the Earth to travel to different locations on the surface of the Earth. The gravity train would mean travel times of about 42 minutes from any two locations on the Earth’s surface. Of course, digging a hole to China is really hard. Just ask any third grader. But what if the Earth is hollow?

Below the fold is a video of a guy who actually thinks the Earth is hollow. If he is right and all of all of geological science is wrong, then we won’t have to drill a very deep hole. Traveling from one point on the surface of the hollow Earth to the another would only require the creation of a giant glider, that would fall through the Earth. So, as soon at the hollow earth theory is proven (don’t hold your breath), we should see proposals for transport systems soon after.

[Source: YouTube, Neatorama]

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BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD Step behind the curtain at Ford Motor. Experience the documentary first-hand.

Original post by Lascelles Linton

Filed under: Emerging Technologies, Transportation Alternatives, On Two Wheels

The video above is the Switchbike, which looks like a regular bike but can transform into a recumbent, lay-back seating type of bike. There is only one and creator Ron de Jong is still looking for someone to bring this concept to production. Below the fold is a video of the CBC show’s look at the VeloMobile, a covered, three-wheeled, human-powered vehicle. Hilary Doyle is really funny in the segment with odd observations like “this is a sex toy.” Velomobiles are not new vehicles but they are getting a lot press attention recently with our new focus on green forms of transport.

[Source: YouTube]

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BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD Step behind the curtain at Ford Motor. Experience the documentary first-hand.

Original post by Lascelles Linton