New research out of the University of York in Britain is unraveling some mysteries of the common wood-eating gribble that could provide the key to cheaply turning abundant wood and straw fiber into biofuel.

(more…)

Fresh off its official unveiling at the Chicago Auto Show a couple weeks ago, Azure Dynamics, Ford and AT&T have just announced that AT&T will be the first company to own some Ford Transit Connect Electric commercial fleet vans. With an order of just 2, it certainly is a small start, but the list will surely grow from here.

(more…)

KB Home, one of the largest homebuilders in the U.S., has announced that they will be providing the option to homebuyers to pre-wire their new construction homes so that they are ready for the high voltage, high amperage electrical lines required to charge electric cars quickly and properly.

The company views this new option as an extension of their already existing “My Home. My Earth.” campaign to make their homes more energy efficient and load them with features and equipment that both save money and have a lowered environmental impact.

(more…)

One of the biggest barriers to the adoption of electric cars, plug-in hybrids and extended range electric vehicles is cost. The biggest part of that added cost is the battery. In the past, estimates of roughly $1000 per kWh of battery capacity have been thrown around as a way to gauge how much of a premium consumers can expect to pay. Given that it takes roughly 25 kWh to go 100 miles, you can see how this would quickly add up.

Recently, however, the cost of lithium-ion batteries has been dropping more steeply than expected; indicating that the potential in the market to reduce the premium of owning a battery-powered car has been greatly underestimated.

(more…)

In a recent interview with Business Week, Renault-Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn was cited as saying that Nissan has collected 56,000 orders for the LEAF already. What this actually means, I’m not sure… especially considering that just last month Nissan said they had more than 50,000 people signed up on their Nissan LEAF interest list (which requires no deposit) and that actual pre-orders requiring a small refundable deposit of $100 will begin in April.

(more…)

Lexus CT 250h

Toyota officials last week confirmed that the Lexus CT 200h, a premium hybrid hatchback, is coming to the United States, according to a report in Automotive News. The Lexus CT 200h would be Lexus’s first compact car, and the first compact hybrid sold by Toyota in the US.

The car was unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show last week, but until recently the company insisted that the compact hybrid would only be sold in Europe. According to Automotive News, Lexus executives pleaded with Japan to bring to the car to the US—partly in hopes that the smaller Lexus would appeal to a younger demographic. "When the all-new Lexus CT 200h enters the market it will be the only hybrid vehicle in the emerging premium compact segment," said Mark Templin, Lexus Division group vice president and general manager.

The Lexus CT 200h will make its US debut at the 2010 New York Auto Show later this month. Production begins in late 2010. The car could go on sale in the US sometime in 2011.

The recipe for the CT 200h is to place a Prius-type hybrid system—featuring a 1.8-liter gas engine with variable valve timing, and energy storage with a nickel-metal hydride battery pack—into small relatively affordable premium compact car. Lexus said the CT 200h will ride on a new front-wheel-drive platform with a MacPherson strut front suspension and double wishbones at the rear.

read more

“Range anxiety” — the worry that your EV will run out juice before you get to where you’re going — is a term that has been bandied about a lot recently… almost annoyingly so. From a common sense standpoint, it seems only logical that range anxiety is a real phenomenon. But since we have so few EVs on the roads right now, the fact of the matter is that range anxiety is, at this point, a made up concept based on what we can logically expect.

And it’s this expectation that is spurring a huge amount of both private and public investment in nationwide charging networks for EVs — the assumption being that the only way EVs will ever become mass-accepted is to eliminate range anxiety.

But will those public charging stations that we’re dumping money into go unused because we have an expectation for a phenomenon that turns out to not really be an issue?

(more…)

Container ships straddle a fine line between ultra-efficient and ultra-polluters. They can carry thousands of 20-ft containers across thousands of miles of ocean in relatively short time, but they also burn sulfur-laden heavy oil fuels. Each ship can emit over 150,000 tons of CO2 every year, 5,000 tons of sulfur, and other harmful particulates attributed to death and disease along heavily populated coastlines.

A.P. Moller Maersk AS operates the world’s largest container ship fleet. For the first time in 106 years, they lost money due to the economic downturn. How much money? $1.3 billion. Ouch. But they’ve also pledged to reduce their CO2 output by 20% by 2017. How nice would that be?

(more…)

So far as we know, oil is a finite resource. But it is still the most widely used fuel for transportation right now, and likely will be for the near future. It could be twenty-five years or more before alternative fuel vehicles make up a majority of the new car market. So until then, we are stuck with petrol engines. But that doesn’t mean they won’t get better.

A California-based company called Transonic claims that its fuel injection system increases fuel efficiency by 75% while cutting emissions in half. No electric motors, no gimmicks… just a supercritical injection process. Which is what, exactly?

(more…)

Audi is continuing its aggressive push into the electric car marketspace by bringing its “e-tron” moniker to yet another model: the A2. What’s that you say, there’s an Audi A2? Well, yes, when it was originally produced in the early 2000’s the A2 (pictured above) was essentially a European market flop.

It was an oddly styled, underperforming mini-minivan that made extensive use of aluminum to save weight. But it was also a very fuel efficient vehicle: the 3-liter diesel version got nearly 80 miles per gallon (US) on the European cycle — making it the first vehicle to break the 3 liters per 100 kilometer mark.

And now Audi seems to think that the A2 was a flop because it was ahead of its time and they’re planning on bringing it back for the 2014 model year. Given the success of vehicles like the Mazda5 and the onslaught of what are essentially mini-minivans, perhaps Audi is right. Let’s just hope they make it look better this time around.

(more…)

• Federal Tax Credits for PHEVs and EVs
• Federal Tax Credits for Hybrids and Clean Diesels
• Region by Region Incentives for All Electric-Drive Vehicles

In a few weeks, Ford will become the third auto company to see federal incentives for its hybrid gas-electric cars completely vanish. Tax credits for Honda hybrids bit the dust at the beginning of last year, and Toyota hybrid credits completely phased out in late 2007.

The clean vehicle incentives instated in 2005 provided tax credits, as much as $3,400, for 60,000 buyers per each automaker before a phase-out period of 16 months. Ford reached the 60,000 hybrid mark before April 1, 2009—so beginning on April 1, 2010, there are zero tax credits for a Ford Fusion Hybrid or Ford Escape Hybrid. Tax credits remain for hybrids and clean diesel vehicles from General Motors, Volkswagen, Mercedes and BMW—but with the exception of the VW Jetta TDI, these are low volume vehicles.

With hybrids remaining below 3 percent of the new car market, green car analysts and advocates are wondering if the hybrid tax credits have vanished too soon. After a decade in the market, hybrids have become more commonplace and therefore, with tax credits and other incentives, could reach a much larger part of the mainstream market. Incentives could encourage automakers and consumers to put millions of high-mpg low-emission hybrids on the road—the original goal of the tax credits.

Instead, legislators have jumped to the next technology breakthrough: tax credits for plug-in hybrids and electric cars. A combination of local and national credits—up to $7,500 at the federal level, plus a $2,000 credit for charging equipment installation, plus state-based incentives— represent so far the largest bundle of incentives for private purchasers of green electric-drive vehicles.

Yet, these grid-enabled vehicles are not yet available—and when they arrive in later 2010, they will be expensive (even with tax credits) and available in limited supply. This is a good argument for generous tax credits to jumpstart the market. However, the first wave of buyers of plug-in cars will be highly motivated early adopters—a group likely to buy regardless with or without large tax credits. Meanwhile, there won’t be an incentive for some mainstream buyers who need a slight nudge to go hybrid.

read more

Fuel efficiency has increasingly become an important factor over the past few years when it comes to buying a new car. But it isn’t the only factor that matters as evidenced by a 7.5% decline in hybrid car sales in 2009 compared to 2008 when summer gas prices soared to $4/gallon. According to a new report by Accenture, American consumers are demanding more from their green cars than just good gas mileage; they want their green cars to wow them with electronics while delivering a superior driving experience.

Are you listening Detroit?

(more…)

In the world of alternative fuels, Brazilians are lucky. They have some of the best land and climate in the world with which to grow sugarcane–which they have proven is an excellent feedstock for first generation ethanol production.

Not only is it incredibly easy to convert the cane sugar into ethanol through fermentation, they can power much of their ethanol production by burning the material leftover after harvesting and crushing the sugarcane to extract the sweet liquid.

Years ago the Brazilian government realized the potential in this system and started encouraging a major shift to a transportation sector capable of running mostly on ethanol. And now the fruits of their labor are being borne out: The 10 millionth ethanol flex-fuel capable vehicle has been delivered in Brazil.

(more…)

I love me a fast Ford.

The 2011 Mustang GT gets a new 5.0 liter, 412 horsepower V8 engine, 25 mpg, and a plethora of other improvements. It is a real Camaro killer.

But if I’m going to be honest, it is the 305 horsepower V6 Mustang that has caught my eye. Not only does it share the GT’s sharper, improved looks, but Ford had estimated the V6 engine would return 30 mpg on the highway. Well the official certification results are in, and the Mustang gets 31 mpg highway, making it the first car with over 300 horsepower to get over 30 mpg.

(more…)

Let’s just say I’m not exactly a fan of the California Air Resource Board, or CARB. For all their good intentions, they cause a lot of headaches with unintended consequences of sometimes poorly conceived ideas–especially for those of us who enjoy performance cars.

But every now and then they get something right. And while Roush is a name most often associated with supercharged Mustangs, the company is also well known for its propane conversions. CARB recently approved both the F-250 and F-350 Roush propane conversions for street use. Yay!

(more…)

I remember when Subaru first introduced the WRX version of their Impreza sedan. I vowed to one day own one.

Alas, to this day I’ve yet to get my hands on one, but that vow remains. There have been murmurs of an impending Subaru hybrid vehicle for about a year now, although the company is certainly tiptoeing into the electric/hybrid car race. The first guess was the larger Legacy sedan, but Road & Track seems to think the the Impreza might be chosen instead.

Dare I hope for a hybrid WRX?

(more…)

We all want more choices, right?

Zero Motorcycles, maker of electric motorcycles, has heard the call and for 2010 they are giving customers more options to play with. They have also made improvements to acceleration, power, and their battery technology. It’s a good thing too, because competition in the electric motorcycle market is already starting to heat up.

(more…)

Speaking at a conference in Santa Barbara, CA, Shell CEO Peter Voser said that by 2050 he fully expects 40% of all vehicles in the world to be some kind of electric car. Shell has calculated that by 2050 there will be 2 billion cars in the world, up from today’s 1 billion.

(more…)

In October 2009, Nissan announced that it will produce a hybrid gas-electric version of its Infiniti M luxury performance sedan, to go on sale in Europe in 2011. It will likely be sold in the United States as well, although no date has been set for North American distribution. The Infiniti M35 Hybrid represents the brand's first hybrid—and provides one more example of the curious relationship between luxury and hybrid vehicles.

Nissan unveiled the Infiniti M35 Hybrid at the 2010 Geneva Motor Show in early March.

Nissan’s leadership has repeatedly made the argument that hybrids are not the answer to the environmental challenges facing the automobile industry—and that only pure all-electric cars represent the necessary shift to oil- and emissions-free motoring. The company’s small all-electric Nissan Leaf will debut in late 2010.

However, the use of a gas and electric power combo is apparently Nissan’s solution for luxury buyers unwilling to sacrifice horsepower and high-end features, but no longer wanting to guzzle gas. As Infiniti’s press release states, “The M35 Hybrid has been designed and engineered to add to, not take away from, the driving experience, a key part of any Infiniti's appeal.” [Subtext: Most hybrids take away from the driving experience.]

The M35 Hybrid’s engine, borrowed from the conventional M sedan, is a 3.5-liter V6, with the addition of a 68 horsepower electric motor and hybrid drive system. The Infiniti M35 hybrid uses a front-engine rear-wheel-drive approach—with a one motor-two clutch system. The first clutch is installed between the engine and the electric motor. This clutch allows the full decoupling of the V6 when running in electric modes—in order to reduce mechanical drag and boost the efficiency of the electric motor.

read more

Well folks, it’s official, Lexus will be selling the CT 200h luxury compact hybrid wagon in the US. After a well-received launch at the Geneva Auto Show, Lexus officials were still non-committal about what a “global launch” of the car at the end of the year actually meant. But now Lexus has taken the mystery out of that phrase–and apparently the US is still considered part of the globe.

The CT 200h will be Lexus’ 2nd dedicated hybrid (next to the HS 250h) to be sold in the US once it hits showrooms later this year or early next. To get the US market ready for the car, it will be making its US debut early next month at the New York International Auto Show.

(more…)