Filed under: Hybrid, Legislation and Policy

It’s not like there has been a lack of news about New York’s hybrid taxis recently (see links below), but I think we’re going to be seeing a lot more of it now: Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced today that all of city’s yellow taxi will be switching over to hybrid models within five years. The AP notes that Bloomberg is most concerned with the environmental aspect of the move. “There’s an awful lot of taxicabs on the streets of New York City,” Bloomberg told the AP. “These cars just sit there in traffic sometimes, belching fumes. This does a lot less. It’s a lot better for all of us.”

The hybrids should do well in the city. Hundreds of them have been tested over hundreds of thousands of miles over the past year and a half. There are 400 hybrid taxis operating now, and Bloomberg plans for 1,000 by next year and all 13,000 vehicles in the fleet will be hybrids by 2012. CNN says that the city has approved the following hybrids for yellow cab use: Toyota Highlander, Lexus RX 400H, Ford Escape, Saturn VUE Green Line, Toyota Prius, Toyota Camry, Honda Accord and Honda Civic. City spokespeople said using a hybrid should save taxi operators $10,000 a year per vehicle, compared to driving a standard vehicle.

I wonder if there will a tussle with GM over the “Live green, go Yellow” slogan…

Related:

• Hybrid Technologies lithium-battery-powered taxi cruising NYC
• Cleantech Launches Hybrid Taxi Initiative
• The “Greenest City in America” can win a free fleet of hybrid taxis
• Ford Escape hybrid taxis top 175,000 miles
• Yellow cabs turning green at New York Auto Show
• Bloomberg to announce $8 congestion fee for cars entering NYC

[Source: CNN, Yahoo!; h/t to Patrick]

 

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

Filed under: Manufacturing/Plants, MPG, Chrysler

Earlier this week, after the groundbreaking for Chrysler’s new axle plant near Marysville, Michigan, company spokesman David Elshoff spoke to the Worldwide Automotive Report. The new axles to be built at the plant are designed to help improve the fuel efficiency of both the Chrysler and Mercedes cars and trucks they go into.

On Wednesday, Chrysler will also be breaking ground for an engine plant in Trenton, MI to build new, more-efficient V-6 engines. One interesting thing that Elshoff mentioned at the end of the interview was the forthcoming dual clutch transmission that Chrysler will be using. That’s the first mention I’ve heard about the dual clutch units (like the VW DSG gearbox) in a Chrysler vehicle. No other details were mentioned but the new axles and engines are due in 2010 so presumably the new gearboxes will come at the same time.

[Source: World Wide Automotive Report]

 

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

Filed under: MPG, Chrysler, Dodge

Small cars often come in handy, especially when writing the initial check to purchase it and when pulling up next to the gas pump. For obvious reasons, the smaller the car and the smaller the engine, the less it costs and the less gas it uses. Anyway, Chrysler has been after a small B-Class car of their own for a while now, and appeared to have a deal in hand with the Chinese carmaker Chery for a car in that segment, namely, the Dodge Hornet. We have brought you quite a few news stories since then regarding that deal, which seems odd, considering that a deal had apparently been struck already… but, it seems that Chery might think that the deal is off based on the new owner of the Chrysler group. According to this story on Autoblog, Chery wants to renegotiate the deal with Cerberus, the new owner. I guess we’ll just need to keep an eye on this one for now and hope that the vehicle gets built at some point.

Previously on AutoblogGreen:

• Chrysler VP talks about Chery and the Hornet
• Dodge Hornet, Chery S12, the QQ, and more updates on the Chery/DCX allianace
• DCX board approves small car partnership with Chery

[Source: Autoblog]

 

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

2007 Saturn VUE hybrid: Image source: Edmonds.comNearly all of us interested in living greener lives like the idea of hybrid vehicles; that doesn't mean that we've all driven one. That was my situation until a week ago when I took delivery on a Saturn VUE Hybrid that GM has loaned me for a couple of weeks.

Like many of you, I'm wary of SUVs in general — for the most part, I'm one of those folks that equates "SUV" with "gas guzzler." Yet, I was intrigued by the idea of trying out a hybrid SUV — if automakers can produce larger vehicles that get better gas mileage, that's a "win-win"… right? So, while I don't drive a lot (I work from home), I have used the VUE for almost all of my regular trips in the past week, and even made one or two extra ones to get a full picture (may the green gods forgive me!).

I was expecting a different driving experience, but any differences I have noticed stem mostly from being in a bigger vehicle: the hybrid elements are nearly unnoticeable. If I listen very carefully, I can notice the gas engine shutting down when I come to a stop; the tacometer also registers that. But, overall, the driving experience is quite similar to that of a conventional car .

That doesn't mean that I end up driving the VUE like a normal car. GM hybrids don't have a display of current gas mileage like Japanese models, but there is a light just to the left of the steering column (appropriately reading "eco") that comes on when the electric motor kicks in. Just as drivers of Priuses and Insights report altering their driving habits to keep that mpg display high, I find myself adjusting my driving to get that "eco" light to come on. I'm less likely to speed up at a yellow light. I lay off the accelator more. I wave others on at four-way stops.

The EPA lists the gas mileage of the VUE hybrid at 27 city/ 32 highway/ 29 combined. Not the best mileage of any vehicle, but certainly better than the conventional VUE (21/19/25). Saturn claims the VUE Hybrid has the best highway mileage of any SUV, and EPA's "real world" database seems to bear this out. The 2008 VUE Hybrid will incorporate the "dual-mode" hybrid system, which GM claims will increase the vehicle's fuel efficiency by 45%.

So, would I buy a VUE Hybrid? Probably not, but that's just because I don't need anything that big. At $23,000, it's definitely a reasonable option for drivers who need more space.

This weekend, I plan to get the VUE out on the road… I'll report back with what I find.

Green Options is pleased to announce an extra incentive for suggesting a Tip o' the Day to Amy & Rebecca. If you suggest a tip that is later published, you'll receive two $5 Wind Power Cards from Renewable Choice Energy. That means you not only get to pass on the good word to our readers, but you can also offset your carbon emissions for one month, plus that of a friend or family member!

The funds go to support wind power projects across the country, from Minnesota to Wyoming.

Going green in your life is simple. First reduce your carbon footprint as much as you possibly can. Then, offset the rest. Or, let us help you! Suggest a tip – and if we publish it, we'll help you offset the equivalent of 2 months of carbon emissions. Just for typing up your idea and clicking Submit.

Rebecca says: Plus, who doesn't want to see their name in the glitzy lights of GreenOptions.com? It's a no-brainer!

 

 

 

On Thursday, I found myself at Portcullis House, an imposing edifice that sits across the road from the main Houses of Parliament building in London. The occasion was a panel discussion hosted by Greenpeace and (deep breath) the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on the Great Lakes Region of Africa, to discuss the crisis in the Congo rainforest. As the name suggests, it’s a collective of MPs from all parties with a special interest in that part of the world who try to make sure issues affecting the region remain on the political agenda.

The special guest stars were representatives from two Congolese organisations that work to protect the forest and the people who live there, so it was an excellent chance for MPs, civil servants and UK campaigners (including me) to hear first-hand reports about the situation in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and how the World Bank’s policies are affecting both the forest and the people. Through working on this campaign over the past few months, I’ve learnt a lot about what’s happening in the Congo rainforest, but listening to these guys really brought home how things are hanging in the balance.

Continue reading Caterpillars and contracts: first-hand reports from the Congo rainforest…

Posted by Dave (on his way to Anchorage)

Well folks, May 27th is growing closer – and so is the Big Blue March. So here’s a list of the cities where gatherings are so far confirmed! More news soon – from the International Whaling Commission in Anchorage.

For more information, visit the Big Blue March site

Australia, Queensland:

Australia, Forrest Chase, Perth

Continue reading Big Blue March for the whales grows closer……

Funding Appeal #2 – GIFT THE EARTH 2007
* $18,730 raised, 53 donors, 31% to goal $41,270 to go

Please Donate Now — Your Donation is DOUBLED, matched 100% — so in actuality just need $20,000 in small donations to keep free thinking bright green eco-thought and solutions going

No one is doing the work Ecological Internet (EI) is of providing environmental portal services, action opportunities, analysis and social networking with a deep biocentric bias. We are nearly entirely supported by individual donations of various sizes (http://www.ecoearth.info/supporters/ ). Ecological Internet is a small band of social entrepreneurs (http://www.ecoearth.info/staff ) espousing ecological science in all its radical consequences on the Internet to help others and ourselves facilitate conservation outcomes. We have the largest environmental portals with true search engine and regularly contribute to and facilitate forest and climate environmental policy successes (http://www.ecoearth.info/kudos/ And we need your support now with a small donation at http://www.ecoearth.info/donate/ .

It does not take much to run the highly successful, comprehensive and widely used climate, rainforest, environmental and other portals provided by EI and listed below. A full-time content producer and writer that provides overall vision (me, Dr. Glen Barry), a quarter time programmer Matt Davies (we would love to have full-time but can not yet afford). We do everything from running our own servers, keeping them maintained and secure, as we run an email network of 25K and get about one million people to our websites a month — occasionally securing specialized outside technical consulting. Besides Matt and my salary costs to keep going include network band-width, replacement of aging computer equipment (not so much now), and eventually need to add staff in fund-raising, graphic design and content management.

Filed under: Ethanol

Just in time for the all-ethanol Indianapolis 500 this weekend, the Ethanol Promotion and Information Council (EPIC) is sponsoring reduced-price ethanol in Indianapolis tomorrow. Unlike other ethanol promotions, this one is all about the E10, so anyone with a gasoline engine can benefit during the small window (between 11:30 a.m. and 1:00 p.m.) when the fuel will be sold for $2.20 a gallon. The deal goes down at the GasAmerica at 5179 LaFayette Road. There will also be a drawing for a two-year lease on a Flex-Fuel Chevy Silverado.

I’m guessing, considering average gas prices these days, there will be quite a line at the shop. If you’re in Indianapolis and stop by, why not send us some pics?

[Source: EPIC]

 

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

Filed under: EV/Plug-in, Tesla Motors

Now that Tesla is approaching Job 1 for their battery-powered Roadster, they are starting to look beyond just selling cars so that they can recover some of their investment in developing a battery pack system. As a reminder to our newer readers, rather than wait for someone to come up with lithium ion cells designed specifically for automotive use, they chose to use small off the shelf cells and create their own integrated battery pack system.

While the design of most major automotive systems is pretty much a known quantity, the battery pack required some real innovation to ensure reliability and safety in addition to performance. After at least seven major design iterations of their pack system, Tesla has now successfully done a 50mph rear end crash test of the roadster.

Having reached this point Tesla has created the Tesla Energy Group to offer their pack technology to other manufacturers. Their first customer will be the re-born TH!NK. TH!NK is the Norwegian electric car builder formerly owned by Ford and they’re working to bring a new design car that was designed during the Ford era to market. Other manufacturers have expressed interest and hopefully the increased volumes will help drive down the cost and drive up the rate of development.

[Source: Tesla Motors]

 

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