July 2009

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FedEx Adds Nearly 100 Hybrid Vehicles to Its Fleet

July 30, 2009 in Uncategorized by kristen | No comments

FedEx announced that it has added 92 hybrid vehicles to its fleet of delivery trucks, bringing its grand green total to 264 hybrid vehicles. The company started accumulated the lower-emissions, fuel-sipping hybrid-electric vehicles in 2004. The trucks were converted to hybrid systems by Freightliner and Eaton Corporation, and each truck was at least eight years old with 300,000 miles or more on it before the conversion.

How much good have the FedEx hybrid conversions done? Here’s the numbers from the company:

Reduced fuel use by 150,000 gallons since 2004
Reduced carbon dioxide emissions by 1,521 metric tons sine 2004
Equivalent to removing 279 cars from the road each year
50 new temporary green jobs created during the past six months while trucks were being converted

2012 Toyota Plug-In Prius Price Set

July 29, 2009 in Biz News, EVs, Future Cars, Hybrids, MPG, Uncategorized by kristen | No comments

Toyota will release a mass-market plug-in Prius in 2010, with a price tag set at $47,000. The car will be able to charge at a 110-volt or 220-volt outlet, both of which are common in American households. Few details are available beyond this basic announcement that the cars are indeed on the way, and that Toyota will build 20,000-30,000, according to a Reuters report. The car will use lithium batteries and may be a direct competitor for the forthcoming Chevy Volt.

Electric Vehicle Drag Racing – Now with KillaCycle!

July 28, 2009 in Uncategorized by kristen | No comments

2SSIC vs Tesla

I spent the weekend at the Wayland Invitational, an electric vehicle drag racing event held at Portland International Raceway and sanctioned by the National Electric Drag Racing Association. Didn’t know they had such a thing, did you? Well, they do, and the electric cars repeatedly beat the pants off the gasoline-powered competition. Even the little Tango surprised the fans by beating a souped-up Mustang.

The weekend’s big (and little) draw was KillaCycle, Bill Dube’s electric-powered drag motorcycle. He built it to do one thing: go fast in a straight line. And it does just that. It’s the fastest electric vehicle in the world, and I saw it turn in quarter-mile times in the 8-second range. In contrast, the Teslas that drove down from Seattle turned in consistent 12.9-second times — and they were hitting 100 mph pretty regularly.

KillaCycle also wowed the crowd by racing against a miniature version of itself. A remote-controlled electric scale model of KillaCycle lined up on the track against the monster drag bike and did its best to hold its own. Do I need to tell you that the big bike won? It did. But it was fun to watch, in any case.

KillaCycle, Tesla, and every other electric car that took the track were there to prove one thing: green doesn’t have to be slow and boring. There were a lot of surprised newbies to the EV scene in the stands who flocked to the electric race cars in the pits after their runs to find out just what the hell was going on with these battery-operated cars, and found drivers and builders happy to tell them all about it.

Cash for Clunkers Final Details Released

July 27, 2009 in Consumer News, MPG by kristen | 1 comment

Okay, you’ve heard about the U.S. Government’s “Cash for Clunkers” deal for weeks now; how can you, savvy green consumer, take advantage of the program? First, you should know that it’s official name is CARS, or Car Allowance Rebate System. Clever, no? And you should know that there’s an entire web site devoted to CARS that can answer almost any question about the process you might have.

In a nutshell, though, here are the points you need to know if you’re considering trading in your old car for a bright, shiny new one — with better mileage and, one supposes, cleaner emissions from the tailpipe.

Cars must be purchased between July 1, 2009, and November 1, 2009, or until Congress runs out of rebate money
Combined fuel economy of the clunker must be a combined 18 mpg or less according to the EPA ratings — not according to your own actual mileage
The clunker can’t be more than 25 years old (that’s 1984 or later)
The clunker must be driveable as well as registered and insured for at least the year before you trade it in
The new car can be purchased or leased, but you have to lease it for at least 5 years
If the new car’s fuel economy is 4-9 mpg better than the clunker, you get $3500. If it’s 10 mpg or more better, you get $4500 toward your new car
The new car has to be new, not used
The clunkers have to be destroyed and never returned to the road

The Department of Transportation/NHTSA documentation for the program says there is an interactive tool at CARS.gov for determining if your car is eligible and how much your rebate would be, but as of today, that tool isn’t showing up. Maybe it’ll be there later this week; after all, the program went live three weeks before anyone knew exactly how it would even work.

World’s Biggest Electric Delivery Truck Coming Tuesday

July 23, 2009 in Biz News, EVs by kristen | No comments

Smith Electric Vehicles U.S. will deliver its first little fleet of big electric delivery trucks next week. The Newton, as the truck is called, can do 50 mph for 150 miles — much farther than most passenger electric vehicles. It also weighs seven and a half tons — about the weight of four Zap Xebra electric trucks.

The trucks are built in Kansas City, but the official hand-off will take place on the steps of the Capital building in Washington, DC, according to Edmunds.com. Smith Electric Vehicles U.S. is an offshoot of Smith Electric Vehicles, the British outfit that also makes the Edison and Amphere electric vehicles.

Which lucky companies get the first round of Newtons? Coca-Cola, Frito0Lay, AT&T, Staples, Pacific Gas and Electric, and Kansas City Power and Light. Find out Tuesday how many Newtons each company receives.

Keep Your Car Eco-Cool with Film

July 22, 2009 in Consumer News, MPG, New Tech by kristen | No comments

Solar Gard says it’s got the solution for sun-warmed cars: a film that covers the windows and keeps the interior cool. And a cool interior, the theory goes, doesn’t require the air conditioning to run at full blast to make it habitable, saving you gas in the process.

The Ultra Performance film from Solar Gard lets 76% of visible light through, according to the New York Times, while blocking out 99% of UV rays. (Save your skin and gas!) The company’s web site points out that the film can also be used to keep houses cool and lower a/c costs at home.

In addition to saving fuel by not having to blast the a/c, it also saves wear and tear on the cooling system, which means fewer breakdowns, leaks, and replacements, none of which do Mother Earth any favors.

UPDATE: Solar Gard contacted me to make a correction — the Solar Gard film consists of layers of nano particles and a dyed application process in one layer of film. The film doesn’t have to be layered to block out nearly all UV rays, as I had originally written. Thanks for the correction, Bill! – GoodGreenCars.com

Mercedes-Benz Electric Super Car

July 21, 2009 in EVs, Future Cars, New Tech by kristen | No comments

Mercedes-Benz has announced that it will build an electric car based on its SLS AMG super car, with electric motors at all four wheels replacing the V8 engine that would normally be under the hood.

Here are the specs:

526 hp all together, about 40 less than the gasoline version
0-60 mph in under 4 seconds
Top speed over 125 mph is expected
110-mile range
8-hour recharge

The car is expected to arrive on roads in 2013, hopefully with a shorter charging time. At least we do know it will have those striking gullwing doors.

EPA’s SmartWay Transport Program

July 20, 2009 in Biz News, Hybrids, MPG, diesel, emissions by kristen | No comments

I recently bought a new computer, and I noticed that the box the sales associate put in my cart had a sticker reading “SmartWay Transport Partnership.” It had the same leaf-and-road logo as the Environmental Protection Agency’s SmartWay auto certification program, so I thought I’d look into it.

It turns out it’s no big secret, the SmartWay Transportation Partnership. The agency has partnered with the trucking industry to reduce fuel consumption and polluting emissions, including carbon dioxide. The aim is to save 3.3 to 6.6 billion gallons of diesel fuel per year, which amounts to about 150 million barrels of oil.

How can they get there? There are a few strategies, some of which are easier to do than others:

Limit the amount of time truck engines are left to idle
Improve aerodynamics to increase fuel economy
Better trip planning to use less fuel
Automatic tire inflation systems
Use trucks with hybrid powertrains, or at least start-stop technology

The EPA keeps a long list of SmartWay Transport partners, which includes hundreds of trucking companies. If your green business has grown to the point where you need to get product further than the craft fair downtown, this may be a good resource. Consumers like me notice those little SmartWay stickers, you know.

Suzuki Joins Free Gas Incentive Campaign

July 17, 2009 in Consumer News, small cars by kristen | No comments

SuSuzuki has joined the free-gas fray this summer, offering a prepaid debit card with two of its 2009 models. Anyone who buys a Suzuki SX4 through August 31 is eligible for the program.

If you’re in the market for a new car this summer, here’s what you need to know about these two models:

Suzuki SX4 Sedan or Sport

$270 prepaid gas debit card
23/31 mpg for the four-speed
22/30 mpg for the five-speed
7.1 to 7.3 tons of CO2 emitted per year
$28.99 to fill the tank at $2.44 a gallon

Suzuki SX4 Crossover

$290 prepaid gas debit card
22/30 mpg for the four-speed
22/29 mpg for the five-speed
7.3 to 7.7 tons of CO2 emitted per year
$28.99 to fill the tank at $2.44 a gallon

Terrabon Developing “Green Gasoline”

July 16, 2009 in Biz News, New Tech by kristen | No comments

Texas-based company Terrabon is working to develop a second-generation biofuel it calls “green gasoline.” Unlike the ethanol in use today, the fuel would be nearly identical to gasoline and fermented from “anything that rots,” one company official said — including sewer sludge.

The “green gasoline,” officially called MixAlco, was developed by scientists at Texas A&M University, according to the Houston Chronicle. Within a few months, Terrabon plans to be able to produce 300 gallons of the stuff a day. It added that it can produce MixAlco for about $1.75 a gallon, and that it can use existing storage tanks and pumps, unlike the more corrosive ethanol.

Auntie Anne’s Yummiest Electric Car

July 15, 2009 in Biz News, EVs by kristen | No comments

In San Marcos, Texas, you might not be able to hear the little electric car making its rounds, but you can sure smell it. An Auntie Anne’s pretzel shop franchisee recently purchased a neighborhood electric vehicle for making deliveries to and handing out samples at other Prime Outlets locations.

The car has an Auntie Anne’s decal on the door and a menu posted in the window. Lisa Fullerton, the franchisee who partnered with the Texas State University American Marketing Association to buy the car, told QSR magazine that the happy — and green — little car has helped increase her sales by 40% this year.

One in Three U.S. Car Buyers into Electric Cars

July 14, 2009 in Consumer News, EVs by kristen | 1 comment

A new survey by Better Place, the folks who’ve so far brought electric cars to the streets of Israel, Denmark, and Australia says that nearly one in three U.S. poll respondents were interested in buying an electric car as their next vehicle. A total of 8,000 people in five countries were polled by Better Place; here’s a breakdown of how many drivers in each country are considering buying an EV:

Israel, 57%
Denmark, 40%
Australia, 39%
Canada, 35%
U.S., 30%

A couple of notes to the survey: The Canadian numbers come only from the greater Toronto area, so it doesn’t include the opinions of drivers in, say, the sparsely populated province of Alberta. Also, the Israelis must really like their Better Place electric car program, because 28% of them said they’d consider only an electric car for their next vehicle — no petrol allowed.

The survey found that interest in electric vehicles ranged across economic and generational lines in all the countries. The number-one reason for U.S. driver’s interest in an EV? Concern about dependence on foreign oil. That was followed by a near-tie between concerns about terrorism and climate change.

What about you? Would you be like Bob Dylan in the Sixties and go electric? Let us know in the comments.

Barefoot Motors Builds Electric ATV

July 10, 2009 in Consumer News, EVs, Uncategorized by kristen | No comments

Barefoot Motors of Ashland, Oregon, has officially opened its doors and started selling its battery-powered, zero-emissions ATV, which Barefoot calls an “EUV”: Earth Utility Vehicle.

The company expects the EUV to do well with customers like farmers and winery owners who have have to tend acres of plants, though the EUV will probably go over well with recreational users who would prefer a lighter carbon footprint, too. It can even be used to round up livestock, though I doubt it will be the death knell of the traditional horseback cowboy.

Here are the specs for the first EUV from Barefoot, the Model One:

40-hp electric motor and lithium batteries
30 mph top speed
7-hour charge time
Up to a 40-mile range, and as long as 8 hours of operation
Four-wheel and two-wheel drive available
Starts at $11,900

Hyundai Freezes Gas Prices at $1.49 a Gallon

July 9, 2009 in Consumer News by kristen | No comments

If you’re in the market for a car this summer, and if that market includes a Hyundai, you could get more than just a car — you could get a time machine. The Korean car maker began its Hyundai Assurance Gas Lock (catchy!) on July 1. The program guarantees a year’s worth of gas at $1.49 a gallon — a price that hasn’t been seen in the U.S. for more than five years, according to AutoWeek.

You may recall that GM tried a similar incentive during last summer’s record gas prices, offering three years’ worth of gas at $2.99 a gallon. The bottom fell out of that plan, though, when gas prices dropped off. As of July 7, AAA pegged the national average price for a gallon of gas at $2.77. The highest record price came almost exactly a year ago, when the average price of gas hit $4.11 on July 17, 2008.

Hyundai’s Gas Lock plan applies to cars purchased between July 1 and August 31, 2009. The only cars in the company’s lineup that don’t qualify are the base model of the Accent and the car-mag faves Genesis and Genesis coupe models.

Image of the Hyundai Accent courtesy of Hyundai Motor America.

Smart Cars Lease for Cheap, Until …

July 8, 2009 in Uncategorized by kristen | No comments

Smart, maker of tiny, Euro-style automobiles, has a new leasing campaign that ties in with the “cash for clunkers” sales-boosting program that will go into effect this summer. With a combined mpg rating of 36 mpg, every Smart car qualifies for the program, if your current car gets worse than 18 mpg.

And who could argue with a $99 a month lease payment? That’s what Smart is offering: $99 a month for 36 months if you use the $4,500 cash for clunkers government rebate when you buy your new ForTwo. The potentially icky part of the deal is the $6,667 balloon payment due at the end of the lease. Dave Schembri defended the balloon payment industry outlet Automotive News by saying it’s in line with the kind of financing offered by Smart’s parent company, Daimler AG.

Image by Kristen Hall-Geisler for GoodGreenCars.com.

Santa Monica Buys First Plug-In Service Truck

July 6, 2009 in Uncategorized by kristen | No comments

The city of Santa Monica, California, has purchased the first zero-emissions, plug-in, battery-powered electric medium-duty truck sold in the U.S. The truck, which will be used by the city’s water department, was manufactured by Electrorides.

Santa Monica apparently has a “Sustainable City Plan,” according to a press release from Electrorides, and the ZeroTruck will help the city reach its goals of reducing emissions and use of petroleum fuel. The truck uses an Isuzu medium-duty truck chassis with the gasoline-using bits removed and an electric propulsion system put in.

The Electrorides ZeroTruck has:

A 100-mile range
Highway capability, up to 55 mph
Lithium batteries with an on-board charger
Regenerative braking system

Top Ten “Cash for Clunkers” Cars

July 3, 2009 in Consumer News, MPG by kristen | 3 comments

You’ve heard about the “cash for clunkers” legislation that allows U.S. car buyers to get up to $4,500 in cash vouchers for replacing gas guzzlers with fuel efficient vehicles. If you’ve got an older car or pickup truck with rotten gas mileage, you can replace it with a new car getting 22 mpg or better or a new pickup getting 18 mpg or better and receive a break on the price courtesy of your government.

Which cars should you be looking at? Marketing service Autobytel complied a list of auto makers that have vehicles that qualify for vouchers, and even figured out how many of the cars in each automakers fleet were eligible. Every vehicle offered by Mini and Scion, for instance, could get you some cash toward a new car if you trade in a clunker.

Here’s Autobytel’s top ten cash for clunkers cars, with the percentage of each maker’s fleet that qualifies for a voucher when you buy a new car:

Mini 100%
Scion 100%
Honda 94%
Saturn 93%
Subaru 88%
Suzuki 85%
Pontiac 79%
Mazda 74%
Hyundai 73%
Volkswagen 73%

Honda doesn’t receive perfect marks probably because it has that massive Ridgeline pickup truck in the fleet. And Volkswagen all the way down at number 10 was a surprise. Also, keep in mind that Saturn’s future is a bit shaky these days, and Pontiac has received an official death sentence as part of GM’s restructuring.

Moblu Uses Social Networking to Track Gas Mileage

July 1, 2009 in Consumer News, MPG by kristen | No comments

The latest online app to help drivers track fuel economy comes from Moblu. The site asks for your vehicle’s year, make and model then requires you to create a user name and password.

Where, you might be asking, does the social networking come in? Moblu uses your Twitter user name (no Twitter password required) to share your mileage with other Tweeple. Moblu users can record events that might affect gas mileage, like “Changed Tire Pressure” or “Lots of Highway Driving.” You can also record a fill-up, calculate mileage for a road trip, and find fellow Moblu users on the site.

Clicking on “My Garage” shows fellow Moblu cars, with actual mileage, trends, and number of fill-ups. You can choose to follow anyone who looks interesting, or keep tabs on your friends’ fuel economy.