Green Car Congress

APRIL 27, 2011

The London Congestion Charging Scheme (CCS)—which charged for travel into central London and reduced traffic volume ( earlier post )—has shown little evidence that it improved air quality as well, according to Part I of a new study published by the Health Effects Institute (HEI). The study, “The Impact of the Congestion Charging Scheme on Air Quality in London”, was led by Professor Frank Kelly of King’s College London as part of HEI’s research program to meas

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Plugs and Cars

APRIL 24, 2011

A story on Toyota's announcement that an ordering system for the plug-in prius will be coming later this year prompted me to check out the site. I find it rather funny and rather sad. "THE FIRST-EVER prius plug-in hybrid," it says. Really? Ask Felix Kramer of CalCars. Ask any of the hundreds of individuals and fleets driving around in prius converted to have plug-in capability.

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Prius Plug-in Plug EV1 220

Green Car Reports

APRIL 25, 2011

Driving the 2011 Chevrolet Volt leads all sorts of people to ask you questions: passers-by, the guy at the parking garage.and sometimes, even museums. A few weeks ago, we had a Chevy Volt for review. At the time, we were asked by the Forward Thinking Museum in Manhattan not only to show its staff the car, but to let them shoot a video that puts.

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Volt Electric Cars Chevrolet Cars 114

All Cars Electric

APRIL 27, 2011

A study conducted by the energy research and advisory firm E Source has revealed that as much as 85 percent of consumers could be ready to buy plug-in electric cars, provided the conditions were right. The data for the report was collected from the Nielsen Energy Survey, which asked 3,200 energy consumers across the U.S. their views on energy.

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Electric Cars Cars Buy Plug-in 106

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Green Car Congress

APRIL 27, 2011

Better Place and China Southern Power Grid Co. (CSG) signed a strategic agreement calling for the companies to open a battery switch station and joint education center in Guangzhou before the end of the year, while working to formalize a joint-venture partnership. CSG is the world’s eighth-largest utility, according to the Fortune Global 500. The agreement, which focuses on joint electric car and infrastructure projects in CSG’s service areas, will further advance electric cars with switchable b

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Grid China Batteries Battery 299

Plugs and Cars

APRIL 29, 2011

Four electric vehicle charging stations were unveiled today at a new parking structure in downtown South San Francisco. The Coulomb J-plug/120V units were installed under grants to ChargePoint America (DOE and CEC money). For the time being, there is no charge for either the parking or charging for vehicles that plug in. The opening of the new parking garage and office complex one block off Grand Avenue was a big deal.

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San Francisco Juice Plug-in Plug 100

All Cars Electric

APRIL 23, 2011

From Michael Moore's Roger And Me in 1989 to Chris Paine's 2006 Who Killed The Electric Car?, there's no shortage of documentaries that portray auto-industry executives as incompetent, bumbling, short-sighted, arrogant fools. So it may be a surprise that merely five years later, two global automakers and one upstart new car company are the heroes.

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Electric Cars 2006 Auto Industry Cars 106

Green Car Congress

APRIL 26, 2011

High-level process schematic for hydrocarbons from isobutanol. Source: Gevo. Click to enlarge. Gevo, Inc., a renewable chemicals and advanced biofuels company, signed an engineering and consulting agreement with Mustang Engineering, LP for the conversion of Gevo’s renewable isobutanol to biojet fuel. This effort will focus on the downstream processing of isobutanol to paraffinic kerosene (jet fuel) for jet engine testing, airline suitability flights and advancing commercial deployment. ( Earlier

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Renewable Conversion Engine Fuel 278

Plugs and Cars

APRIL 28, 2011

Once again, charge station serendipity. I arrived a couple of days ago at the parking garage beneath One Montgomery Tower in the LEAF with Peter Van Deventer, Dutch EV guru, and a couple of professors from Holland. Jay Friedland, Plug In America Legislative Director, followed in a RAV4 EV with some more profs, who had come to learn about California's EV efforts.

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Charging San Francisco Plug-in Plug 100

Green Car Reports

APRIL 27, 2011

First came the news that the 2013 Chevrolet Malibu would have only four-cylinder engines, following the path set by the 2011 Hyundai Sonata and other midsize entries. Then came the official unveiling of the line at last week's New York Auto Show, complete with projected gas mileage numbers. The 2013 Malibu Eco model, says Chevy, will achieve EPA.

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New York 2013 Chevrolet Auto 109

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All Cars Electric

APRIL 27, 2011

As our sister site GreenCarReports covered last week, the online pre-ordering process is now live for the 2012 Mitsubishi ‘i’, with the car due to hit the roads of California in January 2012. The 2012 Mitsubishi ‘i’ is now the third all-electric car from a major automaker to open up the ordering process, joining the 2011.

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Mitsubishi Chevrolet Volt Nissan 91

Green Car Congress

APRIL 27, 2011

Half a billion people worldwide will use their mobile devices as travel tickets on metros, subways and buses by 2015, according to new forecasts from Juniper Research. This is more than five times the number generated last year but Juniper expects usage to spread widely from the current concentration in Japan and several European countries. Outside Japan, systems in operation typically use SMS or bar codes.

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2015 Japan 2013 Europe 262

National Green Transportation

APRIL 24, 2011

With Earth Day, Toyota opened up a website to take reservations for the long awaited Plug-in Prius. Unlike the current Prius line which leaves owners 100% addicted to gasoline, a Plug-in Prius allows the owner to get. David Herron April 24, 2011.

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Prius Plug-in Toyota Plug 61

Green Car Reports

APRIL 29, 2011

You may have other plans for Sunday than attending the Conference on Lasers and Electro-Optics in Baltimore. But if you were to sit in, you would hear a paper by a research team in Japan and Romania that offers a fascinating new avenue for increasing engine efficiency and reducing gas consumption: Ditch the spark plugs, and use lasers to ignite.

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Romania Baltimore Plug Japan 108

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All Cars Electric

APRIL 28, 2011

This year we’ve seen a dramatic increase in the number of companies working towards detaching the electric car from its charging cable. Now Toyota, the world’s largest automaker, has joined the inductive charging revolution with a substantial undisclosed investment in WiTricity, specialists in wireless charging. WiTricity’s.

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Toyota Electric Cars Charging Cars 89

Green Car Congress

APRIL 29, 2011

Siemens is building power converter stations for a high-voltage direct current (HVDC) transmission system with a record capacity of 2 x 1,000 megawatts. Beginning in 2013, the new HVDC PLUS technology will transmit 2,000 MW as direct current over a distance of 65 kilometers underground. This system, which is being partially funded by the EU, connects the French and Spanish grids between Baixas and Santa Llogaia.

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Building San Francisco Convert Grid 259

National Green Transportation

APRIL 29, 2011

This year will see the second Energy CrissCross race held as part of the MiniMotoSX minibike racing event. MiniMotoSX is the biggest minibike race in the world, and the Energy CrissCross is an opportunity for gas and electric bikes.

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Energy Gas-Electric Gas Parts 60

Green Car Reports

APRIL 26, 2011

A couple years ago, the EPA announced the first changes in its Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards in more than a decade. Automakers were asked to increase the fuel efficiency of their fleets by almost 8 miles per gallon between 2012 and 2016. Many inside and outside the auto industry questioned whether it could be done. Since then.

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MPG Fuel Economy Auto Industry Gas 106

All Cars Electric

APRIL 25, 2011

In just under a week, electric vehicle owners in Los Angeles will be find that owning an electric car will have got a lot easier. As part of a program recently announced by Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, residents of the city will be able to fast-track applications to install electric vehicle charging stations in their homes, receiving a.

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Los Angeles Electric Cars Charging Cars 81

Green Car Congress

APRIL 29, 2011

Evonik, three other industrial partners (Johnson Controls GmbH, Jacob plastics GmbH and Toho Tenax Europe GmbH) and the University of Aachen (Institute for textile technology [ITA] and Automotive Institute [IKA]) are developing a novel lightweight construction concept for auto bodies that partially replaces both steel and lightweight metals. The project is called CAMIMSA (translated from the German: carbon fibre/amide/metal-based interior structural elements in a multi-material system approach)

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Polymer Concept Carbon Cars 255

National Green Transportation

APRIL 23, 2011

Today's weekly address by President Obama focused on energy supply, energy security and its relationship with the budget debate raging among the powers-that-be. The President characterised differences in substance and strategy between his plan. David Herron April 24, 2011.

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Obama Energy 2011 Supplies 58

Green Car Reports

APRIL 27, 2011

It's springtime, which means tornadoes for some of us, showers and muggy weather for others. It also means putting the roof down on convertibles after the long winter hiatus. Which led us to wonder: What's the best gas mileage you can get in a new drop-top car? The answer, newly unveiled at last week's New York Auto Show, is the 2012 Fiat 500.

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Convert 2012 Gas Buy 105

All Cars Electric

APRIL 29, 2011

Earlier this month, U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu stood in the rain before a row of electric cars parked on the median at the Department of Energy's massive complex in Washington, DC, speaking to a crowd of journalists, carmakers, and utility executives. Chu, a Nobel laureate in physics, touted President Obama's goal of putting 1 million.

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Electric Cars 2015 Obama Washington 77

Green Car Congress

APRIL 23, 2011

Delta Farm Press. The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) has changed a reporting category in its World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates (WASDE) report to reflect that for a given bushel of corn used for ethanol, some of it returns as byproducts including animal feed. When USDA first started reporting corn used for ethanol in May 2004, it listed the gross corn bushels as simply “ethanol for fuel,” giving the impression that 100 percent of each bushel is used for fuel ethanol.

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Fuel Argentina 2004 2010 255

Green Cars News

APRIL 26, 2011

The Chevrolet Volt and Nissan Leaf have earned top safety ratings in the very first US crash tests evaluations on electric cars. According to the country’s Institute for Highway Safety, both models earned the top rating for front, side, rear, and rollover crash protection. With standard electronic stability control, they qualify as winners of Top [.].

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Volt Nissan Chevrolet Standards 60

Green Car Reports

APRIL 25, 2011

The brand new 2012 Hyundai Accent isn’t set to go on sale until summer but the car made its official U.S. debut this past week at the 2011 New York Auto Show so we now have all the juicy details--the juiciest being its 40 mpg fuel economy for just $12,445. If you’re confused as to how the 2011 model’s base price went from $10,795.

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MPG 2012 Hyundai New York 101

All Cars Electric

APRIL 26, 2011

You wouldn’t know it, but until recently Chrysler was responsible for one of the most recognizable electric vehicle brands worldwide. But like the embarrassing cousin at the family reunion, Chrysler’s ownership of low-speed Neighborhood Electric Vehicle manufacturers Global Electric Motorcars isn’t something the automaker likes.

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Chrysler Neighborhood Electric Cars Electric 77

Green Car Congress

APRIL 28, 2011

Altech-Eco Corporation has obtained a Certificate of Conformity (COC) from the EPA for their dedicated 2011 Ford E-Series 5.4L compressed natural gas (CNG) conversion system. The dedicated system runs entirely on natural gas. Altech-Eco’s CNG E-Series conversion system converts the E-150, E-250 & E-350 vans; the system is complete and includes manufacturer-rated CNG cylinders with fuel storage capacity starting at of 21.2 GGE (Gas Gallon Equivalent) and an extended option of 31.6 GGE, with a dri

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Conversion EPA Ford 2011 247

Green Cars News

APRIL 26, 2011

Tuesday 26 April 2011. The Green Piece Column. Many of us are intrigued by the idea of electric cars. They seem so appealing on paper – zero exhaust emissions, so much cheaper to run than petrol and diesel – so if they can truly conquer the issue of range and lengthy charge times then it’s [.].

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Green USA Electric Cars Europe 58

Green Car Reports

APRIL 27, 2011

It's springtime, which means tornadoes for some of us, showers and muggy weather for others. It also means putting the roof down on convertibles after the long winter hiatus. Which led us to wonder: What's the best gas mileage you can get in a new drop-top car with four seats (or at least four seat-like spaces, no matter how small)? The answer.

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Convert Gas 2012 Buy 101

All Cars Electric

APRIL 29, 2011

How fast can an electric car get around the iconic Nurburgring Nordschleife in Germany? Until recently, the fastest official time for an electric car stood at 9 minutes and 52 seconds. Recorded last year in a BMW Mini E racing car, it was the first time an all-electric car had completed the course in under 10 minutes. But French automaker Peugeot.

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Mini E Electric Cars Concept Cars 73

Green Car Congress

APRIL 28, 2011

The Vito E-CELL van. Click to enlarge. Mercedes-Benz Vans and Europcar, the leading car rental company in Europe, signed a memorandum of understanding aimed at further understanding customer profiles and behaviours involving the use of electric cars in cities, and how rental services can be adapted to cater to this demand. Mercedes-Benz Vans will supply a double-digit number of Vito E-CELL vehicles ( earlier post ) to Europcar for customer trials in Hamburg and Paris this year.

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National Green Transportation

APRIL 29, 2011

Electric motorcycle manufacturer Brammo announced today on their blog that they will be racing at the MiniMotoSX race on the weekend of May 6, in Las Vegas. The MiniMotoSX is one of the premier dirt bike racing events.&nbsp.

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Las Vegas Electric Motorcycles Motorcycles Manufacturer 53

Green Car Reports

APRIL 27, 2011

The history of the auto industry is littered with the carcasses of the cars and companies that didn't make it. Modern hybrid-electric vehicles were first commercialized by Toyota, with its 1997 Prius (sold in the U.S. starting in 2000). But many concepts, development vehicles, one-offs, and other technology experiments preceded that first Prius.

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Concept Hybrid Prius 2000 96