Posted on March 29th, 2008 by admin under Eco-Diesel/Hybrid/Electric News.
Filed under: SMART, Green Daily
What do you get for the young woman who - presumably - has everything? Why not a smart fortwo convertible with her name emblazoned on the side? Ecorazzi has a photo of siad smart that belongs, we think, to Miley Cyrus (aka Hannah Montana) and says “Miley - girls night out” on the side. Of course, Miley is only 15 (she’ll turn 16 in November) so for the next while we expect her to be sitting shotgun or driving around a pale-looking Billy Ray. Whoever took the photo (obviously from the seat of a passing car), we applaud the framing with the high gas prices in the background. Cruising around in a 40 mpg smart is, well, pretty smart.
[Source: Ecorazzi]
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Posted on March 29th, 2008 by admin under Eco-Diesel/Hybrid/Electric News.
Filed under: Legislation and Policy, Renault, UK
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Continuing their effort to be sure that all advertisements in the U.K. are “legal, decent, honest and truthful”, the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has asked Renault to withdraw an ad for their Twingo which apparently showed leaves being emitted from its tail-pipe, on one of which was written the words ‘eco-nomical eco-logical.’ The ASA suggested that this advertisement “exaggerated the environmental benefits of the Twingo and was therefore likely to mislead”. Renault is complying with this suggestion and is changing the ad so that it would instead direct consumers to their website, where they could then read about what Renault is doing to lower the environmental impact of its vehicles.
You may remember that the ASA has had other run-ins with automakers, such as Lexus and Toyota. As much as we appreciate what various automakers are trying to do in order to clean up their cars, perhaps suggesting that a car is so green that it emits leaves is a bit much. On the other hand, what are the chances that anybody who saw the commercial really took it this literally? Our response? Meh.
[Source: Just-Auto (subs. req'd)]
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Posted on March 29th, 2008 by admin under Eco-Diesel/Hybrid/Electric News.
Filed under: EV/Plug-in, ZENN
At ZENN annual shareholder meeting in Toronto yesterday, company officials made a big announcement about their plans to move beyond mere neighborhood electric vehicles. They plan to launch a model called the cityZENN which will be a fully certified electric car with 80 mph top speed and 250-mile range. The most important element of the cityZENN is the use of EEStor ultra-capacitors to store electrical energy. ZENN is claiming five minute recharge capability for the EEStor energy storage system. However, don’t expect to do five minute recharges at home. Just as with fast charging batteries from the likes of Altairnano, putting that much energy in the capacitors so quickly requires very high current and voltage, much more than is available from any regular outlet. It will also take a very thick cable to provide sufficiently low resistance.
In other news, the existing NEV range will get new four passenger and utility versions added. ZENN also plans to work with some OEMs to produce vehicles with a ZENNergy drive-train (electric drive with EEStor storage) and branded as ZENN vehicles for sale. No word on exactly when that will happen. There’s also a recording of the meeting available at the ZENNcars.com web site. You’ll need to register and have RealPlayer installed to listen.
[Source: ZENN thanks to Mark for the tip]
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Posted on March 29th, 2008 by admin under Eco-Diesel/Hybrid/Electric News.
Filed under: Etc., Green Culture, Green Daily
Photo by ElektraCute. Licensed under Creative Commons license 2.0.
The English language certainly is getting a little more ecological. In the last few years, we’ve seen biodiesel added to the dictionary and “carbon neutral” become the New Oxford American’s Word of the Year. The Global Language Monitor has now tracked (somehow) the Top Word of 2007 and it is “Hybrid (representing all things green).” The number two word is “surge,” which we can also argue is at least somewhat related to green cars.
The increasing eco-awareness of English can also be seen in the Global Language Monitor’s Top Phrase (Climate Change) and the Top Name (Al Gore). GLM choses these top items based on a proprietary algorithm that analyzes “the entire English-speaking community, what we call Global English.”
[Source: Global Language Monitor via NPR]
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Posted on March 29th, 2008 by admin under Eco-Diesel/Hybrid/Electric News.
Filed under: Hydrogen, UK
Britain’s ITM Power is working with Roush Technologies to try and get hydrogen-fueled commercial vehicles on the road in the UK. Roush will expand their existing work on hydrogen fueling conversions for internal combustion engines to the UK market. The focus of the efforts, initially, will be on commercial vehicles. Roush also plans to develop new dedicated hydrogen-fueled engines. Meanwhile, if anyone plans to convert their vehicles to run on hydrogen, that’s were ITM Power PLC comes in. ITM develops fuel cells and electrolysis equipment and they are working on fueling stations with on-site hydrogen generation. The company plans to launch production later this year of an electrolyser system that can be installed at filling stations to produce hydrogen from water using renewable sources such as solar, wind and wave power or from off-peak grid power. How much these systems will cost is unknown, but if it can be made affordable for stations to install, it could give a jump start to hydrogen as a fuel in Britain.
[Source: Channel4]
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Posted on March 29th, 2008 by admin under Eco-Diesel/Hybrid/Electric News.
Filed under: Ethanol, Flex-Fuel, Aston Martin
Click image for a photo gallery of the Aston Martin Vantage GT2
Aston Martin Racing announced the E85-compatible Vantage GT2 car back in January, but all we saw at the time was a sketch. Well, on Friday, Aston finally unveiled the sexy flex-fuel racer, and it’s a visual feast. The Vantage is a beautiful starting point, and when race-prepped, it looks positively menacing. It’s race debut comes on April 5th when the green flag waves at the European Le Mans Series round in Barcelona. In addition to the European LMS, the Vantage GT2 is also cleared for use in ALMS competition. In due time, racing cars like this — ones that use flex-fuel or other alternative fuel technologies — will become the norm as race series integrate green policies and initiatives like the Green Challenge ALMS announced this year in Detroit.
[Source: Aston Martin]
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Posted on March 29th, 2008 by admin under Eco-Diesel/Hybrid/Electric News.
Filed under: Etc., Green Culture, Green Daily
Photo by ElektraCute. Licensed under Creative Commons license 2.0.
The English language certainly is getting a little more ecological. In the last few years, we’ve seen biodiesel added to the dictionary and “carbon neutral” become the New Oxford American’s Word of the Year. The Global Language Monitor has now tracked (somehow) the Top Word of 2007 and it is “Hybrid (representing all things green).” The number two word is “surge,” which we can also argue is at least somewhat related to green cars.
The increasing eco-awareness of English can also be seen in the Global Language Monitor’s Top Phrase (Climate Change) and the Top Name (Al Gore). GLM choses these top items based on a proprietary algorithm that analyzes “the entire English-speaking community, what we call Global English.”
[Source: Global Language Monitor via NPR]
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