40 Articles
Earn Free Stuff By Carpooling Through NuRide!

If you've thought about the traditional carpool but it never works out for you--maybe your hours vary or you work in different locations--then log on to NuRide and look at their innovative ride share program. It looks pretty simple to use. You specify your starting and ending locations, then choose if you want to be the rider or the driver. You'll be matched up with one or more people who are going where you are, when you are. Like eBay,

Honda's Hybrid CR-V Not Going to Happen

I'd heard rumors that Honda's next project would be a hybrid CR-V. I was excited about it, too--Americans don't seem to be willing to give up their SUVs, and thought that it was about time that Honda joined the ranks of Ford and Toyota to produce a bigger hybrid. However, a source at Edmunds says that the hybrid CR-V never made it off the drawing board. The reason? Honda's hybrid technology works better on smaller cars, and

The Debate Rages: Hybrid E-85 vs. Hybrid Diesel vs. Biodiesel

Biodiesel proponents are eager to combine hybrid technologies with the environmental benefits and (sometimes) cost savings that biodiesel provides. They argue that diesel is easier to store and transport, cleaner blends are available, and biodiesel is far better for the world than ethanol-based fuels, which are hard to grow, give lower gas mileage, don't cost less, and require more fuel to produce than they save in the tank.

Americans More Likely to Forego Airconditioning Than to Buy Fuel Efficient Car

Gas prices have climped to the point that two thirds of Americans are feeling financially strained by the pressures of filling up their gas tanks. Even in middle- to upper-income families (defined in this story as families earning $50K - $75K per year), the number of people to whom gas prices are a burden has risen by more than 20% in the past year. So how are Americans dealing with rising gas prices? They're turn

The Little Known Story of Victor Wouk

We tend to think of hybrid cars as new technology, even if we know that electric power for vehicles has a long and colorful history. After all, it's only in the past five years or so that hybrid cars have become a part of mainstream American culture. But the if the government can cover up UFOs, it can certainly cover up hybrid cars, as it showed in its dealings with Victor Wouk.

Hybrid Car Maintenance

There's always a fear factor when reaching out into the unknown. With hybrid cars, that fear factor seems to center around car maintenance and repairs. People who are considering buying a hybrid car are often worried that their cars will have costly breakdowns, or that they'll be in for a shock when they open the owner's manual to look at the scheduled maintenance requirements. If you're thinking about a hybr

An Experiment in Gas Mileage, Part 2

In order to see how a well-maintained car and careful driving can impact fuel economy, I'm trying an experiment and attempting to raise the number of miles I get to a tank of gas in my 2001 Civic. I promised an update, so here goes.

Full, Assist, or Mild: Which Hybrid is for You?

So, you've been stuck with the same 1996 Chevy for the last ten years, and it's finally time to donate your car to charity and move up to something more modern. You're considering buying a hybrid car, but which one? Hybrid technology has been exploited by some bandwagon car manufacturers, and therefore, not all hybrids are the same. Some hybrids have great gas mileage, while others barely do any better than their gasoline-only counterparts. How do you know what's what?

New Power Plant Will Help Electric Cars Run "Greener"

Some critics of electric cars have justly noted that powering your car on electricity doesn't eliminate its environmental impact, it just moves it. Instead of harmful emissions coming from your car's tailpipe, they're coming from the power plant that fuels the house where you plug in your car. That's true, but electric car proponents often reply that power plants are more carefully regulated than tailpipes, and that they're getting greener all the time. Here's proof:

Revisions To EPA Fuel Efficiency Tests Necessary

Way back in October of 2005, Consumer Reports shocked the nation with its Cheryl Morrissette

Butanol: Are You Still Out There?

In the 1970s and 1980s, when that energy crisis caused scientists and politicians to start the hunt for a gasoline substitute, butanol and ethanol were brought to the table as possible replacement fuels. Butanol, an alcohol that can be derived from fermentation or from petroleum, showed promise: it burns cleaner than ethanol, has a higher energy output, can travel through existing gasoline pipelines, and can be used at 100% concentrations in unmodified vehic

Cleaner Biodiesel in the Works

I've already posted about a team of college students and their professor who are working on a way to turn ethanol into an emission-free hydrogen fuel cell. Proving that the universities have the money, the brains, and the labs it takes to encourage true scientific exploration, Iowa State University chemist Victor Lin and his partners are also working on green car technology--but they're s

Will We See a Propane-Powered Saturn?

At first glance, this story doesn't seem to have much to do with American drivers--Steinmetz, in Germany, has developed a new propane-powered Astra<

Turning Ethanol into Hydrogen--Is This Finally the Answer?

It's no secret that ethanol, while it's a decent short-term fix for rising gasoline prices and preventing further depletion of fossil fuels, isn't a long-term solution to our modern energy crisis. Burning ethanol, like burning gasoline, produces carbon dioxide--in fact, burning any sort of carbon-based fuel produces carbon dioxide--so ethanol isn't going to put a stop to global warming. Corn, the major source for fuel-grade ethanol, is also a plant that takes an incredible amount of room to grow

Want to Design Your Own Green Car? Get a Spot on Ford's New Reality TV Show.

As part of their "Bold Move" ad campaign, Ford Motor Company announced on Wednesday its plans to shop a new TV reality show to studio execs. The concept: average Americans working together with professional auto designers to create the next Ford dream car. Granted, the maker of the Mustang, the Expedition, and the F-350 isn't known for its green car technology, but that's the whole point--dri

CLEVER Car Designed by British Students

In a concept similar to the Twike, a group of students from the University of Bath unveiled the project that goes along with their dissertations--a micro car that runs on compressed natural gas, gets the equivalent of 108 miles to the gallon, and can reach speeds of 80 miles per hour. They named their three-wheeled two seater CLEVER, fo

FedEx to Add Hybrid Vans to its Fleet

Not only do they have arguably the world's most reliable shipping service, but FedEx is also making a move toward being the most environmentally friendly shipper around. They'll be adding hybrid vans to their fleet in 2006, reportedly increasing their fuel economy up to 50% and reducing emissions by up to 90%.

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