We love what Audi has done for the image of the modern diesel engine, and even though their state-side offering isn't the greenest stable on the block, they pulled a respectable 533 in J.D. Power and Associates' Automotive Environmental Index (AEI). That was good enough to place them 13th on the inaugural list just after the Mini. Speaking of the Mini, where would Audi have placed if they offered a small, economical A1?
For the last three years, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Transporation have ranked 20 companies that they feel offer the best benefits for commuters and for three years Intel has come out on top. Why shouldn't they? They offer their employees vanpools, subsidies for public transportation, showers and storage for those who bike or run and even a dry-cleaner to lessen the demand for driving. And what if you could measure your commute times in milliseconds? In 2005, a who
In all the progress and developments we've seen on with hybrids, electric cars and fuel cells, it's a bit strange how little we've reported on the advancement of electric motors. That's something that Raser is definitely looking to change. At the 22nd Electric Vehicle Symposium (October 22 to 28) in Yokohama, Japan, the electric motor specialists will unveil a new 100 kW AC induction-based electric motor design called the Symetron
It just got a little easier to keep tabs on the green-minded gearheads over at ZAP! since they recently started a company blog. As we've seen in the past, some company blog sites can be pretty dry as they're often just used as another medium to distribute press releases. That's not the case for these guys. As of this writing, there are only 13 posts up, but they've still got a good mix of company information as well as general automotive and environmental interest pieces. And of course, they've
Most Americans love seeing the phrase "plug 'n play." The alliteration bounces off your lips while the words magically translate to "no set-up required." Well, mostly. Every now and then, you have to turn a skeptical eye to a claim or product and here we may just need to turn two. In a recent press release, Brazilian technology company Abcesso announced that they would begin exporting an add-on component that essentially turns your standard gas-only car into
Looks like John over at Autoblog was right. The new Smart ForTwo will boast larger dimensions. Juergen Zoelter from Auto Express is able to confirm this as he was invited by Smart to ride along in a heavily masked version of the new ForTwo which is scheduled to debut on November 9 in Stuttgart, Ge
This one's a bit comical. We're all aware that reducing your speed while driving leads to fuel savings and reduced emissions, but no one in their right mind in Washington is going to suggest we lower speed limits. That's apparently not so in Britain. Auto Express is reporting that last week, while the Members of the British Parliament were discussing climate change, Nia Griffith, a Labour Party MP (Member of Parliament), suggested an extremely cost-effective way of reducing the speed limit on al
From October 22 to 27, the International Federation of Automotive Engineering Societies (more commonly known by its French acronym, FISITA) will hold the 31st World Automotive Congress in Yokohama, Japan. The purpose of the event is to "promote the international exchange of information between automotive engineers, industry, government, academia, environmental and other relevant organizations."
One doesn't normally think of Chinese automakers immediately when it comes to advanced power trains and breakthrough vehicle technologies, but that may change pretty soon. Fuel Cell Today is reporting that China has built its first fuel cell car. It's the result of a joint effort involving Tsinghua University, Chery Auto and J&K Technologies that sta
When you say "hybrid" in these parts, it's possible you could mean a couple different things. Gas-electrics are the well-known norm while diesel-electrics are slowly gaining some press and exposure. Well, how about combining hydrogen, biodiesel, grid-electricity and the sun?
According to Bloomberg, C. Czarnikow Sugar Ltd. says that Brazil may find it difficult to meet its own ethanol demands for the crop season ending in March. The problem isn't an issue of production capacity. It's because global demand is on the rise and higher prices outside the country are encouraging exports.
It stands three meters high, withstands droughts and typhoons, cares not for high-quality soil and yields twice as many stems as most sugarcane. It's formally known as high-biomass sugarcane, but the Japanese are calling it Monster Cane. Asahi Breweries Ltd. and the National Agricultural Research Center for Kyushu Okinawa Region jointly developed this uncanny variety as the country's first endeavor into commercial production of ethanol for fuel as the lack of excess farm produce and high costs h
Ralph Zito, president of Technology Research Laboratories, was very prompt in his response to the email inquiry I sent yesterday. Turns out that while TRL's battery technology may eventually offer a practical solution for plug-in hybrids and EVs, it may be a little while before we begin to see it powering marketable vehicles as he says the technology is still in the engineering prototype stage, but is about ready for testing and manufacturing.
Wolfgang Reitzle, chief executive officer of Linde, told a group of automotive engineers at a conference in Germany that he believes there will be at least 6 million hydrogen-powered cars in Europe by 2020. Right now he estimates there are roughly 500 hydrogen vehicles on the world's roads, yet remember the refueling infrastructure is currently minimal. Still, he's confident in his prediction and says, "this is a conservative estimate."
North Carolina-based Technology Research Laboratories announced the development of a new rugged, long-life battery that would be ideal for plug-in hybrid vehicle use.
AutoWeek is reporting that some executives and managers in the Toyota camp are worried that the upcoming second-generation Sequoia SUV will be too large for consumers' tastes. In the face of high gas prices, we saw a dramatic decline in the sales of large gas-guzzlers, but some executives are saying that there's more to it than just that. They say the bigger-is-better fad has passed. Ernest Bastien, vice president of Toyota's vehicle operations group, says that the company's market researchers b
China Daily is reporting that the State Council, the country's official state cabinet, recently asked government departments to more quickly address the application process of an automotive energy-efficiency labeling system. It was just last year that the Regulation on Energy-Efficiency Labeling Administration was jointly issued by the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) and the National General Admin
Swiftcover.com, an online insurance company, says that a recent study they conducted in Britain suggests that "the government's strategy of using fiscal measures to encourage motorists to cut their car use is misdirected."
News and developments on Homogeneous Charge Compression Ignition (HCCI) technology doesn't seem to pop up very often, so you can imagine that our ears perk up every time we come across something new no matter how small. On Wednesday, technology development firm TIAX announced that it was awarded a $400,000 contract by the U.S. Department of Energy to develop sensor technology that will help to control
It's time to take a serious look at our country's federal gasoline tax. According to the New York Times, it's been set at 18.4 cents per gallon since 1993. This is FAR lower than any other industrialized nation. The article also points out that according to the International Energy Agency, America's overall gas taxes in August averaged just 40 cents per gallon while Britain and Germany were at $4.24 and $3.99, respectively.
