Shane Addie - Autoblog

The ActiveHybrid system is the result of BMW's collaboration with GM and the former DaimlerChrysler, the Global Hybrid Cooperation. Their goal has been to engineer a modular two-mode hybrid system that can be modified in its behavior and function to suit the dynamics customary to the brand using it. Obviously, BMW is using it to fuel its proclaimed image of providing "Sheer Driving Pleasure," meaning sport performance preferred over economy. Nonetheless, the German engineers who obviously wrote

If you want to be kind to the environment at your next social, look no further than Hammacher Schlemmer's 14 mph ridable cooler. Able to carry 24 12 oz. cans of cheap beer soda pop and 8 lbs. of ice, plus as much as 300 lbs. of you for a maximum range of 15 miles, perfect for a couple round trips from the dorms to the party house to the community picnic or block party. It is also equipped with a conveniently placed cup-holder for the enjoyment of the rider. He/s

The Volkswagen Golf (or Rabbit, if you're a Yank like me and always prefer a car's name to reference a potential meal rather than a game for old people) has just been awarded Car of the Year by ACFO, an organization that produces a bi-monthly journal called "Fleet Operator." CotY was awarded to the Golf for "delivering operational performance, whole-life cost control and driver appeal as well as an environmental edge." In other words, it's one o

If you're like me and you live near Lemont, Illinois, there's a small company called Pioneer Conversions that can convert your ozone-eating, oxygen-depleting, daisy-choking, baby seal-killing gasoholic car into a clean green driving machine. They specialize in Cavaliers, Saturns and small pick-up trucks, but that isn't stopping them from working on a Porsche Boxster o

Well let's start with the technical stuff before we laugh about the styling.... I'm sorry, I can't wait. It looks like the 2008 Car of the Year for GayWheels.com. Did you ever see the Ambiguously Gay Duo? They put their car into production! Okay, that'll do me for the moment. The American Roadster is powered by a compressed natural gas (CNG) engine that achieves 70 mpg. That's all I've got - no horsepower or performance figures, but at lea

A poll conducted by the Clean Fuels Development Coalition over nearly 2,200 people says that 88 percent of adults are of the opinion that the U.S. should pursue alternative fuels to decrease our dependence on foreign oil. Really?? Amazing. More interestingly, 72 percent of adults blame the increase of food costs on the price of oil increasing. My favorite statistic is this: "Other results indicate that nearly eight in 10 adults (78 percent) bel

If you're the type of person who likes to watch "Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous," Darryl Siry's (Tesla Motors' VP of Sales, Marketing and Service) new post on the Tesla Motors' blog should be right up your alley. The post is a collection of testimonials given by future Roadster owners (i.e., they've got their name on the pre-order list) after being handed the keys to the VP10. 'VP' here standing for Validation Prototype - as if these lucky rich fill-in-the-blanks need validation. OK, OK, the

Daren Luedtke of Mansfield, Missouri, has invented not one but two transmissions he claims will be "the future of transportation." One is an electromagnetic transmission which is pulling duty in his 'vintage' Dodge Caravan <yuck> prototype vehicle, the other is a belt-driven transmission, which he claims can perform in any application that the electromagnetic transmission cannot.

I was just going in for some routine maintenance on my car, when I saw a line of scooters in front of the lobby of Jessup's Automotive in LaGrange Park, IL, the mechanic my family has been going to for seven years. Upon closer inspection, I noticed the Zap! logo and remembered that these guys were now a dealer for Zap!'s products. Containing my excitement and curiosity, I went in and got started with what I came there to do, then off-handedly ask

My, what a big luxury sedan you have.

Let's celebrate the world's innovations in clean transportation technology with... the tax break! That's right, ladies and gentlemen, it's back and better than ever, because electric cars aren't good enough on their own - to buy them we need incentives other than saving our planet and livelihood, as well as all those novel little advantages of electric cars, like needing only a two-speed transmission (see Tesla Roadster) if you have one at all, not needing any new refueling infrastructu