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Archive for the ‘green car’ Category

All new design of a Two Cylinder opposed more efficient engine, designed by former Volkswagen executive.  This is coming soon to the automobile industry and not soon enough for our fuel consuming readers.

Bill Gates and other investors have just added a much needed boost to bring this engine dubbed the OPOC^TM (Opposed Piston Opposed Cylinder) in to production.  According to a CruchBase article regarding the $23.5 Million invested by Gates and Khosla Ventures it appears as though we will be seeing this predicted 100 MPG engine in production.  Read more... (189 words, estimated 45 secs reading time)

For the American market the hybrid minivan is still elusive. But there is hope. Hyundai presented their newest model at the Paris Auto show. This Korean manufacturer presented the world with a hybrid minivan named the Santa Fe. It will be available in Korea the summer of 2009 with possible expansion to America later in the year.

For those of us that think Green, this little hybrid minivan only produces just over ½ lb of CO2 emissions per mile driven. Reports have the fuel mileage being between 38 and 44 mpg.  Read more... (289 words, estimated 1:09 mins reading time)

Consider the New Hybrid Vehicles, are you going to purchase one?

There are 6 official new hybrid vehicles in the year 2009 for the American market. Five are from domestic manufacturers and one from European origin.  The Toyota Sienna is still being postponed. The list is:

1) The Cadillac Escalade hybrid. This full size SUV is only available in 2-wheel drive and comes standard with a 6L 8-cylinder engine and automatic transmission. A combined fuel mileage of 20 mpg and a suggested retail price of $73,135-$87,435.  Read more... (372 words, estimated 1:29 mins reading time)

Some company’s talk about the future and some of them embrace it. Coca Cola announced on March 4, 2009 that they would increase their hybrid electric truck fleet by 185 vehicles. This brings the total number of hybrid electric trucks in the Coca Cola fleet to 327.

This is in line with the corporate strategy that Coca Cola has followed. They lead by example of being ecologically responsible and use sustainable practices. There are different areas of focus now employed by Coca Cola to make the company eco-friendly. This includes being environmentally conscious by conserving energy, a packaging/recycling program and being a good water steward.  Read more... (319 words, estimated 1:17 mins reading time)

Enjoy a drive in a high performance hybrid electric car. For some reason that just does not sound right, but it is true. They are out there and soon to be available to you, if you have the money.

Ferrari has been developing their cars since the beginning of the company. Ferrari has been winning in Formula One consistently starting in 1951. Since that first win there have been 208 more wins with 203 pole positions and 218 fastest laps. All of these are records for any one team. Since Formula One is the most advanced form of racing with the stiffest competition in the world, this all-time leading winner knows how to get the most performance out of a car. Now they are developing systems for hybrid electric cars.  Read more... (367 words, estimated 1:28 mins reading time)

Automobile mileage

Well the best automobile mileage is settled. Honda’s FCX Clarity has won the 2009 World Green Car of the year with a vehicle that gets automobile mileage of equivalent to 72 mpg. This is not a hybrid car nor an electric car but a fuel cell car. Honda introduced this car as a concept vehicle back in 2007 at the Los Angeles car show.  Read more... (333 words, estimated 1:20 mins reading time)

If you are looking for hybrid vehicle information for a way to go green, then first you must decide what is important to you. With 20 different models to choose from, the hybrid vehicle is coming of age. Hybrid sales have grown dramatically since their first introduction in 2000. There were 9,367 vehicles sold that first year. The number has grown rapidly to be over 330,000 sold in the year 2007.  Read more... (330 words, estimated 1:19 mins reading time)

The last weekend in March of 2009 was the first Formula One race of the season. With new racing regulations come new devices including the Kinetic Energy Recovery System ( KERS ), will they make a difference? The testing being done in the racing circuit will result in a new way to go green for your personal automobile.

There are two different KERS systems deployed at this race, the mechanical and the electrical.  Most teams are deploying the electrical, which takes the kinetic energy from the process of braking and converting it to electricity.  This electrical energy is stored in a battery. When this stored power is released it is by using the stored energy to an electrical motor that is attached to the drive train.  This sounds simple and efficient.  Read more... (332 words, estimated 1:20 mins reading time)

The GMC Hybrid Cars utilize the first two-mode hybrid propulsion system in any full size vehicle in production today. This technology is patented and has helped to improve the fuel mileage of the Yukon and Tahoe full size SUV’s without losing any of their pulling power or size in the interior. The control module of the drive train monitors the power demand and with smooth precision the appropriate operating power mode is engaged.

This is a sure way to go green with a hybrid SUV.  The two-mode system is divided to maximize fuel efficiency without the loss of power.  Read more... (325 words, estimated 1:18 mins reading time)

I have been a big fan of Jason Calacanis for a couple of years now after hearing him on Leo LaPorte’s twit.tv podcasts.  Jason is a brilliant serial entrepreneur who has a very high degree of business, financial and life in general insight.  Jason is the CEO and driving force behind Mahalo which is a search engine with real people answers.

From the Team Jason Newsletter just released and used here with permission, I would like to make our readers aware of some new developments in the fabulous XPRIZE contest to develop a practical automobile that will be able to achieve 100 miles per gallon of gasoline.  Read more... (383 words, estimated 1:32 mins reading time)

A new hybrid car intended for the American market for 2010 is the Audi Q5. In an unusual move, the American market was chosen as the testing grounds for this new Audi. This is a departure from what most manufactures do. Like the Japanese manufacture Toyota. The American market is screaming for a hybrid minivan and Toyota has three in the Japanese market but none for the American market.  Read more... (280 words, estimated 1:07 mins reading time)

In the year 2008, hybrid cars came of age. In America for the first time in 16 years, a car was the top seller, not a truck. But that is not all that the year 2008 will be remembered for. The roller coaster ride for consumers and investors that came from wide fluctuations in the price of oil and Wall Street instability left us all wondering what was next.  The biggest surprise of all was “Green Car of the Year” was awarded to a V-8 full size hybrid SUV with a combined fuel mileage of 20 mpg  Read more... (356 words, estimated 1:25 mins reading time)

In America, Chrysler is the leading manufacturer in the mini van market, but have yet to develop a hybrid mini van. Since 2005, Chrysler executives have been shown that the American market is in need of a hybrid minivan and the profit potential is great. They have been encouraged to embrace the hybrid technology and reminded that the minivan is the only untapped hybrid market left.

With this in mind let me introduce the first scheduled but often-postponed entrance to the American minivan hybrid market for 2009, the Toyota Siena.  Read more... (288 words, estimated 1:09 mins reading time)

The EZ GO Golf Cart has been supplying this country with non-polluting electric golf carts since 1954. The main purpose of this cart’s development was to enhance the golfing experience. The first carts were developed a one-room machine shop in Grovetown Georgia. The design was added by drawings of the technology used to provide power to the flaps of the U.S. Army’s B-17 aircraft.

In 1961 this small company became part of the multi-industrial company Textron. Textron was a multi million-dollar global company that had the resources to help the EZ-GO with the necessary resources to expand its operations.  Read more... (331 words, estimated 1:19 mins reading time)

Toyota is the leader in the automobile world of hybrid engineering. With the best selling hybrid vehicle, the Prius, I am excited with what they are doing in the truck division. The A-BAT is still in the concept stages but made an appearance at the Detroit Auto Show last year. The outward look was futuristic and sleek.

It is said to have a four-cylinder power plant on a unibody frame. Equipped with Toyota’s Hybrid Synergy Drive Technology, this hybrid was designed with fuel economy in mind or at least the bases for fuel economy is there.  With translucent solar panels in the top surface of the instrument panel to convert the sunlight to energy this could be the way of the future.  Read more... (272 words, 1 image, estimated 1:05 mins reading time)

With a first of its kind for Formula One racing, the promotion of “Make Cars Green” is an attempt to lessen the impact the automobile has on the environment by educating drivers and developing new technologies. Formula One is determined to help the environment with promotions that are on a world’s stage like their races. The visual part of the first promotion was the green strip on the hard compound Bridgestone tires that were used at the F1 race at the Fuji raceway last year in Japan.  Read more... (429 words, estimated 1:43 mins reading time)

For that greener driving, Chrysler offers six separate models of GEM battery-electric vehicles to chose from. This is a low-speed all electric vehicle that is perfect for neighborhood or industrial plant transportation needs. With a top speed of 25 miles per hour, they are street legal on almost all 50 states on streets with posted speed limits of 35 mph or less.

This green vehicle has a travel range of 30 miles on a single charge. For convenience, the plug-in is a standard 110 volts hook-up and a charging converter located on each vehicle. With a six to eight-hour recharge time, it is ready to use everyday.  Read more... (307 words, estimated 1:14 mins reading time)

For the year 2009 there is a wide variety of new hybrid cars to choose from. There are different ways to put all the models in categorically form for comparison. The following is by fuel mileage.

For the consumer that is looking for the best fuel economy from their hybrid car, there are two models to choose that rate between 40 and 50 mpg:
1) Toyota Prius is equipped with a 1.5L engine with fuel economy at 45-city, 48-highway, and retail price of $22,000 – $24,270.
2) Honda Civic is equipped with a 1.3L engine with fuel economy at 40-city, 45-highway and retail price of $23,650.  Read more... (347 words, estimated 1:23 mins reading time)

The definition of electric hybrid vehicle or hybrid electric vehicle is that this vehicle has combined conventional propulsion with a rechargeable energy storage system (RESS). The RESS has to be capable of improving its fuel economy over that of a conventional vehicle.

Unlike the first hybrid vehicles to come out to the market, today’s version does not just rely on a conventional engine and electric batteries. With advances modern technology, the kinetic energy from the braking system is now converted to electricity. In addition many use the electric motors during idling time to reduce not only fuel consumption but also emissions.  Read more... (334 words, estimated 1:20 mins reading time)

Considered the best hybrid car by consumers is the Toyota Prius. This is based on sales and a satisfaction rating of nearly 98%.  Since its introduction in 2003, this gas-electric hybrid has found a solid market in United States with being third in overall sales of all cars.

New for 2010 is the third generation version with an increase in power. The engine displacement was increased from 1.5L to 1.8L. This translates to an increase of 50hp to 160 over the previous model. Unlike conventional cars, the larger engine delivers an increase in fuel mileage. All this with an additional increase in over size of the vehicle shows that smart engineering is in demand and doable.  Also new this year is the bragging right of the Prius to claim to be the only vehicle today that can deliver over 50 miles per gallon in combined city/highway driving.  Read more... (295 words, estimated 1:11 mins reading time)