October 2008
Judge Tosses NY City Bid To Green Its Cab Fleet by Requiring Fuel-Efficient Taxis
By John O'Dell October 31, 2008In a ruling being cheered by New York's taxi company owners, a federal judge in Manhattan has blocked implementation of a city requirement that all new vehicles in the taxi fleet deliver fuel economy of at least 25 mile per gallon now and 30 miles per gallon beginning in October 2009. The ruling effectively guts Mayor Michael Bloomberg's plan to reduce the city's air pollution and carbon footprint by substantially reducing automotive smog and carbon emissions. There are more than 15,000 cabs in New York, most spending much of their operating time idling or rolling at low speeds -- more
More On Ford's New Hybrids: Advances Explained, Ford Technology Stressed
By John O'Dell October 31, 2008Fighting the long-held perception that much of the technology in their company's first "full"-hybrid system for the Escape hybrid SUV was bought or licensed from Toyota, executives and engineers at Ford were crystal-clear during this week's media preview of the all-new hybrid architecture for the company's upcoming Ford Fusion and Mercury Milan hybrid sedans: Everything, they said, was designed by Ford in North America. The new hybrid system is "100 percent Ford technology; 100 percent Ford design, invented right here in North America," said Nancy Gioia, Ford Motor Co.'s director of sustainable mobility technologies and hybrids. She and other more
Chevy Volt Engineer Introduces "Range Anxiety," "Limp Home" and Other Terms
By Scott Doggett October 31, 2008Richard S. Chang, a blogger for The New York Times who attended the press walk-around of the Chevrolet Volt this week in Manhattan, notes that the hybrid sedan is inspiring a new language. ----------Frank Weber, chief engineer of the Volt.---------- "Frank Weber, chief engineer on the project, mentioned something he called 'range anxiety,' " Chang wrote for the newspaper's "Wheels" blog. Range anxiety, as he described, is the nagging worry that the electric vehicle you are driving is running out of battery charge. The Volt, which has a range of 40 miles -- when all power equipment has been more
Report: EVs Offer China Big Chance to Curb Its Reliance on Foreign Oil, Autos Tech
By Scott Doggett October 31, 2008China should push electric cars to curb its dependence on imported oil and foreign automobile technology, although they offer smaller cuts in carbon emissions than alternatives such as gas-electric hybrids, according to the global consulting firm McKinsey & Company . In two decades it could create a world-leading industry and a domestic market alone worth up to $219.4 billion, even if less than a third of drivers go electric, the company said Wednesday in a quarterly report (subscription required). "China has a compelling case for embracing electric vehicles," said the report, which weighed up oil imports, the cost to more
This Just In: Hyundai Still Planning Retail Fuel Cell Vehicle for 2012
By John O'Dell October 31, 2008We just can't help but be amazed, over and over again, at how the Web has no memory. Everything that happens now is new and never happened before.We bring this up because there's been a flurry of postings about Hyundai's top executive remarking the other day that the company plans to begin selling a fuel-cell electric car in 2012. That sounded familiar so we went back through the archives and there, on March 25, 2008, was an item in Green Car Advisor titled "Hyundai Wants Piece of Expanding Hybrid Market." ----------Hyundai has been working on fuel cell vehicles for years more
In Time for Holiday Gift-Giving! Zero Launches Improved Electric Dirt Bike
By John O'Dell October 31, 2008We don't do a lot of motorcycles here at Green Car Advisor but we certainly understand the need many have to get out of the car and into the open air once in a while. For those whose idea of a great weekend is to hightail it along an off-road patch atop a motorized two-wheeler, the folks at Zero Motorcycles have been offering the Zero X, a battery-electric dirt bike that competes with conventional 250 cc bikes. Production is limited and the 2008 model sold out late last month. Now the company is launching the 2009 Zero X dirt more
Not Optimal, but GM-Chrysler Combo Best Alternative, Grant Thornton Report Says
By Michelle Krebs October 30, 2008A merger between General Motors and Chrysler, which appears imminent, is not optimal but may be the best alternative for both automakers in the current environment, says a report by a restructuring company. "Chrysler, as we know, it will cease to exist very soon," said Kimberly Rodriguez, principal of Grant Thornton's automotive practice, which issued Thursday a report on the state of Chrysler and an analysis of a combined Chrysler and GM. "At this point, there are very few options available to either company." Rodriquez believes it's in both companies' best interest to announce a decision that a merger will go forward by more
Blame Sales Woes on Crushed Confidence, Not Crunched Credit
By Michelle Krebs October 30, 2008By Dale Buss As automakers dig for the bottom of the industry's dire situation, they're trying to answer a fundamental question: Is this increasingly steep nosedive in sales mainly the result of consumers' lack of confidence in the economy and in their own financial future? Or is the squeeze on credit availability -- by defeating willing auto buyers -- largely to blame? An Edmunds.com analysis has arrived at the answer: The crushed economic expectations and heightened financial fears of most Americans are causing the preponderance of the damage. And it's only going to get worse, judging by the announcement Tuesday more
Interest in Car Purchases Perks Up Late Month, Edmunds.com Reports
By Michelle Krebs October 30, 2008October wound up being two months in one, with the latter part of the month showing a promising pickup in consumer interest in car buying. In addition, the frenzied shopping for fuel-efficient small and midsize cars as well as hybrids that occurred through the spring and summer months, when gas was $3.50 a gallon, has abated. Shopping for large cars, sporty cars and trucks has rebounded somewhat. more
Plug-In Conversion Kit for Priuses Proves a Hot Commodity Despite Frigid Economy
By Scott Doggett October 31, 2008Despite a cool reception by Toyota to the whole idea of modifying the popular hybrid, Westboro Toyota's Website boldly announces that the dealer offers A123 Systems' plug-in conversion kits for Priuses. By Scott Doggett, Contributor Doesn't matter that Wall Street is spiking like an EKG and the global economy teeters on the brink of a magnitude-9 collapse. A123 Systems' plug-in conversion kits for Toyota Priuses are finally available, and droves of Prius owners can't hardly wait to plunk down $10,000-plus for the mileage-extending product. "It's like someone's opened the floodgates," said Susan Fahnestock, general manager of The Green Car Company more