Grist | Topics | 163 Results

RESULTS		Results 1 – 25 of 163
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Headline	Author	Published	Section
Making a Plug Chevy Volt gets prettied up, almost ready for testing		15 Aug 2008	News
Posted at 11:59 AM on 15 Aug 2008 The design phase of the plug-in hybrid Chevy Volt is "essentially finished," General Motors declared Thursday. The new design is more aerodynamic than the concept Volt unveiled in Jan. 2007, allowing the car to travel solely on battery power for at least 40 miles, according to GM. The automaker hopes to have a few prototypes ready for testing within the next 10 days, and 50 available b ...
Topics: Big Auto, business, cars, electric vehicles, hybrids, news (all these topics)

Japanese automakers plugged-in Toyota at work on commercial plug-in hybrids, Mitsubishi to offer electric car	biodiversivist	30 Jul 2008	Gristmill
Plug-in Prius. Photo: unmediastudio Call me an optimist, but a feasible plug-in appears to be just over the horizon. First, Toyota has several plug-in Priuses being driven in Japan to collect data -- technical and human behavioral. They are sticking with NiMH batteries for now. Next, Honda is finally getting ready to launch the much-needed Prius alternative. There are a lot of people out there who refuse to buy a Prius for various reasons that would ...
Topics: cars, electric vehicles, hybrids (all these topics)

An electric plug Plug-in hybrid offers practical solution to peak oil	Joseph Romm	11 Jul 2008	Gristmill
Plug-in hybrids are the only alternative fuel vehicles that can provide genuine energy independence from steadily rising oil prices and brutal price spikes. I have agreed to participate as a guest blogger for ScienceBlogs in a three-month project on the next generation of energy ideas. My first post is 'Electric Vehicles: The Next Generation.' Longtime readers of this blog or my books know that I have been an advocate of plug-ins for a number of years. The key po ...
Topics: cars, electric vehicles, energy, fuel efficiency, hybrids (all these topics)

Do plug-ins dream of electric horses? VW to join Toyota, GM with 2010 plug-in hybrid	Joseph Romm	30 Jun 2008	Gristmill
The following post is by Earl Killian, guest blogger at Climate Progress. -----The German government announced it will be helping to fund VW's plug-in hybrid development program with 15 million euros. VM aims for a 2010 vehicle with 31 miles of all-electric range. VW head Martin Winterkorn said that while petrol or diesel powered cars would be around for some time to come, 'the future belongs to all-electric cars.' According to autoblog, the Twin Drive uses a 82-hp ...
Topics: Big Auto, business, cars, economy, electric vehicles, hybrids (all these topics)

Google plugs in Notes from a plug-in hybrid conference	Michael Moynihan	15 Jun 2008	Gristmill
Silicon Valley came to Washington this week to talk about plug-in hybrids at a great conference organized by Google.org with Brookings. The combination of tech visionaries, electric cars on display, Washington heavy hitters such as John Dingell, Chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee and even a couple of film stars, Peter Horton and Anne Sexton of Who Killed the Electric Car?, made for a great meeting. Here are my notes from the standing room o ...
Topics: cars, climate, electric vehicles, hybrids, placemaking, renewable energy (all these topics)

Converting a Yaris into a plug-in hybrid Toyota may have something up its sleeve	biodiversivist	12 Jun 2008	Gristmill
The first car I ever owned didn't have power anything. Today you will be hard pressed to find a car without power brakes and steering. But those features also consume energy. This explains how the first wave of economy cars from Japan got such notoriously high mileage (they didn't have power anything either). One reason I chose a Yaris for my next car is that it has electric power steering and power brakes. In theory, you should be able to turn the engine off without ...
Topics: cars, electric vehicles, green living, hybrids, placemaking, Prius (all these topics)

Killing the electric car again: Part II Take action and express your opinion to California regulators	Joseph Romm	14 Mar 2008	Gristmill
The following post is by Earl Killian, guest blogger at Climate Progress. ----- Part I described the background leading up to the March 27 California Air Resources Board meeting that will decide the fate of zero emissions vehicles (ZEVs) in a dozen or more states. Because the 1970 Clean Air Act allows only two sets of regulations in the U.S. -- the EPA's, and California's (which must be stricter than the EPA's) -- California may be regulating for your state, e ...
Topics: air pollution, California, cars, electric vehicles, hybrids, politics, state politics (all these topics)

Internal combustion news Volkswagen's new entry to the clean diesel fleet	Erik Hoffner	04 Mar 2008	Gristmill
Enough election talk, it's time to put some honest-to-goodness car news in the Gristmill (so this one's for you, JMG!). Volkswagen is about to unveil a new Golf hybrid, said to feature an all-electric mode at low speed and regenerative braking to compete with the Prius and its ilk. The difference is that this is a diesel-electric hybrid, which VW says will get 69 mpg and exceed Europe's (and California's) tough emissions standards. The point is somewha ...
Topics: business, cars, electric vehicles, energy, hybrids, oil (all these topics)

Turn on, plug in, drop out Plug-in hybrids and electric cars: A core climate solution, nationally and globally	Joseph Romm	22 Jan 2008	Gristmill
I have a new article in Salon, "The car of the future is here," about plug-in hybrids. The two central points of the article are: Plug-in hybrids (and electric cars) are an essential climate strategy, enabling renewable power (even intermittent sources like wind) to become a major low-cost transportation fuel. Practical, affordable plug-in hybrids will be here in a few years -- even if we don't get a technology breakthrough in batteries. ( ...
Topics: electricity grid, hybrids, electric vehicles, energy, cars (all these topics)

Why Vinod Khosla is very wrong A pragmatic view of cellulosic biofuels	Joseph Romm	17 Jan 2008	Gristmill
So Vinod Khosla is not happy with with my recent attack on his (willful) ignorance, 'Khosla blows his credibility dissing plug-ins.' Gristmill has given the billionaire a platform to defend himself, but he just spouts even more nonsense in the bizarrely titled post, 'Pragmatists v. environmentalists, part I': I have been accused of dissing hybrids. I was mostly discussing Prius-type parallel hybrids and all the support they get, when one can get the same carbon ...
Topics: biofuels, cars, cellulosic ethanol, electric vehicles, energy, ethanol, hybrids, Prius (all these topics)

Pragmatists v. environmentalists, part III Hybrids and biofuels: The road ahead	Vinod Khosla	16 Jan 2008	Gristmill
Many people make the mistake of comparing apples to oranges. One has to compare futures to futures and current status to current status. All technologies improve, but some improve more than others. The Prius gets 46 mpg, while a similar-sized Toyota Corolla gets 31 mpg. One of our investments (Transonic) is trying to make an engine that (if it works!) can be placed in a Prius to produce a vehicle that will have lower carbon emissions than the hybrid Prius at ...
Topics: biofuels, cars, electric vehicles, energy, hybrids (all these topics)

Business-y news I should write more about, but probably won't	David Roberts	15 Jan 2008	Gristmill
GE is going to double its investment in renewable energy from $3b to $6b; Toyota plans to offer plug-in hybrids by 2010; meanwhile, GM, which also promises a plug-in by 2010, just struck a deal with Coskata, a start-up which will be making cellulosic ethanol from waste products. [Token acknowledgement that cars are not the way of the future, Grist is car-obsessed and in the pocket of The Man, public transit is awesome, and something about the happy motoring delusional ...
Topics: business, cars, cellulosic ethanol, electric vehicles, energy, ethanol, hybrids (all these topics)

Pragmatists v. environmentalists, part II Hybrid emissions: Facts and numbers	Vinod Khosla	15 Jan 2008	Gristmill
Having laid out my views in part I, let me turn to the actual data regarding hybrids -- both from an environmental and economic perspective. How do carbon emissions per mile driven compare for various cars? The Volt is expected to be 'less than $30,000' with a 1.0L engine. Compare this to the Corolla, with a 1.8Lengine (peak hp of 126; 31 mpg) and a price of $14,400. It's worth noting that this is in the optimistic, no-gasoline-use scenario for the Volt, ...
Topics: cars, electric vehicles, energy, fuel efficiency, hybrids (all these topics)

Pragmatists v. environmentalists, part I Prius: Green or greenwash?	Vinod Khosla	14 Jan 2008	Gristmill
I have been accused of dissing hybrids. I was mostly discussing Prius-type parallel hybrids and all the support they get, when one can get the same carbon reduction by buying a cheaper, similar-sized and -featured car and buying $10 worth of carbon credits. I was objecting to greenwashing (powered by a large marketing machine) that suggests hybrids can solve our problems. Corn ethanol, which has been heavily maligned in the mainstream media, reduces carbon emis ...
Topics: biofuels, cars, electric vehicles, energy, ethanol, hybrids, Prius (all these topics)

The Extreme (plug-in) Hybrid: no breakthrough needed!	Joseph Romm	13 Jan 2008	Gristmill
Here is the plug-in hybrid I test drove a few weeks ago, the Extreme Hybrid by AFS Trinity: I will be running a long article Wednesday on the climate implications of plug-ins in general and this car in particular. But you can read all about the car at this exclusive New York Times piece published today and the AFS Trinity website, which has a YouTube video of me driving the car and discussing why it matters: This post was created for ClimateProgress.org, ...
Topics: cars, hybrids, electric vehicles (all these topics)

Major advance in plug-in hybrid design Watch CBS this Saturday for breaking electric-car news	Joseph Romm	11 Jan 2008	Gristmill
I was just interviewed by CBS for a possible story on plug-in hybrids on Monday. You should tune in to CBS evening news Saturday for the first coverage of what I believe is a major advance in plug-ins -- a car I test drove a few weeks back and will be free to write about here Monday. The New York Times will probably be doing a print story on the car Sunday, which I'll link to. Then CBS may do another story, which is where I would come in. This hybrid technology ...
Topics: business, cars, electric vehicles, hybrids, innovation, TV (all these topics)

Yes, EV batteries are durable! Menahem Anderman analyzes the state of car-battery technology	Joseph Romm	19 Dec 2007	Gristmill
The following is a guest post by Marc Geller, who blogs at Plugs and Cars, serves on the board of directors of the Electric Auto Association, cofounded Plug In America and DontCrush.com, and appeared in Who Killed The Electric Car. ----- Menahem Anderman, PhD, is Mister Battery Consultant. The California Air Resources Board, DOE, and Congress all seem to turn to him to analyze the state of battery technology. His reports always suggest batteries won't quite cut ...
Topics: cars, electric vehicles, hybrids, tech (all these topics)

Buy Low, Sell Hybrids Honda plans small		14 Dec 2007	News
"affordable" hybrid car for U.S. market by 2009 Posted at 6:37 AM on 14 Dec 2007 Honda Motor Co. has announced it plans to improve the fuel-efficiency of its U.S. fleet by using "affordable" hybrid-engine technology in at least one model of subcompact car by 2009, as well as offering diesel versions of its larger vehicles. A company official characterized the plan this way: "At this moment, we say hybrid for small cars and diesel ...
Topics: business, cars, electric vehicles, hybrids, news, United States (all these topics)

Hybrid sales up 82 percent in Nov. 2007 vs. Nov. 2006 Gas prices impact car-purchasing decisions in the U.S.	Joseph Romm	09 Dec 2007	Gristmill
Hybrid sales are taking off again as gasoline prices soar: Reported sales of hybrids in the US in November rose 82% year-on-year to reach 33,233 total units, representing 2.8% of all light-duty vehicles sold during the month. GM does not break out its hybrid sales separately, and so is not reflected in the hybrid number -- thus, the actual hybrid total and new market share will [be] slightly higher. Toyota posted a strong month, with Prius sales hitting 16 ...
Topics: business, cars, consumerism, electric vehicles, hybrids (all these topics)

Prius smackdown, round two High gas prices make hybrids look even better	Clark Williams-Derry	07 Dec 2007	Gristmill
A couple of years ago, I ran some numbers trying to figure out which was the better buy for the planet -- a biodiesel Jetta or a hybrid Prius. And I came to the tentative, but perhaps counterintuitive, conclusion that the best buy was ... wait for it ... a Toyota Corolla. The Corolla, you see, was thousands of dollars cheaper than the Prius (the runner-up), even after I accounted for all the savings on gas from driving a fuel-miser. And if you were a gre ...
Topics: cars, consumerism, electric vehicles, energy, green living, hybrids, Prius (all these topics)

Plug-in reality check The debate on plug-ins begins	biodiversivist	19 Nov 2007	Gristmill
Alan Durning's article makes a lot of good points about the need to do more than just improve the efficiency of our personal transport. It's a great article, but it also contains a few inaccuracies that I feel obligated to clear up before the global warming deniers (among others) try to use them. I can tell from the comments on Alan's post that some readers are under the mistaken impression that his conclusions are a reflection of the EPRI/NRDC (PDF) report cited, but ...
Topics: cars, electric vehicles, energy, hybrids, innovation, Prius, tech (all these topics)

Be car-ful? Giving up car-lessness for Rob Lowe's plug-in hybrid	Alan Durning	16 Nov 2007	Gristmill
This essay is part of a series on not owning a car. ----- The weekend before Halloween, my car-less family got a loaner plug-in hybrid-electric car to try. You see, the City of Seattle and some other local public agencies are testing the conversion of some existing hybrids to plug-ins to accelerate the spread of these near-zero-emissions vehicles. As a favor and, perhaps, for some publicity (this post), the city's program manager offered me four days' use of the p ...
Topics: cars, electric vehicles, electricity grid, energy, hybrids, placemaking (all these topics)

Heeeyy, Tahoooe Hybrid Chevy Tahoe wins		15 Nov 2007	News
"Green Car of the Year" award Posted at 1:02 PM on 15 Nov 2007 The Green Car Journal has awarded the "Green Car of the Year" prize to ... drumroll please ... the hybrid Chevy Tahoe. An eight-passenger SUV not yet on sale? Whaaa? "People don't think green when SUVs are concerned and for generally good reason, since SUVS often get poor fuel economy," says Green Car publisher Ron Cogan. "Chevrolet's Tahoe Hybrid changes thi ...
Topics: cars, electric vehicles, fuel efficiency, hybrids, news (all these topics)

Who will reincarnate the electric car? Automakers want to delay the transition to electric vehicles	Joseph Romm	13 Nov 2007	Gristmill
The following is a guest essay by Marc Geller, who blogs at Plugs and Cars, serves on the board of directors of the Electric Auto Association, cofounded Plug In America and DontCrush.com, and appeared in Who Killed The Electric Car. ----- The IEEE Spectrum Magazine for November 2007 touts on its cover: 'Battery or Fuel-Cell Cars? A California Cabal Will Decide.' Interesting choice of headlines. Surely a strong argument can be made that something approaching a caba ...
Topics: business, cars, consumerism, electric vehicles, energy, hybrids, innovation, tech (all these topics)

Preorder your high-end plug-in hybrid now! Plug-in sports car to hit showrooms in 2010	Joseph Romm	11 Nov 2007	Gristmill
Fisker Automotive is taking orders for its $80,000 (only $1,000 down!) '4-door plug-in hybrid sports sedan': The specs released so far (PDF) are: Performance details for the first car are impressive achieving 50 miles (80 kilometers) on a pure electric charge [sic]. Additionally, by further utilizing a gasoline or diesel engine offered by Fisker, one can extend the total range of their Fisker to more than 620 miles (1000 kilometers). The first Fisker will a ...
Topics: cars, consumerism, electric vehicles, green living, hybrids (all these topics)

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