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RESULTS		Results 151 – 175 of 613
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Headline	Author	Published	Section
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)

Now it's the CAFE standards Yet more energy bill woes	Brian Beutler	12 Dec 2007	Gristmill
This may seem narrow and technical, but it's actually extremely significant: The White House has raised last-minute concerns over regulation of automobile emissions and fuel economy that aides said Tuesday could lead to a presidential veto of the energy bill now before Congress. The bill, which passed the House and is pending in the Senate, requires automakers to meet a fleet average of 35 miles per gallon by 2020, but does not specify which government agency sho ...
Topics: energy, fuel efficiency, legislation, politics, cars (all these topics)

We Hail These Taxis NYC taxicabs will have to boost fuel economy		12 Dec 2007	News
Posted at 1:28 PM on 12 Dec 2007 New York City taxicabs purchased after Oct. 1, 2008, will be required to get at least 25 miles per gallon, and those purchased after fall 2009 will have to get 30 mpg -- so, basically, will have to be hybrids, according to a rule adopted by the city's Taxi and Limousine Commission. The city's iconic Crown Victoria cabs currently get around a measly 10 mpg. sources: The New York Sun, Associated Pre ...
Topics: cars, fuel efficiency, hybrids, New York City, news, placemaking (all these topics)

It's a Christmas Miracle! Judge tosses out Big Auto's suit against California		12 Dec 2007	News
Posted at 12:02 PM on 12 Dec 2007 Automakers must have been bad this year, because Santa has given them a big holiday disappointment. And by Santa we mean U.S. District Judge Anthony Ishii, who today declared that California has the authority to regulate greenhouse-gas emissions from vehicles, and tossed out automakers' lawsuit against the state. Automakers had sued in 2004 when California passed a law requiring vehicl ...
Topics: Big Auto, California, cars, climate, greenhouse-gas emissions, litigation, news (all these topics)

News flash: Don't drive your SUV to the farmers market And other revelations from the latest big-media expose of local food	Tom Philpott	11 Dec 2007	Gristmill
About a year ago, The Economist ran a big article purporting to show that eating locally is actually worse for the environment than typical supermarket fare. I debunked the article here. About six months later, the NYT op-ed page ran a piece making similar arguments. And I responded again. In both of these pieces, the authors discovered that in a built environment rigged to grow food in mass quantities, process it in huge factories, and haul it over vast distance ...
Topics: farmers markets, local food, food, cars (all these topics)

Why do they hate FreedomCar? French government charges fees to new owners of gas-guzzling vehicles	Clark Williams-Derry	09 Dec 2007	Gristmill
France is supercharging vehicle efficiency -- not by doling out big R&D subsidies for cars that never make it to market, but by instituting a system of efficiency feebates. In a nutshell: the French ministry of ecology has announced a program that would require purchasers of new gas guzzlers (luxury Mercedes, for example) to pay an extra fee for the privilege. That money is rebated to people who buy super-efficient cars. If it's done right, the system ...
Topics: cars, France, fuel efficiency (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)

Thumbs up for Pelosi, Dingell, Nissan Thumbs down for Toyota, GM, Ford, Washington Post	Joseph Romm	07 Dec 2007	Gristmill
The Washington Post had an article yesterday on the House fuel economy deal that is quite good in doling out cheers and jeers -- good except for two sentences. Let's start with the cheers. The article quotes NRDC rightly praising Pelosi for being steadfast with the Senate's 35 mpg target and Dingell, too, for: ... telling the automakers a year ago that they were going to have to accept a mileage improvement. He bargained hard for trying to make it less, but he d ...
Topics: business, cars, energy, fuel efficiency, legislation, politics (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)

Congressional fuel-economy deal near A possible compromise in energy legislation negotiations	Joseph Romm	27 Nov 2007	Gristmill
The Detroit Free Press reports: Congressional negotiators are close to agreement on an increase in fuel economy standards to 35 miles per gallon by 2020, with some caveats to satisfy U.S. automakers. What caveats? The compromise would preserve the distinction between cars and trucks, something Detroit automakers have fought for, while giving federal regulators strict limits on how to put the increases into place. It also would include a provision backed by ...
Topics: cars, energy, fuel efficiency, legislation, politics (all these topics)

Dream of hydrogen car goes down in flames Full-cell company bought by Daimler and Ford	Joseph Romm	21 Nov 2007	Gristmill
Ballard -- the Canadian fuel-cell company that once hoped to be the 'Intel Inside of the hydrogen car revolution -- has sold off its automotive fuel-cell business to Daimler and Ford. You can listen to a good CBC radio story on it, which includes an interview of me (click on 'Listen to the Current,' Part 2). You can read Toronto Star columnist Tyler Hamilton on the story here. A Financial Post post piece headlines the story bluntly: 'Hydrogen highway hits dead end: B ...
Topics: business, cars, energy, hydrogen, scientific research, tech (all these topics)

French connections Is it something in the air?	Ron Steenblik	20 Nov 2007	Gristmill
Interesting things are happening in the francophone world. Last week I reported that the Quebec government had decided to stop supporting any new ethanol plants based on corn as a feedstock. Now the French government, perhaps flowing out of its broad social dialogue on the environment (known as 'Le Grenelle français de l'environnement'), is reported to be thinking of slashing subsidies benefiting the production of ethanol in the country. Ooh la la, what in the world ...
Topics: biofuels, cars, energy, ethanol, France (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, tech, Prius, hybrids, energy, innovation, electric vehicles (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)

Honk if You Love Hypocrisy Big Auto unveils efficient cars, continues to fight against strict efficiency standards		14 Nov 2007	News
Posted at 1:28 PM on 14 Nov 2007 When the L.A. auto show opens to the public on Friday, automakers will flaunt hydrogen cars, super-efficient engines, electric vehicles, and hybrid SUVs -- leading some to wonder at the disconnect between car manufacturers' public-facing "green" ambitions and their vocal opposition to a significant increase in federal fuel-economy standard ...
Topics: Big Auto, business, cars, fuel efficiency, greenwashing, Los Angeles, 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, consumerism, hybrids, cars, energy, electric vehicles, innovation, tech (all these topics)

Toxic optimists vs. plaid shirts Delusional Beltway optimism about energy	Michael Tobis	12 Nov 2007	Gristmill
A couple of weeks ago, I attended a seminar hosted by several departments at the University of Texas on the topic of 'peak oil.' The occasion was the visit of David Sundalow of the Brookings Institution, who is hawking his new book Freedom from Oil. This was mutually convenient for him and the university, which is trying to carve out a position as an optimistic, rolled-up-sleeves, can-do problem-solver in the fields of energy and water. I have no objection to that ...
Topics: biofuels, books, cars, climate, energy, ethanol, hybrids (all these topics)

Wicked Smart Eensy-weensy Smart car getting a big embrace from U.S. drivers		12 Nov 2007	News
Posted at 3:08 PM on 12 Nov 2007 The Smart car ForTwo is coming to a dealer near you this winter -- or at least, semi-sorta-near you. About 70 dealers around the U.S. will sell the eight-foot-long two-seater starting in January, and more than 30,000 people have put down $99 to reserve theirs. Drawing comparisons to a golf cart and eagerly awaited by urbanites frustrated by tight parking, the Smart car -- sold in 36 coun ...
Topics: cars, green living, news (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)

The Suit of Damocles California sues feds over vehicle-emissions rule		08 Nov 2007	News
Posted at 2:04 PM on 08 Nov 2007 After months of tough talk and finger-wagging, the state of California on Thursday filed suit against the U.S. EPA to force a decision on a contentious greenhouse-gas emissions rule. At issue is whether California can enact its own regulations for vehicle emissions, bypassing the feds; it filed a waiver in late 2005 asking for permission to do so, and the EPA has been kicking the idea around e ...
Topics: Arnold Schwarzenegger, California, cars, US EPA (all these topics)

Transportation and climate get hitched Seattle-area voters tied the knot	Eric de Place	07 Nov 2007	Gristmill
In the Seattle metro region, voters just sank an $18 billion transportation megaproposal that would have built more than 180 lanes miles of highway and 50 miles of light rail. But so far, the mainstream press has missed one of the most important stories of the year. The real story isn't tax fatigue, it's this: perhaps for the first time ever in the U.S., a critical bloc of voters linked transportation choices to climate protection. In the run-up to the vote, a surpr ...
Topics: cars, climate, greenhouse-gas emissions, legislation, local politics, placemaking, politics, public transportation, Seattle (all these topics)

Pick me! Pick me! 100 households to test out plug-in hybrid Pruises in California	Adam Browning	06 Nov 2007	Gristmill
UC Davis's Institute of Transportation Studies and AAA are looking for 100 households willing to drive their plug-in hybrids. I nominate myself for the sacrifice. The more batteries we have plugged into the grid, the more renewable energy we'll get on the grid. I would say I can't wait to buy one of these commercially, but if you read the sad details from Felix at CalCars, you'll see that's exactly what I am going to have to do. It appears Honda is out, Toyota is re ...
Topics: California, cars, electric vehicles, hybrids, innovation, Prius (all these topics)

'Mideast Oil Forever?': Part III Abandoning the solution	Joseph Romm	04 Nov 2007	Gristmill
After the introduction and an explanation of 'The Coming Oil Crisis,' the next part of 'MidEast Oil Forever?' (subs. req'd) begins the discussion of the technology-based solution -- and how the Congress is working to block it. Yes, long before Shellenberger & Nordhaus claim to have pioneered the positive technology message that everyone else supposedly never tried, many of us were waging a public death-match (without their help) to save those technologies -- espe ...
Topics: biofuels, cars, energy, fuel efficiency, hydrogen, oil (all these topics)

Silly	David Roberts	01 Nov 2007	Gristmill
But what can I say? I'm male. Scatological humor is in the DNA. (h/t: Grist reader LS)
Topics: cars, climate, energy, funnies, renewable energy (all these topics)

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