green cars

Forget Gas Prices: Consider a Neighborhood Electric Vehicle

khallgeisler — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 00:00:00 -0400

Many automakers are promising that electric, highway-speed, family sedans are on their way, maybe even as early as next year. If you'd like to lose the gasoline habit sooner rather than later, though, there are options available right now: NEVs, or neighborhood electric vehicles.

These are the zippy little cars made by the likes of Zap, Zenn, and Gem. Some have three wheels, some have four, and they generally carry one or two passengers. But would one of these cars work for you? Maybe, and maybe not.

Pluses

No gas, ever. All the power is supplied by batteries, usually of the common, less-expensive lead-acid variety. These can be fully charged overnight in a standard socket for a couple cents a mile.

Up the green ante with renewable power. If your utility company offers clean electricity from wind farms or the like, then your NEV's carbon footprint dwindles to almost nothing.

Price. NEVs can be cheaper than even gas-sippers like the Honda Fit or Nissan Versa. Bare-bones models start at about $7,000 and go up to about $16,000 for your fancier models.

Zero emissions. None.

Quiet. The only noise is the tires rolling on the road, so you'll no longer be contributing to noise pollution. But do the polite thing and make sure kids and the blind know you're around, since they can't hear you.

Minuses

Top speed of about 40 mph. For those who live in an urban area, though, this hardly matters. Speed limits in towns are rarely higher than a Zap can zip.

Maximum range of 25-50 miles, depending on batteries. Again, this isn't a major minus, as 78% of Americans have a round-trip commute of 40 miles or fewer. If you can top off the batteries at work, you can double your daily miles.

Number of passengers is limited. You can take your kid to Little Leage practice, but no one else can ride along. Unless they are very tiny, or an invisible friend.

Hills are the enemy. But the flip side is that flat streets are your friend. If you live in a hilly area, an NEV might not have the power to get you up and over. But again, flat, urban commutes are ideal for these cars.

Taryn Sokolow, of the EnVironmental Motors EV dealership in Glendale, Calif., said in an interview earlier this year, "Some people it really doesn't work for, and some people think they can't, but they can."

When Sokolow is working with a customer to find the right NEV, she finds herself asking them, "How far is it from your work to your home? I need to know miles." Know your commute and your needs, and you might find that two cents a mile works just great for you.

Photo courtesy of Zenn.

Top 10 Ideas for Saving Gas, Money and Driving Green

RiverWired.com — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 00:00:00 -0400

Gas prices getting you down? Carbon emissions weighing heavy on your shoulders? At RiverWired we want to reduce your worries as we help you reduce your footprint. Instead of talking problems, we offer some solutions for saving gas and improving mileage. Now more than ever, you have big reasons for driving green.

1. 15 Tips For Better Mileage -- Want to Get 70 MPG in Your Toyota Prius?

2. The Hype About Hypermiling

3. Two Wheels Are Greener Than Four

4. Honda Civic GX Tops List of Greenest Cars

5. Driving Green = Fewer Greenbacks

6. Five Tips to Find the Cheapest Gas Near You

7. Top 10 Most Fuel-Efficient Cars: Save Gas, Save Money

8. Record Month For Selling Gas -- Saving Cars Getting Better Than 30 MPG

9. GE Backs Electric Cars -- This Time For Keeps!

10. Top 10 Green Things to Do While Stuck in Traffic

Learn to Improve Your Car's Gasoline Efficiency

jplatt — Thu, 22 May 2008 11:56:56 -0400

With gas prices climbing higher and higher, it's ever-more important for everyone (individuals and companies) to get the most bang for their buck -- in other words, to get the best gas mileage from their vehicles.

Want a simple way to do that? Try installing the ScanGuage II from Linear Logic. This tiny device plugs into the onboard diagnostic connector in almost any car or truck and instantly starts calculating all kinds of critical data -- including your exact gas mileage. Knowing your MPG at any point in your trip allows you to adapt your driving methods to improve your overall efficiency. Bingo, you'll be using less gas, saving money, and putting fewer greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.

ScanGuage II also tracks a lot of other cool information, such as how much fuel you have used and how much time you have been driving. It's only five inches across, making it easy to install just about anywhere in your vehicle.

I first saw tools like this in the dashboards of hybrid cars, but this is the first time I have seen an equivalent device that can be used in any car or truck at any time. ScanGuage costs just $169.95 (including shipping) -- a bargain at half the price if it teaches you to improve your fuel economy and reduce the number of trips you need to take to the pump.

Who Built the Solar Car?

jplatt — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 01:00:00 -0400

The SUNN won't win any design awards, but it sure will turn heads.

This build-it-yourself solar-powered car -- invented by Art Haines -- is one of the most innovative ideas I've seen in years. For just $4,500, you get almost everything you need to build your own solar-powered, street legal, neighborhood electric car. The parts come delivered on a flatbed truck, and with just 80-120 hours and some everyday hand tools (plus the solar panels and batteries, which you are encouraged to order locally), you can soon be puttering around in your very own solar-powered vehicle.

The SUNN only goes 25 miles per hour, and it has a maximum range of just 20 miles, but if you're only going a short distance on local roads, this is a pretty cool alternative to gas-powered transportation. The kit comes with seat belts, windshield wpers and turn signals, so as long as you register it as a low-speed vehicle, you should be allowed to take it out on the town.

According to the SUNN's FAQs, the solar panels aren't included so you can decide how much you want to spend on them, where on the car you want to mount them, or even if you want to use them or not. If you skip the solar panels, the SUNN can also be plugged into a standard electrical outlet, with an estimated energy-cost-per-mile of just $.01.

Right now, the SUNN Electric Vehicle Company is just taking orders (and deposits) for their car kits, which will ship in the near future.

George Clooney Is Electric, Paris Hilton's a Hybrid: 12 Celebrities with Green Cars

deborah — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 01:00:00 -0400

Last week I mentioned how Ed Begley, Jr. drove himself to the Academy Awards in his green electric truck. Ed's not the only one tooling around town in a green vehicle, however. There are plenty of environmentally conscious celebrities driving hybrids or electric cars.

George Clooney - Gorgeous George drives a two-seat electric car called a Tango 600.
Julia Roberts - Drives a Toyota Prius hybrid.
America Ferrera - Drives a Toyota Prius.
Cameron Diaz - Drives a Toyota Prius.
Paris Hilton - Owns a GMC Yukon hybrid.
Danny DeVito - Drives a Toyota Prius.
Rob Reiner - Drives a Toyota Prius.
Barrack Obama - Drives a Ford Escape hybrid.
Charlize Theron - Drives a Lexus RX400h hybrid SUV
Leonardo DiCaprio- Drives a Toyota Prius
Will Ferrell - Drives a BMW Hydrogen 7
Ryan Gosling - Drives a Toyota Prius

Image: PR Photots

A Speedy, Compact, Fuel Efficient Car? Sounds Smart To Us

RiverWired.com — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 00:00:00 -0500

It's Good: Starting in 2008, The Smart Car (which has been around in Europe for donkeys years, and don't ask us how long that is) will finally be available in the US. This tiny automotive genius is only nine feet long and five feet wide -- but it still received a 4-star crash rating. It also goes up to 90 mph -- but that wouldn't be a fuel-smart way to drive, now would it?

It's Green: The Smart Car gets 42 miles per gallon, which is not only more efficient than the 2020 standards recently passed in the US Energy Bill, it'll also save you some significant green at the gas station. So the car makes you feel smarter, too.

It's Here: www.SmartUSA.com - reserve yours now for only $99.

It's: $11,000- $17,000, depending on model and package options.