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The next time you travel, travel green. Newark New
Jersey Car Rentals has thrown its hat into the
sustainability ring by offering a "Green Collection" of
cars. The selection of four models, the Toyota Camry,
Ford Fusion, Buick LaCrosse and Hyundai Sonata, get at
least 28 mpg; most of the Camry's, Fusions and LaCrosses
also carry EPA's
SmartWay certification, indicating lower emissions
of air pollutants and greenhouse gases. It's not easy
being green, according to Kermit the Frog. It's a good
bet he'd also find it difficult to rent a green, or
environmentally friendly, car.
Environment-conscious auto renters need to think ahead.
The clerk behind the counter might not know a green
machine from a gas guzzler. So do your homework.
Start with the Environmental Protection Agency's list of
likely candidates. If you're renting in New Jersey or the
New Jersey, Connecticut or Washington, D.C., areas,
you'll probably find some of the listed vehicles at EV
Car Rental Cars, which specializes in natural gas,
electric and hybrid rentals.
But elsewhere, hybrid cars are more difficult to find
and likely to be smaller and more expensive than
conventional cars. E. Rent-A-Car and A. don't offer them
at all, according to representatives of both companies.
H. offers a few hybrid cars at some California
locations, but renters can't specifically reserve a
hybrid car, says spokeswoman Paula Stifter. Where they
are available, the prices are comparable to other
compacts, she says.
B., A., rents hybrids through a marketing arrangement
with EV Car Rental. Locations are limited, however, and
renters will pay full-size prices for the smaller Toyota
Prius or hybrid Honda Civic, according to Budget
spokeswoman Alice Pereira.
"It's definitely more expensive," says E.B., director of
marketing and operations for the Better World Club, an
environmentally focused travel club.
But don't despair. In the next few years, the selection
will improve, says Ron Cogan, editor and publisher of
the Green Car Journal, a quarterly report on autos and
the environment.
The industry plans to put five more green vehicles on
the market next year and twice that NJ the following
year, says Cogan, meaning green rental choices should
expand, too.
People want to go GREEN
and hybrid manufacturers are reaping the
benefits
Environment, Peta, animal welfare is
hot and the movement is growing.
Hybrid car manufacturers are leaving
no stone unturned to reap the
benefits of this growth. With the
growing prices of fuel more and more
people are opting for hybrid
vehicles for its financial benefits.
According to a survey conducted by
Mintel Comperemedia, 35 million
Americans are "True Greens" who
regularly buy green products which
also includes environmentally
friendly vehicles.
Recently several
companies which have no direct
relationship with hybrid car
manufacturers are providing rewards
for purchasing hybrid vehicles.
Insurance companies like Travelers
are giving a discount of up to 10%
to hybrid owners. Other companies
like Bank of America and Google Inc.
also recently jumped in the foray of
hybrid car promoters by providing
aid in hybrid car purchases.
Gas prices have
pushed people to buy hybrid vehicles
to some extent. However, the real
push in the sales of these vehicles
is all because people are looking
for ways to positively contribute to
the environment and buying a hybrid
car seems one of the easiest
options.
Hybrid car
manufacturers are further cashing on
the sentiments by highlighting their
commitment to the environment in
their promotions and thus portraying
themselves as green companies. Let
us have a look at the ways other
then the technology that is going to
drive the sales of hybrid cars:
- Hybrid cars
have become a fashion/status
symbol
- Increase in
prices of fuel
- Aggressive
campaigns
- Green
marketing
- Tax
deductions on hybrid cars.
- Oil
Dependence
- Other
benefits like car pool lane
entry, free parking etc.
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Why Plug In?
The answer is
simple:
Near-zero
emissions, cheap
operation, and
maybe no more
oil.
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Human Race
Horsepower isn't
the only way to
measure
performance, as
this competition
shows.
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CNG World Tour
An
around-the-world
tour proves the
worth of natural
gas as a clean
motor fuel.
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ML 450 Hybrid
Mercedes-Benz
shares a look at
the first
application of
its two- mode
hybrid system.
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Year of the
Mariner
Driving 20,000
miles in
Mercury's
Mariner Hybrid
reinforces why
this is a great
vehicle.
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Small Car
Comparo
Think
subcompacts are
too small?
There's a new
direction and
you may just be
surprised.
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Plug-In Hybrids
Interested in a
100+ mpg plug-in
hybrid car?
Here's a build-
up,
step-by-step.
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i MiEV Electric
Car
Mitsubishi's
popular
four-passenger "i"
model gets an
electric power
upgrade.
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VW Ecofuel
Lower emissions
and energy
diversity are
addressed with
VW's natural gas
Touran.
|
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New Highlander
Based on the
Camry platform,
the 2008
Highlander
Hybrid is better
than ever.
|
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2008 Malibu
Hybrid
Chevy's latest
mild (read
"affordable")
hybrid model
makes its first
appearance.
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"Green Car"
Fleets
Environmental
icon Jean-Michel
Cousteau on the
importance of
"green" fleet
choices.
|
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Electric
Lightning
Race car
experience helps
a design team
devise a 700 hp
all- electric
supercar.
|
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Toyota FT-HS
Toyota designers
are on the mark
with a
high-tech, high
power hybrid
concept.
|
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Altima Hybrid
Nissan's 2008
Altima Hybrid
took the long
road to market.
It has been
worth the wait.
|
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Ford Plug-In
Hybrid
Hydrogen and
plug-in hybrid
power make the
Ford Edge
HySeries unique.
|
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Autorickshaw EVs
Hired transport
like
autorickshaws
and Jeepneys are
going to cleaner
power.
|
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Shell Hydrogen
VP Duncan
Macleod talks
sustainability,
climate change,
and a hydrogen
future. |
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Start-Stop
System
Valeo's StARS +
10 hybrid system
can bring up to
15 percent
better fuel
economy.
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Air Apparent
From the mind of
a Formula One
race car
engineer comes
an air powered
automobile. |
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Swiss City Car
Behold a small
urban hybrid
that turns 360
degrees on its
vertical axis.
Weird? Yup. |
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Diesel 101, Part
1
Do you really,
truly understand
diesel? Here's
the easy way to
get up to
speed. |
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Ethanol and
Racing
If GM has its
way, NASCAR
could follow the
IndyCar Series
in a move to
ethanol. |
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M-B Clean Diesel
The first
application of
BLUETEC clean
diesel
technology
creates a
milestone sedan. |
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The Chevy Volt
Will GM's
stunning Volt
plug-in hybrid
come to market?
We explore the
idea. |
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The Biogenic Car
Bio-based
materials are
coming to future
cars. Here's a
look at
possibilities
today. |
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Saab BioPower
After Europe's
popular E85
vehicle, Saab
steps out with a
turbo E100 car. |
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Rinspeed eXasis
Advanced
materials,
lightweight
design, and E85
fuel make a high
efficiency
statement. |
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DIY Plug-In
Hybrid
The XR-3 plug-in
hybrid claims
225 mpg. The
catch? You build
it yourself. |
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Fuel Cell Future
Here's what it's
like to drive
the latest
hydrogen
vehicles from GM
and Honda. |
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Hyundai HCD10
Could this
innovative
concept indicate
a coming Hyundai
diesel for the
U.S.? |
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Green Gear
Specialty
automotive
products blur
the lines
between
traditional and
eco-performance. |
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E85 Vehicles
GCJ editors
present an
overview of the
30 E85 ethanol
vehicles now on
the market. |
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Hub of Power
Could in-wheel
motors be the
Next Big Thing
for fuel cell,
hybrid, and
electric
vehicles? |
 |
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GM Electrified
The General is
full of
surprises. How
about a plug-in
series hybrid
electric
vehicle? |
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M-B GL-Class CDI
Advanced diesel
promises to make
popular SUVs
more efficient
vehicles. |
 |
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Tesla Roadster
High efficiency,
high speed, and
high style are
the hallmarks of
Tesla's electric
car. |
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Greenest
Minivans
Need the
functionality of
a minivan? Here
are some of the
greenest 2007
models around. |
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High Tech Taxis
Ford is making
the case for
hybrids in taxi
service, with
increasing
success. |
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Hey, H-Racer
Don't want to
wait for your
own hydrogen
car? Try this
very cool model
on for size. |
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Electrified
smart
Electric
versions of the
smart fortwo are
undergoing
testing in the
UK. |
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Concept-CT
Hybrid
Mitsubishi shows
a realistic
direction for
its hybrid and
electric vehicle
development. |
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Plug-In Hybrids
These 100+ mpg
cars are gaining
supporters. But
are they
do-able? |
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Honda Civic GX
Consumers in two
states can now
buy Honda's
natural gas
Civic GX sedan. |
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Camry Hybrid
Toyota comes up
with an
exceptional
hybrid version
of its highly
popular Camry
sedan. |
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The Mariner Life
Living with
Mercury's
Mariner Hybrid
shows the value
of a four
cylinder hybrid
SUV. |
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Natural Gas!
This clean fuel
is abundant in
America, so why
aren't more
vehicles running
on it? |
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2006 GCOY!
Environmental
leaders help
pick the first-
ever Green Car
of the Year
winner. |
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Hydrogen Hybrid
Ovonic Hydrogen
Systems' H2
Prius showcases
solid hydrogen
storage.
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Lexus RX 400h
A high-end
hybrid that
offers it all:
plenty of power,
low emissions,
and no guilt. |
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Smart Cylinders
Intelligent
technology is
making the
internal
combustion
engine better
than ever. |
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Quick Charge!
Oahu shows the
benefits of
rapid charging
electric
vehicles. |
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Mercury's D-HEV
Showing the way
for near-zero
emission diesel-
electric
hybrids.
|
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Roush EV
Who says low
speed electric
vehicles must be
cart size? Roush
breaks the mold.
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Rinspeed Senso
A wild CNG
future car mixes
innovation and a
sixth sense. |
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Volvo 3CC
Electric power,
180
mile range, gull
wing doors…
everything you
want in a Volvo. |
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Smart Choice?
The smart car
from
DaimlerChrysler
is a pint-size
package in a
two-gallon
world. |
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Altima Hybrid
Nissan’s
prototype hybrid
shows this
automaker has
high performance
in mind. |
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Tips for High
MPG
How to buy the
vehicle you want
and get the best
fuel economy at
the same time. |
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Ethanol or Gas?
A look at
renewable E85
ethanol fuel,
its benefits,
and the new cars
that run on it.
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High Tech Scoots
Honda shares its
vision of two
wheeling with a
trio of
electric,
hybrid, and fuel
cell scooters. |
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Ford Mild
Hybrids
Can more
affordable
hybrids make it
in the
marketplace?
Ford’s Fiesta
provides a clue.
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Toyota Hybrids
Independent
internal
combustion and
electric drive
make Toyota
hybrids rock. |
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Subaru Scrambler
Smooth, stylish,
and offering a
unique twist in
hybrid high
performance. |
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Search & Deploy
The U.S.
military seeks
to field a new
generation of
“green”
vehicles. |
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Ford Ecostar EV
This 1990s EV
took to the
streets with a
hot sodium
sulfur battery. |
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Near Zero
Emission
Driving clean
needn’t be
boring, as our
guide to 19 PZEV
models clearly
shows. |
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2 Fast • 2 Clean
Can you
say...470 hp
hybrid supercar?
This Eclipse
concept speaks
volumes. |
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Deere Goes Green
A hydrogen
utility vehicle
shows that green
is more than a
signature color. |
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Air Hybrids
Working with
Ford, a UCLA
team aims at
harnessing air
hybrid power. |
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Eco Commuter
Nissan’s Effis
fuel cell
concept blends
form and
function. |
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New Engine Tech
Efficiency
improves by
combining the
best attributes
of gasoline and
diesel
technology.
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Alternative
Transit
Advanced fuels
and technologies
are making mass
transit more
efficient.
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Buses Go Green
Hybrid electric
drive technology
is making mass
transit even
more efficient.
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Saturn Aura
Hybrid
Hybrid cars
needn't be
costly. This
mild hybrid
brings higher
efficiency at
$23,000.
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Opel Flextreme
GM's next
iteration of its
E-Flex system is
a slick
diesel-electric
plug-in hybrid.
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Frankfurt Show
Automakers
showcase
hydrogen,
electric, and
hybrid cars at
the Frankfurt
Auto Show.
|
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Commercial NGVs
Where are
natural gas
vehicles in the
U.S.? Transit
and other uses
lead the way.
|
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Prius Plug-In
Toyota is
fielding plug-
in hybrid
prototypes in
the U.S. and
Japan. What's
next?
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Driving on Fumes
Aiming at the
X-Prize requires
100 mpg and top
performance. The
Alé focuses on
both.
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Plug-In
Motorcycle
If two-wheelers
are your gig,
you'll want to
check out this
cool electric
motorcycle.
|
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Natural Gas Now
Natural gas
vehicles are
clean and the
fuel is
plentiful. So
what is holding
us up?
|
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Supra HV-R
Hybrid
Toyota fields a
new Supra Hybrid
in a 24 hour
endurance race
and comes out on
top.
|
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Car
Electrification
Electric
auxiliaries and
drive power
provide more
than just fuel
efficiency.
|
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Green Automaking
Subaru's
innovative auto
manufacturing
means almost
nothing ends up
in landfills.
|
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80 MPG,No Hybrid
Does
mega-mileage
require a
hybrid? The new
smart fortwo cdi
says "no." |
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Hybrid Trucks
Hybrid,
electric, and
FFV trucks based
on Chinese
designs being
made in the USA.
|
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High-Tech Diesel
Need-to-know
info about the
new diesel
technology
that's changing
the game. |
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Phoenix
Electrified
A Ssangyong
"glider" and
high-tech
electrics make
for a nifty new
electric
vehicle.
|
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Saturn Vue
Hybrid
Driving Saturn's
2007 Vue Green
Line shows its
differences from |
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Leaning Green
The NARO's
motorcycle
footprint offers
ease in traffic,
parking, and
maneuverability. |
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Audi's Q7 Hybrid
The Q7 Quattro
Hybrid concept
shows another
path to
performance and
economy. |
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"Green" Taxis
A micro hybrid
system for taxis
has potential to
save over 10
million gallons
in NY alone. |
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Electric Cruise
Cars
Whether it's an
electric low
speed vehicle or
just a golf car,
Cruise Cars has
your number. |
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Kurrent Electric
Car
Low-speed
vehicle
enthusiasts get
a new choice
with this
Italian designed
NEV. |
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Battery & Solar
EV
Can around-town
transportation
really be
powered by
solar, wind, and
batteries? |
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BMW Hydrogen 7
According to
BMW, the car of
tomorrow will
run on hydrogen.
We drive it
today. |
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Grand Challenge
III
Stanford's VW
won the last
autonomous
vehicle
challenge. Will
they pull it off
again? |
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Green Car's Top
5
Green Car
Journal
editors name the
"best-
of-the-best"
green vehicles
2007. |
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Tri-Fuel Pickup
Ford's Super
Chief concept
covers all the
bases with gas,
E85, and
hydrogen fuels. |
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Ford's Clean V-6
Four-cylinder
PZEVs are now
common. The next
challenge is the
V-6…and Ford
is on it. |
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200 MPG
Carburetor
High gas prices
bring to mind
the mythical 200
mpg carburetor.
Want to know
more? |
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Hybrids Rock!
Hybrids connect
with Fall Out
Boy, Black Eyed
Peas, Maroon 5,
and McCartney
tours. |
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Nissan 2.5 S
PZEV
Driving 12,500
miles in a
near-zero
emission sedan
shows the value
of PZEV
technology. |
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E85 Lotus Exige
Sleek and
sinewy, this
alcohol fueled
Exige makes
quite a
statement for
E85. |
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E85 at
Bonneville
GM sets multiple
land speed
records with a
Chevy Cobalt
running on
ethanol. |
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Small Cars
It's true that
small cars are
gaining
popularity.
Could it be that
one is in your
future? |
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Hydrogen Shuttle
Ford's
production V-10
hydrogen engine
is powering
shuttles now.
What's in store
next? |
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Michelin
Challenge
The
environmental
Challenge
Bibendum event
continues at the
"City of
Lights." |
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Volvo Multi-Fuel
Why limit
yourself to just
a few
alternative
fuels? Volvo
goes for 5 in
one vehicle. |
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Saab Aero X
Aircraft
influence and
ethanol power
join to make
this Saab one
wild ride. |
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Lexus GS 450h
Fast, efficient,
and luxurious,
this could be
the hybrid
template for the
future. |
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Bumper Crop
Considering the
alternatives,
alcohol fuel is
an idea that's
growing on us. |
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T3 Transport
Zero emission
way for police
and security
patrols to
efficiently do
their rounds. |
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Top 5 for 2006
GCJ
staff’s Top
Picks are also
finalists for
this year's
Green Car of the
Year program. |
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Highlander
Hybrid
A long-term test
of Toyota's
functional,
efficient, and
high performance
hybrid. |
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Hybrid BMW X3
True to the
brand, this BMW
hybrid offers
performance and
high efficiency.
|
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The "Mild"
Hybrid
An economical
hybrid system
brings higher
efficiency to a
pair of popular
GM pickups. |
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BioWillie Fuel
Willie Nelson is
a high-profile
champion of
biodiesel and
now has his own
brand. |
 |
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High MPG
Vehicles
A handy guide to
fuel- thrifty
cars, pickups,
and SUVs that
guide you by
price range. |
 |
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Venturi Effect
This powerful
and stylishly
seductive EV
redefines zero
emission
motoring. |
 |
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Hyundai Portico
From Korea comes
an innovative
hybrid electric
crossover
vehicle.
|
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H2 Times Two
Hydrogen fuel
cell power comes
to a scooter and
motorcycle. |
 |
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Connaught Hybrid
An innovative
Type-D hybrid
shows V-10 power
and style. |
 |
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Hydrogen HUMMER
GM explores
hydrogen
internal
combustion
propulsion with
a V-8 HUMMER SUT. |
 |
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Jeep Liberty CRD
With 27 mpg
highway fuel
economy, this
diesel-powered
SUV may be just
the ticket. |
 |
 |
H2GO!
BMW’s wild H2R
fast-forwards
the hydrogen car
to 185 mph and
nine speed
records. |
 |
 |
Honda IMA System
An in-depth look
at Honda's full
hybrid approach
to power and
efficiency. |
 |
 |
Escape Reality!
Move beyond the
everyday with
Ford's new 36
mpg hybrid sport
utility vehicle. |
 |
 |
Highlander
Hybrid
Hybrid Synergy
Drive makes a
popular Toyota
SUV even better. |
 |
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Driven to Diesel
VW is betting
that high torque
and efficiency
could give
diesel the edge. |
 |
 |
Next-Gen Miata?
Could this
concept morph
into the next
generation Mazda
Miata…hybrid? |
 |
 |
VW Tries Alt
Fuels
The road to
cleaner diesel
vehicles could
include
synthetic and
biodiesel fuels. |
 |
 |
Mainstream
Hybrids
Higher
performance and
desired features
are giving
hybrids broader
appeal. |
 |
 |
Alt Fuels
Deliver
Federal Express
and UPS try
hydrogen fuel
cell vehicles
and hybrids on
for size. |
 |
 |
All Fired Up
Fuel economy
wins when these
GM vehicles
aren’t firing on
all cylinders. |
 |
 |
Snapshot: Mazda3
Three
iterations, two
body styles, one
great car. |
 |
 |
Low Impact SUVs
10 things to
consider when
shopping for an
SUV, minivan, or
pickup. |
 |
 |
Mazda RX-8 RE
Mazda's focus on
hydrogen
technology comes
together. |
 |
 |
FlexFuel Mustang
Auto enthusiasts
get creative to
come up with an
E85
flexible-fuel
Ford Mustang.
|
|
If you are planning to rely on public methods of
transportation while traveling in New Jersey New Jersey,
then you are not making your trip the best it can be.
New Jersey City is designed for personalized travel and a
cheap car rental &
Cheap Minivan Rentals
& 15 Passenger Vans provides ideal travel conveniences for
all of your transportation needs.
Almost all tourist attractions, shopping centers, and
entertainment facilities rely on the assumption that a
traveler has access to a rental vehicle.
New Jersey Cheap
Car Rental recognizes the implications of this
assumption by providing you with excellent customer
service and affordable rates that put you where you want
to be.
Brooklyn's efficient and safe modes of
public
transportation, most
tourist attractions and wilderness
wonders can only realistically be reached by car. This
leaves you with the choice of traveling on a crowded
tourist bus or choosing a cheap car rental that is
always at your fingertips no matter where you end up in
New Jersey! Obtaining a car rental in New Jersey makes your
journey both cheap and convenient. It is also much
quicker and safer than the hassle of public
transportation!
EPA
SmartWay Grow & Go is a program
developed by the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) to promote the environmental benefits
of renewable fuels, and provide a renewable fuel
component for EPA's existing SmartWay Transport
Partnership.
This program will help reduce U.S. dependence on
petroleum, and help improve our environment by
reducing emissions of harmful pollutants and
greenhouse gases. EPA will work with its
public-private partners to implement the goals of
SmartWay Grow & Go. Read more
Basic Information.
August 24, 2007 - At the Great American Trucking
Show,
SmartWay recognizes its new Grow & Go Partners for
their use of renewable fuels and for their
commitment to our nation's energy independence and
concern for the environment..
SmartWay Grow & Go program helps launch first E85
pump in the District of Columbia
June 28, 2007 – The District of Columbia’s first
public E85 pump went into service today thanks to a
collaborative effort between the SmartWay Grow & Go
program and other private and public organizations.
These efforts will help pave the way for other E85
pumps planned for the metropolitan Washington area.
SmartWay participates in
IndyCar® event: To promote
renewable fuels such as ethanol, SmartWay Grow & Go
participated in the 2007 annual Ethanol Summit
hosted by the
Ethanol Promotion and Information Council (EPIC).
This year's Ethanol Summit celebrated that 100
percent fuel-grade ethanol has been used in an
IndyCar® Series.
Ever since we
first
saw Honda's FCX fuel
cell concept, we've been
dreaming of the day that
it would finally enter
production and hit the
streets. They've told
the world to
wait a few years for
production and have
been teasing us by
intermittently
showing it off; now
the latest word on the
street is: limited
production in Japan and
the US in 2008. Hey,
that's next year!
Wallpaper*
magazine, of all places
(if it's in there, it's
gotta be cool)
tells us that, "Honda
hopes that with a little
helping hand from
legislation, plus their
ongoing experiments into
a viable 'Home Energy
Station', the FCX
Concept will finally
make it to the American
and Japanese markets -
albeit in a heavily
subsided,
quasi-experimental form
- in 2008." Whether or
not
hydrogen cars are a
viable personal
transportation option
is sort of another
story. Check out
Honda's concept site
for more, and keep your
fingers crossed.
::Honda FCX via
::Wallpaper.com
In the early 1930s, Henry Ford walked into his
company's research lab with a bag of chicken bones,
dumped them on a desk and proclaimed, "See what you can
do with these." He later urged his staff to try out
cantaloupes, carrots, cornstalks, cabbages and onions in
his search for materials with which to build an organic
car body.
Ford didn't give up, and eventually hit upon his
dream material: soybean stalks. In 1940, Ford scientists
discovered that soybean oil could be used to make a
high-quality paint enamel, and also molded into a
fiber-based plastic. The Company proclaimed the material
had 10 times the shock-resistance of steel, and Ford
himself delighted in demonstrating that strength by
pounding on a soybean deck-lid with an ax. We might be
driving soybean Fords today, if not for the fact that
the new material was found to need a long time to cure,
and did not mold well.
Unfortunately, the reputation for innovation that
pushed Ford to the peak of industrial production in its
early years didn't survive its messianic founder, and
the Company slumbered through the 1940s and 1950s. Even
such groundbreaking cars as the 1964 Mustang were
technically rather pedestrian.
But now Ford is changing, and NJ of the changes
seem to be green. In late 1997, Ford announced that it
would invest $420 million in a global alliance to build
automotive fuel cells with Daimler-Benz and Canada's
Ballard Power Systems, a pioneer of the technology. Fuel
cells, which produce electricity from hydrogen without
combustion, are still in the developmental stage, but
they're considered a prime, nearly-pollution-free
candidate to replace the internal-combustion engine in
the 21st century. "This is real progress," says Jason
Mark, a transportation analyst at the Union of Concerned
Scientists. "A nearly half-billion-dollar investment is
nothing to sneeze at."
The spokesman for Ford's electric vehicle program,
which includes fuel cell cars, is John Wallace, a tall,
thin man with a background as a computer engineer.
Interviewed in Dearborn, Michigan, not far from where
Henry Ford I wielded his ax, Wallace got right to the
point. "Yes, Ford has fuel cell prototypes right now,
and we'll show them when they make good public relations
impact. But I'm not interested in non-drivable
prototypes --I need real road-ready vehicles."
The Ford fuel cell cars could run on methanol, or
carry tanks of hydrogen. Ford consultant Sandy Thomas
believes strongly that cars can carry hydrogen gas
instead of running on fossil fuels, eliminating the need
for costly and bulky "reformers" to extract the
hydrogen. "You could argue that methanol is the worst of
both worlds," Thomas says. "There has to be an on-board
reformer, and you have to build a new infrastructure.
But there is excess generating capacity for methanol,
and it's the least expensive to transport."
Thomas conjures up a truly spectacular zero-emissions
system of "solar hydrogen" in which the fuel is produced
from a combination of photovoltaic thermal collectors,
wind generators and biomass. "Imagine," he says, "a
motor vehicle fuel so clean-burning that you could drink
the effluent from the tailpipe, with urban smog a
distant memory.
Ford wants to go into production with a fuel cell
family car based on the aluminum-and-composite P2000,
which looks like the current Contour model, but weighs
1,000 pounds less. Would people buy a high-efficiency
P2000? Cheap gas has made such cars a hard sell. Ford,
in fact, may build a hi hybrid sport utility instead.
And fuel cell SUVs are another likely possibility:
Chrysler showed off a fuel cell Jeep, a product of its
Daimler-Benz alliance, at the 1999 auto shows.
The process of cleaning up the sport utility has
already begun, but it's a bumpy ride. In early 1998,
Ford stunned its competitors by announcing that its
Explorers and Expeditions would henceforth meet the
California low-emission vehicle standard. That decision
may well have come from the company's new chairman,
William Clay Ford, Jr., a committed environmentalist who
is the first family member to serve in the Company
leadership since the days of Henry Ford II. The younger
Ford has alarmed some financial analysts who fear, as
The New Jersey Times put it, "that the scion of a
billionaire family could put environmental causes ahead
of profits and undermine the industry's traditionally
united front against pressures from environmental
groups."
Bill Ford has to reconcile two widely divergent
missions, cleaning up the Company and keeping it
profitable. Sometimes these warring impulses surface
simultaneously, as in a 1998 Dearborn speech in which he
proclaimed both that his interests were "fully aligned
with those of all shareholders" and that he wanted Ford
to become "the world's most environmentally-friendly
automaker." It may not be easy to have it both ways.
Ford's best-selling but gas-guzzling Expeditions and
Lincoln Navigators are also its profit center, earning
the Company as much as $15,000 each. From just one
Wayne, Michigan factory making sport-utility vehicles,
Ford earns approximately $3.7 billion a year, enough
money to pay for its recent $6.5 billion purchase of
Volvo in two years.
Related Sites:
New Jersey Tourism
and Visitors Center - Luxury
Cars Miami -
Exotic Cars
Miami
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Convertibles Miami
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New Jersey Travel Guide -
I Love New Jersey -
New Jersey Van Rental
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New Jersey Airport Service -
New Jersey Restaurants -
New Jersey Events & Attractions -
Moving Companies in
New York City NYC
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1. Fuel cell generates electricity w/o aNJ moving pars.
2. Hydrogen as a gas (stored compressed) enters an ICE
Of the two, the most promising of course is a full EV with some batteries or capacitors for storing breaking / slowing down energy temporarily.
With X number of fuel cell cartridges, you have some "charged" in your car, the spent ones, filled with pure water and being recharged at home from a Utility, Solar, Wind.
Someone had commented on how using water to obtain hydrogen, will deplete water eventually, as it is finite.
With the quantity available, and the fact that water is produced in the explosion, the total loss is quite tiny.
Anyone know what the environmental cost of producing a large fuel cell for a EV car is? I would assume it's much higher than the Prius HV NiMH battery everyone is so fond of bashing.