San Francisco is often depicted as a bastion of enlightened progressive hippie vegans on bicycles, or sometimes as a queer and glittering island, raft with Prius-driving smug self-righteous liberals who rapture in the smell of their own farts. If only that were true. All of us who live here know that the local reality is [...]
Earth to Congressman Massa: That's Not What "Efficiency" Means
January 20, 2009 By 26 Comments
Last week, Famous DC was the first to report on New York’s recently elected congressman Eric Massa’s poorly-conceived environmental publicity stunt. Massa’s plan was to drive from his congressional district in New York to Washington DC in a hydrogen fuel-cell powered car. In other words: an efficient, leisurely, and environmentally responsible drive across 300 miles of the American Northeast. [...]
The Skinny on Aptera: Top Aptera Execs Chat With EVCast
January 19, 2009 By 31 Comments
It seems there’s always a hunger among electric-vehicle enthusiasts for new information about the Aptera 2e, that composite-skinned energy sipper that looks like the future, where everyone’s wearing jumpsuits and has numbers as last names and crystals embedded in their palms that turn black on Lastday. Unfortunately, the company tends not to be very talkative, [...]
With Vegawatt, a Restaurant's Waste Oil Can Supply 25% of its Electricity (Interview)
January 19, 2009 By 6 Comments
Drivers of WVO-powered cars will either love or hate the work of Boylston, Massachusetts-based Owl Power Company. Owl Power’s founder and CEO, James Peret, has developed and launched a product they call the Vegawatt, a fully automated cogeneration system for restaurants, designed to run on waste vegetable oil. Peret’s team says the Vegawatt system is more [...]
Los Angeles, New York City to Get 500 MINI Es
January 18, 2009 By 5 Comments
New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg has announced that BMW is giving the city a fleet of MINI Es as part of a feasibility test. In fact, BMW will be testing 500 electric MINIs worldwide. Other cities included in the program are Los Angeles, London and Berlin. MINI E is the first product from BMW’s [...]
Top 10 Electric Cars Coming to the US in 2009/2010
January 15, 2009 By 63 Comments
Editor’s Note: This list represents the ten “best” electric and plug-in hybrid cars (as I see them) coming out in the next two years, but, after that initial culling, this list has been organized by release date, not preference. With the onslaught of electric concepts and announcements coming out of the 2009 Detroit Auto Show, [...]
If Our Gas Taxes Go Up, Will Gas Prices Become Unfair?
January 14, 2009 By 19 Comments
Faced with dwindling cash reserves, several states are considering raising their Gas Tax. Those with efficient vehicles will come out ahead. Low income families, the trucking industry and the alternative fuel industry will finish last. Now I am all for taxes – there are many essential services that the government performs and they need money [...]
Ford Says EcoBoost With a Straight Face
January 14, 2009 By 28 Comments
Well, actually I wasn’t there, at the Detroit Auto Show, but it stands to reason that someone from Ford uttered those words, near a rotating platform, without breaking into a laugh. I’m willing to go on record, though, with the prediction that Ford’s new engine, the EcoBoost, will bear a new nameplate within two years. [...]
