Gas 2.0

Last year, 300 folks across North America turned in their car keys for a month as part of the 2008 Zipcar Low-Car Diet. And, in addition to cutting congestion, they also walked 85% more, biked 136% more and decreased their miles driven by 71%. Pretty impressive, eh? Starting July 15, a new crop of participants from all Zipcar cities worldwide* will begin the 2009 Low-Car Diet: one full month of living without a primary car.

Zipcar will be selecting 30 participants in each Zipcar metro to take part in the 2009 Low-Car Diet. Zipcar and its partners are committed to providing all participants with the necessary tools for creating transportation nirvana, including:

• Bike rentals
• Transit passes
• Complimentary meals at participating restaurants
• Discounts at local retailers
• And, of course, a 1-year Zipcar membership with some driving credit to get started

There will be a number of applicants for only 30 spaces, and Zipcar would like to make sure they’re the best. If you think you’d like to try an unconventional diet just fill out this short survey.

*Zipcar cities include Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, London, New York City, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Portland, San Francisco, Seattle, Toronto, Vancouver, and Washington, DC.

Photo Courtesy tvol via Flickr under Creative Commons license.

Renault has announced plans to showcase a trio of electric cars at this September’s Frankfurt motor show, including all-electric versions of the Megane saloon and the Kangoo (on sale 2011), as well as an all-new concept EV.

At this stage, Renault is keeping tight-lipped about the details of its concept car, revealing only that it will be a four-metre, five-door hatchback that will go on sale in 2012.

According to Renault C-Segment Development Chief Christian Steyer, all of the company’s new EV offerings will feature noticeable styling, but nothing too radical. He told reporters, “We want a real signature for our electric range, so when people see one in the street they will know it is a Renault electric car. The key is to do this without frightening customers away. Customers must be tempted, and not rushed too fast.”

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Editor’s Note: This is a guest contribution by Richard Lowenthal, CEO of electric vehicle ChargePoint manufacturer Coulomb Technologies. See his last post here: Henrik Fisker Debuts Karma Plug-in Hybrid in San Jose. This is part of our ongoing series on EV Charging Infrastructure, which was initiated by Mayors Gavin Newsom and Sam Adams.

This week, Coulomb Technologies announced that Walnut Creek, California has become the third Bay Area city (along with San Jose and San Francisco) to deploy Coulomb’s ChargePoint™ Networked Charging Stations for electric vehicles.

Coulomb’s charging stations were officially welcomed in a ribbon cutting ceremony in downtown Walnut Creek.  We were joined by the city managers of Walnut Creek and Orinda as well as Walnut Creek city officials.  As many California readers know, Walnut Creek is considered one of the top destinations in the Bay Area, known for its outdoor festivals, performing arts scene and superb shopping and dining.  EV owners across the Bay Area now have a premier destination where they can recharge while enjoying downtown Walnut Creek.

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Last week, the Hybrid Truck Users Forum (HTUF) of CALSTART hosted a “Hybrid on the Hill” day where they showcased new truck technologies. Mack Trucks, Inc. participated in the event and gave federal legislators and policymakers a first-hand look at its parallel diesel-electric hybrid technology, known as the MACK® TerraPro™ Cabover, for heavy-duty trucks. Mack is initially introducing these technology in refuse trucks, aka garbage trucks, where hybrid technology seems to have the greatest impact due to the stop-and-go nature of the trash pick-up system.
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Just a few days before GM declared bankruptcy, I was surprised to receive an email from the company asking if I’d be interested in test-driving the Chevy Volt.

The offer to test-drive the product of a $1 billion development program (as well as one of the most anticipated cars of my lifetime) isn’t something that comes along every day, and I’m excited to say that tomorrow I’ll be test-driving the Volt as well as liveblogging from GM’s Tech center in Warren, Michigan. Read the rest of this entry »

This week Sao Paulo, Brazil is hosting one of the world’s largest gatherings of the international biofuels industry. The Ethanol Summit 2009 was kicked off in part by President Bill Clinton who noted that Brazil is known for producing the most energy efficient and cost competitive ethanol in the world using sugarcane. The downside, though, says Clinton, is that the country’s increase in ethanol production is a precursor to the continued destruction of the rainforests.

The issue of rainforest destruction (which many experts say is NOT a primary result of increased biofuels production) segues in to the debate of “good biofuels versus bad biofuels”. A bad biofuel may be one that uses food crops, excessive land and too much water. A better biofuel uses biomass, or waste, little water and little to no land. Read the rest of this entry »

For consumers who support E85 (85% ethanol, 15% gasoline) and drive a flex-fuel vehicle, E85 became a little easier to find today when the 2,000th E85 pump opened today in Davie, Florida a suburb of Miami. The station is owned by U-Gas, which has brought most of the E85 infrastructure to Florida. As part of the celebration, the station offered E85 for $1.00 a gallon at not only this station, but all stations where U-Gas sells E85.

Willie Urbieta, President of U-Gas is a huge supporter of ethanol and said during the press conference, “For me personally, it feels really good when I fuel up to know that I’m not sending money to countries that are not that friendly to us.” Read the rest of this entry »

And the winner for the best sustainable vehicle infrastructure in America is…Seattle? Last week, the World Electric Vehicle Association (WEVA) honored Seattle Mayor Gregory J. Nickels, for the town’s commitment to developing clean, efficient and sustainable modes of transportation. This prestigious award was given during the 24th International Electric Vehicle Symposium in Stravanger, Norway. Other winners of the E-Visionary Award were London Mayor Boris Johnson and Osaka Prefecture in Japan.

Why the surprise? Well, in my somewhat narrow world, the two cities I always hear about that are leading the way in developing electric vehicle (EV) infrastructure are San Francisco and Portland. And wouldn’t you know it, the mayors, Gavin Newsom, San Francisco, and Sam Adam, Portland, of these two fine towns have been engaging in a verbal repartee on this very site. Read the rest of this entry »

The Volkswagen Golf was chosen as the 2009 World Car of the Year at the New York International Auto Show by a jury of 59 international automotive journalists.

“It is a tremendous honor for Volkswagen to have its global best selling model, the Golf, named the 2009 World Car of the Year. This is a great way to kick-off the new Golf here in America. We’re excited for the arrival of the sixth generation Golf, which will be in Volkswagen showrooms later this year. Simply put, we believe this is the best Golf ever.” - Stefan Jacoby, President/CEO, Volkswagen of America, Inc

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First International Electric Motocross Sets Guinness World Records And Only Cost $100 To Power All 10 Dirt Bikes For 24 Hours.

History was made this past weekend at the 24 Hours of Electricross race when 10 teams, of over 50 competitors, raced for a full-24-hours-straight only stopping to change out batteries and riders.

This first ever endurance competition set two Guinness World Records: one for largest electric motorcycle race, and the other for the furthest distance traveled on an all-electric off-road motorcycle in 24 hours. In total, more than 4,000 miles were completed around the half-mile track.

Amazingly, only $100 of electricity was needed to power all ten motorcycles! Read the rest of this entry »