Gas 2.0

For me, the biggest letdown in recent memory was the Honda CR-Z. Touted as a spiritual successor of the CR-X, the CR-Z managed to get it all wrong. Whereas the original CR-X was lightweight, sporty, and frugal with its fuel, the CRZ is underwhelming at best. The hybrid manages to get just 37 mpg in a two-seater that has a combined horsepower output of just 122 ponies in a 3,000 pound package. Like I said, underwhelming, at least in the Americanized version.

But Europe is also getting the CR-Z. Strangely enough, their version gets two extra (albeit small) seats, converting the CR-Z into a more practical 2+2 for people with small children or petite friends. But what really got me is that the European CRZ gets much better gas mileage… 47 mpg, in fact. How did that happen?

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US-based car-share giant Zipcar Inc. has launched its first ever Electric Vehicle Pod, featuring an all-electric Citroen C1 and a Plug-In Toyota Prius. The vehicles, among the most efficient and technologically advanced on the road today, can be hired by the hour for a fraction of the cost of owning one.

The company figures that EVs are ideally suited for early, large-scale use in Zipcar’s car sharing platform since the average Zipcar trip lasts just under four hours and less than 25 miles, well within the range of a typical EV.

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Italian car company Tazzari has announced plans to launch its Tazzari Zero all-electric vehicle in the North American market next year.

The all-electric 2 door super mini (video) weighs in at a tiny 542 kilograms (around 1,200 lbs), leaving it capable of achieving 100 km/h (62 mph) in a nimble 5 seconds, with a top speed of 80 km/h (50mph) (more pics after the jump).

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