e-Trade

Filed under: Hybrid, Transportation Alternatives, Legislation and Policy, USA

Following the examples set down by New York and San Francisco, Boston is now requiring that all its taxis be hybrids by the year 2015. The fleet currently boasts about 50 of the gas saving cars but most of the rest of the fleet of 1825 people movers are Crown Victorias. Although the hybrids can save owners $1,000 a month in fuel costs and halve emissions, change is not always welcomed and there is some resistance to switching over. The upfront cost of hybrids approach $30,000 when outfitted with the complete taxi kit while the old rear-wheel drive guzzlers might be less than half of that when picked up second hand from city auctions. Of course, we might argue that brand new Ford Escape hybrids and Priuses would be twice as nice to drive and ride in as previously ragged-out police cars but perhaps we’re biased. In any case, the decision has been made and so hybrids it will be…eventually. The seven year grace period is supposed to help out the owner-operators compete with large cab company fleets while the transition is made.

[Source: The Boston Globe]

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Filed under: Ethanol, Legislation and Policy

Not to be outdone by those Coors ethanol vehicles at the DNC, Republicans will get their own ethanol-dose during their national convention this week. On Tuesday night in the Twin Cities, the Minnesota Agri-Growth Council will host a “celebration” called AgNite (because you know that farmers are the first to ditch old school and correct spellings of words like night). The self-styled non-partisan AgNite will celibrate “America’s food and agricultural industry with key policymakers, convention delegates, media, and top industry leaders” and will feature an ethanol angle thanks to the sponsorship of the Renewable Fuels Association.

Ethanol promoters have a lot of work to do to get Republican delegates on the same page. The National Review’s Corner says that the GOP’s party platform recently voted against strong ethanol mandates, following strong discussion.

[Source: AgNite via Domestic Fuel, National Review]

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Filed under: Ethanol, Legislation and Policy

Not to be outdone by those Coors ethanol vehicles at the DNC, Republicans will get their own ethanol-dose during their national convention this week. On Tuesday night in the Twin Cities, the Minnesota Agri-Growth Council will host a “celebration” called AgNite (because you know that farmers are the first to ditch old school and correct spellings of words like night). The self-styled non-partisan AgNite will celibrate “America’s food and agricultural industry with key policymakers, convention delegates, media, and top industry leaders” and will feature an ethanol angle thanks to the sponsorship of the Renewable Fuels Association.

Ethanol promoters have a lot of work to do to get Republican delegates on the same page. The National Review’s Corner says that the GOP’s party platform recently voted against strong ethanol mandates, following strong discussion.

[Source: AgNite via Domestic Fuel, National Review]

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Filed under: EV/Plug-in, Tesla Motors, European Union

Click on the Tesla Roadster for a high-res gallery

OK, so if you were wondering what could be gained by schlepping a batch of Tesla Roadsters across the pond, I have your answer: convincing European automotive journalists that EVs are wicked cool.

Take, for example, the feelings of Guido Reinking, the editor of Automobilwoche. Before feeling what it’s like to be behind the wheel of a Roadster recently, he thought that EVs offered a pathetic future and that electric-powered vehicles were more suited for public transportation than cars. Of EVs, he said, “Aren’t they completely sterile, bereft of any emotion, just another appliance?”

He’s changed his tune. According to his piece in Automotive News Europe, Reinking now says that, “Anyone harboring such misconceptions needs to take a test drive in a Tesla Roadster.” It’s a feeling we know, and know well.

Sure, Reinking noted the Roadster’s problems, as we noted last week, but I thought the change of mind that Reinking had should be brought up on its own. After all, everyone is going to have their first experience with EVs in the coming decade (give or take) and the more positive those can be, the better the chances will be for battery-powered vehicles.

[Source: Automotive News Europe]

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Filed under: EV/Plug-in, Transportation Alternatives, UK

Residents of Radnor Park in Clydebank, Scotland have a new transportation alternative in the form of three new cars to share amongst themselves. And although the car-sharing arrangement does require them to pay a fee of £5 for a day’s worth of car time, they won’t need to worry about paying for petrol or polluting their fair city since the vehicles in question are all-electric Mega Citys. What about the “long tailpipe” that’s potentially leads back to a coal-fired power plant? Not to worry as these vehicles are supplied by excess power from a small plant shared by the seven buildings for heat and electricity.

The program is the first of its kind in Scotland and was funded by a £37,000 Community Scotland grant. The director of the Clydebank Housing Association (CHA), Fiona Webster, says the shared power combined with the shared cas make this Radnor Park one of the most sustainable communities in Britain. The only problem we for see is perhaps the electric cars becoming too popular and being declared a success.

[Source: BBC / CHA]

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