Green Options

Politico.com is reporting that Obama plans to announce a national Fuel-Economy and Greenhouse Gas standard for automobiles that will finally get everyone on the same page.

It wasn’t that long ago when it seemed like I spent more time fixing my friend’s Hyundai Elantra than she spent driving it.

It was the basest of base model cars, and it would throw mechanical temper tantrums almost weekly, and I thanked the car gods when she finally splurged on a used Lancer. But the Hyundai of today is an altogether different beast, coming out with cars like the Genesis Coupe, a punky, cheap, rear-wheel drive racer that runs as good as it looks. Now Hyundai is looking to break into the American hybrid market with a California-designed concept called the Nuvis, which debuted a few weeks ago at the New York Auto Show.

A few months ago Cleantechnica reported on the new Ford Fusion and Mercury Milan’s graphical display known as SmartGauge. Now Ford has released a video showing the interactive display in action.

Probably the coolest part of the video is where it shows how the driver will get instantaneous driving habits feedback by displaying how efficiently he or she is driving. The gauge does this through a constantly changing display of green leaves — the more green leaves on the display, the better you’re driving. For the less creative among us, that same information can also be displayed in a history graph (fuel economy over the last ten minutes). This is a nice, non-intrusive way to help promote good driving habits and maximizing a driver’s fuel economy.

Video after the break (skip to minute 2 for hybrid-specific graphics and display).

Changing consumer behavior can be a slow painful process. Not only does it require educational efforts but often widespread systemic conformity is required. However innovation has radically altered some of our most fundamental behaviors. Globally, we now access cash from a machine and we carry and use mobile phones for a significant percentage of our calling. Its this type of basic change that will be required to have significant impact on socially and environmentally responsible consumption [...]

China-based BYD has introduced a plug-in hybrid that can be plugged into a regular electrical outlet, and achieve sixty miles on one charge.

The BYD F3DM is the first mass-produced plug-in vehicle in the world. While the car will not be available in the United States until approximately 2011, according to an article on Bloomberg.com, the release of the vehicle provides a boost for the sagging vehicle market, and for the Chinese market in particular.

After the last diesel car was taken off the Japanese market in 2007, Nissan Motor Company has become the first domestic automaker to release a diesel car in Japan in six years. And in the current day climate of everyone looking for ways to save on fuel – to cut costs and to help the environment – Nissan’s X-Trail 20GT sport utility vehicle is also the world’s first “clean” diesel.

Being powered by an engine lead-developed by partner Renault SA, the “clean” diesel refers to the fact that the X-Trail meets Japan’s new emissions standards that are set to kick into effect October 2009. These standards are said to be the strictest in the world.

A video that’s at once cute and humorous. An instant internet classic, right?

Do The Green Thing put this and other great videos together. Each one’s a little piece of green comedy manna. Watch this video and then check them out for more.

Via: Times Online

Mr Zhang of Jilin, China, has had it with thieves who kidnap parts from his car, then demand ransom money to have the parts returned.

He said the car’s computerized engine management system was stolen twice, and it cost him 500 yuan ($70) each time to get the parts back. Now he’s built a cage to house his car and thwart thievery.

Source 

Using this Driving Directions and Fuel Efficiency Tool you can calculate the dollar and environmental cost of your daily commute, or almost any other type of trip you make in your car. The various ways we can reduce our fuel consumption have been widely published, but many people do not understand the impact each change in their driving behavior will make.

Preventative care is always better than going to the Emergency Room. That's an appropriate comment whether discussing personal health or car maintenance. Today we'd like to finish up our multi-part car care series by mentioning a few things we haven't hit on so far.

Could a shift in green thinking from world-wide automakers simply be a little window-dressing? Chrysler's Chief Economist, Van Jolissaint, answered this slightly by describing climate change as something "way, way in the future and with a degree of uncertainty."