Green Options

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Good news for BMW this year.  Studies by the European Union committee on transport pollution, or the European Federation for Transport and Environment (T&E), showed that the high-performance, luxury automotive maker reduced carbon emissions by more than 7% across all models released and sold in 2007.

The average level of greenhouse gases emitted by BMW vehicles dropped from 184 grams of CO2/km to 170 g/km. That number is still a bit too high as far as the European Union is concerned, but it’s admirable to see an automobile manufacturer known for performance attempting to clean up a fraction of the mess it leaves behind.

You look west to see a barren landscape, tumbleweed breezing lazily through the charred remains of a forest.  The rust laden skeleton of what used to be a city echoes the promise of a future long gone.  You are fighting out your days amidst gunfire and tribal warfare in armor composed of animal fur and long deserted hockey pads.  Ironically water isn’t the most important liquid on the planet that spins where the Earth once spun.  You begin to wash the grease smears off your face in a shallow pool…

…oh wait, am I jumping the gun here?

While our gas crises hasn’t quite reached ‘Mad Max’ proportions yet, things are close enough that the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers will make this September “Green Check-Up Month.” After countless years of making oversized and inefficient autos, Ford and Chevy are now going to tell us how to save gas.

The 1990’s were the host of many great fads. Furby, Tamagachis, string theory, the examples are as numerous as the many incarnations of Prince. Fast forward to 2008, and it seems that America’s fads are finally becoming practical. Hypermiling is the new hoola-hoop, and it’s even more convenient because there is more than one way to do it. While some prefer drafting and coasting in neutral whenever possible, most drivers just watch their tachometers.

BMW has announced plans to sell all-electric versions of its popular Mini car in the U.S., starting from summer 2009.

Speaking on Tuesday, Mini USA Vice President, Jim McDowell, said that the company is still deciding whether to sell or lease the vehicles. He remained tight-lipped over exactly where in the country the cars will be available, and declined to comment on other aspects, such as range, power, charging time and price.

He also said that speculation that Mini will sell 500 EVs in California next year was premature, since no exact plans have yet been finalised. Mini will apparently make a further announcement later this year, possibly to coincide with the Los Angeles Auto Show.

Plug-in hybrid, all-electric or fuel cell? Car-makers are hedging their bets on what will emerge as the next generation engine technology of choice – now it seems another alternative approach could well be set to enter the mix. Scottish engineering firm Artemis Intelligent Power has tested a hybrid system that it claims can cut carbon emissions by 30%, with the added advantage that it is better suited to inter-urban journeys than conventional hybrids like the Toyota Prius.

In common with other hybrids, the system employs a regenerative braking system that stores energy as the vehicle slows down, and feeds it back into the engine as it accelerates. The key innovation is that instead of storing the energy in a battery, the new system stores it in a hydraulic accumulator.

New diesels will get better mileage and have cleaner emissions than your average car. Pictured above: 2009 Jetta SportWagen 2L TDI Clean Diesel.

Later this year (see the timeline below), we will finally begin to see an influx of new model diesels in the United States. While diesels make up 50% of the market share of vehicles in Europe, they’re still trying to shrug off the stigma of being dirty, noisy beasts here in the US. So what changed?

Editor's note: Yes, we're bringing on the new writers! Alex Ho is the latest to join the group. Alex blogs regularly at Generation Exe, and lives in the Bay Area. He'll be covering the green tech field for us.

The BMW Hydrogen 7 Series Sedan is not currently available for purchase, but I am sure it will be eventually. It has started a limited production run and will currently only be

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BMW and DaimlerChrysler are teaming up to develop hybrid transmission systems for rear-wheel-drive premium cars.

These transmission systems will be for so-called “mild hybrids,” which boost acceleration and can make engines work more efficiently in stop-and-go traffic, but can’t run on battery power alone and don’t offer the same fuel savings as a full hybrid (like a Toyota Prius, which connects an electric motor and batteries to a standard combustion engine.). The carmakers should have

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