A lot can be said about Toyota’s hybrid flagship, the Prius. Heck, a lot already has been said about the odd, egg-shaped, fuel sipping little car. Love it or hate it, the Prius has been a sales success story, selling more units than all other hybrids combined while creating a cult of hypermilers and green geeks.

Looking to cash in on the success of the Prius, Toyota is reportedly planning to launch an entire line of Prius automobiles, perhaps even as its own sub-brand. The first contender for a new Prius badge is likely to be either a wagon or SUV, directly addressing the whole lack of cargo room on past Prius models.

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Last year, when the carsplosion really started to hit the fan, GM came before congress and laid it all out bare begging for help. And months later, after some tumultuous change, we have a completely new GM about to emerge from bankruptcy — but now the question is, with its reduced size, influence and output, can GM actually deliver on many of the products that were promised when GM came begging way back when?

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The financial woes at General Motors could finally be catching up with its fuel cell vehicle development program.

In a Web-based interview with the media Tuesday, CEO Fritz Henderson said the company may take a close look at what it spends on fuel cell development. When asked by the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle’s Matt Daneman about fuel cells, Henderson said “while we need to be more efficient in this area, we are confident we can maintain the capabilities necessary to win in the market going forward.” Th giant automaker declared bankruptcy this month and is selling off subsidiaries.

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Chinese manufacturer Chang’An offered up this hybrid concept at the 2009 Shanghai Motor Show. Being a concept vehicle, there aren’t many details on the design outside of the aesthetics. Mostly because I don’t read Chinese.

It looks like a cross between the Batman Tumbler and the Delorean from Back to the Future, if you ask me. But the best part is the statement “Fun Hybrid Concept” which brands the rear of the car. I think they should add that to the Prius!

What do you think of the e301 concept?

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City Room sums up the episode:

A pedestrian was struck by a sport utility vehicle on a street in Corona, Queens, on Wednesday morning, then immediately struck again by a cargo van that dragged the victim 17 miles through a web of city highways and to Coney Island in Brooklyn, the police said. The pedestrian, apparently a male, was killed.

The victim had not yet been identified, though some paperwork was found in the clothing on his body, which was wedged under the van’s chassis, the police said. The authorities said there did not appear to be any criminality involved.

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Looking at the Autodata compilation, there was a purchase surge beginning in February of 2008 which lasted until April before hybrid sales began to decline. They saw another quick increase over the summer when gas price caused a panic, and then began to teeter off as gas prices came down.

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“What,” you may be asking, ”could possibly go wrong?”

Plenty.

More on why we should never, Never, NEVER elect public officials who are bad at math after the jump.

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Yes, it will dazzle you - no, it will bedazzle you - with its awesomeness! It’s fast acting, 3-times concentrated and cheaper than the leading brand. It reduces the price of gasoline to mere pennies, and it’s 100% effective in the fight against plaque and Global Warming. But that’s not all folks. No more starving babies in Africa - especially the cute ones.  And it doesn’t stop there - it gives you longer and more satisfying sex, whether you’re having it with someone else or not. It’s that good!

SPOILER ALERT: No. It’s. Not.

Thar’s Black Gold in Them Thar Hills: Actually, not so much. When it comes to the production of crude oil, America does takes the bronze. But it’s a slighted accomplishment, considering that the top oil producers - both Russia and Saudi Arabia - out produce the U.S. by a factor of 2 to 1. In reality, the U.S. only contributes to about 10-percent of the world’s oil supply.

Confessions of a Consumer Whore: Though, we are the heavy weight champions when it comes to consumption. We use over 25-percent of the world’s oil, of which more than half of that is imported. That’s twenty-five freakin percent! Wow, we’re almost kinda special.

It’s the Economy, Stupid: We consume 20.7 million barrels of oil a day, but only 40-percent of that is home grown.  Considering we only own 3-percent of the world’s oil reserves, offshore contributions would barely be significant. And even if they were, the price of oil is still set by a global market. Therefore no employee discount, we’re still stuck with high prices.

Danger, Will Robinson: Even if we could Dumbledore our way into having offshore crude oil today, it still doesn’t address our biggest fossil-fuel-foul, global warming. It just postpones it.

We are making progress. SUVs are going the way of the Dodo bird; alternative fuel vehicles are becoming more and more prevalent. Heck, even my mom uses reusable bags now. But here’s the half-empty: offshore drilling is not a solution, it’s not even a quick fix - it’s a mistake, plain and simple. The only thing it has to offer is false hope and more environmental damage.

Related Posts:

Offshore Drilling Ban Opens Discussion for Other Domestic Oil Options
Poll: Americans Don’t Think More Drilling Will Lower Gas Prices
Offshore Drilling, Why It May Not Happen, Even if Approved by Congress

Image source: Tank Theory at zenviroments.com

No, not that… rather, the Chinese are experiencing American-style SUV mania with their low gas prices. Also in this edition:Find out how walk-able your neighborhood is, and People Cube helps offices become sustainable.

Links for this week’s ZapRoot:

China Hummer

Zipcode Village

Walk Score (Also see the “Walk this Way” series at Ecolocalizer)

People Cube

If you drive an SUV, the easiest way to cut your carbon footprint drastically is pretty clear: ditch the gas-guzzling monster.  But what do you do with a large car you no longer want?  Tune in to onefewer.com starting today, to find out.

Ryan Mickle spent $60,000 on his Range Rover Sport in 2006.  He loved driving it to work or to go hiking with friends.  But since moving to San Francisco recently, he finds his fossil fuel-emitting sidekick to be more of an albatross than a positive force in his life.  He could sell it, but that would not take the mean machine out of existence, just pass it on to someone else who would then assume Ryan’s carbon footprint.  Pushing it off a cliff seemed a little drastic (and sort of illegal).  Ryan created onefewer.com to spread the word about his SUV, now up for adoption, and ask readers:  what is the most Earth-friendly way for me to part company with this mechanical mistake?

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At the 2008 Geneva Auto show, Mercedes debuted their new diesel-hybrid SUV, which gets a whopping 40-MPG. Add the latest in emissions-control technology, and this vehicle breaks the world’s record for lowest carbon-emitting SUV.

See the full story at Gas 2.0.

Sitting at the table opposite, and having previously wiped mud from my skis for the first time ever, I observed the pair finish their drinks as they continued to discuss the impending catastrophe, before tottering across the car park and jumping in to a large BMW SUV, apparently oblivious to their own part in the play. Similar scenes are replayed daily the world over. Many people agree that human-kind is having a negative impact on our environment, but few are taking direct action. - more on this later.

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Fact: Minivans, pick-up trucks and regular ol' four door sedans get the same, if not worse, miles per gallon (MPG.)

Check out these ratings from the Consumer Reports Guide to Fuel Efficient Vehicles. Of the highest ranked vehicles of their class, these are the top performers in the MPG category:

• Midsized & large SUV: Honda Pilot EX (overall mpg 19, city 13, highway 27)
• Minivan: Chevrolet Venture LS (overall mpg 19, city 12, hwy 27)
• Compact pickup: Toyota Tacoma TRD (overall mpg 16, city 12, hwy 22)
• Small SUV: Toyota Matrix SR AWD (overall mpg 24, city 17, hwy 33)
• Wagons/hatchbacks: Pontiac Vibe FWD (overall mpg 26, 18 city, 36 hwy
• Nearly all of the sedan categories: family, luxury, upscale, and large (with the exception of the small sedan) were similar, averaging an overall mpg of 22.

Small sedan drivers are really the only people who can do the finger pointing as that category ranks best overall for mpg:

• Honda Insight (overall mpg 51, city 36, hwy 66),
• Volkswagon Golf GLS TDI (overall mpg 41, city 29, hwy 54)
• Toyota Prius (overall mpg 41, city 30, hwy 49)

What about hybrid SUVs? Not as good as the small sedans, but a little better than their all-gas counterparts:

• Ford Escape Hybrid 4WD (city mpg 33, hwy 29)
• Mercury Mariner Hybrid 4WD (city mpg 33, hwy 29)
• Lexus RX 400h 2WD (city mpg 33, hwy 28)
• Toyota Highlander Hybrid 2WD (city mpg 33, hwy 28)

Fact: MPG estimates vary. The way you drive and what conditions you are driving in will affect the MPG you'll get from your vehicle. Quick accelleration and heavy breaking, driving at higher speeds, AC use, and idling all can decrease how far your gas goes.

Fact: Federal fuel economy standards in the United States are 27.5 miles per gallon for passenger cars and 24 miles per gallon for light trucks.

Fact: Large vehicles weighing over 8,500 are exempt from fuel economy standards. This includes big SUVs such as the Chevrolet Suburban, Ford Excursion, as well as the Dodge Ram pick-up and most passenger and cargo vans.

Very few automakers are going above and beyond federal regulations and policy to change fuel economy standards and even fewer politicians are able to get any additional regulations in place. A few U.S. senators have proposed increasing CAFE (Corporate Average Fuel Economy) standards to 35 mpg by 2020, which will likely hit the senate floor next month. And democratic presidential hopeful, Barack Obama, announced last week in Detroit the need to increase vehicle fuel efficiency (his plan calls for an average of 40 mpg by 2022.)

However, proposals such as these are often fought strongly by the big auto manufacturers, which makes it difficult for all drivers to get better mileage from the gas pump - whether or not you're driving an SUV.