In an advertising supplement – Natural Gas Trucks – Proven, Reliable Performance, Using Our Abundant, Economical Resource for a Cleaner, Stronger America the organization declares its theme of waste management transportation — “Natural gas-powered refuse and recycling trucks are on the job every day in more than 100 communities all across North America with nearly 3500 in service as of January 2009 and over a thousand more expected to hit the streets in the coming year. The waste industry is just one of several sectors that are embracing natural gas as a motor fuel.”

Kolodziej also pointed to the current practice of flaring biomethane erupting from decomposing landfills as a wasted resource that could be harnessed for vehicle fuel. Although conceding that biomethane remains expensive because of purification costs, Kolodziej observes costs are dropping, and the little-known renewable fuel will likely benefit many vehicle operators in the years to come. “At the head of that line are the trash truck operators,” Kolodziej says. n g v g l o b a l   .   c o m

Get Financing First :
Pre-approved auto loans have a number of advantages. First, you find out what you qualify to borrow before you get stuck in a contract. You can also play around with loan terms to find a reasonable monthly payment. And sellers are eager to close a deal with a buyer that has secure financing.Used cars loans often require a slightly higher rate, usually .6 or more, than new car loans. However, rates vary widely between lending companies, so it pays to shop around. Processing your loan before your car purchase relieves you from the pressure of signing with the first lender you find. It also saves you money in lower rates.

Plan On 10% Down :
10% is most often required for a used car loan. It signals to the lender that you are investing in this purchase and are willing to make payments. A larger down payment can improve rates and offset low credit scores.Another way to save money is to choose a short term loan. Since a used car probably won’t last as long as a new car, five and three year loans make the most financial sense. You save on interest costs and can start saving for your next car.

Shopping With A Dealer :
Some lenders also offer better rates when you purchase through a car dealership, even with used cars. You should weigh all your options when applying for this type of car loan.Dealerships usually provide a partial warranty for their used cars; they also charge more. You may be able to find an excellent deal in the classifieds, but there is a level of risk with that purchase. However, the difference in interest rates between these types of loans is more than 1%.

By: Terje Brooks Ellingse

Air deflectors also help manage bug splatter the same way. You understand how it is to drive around at dusk in some areas of the back country: you get hit by swarm after swarm of the largest insects. Your wipers work overtime and, yet, still the bugs still come. An air deflector pushes bugs to the side, away from your windshield so you can see clearly.

An air deflector is easy to install; no special tools are needed.
Air deflectors are stylish too.

When purchasing an air deflector for your vehicle, you can order one that will fit your particular make and model. There is no one sized fits all air deflector; they are custom sized to give you the right fit every time.

Deflectors are made of polycarbonate construction to ensure that they last long and can withstand all weather and road conditions.

By: Matthew Keegan

“In 2030, this could be over 5 million. By 2050, traffic in towns and cities could be predominantly without fossil fuels,” the National Electric Mobility Plan reads.

It includes $712 million for sustainable mobility research and development, including programs to develop the charging station infrastructure and boost battery technology, an area of expertise that has long belonged to Asia.

“It is our goal to make Germany into the market leader for electric mobility,” Economy Minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg said after the Cabinet approved the plan.

The plan also mulls a $7,000 rebate for Germans buying an electric car starting in 2012, and it earmarks money for eight model regions aimed at learning about driving patterns and how to best integrate electric mobility into the German electricity grid. The scheme also supports research and development into fuel cells and biofuels.

Berlin hopes to introduce the first 100,000 electric cars onto the German auto market by 2012, at a time when German car giants including Daimler and BMW are due to have EVs market-ready. Volkswagen, Europe’s largest carmaker, won’t introduce a fully electric vehicle until 2013, and it took Daimler until this June to launch its first hybrid vehicle — roughly a decade after Toyota introduced its Prius. The German car market today includes roughly 40 million vehicles.

Elsewhere, companies are faster. Japan’s Mitsubishi Motors Corp. earlier this year launched its electric vehicle, the $48,000 i-MiEV. Competitor Nissan in August unveiled a mass-market battery-powered car called the Leaf, which the firm said will be in showrooms in Japan, the United States and Europe by the end of 2010. The Chevrolet Volt, a plug-in hybrid that relies on its motor only for electricity generation, is to be sold by early 2011.

Germany’s politicians are nevertheless optimistic that the German industry, famous for its successes when it comes to gasoline and diesel engine efficiency, can meet the growing global competition.

“We are very confident that we in Germany can provide enough of an impulse to compete with the United States and Asia,” Transport Minister Wolfgang Tiefensee said Wednesday at a news conference in Berlin.

Germany supports sustainable mobility to help meet the country’s ambitious climate protection targets and reduce dependency on oil imports, the minister said.

Critics warned that many of the model regions may see cars driving with “dirty electricity” generated in coal-fired or nuclear power plants.

“Electric cars only drive environmentally friendly if they are charged with power from renewable sources,” Hermann Albers, the head of the German Wind Energy Association, said in a statement. “That’s why the pilot projects the big utilities are involved in harbor the danger that traditional electricity is used. But we need concepts with renewable power.” (steven nicola)

A hybrid car is a means of transportation using two power sources; it uses a rechargeable energy storage system found on board and a fuelled power source as the vehicle’s driving force. The hybrid car pollutes less and uses less fuel.

Back in 1899, Ferdinand Porsche have developed and led the way to the very first working hybrid-electric vehicle. Other people followed suit in Ferdinand Porsche’s invention. Many people who became interested in the hybrid-vehicle concept have been continually making hybrid cars.  However, there was no major car manufacturer who invested in the hybrid concept and mass produced hybrid cars until the late twentieth century. The hybrid technology was mainly utilized in developing diesel-electric submarines during that interim period.

The diesel-electric submarines mainly operate very much the same as a hybrid car. However, the submarines main goal was to conserve oxygen rather than spend less fuel. During the later years, submarines have evolved and have begun using the nuclear power as a substitute for diesel.

During the 1990’s, the Toyota Prius and the Honda Insight were the first successful hybrid cars available in the market. It was two of the pioneers in the hybrid car concept which virtually changed the way the world thinks about cars.

An idealistic inventor, Victor Wouk, manufactured a hybrid electric and gas motor vehicle that siphoned fuel at half the amount as practically all the other cars being built then. He built the hybrid car thirty years before the Toyota Prius got the attention of the U.S. as an energy-anxious nation.

The account about the hybrid car and its inventor, who died in May, 2005, at age 86, is unfamiliar among even the most avid fans of the growing hybrid car association. In terms of hybrid car knowledge, it is in fact America that should have led all other countries. Wouk said that the government program that he developed about hybrids was unknown to everyone.

Victor Wouk founded and sold two successful electric industrialized companies in the late 1940s and 50s and in 1962 he was approach by Russell Feldman, one of the founders of Motorola, who recognized the pollution from the automobile as one of the biggest problem of the environment and he wanted to discover the possible solutions with regards to this problem. But his experiment did not work much for the possible solution.

Having an idea, Wouk pondered the problem throughout the 60s and ultimately reached a clever solution. He combined the low-emission benefits of an electric car with the power of a gasoline engine to produce a hybrid vehicle. But Wouk did not get any response to his ideas for creating a hybrid car; in fact he was heavily criticized for not believing in a full-electric system.

With the help of his colleague, Charlie Rosen, who shared his belief about hybrid cars, gave him the chance to prove his ideas of creating the hybrid car as one of the solution to the rapid health cost of auto-pollution. And now the impressive capabilities of the invention of Wouk, the hybrid cars, can now be a very great help in terms of less fuel consumption and less air pollution.

Wouk and Rosen put up a new company particularly to developed their hybrid car idea and make it possible to be in the market and be used as an everyday car that belched far less harmful vapors than contemporary vehicles.

The Prius

Ever since the Toyota Prius was released in the market, it has been able to remain as the premier choice of hybrid cars available. It is true that old hybrid cars looks more like an alien car and cost far more than the conventional car. However, because of the latest technology installed in newer versions of hybrid cars, it looks more like a conventional car and is far cheaper than its predecessors. It is a fact that hybrid cars today looks very much like conventional cars. However, it will enable you to cut fuel consumption in half.

For example, the Honda Civic Hybrid car looks very much like its conventional version. However, when you look at it closely, the hybrid version of the Civic is able to conserve fuel much better than its gasoline counterpart. The Civic Hybrid can get you 50 miles in just one gallon of gasoline.

During the year 2004, Ford has developed and introduced the very first hybrid SUV, which is the Ford Escape Hybrid. A year later, Toyota also introduced their line of hybrid SUV called the Highlander Hybrid.

Because of the growing demand for hybrid cars, other car manufacturers are now following the footsteps of the other companies who already released a version of their hybrid car in the market. For example, Nissan is now planning to develop and introduce a hybrid version of the Nissan Altima.

Nowadays, over 300,000 hybrid cars are running on American roads wherein 95 percent of them are Japanese made. The hybrid vehicles are truly very different technology that can both save money and our environment.

Potential winners range from established suppliers such as BorgWarner Inc, Honeywell International Inc and Johnson Controls Inc to battery makers such as start-up A123 Systems, Continental AG and LG Chem Ltd, analysts say.

To improve fuel efficiency by as much as 40 percent, major automakers will need to order a lot more turbochargers, more advanced lithium-ion batteries and more electric motors for cars and trucks already under development.

“There are a lot of suppliers out there with credentials that are lining up to get into this gold rush,” said Larry Rinek, an expert in fuel efficiency at consulting firm Frost & Sullivan. “This is going to be a drama to watch.”

Other analysts expect steel to be swapped for lighter aluminum and plastics. Copper demand could grow as electric motors are rolled out to meet the rising production of hybrids.

The hitch: analysts expect American consumers will pay more than projected and face sharply limited choices.

With General Motors Corp and Chrysler LLC operating under government funding, analysts also expect demands for large new subsidies to automakers and incentives to get consumers into greener and smaller cars.

S&P equity analyst Efraim Levy said he was keeping his “hold” recommendation on shares of Ford Motor Co, the only U.S. automaker to have steered clear of a bailout.

“We do think it will burden an already struggling industry,” Levy said in a note for clients.

Barclay’s Capital analyst Brian Johnson, meanwhile, said the new policy reinforced his view that BorgWarner and Johnson Controls could benefit from increased demand for turbochargers and lithium-ion batteries.

BorgWarner and Johnson Controls shares each closed around 3 percent higher at $29.82 and $19.95, respectively, while Honeywell was up less than 1 percent at $33.09.

SEND FOR MORE LITHIUM AND ALUMINUM

The bump in demand for those advanced batteries, now widely used to power everything from cell phones to power tools, reflects the view that more automakers will be pushed into the market for hybrids now dominated by Toyota Motor Corp and Honda Motor Co Ltd.

“The new regulations will ensure that manufacturers immediately reconsider conventional hybrids, plug-in hybrids, electrically powered vehicles and battery electrics to have a variety of them ready for consumer purchase in the next decade,” Kelley Blue Book analyst Jack Nerad said.

Analyst Charles Bradford of Affiliated Research Group expected the steel content in vehicles to drop, while aluminum and plastic usage would rise.

That is bad news for some because the auto industry is the second biggest user of steel, behind construction. ArcelorMittal SA , United States Steel Corp and AK Steel Holding Corp are the three steelmakers with the biggest exposure to the car industry, he said.

Bradford also expected a boom in demand for lithium that has to be imported from markets such as China, Chile and Bolivia and could be in short supply.

Frost & Sullivan’s Rinek expects hybrid vehicles to make up 7 percent of U.S. vehicle sales by 2015, up from under 3 percent currently, but is reviewing that projection.

“Now that looks conservative. We would probably nudge that up,” he said.

HOW MUCH WILL IT COST?

Sandy Stojkovski, an engineering and fuel economy expert at auto industry consulting firm Ricardo, estimated it could cost consumers between $5,000 and $12,000 more per vehicle under the federal fuel economy targets.

The Obama administration has said the efficiency upgrade could cost just $1,300 per vehicle and consumers could look to recoup much of that by spending less on fuel. If that estimate proves low, evidence suggests American consumers will balk.

A poll conducted for Johnson Controls in March found an overwhelming 88 percent of adults surveyed said the United States should become a leader in hybrid vehicles. But an almost equal margin — 80 percent — said the extra cost of a hybrid would prevent people from buying one.

“The technology isn’t the hard part here. It’s aligning consumer demand with the technology that is going to be the hard part,” Stojkovski said.

Erich Merkle, an independent auto analyst, said the new standards threaten to cut into margins on the big trucks where GM, Chrysler and Ford have dominated in recent years.

Merkle also expected Congress would have to double the amount budgeted for taxpayer-backed loans to offset the cost of producing a new generation of greener cars.

“We’re going to have to start at $50 billion and work from there,” he added.

(Reporting by Kevin Krolicki and David Bailey in Detroit and Steve James in New York; Editing by Andre Grenon)

The Touran, renowned for its high levels of standard equipment and safety features, impressed the readers of BusinessCar through its mix of versatility, quality and efficiency.   Tristan Young, Editor-in-Chief of BusinessCar commented: ‘Volkswagen’s Touran has spent several years proving itself to fleet managers and corporate users.  The combination of Volkswagen’s premium reputation, great build quality and rock-solid running costs combine with the Touran’s seven-seat practicality to forge a winning package, especially with the new addition of the low CO2 BlueMotion version that will appeal strongly to business users.’   Fitted with seven seats as standard, the final row of which can be folded flat into the boot floor when not in use, the Touran has pioneered the innovative Park Assist self-parking system and has enjoyed sustained popularity amongst UK buyers.  The range was broadened further in 2008 with the introduction of the BlueMotion model.    Fitted with a highly-efficient 1.9-litre TDI 105 PS engine it’s capable of returning 52.3 mpg on the combined cycle while producing just 144 g/km of CO2.   On receiving the award, Vincent Kinner, Head of Volkswagen Fleet Services commented: ‘We are extremely proud to receive this award for the Touran from BusinessCar, particularly as it was voted for solely by the publication’s readership, which is such an influential group within the fleet arena.

Source : www.volkswagen.co.uk

Here are a few easy ways to get hybrid-like fuel economy without buying a new car or even changing your lifestyle.

• Simply follow the maintenance recommendations in your owner’s manual. An out-of-tune engine can increase fuel consumption by as much as 15 percent. Always follow your car manufacturer’s suggested tune-up schedule.
• Upgrade your motor oil. You can save gas and improve performance by switching to high performance synthetic motor oil. According to independent tests, upgrading to Royal Purple motor oil improved fuel economy by as much as five percent and produced notable increases in horsepower and torque. You can find a fuel savings calculator at RoyalPurple.com that shows you how much money you can save annually just by upgrading lubricants.
• Regularly replace your air filter. A clogged air filter can increase fuel consumption by as much as 10 percent. Air filters keep impurities from damaging the interior of the engine, so replacing dirty filters will save gas and protect your engine.
• Keep the tires of your vehicle properly inflated. The U.S. Department of Energy reports that under-inflated tires can increase fuel consumption by up to six percent. One study estimates that 50 to 80 percent of the tires rolling on U.S. roads are under inflated. Astonishingly, we could save up to two billion gallons of gas each year simply by properly inflating our tires.
• Keep your gas cap on. About 17 percent of the vehicles on the road have gas caps that are either damaged, loose or are missing altogether, causing 147 million gallons of gas to vaporize every year according to “Auto Service Operator” magazine. A quick visual inspection of your gas cap every time you fill up is an easy, painless way to make sure your fuel (and your money) is not vanishing into thin air.

Mr. Abramson, president and chief executive of Electrorides, Inc., was at the U.S. Capitol last Thursday, behind the wheel of a delivery truck whose gasoline engine was replaced with a 100-kilowatt motor. (For unreformed gear-heads, that’s 134 horsepower.)

Electrorides, Inc., is trying to market its fleet of electric trucks to Congress. (Photo: Electrorides)

In the back, located under the truck’s bed and between the frame rails, were lithium-ion batteries that carried 65 kilowatt-hours of energy — about as much as a typical house uses in three weeks.

His immediate target in Washington is the House of Representatives, where Nancy Pelosi, the Democratic Speaker from California, has been waging a campaign to “green the Capitol.”

The House runs several trucks around the Capitol Hill complex, which includes hundreds of offices spread out in several major buildings.

Mr. Abramson’s vehicle, called the ZeroTruck, has no direct carbon emissions — though, of course, the electricity has to come from somewhere. At the national average for the electric generating system, the truck would produce about a pound and a half of carbon dioxide per mile traveled, vs. nearly 2 pounds running on gasoline, at 10 miles per gallon. But it would dump no smog-causing nitrogen oxides or particles into the streets, and over time, the electric system is likely to get cleaner.

Making trucks more efficient has proved something of a challenge. As my colleague, Kate Galbraith, noted in November, T. Boone Pickens, the oilman-cum-renewables-enthusiast, has been fond of saying “a battery won’t move an 18-wheeler.”

The cost and size of batteries needed to propel large vehicles has long been an obstacle to truck electrification, but advances in battery technology are making it more and more feasible. Delivery companies have been experimenting with hybrid alternatives for some time. And Southern California Edison, Kate noted, has had a plug-in hybrid utility truck in its fleet for over five years.

The ZeroTruck, however, is all electric. With no internal combustion engine, the vehicle is a symphony of normally overlooked sounds, like the ones produced by the tires on the pavement, and the pumps that run the power steering and hydraulic brakes.

In the cab, an add-on meter shows the state of charge of the batteries and their temperature. The tachometer measures motor speed, although Mr. Abramson plans subsequent models with no transmission, so the motor will turn at the same speed as the wheels.

The price for the ZeroTruck is about $125,000, Mr. Abramson said. That may sound like a lot, but if diesel fuel were $5 a gallon, as it was recently, the car could pay for itself in just five years, he said.

At the current price for diesel, closer to $2.50, payoff is much longer.

But like other electric vehicles, operating costs are lower because there is no oil to change, and the electric motor does a lot of the work ordinarily done by brakes, when it captures momentum and turns that back into electric current for the batteries.

Charging at 240 volts – the kind of circuit an electric oven uses – takes 8 hours. But a third-party vendor, Etech, of Phoenix, offers a charging unit that will run at 480 volts and do the job in one hour, Mr. Abramson said, adding that he hoped a sale would be approved soon by the city council of Santa Monica, Calif. — and then by the House.

Mr. Abramson, who managed JetBlue’s spare parts inventory in California before leaving a few months ago to take a stab at the electric truck business, converted this one at a shop in Ontario, Calif. He brought it east on the back of a trailer, since its range is only around 70 miles on a charge. The truck that towed it — a gasoline model — had a bumper sticker: “Fed up with gas prices? Electric cars – for a change.”

“When people want something and no one else is building it,” Mr. Abramson said, “I’m going to give it a shot.”