EnviroHop - A Greener Commuting News and Information Portal.

A few days ago a story made the rounds on the Internet (as they usually do) that raised a few eyebrows regarding the Chevy Volt. GM’s much-ballyhooed plug-in hybrid, which can go 40 miles on electricity only, would apparently require premium gasoline to power its battery generator. Premium fuel carries a premium price, usually 20-30 cents more per gallon. So much for saving money on gas.

Turns out that yes, the Volt is calibrated to run on premium fuel, for reasons I will get into below. However, it is equipped with a knock sensor… which means the engine can “detune” itself to run on regular fuel.

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Drag racing is the most basic form of motorsports, as well as one of the most exciting. Two cars line up against each other, and the first car across the finish line wins. There are different forms of drag racing for different cars, but, as they say, them’s the basics. Most drag strips are 1/4 mile long, short enough that many cars get across the finish line in just a few seconds. Anything done in 14 seconds or less is generally considered “fast”.

It is a sport dominated by high cost, high horsepower drag cars with professional teams attached. Yet the White Zombie, a little ‘72 Datsun converted to electric power, has been showing the world that you don’t need gas to go really fast.

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Racing is not very green, and yet it continues to amaze me how many in the racing world are taking clean energy seriously. A great example is the American Le Mans Series, which continues to promote hybrid and alternative fuel vehicles at its races. Even the greenest cars can’t green a whole race track though, which often covers hundreds of acres and on race day can accumulate epic mounds of garbage.

Pocono Raceway in Pennsylvania is taking a pro-active step in greening their facility. This past weekend they threw the switch on the largest solar array in Pennsylvania, which not only provides power to the massive race track, but 1,000 nearby homes as well.

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I complain about traffic congestion a lot, until I am reminded that compared to some parts of the world, America has it easy. I could not imagine living in Moscow or Beijing, where four-hour traffic jams are the norm. China faces an especially daunting task as their population continues to expand and urbanize; you can only build so many highways and move so many people, and building new train lines is expensive and requires extensive planning.

Unless… you put the train right over existing highways. That is what one Chinese designer is proposing. And I think the idea has a lot of merit… if only he can figure out how to get around existing overpasses.

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I am of the opinion that to get people to “Go Green” you have to convince them it is for their benefit. Yes, saving the Earth is important, I am down with that. The fact of the matter though is that most people won’t go out of their way to save the planet unless there is a tangible benefit for them. Clean air don’t pay the bills.

Which is why hybrids and electric vehicles make so much sense for business, especially local ones. Many businesses rely on heavy vehicles that get poor gas mileage to get their business to their customers. Frost & Sullivan, a market research group, is predicting that over the next six years, the commercial hybrid market is set for big growth. Sounds like people are starting to catch on to how much money can be saved by increasing fuel economy.

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It still pains me that Ford has murdered the Mercury brand. I am a die-hard Mercury enthusiast, and even though it was before my time, I’ve heard many stories about the great cars Mercury used to make. The Cougar, the Comet, the Marauder… these are cars that quickly became legends. No more Mercury though, and Ford has officially sold Volvo (for $1.8 billion, a lot less than they bought it for), leaving the Blue Oval with just two brands; Ford and Lincoln.

The Lincoln lineup though, quite frankly, is kinda sad right now. Lincoln has no cars all its own, just rebadged Fords. That could change soon though, as Ford plans to focus on expanding the Lincoln lineup… though not in the direction you might think.

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Ever since the surprise debut of the Porsche 918 Spyder at the Geneva Auto Show this year, many of us have been salivating at the prospects of its eventual production… and for good reason. With a 0-60 time of around 3 seconds, a lithium-ion battery that can take the car 16 miles on battery power alone, a maximum fuel efficiency of about 78 mpg, and a combined 718 horsepower, this plug-in hybrid supercar seems to have it all.

Porsche has said in the past that all they needed was 1,000 firm orders to before they’d start production, and as of this week they have more than 2,000 non-binding submissions of interest. Yesterday Porsche’s Supervisory Board reportedly approved the vehicle for production as a way to show Porsche’s commitment to next generation vehicles and support the German economy.

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The workhorse of taxi fleets across the U.S. is the Ford Crown Victoria. Also popular as a cop car, the Crown Vic is known for its body-on-frame design (easy to repair) and impressive cargo and interior space. One area it does not excel in is gas mileage, as the big V8 engine aren’t all that efficient to begin with. Task them with the stop-and-go nature of city driving, and gas mileage plummets.

New York City has been trying for several years to force taxi owners to switch to hybrids. A recent ruling by a Federal judge backed up an earlier ruling  that barred the city from mandating hybrid taxis.

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California prides itself as being a green mecca, inviting inventions and high technology and grooming early adopters with special HOV lane access and tax credits on alternative fuel vehicles. Well, mostly. It seems like California has soured on hybrids in HOV lanes, recently revoking the Prius’s access to this less-traveled road.

At least the Prius was allowed in for a time though. In a rather shocking turn, California has not only denied the Chevy Volt access to the HOV lane, it also won’t get any state tax credits. Zing!

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I haven’t quite made my mind up on the Volt. I like a lot of things about the Chevy super-eco-car, like its many standard features, emphasis on technology, and the fact that it can be an every day car. I don’t like the $41,000 starting price (which comes down to $33,500 after Federal tax credits… still pretty expensive).

Know what else I don’t like about the Chevy Volt? Premium fuel only. Seriously GM?

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The Porsche Panamera caused quite an uproar when the German auto manufacturer first unveiled it a few years ago. A four door Porsche? Madness! Worse than a Porsche SUV! Still, after the car was a hit with many reviewers, and pitchfork-armed Porsche mobs settled done and enjoyed the car for what it is; an overpriced, fast, four-door sedan.

Now word has come down that Porsche is planning to make the Panamera into a hybrid. Grab your pitchforks!

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When President Obama came into office, he brought with him promises for new alternative energy vehicles including EV’s. He wants 1 million plug-in hybrid cars on the road by 2015, a goal easily achievable. Additionally, the Obama administration threw billions of dollars at electric vehicle and other alternative energy startups. But has the spigot been turned off?

Not quite. A new energy bill making the rounds in Congress would allocate $4 billion for natural gas vehicles… and just $400 million for EV’s. Has the tide turned against electric cars yet again?

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After teasing us for weeks, Ford has finally unveiled the 2011 Ford Explorer. The vanguard of the gas-guzzling SUV movement has been reimagined and redesigned as a vehicle that promotes fuel economy and the ability to handle a veritable boatload of passengers. It comes with two engines, a standard V6 and the pricier 4-cylinder EcoBoost engine, a new “terrain management system”, and a host of high-tech features on the interior.

I’ve had a few days to let the deluge of information on the new Explorer sink in, but there is still one nagging question in my mind; is this a crossover, or an SUV?

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Ever hear of the Partnership for a New Generation of Vehicles? Neither have I. In fact, when the program came into existence under President Clinton in 1993, I was just 7 years old. I knew nothing of cars or fuel efficiency. This program involved the three major U.S. automakers and eight Federal Agencies. The initiative was to produce several high-mileage concept cars to be put into production by 2003, and each of the automakers deliver. GM came up with the Precept, Chrysler the ESX II, and Ford developed the Prodigy. Each was a hybrid vehicle capable of delivering about 80 mpg.

The Ford Prodigy is heading to auction next month in Monterey, California. So why haven’t I ever heard of it before?

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There has been so much speculation surrounding the Chevy Volt’s eventual price, that I’m just going to cut to the chase. GM has placed an official price on the Chevy Volt, its plug-in hybrid with a 40 mile all-electric range: $41,000. That is before any tax incentives, like the $7,500 Federal tax credit, (which would take the price down to about $33,500). This is pretty much what everybody was guessing the Volt would cost, so is it really any surprise?

The Volt will come with lots of standard features as well as add-ons, to a top-price of around $44,000. Even with tax incentives, the four-passenger Volt will be about $8,000-10,000 more than its nearest competitor, the Nissan LEAF. Yet GM says there is”no competitor”. O RLY?

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As much as I love driving, I know a lot of people aren’t all that fond of it. Need proof? Look at all the people who talk, text, read, or are otherwise distracted from driving behind the wheel. The Next Great Thing just might be cars that drive themselves, as so many sci-fi films have teased us with. The idea may still be rather far off, but a team of Italian engineers is taking a big step towards the future with a long-term, self-powered test of driverless capabilities.

Two pairs of vans, powered by the sun, will trek from Italy to China during a 3-month excursion to test the capabilities of self-driving technology. Will they make it?

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The most exciting story of the ePower electric motorcycle race, in my opinion, is not the state-of-the-art ultra-mega high-tech MotoCzysz E1PC win. To me, it’s actually Lighting Motor’s second place bike that I find more interesting. I deeply admire Czysz’s commitment and his ability to bring this industry to the next level, as demonstrated with their record-breaking win at the 2010 IOM TT Zero. But what’s so interesting about the Lightning is the progress the team has made since the TTXGP season opener back in May. In just two months, they have taken a bike with a CAR motor that could not make it through a corner without bottoming out, and made it into a lean, mean, Corkscrew racing machine. This bike has undergone the sort of suspension and weight distribution development only possible in race conditions. The bike handled so much better in this race, even claiming pole position with a 1:45, over Czysz’s 1:47. (more…)

America’s roads, especially around metropolitan areas, have long exceeded their capacity to move people and cargo efficiently. Having spent 3 hours on a six-lane super highway in SoCal to go just 60 miles, I now understand that better than ever. Part of the problem is all those long-haul trucks. They take up the space of four or five cars, get terrible gas mileage, and when they have an accident, it usually shuts down the highway. There has to be a better way.

And there just might. The Department of Transportation is working on an idea to promote marine highways. The idea is that smaller cargo ships could transport large loads longer distances, taking long haul trucks off the road. Could it work?

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What a difference a year makes. Just before Chrysler went bankrupt, I remember them rolling all of these could-be electric vehicles out. After all, green was in, and Chrysler needed to make itself look viable in the eyes of their savior, the Federal Government. So they gave us an electric Wrangler, a hybrid aspen, and the Dodge Circuit, a Lotus-based EV sports car. Dodge was so serious, they even made an EV division called ENVI to exclusively work on electric vehicles.

Enter 2010. ENVI is dead, all of Chrysler’s hybrids have been swept under the rug, and their plans for electric vehicles canceled. Bailout money well spent?

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Unlike many of my fellow gearheads, I’ve come to realize just how much potential for performance is locked away within electric vehicles. Major manufacturers have made the mistake of assuming only the eco-conscious care about electric cars. But if the Tesla Roadster proves anything, it is that there is a market for electric performance cars.

Looking for proof? Well last week Kleenspeed, an electric car startup based in Moffet Field, California, took to the famous Laguna Seca raceway where he set a new track record of 94 mph, beating its own previous record of 93 mph.

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