By Bill Sullivan
Green Right Now

The electric car is almost here. Hybrids abound. Diesel has cleaned up its act. Even conventional internal combustion engines can be tweaked to do a bit less harm to the environment.

A brighter, cleaner future is a mantra at the auto shows this year. Scratch beneath the surface, however, and a different sort of impression emerges: Change may be coming to the automobile industry, but progress is slow — even grudging — and the message can be murky.

Chevy Volt. Photo: Green Right Now

Chevy has been hyping the much-discussed Volt, for example. The manufacturer’s new electric car – due later this year – can go up to 40 miles on a single charge before a gasoline engine kicks in to keep passengers from becoming stranded.

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The HY-KERS vettura laboratorio (experimental vehicle). (Photo: PRNewsFoto/Ferrari North America, Inc.)

At the Geneva Auto Show this week Ferrari, a company whose products are normally associated with red, flashed a bit of green. And we’re not just talking about the paint job.

Ferrari’s HY-KERS vettura laboratorio (experimental vehicle) is a hybrid version of the 599 GTB Fiorano that slips in a high-voltage electric motor capable of producing 100 horsepower.  The test car reduces CO2 emissions by 35 per cent.

The iconic company says the hybrid project is aimed at ensuring that Ferrari will be in a position to comply with future CO2 emissions standards, particularly in urban environments. City driving is traditionally where sports cars typically become major fuel hogs because their engines are designed for maximum efficiency and performance at high RPMs rather than the low revs and low engine loads of city driving.

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From Green Right Now Reports

Looking to rent an apartment? Make sure it has all the amenities you’ll need: laundry facilities, exercise room — and a car for occasional long-range errands.

In San Francisco, they are not leaving that last one to chance. The Planning Department mandates that for every 50 to 200 units in a new residential building, at least one space must be made available for a car sharing vehicle.

The idea is that parking for an apartment complex shouldn’t shut out, but should encourage, those who use car sharing. And if the space has got a car at the ready — all the better.

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From Green Right Now Reports

Ford Motor Company says it will launch a ‘Go Green’ dealership sustainability program. The automaker will collaborate with dealers to implement cost-effective ways to improve the energy-efficiency of their facilities, resulting in a long-term reduction in individual dealership’s carbon footprint as well as overall operating costs.

Ford's "Go Green" program for dealers will be voluntary. (Photo: Ford Motor Company)

The ‘Go Green’ dealership sustainability program, which is voluntary for dealers, was announced at this week’s 2010 National Automobile Dealers Association Convention in Orlando.

“In keeping with Ford’s commitment to the environment, this program is a great fit for our dealers because it provides a variety of energy-efficient improvement options regardless of the current age and design of the facility,” Sue Cischke, Ford’s group vice president of Sustainability, Environment and Safety Engineering, said in a statement. “This allows all dealers the opportunity to participate in improving the energy efficiency of their facility and gives them flexibility in making choices that are right for them and their dealership.”

The program resulted from Ford’s partnership with Rocky Mountain Institute, a non-profit organization that provides energy-efficiency solutions to businesses, communities and organizations around the world.

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By Ashley Phillips
Green Right Now

Eco City Vehicles PLC (ECV), developer and distributor of eco-friendly commercial vehicles in Europe, has announced the launch of an all-electric prototype of its London-licensed Mercedes Vito taxi (Vito).

Named the Mercedes Electric eVito Taxi (eVito), the zero- emissions vehicle will be powered by a lithium ion battery that can run up to 120 miles on just one charge. Designed for inner city transportation with rear wheel steering, the vehicle will meet the Public Carriage Office requirement for a minimum turning circle of 25-feet, meaning it can maneuver in urban situations.

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From Green Right Now Reports

Enterprise Holdings today announced that it will convert its entire fleet of more than 600 Alamo Rent A Car, Enterprise Rent-A-Car and National Car Rental airport shuttle buses  in 50 North American markets to begin using at least 5 percent biodiesel (B5). The company said it will immediately convert buses in nine markets to 20 percent biodiesel (B20) as a first step toward the company’s goal of converting its entire bus fleet to B20 over the next five years.

Joe Jobe, CEO of NBB; Dr. Richard Sayre, Director of Enterprise Rent-A-Car Institute for Renewable Fuels; and Lee Broughton, director of corporate identity and sustainability for Enterprise Holdings. (Photo: National Biodiesel Board)

Enterprise Holdings expects to complete the conversion to all B5 by spring of this year, with at least 50 percent converted to B20 by the end of next year. Buses in nine markets are immediately being converted to run on B20 where the fuel is centrally stored and available: Boston, Chicago, Denver, Detroit, Los Angeles, Miami, Raleigh/Durham, San Antonio and San Diego.

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By Harriet Blake
Green Right Now
Audi’s 2010 Green Police commercial during Super Bowl was ingenious and hilarious.
You didn’t have to be an environmentalist to enjoy the plug for Audi’s A3 TDI clean diesel car. In fact, the commercial pokes fun at the extreme measures an environmentally conscious police force might take:
Arresting a customer for choosing plastic [...]

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From Green Right Now Reports

GM announced today that its new lineup of heavy-duty diesel pickups will run on B20 biodiesel, which is a blend of 20-percent biodiesel and 80-percent conventional diesel that produces lower carbon dioxide emissions.

The announcement was made at the National Biodiesel Conference in Grapevine, Texas.

GM said its new Duramax 6.6L turbo diesel engine has been substantially revised to include B20 capability, as well as meet strict new emissions standards effective this year. The Duramax will power the redesigned 2011 Chevy Silverado and GMC Sierra heavy-duty pickups, as well as the Chevrolet Express and GMC Savana full-size vans. Chevrolet plans to unveil the 2011 Silverado heavy-duty trucks at the Chicago Auto Show on Feb. 10.

“B20 capability in our new heavy-duty trucks is the latest addition to a growing number of alternate fuel options offered by General Motors,” Mike Robinson, GM’s vice president of Environment, Energy and Safety Policy, said in a statement. “We are seeking different paths to fuel solutions in order to maximize efficiency, reduce emissions and minimize the dependence on petroleum.”

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From Green Right Now Reports

Could Nissan’s marketers have planned this any better?

Just as the carmaker is in the midst of a national tour of the Leaf, its much ballyhooed new electric plug-in, competitor Toyota finds itself in a tailspin over mysterious sudden acceleration events that now affect even its energy-efficient darling, the Prius.

The Prius, the nation’s best-selling and highest mileage hybrid car, looked to have a fruitful future, until this week, when it was implicated along with other Toyota brands in a safety scandal that grows larger with every news cycle.

The Leaf is not a hybrid, but part of the new generation of all-electric, plug-in vehicles (EVs) that will go head to head with hybrids already on the road. Due in showrooms this coming fall/winter, the Leaf is riding the leading edge of this new technology. It will offer excellent mileage as well as zero carbon tailpipe emissions (the car will still have an energy footprint related to its electricity use, which could be clean or fossil fuel energy, depending on where it is charged).

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Los Angeles is the most EV-ready U.S. city.

Electric vehicle company THINK has released its first U.S. EV-Ready Cities Index. The THINK EV-Ready Cities Index takes into account purchase and usage incentives – such as HOV lane access and infrastructure support, and market fit, including hybrid sales, traffic congestion, EPA air quality zone status, and potential energy sources for vehicle recharging. The index was compiled for THINK by ASG Renaissance, a market research and business services firm located in Dearborn, Mich.

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(Photo: Nissan)

From Green Right Now Reports

Secretary of Energy Steven Chu announced today that the Department of Energy has made a $1.4 billion loan to Nissan North America that will pay for the modification of the automaker’s Smyrna, Tenn., manufacturing plant to produce the new all-electric Nissan LEAF.

In addition to producing the zero-emission EV at the existing plant, a newly built plant will make the lithium-ion battery packs to power the next-generation car.

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By Clint Williams
Green Right Now

The 2010 Lexus HS 250h doesn’t drive by itself, but properly tricked out it comes pretty close. And the HS 250h does this while getting the sort of fuel economy associated with a much less comfortable, much less elegant, much less golllleee compact car.

Lexus HS 250h

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