By John Fadler and Keelan Tollefson
Pushed by the dwindling prospects for fossil fuels, the auto industry is undergoing changes not seen since the days of Henry Ford. Today’s innovators aren’t just looking to gear up production, they’re trying to dial back energy use, and that’s produced a bumper crop of wild and wacky (and [...]

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By Tom Kessler
Almost 90 percent of the car shoppers who visit Kelley Blue Book’s Web site say they are concerned about the future of our environment, company research shows. Among survey respondents, 80 percent agreed that individuals should make lifestyle changes to help reduce CO2 emissions. And 75 percent of KBB shoppers reported that they [...]

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By Barbara Kessler
With gas prices pressuring wallets everywhere and climate change warming the planet, people are looking to the sun for some salvation. It’s paradoxical yes, but so sensible. The sun’s energy burns brightly on Earth and is capable of powering our homes and potentially our cars, if that power can be efficiently harvested.
For the [...]

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Toyota will become the first major automaker to use solar power when it installs solar panels on the next-generation of its Prius hybrid, according to a Reuters report citing Japan’s Nikkei business daily.
The Japanese automaker plans to add solar panels on the roof of the high-end Prius models to power the car’s air conditioning, according [...]

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By John DeFore

Quick question: Jack trades in his 15 mpg truck for a car getting 25 mpg, while Jill upgrades her 25 mpg sedan for a 35 mpg compact. Assuming they drive the same amount, who’s going to save the most money over the coming year? (Ignore for the moment that Jill’s commute has [...]

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By Harriet Blake
As a LEED-accredited engineer and leader of the sustainable design initiative for AKF Engineers, Robert Diemer is a believer in the green movement. He helps create greener buildings. He takes public transportation to work.
Recently, Diemer took his commitment to an even higher level by becoming the 50,000th member of PhillyCarShare. With the price [...]

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By John DeFore
The era of mass-produced hydrogen fuel cell vehicles has finally arrived — although the “mass” part of that statement is debatable.

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By John DeFore
As anyone can tell you who has touched the hood or tailpipe of a car after a long drive, much of the energy produced by a tank of gas goes not to forward motion but to producing heat. A typical car’s engine is said to waste around two thirds of its energy [...]

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By John DeFore
If you can’t give up your car in your green-living efforts, can you at least wash it without harming the planet?
Some of us (this writer, for instance), let inertia answer that question: Don’t wash it at all, and pray that a growing layer of dirt will form a rust-resistant protective covering [...]

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By Nima Kapadia
With consumers clearly moving — some would say stampeding — away from gas-guzzling trucks and sport utility vehicles, General Motors plans to do the same.
The world’s largest automaker announced on Tuesday it will stop production at four U.S. factories that assemble trucks and Sport Utility Vehicles, such as the BMC Sierra and [...]

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By Barbara Kessler

Seemed like a trifling issue not long ago, but it’s time – probably about $2 per gallon past time — to look at our driving habits. Obviously, we should drive less. And given the current price of a gallon gasoline ($3.75 to $4) our wallets and the environment are surely in accord [...]

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What’s it take to stop drivers from polluting the air with their smoky old cars? A little green, apparently. That was the simple thought behind a North Texas plan aimed at getting older cars off the road to help the Dallas/Fort Worth region improve its air quality and meet EPA mandates.

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