Cities were never so polluted before, planet was never so hot, our surroundings were never so unfriendly to the living beings.
Almost every city in the whole world would tell you the same story – but very few of them take practical initiative to make the things better.

Nuremberg is a bright exception – its public transport system has just taken a test drive of a diesel-electric hybrid bus developed by MAN. However the drive-system technology was provided by Siemens.

The Prototype vehicles, also known as City Hybrid low-floor bus is expected to make big contribution toward a greener public transport system in Germany.

MAN – the famous European engine and motor vehicle group has long been engaged in the researches on the technologies for storage and utilization of braking energy, testing hydraulic storage systems, mechanical flywheel storage systems and ultimately the conversion into electric energy and its efficient storage. So far these expensive researches failed to deliver any economically viable solutions – but not any more.

With the new MAN Lion´s City Hybrid low-floor bus, a new chapter has been added to the eco friendly public transport system.

The prototype features a special brake energy recovery system and is reported to use up to 25 percent less fuel than conventional buses. An electric motor initially puts the vehicle in motion. The motor also doubles up as a generator – it helps in converting the kinetic energy into electricity, which can be stored for future use to power the vehicle.

The drive system consists of series-produced components. This will enable MAN to start mass production of the bus by 2010. These diesel electric hybrid buses can be the ideal solution for urban roads, where the vehicles consume more fuels due to constant braking and accelerating.

Commercial Trucks Are Going To Be Greener and Cleaner

Trucks—they are always labeled as the gas guzzlers of the worst kind!

They are often portrayed as the fuel sucking, emission making, noise-creating monsters!

Yet you can not do without them!

From deliveries to moving things – they are needed in every step of day-to-day life. Road transport without trucks is just inconceivable.

But one manufacturer has dared to dream of more environment friendly trucks; last Thursday Cleveland-based Eaton Corporation came out with the formal announcement that its medium-duty hybrid power systems are now commercially available. With their new technology, the company promises to turn these gas-guzzling vehicles into more fuel efficient hybrids!

Trucks and hybrids! How could Eaton do this?

The Eaton Powertrain design is based on parallel hybrid architecture with Eaton’s Fuller UltraShift automated transmission. The system involves an electric motor/generator, which is mounted between the output of an automated clutch unit and the input of the transmission.

What does the Eaton hybrid Powertrain expect to achieve?

The system’s major achievement involves the recovery of lost energy during braking; the recovered energy is stored in batteries for future use. Stored energy works for improved fuel economy and vehicle performance for a given speed or used to operate the vehicle with electric power only. The system also provides energy for use during engine-off worksite operations. In a nutshell, the application:

• Reduces fuel consumption
• Reduces emission
• Reduces costs

From the workshops to the roads—the outcome

The system is basically designed to support diesel-powered trucks. Since the system is designed to include regenerative braking capability, it can be effectively adopted by the vehicles like school buses, beverage haulers, utility repair trucks, garbage trucks and others that involve an extensive stop and go duty cycle.

The launch of this hybrid system was followed by more than four years of research and two million miles of successful field-testing in North America, Europe and Asia. Eaton’s fleet customers include such coveted names as FedEx Express, UPS, Coca-Cola Enterprises and The Pepsi Bottling Group. They all have reported 40 to 60 percent fuel economy gains and emission reductions and significant reductions in noise too.

The company has set for itself a production target of several hundred units; these units are going to be installed on several commercial vehicles. The installation will be starting from 2008 by international truck makers like Peterbilt, Kenworth, Freightliner Corp. and others.

However, the company expects to find a large market in the developing nations like China, where trucks make up a significant part of road transport.

Presently Eaton research and development wing is busy working on a diesel-hydraulic power system that would replace a truck’s traditional drive train and transmission.

How do you define a motorbike ride?

For many, a motorbike ride is the sum total of a good deal of adrenaline rush, great speed,… and a good amount of noise.

But what if you can put your hands on a two wheeler that is fast enough to give you the thrill of horse ride but doesn’t come with the irritating noise of a gasoline motorbike? Well, let’s introduce you to the new entrant in the line of green vehicles – the Zero X electric two wheeler that cuts back on emission along with the noise.

You can have this dirt bike for a dream price of $6,900 and you can buy directly from the manufacturer, the Zero Motorcycles, a California-based company. At this magic figure, this all-electric bike is comparable with many 250cc gas-burning motorcycles. As a matter of fact one of its earliest celebrity customers included Google co-founder Larry Page.

But the question is: why should you buy one? Here are a few reasons, at least one of which can make sufficient sense why you should consider parking a Zero X in your garage!

1. First of all, as its name suggests, this all electric dirt bike is silent, fast and green. Running on lithium-ion the engine gives you a noise free, emission free ride.

2. The Zero X will only go 40 miles on a single charge, Still, that’s enough for most of the daily US bikers, who on an average only ride about 25 miles to 30 miles a day, confirms several studies.

3. It takes just two hours to completely recharge the battery. Motocross professionals can buy a spare battery for $2,500.

4. Zero X comes with one unique feature and it is the orange safety bracelet that is connected to a driver’s wrist as well as the ignition key. The bracelet sends the key to the off position, in case the rider leaves the engine running.

5. The engine of Zero X equates the power of 250cc gasoline bike. Still this 120-pound two wheeler accelerates much faster.

6. Again if you find it too fast, then access the bike’s brain – the virtual control panel – through your PC via the USB port. You will be exposed to the ZBrain computer that throws open a host of customization options for the rider. This enables you to create multiple riding profiles for different users. This gives you the option of setting an acceleration mode and curbing down the top speed.

For all those who have already started dreaming about taking a spin in this magic machine – the company is yet to launch a street-legal commuter bike. But you don’t have to wait long for this – it is going to be released in the coming months. This commuter version is going to be slightly larger and more powerful than the Zero X. It will be a competitor to Brammo Motorsports’ commuter bike, the Enertia which is selling for $11,995.

Want a Zero X for some splendid bike ride experience? Do one thing – join Zero’s fan club for a $2,000 fee and place your order right now. This $2,000 will be credited when you purchase this splendid bike.

Germans going green this time

It is great to hit the road in a grand SUV, but some of us have a hard time when it comes to investing in a vehicle that has been touted as “gas guzzlers” by environmentalists.

The good news is: soon you are going to get the best of the both worlds – a SUV based on hybrid technology. With the Porsche Cayenne hybrid to be rolled out by the end of 2009, the German auto industry, at last, has something up their sleeve to make environmentalists happy.

German car makers have always been considered one of the finest manufacturers in the industry. But in the recent years, the Japanese car makers were seen to grossly outpace them in the matter of international repute. The German automobile industry lacked in a vital area of manufacturing; they failed to cut down on the dependence on the fossil fuel engine.

The European car makers as a whole have come under the close scrutiny of the Environmental police tightening the rules on CO2 emissions amidst growing pressure from the environmental lobbyists.

In fact, the Greenpeace staged a demonstration before the Porsche plant holding the company responsible for building cars they labeled “climate pigs”. (The present Cayenne model with its conventional six-cylinder engine, consumes 12.9 liters on average. That makes Cayenne SUV one of the worst emitters of CO2.)

All these acted as catalyst for Porsche’s decision to turn green: Porsche revealed that they are on their way of developing a hybrid drivetrain for its Cayenne SUV. Cayenne in its Hybrid avatar is designed to drastically cut on fuel consumption and going to achieve average fuel consumption of 8.9 liters (2.35 gallons) per 100 kilometers (62 miles), claims Porsche.

The engineering of the Cayenne hybrid combines an electric motor and battery with a standard combustion engine in order to cut fuel consumption. The technology is being co-developed with Audi and Volkswagen AG. The hybrid powertrain is being designed to capture energy from braking and use it to drive an electric motor. The expected speed of the vehicle is going to be up to 120kmph with the gas engine first taking over at high speeds. This is no doubt an impressive figure.

Porsche says it plans to unveil the Cayenne hybrid in 2009. This new hybrid is sure to encourage the other European manufacturers get started in making a greener world.

Going green just got less expensive!
Toyota is trimming the price of the Camry Hybrid by $1,000 for the 2008 model year!

The Toyota Camry is supposedly the most loved car in the USA. So far the common consumers could not make it up beyond the gas only version of this prized Toyota model; thanks to a restrictive price tag.

But now on they will be able to afford a Toyota Camry Hybrid— Toyota has cut the price of the Camry Hybrid by $1,000 for the 2008 model year. (Source: Auto News). Now you will get your Camry hybrid for $25,860. Though still dearer by $5,400 than the gasoline only variant, the US consumers have now at least the choice of going green without needing to go far beyond their budget. So no wonder, Toyota’s decision to cut down on the price of their most popular model—Camry—was greeted with much euphoria.

This price cut can have a much greater socio-economic impact than mere individual gains by few thousand dollars. It will give a tough competition to the other hybrid manufacturers and reach out to the larger segment of consumers who can fulfill their dreams of owning hybrid cars at a lesser price.

There was a time when cars used to be the prized possession of the resourceful owners. Gradually, cars came to be synonymous with the middle class living in the developed countries. By the end of the last century, cars were able to make an inroad to the garages of the middle class people in the developing countries too.

This is an age, when we can not imagine our lives sans a private means of transportation and it is the trend that is slowly but steadily gripping the developing countries of Asia and South America.

If the developed nations have added to the largest share of world’s Green House emission in the last century, the new millennium is witnessing the developing nations as the emerging contributors to the global pollution.

But there is a silver lining in the cloud—the present generation car owners in the USA are more conscious about their surroundings than their fathers or grand fathers used to be. And this growing concern about their environment is reflected in the growing size of the hybrid car market. And the industry as a whole receives huge impetus with the decision like this by the industry majors.

But how could Toyota achieve this price trimming?
To make the price drop possible, they had to cut some previously standard equipment such as JBL audio system, leather steering wheel and shift knob, Homelink, and electrochromic mirror with compass. At $25,860 you will now get a hybrid powertrain, steel wheels, and a single CD player.

The immediate response and industry predictions
• Although this cut off on the standard equipments for slashing off the price has been criticized by many quarters, the general response to this decision is positive; you no longer have to pay for what you don’t require necessarily. It is welcome for a class of consumers for whom driving hybrid car is more important than counting on the luxury features of the vehicle.
• Although driving hybrid cars prove to be more beneficial in the long run, owning hybrid car requires you to make a considerable down payment of cash at the beginning. But, a drop in the price attracts more buyers in the entry level hybrid vehicle market.

Fuel efficient, performance driven hybrid cars are no rare phenomena in the US roads. So a drop in the price alone can not take the Camry hybrid’s sale too far. It will become real challenge for the other hybrid makers, when the engineers back in Japan achieve further hybrid efficiencies with their Camry hybrid.

Generation ‘G’ Gets Its Commuting Solution

The world has realized it at last! Enough damages have been done to our poor Earth and this is high time that we start act now to save our planet.

Let’s make the world a better place to live—-was the unambiguous message of some 150 leading artists from all over the world who performed in the 7th July’s LIVE EARTH concert.

So what could have been the better platform for debuting a motor cycle that has been designed to be “an unintimidating and socially responsible” vehicle? This sleek electric commuter motorcycle called The Enertia from the stable of Brammo’s has made its debutant appearance on MSN’s Autos’ “Green Central” page last Thursday as part of the “Live Earth” promotion

This silent-running, carbon-fiber frame bike is targeted at the ‘Generation G’. This is a generation that can not be defined by the narrow factor of age—-generation ‘G’ relates to the group of people spread across the continents, who “are tired of seeing polar bears swimming and ice caps melting”, who are disturbed by the global warming and who get great pain in watching fossil fuels getting burnt up indiscriminately.

So what makes Enertia a socially responsible vehicle?

* The bike comes packed with the power of 72 volts in its lithium-phosphate batteries.
* As such the energy consumption is far lower than hybrid as well as non-hybrid car.
* The Chief Engineer Aaron Bland of Brammo claimed that Enertia expends just 10 percent of the energy of a standard car and 20 percent of the energy of the best-selling hybrid car.

Let’s see what are the features that make it an unintimidating vehicle.

* The motorcycle comes with a unique design that includes fat wheels and batteries encased between the rider’s legs.
* Thus Enertia has a lower center of gravity than a gas-powered motorcycle—-a feature that makes it easy to handle.
* Then it is also free of the hassles of gears, clutch and shifting.
* The entire operation is controlled by a chain from the motor to the rear wheel.
* As such it becomes ideal two- wheeler for the beginners.

In a nutshell, Enertia —a bike, said to be inspired by Al Gore’s “An Inconvenient Truth,”—–can prove to be a perfect vehicle for three precise reasons:

* It can carry you through the arterials and streets of your crowded city and that is very quickly
* It can help you save considerably on your gas costs
* It ensures a stress free means of conveyance for the daily commuters by helping them bypass the traffic congestion and hassles at the parking lot.
*
If you see reason enough to make it your own commuting solution, you have to bear a months long wait—the first lot of Enertia is going to hit the US market in the early 2008. And the price? The limited-edition models are going to be offered for $14,995 -you know quality does come for a price.

The US presidential campaign has always been a matter of spectacular grandeur!

The candidates rushing in their vote-seeking frenzy in large convoys from one corner of the continent to another– used to create quite a formidable picture! But it rarely occurred to us how much resources were wasted on these nation wide campaigns involving the fleets of hundreds of gas-guzzling SUVS and vans.

But this year we get to see little twist in the story; this year the candidates and other high profile politicians are increasingly being spotted moving in their hybrid vehicles.

Some of them like Democrat aspirant John Edwards even make it a point to let his voters know that he and his family have switched to a hybrid vehicle for family uses after using an ordinary SUV for years. He also promised to make his campaign ‘carbon neutral” as far as possible.

Well, Edwards is not the only one White House aspirant making use of hybrid vehicle as the tramp card for his success in the presidential race! Democrat Senator Barack Obama also makes his environmental concerns clear to the public when he says, that “My campaign leases a flex-fuel vehicle,”

This year’s most sensational candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton is however not far behind her democrat colleagues; the former First Lady was reported to request the ‘Secret Service’ to drive her around in a fleet of cars that includes Ford hybrid models.

However, it was Democratic candidate Bill Richardson, the New Mexico governor and former U.S. energy secretary, who made the most out of it. Back in 2005, he bought a Hybrid Escape to set an example before the world. Later he again switched to flex-fuel Chevy Tahoe LTZ on the ground that his 6 ft 2 inches frame does not fit into the compact Escape.

When Democrats are riding green on the hybrid vehicles, the republicans also seem to get the cue; the presidential aspirant from the Republican camp, Mitt Romney has chosen the Ford Escape as the backdrop for declaring his political ambitions.

Until a few years ago, it was the large gang of Hollywood stars that consciously chose to make public display of their affection towards the hybrid cars! Their intention was to motivate the public for adopting greener cars!

This time it is the turn of US politicians to use the hybrid vehicles as their weapon to convey their concerns about environment. There is no doubt that environmental issues are going to play a big role in deciding the fate of the 2008 presidential election. Increasing oil price and increasing US reliance on foreign oil source, green house effect and global warming—-the politicians never seemed to be bitten so hard by the environmental bug as they are now.

Call it a political gimmick or the politicians’ vision about national interest…the fact remains that driving a hybrid vehicle can cut global warming pollution by about one-third compared to the driving of a non-hybrid model! So politicians jetting around in hybrid cars make a pretty picture and send even prettier signal about environment friendliness. So the politicians’ increasing use of hybrid vehicles in their political campaigning should be welcomed with an open mind—just like NRDC spokeswoman Julia Bovey welcomed Edwards’ announcement, saying, “Anyone running for president who claims they’re going to be able to lead this country out of the energy and climate crisis needs to show they can do it in their campaign.”

Energy cost is relative. When you plug in your hair dryer, do you ever consider the pennies it’s costing you to look your best? When you toast your morning bread, does it even register that some small price is being paid for the convenience? How about when you go to fill up the gas tank of your car? I imagine this is the point when energy costs begin to enter the minds of most of us. One U.S. company would like to see all of that change, so that in the future you think no more about your vehicle’s energy consumption than you would your refrigerator’s, possibly even less.

Google charged into the green movement yesterday, announcing one million dollars in grants for the development of plug-in hybrid vehicles capable of achieving fuel efficiencies between 70 and 100 mpg. Along with the initial moneys being paid out, the company also plans on offering up to an additional $10 million dollars for future proposals advancing the technology.

The target fuel efficiencies would be four times that of the average non-hybrid car on the road today, and twice that of standard hybrids. The increased fuel efficiency comes from higher capacity batteries in the vehicles. These batteries are left to charge overnight, and can run without gasoline assistance for the first 20-40 miles of a trip. On average, Americans commute 33 miles a day, meaning that most people would not use any gas going to or from work.

In addition to the plug-in hybrid technology, Google hopes to develop vehicle-to-grid technology that would allow drivers to sell their unused power back to the electricity grid. In other words, drivers could actually be paid for their morning and afternoon commutes.

Google states that the integration of plug-in hybrid vehicles could save the United States 85 billion gallons of gasoline per year, equaling a 27% reduction in greenhouse emissions, and a savings of $270 billion in gasoline.

An additional bonus that that these cars bring is that they charge at night, while power consumption is low, so the effect on the power grid would be minimal.

Hybrid technology has come a long way quickly, but with Google’s announcement it looks as though it’s about to take another giant leap forward.

Today mayor Bloomberg announced that the city’s yellow cabs plan to switch to hybrids within five years.

Bloomberg stated that “there’s an awful lot of taxicabs on the streets of New York City… these cars just sit there in traffic sometimes, belching fumes.”

Over the past 18 months the city has been testing models, including the Toyota Prius, the Toyota Highlander Hybrid, the Lexus RX 400h and the Ford Escape.

Full story: MSNBC

Yesterday the guys at Popular Mechanics tested out the Ford HySeries Edge: the world’s first working plug-in, fuel-cell, hydrogen-powered car.  This Detroit-made is being featured as a concept at the New York auto show today.

Though wafting zero-emissions exhaust in our face taught us plenty as to the realities of a hydrogen-powered automotive experience, what really made our test special was actually being able to drive a car running on advanced hydrogen fuel-cell technology that can power itself with a 336-volt battery pack.