House Committee votes to end military biofuel programs

Filed under: Biodiesel, Emerging Technologies, Ethanol, Legislation and Policy, USA So about those plans for more military biofuel production... A Republican-led group within the House Armed Services Committee recently voted to ban the U.S. Department of Defense from paying more for biofuel [more]

BYU wins SAE 'Formula Hybrid' competition

Filed under: Ethanol, Green Culture, Hybrid, Lightweight We can't say we've ever seen a Toyota Prius rip through a slalom course like this, either. A team of engineering students from Brigham Young University won the 2012 Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) Formula Hybrid competition at New Hamp [more]

Amp opens first dealership in Cincinnati

Filed under: EV/Plug-in, USA, Amp Electric Vehicles Amp, the Ohio-based maker of battery-electric SUVs, has opened its first dealership in Cincinnati and said first deliveries would start by year end. Amp of Cincinnati opened last week and showed off both its Jeep Grand Cherokee- and Mercedes-Benz [more]

GM says the Volt has saved a supertanker of gas

Filed under: EV/Plug-in, Hybrid, MPG, Chevrolet, GM That's one small step for man, and one less really big barge full of fuel for mankind. That's basically what General Motors' Chevrolet division is saying in its latest effort to pitch the Volt extended-range plug-in as a way for prospective drive [more]

EVS: Utah State University quietly working on in-road wireless charging

Filed under: Emerging Technologies, EV/Plug-in, AutoblogGreen Exclusive, EVS If you had to name one of the biggest game-change moments that the electric vehicle could bring to the world, try this one: Every prior attempt to electrify the car has assumed the vehicle would be the energy carrier. [more]

Mitsubishi previews bonkers i-MiEV Evolution for Pikes Peak

Filed under: EV/Plug-in, Mitsubishi, USA, Racing No, that's not a Mitsubishi i-MiEV in a fat suit, it's the automaker's brand-new all-electric race car, and it's set to take on the 2012 Pike's Peak International Hill Climb in July. This isn't the first time we've seen an EV enter the Pike's Peak ch [more]

Automaker-backed study sounds the alarm against E15

Filed under: Biodiesel, Ethanol, Legislation and Policy, North America, USA Another day, another opinion on the feasibility of E15. This time, a group called the Coordinating Research Council released a study saying that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's decision to push for allowing gas [more]

NHTSA launches inquiry into Fisker Karma garage fire

Filed under: EV/Plug-in, Hybrid, Legislation and Policy, Fisker The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has launched a formal field inquiry into the garage fire that may or may not have been started by a Fisker Karma sedan, Bloomberg reports. The conflagration, which destroyed the Karma, [more]

Ethanol production shaved $1.09 a gallon off of last year's gas prices

Filed under: Biodiesel, Ethanol, Legislation and Policy, North America, USA If you thought last year was a bad one at the gas pump, it could've been worse. That's what one report partially funded by ethanol advocate Renewable Fuels Association says. U.S. ethanol production actually cut wholesale g [more]

Neal Saiki claims battery breakthrough gives more range, costs less

Filed under: Emerging Technologies, EV/Plug-in Engineering challenges are like a siren's call to Neal Saiki. Since leaving Zero Motorcycles in early 2011, the company he co-founded with his wife Lisa, he's spent lots of time and effort wrestling with the human-powered helicopter conumdrum. As engag [more]

EEStor and ZENN still alive and kicking... out the press releases

Filed under: Emerging Technologies, ZENN, USA Zenn Motor Company, the former purveyor of a neighborhood electric vehicle (NEV), and Eestor, the eternal purveyor of promises of a supercapacitor-based energy storage unit, have managed to defy at least one of the predictions hurled their way. The two [more]

Nissan Leaf ensures high-quality whisky from Isle of Islay

Filed under: Emerging Technologies, Ethanol, EV/Plug-in, Nissan, UK, Videos The Bruichladdich Distillery has been making artisan single malt Scotch whisky since 1881 on the Isle of Islay in the UK. As the southernmost island of the Inner Hebrides of Scotland, you may not expect the island's 620 squ [more]

EVS: After 24 million EV miles, Ecotality and Blink are ready for both CHAdeMO and SAE

Filed under: EV/Plug-in, AutoblogGreen Exclusive, EVS One can think about conspiracy theories that maybe that's the way they wanted it be. The Nissan Leaf is the most mainstream electric vehicle in the U.S., and it has a CHAdeMO DC fast-charge option. Ecotality's Blink network offers CHAdeMO [more]

Lexus kills off slow-selling HS 250h

Filed under: Hybrid, Lexus Are you one of the few people looking to put a brand-new Lexus HS 250h in your driveway? Better act fast. Inside Line reports that Toyota's luxury division has killed off its slow-selling HS model: "Production of the HS 250h ceased in January, 2012. Lexus continues t [more]

Ford now taking orders for C-Max Hybrid at $25,995

Filed under: Hybrid, Ford, USA Ford is putting a big "X" on the Prius V. The U.S. automaker said its dealers began taking orders for its 2013 model-year C-Max Hybrid and is pitching the model as a cheaper, more fuel-efficient alternative to the Toyota Prius V wagon. Ford will start deliveries of [more]

University of Michigan hopes to set new 3,300-mpg record in SAE Challenge [w/video]

Filed under: Lightweight, Racing, Videos The University of Michigan has had one of the preeminent solar car teams in the world for more than two decades, but a new group of students is looking to make its own mark in the world of green engineering. The school will be fielding its first entry in the [more]

IIHS crowns Prius c and Malibu Eco Top Safety Picks [w/video]

Filed under: Hybrid, Chevrolet, GM, Toyota, USA, Videos The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has crowned two eco-friendly new models as Top Safety Picks: the 2013 Chevrolet Malibu Eco and 2012 Toyota Prius c. The redesigned 2013 Malibu joins its 2012 model-mate as a Top Pick, and the 2013 ear [more]

California lawyer pitches class-action services in wake of overturned Honda fuel-economy ruling

Filed under: MPG, Honda, Legislation and Policy, USA There is safety in numbers, and not the kind put out by the EPA. That's what one California-based attorney representing class-action claimants against General Motors and Hyundai is saying in the wake of Heather Peters' now-unsuccessful attempt t [more]

Retrofitted BMW M3 electric will compete in Pikes Peak race

Filed under: EV/Plug-in, BMW, USA Last year, a BMW i8 plug-in hybrid was featured in the Tom Cruise-starring Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol. This year, another BMW electric-drive vehicle is looking to make a star performance, and without the editing or tricky camera angles. A 1995 BMW M3 has b [more]

Translogic examines the power of plug-in hybrids for commercial fleets

Filed under: EV/Plug-in, Hybrid, Ford, Videos The crew at Translogic took the time to stop by and see the the team at ALTe Powertrain Technologies. Founded by a group of former Tesla Motors executives, the company focuses on building plug-in hybrid conversions for fleet vehicles. From creations lik [more]