If anyone is interested in participating in the Zero Emissions Race around the world in 80 days, I’m sorry. You missed it.  It started yesterday, but you can follow the entire trip on the internet of course!  So, yes there is a race with 4 electric cars that have zero emissions.  Really it’s just a marketing strategy to get people to become more aware of the zero emissions cars.  The cars/teams will cross 16 countries and stop in about 150 major cities along the way. This should take 80 days of travel, but that doesn’t count the shipping time across the oceans.  The 80 days will be actual travel time in the vehicles.  There are 4 cars/teams involved in the Zero Emissions Race.  They are from Australia, Switzerland, South Korea, and Germany.  There cars are neat.  There are 2 what I would call motorcycles.  The organizer is Louis Palmer from Switzerland who was the first person to circumnavigate the world in a solar powered vehicle, which was called the Solartaxi.  He got his message out across the world about renewable energy and wants to continue to get the message out by organizing this race.

People from the Zero Emissions Race will be blogging daily, and if you live in one of the major cities that the race will be stopping at, maybe you should go and check them out yourself.  Might be worth your time. Something to do different either way!  Good luck to the racers.  May the best electric car win!!!!

I was searching for an interesting topic to write about tonight and I learned something new in the meantime. I had never heard of the Big Green Bus, but now that I read about it I really feel that it’s worth discussing.  The Big Green Bus is a bus full of 12 Dartmouth College students that are driving across the country to try to educate people on the little things we can do to be “green” and help the environment.  Their bus is a 1989 MCI coach bus that has been converted to run on waste vegetable oil.

The website is a wealth of knowledge for everyone. It explains all of the green aspects of the bus.  This is the 6th year that the Big Green Bus has travelled across the country trying to educate people.  The bus has bamboo flooring and cabinets.  It has solar panels that provide all the energy that they need.  The first bus that the Dartmouth students used in 2005 (there are different students each year) was a school bus that they painted green.

Most of the students that are currently on the Big Green Bus this summer are environmental studies/science majors at Dartmouth.  Some are in engineering and others in Biology, but all share a common bond to try to make this country a better place to live and helping people to make just some small changes that benefit the environment.

If you have a few minutes, check out the website of the Big Green Bus.  It will be worth your time.  Trust me.  By the way, this year’s bus trip will be over on August 29, ending in Cleveland, OH.  There is a blog on the website too from people who have met the crew members along the way. Check it out!

The information that we have all been waiting for….well, maybe not all of us but some I’m sure.  The price of the 2011 Chevrolet Volt is…..$41,000* (the asterisk is because there will be a $7500 federal tax credit that you will get for buying this car, but you need to finance $41,000 and then you get the tax credit on your next tax return.  The best deal is the leasing deal. You can lease the Volt for $350/mo. for 3 years with $2500 down. The price of the Volt leasing deal is alittle more than the Nissan Leaf, which is $2000 down $350/mo., 3 years. 

With this Chevy Volt you get standard navigation with a 7 in. screen, an 8 year/100,000 mile battery warranty, Bluetooth connectivity, Bose audio system, and 5 years of OnStar service included. OnStar normally costs $300 per year.  There are a few options for more; heated leather seats, chrome wheels, three premium paint colors, and a rear park assist.  You actually get quite a bit for the price. A lot more than many other cars. I know the price is higher, but the lease price isn’t bad at all.

There will be 7 U.S. markets selling the Volt in December, and the rest of us will have the Volt available to us in a year to a year and a half.  If you want to know the 600 dealers that will have the Volts available are, go to http://getmyvolt.com. 

This is exciting stuff, right?  I don’t know.  I’m really not totally sold on the Volt or Leaf for that matter. I’ve been reading a lot about them and I think I will be waiting for the price to lower and for customers to give reviews after driving these cars for a year or so.  By the way, sorry about the blog in bold, just got a new computer and pressed some button and could not get the bold off.  I pressed it about 10 times with nothing happening. I’ll figure it out for the next blog.

www.xgo.com.cn

The Smart ForTwo car is now adding a partner, the electric version.  Smart used to be a somewhat popular vehicle selling 24,622 Smart vehicles in 2008, and if more were available probably could have sold even more, and then sales have diminished greatly.  Smart has been trying to figure out what to do to put them back into the black.  One major problem with the Smart is that you can get a car for about the same price, similar fuel economy, more power, and room for more than 2 people.  The Smart really didn’t offer anything to separate themselves, other than it’s a cute looking car, as many feel. 

Now comes along a Smart electric car.  There will be 250 sold in the U.S. this fall as a trial before the electric car is officially introduced in 2012 as a 2013 model.  You can only lease these vehicles. It will cost $599/mo. for 4 years with a 10,000 annual mileage limit.  Each car will have a “black box” to collect information to work out any minor problems before 2012. 

Nothing will change with the interior or exterior of the existing Smart ForTwo, because the original Smart was designed as an electric car.  There isn’t really any power to this electric Smart.  It uses a 30-kilowatt electric motor with a horsepower equal to 42.  This vehicle has a top speed of 62 and according to some reviews, rides “choppy.”  You can fully charge the battery in 8 hours with a standard 220-volt appliance line.  You get about 80 miles between charges. 

The couple of reviews I read were not fabulous.  As I said earlier, other than the “fun” aspect of the Smart, there isn’t anything else to offer that would truly make you want to choose this car over another.  I’m not interested, but I’m sure there are some people out there that will be very interested in test driving and buying the Smart electric car.

California has just extended access to the state’s carpool lanes for zero and ultra low emission vehicles until 2015.  If you are unfamiliar with the HOV lanes in CA, they are lanes that are available for cars with more than one person in them. This is supposed to encourage people to carpool and have less vehicles and gas emissions on the road.   Part of the change in law for the HOV lanes is that hybrids such as the Toyota Prius and Honda Insight that were allowed in the HOV lanes will no longer be allowed.  Let me clarify this rule.  These vehicles were/are allowed in the HOV lanes without 2 people. Due to the low emissions, they can be in the HOV lanes without the extra person/people.

Honda has 2 cars that qualify for the HOV lanes, now that the Insight is back with the “regulars.”  The Honda FCX Clarity and the Honda Civic GX.  Currently there are only about less than 10 of the fuel-cell powered Claritys on the roads, and the Civic GX, which is a natural gas-fueled vehicle is not on the roads much either.  These new rules for the HOV lanes in CA could possibly make some people shy away from the hybrids and move towards these alternative fuel vehicles. I guess it really depends on how much traffic a person sits in daily on the highways. If you sit for a long time, maybe one of the zero or ultra low emission vehicles are right for you.

A nice bonus of hybrids these days are the quiet rides (and of course the great gas mileage!)  The days of silent hybrids are just about over.  Congress, with the help of automakers and advocates for the blind, are adding sound performance requirements for hybrids and electric cars.  The silent hybrids make it hard for pedestrians and the blind to hear them and use those cues in order to safely cross the road, etc.  It sounds kind of dumb, but makes sense.  People know the sound of an accelerating vehicle, and then to have no sounds, can definitely cause some problems and danger for some, especially the blind that use sound cues as a way of life.

Of course there are always those that don’t feel the same way.  Those people, mostly green car advocates, say that we need to reduce the noise of the trucks, buses, and motorcycles, and then you could hear the hybrids.  Noise pollution will be increased with these new requirements on hybrids and electric cars and the green car advocates say that adding noise is not the answer.

Also as of right now, each automaker is coming up with their own sound for their hybrid.  Ford feels like the sound of the hybrids and electric cars should be a standard sound and not like cell phones with each having their own sound.  “This can cause confusion” they say. I agree. I think that Congress and groups make a decision on the best sound for the hybrids and then all automakers use it.  I like that idea the best.

Well the days of silent hybrids are over.  I guess we need to just move along and accept it. The noise will be for a good cause and I’m going to bet the sound won’t be too bad. We shall see….

As the final preparations are being completed on the Chevy Volt before it hits the dealerships later this year, I continue to ponder thoughts of whether this car is going to make it big.  I just don’t know, and truly what do I know. I could be completely wrong, but the Volt will be expensive, like approximately $40,000, and it’s still something new. Sometimes people get really excited about new things and want to scoop them up, but at the same time, sometimes people are hesitant of new things and ideas. Who knows. I guess time will tell.

Recently, the Chevy Volt went through an extreme heat test in the Arizona desert to see how it would fare. Critics have been concerned that the Volt and its high-tech battery pack and compulsion systems may not be able to handle extreme conditions. I guess, according to a GM test engineer, the Volt “performed well.” So, I’m sure there will be a few more tests to pass before the Volt is ready, but I think it’s pretty close to dealership ready.

On the other side of the coin, the Volt is offering a nice, green vehicle to help the environment, save money on gas, etc.  There are probably lots of people that are chomping at the bit waiting for the Volt to become available. I commend those people and truly hope that they will love it and then word of mouth will make the Chevy Volt become a hardest car to get in the U.S. in a year or so!

This is some interesting info.  Six out of the top ten EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) most fuel efficient cars from 1984 to present were built before 2000. Does that shock you?  It shocked me.  The fuel efficient articles, discussions, advertisements are nauseating. You/I would assume that every year we make more fuel efficient cars, right?  The information on the top 10 most fuel efficient cars comes right from the EPA.

Some are not surprising, and some are very surprising.  Here’s the list:

1. 2000 Honda Insight - city mpg 49, highway 61!, combined mpg 53.

2.  2010 Toyota Prius - city 51, highway 48, combined 50.

3.  1986 Chevrolet Sprint ER - city 44, highway 53, combined 48.

4.  1990-1994 Geo Metro XFI - city 43, highway 52, combined 47.

5.  1986 Honda Civic CRX HF - city 42, highway 51, combined 46.

6.  1995 Honda Civic VX Hatchback - city 39,highway 50,combined 43.

7.  2010 Honda Civic Hybrid - city 40, highway 45, combined 42.

8.  2010 Honda Insight - city 40, highway 43, combined 41.

9.  2001-2003 Toyota Prius - city 42, highway 41, combined 41.

10.  1989 Chevrolet Sprint - city 38, highway 45, combined 41.

10.  1989 Suzuki Swift - city 38, highway 45, combined 41.

As I said, some of these most fuel efficient cars are shocking to me.  How about all the Hondas in the top ten!  I guess newer doesn’t necessarily mean better in the most fuel efficient cars.  Intestesting.

I just saw an article on msnbc.com that said that GM and the auto industry for that matter is looking to the Chevy Volt for a “recharge.”  What a hard job for the Volt?  I read a lot of articles about hybrids and electric cars and different ways to fuel our vehicles and I’m just not convinced that electric cars will ever be the answer and that people are going to embrace them as a whole.  Sure, maybe sometime down the road, electric cars may be it, and we, as the customers, will have no choice but to embrace, but I really think we are a LONG way off from that time.

Yes, there are lots of advantages to the electric car. The Chevy Volt will offer 40 miles on an electric charge without even using a drop of gas. That’s great, but it seems that many will find this inconvenient to constantly have to charge the battery.  Maybe convenience isn’t everything, and everyone needs to move beyond that and see all the environmental benefits, but I don’t see that likely happening right now.  People are asked to recycle right now and still don’t even do that.

Here’s my other problems with electric cars and hybrids, etc. They are expensive.  I understand that you can make your money back with fuel savings, but upfront it’s quite a lot more. High efficiency things are expensive. I just got a new boiler for my home and didn’t choose the highest efficiency because it was going to take years and years before I could make back my money for the upgrade to highest efficiency.  Same thing with these cars. I think that in 2016 when the fuel standards change to 35.5 miles per gallon things will obviously improve and the cost of vehicles will be up then. I think we should start with that and then try to get excited and energized about electric cars after that. I don’t think that right now is the time for the electric cars. Maybe I’ll be wrong. We’ll see soon enough I guess.

The New York International Auto Show starts this weekend.  Is anyone overly excited about it?  Sure there will be some new concept vehicles there, and the buzz will be fuel efficiency, hybrid, and electric, but I’m sorry I just can’t get excited about another auto show.  We’ve already had like 3 big ones this year, and none have really interested me.  I like to quickly check out the far-fetched, wacky concept that someone will bring, but other than that (yawn) they bore me.  I want different and outrageous, and as of late at these shows I don’t see that.

I guess I should mention the big buzz so far for the show, the anticipation of GM’s Chevrolet Cruze.  GM will debut the Cruze.  This car will supposedly get 40 miles per gallon on the highway with a 1.4-liter Ecotec turbocharged engine.  This car will be available later this year.  The price hasn’t been announced yet, but it’s supposed to be reasonable.

So, there you have it the buzz of the New York Auto Show.  I’m still bored so far….