For years, the city of Boston has been considered one of the WORST cities in the world for biking – with no bike lanes to speak of and crazy drivers. Nicole Freedman, Boston’s new ‘Bike Czar’ is hoping to change this with an ambitious program to overhaul Boston’s streets and make them safe and conducive for biking – even bringing the U.S.’s first urban bike share program to Boston! If you are a regular Inhabitat reader, you may remember that we hosted a live webinar discussion with Nicole on Inhabitat this fall, as part of our Green Talks series of video interviews. Our fascinating discussion with Freedman shed light on how urban bike share programs work, and how one goes about trying to turn the worst biking city in the world to one of the best.

Watch our full videos of the talk below to find out more about Nicole’s achievements making Boston a better place to bike, and her grand plan to try to make commuter cycling safer and more practical for more Americans.

Read the rest of VIDEO: Boston ‘Bike Czar’ Nicole Freedman Talks Bike-Share & Urban Cycling

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Post tags: Bike Boston, bike sharing program, Boston Bike Czar, Boston bike share, boston bike sharing program, cycling in Boston, Head of bicycle programs, mayor Menino, nicole freedman, public bike share system, public bike sharing, urban bike share, urban cycling

Car designer and entrepreneur Henrik Fisker made his name in the car industry designing the highest of the high-end luxury cars for BMW and Aston Martin. After making waves in the auto industry with vehicles such as the Aston Martin DB9, Aston Martin V8 Vantage and BMW Z8, he decided to break away from this corner of the auto world imbued with tradition and start his own company, Fisker Automotive. Fisker’s first vehicle to hit the road has been the Karma, an impressively green, extended range electric vehicle with so many curves, your eyes are already driving it before you’ve even gotten behind the wheel. Coming in as loud and clear as the Karma’s sex appeal, Henrik Fisker is on a mission to make green cars cool. We recently had a chance to talk to him about how he’s risen to the top of the electric vehicle pack, and where he plans on taking his cars from there.

Read the rest of VIDEO: Inhabitat Interviews Henrik Fisker, Founder of Fisker Automotive and Designer of the Karma

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Post tags: eco car, eco vehicle, electric car, electric vehicle, extended range electric vehicle, Fisker Automotive, fisker car, fisker karma, fisker vehicle, green car, green transportation, green vehicle, henrik fisker, high gas mileage, karma, karma car, karma electric vehicle, Karma EV, low emissions car, low emissions transportation, sustainable car, sustainable vehicle

Toyota’s vaunted Prius line is racing into third place in total cars sold worldwide, proving that, far from being a niche market, hybrid technology is as mainstream as it gets. The news comes soon after two new Prius models hit the market, making the gas-sipping lineup a tough act to beat. So far, Toyota has produced 4 million hybrids with sales accelerating along with the surging price of gas.

Read the rest of Toyota Prius Pulls into Third Place in Worldwide Auto Sales

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Post tags: Hybrid car sales, Prius C sales, prius sales, Prius third best selling car, Prius V sales, Prius world sales

This morning Tesla Motors announced that their new Model S electric sedan will be powered by top of the line lithium-ion batteries provided by the Panasonic Corporation. The collaboration is part of Tesla’s drive to increase the production of Model S sedans while growing the electric vehicle industry. Over the next four years, Tesla and Panasonic will work together to provide over 80,00 electric vehicles with lithium-ion batteries – including 6,000 Model S vehicles from the 2012 lot.

Read the rest of Tesla’s Model S Electric Sedan Will be Powered by Ultra-Efficient Panasonic Batteries

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Post tags: eco design, electric car, electric vehicle, elon musk, ev, green design, lithium ion battery, Panasonic Corporation, sustainable design, tesla, Tesla car, tesla model-s, Tesla Motors

In what could certainly be one of the boldest infrastructure developments ever announced, the Russian Government has given the go-ahead to build a transcontinental railway linking Siberia with North America. The massive undertaking would traverse the Bering Strait with the world’s longest tunnel – a project twice the length of the Chunnel between England and France. The $65 billion project aims to feed North America with raw goods from the Siberian interior and beyond, but it could also provide a key link to developing a robust renewable energy transmission corridor that feeds wind and tidal power across vast distances while linking a railway network across 3/4 of the Northern Hemisphere.

Read the rest of Russia Green Lights $65 Billion Siberia-Alaska Rail and Tunnel to Bridge the Bering Strait!

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Post tags: Bering Strait railway, green energy transmission, high speed rail system, russian rail way expantion, Russian railway, Siberian Alaska railway, tidal power, transcontinental railway, world longed proposed tunnel

Rumor has it, the Cadillac Converj luxury coupe has been approved for production – again. After wowing the crowds at the Detroit Auto Show in January 2009, and enduring an on-again off-again release deal with General Motors, the sleek sports coupe will be Cadillac’s first plug-in electric sedan, and on top of that, the fastest!

Read the rest of Cadillac Converj Plug-In EV Gets Green Light for Production in 2013

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Post tags: cadillac, Cadillac Converj, electric cadillac, electric plug-in vehicles, electric vehicles, green transportation

Suzuki recently launched the “Every” van – the Japanese car manufacturer’s first foray into battery-powered transportation. Suzuki is playing it safe, however; only 13 of the plug-in Every vans have been manufactured. These 13 electric vehicles will be sent to Suzuki dealerships across Japan with the goal of gathering real-world driving data before Suzuki produces the Every for mass use.

Read the rest of Suzuki’s Electric “Every” Van Launches in Japan for Real-World Testing

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Post tags: electric plug-in vehicles, electric vehicle, green design, green EV, green transportation, Mitsubishi i-MiEV, new electric cars, sustainable design, sustainable transportation, suzuki, suzuki cars, suzuki electric every van

John Viera has made a name for himself as a pioneer for the green movement within the automotive industry. As Ford Motor Company‘s Director of Sustainable Business Strategies, he has been building a new base for the Big Three manufacturer to flourish in a sustainable way. We here at Inhabitat were lucky enough to have the opportunity to pick the brain of Viera, who spoke to us about a number of topics, including Ford’s future in plug-in hybrid (PHEV) and electric vehicles (EV). Read on for our exclusive interview!

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Post tags: electric cars, ev, ford, ford escape, ford fusion, ford hybrid, Ford Motor Company's Director of Sustainable Business Strategies, ford motors, ford transit connect, green automotive, green cars, green transportation, hybrid cars, inhabitat interview, john viera, phev

The suburban city of Carmel, Indiana has built a double teardrop roundabout that could very well be the greenest highway intersection in the United States. It’s a compelling solution to the various challenges the city faced when they needed a major upgrade to one of their busiest intersections. The unique solution has saved many buildings, reduced accidents dramatically, reduces carbon emissions and is much more pedestrian friendly — all the while saving the city money as compared to a traditional highway intersection.  While America’s devotion to cars will not wane anytime soon, maybe America’s roads can get a bit better at reducing the automobile’s impact.

Read the rest of Keystone Parkway Is the Greenest Highway Intersection in the US

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Post tags: American Structurepiont, Autodesk Infrastructure Design Suite, double teardrop round about, green road design, green transportation design, greenest intersection, Keystone roundabout, reduced car accidents, roundabout desig

This is one competition we never thought we’d see: Volvo Trucks is reportedly developing a diesel-electric hybrid truck dubbed the “Mean Green.” Going forward in a green way, the famed car manufacturer is hoping that the truck will claim the title of World’s Fastest Hybrid Truck.

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Post tags: diesel, hybrid truck, hybrid vehicle, mean green, volvo

Good news for European jet-setters: traveling from the U.K. to Germany and Holland is about to get a whole lot easier. German rail company Deutsche Bahn is in the testing stages for a cross-channel bullet train route from London to Frankfurt and Amsterdam — and it could be ready within three years. This marks the first time that there will be direct rail service from London to Amsterdam.

Read the rest of 200MPH Bullet Trains to Connect Frankfurt, London, Amsterdam

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Post tags: Amsterdam, bullet train, deutsche bahn, FRANKFURT, high speed rail, London, train

Southern California isn’t exactly known for having the best public transportation system, but Foothill Transit, a public transportation agency in the San Gabriel/Pomona area, is about to get an impressive upgrade: all-electric buses that can charge up in under 10 minutes. Foothill bought three EcoRide BE35 all-electric buses, along with two charging stations.

Read the rest of Fast-Charging Electric Buses Coming to Southern California

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Post tags: ecoride, electric bus, ev, foothill transit, phev, pomona, proterra

Sports car manufacturers have been lining up left and right to bring their own brand of electric vehicles to the market, so it comes as no surprise that Porsche is finally joining in with a few experimental EVs of its own. This week the carmaker announced its plan to develop an all-electric sports car, starting with a field-test of three electric Boxsters.


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Post tags: boxster, cayenne, electric vehicle, ev, green design, phev, porsche, spyder

Remember how Toyota announced last month that it plans to build an electric vehicle with Tesla? It looks like things are moving relatively quickly–at least compared to Tesla’s normally turtle-like  turnaround time.  Tesla is reportedly working on electrified versions of the Toyota RAV4 and Lexus RX trucks to be delivered to Toyota later this month.

Read the rest of Tesla Working on Electric RAV4, Lexus RX Prototypes for Toyota

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Post tags: ev, lexus rx, phev, rav4, tesla, Toyota

Why ride a bike when you can cruise down the street in a pedal-powered Porsche? The Ferdinand GT3 RSX, designed by artist Hannes Langeder, scraps the Porsche‘s snazzy engine to make a lightweight, pedal-powered vehicle with tons of storage space.

Read the rest of The World’s Slowest Porsche is Pedal-Powered

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Post tags: eco design, ferdinand gtx, green design, green transportation, pedal powered porsche

Think it’s time for New York City to update its cab design? The New York Taxi and Limousine Commission (TLC) has been hunting for the so-called “taxi of tomorrow” — a cab that integrates safety, comfort, energy efficiency, and superior design — for the past two years. The TLC hasn’t chosen a new taxi yet, but we like the looks of the Unicab, a four-seater EV decked out with so many eco features that barely resembles today’s cabs.

Read the rest of The Unicab EV Could be New York’s Taxi of Tomorrow

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Post tags: cab, electric vehicleunicab, ev, green design, green transportation, new york city, phev, sustainable design, taxi, unicab

Photo courtesy of Physorg

A new electric concept vehicle puts race cars to shame. Spain’s Tecnalia Technological Corporation recently unveiled the Dynacar, an electric car than can go from zero to 87 miles per hour in a mere 10 seconds. The car made its first appearance last week at Madrid’s International Eco Friendly Vehicle & Sustainable Mobility Show.

Read the rest of Electric “Dynacar” Goes From Zero to 87 MPH in 10 Seconds

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Post tags: concept car, Dynacar, Eco Friendly Vehicle and Sustainable Mobility Show, electric vehicle, EVs, fast electric vehicles, Tecnalia Technological Corporation

Good news for European electric vehicle fans–a company called Epyon recently opened Europe’s first commercial fast-charging station in the Netherlands. The system can reportedly pump out 50 kilowatts of power–enough to charge a nine-person taxi van–in just 30 minutes.

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Post tags: Charging Station, epyon, Europe, ev, green design, Netherlands, phev

Competition is heating up for the Progressive X-Prize, and the latest super-efficient green vehicle to be rolled out is Finland’s Electric RaceAbout (ERA) EV. Recently unveiled by the Helsinki Metropolia University of Applied Sciences, the RaceAbout features a range of 200km, a chassis that weighs half as much as other cars its size, and a lithium-ion battery pack that can be express charged in 10 minutes flat. Now that the electric sportscar has proven itself in initial tests, the ERA travels to Michigan where it will compete for the X-Prize and $10 million dollars.

Read the rest of Finland Unveils RaceAbout All-Electric Supercar

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Post tags: 100 MPGe, 2010 X-Prize, automotive x-prize, batteries, electric, electric car, electric vehicle, Finland, Finnish design, RaceAbout, RaceAbout Electric Vehicle, x-prize

This mini concept car, designed by Brazilian designer Ricardo Fedrizzi, is all electric, meaning it has zero emissions. The “Bug” is a super cute two-seater vehicle meant for puttering around in the city and was designed to be aerodynamic and lightweight in order to maximize performance. Fedrizzi’s concept also makes use of recyclable and renewable materials for the body of the car.

Read the rest of TRANSPORTATION TUESDAY: The “Bug” Urban Electric Concept Mini-Car

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Post tags: car, concept car, eco design, electric car, green design, lightweight, micro car, Ricardo Fedrizzi, urban transport, zero emissions transit, zero-emissions