Read the rest of TEST DRIVE: 30-40 mpg in the Toyota Highlander Hybrid SUV

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg
Post tags: green car, green transportation, hybrid car, Laura K. Cowan, test drive, Toyota, toyota highlander, Toyota Highlander Hybrid

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg
Post tags: alternative transportation, chevy volt, electric car, electric vehicle, ev, ford, ford EV, ford fusion, ford fusion energi, ford fusion energi plug in hybrid, ford fusion energi test drive, ford fusion hybrid, ford hybrid car, fusion energi, fusion energi test drive, fusion hybrid, green cars, green transportation, hybird electric vehicle, hybrid car, Inhabitat test drive, plug-in hybrid, plugin electric vehicle, plugin EV, plugin prius

Read the rest of TEST DRIVE: Drag Race Saturday, Church on Sunday with the Lexus GS450h Hybrid

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg
Post tags: green car, green transportation, GS450h, hybrid car, Laura K. Cowan, lexus, Lexus GS450h, test drive

Tesla Motors has long worked towards producing the car of the future, and the Model S may well be the perfect electric vehicle for the middle class. If getting 265 miles per charge wasn’t enough to certify the sedan as an example of cutting edge technology, CEO Elon Musk recently told Bloomberg that he was in talks with Google to develop an autonomous driving system. Musk could take advantage of Google’s 500,000+ road miles to develop the technology, which he refers to as “autopilot” instead of “self-driving” to assuage fears of malfunction.

Read the rest of Tesla CEO Elon Musk in Talks With Google to Develop Self-Driving Cars

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg
Post tags: autonomous, bloomberg, ceo, electric car, elon musk, Google, lexus, LIDAR, light detection and ranging system, Mercedes-Benz, model s, NISSAN, sedan, self-driving, Tesla Motors, Toyota, volvo

Many of us would love to own a shiny new car, especially if that vehicle were at the forefront of cutting-edge technology. Electric vehicles seem like an enlightened way to get around without having to resort to a gas-guzzling jalopy or sacrifice personal freedom. Unfortunately, if you are considering buying an EV, you will almost certainly come away from the dealership with a much lighter pocketbook. In an effort to lessen the sting of going green, California Assemblyman Al Muratsuchi has proposed a bill that would use the post-purchase value of the car to reduce taxes and fees for plug-ins.

Read the rest of California Bill Introduced to Lower Sales Tax on Plug-in Electric Vehicles

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg
Post tags: ab-1077, assemblyman al muratsuchi, California, credit, electric vehicle, ev, ford, hermosa beach, legislation, plug-in, revenue and tax committee, sales tax, Toyota

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg
Post tags: "leed", electric car, Green Building, green car, green car dealership, green transportation, Laura K. Cowan, rav4, Sustainable Building, test drive, Toyota, Toyota RAV4 EV

Toyota just unveiled the new ME.WE electric concept, which is a pick-up, convertible, off-roader and small city car in one. Toyota says that the ME.WE is simpler, more appropriate and more realistic than many of today’s cars that are about “passion and status.”

Read the rest of Toyota’s ME.WE Concept is an Electric Vehicle Without Any Excess

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg
Post tags: electric motor, electric vehicle, green city car, green convertible, green pickup, in-wheel electric motor, Toyota, toyota electric vehicle, Toyota green car, Toyota i-ROAD concept, Toyota ME.WE concept

Earlier this month, the Innovative Mobility Automobile GmbH unveiled a tiny one-seat electric vehicle at the Geneva Motor Show called the Colibri. The car is so small that two of them can occupy a single parking space, making it an ideal option for dense urban areas. The Colibri has a battery range of about 69 miles, recharges in just two hours, and with its single person-capacity, the car may well be a good candidate for car-sharing programs.

Read the rest of Colibri One-Seat Electric Car to Go Into Production Next Year

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg
Post tags: 2013 Geneva Motor Show, automotive, colibri, Colibri EV, compact car, electric car, ev, geneva auto show, Geneva Motor Show, green cars, green transportation, Innovative Mobility Automobile GmbH, one-seat car

Today’s lithium-ion batteries are expensive and bulky – which is why Toyota is currently developing two new types of ultra-efficient batteries to power its electric vehicles. Toyota is conducting research on solid-state batteries and lithium-air batteries that promise to be more compact and be able to store more energy than lithium-ion batteries – and the automaker plans to switch to these new technologies by 2020.

Read the rest of Toyota Developing Revolutionary Solid-State and Lithium-Air Electric Vehicle Batteries, Aims to Launch by 2020

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg
Post tags: all-solid-state batteries, compact packaging of solid-state batteries, Lithium Polymer Battery, lithium-air batteries, lithium-air batteries store 50 times more energy than lithium-ion batteries, lithium-ion batteries, lithium-ion-phosphate, prius plug-in, RAV4 Electric Vehicle, size of lithium-ion batteries, Toyota

Turn on your smartphone or tablet, pick a destination on the map and ROPITS self-driving vehicle will do the rest! Hitachi’s new single-seat transport robot was designed to maneuver its way through city streets and sidewalks to pick you up and get you to your desired location. Equipped with GPS and 2D and 3D laser distance sensors, ROPITS can detect obstacles, bumps, and pedestrians and adjust its speed—up to 3.7mph—to arrive safely at any given destination.

Read the rest of Hitachi Unveils Smartphone-Operated Autonomous ROPITS Robocar

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg
Post tags: automobile industry, Battery powered vehicle, car GPS technology, car lithium ion batteries, car sensors, green technology, green transportation, Hitachi Ropits, Hitachi smart car, japan car technology, Ropits robotic vehicle, Ropits self-driven car, Ropits smart car, Ropits Tsukuba city, vehicle navigation

Toyota just unveiled its new i-ROAD concept – an all-electric three-wheeled trike that is set to debut this week at the Geneva Motor Show. Toyota says that the two-seater i-ROAD is the perfect vehicle for city streets. It offers the same low running costs, easy parking and around-town maneuverability as a motorcycle or scooter, but its fully enclosed interior makes it a safer alternative.

Read the rest of i-ROAD: Toyota Unveils Three-Wheeled All-Electric Vehicle Ahead of Geneva Motor Show

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg
Post tags: 2013 Geneva Motor Show, electric motor, green car, green transportation, lithium ion battery, personal electric vehicle, Toyota, Toyota i-ROAD concept

Researchers at the University of Southern California have developed a new lithium-ion battery that recharges in just 10 minutes and holds three times as much energy as its existing counterparts. By using porous nanotubes, researchers made the silicon expand and contract without breaking, which allows lithium-ions to diffuse more quickly and improve the battery performance. The design is currently under a provisional patent and could be on the market in just two to three years.

Read the rest of New Lithium-Ion Battery Holds Three Times More Energy and Recharges in Just 10 Minutes

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg
Post tags: battery performance, battery research, carbon nanotubes, green technology, lithium-ion batteries, lithium-ion battery patent, nanotechnology, new battery research, silicon nanotubes, University of California research, Viterbi School of Engineering

A lightweight carbon-fiber car that runs on lithium-ion batteries and a portable wind turbine has just traveled 3,000 miles across Australia—and it used only $15 worth of electricity. The car, dubbed the Wind Explorer, was designed by New Jersey-based Evonik Industries to demonstrate the potential of the company’s developments in battery power and lightweight materials.

Read the rest of Wind-Powered Car Travels 3,000 Miles Across Australia for $15 Worth of Electricity

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg
Post tags: carbon fiber car, clean energy transportation, energy efficient cars, Evonik Industries New Jersey, fuel efficient vehicles, green technology, green transportation, hybrid cars, lightweight electric vehicles, lightweight materials, lithium ion battery cars, wind energy, Wind Explorer car, wind powered car

It’s undeniable the Google’s autonomous driving tech is pretty awesome—impressive enough that even a blind man can travel behind the wheel of one of the web giant’s self-driving cars. And there’s been a lot of buzz surrounding it, as Google became the first company to gain the legal right to test autonomous cars Nevadan roads, and autonomous cars were recently legalized in California. But, as a recently published editorial by Johann Muller in Forbes discusses, the successes of—and the hype surrounding—Google’s self-driving developments don’t necessarily pose a threat to the conventional auto industry.

Read the rest of Why Google’s Autonomous Cars Probably Won’t Kill the Auto Industry

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg
Post tags: accident prevention, auto industry, automakers, autonomous car, autonomous vehicle, google car, google self-driving patent, google self-driving prius, google self-driving technology, self-driving car, self-driving technology, self-driving vehicles

Toyota Motor Corp and BMW AG are joining forces to develop next-generation car batteries that are expected to be more powerful than the lithium-ion batteries used in most electric vehicles. The new lithium-air batteries will be able to generate a major portion of a car’s power needs from thin air. The two companies have announced that the new fuel-cell vehicle system will be complete by 2020.

Read the rest of Toyota and BMW Join Forces to Create Next-Generation Car Batteries That Run on Thin Air

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg
Post tags: "clean energy", BMW, car battery research, carbon emissions, electric car batteries, electric cars, emission-free vehicle, fuel cell vehicles, green car, green transportation, lithium-ion electric car batteries, new car technology, plug-in cars, Toyota, toyota developed battery, toyota electric vehicle

South Korean scientists just developed the world’s first imprintable and bendable battery – and it could pave the way for flexible mobile devices in the near future. According to the researchers, the new lithium-ion batteries are not only flexible, but also more stable and less likely to overheat or catch fire than conventional batteries. This technology could lead to the creation of flexible smartphones or other electronic devices, as well as the development of new apps that could change the way consumers interact with their phones.

Read the rest of South Korean Scientists Develop World’s First Bendable Lithium-Ion Battery

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg
Post tags: bendable battery, bendable lithium-ion battery, bendable smartphones, cell phone technology, energy technology, flexible battery, flexible phones, imprintable batteries, nanomaterials, nanotechnology, scientific research, South Korean researchers, Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology

Today Toyota and Lexus unveiled a high-tech autonomous vehicle at CES 2013 that could pave the way towards self-driving cars in the near future. Although it isn’t fully driverless, the Advanced Active Safety Research Vehicle features a set of automated technologies designed to enhance drivers’ skills and reduce global traffic fatalities and injuries. The research vehicle is based on a Lexus LS and it incorporates next-gen sensors and systems to detect traffic light changes, warn drivers about dangerous obstacles, and monitor the vehicle’s position in traffic lanes to prevent swerving.

Read the rest of Lexus Unveils Autonomous Advanced Active Safety Research Vehicle at CES 2013 – But it Isn’t Fully Driverless

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg
Post tags: 2013 CES, autonomous cars, autonomous vehicle, car safety, driverless cars, energy efficient transportation, green cars, green transportation, green vehicles, lexus, Lexus active safety research vehicle, lexus advanced active safety research vehicle, lexus autonomous driving vehicle, Lexus LS, lexus self driving car, sustainable transportation, Toyota, toyota self-driving car

Google no longer has a monopoly on driverless vehicles. Lexus has unveiled a sneak preview of its luxury LS model equipped with proprietary Intelligent Transport Systems technology, including an on-board radar and video cameras that allow the car to function without the assistance of a driver. The luxury arm of Toyota Motor Corporation, Lexus will exhibit its self-driving automobile at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, which opens to the public on Tuesday.

Read the rest of Lexus Releases Sneak Preview of its New Driverless Vehicle

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg
Post tags: 2013, autonomous vehicles, ces, consumer electronics show, driverless vehicles, Google, green transportation, Intelligent Transport Systems, ITC, las vegas, lexus, News, prius, Toyota, Toyota Motor Corporation

Email and social networking sites have led to a sharp decline in the amount of paper used to communicate and store information. But that doesn’t mean paper is completely obsolete in the digital world. A company called intelliPaper has found a way to transform tiny scraps of paper into fully functional USB drives and programmable documents that could revolutionize the printed materials industry and cut down on the ocean of e-waste currently headed for the landfill.

Read the rest of intelliPaper Turns a Scrap Of Paper Into a Customized Recyclable USB Drive

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg
Post tags: e-waste, flash drive, intelliPaper, paper products, printed technology, recyclable, usb

If you drive a Ford C-Max or a Ford Fusion Hybrid, you might want to double check the fuel economy of your car. Two of Ford’s hybrids, the C-Max and the Fusion, fell short of fuel economy targets when tested by Consumer Reports, said the Detroit automaker on Friday. But Ford isn’t shying away from this potentially embarrassing issue, saying that it wants to work with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to improve the way it determines fuel efficiency, claiming that the current testing methods leave too much to chance and produce erratic results.

Read the rest of Ford Hybrids C-Max and Fusion Fail to Meet Fuel Economy Standards

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg
Post tags: Consumer Reports blows whistle on Ford hybrids, environmental protection agency, EPA testing methods for fuel economy, Ford C-MAX, ford fusion, Ford hybrid vehicles, Ford hybrid vehicles fall short of EPA targets, miles per gallon, Raj Nair, vehicle fuel economy, vehicle fuel efficiency, vehicle fuel performance