13
Jun
The Bush Administration has shown its support for plug-in hybrids by promising a measly $30 million to get them on the road within eight years, a figure and a timeline some automakers and plug-in advocates say is too little and too lengthy. Getting these cars on the road quickly, they say, shoul…
25
May
The German arguments to European Commission rules aimed at lowering average vehicle CO2 emissions has been well covered. considering many of the major German types manufacture large, forceful vehicles, the German administration felt that they were being dealt with unfairly. France, for its part, has…
23
Dec
DETROIT - This time, President Bush has it right. His Environmental Protection Agency chief, Stephen L. Johnson (there’s a name yet to be known in most households) says federal authority pre-empts a California proposal that would set its own CO2 standards for cars and trucks by 2016. Sixteen other s…
6
Nov
Barack Obama says that now that Hillary Clinton has changed from an anti-ethanol position to one supporting ethanol in her new energy plan, she might switch back under pressure. Here’s what he said:
It’s tough to believe that she is a strong ethanol supporter given her track record and th…
26
Oct
The New York Times editorial page went after corn from ethanol final month. It landed some well placed punches. Corn for fuel means less corn for animal feed and human food products. Lopsided US tax policies (incentives for US farmers, tariffs for Brazilian farmers) are blamed for gettin…
25
Oct
Honda Canada is not the only company unhappy about the ecoAUTO rebate program in Canada. Chrysler Canada CEO Reid Bigland wrote an Op-Ed in the National Post urging the program to be repealed. Even though Chrysler has a number of vehicles eligible for the rebates either as a outcome of good mile…
16
Oct
With all the talk about CAFE standards and gas taxes these days, many society wonder what a government could do to help bring the sale of gasoline powered cars down. How about a total ban? Would that work? Sounds a little drastic, but Norway is considering doing just such a thing, and they are a…
14
Oct
New Zealand has bold plans for greening its automobile transportation. In the “Energy Strategy to 2050″ report, presented by New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark, there are calls for major changes such as:
5 percent of cars to be plug-ins by 2020, rising to 60 percent by 2040.
25 percent…
24
Sep
At 11 that , the United Auto Workers union went on strike at American GM plants. that basically shuts down production of many new GM cars, trucks and SUVs for the foreseeable future. But does that mean you won’t be able to find that new GM car, truck or SUV when you go car shopping in the inst…
23
Sep
A California Senate committee is demanding Governor Schwarzenegger’s officials show up to a hearing Tuesday to reply questions about his role in getting GM a flex-fuel contract. So far, the governor’s office is resisting the demand. What’s the problem? California law says you have to seek compet…
21
Sep
Europe has been changing the taxing system on cars to adapt it to emissions. As a general rule, the increasingly CO2 a car emits through the tailpipe, the higher its taxes are. In general, cars in Europe pay two types of taxes. One type is the purchase taxes, which depends a lot on the count…
21
Sep
A basic principal of economics is that of supply and demand. whether demand for a commodity rises and the supply does not, the price increases. With demand for electricity in the US expected to increase by fifty percent by the next three decades and expansion of generating capacity in a holding …
21
Sep
The Ogallala Aquifer is an huge underground water source for middle America. Found under eight states (from Texas to South Dakota), the aquifer is literally life-giving to that part of the country. The areas above the aquifer were the center of the Dust Bowl in the 1930s and the water in the…
21
Sep
Over on the Toyota Open Road blog, VP Communications Irv Miller has put a post calling on Congress to pass a comprehensive energy bill that session. In specific, Toyota wants the US Congress to pass the Hill-Terry fuel economy standards. That’s the same proposal favored by the domestic automak…
