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Friday, February 5, 2010:
Will the Prius brake investigation and potential recall allow another auto company to knock the world's most popular hybrid off the top of the mountain? Other carmakers had already started taking advantage of the earlier defect plaguing Toyota so we can only imagine they will jump on the opportunity to try and unseat the world's hybrid leader. A formal recall has not yet been issued for the Prius but the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) has opened a formal investigation into the complaints about Prius brakes as the model has significantly more complaints than the models which generated the two recalls of eight other Toyota models. How the company reacts to the recalls and the investigation will lay the framework for whether their reputation can recover ... Just for fun - you may not be able to afford it (and it's not the greenest) but how much of a kick would it be to drive a hybrid Ferrari? Reports are a 599 Hybrid will be unveiled at the Geneva auto show in March. Got a couple hundred thousand bucks lying around? You could have the benefit of a Ferrari with 30 percent improvement in fuel economy (8.7 MPG to 13.8 MPG) while still getting 612 horsepower. Vroom! ... Most people realize if they want to buy a hybrid, they will have to spend a little extra for the powertrain. But is that $3,000 extra what is preventing more people from making the switch to a hybrid? It turns out extras like leather seats and keyless entry, which also add to the price of the vehicle, are being automatically included in the base models of hybrids and increasing their prices further. Since most consumers who buy a hybrid are primarily focused on better fuel economy and reduced emissions, we have to wonder why some of these pricy add-ons aren't offered as options, as with most vehicles. If car companies are including these options to drive up the price and increase the profit, which makes them inaccessible to many, wouldn't it make more sense to offer extras as options and perhaps sell more vehicles? More hybrids on the road = reduced global warming emissions as well. And, as USA Today points out: "Toyota had promised to make a lower-priced, no-nonsense Prius when the new version was introduced last year, but delayed it and is talking as if it won't be available for direct sales to consumers, only fleet buyers." What gives? ...
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Friday, January 29, 2010:
Although Ford has been leading the way in hybrid and electric car development among U.S. automakers, it looks like General Motors is giving their rivals a run for the money on another front. Drum roll please! GM will be the first major automaker in the U.S. to build its own electric engines. The company is investing $246 million to expand a Baltimore-area factory to make electric motors for its next generation of hybrid starting in 2013. An added positive - the effort will create an additional 200 "green" jobs at the plant ... Wondering how much difference plug-in cars can make in the pollution produced in the U.S. and in our oil consumption? A new white paper from Environment Arizona concludes: "Powering a car on electricity would result in 93 percent less smog-forming volatile organic compounds and 31 percent less nitrogen oxide emissions than powering a car on gasoline. If half of the light vehicles in the United States were electric vehicles powered by completely clean electricity in 2030, total fleet emissions would be reduced by 62 percent. If three-fourths of American vehicles including cars, pick-up trucks, SUVs and vans were electric, oil use would be reduced by about one-third. Operating costs of plug-in cars are likely to be significantly lower than those of gasoline-powered cars. Electricity costs three to five cents per mile with average electric rates, or the equivalent of $0.75 to $1.25 per gallon of gasoline." ... Do you remember taking the old, pollution-belching school bus to school growing up? Well, welcome to the new generation of school bus. The Ventura-CA school district is putting a state-of-the-art plug-in hybrid school bus to work this week to replace a 1977 model. It is expected to reduce fuel economy by 30 percent and reduce emissions by 40 percent. Sounds good to us! ...
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