All Green Articles

Japanese automaker Toyota has just issued a decidedly laconic press release announcing the unveiling at the Detroit Auto Show of a small, battery-powered, electric vehicle, the FT-EV, set to hit markets in early 2010. The vehicle, which no one has seen yet, is reportedly inspired from the diminutive subcompact, four-seat iQ sedan presented at the Geneva Auto Show.

Next year, General Motors will be the biggest seller of vehicles equipped with direct injection in North America. The technology was initially borrowed from the realm of diesel engines, and is proving its ability to save fuel and reduce emissions. BMW, Volkswagen / Audi and Mazda also use the technology in some of their vehicles.

Shame, all this financial doom and gloom stuff lately. It's depressing sure- but it also takes away from some of the great new stuff our automakers are planning to bring to market. Example? Ford's latest hybrid- the Fusion. Powered by a newly hybridized version of the automakers latest 2.5 liter four cylinder engine, Ford engineers are saying that it will be the most fuel efficient mid-sized sedan in America- with at least a 6 mpg advantage over its key competitor, the Camry hybrid.

A first impression is hard to change. When you meet someone for the first time, it supposedly takes about 30 seconds to make an idea in your mind of what kind of person is standing in front of you, and if you like that person or not. The same goes for cars and trucks. Walk in a dealership and spot the vehicle you're interested in. After a few seconds, if the exterior shape pleases you, the next step is arguably to open the door and sit down in it.

Honda's new Prius fighter in production form will be unveiled at the Detroit Auto Show next January. The Japanese company expects to globally sell 200,000 of them each year, and half of them will find homes in North America.

Nova Scotia municipalities and community groups that have ideas for more environmental-friendly transportation projects can now get some financial help. The government has announced that grants are available for rural communities that have green transportation projects. The deadline for applications is December 22nd.

Even though the manufacturer is more discrete than the others in terms of environmental technology, Nissan is just as ready to do battle on this front as well. As Carlos Ghosn, the head of the group, mentioned at the opening of the Los Angeles Auto Show, Nissan has no cause to be jealous of the competition.

When Jeep first launched the Patriot I was none too sure about it. After all, it's based on the Dodge Caliber, and although I love the value for money aspect of that vehicle, I couldn't quite fathom a Jeep version of it. Aren't Jeeps supposed to be rugged, go-anywhere types of vehicles? Would you call a Dodge Caliber with 4WD one of those? Well, I'm ready to eat my words and take back everything that I have said about the Patriot in the past, because after spending a week in one, I totally get it.

The 2009 Volkswagen Jetta TDI has just won the Green Car Journal's Green Car of the Year award. The editors of the Green Car Journal had chosen five finalists, but in the end the Jetta was recognized as the best of the best.

The Kia Borrego FCEV (Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle) has just made its grand entrance at the Los Angeles Auto Show. It features a slew of innovative features, such as a fuel cell capable of delivering 154 hp, a 450-volt supercapacitor producing 134 additional horsepower as well as a conventional, 147-hp engine. The Kia Borrego FCEV offers an impressive 685-km operating range courtesy of its hydrogen tanks totalling 202 litres at a pressure of 70 MPa.

AFS Trinity Corporation has just announced that it will be pulling its XH150 hybrid SUV from the Los Angeles Auto Show and presenting it elsewhere in the city during that period. This announcement follows the decision of the manufacturers and the Los Angeles Auto Show authorities to muzzle AFS Trinity, as the fuel consumption of their vehicle has not been verified by the EPA.

BMW Management Chairman Dr. Norbert Reithofer recently made a statement about the international financial crisis and how it relates to BMW group's operations. "The international financial crisis has gained further momentum in the third quarter, and has now hit the real economy with full force" he said- before stressing that BMW is prepared to meet economic challenges and that they remain a strong performer with a solid foundation that will help to 'weather the storm'.

Oakville, Ontario - There was a time when the color black played a major role at Ford. However, from what I've seen on a recent tour of the company's Oakville Assembly Plant, green is becoming the prominent color nowadays. Yes, Ford is ramping up its Eco-friendly Fumes-to-Fuel program and will soon be turning emissions into "green energy".

The new 2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid and its Mercury twin, the Milan, will hit markets in the first quarter of 2009. To help their owners, who, incidentally, like to know their real-time fuel consumption and how their car is doing, Ford has developed a universal smart gauge system dubbed SmartGauge. The hybrids also boast another innovative feature, the EcoGuide, which allows owners to adapt their driving in order to optimize output.

New Brunswick's first hybrid school bus has been on the road since September. According to the province, it is the second vehicle of this kind to be operated in Canada. The purchase of the school bus, which will be transporting Moncton students, will help New Brunswick reduce its green house gas emissions.

To commemorate the Model T, Ford recently challenged five universities from around the world to a design contest, charging them with the task of creating a revolutionary vehicle concept for the 21st century. The four-month contest has come to a close- and a hundred years after the Model T first revolutionized the modern world, the winner has been announced.

Lotus has just received another award for its environmental research project. Dubbed HOTFIRE, it's a direct injection engine that reduces fuel consumption and CO2 emissions by 15%. With it, Lotus wanted to study the potential gains achieved by pulverising fuel directly in a conventional engine's cylinders rather than using an air/fuel mixture.

Over the past year, we've explored the issue of the greenhouse gas emissions produced by automobiles, the efforts made by the various car manufacturers to reduce these emissions as well as the fuel consumption of their products, the various laws passed in the United States and Canada to try to slow global warming and the rise of fuel prices in North America.

A new category has been added to the 2009 Shell Eco-marathon Americas, a competition where students are asked to design, build and test vehicles to see who can go the farthest distance using the least amount of fuel. The point of the "Urban Concept" class is to create vehicles that are more fuel-efficient, yet that resemble cars seen on roads today.

BMW will become the first premium automaker to deploy a fleet of some 500 all electric vehicles for private use in day to day driving. The automaker's "MINI E" is an electric powered MINI, which employs a 150 kilowatt, or 204 horsepower electric motor which drives the front wheels.

A Mazda RX-8 equipped with a hydrogen-powered rotary engine will take to the Norwegian roads. Mazda and HyNor, the Norwegian national hydrogen project responsible for establishing a clean transportation system based on hydrogen, will jointly evaluate its performance.

Audi has released some important numbers pertaining to its race across the continental U.S. undertaken with a fleet of its diesel-powered vehicles. The Audi Mileage Marathon is an exercise in endurance where the goal is to maintain the lowest diesel consumption throughout the event.

Yeah, I got the Bullitt from Ford. My editor said that in his opinion "It was about time", but I think that he misunderstood what I meant! The Bullitt that I actually got was the all new Mustang Bullitt, the car designed to refresh in our minds, that famous 1968 Steve McQueen movie of the same title. Come on now, if you really profess to love all things automotive, then you have to have seen that one! It is simply the greatest high-speed car chase film ever made.

Living in the city and owning a Jeep is a bit of a paradox. And this active-lifestyle phenomenon is getting out of hand; it seems as though people who spend their weekends surfboarding, hiking, cycling and doing other outdoor activities live in the urban areas where congestion and pollution is high. Or at least, that's what manufacturers want us to believe.

In the U.S., Ford has been awarded a $10-million grant by the Department of Energy to research, develop and demonstrate 20 plug-in, fuel/electricity-powered hybrids. The grant covers 50% of the project cost; Ford will contribute the remaining $10 million.

Our very own Marc Bouchard and Bertrand Godin won the inaugural Rallye des énergies alternatives des Laurentides (alternative energy rally) that was held last year. However, the 2008 edition proved to be less memorable. The event was even bigger and more challenging, the team finishing in 11th place.

A field of forty competitors will hit the road on Friday, October 3, with only one thing in mind: save as much fuel as possible. The drivers will take part in the second edition of the Alternative Energies Rally of the Laurentians, travelling across the Quebec countryside in a 600-km event spanning two days.

For the inauguration of the Mondial de l'automobile de Paris, Fiat has introduced a computer application that allows owners of certain Fiat models to improve the way they drive: the program informs them of the effects their driving style has on fuel consumption and CO2 emissions. It is dubbed eco:Drive. Owners of certain Fiat models can download the application from the manufacturer's website at www.fiat.com/ecodrive.

Volvo has devised a bold plan that will markedly reduce its vehicles' CO2 emissions before 2012. In 2011, the Swedish manufacturer will introduce a micro-hybrid technology with start/stop function for conventional engines. The new system will improve fuel efficiency by 4 to 5% in combined highway and city driving.

On September 19, a Snake Skin Green Dodge Challenger SRT8 nicknamed Samantha crossed the finish line of the 7th annual Targa Newfoundland. The team wound up in second place in Class 9 Modified Large and 22nd overall. It was a success, according to driver Ralph Gilles -- the same Canadian who became Vice-President of Design at Chrysler LLC just 18 days earlier.