We may be celebrating the automobile industry’s turnaround–I for one, am willing to admit that I was wrong about the government “bailout” two years ago–and to that end, look what Plug-In America’s Dan Davids has to say:
Today Valvoline revealed its new NextGen line of motor oil, which boasts a formula that is 50% recycled oil. This product’s creation is the result of Valvoline’s unique position in this market and a natural disaster that occurred almost six years ago.
BMW announced this week that it will invest about US$560 million in electric vehicle manufacturing, with new vehicles ready by 2013–and they promise a complete revamp and rethink of what a car is. That Mini E trial will lead to a broader range of EVs after all.
Now auto manufacturers are going back to their roots. Peugeot, which got its start making bicycles in the 1880s, launched a new bicycle line 10 years ago, and after some stumbles, will re-introduce that line into the United States in January. Mini Cooper has a posh collection of bikes. And now BMW launched its line of bicycles, too.
Buses going nanotech are a ways off, but Volvo is currently in the middle of a US$4.8 million research project to test whether there is a better way to design a car battery. Working with London’s Imperial College and several European companies, the project “Tomorrow’s Volvo Car” could lead to an even more energy efficient automobile, revolutionize battery technology, and reduce a car’s weight as well.
I realize that defending Toyota in February 2010 is like defending Richard Nixon in August 1974, but I’m about to do something that will make me about as popular at a Green Drinks gathering as a big juicy Costco steak. I’m going to cut Toyota some slack. I have not followed this story [...]
The Green Tech Connect Forum in Pasadena was a success for so many reasons. One issue that I was thrilled to see addressed was the role of heavy duty trucks and equipment. In front of the Pasadena Convention Center, not only could you see buses, but trucks and hauling equipment was on display as well. [...]
Maybe I’m just bitter because I (finally, it took me 3 years) just watched the documentary, Who Killed the Electric Car, but I’m dubious about the Cash for Clunker scheme, which the Obama Administration and Congress has extended because of its crazy success. (more…)
Everyone agrees that workers on public works projects should be paid a fare wage. And with all due respect to ditch diggers . . . solar and wind farms–or any renewable energy projects for that matter– don’t just need brawn. They need brains. Installing solar panels and other analogous jobs requires special training, which is [...]
We’re all in a tizzy over gasoline, oil reserves, air quality, will there be a GM next month, etc. The discussion over transport fuel brings out hysterics on all sides. (more…)
The best professor I had in business school was the wisest. He once commented that only two things fuel the American economy: immigration and innovation. I was reminded of that last summer when I went to the InterSolar Conference in San Francisco—most of the vendors there were either German or Chinese . . . with [...]