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Transportation Alternatives


Forget Zipcar - Smart reportedly readying car2go car-sharing program in Texas

Daimler announced in March it would bring the tiny Smart car to the big state of Texas through its car-sharing service car2go. At the time, the German automaker declared that entering the Austin market with 200 ForTwos was "the next logical step." Daimler CEO Dieter Zetsche now thinks that the car share program is also a good way to boost sales numbers, which have dropped recently. Smart's U.S. sales were down 70.4 percent last month compared to October 2008, and only 661 ForTwos were sold in the U.S. last month. In Austin, as in the ... Read more →

Zero-emission Proterra electric bus comes to Capitol Hill Sebastian Blanco

Altair Nanotechnologies has not had a completely successful string of events these last few years. They lost more money than expected in 2007 and were not always embraced by the investment ...

Better Place and DSB to pilot electric car sharing for train travelers Domenick Yoney

Will trains and cars become the voyaging version of peanut butter and chocolate? Perhaps. Better Place is partnering with DSB, Denmark's largest rail service provider, to offer an electric car ...

Tokyo 2009: We sample Honda's quirky U3-X, stride management assist and bodyweight assist devices Sam Abuelsamid

If there is one thing people love, it's personal mobility. After all, what other species regularly harness other creatures for the sole purpose of getting around. The auto industry is all about ...

AM General to build CNG-powered VPG MV-1 people-mover at Hummer H2 factory Jeremy Korzeniewski

Remember the Standard Taxi from the Vehicle Production Group? It's now called the MV-1, and production is slated to begin next year at the AM General plant in Mishawaka, Indiana. That's the same ...

Opposite World: Is traffic good for the environment? 1 month ago on Autoblog Green

Traffic congestion is good for the environment. Wait, come again? Are we talking about Bizarro World here? Actually, according to Wall Street Journal writer David Owen, excessive congestion can actually be a good thing when it convinces drivers to explorer transportation alternatives instead of ...

eKRAD developing eQUAD [w/VIDEO] 1 month ago on Autoblog Green

While we await word of when production will begin of their electric supermoto (their website says late 2009) the folks who cooked up the eKRAD have been keeping busy with another possible product; the eQUAD. Though not much is yet known about the four-wheeled machine we can say that, like their ...

Tokyo 2009 Preview: Suzuki to show off three fuel cell concepts 1 month ago on Autoblog Green

In addition to the plug-in series hybrid version of the Swift subcompact hatchback that Suzuki will display at the upcoming Tokyo Motor Show, the Japanese company will also be bringing along three separate concepts powered by fuel cells. First up is the SX4-FCV, which uses an 80 kW hydrogen ...

Vertical bike parking protects from theft, worry 1 month ago on Autoblog Green

Bikes are the most efficient thing on two wheels (sorry, Aptera), but they're not ideal for everyone's city commute. A new vertical parking/shower stall concept from Yinnon Lehrer over at Yanko Design could make biking an easier choice for a lot of people. The main reasons: you bike is ...

New train-sponsored carpool system comes to Paris 1 month ago on Autoblog Green

SNCF, the public company that manages the French railway system, has launched a new carpool service. Aimed at people who live in the large Paris metropolitan area and use the commuter train system, Transilien, to go to work, the idea is to get more people to use fewer cars because most stations have ...

Zipcar's iPhone app finally available go ahead and honk the horn from your couch 1 month ago on Autoblog Green

If nothing else, the big news of the day is that your iPhone can now make cars honk. Why an iPhone app should be able to honk a car's horn is almost beyond us. Almost. We can think of one reason for the unique feature, and it has to do with getting ready for a new phase in personal ...

Tokyo Preview: Honda unveils U3-X personal mobility device 1 month ago on Autoblog Green

We've seen our fair share of personal mobility devices over the past few years -- from the ill-received Segway to Toyota's i-Real. Now, Honda's joining the minimalist motoring set with its own limb-atrophying U3-X. Using technology originally developed for ASIMO the robot, the "U" in U3-X ...

It's Friday! Border Collie + hamster wheel = go! [w/VIDEO] 2 months ago on Autoblog Green

While there seems to have always been jokes about cars driven by hamster wheels (especially during the Chevette era), to our knowledge no one had ever created an actual vehicle powered by an animal running in place. OK, there was that horse-on-a-treadmill thingy but it's doubtful you could ever ...

This plug-in vehicle shoots for the moon (rover) 2 months ago on Autoblog Green

With no time on its hands for promotional appearances at glitzy European autoshows, one of America's most advanced electric vehicles has been busy being put through its paces on the torturous terrain found at Black Point Lava Flow in Arizona. The Lunar Electric Rover (LER) has spent the last ...

VIDEO: Zipcar has $1 billion dreams... and 46 members per car? 2 months ago on Autoblog Green

How many cars do you think Zipcar owns around the world? Did you know it was 6,500? How big could Zipcar one day become? How about a $1 billion company? These are two of the numbers mentioned in an interview that CEO Scott Griffith gave to Fortune recently. Griffith also said that, today, Zipcar ...

Better Place to trial battery-swapping taxis in Tokyo 2 months ago on Autoblog Green

When Better Place wanted to demonstrate how their battery switching station would operate they chose Yokohama Japan as the backdrop and now the land of the rising sun is returning some of that love. The electric vehicle infrastructure company has received an "award" to carry out a pilot project ...

Zipcar's Low Car Diet results: save money, lose weight 2 months ago on Autoblog Green

Last month, Zipcar's annual Low-Car Diet saw 250 people in over a dozen cities trade in their personal car for a shared Zipcar and other transportation alternatives (bus, bike, walking). Zipcar surveyed the participants after the month-long trial and has released a few interesting numbers about ...

Team behind Eliica EV to build electric shuttle bus for Japan 3 months ago on Autoblog Green

We've always been fond of the Eliica (Electric Lithium-Ion Car) eight-wheeled electric car, which was designed and built by researchers of Keio University in Japan a few years back. Seriously, how can you not like such an interesting machine, especially since the Eliica is capable of some ...

NYC Mayor Bloomberg calls for free crosstown buses to ease traffic 3 months ago on Autoblog Green

If that NYC crosstown traffic is slowing you down, you might like Mayor Bloomberg's invitation to New Yorker's to come on and take a free ride. Apparently, certain crosstown buses run so slow that the Mayor wants to introduce dedicated bus lanes stop collecting fares on them in an effort to speed ...

Mu by Peugeot: renting mobility by the unit 3 months ago on Autoblog Green

Sometimes you don't need to own a car. Sometimes you don't have the room to store a motorbike or even a bicycle. Sometimes, you need a bit of extra storage space on a family trip. While there are plenty of services where you can rent mobility solutions like these, Peugeot has launched a new ...

Shweeb, the human-powered monorail, makes hamsters jealous 4 months ago on Autoblog Green

As big fans of pedal-powered vehicles, we'd like to suggest that Schweeb change their name to something that doesn't sound quite so much like "dweeb." Sure, riders look a bit like hamsters moving through a Habitrail, but that doesn't mean they're not respectable. We think. Right now, the ...

Zipcar CEO says it'll be a while before electric cars can come to car sharing 4 months ago on Autoblog Green

Don't let the two recent plug-in vehicle adoptions – a plug-in Prius in San Francisco and the new "electric pod" in London, which includes the EV'IE – fool you. Zipcar has no plans to go big into electric vehicles right now. Speaking to Reuters, Zipcar CEO and Chairman Scott ...

Zipcar founder Robin Chase on why sharing is good 4 months ago on Autoblog Green

What's better: everyone owning their own car (which sits unused for 22 hours a day) or everyone having access to a car any time they need one? As you might suspect, this slightly loaded question is easy to answer for car sharing site Zipcar and ride sharing site GoLoco founder Robin Chase. In fast, ...

Zipcar recommends low-car diet, events coming to 13 cities 4 months ago on Autoblog Green

Zipcar's latest promotional event, the Low-Car Diet, will kick off in 13 cities - including Portland, Philadelphia, Washington D.C., Boston, San Francisco, and Seattle - where Zipcar has a presence this month. In these cities, the company has organized small groups of a few dozen drivers to ...

JMC Motoronics offers pedal, electric and hybrid Tumtumcars 4 months ago on Autoblog Green

Thanks to a reader tip, we've been introduced to a new series of four-wheeled personal transportation vehicles from a company called JMC Motoronics. The oddly-named Tumtumcar comes in a few different flavors, from a fully human-powered model to a gas-powered machine with a small 33cc engine ...

O RLY? Removing highways makes city traffic move easier 4 months ago on Autoblog Green

One solution to the upcoming increase in traffic jams, says the Texas Transportation Institute, is to increase the carrying capacity of roads in cities. But two writers at the Infrastructuralist think there is a good case to be made for demolishing in-city highways. The benefits don't stop at ...

Zipcar charges up Electric Vehicle Pod in London with EV'IE, plug-in Prius 4 months ago on Autoblog Green

Zipcar is moving into the plug-in realm on the old continent this week with an announcement from London. Zipcar is adding two plug-in vehicles, a converted Toyota Prius PHEV and an all-electric Citroën C1, to the fleet the company operates in central London with the Westminster City ...

Stockholm orders 85 timber-fueled buses from Scania 4 months ago on Autoblog Green

Sweden has latched on to ethanol as a fuel source more strongly than just about any other country except Brazil. Unlike the U.S. and Brazil, where corn and sugar cane, respectively, are the primary feedstocks, Sweden is using waste from its timber industry. Now, the Stockholm transit company ...

UK funds Low-Carbon Buses with £30 million 4 months ago on Autoblog Green

The British Department of Transport has announced a new £30 million fund to help bus operators purchase low-carbon vehicles, like the new GM-Allison Two-mode hybrid system (pictured). A Low Carbon Emission Bus (LCEB) is defined as one that reduces greenhouse gas emissions by 30 percent ...

Carver Europe files for bankruptcy, technology may live on 4 months ago on Autoblog Green

We've been following the story of the Carver One leaning three-wheeler for the last few years, and we've often thought the vehicle was a great idea just waiting to catch on. Unfortunately, the company may never build another vehicle of its own as it's just gone bankrupt after a major deal ...

It's Friday: Oddball sidecar outfits redefine the word 'hybrid' 4 months ago on Autoblog Green

There's more than one way to attach a sidecar to a motorcycle. Proving that point are the three oddball machines you see here. We're a bit partial to the Vespa you see above for the absolute potential of zero-emissions motoring provided by the pedal-powered two-wheeled sidecar, though there are ...

More on the Maya 300, the new $35,000 NEV 4 months ago on Autoblog Green

The Maya 300 was unveiled this week and we can now get a better handle on the new all-electric vehicle that is put together by Electrovaya (with a bit of help from ExxonMobil in the battery) and will be used in a new car sharing project in Baltimore. While we heard some price ranges for the car at ...

Electric airplane to debut at Oshkosh [w/VIDEO] 4 months ago on Autoblog Green

It isn't the first electric airplane we've seen, nor is it the fastest. It's not even the first one to be shown at the annual EAA AirVenture Oshkosh. What makes the Yuneec E430 unique is that it may be the first fully-enclosed battery-powered aircraft to actually go into commercial production. ...

Wike Electric Sun = bike + WTF? 5 months ago on Autoblog Green

Wike has been making bicycle trailers since the mid-1990s but what caught our eye recently was the electric, partially enclosed four-wheeled vehicle that the company is working on. More than an electric bike and less than a car, the Wike Electric Sun is a suitable alternative for people who belive ...

SNCF launches "door-to-door" trip planner for four French cities 5 months ago on Autoblog Green

SNCF, the public company that manages French railways, has launched a new directions service that includes all modes of public transport. While there are plenty of sites that offer directions for drivers, and most mass transit systems have their own "how to go" application, this is claimed to be ...

New electric airplane sets world record for speed [w/VIDEO] 5 months ago on Autoblog Green

During a flight that only lasted about eight minutes, the SkySpark managed to set a world record for the fastest speed attained by an electric airplane. The craft, piloted by astronaut (STS-75) Maurizo Cheli, achieved an airspeed of 155 mph (250 km/h) last week at the World Air Games in Turin, ...

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  • Production i-MiEVs in the UK
  • Hyundai 2.4L direct injected Theta II
  • Mercedes-Benz Citaro FuelCELL-Hybrid bus
  • Chevy Volt hits the streets in Royal Oak
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