Sunday, March 29th, 2009
One country that has reportedly been making good business with the eco-friendly cars today is Belgium. Figures from the Belgian Federation of Carmakers, Febiac, show that 14,000 new green cars were registered in the country last year.
According to Febiac spokesman Joost Kaesemans, this was due to a number of factors including more vehicles complying with stringent environmental legislation creating greater choice and the increase in the number of green cars linked to stricter carbon dioxide (CO2) norms that are now being introduced.
Sales of green cars have also been boosted by tax incentives – up to 15 per cent of a car buyer’s outlay can be refunded. During the credit crunch, this represents a significant boost to the sales power of car buyers.
According to Febiac, the rise in the sales of green cars has continued during the first few months of 2009 although there are concerns that the tax incentive may soon become unaffordable for the authorities.
(Source) The Green Car Website
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Posted in Alternative Energy, Cars | Comments
Thursday, March 5th, 2009
While it is obvious that General Motors is suffering severely from the economic situation these days, but nevertheless, it has not given up on expecting the big bucks once the worst economic storm ever to hit the world comes to an end.
If there’s one thing that investors should have learned as a result of the recent credit crisis, it’s the danger of accepting inflated numbers—whether they be home prices or advertising pages—as the norm. Newspapers have to accept that they won’t be able to return to the day of fat print budgets, and carmakers will have to adapt to a world where only people who can truly afford a new car will buy one.
But there’s a lot of disagreement about what that world will look like. And just how big the future car market will be plays a major role in General Motors’ (GM) survival. In fact, as its annual filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission made clear on Mar. 4, GM’s auditors have “substantial doubt” about the carmaker’s ability to continue as a going concern.
That statement may have been routine business for GM’s auditors, but the company’s plans to return to viability seem to be based on two pretty big assumptions. The first assumption is that there is a bonanza of pent-up demand on the other side of this downturn. The second is that the rebound will be big enough to service the debt that the company will have as it borrows more from the government.
(Source) BusinessWeek
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Posted in Business, GM | Comments
Friday, February 20th, 2009
One thing about electric vehicles, most of us lack the right education and knowledge to look up to them. The car manufacturers are trying to do that but apparently it is turning out to be more of a marketing gimmick rather than an enriching experience.
However, there will be some people who may come to your aid as far as electric vehicle know-how is concerned. A Florida family is traveling to your hometown this spring to show you that 100 plus miles per gallon is a possibility for cars right now.
Fed up with waiting for carmakers to show a willingness to give citizens of this country the non-polluting, efficient, electric cars that they want, this mom, dad and teenage daughter are embarking on an Electric Vehicle Initiative tour of the state.
They will be showing people throughout the state many types of all electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid electric cars that exist right now. Their long journey will stop in all the major cities of Florida and start February 21st in Jupiter, FL at the Battery Beach Burnout.
Their plug-in hybrid electric vehicle will be met in cities by other members of The Florida Electric Auto Association, one of the supporting organizations, with their own electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles.
The purpose of The Electric Vehicle Initiative is to educate the public about the benefits and possibilities of electric and hybrid/electric cars. The family will be meeting with interested individuals, one-on-one, to help them clarify the type of electric car which fits their family. Also, information on converting a gas car to electric will be provided.
(Source) Press
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Posted in Alternative Energy, Business | Comments
Sunday, January 25th, 2009
U.S. Barack Obama made his first order of business as far as being the new U.S. President is concerned. Obama has given all independent states a freehand to implement their own stricter vehicle emission requirements, an effort that will surely be approved by local bodies.
It would overturn a Bush administration decision which favoured a national standard for vehicle pollution. California, a leader in environmental protection, and other states had sought exemptions to set their own standards.
Along with this announcement came that President Obama would set new rules for carmakers to improve vehicle fuel efficiency to help address the carbon emissions emitted by cars today.
Mr Obama is preparing to order the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to begin work on granting California and 13 other states an exemption from the federal Clear Air Act to set their own standards on exhaust emissions and fuel efficiency.
(Source) BBC News
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Posted in Alternative Energy, Cars, Law | Comments
Wednesday, January 7th, 2009
The best thing to expect right now as far as new cars scheduled to be available in the market is concerned, is to see if they will really come out at all. Thank the financial crunch for all of it. A lot of the lined-up concept cars seem to be put on hold as major car companies are trying to find ways to make it through these rough economic times.
General Motors, a prime figure in the celebrated auto bailout issue, has reportedly cancelled the production of the Pontiac “sport truck”. Despite promising figures shown by GM Holden bosses, it is apparent that the proper assessment of the economy at the moment has become the main reason for placing the ultimate boy toy with a six-litre V8 engine on the shelf.
“Carmakers in the US are being especially hard hit due to the global financial crisis and the sports truck is unfortunately one of the casualties,” Senator Carr said. “The US economy is considerably weaker today, than it was when the sports truck was launched early last year.”
(Source) The Australian
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Posted in GM, Pontiac | Comments
