If you believe the chief officer of the United States’ power grid, owning an electric car is about the same thing as getting a check for fifteen hundred dollars a year.

This “rebate” comes as a result of lower long term costs associated with operation, especially fuel, says Jon Wellinghoff, head of the United States power grid.  But this is almost a false savings, as it depends on certain assumptions like this:

On top of saving $3 or $4 a gallon on gasoline in future years, Wellinghoff, chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, said grid operators and power companies could reimburse car owners for the battery storage offered by the roughly 22 hours a day that electric cars would be connected to the nation’s power system.

Okay, sure, if the cost of gas suddenly shoots up to SEVEN BUCKS A GALLON, then yes, electric cars will be huge cost savers.  But with gas averaging roughly two dollars and fifty cents a gallon, this measurement sounds a bit fishy to me.

But one thing’s clear–in the future, electric cars will be a good value.

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Will kids ever learn? Probably not. This time we have a 14-year old Chinese boy who reportedly checked into the hospital with gasoline dependence. You’re probably scratching your head at the thought of such diagnosis.

Apparantly, said 14-year old has been drinking gasoline out of his parent’s motorcycle so frequently that the vehicle’s tank was drained on the regular.

But why, why would anyone ever want to drink gasoline at all? Well reports say that the was trying to be like the gasoline slurpin’ Transformers, why else?

via Jalopnik

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If you think the potential new car buyers are now leaning more on finally buying a new car with the recent gas price rollbacks then guess again. They will buy a new car but they will be asking for one thing car dealers will have to answer honestly and convincingly: gas consumption.

This practice is common but not as important for buyers in the past decade. But with the increasing price of fuel, one has to really become attentive to it, particularly since finances are becoming harder to manage. Adding gasoline or fuel costs is an area that they can really cut down on and for the people who are buying a new one, the gas consumption ratio is something that will play a vital role in their next car purchase consideration.

Hence, car dealers can use in preparation for the questions to be expected. It may even be the difference between a sale or a waste of time.

(Source) Press

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Toyota has revealed a plan that will slowly disseminate the number of hybrids in the market, starting with the lease of 500 plug-in cars for the government and corporations while likewise stating that they will employ a mass production of the said vehicles by 2012. We are all aware that plug-ins are the better option when it comes to addressing transport and environmental problems and more importantly, this is the demand forecasted in the coming years.

To date, Toyota will aim to produce 20,000 to 30,000 unit by 2012, expecting the demand for these vehicles to balloon in the coming years. Toyota wants to price its plug-in hybrids at a comparable price to Mitsubishi Motors Corp’s all-electric car, which debuts this month to fleet customers in Japan at 4.59 million yen ($47,800) before government subsidies.

Toyota’s new Prius gasoline-electric hybrid costs less than half that, starting at 2.05 million yen in Japan. Toyota’s plug-ins will be able to run 20-30 km (12.4-18.6 miles) on battery power alone at full charge, the paper said.

(Source) Asia One

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At least for one year, new Hyundai car owners can worry less about the fluctuating prices of fuel thanks to this partnership between Hyundai and Pricelock. Pricelock and Hyundai have joined together to implement a new program which will lock the price of fuel to $1.49 per gallon for a year on select new car models under the Hyundai brand.

This event promises to help spur car sales in the midst of a faltering market that is being affected by the governing fuel prices which have made motorists ponder about alternatives (such as hybrids and electric cars). But with a year of no worries in price fuel, the program may just work. Also, who knows what would happen after a year’s time on the fuel issues plaguing the world today?

For the Hyundai program, Pricelock will issue car buyers fuel cards, similar to credit cards, which drivers will use to purchase gasoline at any of the 165,000 participating gas stations, approximately 93% of all service stations in the U.S. Using the Pricelock card, the car buyer will be charged $1.49 per gallon for fuel, regardless of the price on the pump. Of course, if the pump price is below $1.49 per gallon, the cardholder will not use the fuel card, but instead will pay the lower pump price using cash or a credit or debit card and still be able to participate in the upside.

(Source) Press

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We have all been hearing the advent of biofuels and apparently Shell will be the first service station to introduce advanced biofuel made from wheat straw. All this will take effect on June 10 where a Shell Station based in Canada will blend 10% cellulosic ethanol to all regular gasoline purchased.

Cellulosic ethanol, as an end fuel, is identical to ethanol but it can offer up to 90% less lifecycle CO2 emissions than gasoline. It is a key part of Shell’s strategic investment and development program in sustainable biofuels.

“We’re proud of this world-first,” said Brian Foody, Chief Executive Officer of Iogen Corporation. “Building a demo plant is one thing but you then need to go through the process of operating the new technology at scale, learning, modifying and lowering costs. With the volumes we’re producing today, we’re confident about the future.”

The next thing we have to do now is to see how it will affect the vehicle performance and if they are indeed reliable as what studies say. To date, it is still too early to rejoice and a lot of factors, mostly on the end of the consumers, have to be addressed and this includes the reaction of their cars to this new kind of fuel.

(Source) Press

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Alamo Car Rentals announces an enticing scheme that should get people to book their own rentals once they get to the area they will be heading to. Available through July 18, people on the go and travelers can expect a great deal on car rentals for only $10 a day for economy through mid-size cars or $12 per day for full-size cars – as long as the vehicles are dropped off at participating locations in Georgia, Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina, Louisiana, Mississippi or Alabama.

Cost-conscious Alamo customers also are able to take advantage of the company’s consumer-friendly refueling policy. Under Alamo’s policy, the per-gallon refueling charge is based on the local-market price of self-serve gasoline, plus a mark-up not to exceed 50 percent of the fuel cost.

This means Alamo customers pay only about $3 per gallon when they bring a car back to the airport without a full tank of gas or approximately 65 percent less than what some other major car rental brands charge.

Now those are two great deals. If you are headed anywhere among Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Maryland, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, North Dakota, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Texas and Virginia, avoid the problems of road transportation and see what is available over at the Alamo Car Rental store you can find.

(Source) Press

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In a move to help address the growing problem of fuel and oil, Propel Fuels has reportedly partnered with Enterprise Rent-a-Car to fuel rental cars in the Sacramento area with renewable E85 Flex Fuel. This first-of-its-kind program in the area helps educate Enterprise customers on how to “fuel green and save green” with Propel E85 (85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline), which, according to the Environmental Protection Agency, reduces greenhouse gas emissions by up to 20 percent.

Enterprise has the largest “Flex Fuel” rental fleet in the nation, with over 73,000 vehicles able to run on standard gasoline or E85. Twelve Sacramento Enterprise locations have been selected to participate in the pilot program starting Q2 of 2009, giving customers an opportunity to try alternative fuels when they rent a Flex Fuel vehicle. Propel recently opened five Clean Fuel Points in the Sacramento area that serve E85 as well as biodiesel.

Clean Fuel Points accept major credit and fleet cards and are open 24/7, offering convenience to Enterprise customers. Enterprise customers will be educated about the opportunity to use Propel’s stations to fuel their rental cars.

(Source) Press

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Remember that challenge Ford put themselves up we heard about a week ago? You know, that one where they were attemping to go 1,000 miles on just one tank of gasoline in a Ford Fusion Hybrid? Yeah, that one.

Well apparently, the team embarked on their mission and just recently passed the 1,000 mile mark but here’s the catch; they still have 1/3 of a tank left. That means they have averaged over 80 mpg and for comparison, they originally intended to average 57 mpg.

In leui of this, the team plans on driving the Fusion Hybrid until their gasoline supply is completely exhausted. Any bets on how far they can go before they run out of gas?

Read (AutoBlog)

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It was recently announced that the 2-year heavyweight champion Wal-Mart was knocked from the top spot of the Fortune 500 list and replaced with Exxon Mobile.

But why? Well, due to the recession Wal-Mart’s enticing low prices and other marketing ploys helped revenue boom to over $406 billion alone.

However, due to the sharp increase in oil sales Exxon Mobile managed to bank almost $443 billion. I wonder, if and when we make the change to alternative energy, will companies like Exxon Mobile be facing a grim future like the once-great GM?

Read (CNNMoney)

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Subaru unveils its contribution to the fight against emissions. Subaru presents the 2009 Subaru Legacy PZEV. What does the acronym PZEV stand for? PZEV stands for Partial Zero Emissions Vehicle. They offer the best rating possible for a gasoline powered vehicle and may be what many vehicles will be like in the future.

They offer the best rating possible for a gasoline powered vehicle and may be what many vehicles will be like in the future. Subaru does this by combining special engine computer programming with some additional hardware to eliminate or reduce emissions. This can be done inexpensively compared to the technology costs of a hybrid vehicle or the new low-emission diesel systems.

Customers get a vehicle that operates and feels like their existing gasoline vehicle and they don’t have to worry about finding diesel fuel stops or the cost of replacement batteries in the future.

Hybrids are green technology, but a large part of their advantage is in better fuel economy. The cost of the technology along with the complexity and space taken by the hybrid systems are real disadvantages. Subaru’s PZEV design may not have the same fuel economy as a hybrid but produces fewer emissions at a lower build cost and reduced mechanical complexity.

(Source) Canadian Driver

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AT&T will be investing in cleaner domestic vehicles as it is set to spend up to $565 million as part of a long-term strategy to deploy more than 15,000 alternative-fuel vehicles over the next 10 years. AT&T expects to spend an estimated $350 million to purchase about 8,000 Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) vehicles and approximately $215 million to begin replacing its passenger cars with alternative-fuel models.

AT&T’s investment represents the largest U.S. corporate commitment to CNG vehicles to date. The new deployments will bring AT&T’s alternative-fuel fleet to more than 15,000 vehicles by 2019.

Over the next five years, AT&T will replace about 8,000 gasoline-powered service vehicles with vehicles powered by domestically available CNG. CNG vehicles are expected to emit approximately 25 percent less greenhouse gas emissions than those traditionally powered by gasoline.

(Source) Press

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Lancia of Italy has announced the launch of its two cars that can accommodate LPG fuel technology. The two cars are the Ypsilon and the Musa.

The 4-seater mini MPV Lancia Musa is powered by a 1.4 liter BiFuel engine that is good for 77HP. The same engine that has a system which can automatically switch between using gasoline or LPG is also fitted in the Lancia Ypsilon.

LPG gas is stored in a container that can store up to 39 liters of gas that is fitted in the spare wheel housing. To help compensate for a spare wheel, a tire inflation kit comes as standard. To enable the 1.4 liter engine to be fueled with LPG, Lancia, via Fiat’s Powertrain Techologies has modified the cylinder head with new valves and seats, and has also added a special inlet system to accommodate the LPG injectors.

With a full tank of fuel and LPG, both vehicles can deliver excellent fuel consumption figures. Out of 1,300 kilometers of driving range, the Lancia Ypsilon can deliver 425 kilometers with LPG while the balance 875 kilometers is achieved with gasoline. With a total of 1,200 kilometers of driving range, the Lancia Musa can deliver 419 kilometers with LPG and 781 kilometers with gasoline. Both Ypsilon and Musa models also produce 119 grams and 120 grams of emissions per kilometer, respectively.

(Source) Paultan.org

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GM Daewoo breaks the ice in delivering their first diesel-engined Lacetti, initiating a comprehensive diesel lineup beginning with the SUVs to compact and midsize sedans plus a range of body styles.

The Lacetti sedan and hatchback with a manual transmission obtains fuel efficiency of 18.4 km per liter exceeding the already marvelous Lacetti 1.6 -liter gasoline model by almost 30 percent.

On the other hand the versions with an automatic transmission achieve fuel efficiency of 14.9 km per liter and in combination with its 60-liter fuel tank; the Lacetti Diesel can be driven by up to 1,100km or 900 km in versions with an automatic transmission.

(Source) Aving

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Prepare to have your gears grinded; Exxon Mobil has recently released their annual profits, and guess what, they set a new record.

Ridiculously high fuel prices in parts of 2008 led Exxon Mobil to post $45.2 billion dollars in pure profit.

Get the pitch forks and torches folks, we’re goin’ after Exxon Mobil!

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