There is good news for all the Chrysler fans. The famous car brand has decided to present an electric version of its Voyager MPV to the world by 2010. Research is on and eco-lovers even got a peek of its looks at the Detroit Motor Show, yep this new eco-car will be based on the ecoVoyager concept.
Information is limited at the moment. But we do know that this zero-emission car will have range of 300 miles. A neat deal for an MPV that can accommodate the entire family plus the luggage!

As if this wasn’t enough. Chrysler is also working on a model that will be a good reply for rival Chevrolet’s Volt, which will be launched in 2012. A small gasoline engine in the Chrysler model will be busy topping up batteries when they drop below 40% charge.
Via http://www.enn.com/sci-tech/article/38272

Concept cars are always trying to out-do one another with fancy new concepts that seem to hover on the borderline of reality and impossibility. It is knowing which side of that line to be on, that makes them either good or forgettable. It seems that Peugeot Loop has got it right with its design and concept. Here is one car of the future with eco-friendly approach towards the future. The car is designed by Abhinav Dapke and it is filled with a perfect blend of technology and green features.

The Loop has the windshield extending as the roof and while that design is common with modern cars, it is the fact that it sports solar panels that sets it apart. The roof of the car has photovoltaic plates that harness solar power to usher the car forward. It also creates an interesting visual pattern. The primary energy source is a rechargeable lithium battery located at the rear of the vehicle. Materials proposed for the vehicle are also eco-friendly.

Semi-circular bags are located along this gangway. They come with customized options for storage, entertainment, interaction, etc, providing the user with greater flexibility and ease of use. An embedded camera also adds to the experience but all this could be too much and could distract from the actual driving. In style, design and eco-friendly features, the Loop wins you over.

Via: Yankodesign

With the kind of troubles Tata is having in its own country, right now relocating to Norway completely seems a better option for Tata! Not that they are going to do it, but the way much famed Nano is struggling to get past the political hurdles, it is wise indeed of Tata to try and expand its international market with a new green car. Tata intends to soon sell an ‘all-electric’ car exclusively in Norway and the car is rumored to be based on the design of the Indica V2, which is already in use and powered by fossil fuel.

Tata previously announced that they were looking for ways to electrify the Nano. And concurrent with the Indica announcement, they also brought forward plans to create another electric car, the Ace, but details were scant. The Indica is being developed by Tata and a Norwegian firm. The car will be sold solely in Norway first, but Tata has plans to sell it in India as well at some point of time.

The car though will have the already pretty common Lithium-Ion technology at its heart and promises close to a range of 200km and an 8 hour charge period. While this might not really shatter any existing electric car records, it is nice to see a clean new car for the tranquil environment of Norway. At the end of the day, every ounce of Carbon emissions saved is a boon to an ailing planet!

Via Fashionfunky / Cleantech

There is one thing about DIY and it is that they are pretty appealing when you look at the final product but are most often a lot more messy when you actually get down to do them. While we have come across many DIY projects and there are many car kits out there which actually give your chrome most likely a new chrome look, few compare to this one. This DIY car called XR3 Hybrid Vehicle is a two-passenger car that looks rather like a futuristic sports car.

The car is not just been build out of the blue but it has been a project and a commercial venture that was slated to hit the market almost a year back. This DIY car called XR3 Hybrid Vehicle is a two-passenger car that looks rather like a futuristic sports car. The futuristic XR3 Hybrid Vehicle though comes to you at a very heavy price of $ 28,000 and that is if you already have an existing car that is fit for getting redone!

The car though is propelled by an electric engine and is green with zero-emissions. The designer claims that the car is especially efficient, delivering a performance of 25 miles per gallon, because it’s lightweight at just 700kg, when not in the electric mode. The XR3 uses a lithium-ion battery pack that takes merely 1.5 hours for an 80 percent recharge. While there are many concept cars around that look cool this one is actually something that will hit the road on a pretty large commercial scale very soon and that makes it unique. Hopefully the XR3 will have takers.

Via Goodcleantech

Smart is one company that is relatively new in the world of automobiles and is only now celebrating its 10th anniversary. Now that is a very young age for a car making company and it is almost akin to an infant still in his first year. Then how is that Smart is this awesome and fancy with its work and so confident about its market? For those still wondering, Smart is a joint venture of Swatch and Mercedes. That is quite simply a phenomenal combination, which ensures that there is neither in shortage of funds or skill or even technical support.

To celebrate its 10th anniversary Swatch has released a Limited Edition car that it quite aptly calls the Smart Edi10n and the car is a perfect urban commuter in every sense of the world. Style and automobile finesse aside, Smart is a diesel-powered vehicle for two. Before you even shout about how it still spills out fumes and is not good for the planet, just remember that it only holds two people. This saves on space, energy while engineering the car and putting it together, parking space, fuel consumption and costs.

With most urban commuters using cars either all on there own or just for a couple, it is time every carmaker starting making this ’smart’ choice. While it might not be appealing for all, it does its job to perfection and saves the roads from plenty of messy jams and fumes. The rest of the car is simple impeccable with world-class interiors, top-notch styling and great design. It comes with the 0.8-cdi engines or the 1.0-liter 84hp gasoline engine and is priced at €16,850 - €19,790. That is no surprise at all either.



Via Leblogauto

It seems that the automobile industry is really riding the wave of green change with glee as it is making the best possible effort to keep up with the changing world. The fact the crude oil prices are shooting up at the rate of knots and pollution levels are growing alarmingly combine to make sure that the world of vehicles and transportation has virtually no other option but to switch to green. It is the turn of Boston and its Taxi system to head in that direction by completely going hybrid.

The mayor of Boston, Thomas Menino, made a major step forward for urban transportation by proposing that all off the city’s taxis be replaced with hybrids by 2015. The progressive measure will significantly cut the city’s carbon emissions, and officials expect that within two years, 50% of the city’s 5,500 cabs will have been replaced with ones with hybrid engines that work like a charm.

While the beautiful city of San Francisco and ever active New York are already on that path and will get there by 2012, Boston is running behind as a close second for now. The move will also modernize the outdated Taxi System of the city giving a whole new look. Hopefully more US cities will jump on the green bandwagon and set similar targets for themselves.

Via  Inhabitat

It is almost always assumed that everything green is always priced at the high-end of the shopping cart and in most cases it is indeed true. One of the major hindrances to green technology is that it just is not always economically feasible in a large scale. But with more money and time going into the research of green products and eco-friendly gadgets, it only is going to get better with the prices. Most of the green cars and vehicles are generally far more expensive than their fuel-guzzling and Carbon fuming cousins. But with Ibiza of SEAT the convention is all set to change.

The new vehicle has been dubbed the ‘Ibiza Ecomotive’ and comes in either a 5 door hatchback or a 3 door Sport Coupe. Powering both the 5 and 3 doors versions is Volkswagen’s 1.4 liter 3-cylinder TDI turbo diesel engine which makes 80 horsepower at the wheels.

The new Ecomotive features a very low CO2 emissions figure while also providing very low consumption. Though the Spanish car makers have not yet released any official fuel mileage figures, it seems that the vehicle is pretty green compared to others in the same category.

The aerodynamic simplicity of the car along with its light body work makes it further reduce drag and increase fuel efficiency. So how good a buy is the car in pure economic sense? At $ 19, 120 the Ibiza is an excellent buy to say the least.

Via Inventorspot

Our first look at the Ventomobile was around a couple of months back as the students of the Stuttgart University were working hard on it. At that time they appeared pretty confident about the chances of their unique trike in a unique wind-powered race that was to test their creation. Now the race is over and as the dust still settles, the Ventomobile has finished on top as expected by many.  The solely wind-driven Ventomobile constructed by the InVentus team, a team of some 20 Stuttgart University students of Aerospace Engineering, came in first at the “Aeolus Race” in the Dutch town of Den Helder.

Racing the extremely stylish and lightweight three-wheeler, the vehicles of five European universities and research centres had difficulties to catch up. For their “innovative design” and public relations work, the InVentus team was also awarded prizes. In this first time ever race the participating teams were challenged to drive directly into the wind, without tacking. During the preliminary races, the Stuttgart Ventomobile had already proven to be the most lightweight and most efficient vehicle among the contestants when, with its 130 kg, it succeeded in racing at 64% of the wind speed directly against the wind. From then on it was considered a serious contender for the win.

Beyond being a single race wonder, the Ventomobile proves the immense capability that wind energy holds and it gives the world a new alternate source of energy to look at other than the traditional solar power. Now hopefully more bikes and trikes in future will be powered by the wind!

Via:  Nextenergynews

You want to save the earth? Ask Mondo-green mermaid Daryl Hannah how. The pretty lass nurtures a deep love for bio-fuels and leaves no stone unturned to make it a part of her life. She has been using the fossil fuel alternative for over a decade in her converted El Camino and bio-diesel for buzzing around her farm. She even founded the Sustainable Biodiesel Alliance. Wow, it is indeed very cool to see people and celebs go the extra mile to save the earth.

Daryl’s mantra is simple. She uses fuel from waste vegetable oil, and not ethanol which has received a lot of flak for rising food costs. In Daryl’s words, “There are plenty of fuel processing techniques and feed stocks that bio-fuels can come from—for both bio-diesel and ethanol— like garbage, hemp, algae, cellulose waste, prairie grasses, moringa and jatropha.”
So don’t give up on bio-diesel just because some corporate sharks are promoting otherwise!
Via ecorazzi

I was amazed to know that one of the very first oil droplets formed on our planet came from a pond scum! So far as I knew it, I remember learning about pigment producing algae in my junior science classes but this piece of news is quite good to note down. Why because algae could run your car in near future!

Some really hi-fi research is going on in Solazyme corporation-synthetic biology company that specializes in producing biodiesel (diesel oil produced from algae).

Jonathan Wolfson and Harrison Dillon at Solazyme have intriguing information to share about algae- like the mucky pond scum has a dynamic reproductive ability to double its cell mass within no time! Besides both have discovered how one can extract oil and pep up oil production by feeding algae with lots of sugars instead of sunshine! (Wow!) At the research centre of the company, small fermenters are already producing clean-burning biofuel from these microalgae. Dillon & Wolfson’s success at this procedure raises hope of large scale production of this neat, efficient and clean renewable energy source. And this is not all; industrial chemicals and household cleaners can also be produced by this algal oil which tastes like peanut oil!

You don’t believe me? Have a look at the video then!

Via: goodcleantech