| Fiat’s 500 breaks into the UK top 10 |
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Nov 07, 2009 - 2:44 AM - by xcel
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 Its low cost in the UK is certainly a factor 
Wayne Gerdes - CleanMPG - Nov. 7, 2009
2010 Fiat 500 – Slightly larger than a Smart Fortwo and almost as cute.
Fiat 500’s success in the UK was highlighted with new car registrations figures for October showing the popular Supermini as one of the Top 10 best sellers list for the first time since its launch in January 2008.
The Fiat 500 sold 2,989 units in the UK last month according to official figures supplied by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT).
And it’s not... [Read More]
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0 Replies | 32 Views
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| Can Chrysler Bounce Back? |
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Nov 07, 2009 - 2:18 AM - by JusBringIt
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 So what will the Chrysler cars need if they are to have any chance of winning back customers the auto maker has lost? “They're going to have to have absolutely world-class interiors and exteriors,”
Greg Keenan - THEGLOBEANDMAIL - Nov 06, 2009
Yes, you read right, compact and Chrysler in one sentence --Ed.
Among all the cards Sergio Marchionne is playing as he tries to revive Chrysler, two in particular need to turn up aces – the new compact and mid-sized cars arriving in 2012 and 2013.
“If we can't play there, we don't have an... [Read More]
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1 Reply | 33 Views
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| Autonomous Audi TTS to take on Pikes Peak |
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Nov 07, 2009 - 2:14 AM - by xcel
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Nicknamed “Shelley” after Michele Mouton, the most successful female rally driver in Audi’s long and illustrious racing history.
Wayne Gerdes - CleanMPG - Nov. 7, 2009
Autonomous Audi TT on the road to Pike's Peak.
In a collaborate effort with Stanford University, Audi supplying a TT to be rebuilt as autonomous vehicle capable of completing the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb in a reasonable time using rally driving techniques.
Teams and Responsibilities:
Volkswagen Electronics Research Lab - Convert an Audi TT to drive by wire, develop a safety architecture to ensure a reliable... [Read More]
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0 Replies | 83 Views
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| Crude essentially flat while gasoline, diesel and heating oil climb slightly |
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Nov 07, 2009 - 1:32 AM - by xcel
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Unemployment is the finger in the dyke holding back higher prices... Fundamentals be damned!
Wayne Gerdes - CleanMPG - Nov. 7, 2009
Average price at the pump reaches $2.70 per with short term relief possibly just around the corner. Longer term however...
Crude
Today the Labor Department released a disappointing report showing the unemployment rate surged to 10.2 percent in October, reaching double digits for the first time in 26 years. With the overwhelming double digit unemployment rate as the backdrop, oil prices fell.
The Benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil futures for December delivery fell $21.9 to... [Read More]
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2 Replies | 69 Views
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| Fiber optics could revolutionize solar power |
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Nov 06, 2009 - 6:44 PM - by brick
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Imagine: solar cells embedded in your walls!
BBC - November 4th, 2009
You never know what form revolutionary technologies will take. --Ed.
Solar power could be produced cheaply in specially designed optical fibres, say researchers.
The work, published in the journal Angewandte Chemie, makes use of nanometre-scale wires built around optical fibres like bristles.
Those wires give the light much more surface area to interact with, leading to higher overall efficiencies.
However, only the ends of the fibres must be exposed - they funnel the light elsewhere for power generation.
Instead of roof-sized panels, small... [Read More]
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0 Replies | 74 Views
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| Infineon Raceway to host first electric motorcycle race in the US |
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Nov 06, 2009 - 4:17 PM - by xcel
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From the Isle of Mann, SEMA and now Infineon raceway, electric motorcycle racing is coming to America!
Wayne Gerdes - CleanMPG - Nov. 6, 2009
Mavizen TTX02a BEM (Battery Electric Motorcycle) reveal at SEMA just two days ago.
Time Trial eXtreme Grand Prix and Infineon Raceway have announced an alliance that will see the Sonoma road course serve as host site of the first-ever zero carbon... [Read More]
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0 Replies | 111 Views
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| The epitome of “I don’t give a flip" gets new colors and biofuel capability |
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Nov 06, 2009 - 2:19 PM - by xcel
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HUMMER introduces Biofuel and New Colors into the 2010 H3 and H3T lineup.
Wayne Gerdes - CleanMPG - Nov. 6, 2009
Hummer "Pompous in Pink" - H3T begins at $30,915 and is rated at 14 mpgUS combined on the 08 EPA. As low as 10 mpg on E85... “Oh the humanity” 
HUMMER will be updating the 2010 HUMMER H3 and H3T with the addition of three new exterior colors and an available E85 Flex Fuel capable 5.3L V8 engine as part of its commitment to offer a biofuel powertrain in all body styles by 2010. Both H3-based vehicles will begin arriving in dealerships... [Read More]
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6 Replies | 176 Views
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| Upcoming CleanMPG events and sponsors |
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Nov 06, 2009 - 1:14 PM - by xcel
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Plans and possibilities.
Wayne Gerdes - CleanMPG - Nov. 6, 2009
2010 Lexus HS 250h - $34,200 to start and 35 mpgUS combined on the 08 EPA.
Just a quick update on upcoming events and site support.
As you have all seen, the Enginer PHEV system is now a base level sponsor with a linked ad to the upper right of every page requested. I believe in their conversions given its ability to reduce our foreign oil dependence, overall consumption and in particular, its cost effectiveness just as much I believe in ScanGauges and how they have reduced our individual fuel consumption.
[Read More]
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0 Replies | 247 Views
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| My Name is RAM, and my tank is Full... |
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Nov 06, 2009 - 1:13 PM - by Chuck
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Lost count of how many times the ad said: "My tank is full"
Chuck Thomas - CleanMPG - Nov 5, 2009
New commercial premieres at Game 7 of World Series
My name is Ram, and my tank is full.
All braun - all brain.
Built not to last but to outlast
Not to achieve, but to overachieve.
I will not yield
I will not downshift
I will not coast to a stop
"My tank is full" - Chrysler still does double entendre... [Read More]
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22 Replies | 407 Views
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| GE To Close Its Solar-Panel Manufacturing Plant In Delaware |
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Nov 06, 2009 - 12:00 PM - by ALS
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The price for crystalline silicon panels dropped about 30% over the past 12 months, as financing for solar installations evaporated around the globe.
CNN Money - CNN - November 6, 2009
Pretty soon nothing substantial is going to be manufactured in America --Ed.
NEW YORK -(Dow Jones)- General Electric Co. (GE) plans to shut down its only solar-panel manufacturing facility, as it found that prices for panels fell below production costs, Clean Technology Insight has learned.
"On October 23 we announced the restructuring of our solar business to employees and our... [Read More]
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5 Replies | 150 Views
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| Auto task force recommended to let Chrysler die - GM hardly better |
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Nov 06, 2009 - 11:58 AM - by Chuck
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GM Chairman and CEO Rick Wagoner set a tone at GM of "friendly arrogance."
David Shepardson - DETROITNEWS - Oct 21, 2009
The detail of what we thought and even worse - yes even worse --Ed.
...Rattner described Chrysler as "larded up with debt" and "hollowed out by years of mismanagement." It "never had a chance" under Cerberus....he wanted to pull the plug, but after painful consideration, the President chose to save 300,000 jobs instead.
...At GM, members of the auto task force discovered an insulated cadre of executives, and "perhaps the weakest finance operation any of us had ever seen in a major... [Read More]
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0 Replies | 93 Views
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| Tide's rising for gasoline prices with little relief in sight |
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Nov 06, 2009 - 11:48 AM - by ALS
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'Petroleum prices, and particularly gasoline, are very tidal .... If this is low tide ... then we are in trouble next spring.'
Myra P. Saefong, - MARKETWATCH - November 6, 2009
Those buying FSP's are going to get crushed in a few months --Ed.
TOKYO (MarketWatch) -- U.S. gasoline prices stand at their highest levels in more than a year -- and they may still have room to rise against a backdrop of high crude-oil prices, falling refinery capacity and expectations for growth in fuel demand.
"Petroleum prices, and particularly gasoline, are very tidal," said Tom Kloza, chief oil analyst at the Oil Price Information Service, with the... [Read More]
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0 Replies | 92 Views
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| Motorists, Cyclists (maybe others - hint) on collision course |
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Nov 06, 2009 - 10:39 AM - by Chuck
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Of course, moral superiority is insufferable, but you still shouldn't try to run it off the road or teach it a lesson with the family car. You might win on the street, but in court, it's a different story.
Meghan Daum - LATIMES - Nov 5, 2009
Note the mention on moral superiority....this drivel has been on forums for years. If you drive a hybrid or hypermile - you are "smug", "greener than thou", etc....like the drunk that resents anyone wearing clerical collars, people speeding in bloated vehicles get very defensive at anyone that tries to drive more sustainabily, projecting their vainity upon them.... [Read More]
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4 Replies | 143 Views
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| Boat tail reduces truck fuel consumption by 7.5 percent |
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Nov 06, 2009 - 10:22 AM - by The Fridge
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 They found a 6ft boatail could reduce fuel consumption 7.5%.
Science Daily - Nov 5, 2009
A practical idea that can be implemented today. Don't be suprized if Wal-Mart tries this. --Ed.
A boat tail, a tapering protrusion mounted on the rear of a truck, leads to fuel savings of 7.5 percent. This is due to dramatically-improved aerodynamics, as shown by road tests conducted by the Dutch PART (Platform for Aerodynamic Road Transport) public-private partnership platform.
A boat tail is a tapering protrusion about two metres in length mounted on the rear of a truck....[Read More]
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6 Replies | 176 Views
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| World’s first hybrid power plants show promise |
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Nov 06, 2009 - 8:20 AM - by Right Lane Cruiser
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The promise of hybrid gas-solar power plants is that they would reduce the need to build separate gas plants to compensate for fluctuating power output from solar arrays.
Tamsin Carlisle - THENATIONAL - November 5, 2009
A fascinating effort -- will it gain widespread adoption? --Ed.
In the urgent search for a quick fix to the world’s carbon emission problems, some of the most promising technologies are those that marry new energy sources to old.
Thus fuel-saving hybrid cars, powered by a combination of electricity and petrol, have found more buyers than zero-carbon vehicles, and have done more to cut... [Read More]
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1 Reply | 60 Views
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