All About Alternate Fuel Vehicles (AFV)

Yonkers, N.Y. Consumer Reports, 23 Oct 2008
Also, some domestic models are comparable to top Japanese; luxury European automakers improve
Source: PRNewswire-USNewswire/ EarthTimes
http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/consumer-reports-2008-annual-car,592775.shtml

Fuel-efficient vehicles are a very reliable segment overall, European cars are improving, and, on average, Ford continues to build the most reliable American cars. Those are some of the results of Consumer Reports’ 2008 Annual Car Reliability Survey announced today at an Automotive Press Association luncheon in Detroit.   More details, and a list of models with the best and worst predicted-reliability Ratings, will appear first on www.ConsumerReports.org. The reliability report will also appear in the December issue of Consumer Reports, on sale November 4 and in the latest Consumer Reports Cars publication, Best & Worst for ‘09, which also includes predicted-reliability ratings for more than 350 models.
(more…)

by Michael Cabanatuan, October 17, 2008
Source: San Francisco Chronicle
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/10/16/BAMR139TBC.DTL

Read the glossy magazine ads, watch the slick TV commercials, listen to Hollywood celebs rave about their choice of cars on talk shows, and you’ll get the idea that hybrid cars can save the planet.  Chrysler’s electric drive vehicles are only prototypes so…The Chevrolet Volt electric vehicle (shown here) is the b…The EV1 pioneered electric vehicle technology.  While some of them clearly curb pollution, hybrids aren’t the answer - at least not for everyone. Many folks can’t afford one, don’t like what’s available, or want to drive a car that doesn’t use gasoline and spew smog into the skies.
(more…)

Chris Pedersen, Gauntlet News , March 06, 2008
Source: Gauntlet News, Univ Calgary
http://gauntlet.ucalgary.ca/story/12229

The norms of bar food are greasy fries, a juicy hamburger with grease dripping onto the plate, nachos with tons of greasy meat and chicken wings soaking in oil. Many people eat these delicious foods, but very rarely do people contemplate what happens to the oil and grease when the server takes the plates away. (more…)

by Kamal Meattle, March 09, 2008
Source: FInancial Express
http://www.financialexpress.com/news/
Used-cooking-oil-can-be-a-good-source-of-biodiesel–for-vehicles/282269/

The Hotel and Restaurant Association of Delhi, which is a chapter of the Federation of Hotel and Restaurant Association of India (FHRAI) and the Hotel and Restaurant Association of Northern India (HRANI), has committed itself to going green before the commencement of the Commonwealth Games in New Delhi in 2010.
(more…)

by Krithika Sundaram, TNN, 24 Jan 2008
Source: Economic Times of India
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/LiveITUP/
Electric_vehicles_to_replace_petrol_fleet/articleshow/2722661.cms

The ‘going-green’ concept is yet to strike a chord with the automobile industry. Although it is this sector which contributes 60% of the pollution which chokes the urban populace, the Indian automobile industry hasn’t shifted its gear into the green mode. Substituting petro-diesel vehicles with eco-friendly variants can never be easy.  Government support has been minimal. Infact, electric vehicles were offered a subsidy of Rs 1.05 lakh in 1997 which was abruptly stopped in a year. After several efforts by manufacturers of electric vehicles (EVs), central subsidy was reintroduced in 2002-03, reducing the amount to 33% and making it applicable only to institutions such as government departments, public sector undertakings, educational institutions, hospitals, tourism and archeological sites. High fuel costs and congested city roads have only added to the pollution menace.
(more…)

MOU signed today in Jerusalem for first application on Israeli market
Jerusalem, Israel, January 21, 2008
Source: Autochannel.com
http://www.theautochannel.com/news/2008/01/21/075500.html
In a significant move towards reducing CO2 car emissions as well as particles pollution, the Renault-Nissan Alliance and Project Better Place engage in a breakthrough with electric vehicles in Israel.  The solution framework comes in response to the Israeli State’s challenge to the auto industry and its supply chain to migrate the country’s transportation infrastructure to renewable sources of energy. (more…)

Sao Paulo, Brazil, Jan 24, 2008
Source: AFP
http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5goQpr15wNPArazFwqOy3z5Lf95QA

Brazil, the world leader in making ethanol from sugarcane, is homing in on Europe’s biofuel market following a decision by the European Commission to combat climate change by reducing the dependency on petrol.  The EU plan calls for biofuels to be used in at least 10 percent of fuels used in transport in the 27-nation bloc by 2020.  For Brazil’s sugarcane industry, the news is seen as a golden export opportunity.
(more…)

First car powered by algal biodiesel to demonstrate real-world driving at Sundance
South San Francisco, Calif. - January 22, 2008
Source: Solazyme, Inc press release
http://www.solazyme.com/news080122.shtml

Solazyme, Inc., a synthetic biology company unleashing the power of aquatic microbes to create clean and scalable solutions for biofuel, industrial chemical, and health and wellness markets, today revealed the first ever algae-derived biodiesel fuel (SoladieselTM) to have undergone road testing by successfully powering a factory-standard automobile for long distances under typical driving conditions. The car and fuel are making their public debuts at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival, where they are also featured in Fields of Fuel, Josh Tickell’s documentary about renewable fuels. Soladiesel biodiesel is clean, renewable, environmentally sustainable and scalable.
(more…)

Solazyme And Chevron Technology Ventures Enter Into Biodiesel Feedstock Development And Testing Agreement
South San Francisco, Calif - January 22, 2008
Source: Solazyme press release
http://www.solazyme.com/news080122_2.shtml

Solazyme, a synthetic biology company pioneering the clean and sustainable bioproduction of fuels, industrial chemicals and specialty ingredients from marine microbes, today announced that it has signed a biodiesel feedstock development and testing agreement with Chevron Technology Ventures, a division of Chevron U.S.A. Inc.
(more…)

By Christine Stebbins, Chicago, 14 Jan 2008
Source: Reuters.com /
Reporting by Christine Stebbins; Editing by Marguerita Choy
http://www.reuters.com/article/GlobalAgricultureandBiofuels08/idUSN1443692020080114

U.S. biodiesel industry growth looks set to stagnate in 2008 given poor profit margins as skyrocketing input costs chill production, the chief executive of an industry trade group said on Monday.  “The economics overall for the biodiesel industry are extremely challenging right now. There’s no question about it there’s been a cooling off what has been some irrational exuberance that has gone on in the investment in biodiesel production capacity over the last two years,” Joe Jobe, CEO of the National Biodiesel Board, told the Reuters Global Agricultural and Biofuels Summit in a telephone interview. (more…)