alternative fuel vehicles

  • GM's military fuel cell fleet

    Politics is never pretty, and the politics of alternative fuels seem even less so. Today, The Detroit News reports that the U.S. military's program to reduce its reliance on oil by using ethanol and other non-petroleum fuels could be de-funded in the military authorization bill that's now working its way through Congress. Specifically, provisions in the $642 billion defense authorization bill approved by the House would slash $70 million in funds for development of advanced biofuels that would benefit both the armed forces and the airline industry. The Colorado Independent (via Autoblog) puts...

  • 2011 Nissan Leaf at quick-charging station
    Fueling Stations: Electric Cars Trump All Other Alt-Fuel Types

    Since about 1930, U.S. vehicles have largely been fueled on gasoline. Diesel passenger vehicles arrived in the 1960s, and there are now about 120,000 locations in the U.S. that offer one or both fuels. Since then, several alternative fuels have been proposed but largely failed to get a...

  • Nanotech Solution To Hydrogen Fuel Puzzle From Brookhaven Lab?

    A team of researchers at Brookhaven National Laboratory in Upton, New York, has opened the door to a future of clean, cheap hydrogen fuel by ditching a popular platinum catalyst in favor of one based on two low cost alternatives, nickel and molybdenum. Until now, the manufacture of hydrogen gas has...

  • Toyota FCV-R hydrogen fuel-cell concept car, 2012 Detroit Auto Show
    Which Carmakers Are Still Serious About Hydrogen Fuel-Cell Vehicles?

    Hydrogen fuel-cell cars have not progressed as fast as some companies had predicted 10 or 15 years ago. No carmaker sells a fuel-cell vehicle in any kind of volume, but plug-in electric cars are on sale in North America, Europe, and Asia, with tens of thousands sold (and likely more than 100,000...

  • Big square baler harvesting wheat straw for production of cellulosic ethanol
    Ethanol Goals Passed By Congress Cannot Be Met: New Study

    Ethanol has been problematic for several years now. Promoted as a way for the U.S. to grow its own vehicle fuel, the alcohol was so popular several years ago that Congress passed a Federal Renewable Fuels Standard as part of the 2007 Energy Independence and Security Act. Now Hart Energy has issued...

  • A 1982 Morgan Plus 8, propane-powered and turbocharged.
    Alt-Fuel With Flair: Propane-Powered 1982 Morgan Plus 8

    In case you thought we just reported on cars that are green in their energy sources, this 1982 Morgan Plus 8--available on eBay with 1 day left, and first brought to our attention by BringATrailer.com--qualifies both in the figurative and literal senses. Classic roadsters almost always look fine in...

  • 2013 Ram 2500 HD CNG pickup truck

    We missed it last week while we were covering all the new cars at the Geneva Motor Show, but Chrysler has officially stepped forward into the world of natural-gas vehicles. Its Ram truck brand announced that it would offer a bi-fuel version of its 2500 Heavy Duty pickup, to be known as the Ram 2500 HD CNG (for compressed natural gas). The news followed--by one day--a very similar announcement from GM, which said it would sell bi-fuel versions of its 2013 Chevy Silverado and GMC Sierra pickup trucks. Chrysler's differs, however, in that the CNG Ram will be built right in the company's pickup...

  • Barack Obama
    Obama: Add Rebates On Natural-Gas Cars, Oil Is 'Fuel Of Past'

    Continuing his efforts to reduce U.S. dependence on imported oil, President Barack Obama yesterday proposed expanding tax credits now offered to buyers of plug-in cars to those who buy natural-gas vehicles as well. Given the ugly politics around electric cars and the presidential election season...

  • Dr. Steven Chu
    DoE Secretary Chu: Gas Prices Hurt, But Oil Dependency Worse

    Unless you don’t drive a gasoline-powered car, the chances are you’ve noticed the spike in gasoline prices lately. But according to the U.S. Secretary of Energy Dr. Steven Chu, the U.S. Department of Energy isn’t about to intervene with a knee-jerk reaction designed to immediately...

  • 2012 Honda Civic Natural Gas, El Segundo, CA, Nov 2011
    2012 Honda Civic Natural Gas: First Drive

    Honda has been the only carmaker to offer a natural-gas powered passenger car, and they've done it quietly in a handful of states for more than a decade. But with the arrival of an all-new Civic this year, the company will make the 2012 Honda Civic Natural Gas available through selected dealers...

  • 2011 Fuel Economy Labels
    It’s Official: Car Buyers Want Greener Cars, Better Gas Mileage, Lower Emissions

    While certain parts of the automotive industry might not be feeling the love towards the tough new Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards announced yesterday, it turns out that 93 percent of car owners are want to buy greener, cleaner cars. In a study conducted by Consumer Reports, 86...

  • The Magnolia Special. Image: Amy Jett for Bienville Studios
    Jay Leno Shows Stunning Hand-Built Natural-Gas Retro Racer

    We may be having a natural-gas moment. Next week, we'll test-drive a 2012 Honda Civic Natural Gas, the only factory-built passenger car sold to retail buyers that runs on compressed natural gas. We drove its predecessor, the Honda Civic GX, last year. Now noted auto collector and fan Jay Leno (he...

  • 2012 Honda Civic Natural Gas

    Which alternate vehicle or fuel do you know least about? You've almost surely heard about hybrids. You may have seen ethanol, even biodiesel, debated in the news. And if you read this site, you're likely to know that cars that plug into grid power to recharge their battery packs are now on sale from Chevrolet and Nissan, among others. But did you know that Honda has been selling a natural-gas powered version of the Honda Civic for more than a decade? Natural-gas vehicles exist in most parts of the world--more than 12 million of them, in fact--but they're concentrated in Latin America, the...

  • 2012 Honda Civic Natural Gas
    2012 Honda Civic Natural Gas Sedan Priced At $26,905, Cleanest Combustion Car Sold

    Honda released the bulk of its 2012 Civic range this spring, but one model lagged behind: the Civic Natural Gas, the all-new version of what had been called the Civic GX. As the new name indicates, the 2012 Honda Civic Natural Gas runs solely on compressed natural gas. It's the only natural-gas...

  • John Petsche with his record-setting homebrew 350cc diesel motorcycle running on vegetable oil
    Homebrew 6-HP Motorcycle Sets Biodiesel World Speed Record

    Combine a whole bunch of parts from motorcycles, go-karts, industrial machinery, and even generators, and what do you get? In John Petsche's case, he not only built a motorcycle that runs on store-bought vegetable oil, he managed to take home a world speed record for the 350cc Alternate Fuel class...

  • Cadillac’s World Thorium Fuel Concept, 2009 Chicago Auto Show
    Txchnologist: Thorium lasers: Thoroughly plausible for nuclear cars

    Some proposed technological innovations seem so far out that they are easy to reject out of hand. But sometimes, a new idea has a kernel of plausibility. Such is the case with a new project to develop a thorium laser power generation system that its creator says could provide electricity for the...

  • Chevrolet Equinox Fuel Cell with mobile refueler
    Fuel-Cell Vehicles Are Likely Coming (A Few): Who's Winning?

    We're on record with the analysis that electric-car production will far, far outweigh that of hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles built over the next decade, and perhaps longer. Still several carmakers are pressing ahead with plans to build hydrogen-powered vehicles, and now Pike Research has ranked them...

  • Prokhorov CityCar natural-gas hybrid vehicle, design prototype
    Lots Of Orders For Yo Russian Natural-Gas Hybrid, Prokohorov Says

    According to Russian billionaire businessman Mikhail Prokhorov, the company building a new natural-gas hybrid car known as the Yo now has orders stretching out as far as 10 years into the future. The business magnate, investor, and former basketball player told satellite TV channel Russia Today...

  • Gas pump

    The once-unthinkable actually happened last Thursday: The U.S. Senate voted 73-27 to abolish a 45-cents-per-gallon subsidy to the U.S. ethanol industry. Immediately. Because the amendment to end ethanol credits is attached to a stalled economic development bill, however, it will have little practical effect. The measure represents the first time the Senate has taken a clear stance against ethanol subsidies, which give tax credits to gasoline blenders who use a fuel long criticized in the U.S. on economic, environmental, and food policy grounds. The vote came amidst widespread clamor for...

  • Springboard Biodiesel markets the BioPro to restaurants. Image: Springboard Biodiesel
    Could Your Local Diner Get In The Biodiesel Business?

    Biodiesel has gathered a cult following over many years, but outside of a few companies and co-ops, getting an assurance on consistency and quality--especially above b20 (20 percent biodiesel), or for a newer vehicle--can be an issue. Springboard Biodiesel has a solution, and could turn your...

  • 2012 Honda Civic Natural Gas model at New York Auto Show, April 2011
    2012 Honda Civic Natural Gas: Video Of Alternative-Fuel Car

    OK, so gas prices are hovering around $4 a gallon, and dispensing with gasoline altogether is getting more and more attractive. But for whatever reasons, plug-in cars aren't for you. Maybe it's the limited range of battery electric vehicles, maybe it's the $41,000 cost before incentives of the 2011...

  • 2010 Honda Civic GX natural-gas vehicle, Los Angeles, November 2010
    Chrysler To Join Honda In Selling Natural-Gas Cars...In 2017

    Ask anyone to name an alternate fuel, and natural gas is rarely the first one that comes to mind. Ethanol, perhaps, and increasingly electricity. But natural gas? Not so much. Yet in other parts of the world, as many as 2 percent of the vehicles on the road are fueled by natural gas, in countries...

  • Gas pump
    Forget Hydrogen: Here They Are, The Two Fuels of The Future

    Forget hydrogen. You can mostly ignore natural gas. Even diesel may not grow much. The two fuels that will largely power us for the next 20, maybe 30, years are already here. They are gasoline (with some ethanol in it), and electricity. That's it. That's all she wrote. First, gasoline Those...

  • Corn Ethanol Pump
    Ethanol Wars: Farm Senators Want More E85 Flex-Fuel Cars By 2016

    Let's be real: How many of you out there have ever driven a single mile on E85 ethanol fuel? Very, very, very few of you, most likely. The fuel composed of 85 percent ethanol blended with 15 percent gasoline is available only in a handful of Midwestern states. Yet a bill now under consideration by...

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