Corn Ethanol Pump
Starting a new tradition for our last monthly post, we're offering quick recaps of the five most popular posts on GreenCarReports for February:
# 1: Islamic Scholar Suggests Using Ethanol-Powered Vehicles May Be A Sin. No contest here; not even close. This was a genuine breakout hit that we didn't expect. It got more than 650 Diggs in two days, and a gazillion comments (and they're still coming in). Bottom Line: Sheikh Mohamed al-Najimi suggested that driving or even riding in a vehicle fueled by ethanol could be considered a sin for observant Muslims. For some countervailing views, see our followup post.
# 2: 2011 Chevrolet Volt-alike Spied in Opel Ampera Drag. Sure are a lot of Chevrolet Volt fans out there, boy, and they jumped on our post about the first undisguised photos of the upcoming Opel Ampera to hit the web. Bottom Line: It's a Volt with a nose job and some lightning-bolt badges.
# 3: The New 2010 Rabbit TDI Diesel...Or, Is It a Golf Again? Just as there are vicious Volt backers, there are also rabid Rabbit fans--or, more properly, fans of the Volkswagen Rabbit, Golf, and Jetta diesels. This item picked up on the next-generation Golf TDI shown at the Toronto Auto Show, which made us wonder if VW was renaming its hatch, again. Bottom Line: We will likely get a 2010 Volkswagen Rabbit TDI; it'll be called a Golf north of the border. Same car, different chrome badges.
# 4: 2011 Dodge Circuit EV a Roadster--Viability Plan Proves It. Amidst all the hoopla of GM and Chrysler submitting their rescue plans to Washington, one attentive tipster (thanks, Lee!) noticed that Chrysler's plan had two crucial words: "EV roadster". So perhaps the Lotus Europa with a Dodge nose is just a ploy, and we'll get something closer to the neat little Dodge Demon concept? Bottom Line: Believe it after you find out whether Chrysler's still with us in 2011.
# 5: No, Damnit, Tesla Has NOT Been Approved For Loans Yet! This stemmed from our frustration with a clear misrepresentation from Tesla founder and CEO Elon Musk. He said one thing; his PR staff quickly followed up with a retraction, which few other outlets bothered to mention. Bottom Line: Perhaps Tesla will get its loans, but Musk is not doing his company any favors by shooting off his mouth.
Tesla Roadster
