Natural Environment Blog

A world embracing of greener living alongside powerful and comfortable automobiles once seemed like a distant and unreachable object. Whilst stepping stones still mar the path of progress, the concept is beginning to become less and less blurred in the new millennium. Hybrids rolling off the assembly line in 2012 are being snapped up by forward thinking consumers, but it’s been a painful marriage between renewable living and the automobile industry.

After the electric car suffered its untimely defeat in the 1990s, the carpet has been rolled out recently to welcome it back to the fore. Approaching it with a new mind set, the automobile industry has looked upon electric cars now as they look upon family saloons, sports coupes and utility vehicles. Addressing them with the same expectations and intentions as their other cars bring them into the 21st century and away from their stained reputation as pedestrian and unsightly plastic cars.

This was something that was unheard of when electric cars where first being built in concept models. Today, it has all changed and there are production models that connected to the grid or V2G.

How the Auto Industry is Going Green

The auto industry is not yet green by any measure, nor are the methods of manufacturing. A gradual change in the demand for environmentally friendly cars and increased performance is plotting an attractive upward scale on the graph.

The Nissan Leaf and Ford Focus Electric are enjoying great success in North America, whilst even the luxury market is being catered to with Tesla brand vehicles. Powered by renewable electrical energy sources, one piece of the puzzle in the connection between eco-auto is being slotted into place.

Powering a Mobile Society in the Future

The need for speed also has a need for energy, and it is becoming more obvious that petroleum as we knew it in the twentieth century will be a thing of the past in the not-so-distant future. Will electricity alone be able to power the transportation needs of the future, or will society as a whole need to be less mobile?

There is still the question of power the millions of cars on the road, and it is obvious that we will not wake up tomorrow and see a charging station to power-up your vehicle on every corner. Some metropolitan areas are beginning to install these power points at some of the larger and busier fill-up stations, but it’s a slow and arduous transition.

The city of London has a network of recharging points for EVs (Electric Vehicles) that is steadily growing, and will continue to grow as the need to get away from petrol continues. Many of these places offer free charging with the purchase of a yearly parking permit. Wholly aside from the issue of the environment, the soaring fuel price in the United Kingdom is going to sell this green charging syndicate itself.

London and its Boroughs are a great example of people getting away from the need for petrol. The problem is not only related to petrol, the electricity that is produced for London is not enough to support all the transportation needs of the people who live there.

Combing Technologies with the Auto Industry for Renewable Living

The words auto and renewable seem to clash when talking about manufacture. There is an urgent need to get away from dependence on petrol, but it cannot be done with electricity or alternative fuels alone. It will take a combined effort using many different technologies to overcome the need for petrol.

Alternative fuels, in their fledgling existence, have sky-high prices which many companies are unwilling to pay. With all the goodwill in the world, businesses exist to make money and shifting their perspective to environmental savings is normally of natural detriment to their profit.

The combined technologies will be the solution to energy needs and the transportation industry. It is a cycle where everything is related, and it is time to look past the auto, and find real solutions to these problems. The good news is the public at large are more concerned than ever about the need to live in a world the uses renewable resources for its needs.

This article was provided by Matt Bonner. Matt has been a car mechanic since he left school, but has recently been introduced to the need for a greener living. He currently irritates co-workers at EasyWheels to improve their eco lifestyles.

After trying to carve out a new class with it’s safety-conscious C1 Scooter, BMW is taking a more conventional approach to craft the latest ultimate riding machine. The German automaker rolled out its newest scooter at the Paris Motor Show—the all-electric BMW C Evolution. Although this “green” (figurative and partially literal) machine may have been overshadowed by a slew of forward-thinking hybrids and redesigns muscle cars, BMW’s “near-production prototype” generated buzz for its convenience, particularly on tight European grids.

BMW may not have taken any wild risks with its newest scooter, but the C Evolution is sure to catch the eye of sustainability-conscious riders looking for a smooth vehicle.

60 Miles of Freedom

The electric vehicle market is currently limited by range anxiety and overlong charging times, but if BMW’s specs are accurate, the C Evolution eliminates at least one these issues. The Evolution features a top end range of 60 miles (in ideal conditions). The 47 hp electric motor charges in 3 hours, according to BMW, meaning riders can rely on this gas-free motor for their everyday commutes.

The C Evolution uses the same lithium-ion battery as the i3 — BMW’s urban-centric electric car expected to be released in 2013. An aerodynamically optimized air shaft dissipates battery heat, and at 35 kW peak output, the scooter can reach up to 75 miles per hour, according to caranddriver.com.

A battery-powered motor placed closer to the ground than traditional engines creates a lower center of gravity, improving stability and reducing the risk that riders will find themselves in a BMW repair center.

Humming Along

The C Evolution sneaks up to high speeds with its quiet, responsive engine. Riders may feel uneasy without the typical engine rumble as they accelerate, but early returns say this scooter performs just as well as gas-powered counterparts. Motorcycle blog Visor Down got its hands on this unreleased scooter, noting its responsive motor and almost-too-easy demeanor on the road.

Limited sound may enhance the ride for the driver, but it can have serious consequences in a city filled with bikers and pedestrians. Even as the C Evolution approaches high speeds, an almost silent engine gives no indication the surrounding pedestrians should take caution. Visor Down wonders why, with all of its technology, BMW couldn’t have included some sort of engine sound equivalent in the name of safety.

Latest Technology

The Evolution’s TFT display looks more like an iPhone than a traditional dashboard, and all necessary status displays are clearly visible. LED day and nighttime lighting keeps riders visible at all times.

Price May Be a Factor

This zero-emissions, quick-charging scooter has enough range for most day-to-day commutes, so what’s the catch? It could be price. Visor Down reports that the C Evolution prototypes cost six figures to produce, while BMW’s petrol-powered C scooters cost around $10,000 retail. BMW may consider leasing the C Evolution according to Visor Down, but until production costs drop, it’s hard to many consumers springing for this state-of-the-art scooter.

This article was provided by Nicholas Taylor. Nick likes to say he’s the luckiest guy in the world–he gets paid to drive new cars and write about them. When he’s not test driving the latest Porsche, Chevy or Audi, he’s down at the pool swimming laps.

Plus: how companies can monitor online perceptions of the green credentials of their products

The Nissan Leaf: photo by Tom Rafferty

Which company is currently winning the race to fill our highways and byways with clean green cars?

Car manufacturers are attempting to clean up their act (and clean up the market) when it comes to being seen as green. More and more eco-friendly cars are rolling off production lines to satisfy drivers’ demand for cars which drive down carbon emissions without compromising style and efficiency.

The battle for drivers’ green pounds isn’t just fought on the road – it’s also being fought online. Advanced auditing software can find out the sentiment regarding eco-cars by monitoring conversations on social media sites such as motoring forums, Twitter, blogs and news channels.

Brandwatch recently used social media monitoring to see where conversations about Ford eco cars were taking place – a report which could inform marketing decisions and strategy regarding the forthcoming Ford Focus Electric.

Brandwatch Chart: Conversations about Ford eco cars

The Brandwatch Eco Car report also identified when these conversations were taking place – by finding out the peaks and troughs of conversation ‘volume’ it is possible to identify what events trigger interest in the car.

Brandwatch Graph: When conversations were taking place

Such insights could determine the pecking order in the race to be seen as the greenest car manufacturer.

Here is a look at five of the greenest car manufacturers; these companies’ continued success could depend on how well they engage the people who talk about them online.

1. Nissan

When the Nissan LEAF car started to be delivered to UK homes in March 2011, the car’s 109-mile range and 8-hour charging time attracted plenty of interest. Nissan promises that the car’s availability will rocket when production starts in Sunderland in 2013 and when the £25,000 price of the car goes down, it will interesting to see whether more motorists can be tempted into purchasing an electric car.

2. Mitsubishi

Mitsubishi’s electric car expertise has had a profound influence on car manufacturing in Europe. Citroen and Peugeot have both clubbed together with the Japanese company to produce electric cars; the iON and the C-Zero respectively. Both these electric cars have a respectable range of 93 miles and a charge time of seven hours.

3. Toyota

Toyota seems to have cornered the family hybrid electric car market with its Prius model; the 2012 model of which will go on sale in the UK in March 2012 with a price sticker of £21,350 on its windscreen.

Toyota has four hybrid vehicles in its fleet: the Prius, Auris, Highlander and Camry. There should soon be many more; Toyota’s CEO has revealed the company’s ambition to make a hybrid-electric system available on every vehicle it sells sometime during this decade.

4. Smart

The first smart car raised many eyebrows when it first appeared on the UK roads in 2000; now it is so common that no one blinks an eye to see one weaving through the traffic in city centres. The third generation Smart Fortwo electric drive is coming to a tiny parking space near you from September 2012.

5. Ford

Ford released its Focus Electric five-door hatchback car in America in December 2011 and this super-silent vehicle is expected to cross the pond to Europe by late 2012. Ford is a late arrival at the electric car party – Nissan and General Motors released their first electric passenger cars in 2010. However, the company has indicated that the Electric is not a one-off vehicle and that other Ford green cars will follow in the wake of 2004’s Ford Escape hybrid, 2006’s Mercury Mariner and 2009’s Ford Fusion Hybrid. Watch this space.

ELVIN (Electric Vehicle with Interactive Noise). Photo from the Warwick Manufacturing Group website

And what can be done about this?

Electric cars, so their manufacturers tell us, will be the cars of the future. There is much justification for this claim – electric cars have the potential to reduce harmful gas emissions and should mean that many countries could reduce their dependence on oil.

These vehicles are also incredibly silent – a feature which advertisers market as a selling point but which in fact could be considered a design flaw…

So surely the world would be a better place if cars produced less loud noises? Well, yes and no. Yes as everyone wants a quieter living environment. And no because if, like me, you often find yourself nearly stepping into the path of a cyclist because you haven’t heard them coming you will know how essential the noise of vehicles is.

Vehicle noise helps all road users judge the speed of other traffic and their proximity to us. It can also help our brains quickly process information about the direction from which a vehicle is approaching and whether the vehicle is accelerating or slowing.

Internal car noise can also help drivers ascertain the state of their car; has the engine conked out, what speed are they travelling, is the car ‘under pressure’? It is always reassuring to hear some noise when you put your foot on the pedal.

As electric vehicles generally remain quiet at low speeds, their drivers do not have these audio prompts to sharpen their senses. In a way, electric car drivers cannot call on all their senses to drive safely.

And road safety experts are starting to get more vocal about the safety implications of cars which are very quiet at low speed.

At a recent road safety conference, research organisation Warwick Manufacturing Group (WMG) highlighted evidence which shows that hybrid electric vehicles are twice as likely to be involved in an accident when:

• Stopping or slowing
• Entering or leaving a parking space

Electric cars could also pose safety risks to blind and partially-sighted groups.

It is clear that there is a demand for electric cars to have the sound put back into them. This could be ‘inherent’ sound (by adapting the machinery so that it produces real sound) or ‘synthesised’ sound.

The idea of synthesised sound in a vehicle might seem a strange concept but then many electric tills are designed to mimic the sound of ‘old-school’ tills opening and shutting – a great help for letting shop assistants know when a transaction has gone through and whether the till has been left open or not.

And a rather dinky looking green van called ELVIN is the vehicle world’s equivalent of an electric shop till. ELVIN stands for ‘electric vehicle with interactive noise’ and ‘he’ has been modified by his manufacturer WMG to emit different sounds dependent on his speed and state.

Much publicity surrounded ELVIN’S unveiling in 2011 and motoring journalists were clearly impressed with the fact that the green vehicle is capable of producing white noise and UFO sounds depending on the situation he finds himself in.

BBC News, reporting on the issue of silent electric vehicles, posed the question: “What noise should an electric car make?”

Personally, I’d be in favour of them sounding like a real car rather than a UFO, police car or crazy frog. But then maybe that’s just me!

Nissan has the same idea and is already started fitting noise-emitting speakers beneath the bonnets of the electric cars which roll off its production lines.

Hopefully you will see – and, of course, hear – more ELVIN-style vehicles on a road near you soon.

James Christie writes for road safety association GEM Motoring Assist. Check out the GEM website to find some great breakdown cover deals.

If you’re thinking about changing your car – and most people do every four to five years – you’ve probably considered the possibility of buying a car that is more environmentally friendly than your current car.

There are some cars that are particularly ‘green’ such as electric vehicles and hybrid cars, but most modern cars have much lower emissions than similar models from just a few years ago. Partly this is because manufacturers have to make sure their products conform to tighter emissions and air quality standards set by governments around the world, but it’s also in response to customer demand.

It’s worth doing your research and comparing the emissions levels on conventional cars with more specialist green technology, such as hybrid and electric vehicles, as sometimes the difference isn’t huge. Some people find the extra initial cost of buying a hybrid off-putting, but over the lifetime of the car, you will easily recoup the difference as you will be spending much less on fuel. And in today’s difficult financial environment, manufacturers like Honda have plenty of new car offers to attract would-be green drivers.

The big advantage for the environment in choosing a hybrid is that you would be burning less fossil fuel (of which there is only a finite supply) than with a conventional car. Toyota and Honda were pioneering manufacturers in hybrid technology back in the 1990s, and now pretty much every car manufacturer has a hybrid model. Many also sell electric models, too. These have become fairly commonplace, and are becoming standard rather than exceptional vehicles.

The latest fuel seen as the fuel of the future is hydrogen, as the only emission it produces when powering a fuel-cell vehicle is water. However, it will be some time yet before hydrogen cars become a common sight – mainly because there are very few hydrogen filling stations.

This article was contributed by Celia Roche on behalf of http://www.honda.co.uk

There is a lot of buzz around eco-friendly passenger cars, however some truck manufacturers have also decided to go greener. Many companies are interested in hybrid and all-electric vehicles, but the price of the vehicles may be discouraging. That is why the U.S. government decided to help the industry develop.

US Government Grant

In March 2009 President Obama announced Transportation Electrification Initiative worth $2.4 billion. The money will go to support companies manufacturing advanced batteries and related drive components as well as for demonstration and deployment projects. The general aim is to accelerate and facilitate the market introduction of advanced electric drive and plug-in hybrid vehicles of all kinds.

Examples of Companies Testing Greener Trucks

Some examples of companies that that want to test the greener trucks include: UPS, Coca-Cola, AT&T or FedEx.

• UPS recently ordered 200 hybrid trucks. Thanks to the new vehicles in their fleet, the company aims to decrease fuel consumption by over 170,000 gallons a year which means a reduction of CO2 emissions by 1,786 metric tons. The vehicles purchased by UPS use a Freightliner Custom Chassis Corporation body and a hybrid power system from Eaton Corporation. The trucks are equipped with diesel engines combined with lithium ion battery packs and regenerative braking system.
• AT&T has purchased all-electric Ford Transit Connect vans. The lithium ion batteries enable the vehicles to go up to 80 miles (129 km) on a single charge and at a top speed of 75 miles per hour (121 km/h). The van will be officially available in the second half of 2010.
• FedEx has also invested in a greener fleet. This year they have started testing an all-electric truck called eStar. It is a medium-duty vehicle with a range of 100 miles, fully rechargeable in 6 to 8 hours. A huge advantage of eStar is that the battery is a cassette-type one and can be changed in 20 minutes, which enables the truck to be used 24/7 if needed. FedEx claims that the operating cost of eStar compared to a standard truck is 30% lower. Will it be enough to cover the extra purchase price?

For the time being the governmental grants will help the green truck industry develop. Hopefully, in the near future the manufacturers will profit from economies of scale, and their vehicles will be attractive to buyers not only due to environmental concerns.

This post was written by the team of Mascus.com. Visit our site to find various new and used trucks for sale.

Electric cars pave the way to a greener future for the automotive industry. Here, we explain the technology that makes these cars possible and look at some of the first production models, which will shortly be coming onto the mainstream market.

More Than Meets The Eye

Although an electric car may look like your average family runabout from the outside, what lies underneath its bonnet is completely different to a typical fuel-burning engine. While a normal petrol- or diesel-engined car works on the principle of internal combustion, an electric car uses electric motors powered by battery packs. These motors are charged from a fixed electrical source such as a power point.

Electric Cars - Old Technology

Although electric-car technology has only started to become available to the masses in recent times, it is actually one of the oldest methods of propulsion. In the late 1800s, engineers began to experiment with the technology, but as it was harder and more time-consuming to develop than the combustion engine, it was pushed aside.

Within the last five years, however, electric-car technology has come back into favor, due to concerns over dwindling oil supplies and air pollution.

Indeed, major manufacturers such as GM, Nissan and Mitsubishi have invested billions into turning the electric car into a practical mass-transit solution, with the Mitsubishi iMieV, Nissan LEAF and Chevrolet Volt being the best current examples of mainstream electric vehicles.

At the moment, the only practical option available to the eco-conscious car buyer is a hybrid like Toyota’s Prius or Honda’s Insight, but starting in 2010, the above-mentioned full-electric models will come on stream.

Variety Of Electric Cars

Mitsubishi’s iMiEV features a 64hp fully electric motor that can travel up to 100km on a full charge. This car is currently participating in a long-term trial organised jointly by the ESB and Mitsubishi to evaluate its practicality on the Irish road network.

Elsewhere, GM’s Chevrolet Volt does incorporate a petrol engine, but it is only used to charge the vehicle’s batteries if no power socket is available -– the car itself is propelled only by its electric motors.

GM Europe recently began a feasibility study that will analyse the recharging infrastructure for plug-in electric vehicles. Such infrastructure will need to be improved in order to eliminate the necessity for a petrol ‘back up’ as featured in the Volt.

As things stand, the Volt should appear in Europe under the Opel badge, but if GM sells Opel/Vauxhall (which seems likely) it will probably retain its Chevrolet badge.

Nissan’s LEAF electric car, meanwhile, is powered by compact lithium-ion batteries, which generate a power output of over 90kW, while its electric motor delivers 80kW. The spacious five-door car will go on sale in Europe, the US and Asia next year.

How Eco-Friendly Are Electric Cars?

Electric cars such as these models are clean, quiet and cheap to run, but it’s important to remember where most of the electricity that charges their batteries come from – coal-burning power stations!

Until such time as manufacturers can produce practical solar-powered electric cars, we’re afraid the electric car will still leave a carbon footprint, albeit a small one.

This post was contributed by CBG.ie.

Keep up to date with all the latest developments in green motoring technology, including a look at hybrid cars like Toyota’s Prius at http://www.cbg.ie/GreenCars.aspx

Hybrids have been a hot topic in the car industry for several years now, but electric cars are coming on in leaps and bounds, too. Like hybrids, their development has been prompted by the need for an alternative to petrol - and diesel-fuelled internal-combustion engines, which contribute to air pollution, global warming and climate change.

Here, we take a look at the technology that makes electric cars work, as well as the efforts being made by both car manufacturers and national governments to get us all to drive them…

How do electric cars work?

The electric motors in modern electric cars derive power from on-board energy-storage facilities. These are usually batteries, however, alternative power sources, such as electric double-layer capacitors, are also being developed.

Thanks to regenerative braking, some of the energy used to power electric cars can be recovered and used again. Batteries need to be recharged with mains electricity, but seeing as they cannot yet store enough energy for long-distance travel, extensive recharging infrastructure will have to be put in place before the use of electric cars becomes widespread.

This is something governments will have to make happen, while the manufacturers concentrate on prolonging the life of batteries and improving their recharging speed. The power grid can produce electricity from a variety of resources, some more environmentally friendly than others, including coal, water, wind, nuclear reaction and even the sun.

Let’s go electric

As society at large becomes more aware of the environmental problems associated with traditional cars, the eco-friendly alternatives have started to attract both the public’s interest and, more importantly, major financial investment. Nissan has announced plans to introduce an affordable electric car in Japan and the US in 2010, which makes it the first major manufacturer to set a definite launch date for a mass-produced electric vehicle.

It looks like this time around Nissan will get the jump on its Japanese rivals, Honda and Toyota, who were first to the market with hybrid vehicles. Nissan says its electric car should be introduced globally in 2012, and other major carmakers will no doubt follow suit before long.

Elsewhere, the British government has launched the world’s largest ‘real life’ electric-car trial. The £25 million scheme was announced in June and it will enable citizens to take part in long-term trials of electric vehicles, ranging from small city cars to sports cars and vans.

The project is being undertaken in cooperation with car manufacturers, power companies, regional and local governments and academic institutions.

In Norway, the finance minister has recently announced a plan to ban the sale of petrol and diesel cars beginning in 2015. It is not yet certain if the proposal will be put into practice, however this announcement encouraged politicians (both elsewhere in Scandinavia and further afield) to start a serious debate on the future of the automotive industry.

The Japanese government has launched a campaign to promote the use of electric cars in the country’s eight biggest cities, and is going to offer tax breaks and subsidies to those willing to buy one. This is unsurprising when you consider that Japanese manufacturers are at the forefront of electric-car development.

Starting from July 2010, electric-car subsidies will also be offered to the citizens of the Canadian province of Ontario.

Back in Europe, the French government is currently working on several projects that will lead to the electrification of not only cars, but also scooters and buses.

Pretty soon, we expect almost every major country will have some sort of electric-car incentive programme up and running.

This post was contributed by CBG.ie. Visit us to find more motoring advice, news and reviews as well as a comprehensive list of new and used cars for sale.