Archive for the ‘Green Cars’ Category

A Segway you can sit in. The new Segway P.U.M.A prototype is the result of a partnership between Segway and GM. P.U.M.A stands for Personal Urban Mobility & Accessibility. An alternative transportation solution with a small footprint all the way around. This electric vehicle is small and versatile making it perfect for congested cities. More on this vehicle can be found at www.segway.com/blog.

Passengers: Currently configured for 2, but could carry more
Top speed: Aimed to travel between 25 and 35 mph (40 – 56 kph)
Range: Aimed to have a 25 – 35 mile range (40 – 56 km)
Weight: Currently ~300 lbs/136 kg
Charge time: ~5-8 hours
Recharge cost:Based on the current battery configuration, it’s about $0.60 in electricity to recharge.

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In this tough economy everyone is looking to save a buck. Bar and restaurant owners are going to love this story because it will not only help them reuse something that they are throwing down the drain everyday anyway but also turn it into something that will save them money.

The inventor of The EFuel100 MicroFueler™, last year came up with an invention that is the world’s first portable ethanol micro-refinery system. Now you may ask what does this have to do with Bar and restaurant owners? Well, this machine can turn any alcohol, including the leftover liquor, beer and wine that is thrown down the drain every day at bars and restaurants into ethanol that can be used to power cars, making it possible for homeowners and small businesses to safely and cost-effectively create their own fuel, on-site.

The MicroFueler is capable of producing 5 gallons of ethanol per day once fermentation is complete.

The idea seems to be catching on Sierra Nevada Brewing Company has cut a deal with the inventor of The EFuel100 MicroFueler™ to use the micro fueler to run it’s BioFuel fleet of trucks by using the ethanol created from it’s beer yeast waste.

Believe it or not the cost is very reasonable and will be available in the second quarter of 2009. There are also Federal and State tax credits to make it even more reasonable, even for homeowners. For more information on cost and how to order check it out at Efuel site.

What a great way to recycle what would otherwise be waste and be on our way to free ourselves from oil dependency.

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In the midst of high oil prices and global warming scares, a 100 mpg car sounds like a dream, but it may not be for long. The X-Foundation has put together a contest with 10 million dollars in prizes, for the group that comes out with the first 100 mile per gallon vehicle. The contest mission is to inspire and promote innovation to come up with cars that are super-energy efficient, affordable, safe for people and the environment, “not just science projects.”

The winning vehicle will have to have gas mileage that exceeds 100 mpg or the equivalent of any other fuel source. Each team will have to go through a rigorous qualification process that will take a look at not only gas mileage but also costs, features, production capabilities, consumer friendliness, safety and meet strict emissions standards. After being chosen each team will race their cars at 2 cross-country stage races that will take place in 2009 and 2010. The winner will be chosen by the overall time, while still meeting the mpg and emission standards.

So far 93 contenders have signed up for the challenge but only one major manufacturer has taken up the challenge, and that is Tata Motors, India’s largest automobile company.

More detailed information on this contest can be found in this interview with the Auto X-Prize senior director, John Shore.

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From the makers of the $2500 dollar Tatanano, better known as the “People’s Car”, will also come the “MDI Air Car” which runs on compressed air. How about air for an alternative energy…

Guy Negre from MDI Industries in France is the inventor of the “air-powered technology” and has given Tata Motors, the Indian based auto manufacturer exclusive rights to manufacture and market the MDI car and it’s new technology in India. Tata will be the only large auto manufacturer to be given the rights to build the cars. He hopes to get investors to build smaller plants throughout the world.

This is thinking beyond the “Green Car”. This is the kind of thinking that Bill Gates was talking about in his speech about “Creative Capitalism” at the World Economic Forum, where companies don’t only concentrate on the bottom line but find ways to sell to and work with local communities to improve the quality of everyone’s lives, especially the poorest.

By building smaller plants, selling directly to consumers and sourcing 80% of the parts locally, it would:

1. Keep the cost of the car to a very affordable price of around $5000 dollars.
2. Create many jobs worldwide, not just at the plants but also by the sourcing of parts locally.
3. Cut emissions down from having to ship parts from long distances, saving on greenhouse gases.

The car would be made of Fiberglass composites weighing only about 770lbs and there are two possible types of engines:

• Mono: runs on compressed air in Urban Settings.
• Duel-Energy: which has a Hydrocarbon Fueled Burner which means more power and longer ranges. Can use Bio-Fuel or Petroleum based fuel.

The compressed air can be refilled at air pumping stations in about 3 minutes or at home with it’s own on-board compressor in about 4 hrs.

The same CAT technology (Compressed Air Technology) lends itself to other applications such as trucks, buses, forklifts, tractors, electric generators, boat motors, and aircraft.

The beauty of the technology is obvious, it’s good for the environment, but the beauty of the idea of this man, is that it not only helps mother earth but it’s also good for it’s people, in may ways.

Source: ENN: Thank Caron for Air Cars

air car air powered car alternative energy compressed air guy negre mdi air car tata motors tatanano

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Today’s news reported that the average gallon of gas in America will reach $3.00 soon. With the price of gas going through the roof, again, it’s time for a change: No?

What ever happened to the technology that was patented to convert H2O into HHO, that could run a car for 100 miles on 4oz of water. This technology was to change the world or at least the power balance in the world. Could this technology be the end of gasoline as we know it? Imagine a world where the Shieks and the Chavez’s don’t hold the rest of the world hostage.

Luckily the technology has not gone away, it has been patented and in the works is a Vehicle System that will run a car on a Hybrid System of H2O and Gasoline, and so far it is scheduled to make it’s debut in 2008. A totally water powered vehicle is also in the works but it will be coming out some time later.

Denny Cline of Hydrogen Technology Applications, Inc., in Clearwater, Florida have come up with the technology for a Water Powered Car. They have Patented a technology that takes Water (H2O) and brakes it down into HHO Gas or Aquygen (its trademark name). They have also come up with a prototype Hybrid, being tested as we speak, that uses regular gas infused with Aquygen. In trials gas mileage improved 50% adding an extra 200 miles to the gas mileage. They say that an adapter for cars will be available soon, maybe as soon as 2008.

The big thing about this new technology is, that it is very eco-firendly. Once combusted this HHO Gas turns back into Water, making it the “Clean Fuel of the Future” as they have coined it. The lack of pollutants makes it the ultimate alternative fuel and it is getting a lot of interest from Government, Auto and Aeronautical Companies alike.

Could this Technology be the end of Fossil Fuels? Let’s hope.

Check out these Videos…

How the Technology Began

Tanking the Technology to Cars

How the whole thing works

alternative fuels fossil fuels h2o powered cars hho gas klein gas water powered car

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