GM has announced that it'll no longer make the Hummer H1. When I read the title of this article, my mouth twisted into an evil smirk and I thought, "Good, serves 'em right" or something equally as catty. After all, this is the biggest and dumbest of all the big, dumb SUVs, the one that sucks up the most gasoline and spits out the most noxious gasses. But as I read on, I realized that this was more a token victory than an actual one. GM only ever sold 12,000 original Hummers, and while even one is too many, it's the more popular H2 that's doing the most damage, followed I'm sure by the H3. GM isn't letting go of the Hummer name or ideal, just that one model. And it doesn't come in hybrid. [Source: Auto123.com; Thank you Joel A for the tip]

If you've thought about the traditional carpool but it never works out for you--maybe your hours vary or you work in different locations--then log on to NuRide and look at their innovative ride share program. It looks pretty simple to use. You specify your starting and ending locations, then choose if you want to be the rider or the driver. You'll be matched up with one or more people who are going where you are, when you are. Like eBay, you can see your rider/driver's rating from other NuRiders, so you can tell your riding with someone on the up-and-up. The best part? NuRide offers frequent-flyer type rewards to its users, with sponsors from wine.com to Target to Brookstone. So for sharing a ride to the big game, to work, or to finals, you can earn free stuff, save wear and tear on your car, conserve natural resources, and reduce tailpipe emissions. Still have questions? Head over to their well-organized and information-packed website.

[Source: NuRide]

I'd heard rumors that Honda's next project would be a hybrid CR-V. I was excited about it, too--Americans don't seem to be willing to give up their SUVs, and thought that it was about time that Honda joined the ranks of Ford and Toyota to produce a bigger hybrid. However, a source at Edmunds says that the hybrid CR-V never made it off the drawing board. The reason? Honda's hybrid technology works better on smaller cars, and no hybrid Honda SUV would be able to recoup in fuel savings the reportedly $7,000 additional cost.

The good news, though, is that like the commercials say, the Fit is go. It should be available in 2008, and the hybrid version will only be $1,800 more than the gas-only version. That's exciting, but it's no hybrid CR-V.

[Source: Edmunds.com, and thank you Joel A. for the tip]

Biodiesel proponents are eager to combine hybrid technologies with the environmental benefits and (sometimes) cost savings that biodiesel provides. They argue that diesel is easier to store and transport, cleaner blends are available, and biodiesel is far better for the world than ethanol-based fuels, which are hard to grow, give lower gas mileage, don't cost less, and require more fuel to produce than they save in the tank.

Sounds like a no-brainer, right? Business Week disagrees. According to a recent special report, cellulosic ethanol E-85 hybrids are cleaner and cheaper than diesel hybrids and plug-in hybrids. Not all of their readers agree with their points, but they're worth considering. One point they make is that biodiesel blends higher than 5% void factory warranties. That's not a problem for a lot of green fuel enthusiasts, but for the mass market, it's critical, and E-85 doesn't void the warranty if the car is designed to use it. Another point is that plug-in hybrids take the batteries to higher and lower charges than they're designed to run on, which may shorten the life of the batteries (they last so long on gas hybrids because they maintain a charge of 40-60%). Business Week also looks at CO2 emissions, and provides a smart analysis concluding that E-85 emits far less than biodiesel hybrids or gas hybrids.

I'm sure that the debate isn't over yet, but the article is definitely fuel for discussion. [Source: Business Week, and thanks again to Joel A.]

Gas prices have climped to the point that two thirds of Americans are feeling financially strained by the pressures of filling up their gas tanks. Even in middle- to upper-income families (defined in this story as families earning $50K - $75K per year), the number of people to whom gas prices are a burden has risen by more than 20% in the past year. So how are Americans dealing with rising gas prices? They're turning off the air conditioner and deciding not to take vacations or to pick up their kids from football practice. What they're not doing is deciding to buy a fuel-efficient car: the number of people who say that they'd consider such a purchase has remained unchanged. Erik Merckel, an auto-industry market watcher, predicts that gas prices would have to top $4.00 per gallon before sales of SUVs and trucks will slow down.

[Source: Yahoo! News, AP]

We tend to think of hybrid cars as new technology, even if we know that electric power for vehicles has a long and colorful history. After all, it's only in the past five years or so that hybrid cars have become a part of mainstream American culture. But the if the government can cover up UFOs, it can certainly cover up hybrid cars, as it showed in its dealings with Victor Wouk.

Wouk was an engineer who had worked on projects as hush-hush as the Manhattan Project. He began working to reduce emissions from automobiles, and came to the same conclusion as modern car manufacturers: combining a gasoline engine with a battery-powered electric motor is the most feasible short-term solution, and is workable immediately without any additional infrastructure or any change to the auto fueling industry. Wouk built a prototype, a Buick Skylark, and with the encouragement of several EPA employees, formally proposed his model as part of the Federal Clean Air Incentive Program.

So what went wrong? One man, Erik Stork. Stork was in charge of the EPA's Mobile Source Air Pollution Control Program at the time, and he wouldn't allow Wouk's prototype to be tested. He finally did allow the testing, and although Wouk's car passed, Stork refused to allow Wouk's hybrid to move into the next phase of production. In an interview with HybridCars.com, Stork recalls his reasoning, saying, "Hybrids are just not a very practical technology for automotive. That's why it's going nowhere. It certainly wasn't going anywhere then. Even today, it's marginal."

No, Mr. Stork, it didn't go anywhere then--but that's because you made a bad decision for the American public. Your decision has implications that span the Great Barrier Reef, the polar icecaps, and the raise in asthma in American children. I wonder what you had to say about biodiesel? [Source: HybridCars.com]

There's always a fear factor when reaching out into the unknown. With hybrid cars, that fear factor seems to center around car maintenance and repairs. People who are considering buying a hybrid car are often worried that their cars will have costly breakdowns, or that they'll be in for a shock when they open the owner's manual to look at the scheduled maintenance requirements. If you're thinking about a hybrid, relax! You won't spend any more time or money at the dealership than anybody else.

• Batteries: The batteries in a hybrid car are designed to last as long as or longer than the engine and transmission. They've been tested up to 180,000 miles, and manufacturers of hybrid cars have been carefully watching their babies since they've been on the road to make sure that they'll run how they're supposed to. Honda has had hybrids on the road since 1999, and Toyota for almost as long, so by now, manufacturers know that they've designed a good product.
• Brakes: Because hybrid batteries charge themselves using recaptured braking energy, it makes sense to ask if owners of hybrid cars need to replace their brakes any more often. The short answer is no. In fact, because the heat that accompanies normal braking is used to recharge the brakes, the brakes actually receive less wear and need replacement less often.
• Other Scheduled Maintenance: To maximize fuel economy and to keep their manufacturer's warranties valid, hybrid owners should definitely keep up with their maintenance schedules. These maintenance schedules look the same as other cars' schedules, so you won't be in for any shocks. One minor exception: the Ford Escape Hybrid needs an air filter every 40,000 miles. [Source: Edmunds.com]
  

In order to see how a well-maintained car and careful driving can impact fuel economy, I'm trying an experiment and attempting to raise the number of miles I get to a tank of gas in my 2001 Civic. I promised an update, so here goes.

I'm about 2,000 miles overdue for my 70,000 checkup at Honda, and I haven't been driving super-carefully. I run the air conditioner, gun the engine to try to make the light before it turns red, and have a nasty tendency to use engine braking. I still managed to drive 397 miles on 11 1/2 gallons of gas, an average of 34 1/2 miles to the gallon. That's pretty close to the 32/39 miles per gallon listed on the EPA sticker.

My next step is to have my car maintenence done and to see if a new fuel filter, a brake inspection (thank you Dave), and a tire pressure check improve my gas mileage, and then I'll drive another tank with a well-maintained car and careful driving techniques.

So, you've been stuck with the same 1996 Chevy for the last ten years, and it's finally time to donate your car to charity and move up to something more modern. You're considering buying a hybrid car, but which one? Hybrid technology has been exploited by some bandwagon car manufacturers, and therefore, not all hybrids are the same. Some hybrids have great gas mileage, while others barely do any better than their gasoline-only counterparts. How do you know what's what?

Before you head out for a test drive, do your research on edmunds.com or autobytel.com, and look at the different hybrid cars available. Pay attention to the type of engine each hybrid has. You'll notice that some cars seemlessly blend electric and gasoline power, while others us the electric motor for very little. Of course, the more your car uses the electric motor, the less it's using gasoline, so look for:

• Full Hybrids -- Full hybrid cars are capable, if your driving style and conditions are right, of running solely on the battery. They typically have a gas engine, an electric motor run by a battery that charges itself when you brake, and some sort of computer that tells the car where to get power from under what type of driving conditions. The Toyota Prius and Highlander, Ford Escape, Lexus RX 400h, Mercury Mariner, and restyles Honda Civic hybrids all utilize this technology.
• Assist Hybrids -- Assist hybrids can't run on electric power alone; they use the electric motor as a way to increase torque from the gasoline engine. Assist hybrids have smaller battery packs than full hybrids, and they are able to have smaller gasoline engines without sacrificing power. The Honda Insight and the first-generation Honda Civic Hybrid are example of assist hybrids.

Other hybrid vehicles don't use the electric motor to assist the gasoline engine at all. These "mild hybrids," such as the Chevrolet Silverado Hybrid, have a glorified starter that allows the car or truck to turn itself off at stoplights without the radio or air conditioning turning off. You will see a slight fuel economy improvement with a mild hybrid, but nothing like what you'd get with a full hybrid or assist hybrid. [Source: Hybrid Cars at About.com, Wikipedia]

Some critics of electric cars have justly noted that powering your car on electricity doesn't eliminate its environmental impact, it just moves it. Instead of harmful emissions coming from your car's tailpipe, they're coming from the power plant that fuels the house where you plug in your car. That's true, but electric car proponents often reply that power plants are more carefully regulated than tailpipes, and that they're getting greener all the time. Here's proof:

On May 1, Biomass Investment Group, Inc (BIG) announced plans to build a Central Florida power plant that uses E-Grass for fuel, instead of coal. The plant's contract is for 25 years, and during that time, it's expected to save 9 million tons of coal and 20 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions. Because the E-Grass will be grown on site, the plant is called a "closed loop;" the growing grasses will take in as much CO2 as the smoke stacks emit. So if you live in one of the 83,000 homes powered by the plant, then by all means, run out and buy a plug-in kit for your Prius. [Source: Progress Energy Florida]