We Obsessively Cover the Green Scene…

Whaddya think, that Volt buyers were trading in a Cadillac for their new plug-ins? Nope. Most buyers of Chevrolet Volt extended-range plug-in vehicles are coming in from outside of the General Motors family, the automaker says.

About two-thirds of Volt buyers are trading in non-GM cars, and more than 90 percent of recently surveyed Volt drivers said they'd buy another one. This fits with the results of a Consumer Reports survey on vehicle owner satisfaction released late last year. GM says the Toyota Prius hybrid is the most common vehicle sacrificed traded-in for the Volt, followed by the Toyota Camry, Honda Civic and BMW 3 Series cars.

GM is looking to drum up more sales for the Volt, which missed sales targets last year but is showing signs of life in 2011. Through April 2012, Volt sales tripled from a year earlier to 5,377 units, or about two-thirds of what GM sold during all of 2011.

When it comes to promotions, "25,000 free miles" certainly sounds sexier than $200 cash back, doesn't it?

However it's framed, that's what Zero Motorcycles is offering to buyers of the company's battery-electric two-wheelers during 2012, according to Two Wheel Mania. Zero calculated how expensive the electricity would be that's needed to power the bike for 25,000 miles and came up with $200, so that's what Zero is putting on a Visa gift card for buyers.

Zero, which conducted its "National Demo Day" last weekend, is trying to keep sales going strong this year after the company more than tripled first-quarter sales from 2011. Late last year, Zero said its 2012 models include a battery option that provides more than 110 miles of single-charge range in city driving and more than 60 miles on the highway. Prices for this year's Zero models range from $7,695 to $13,995. Minus $200, of course.

Plug-in vehicle drivers are probably less likely to get cited for shredding rubber or doing 80 in a 50 zone and, apparently, insurance companies are taking note.

Drivers of vehicles like the Nissan Leaf battery electric and Chevrolet Volt extended-range plug-in hybrid pay, on average, lower insurance premiums than their conventional-vehicle counterparts, according to the Detroit Free Press.

Companies like Hartford Insurance have started offering a five percent discount for U.S. electric vehicle drivers, apparently taking into account statistics that show that these drivers tend not to speed or rear-end other folks, the publication reported.

Of course, there are some insurance companies that charge more to insure plug-ins because of their higher price tag, compared to gas-powered vehicles of a similar class. Still, on average, EV drivers appear to be paying less. Specifically, a typical Leaf driver pays about 15 percent less than a driver of a Nissan Maxima, whose base price is about 15 percent less than the Leaf's.

It looks like Blue's fighting Red over the Green.

Democratic members of Congress and some U.S. military leaders are planning to fight the Republican-led effort to quash efforts to expand use of biofuels for the U.S. military, the Colorado Independent reports.

Proponents of more biofuel use by the military say they can help hedge against the type of fuel-price increases that will cost the federal government $1.3 billion in 2012. Petroleum use also causes safety issues. About one in 30 convoys designed to ensure the operation of refueling lines in Iraq and Afghanistan has led to a soldier casualty. More petroleum use also causes more greenhouse gas emissions, and the resulting climate change causes natural disasters that boost disaster-relief requirements from the military, biofuel proponents say.

Last week, the Talking Points Memo blog reported that a Republican-led group within the House Armed Services Committee put at risk hundreds of millions of dollars worth programs approved during the past few years by voting to disallow the U.S. Department of Defense from paying more for biofuels that would be used in military vehicles than regular fuels. Such a ban would reverse projects such as last August's a three-year, $510 million project with the USDA and DoD that was designed to develop biofuels for the private sector.

This is one political flip-flop scenario that could actually please some constituents.

The Obama Administration might reverse its policy of cutting support for hydrogen fuel-cell electric vehicle development (FCEV) in favor of battery-electric vehicles by putting more resources towards FCEV advancement, Slate reports.

U.S. Department of Energy Secretary Steven Chu recently spoke at a private event and supported expansion of hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles, Slate said, citing ex-Shell USA President John Hofmeister. The government's executive branch may be reversing course because of what's so far been lower-than-expected battery-electric vehicle sales in the U.S.

Some consider hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles a best-of-all-worlds solution to cutting both petroleum use and greenhouse-gas emissions because the vehicles can be filled up in minutes and can go almost as far on a full tank as gas-powered vehicles. Still, costs remain an issue because of the limited number of HCEVs and the challenges of hydrogen distribution to refueling stations. General Motors has estimated that it would cost as much as $25 billion to build out the 11,000 hydrogen fueling stations needed to support a "mature" FCEV fleet, Slate reported. Currently, there are only about 50 stations across the U.S., according to the Energy Department.

Last year, Pike Research estimated that automakers will sell about one million FCEVs by 2020, less than Pike Research's prior estimate of 2.8 million vehicles. Toyota, GM, Mercedes-Benz parent Daimler and Hyundai are among the automakers that have targeted 2015 for mass production of FCEVs.

Honda will start making a hybrid version of its Fit compact in Thailand this summer, according to the Japanese publication the Nikkei. Production will mark the first time Honda will be making any of its hybrids in Asia outside of Japan. Sales of the Jazz Hybrid – Honda substitutes the name Jazz for Fit outside of the U.S. – will start as soon as next summer.

The reason for the increased production is so Honda can keep up with increased sales of its most popular hybrid. Last year, Honda sold 86,000 units of the hybrid worldwide. Honda first unveiled a version of the Jazz Hybrid for the Japanese and European markets at the 2010 Paris Motor Show. That model uses the same powertrain as the CR-Z and Insight hybrids.

The Jazz Hybrid production would mark yet another victory for the Thail automotive industry, The country is the world's 12th-largest but was staggered in the wake of a flood last fall that killed 815 people and ground auto production to a halt. Honda and Toyota plants there suffered, but both have since restarted production

When or if Fit Hybrid sales reach the U.S. is anyone's guess. Honda unveiled a battery-electric Fit at the Los Angeles Auto Show last November and said it would start leasing the Fit EV to a limited number of customers in the U.S. later this summer.

Did you know the Cadillac Escalade Hybrid is a better deal for fuel-economy-inclined car buyers than a Honda Insight? True story, but only sorta.

Using a new section of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's FuelEconomy.gov website, we can now quantify the time it takes to pay off the higher price tag of most hybrids thanks to the lower refueling costs these vehicles provide. The page lets prospective customers look up 18 hybrids and show how many years it takes to save enough money to cover the extra cost. People can customize the search according to how many miles a year they drive, what their percentage of city vs. highway driving is and what gas prices are. Only hybrids apply, which means there are no cost-benefit analysis for the Nissan Leaf or Chevrolet Volt possible on the site – at least, not yet.

Still, some of the results are illuminating. The best deals, of course are models like the Buick LaCrosse eAssist mild hybrid and Lincoln MKZ Hybrid, both of which have the same MSRP as their gas powered counterparts. That means you're in the black as soon as you drive them off the lot. As for other models, SUV hybrids had an advantage over some of more the most fuel-efficient compacts because the fuel-economy gains relative to the gas-guzzling conventional SUVs were greater.

That means that a Cadillac Escalade Hybrid four-wheel-drive, when factoring in 15,000 miles a year of driving, a 55 percent/45 percent city/highway mix and $3.75 a gallon gas prices, takes just 2.1 years to pay off relative to a conventional Escalade. That compares to the 4.6 years it takes to pay off a Toyota Prius C compared to a Yaris, and the 5.3 years it takes to pay off a Honda Insight hybrid compared to a gas-powered Honda Fit.

Big trucks just aren't appealing enough on their own, at least in some places. For proof, look to a Shanghai GMC dealer who is offering about three years worth of free gas to anyone who buys a new Sierra Denali. Too bad it'll take about 20 years to pay off the big truck.

The dealer is giving away five tons – about 2,000 gallons, worth around $8,000 in China – of petrol to new Sierra Denali buyers in China's largest city, according to The Detroit Bureau. The offer appears to be a nod to rising China gas prices, which are climbing towards levels similar to those in the U.S. now that the Chinese government is doing less to artificially keep gas prices down. Full-size trucks have been sold in China for about three years and are known to be status symbols in China, says The Detroit Bureau.

There is, of course, a catch. The Denali, unlike most General Motors vehicles sold in China, is built in the U.S., so the price tag is about $134,000, or almost three times what the model sells for in the States. Here's hoping a few free car washes come with those full tanks.

So about those plans for more military biofuel production...

A Republican-led group within the House Armed Services Committee recently voted to ban the U.S. Department of Defense from paying more for biofuels used for military vehicles than regular fuels, putting at risk hundreds of millions of dollars worth programs approved during the past few years for the purpose of cutting foreign-oil dependency, according to Talking Points Memo.

The projects that may be on the chopping block include the Air Force's testing of a blend of camelina (made from a mustard-like plant) and jet fuel for its Thunderbirds show-pilot team and the Navy's testing of other biofuels used in both ships and planes flown by its Blue Angels team. The biofuels programs had been enacted in part to cut some of the $300 billion in annual U.S. spending on crude oil as well as to boost revenue flowing through U.S. farms. Last year, the Pentagon said it pays around $400 a gallon for fuel in Afghanistan.

Last August, the USDA teamed with the Defense Department on a three-year, $510 million project that involved developing biofuels for the private sector. The prior month, ASTM International, which writes technical standards for global industries, green-lit the use of renewable fuels in military and commercial aircraft. Components of the renewable fuel were to come from sources such as algae, camelina, jatropha or tallow (animal fats).

We can't say we've ever seen a Toyota Prius rip through a slalom course like this, either.

A team of engineering students from Brigham Young University won the 2012 Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) Formula Hybrid competition at New Hampshire Motor Speedway after finishing second last year.

BYU's "Hybrid Blue" used its 100-horsepower, 450-foot-pounds-of-torque hybrid powertrain to win the competition's acceleration, endurance and autocross heats. BYU, which has been competing in the annual event since 2009, beat out teams from 40 other universities. BYU has released a video of the winning car, which you can see below.

Hybrid Blue, which runs on a combination of E85 (gasoline with an 85 percent ethanol blend) and electricity, had 75 percent of its electric charge remaining after a 14-mile endurance run. The students boosted the car's performance by cutting the car's length by more than a foot and reducing its weight by 80 pounds.

Amp, the Ohio-based maker of battery-electric SUVs, has opened its first dealership in Cincinnati and said first deliveries would start by year end.

Amp of Cincinnati opened last week and showed off both its Jeep Grand Cherokee- and Mercedes-Benz ML350-based battery-electric vehicles. The dealership has started taking $5,000 deposits for the SUVs, which Amp says have a single-charge range of as many as 125 miles. Amp said in March that its SUVs qualified for the $7,500 tax credit from the IRS. That month, the company also said it reached an agreement to sell its SUVs in the Caribbean.

The company in January said the Jeep-based Amp would be priced at $57,400, bringing the out of pocket price just under $50,000.

That's one small step for man, and one less really big barge full of fuel for mankind.

That's basically what General Motors' Chevrolet division is saying in its latest effort to pitch the Volt extended-range plug-in as a way for prospective drivers to save both money and the earth.

Chevrolet estimates that Volt drivers have saved more than 2.1 million gallons of gas – or one supertanker – by driving their vehicles in electric mode. Since the model launched in late 2010, Volt drivers, who, on average, use electricity 60 percent of the time and fuel from the car's on-board generator the rest of the time, have put on 40 million electric-only miles on the car, saving a combined $8 million in unused gasoline the process.

While the Volt fell about 2,300 units short of Chevy's goal to sell 10,000 units last year, 2012 sales through April tripled from a year earlier to 5,377 units. We anxiously await Nissan's own claim on how many fleets worth of gas its Leaf drivers have saved...

Another day, another opinion on the feasibility of E15.

This time, a group called the Coordinating Research Council released a study saying that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's decision to push for allowing gas with a 15-percent ethanol blend (aka E15) to be sold to the general public for newer cars may have been a bad one because of potentially harmful effect the fuel may have on older vehicles, the New York Times reports.

E15 may compromise the durability of the engines of most of the cars on the road because automakers didn't design the vehicles to run on E15, which has 50% more ethanol than the current maximum of a 10-percent ethanol blend (i.e. E10), the group says.

Of course, Coordinating Research Council is backed by – wait for it – eight automakers as well as the American Petroleum Institute (API), according to the Times. The automakers have long pushed to delay E15 approval because of engine durability concerns while the API represents a petroleum industry whose demand is inversely related to how much ethanol's being used in light-duty vehicles.

With that in mind, Patrick B. Davis, an Energy Department program manager specializing in vehicle testing, said in a blog post that the new study is "flawed" in part because the study didn't involve the testing of E10's impact on engines. Renewable Fuels Association CEO Bob Dinneen called the report "junk science."

The EPA in April approved the first applications to make E15 amid protests from automakers and recreation vehicle makers that have claimed that the higher alcohol content may damage engines and fuel systems. The government has gone back and forth on the issue, both pushing for higher ethanol production levels to cut foreign-oil dependence while last year terminating a 30-year tax subsidy on corn-based ethanol.

Recently, The Auto Channel reported that researchers at University of Wisconsin and Iowa State University estimated that ethanol production cut the average cost of fuel last year by $1.09 a gallon because of lower ethanol prices and broader use of fuels such as E10.

If you thought last year was a bad one at the gas pump, it could've been worse. That's what one report partially funded by ethanol advocate Renewable Fuels Association says.

U.S. ethanol production actually cut wholesale gas prices by $1.09 a gallon last year because of relatively lower ethanol prices and the greater use of ethanol blends, The Auto Channel said, citing a PDF report written by researchers at University of Wisconsin and Iowa State University for Iowa State's Center for Agricultural and Rural Development.

Ethanol production cut the typical U.S. household's spending on gas by more than $1,200 last year and by an average of $340 a year since 2000, according to the report.

Ethanol advocates have been pushing for blends with a higher percentage of ethanol as a way to cut both gas costs and dependency on foreign oil, while opponents have decried subsidies given to ethanol producers. Late last year, Congress ended a three-decade tax subsidy for the corn-based ethanol, which was reported to have received $45 billion in subsidies since 1980.