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Stuart Waterman

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Diesel land speed record car makes its first run



The JCB Dieselmax streamliner made its first run this past weekend on the Royal Air Force Wittering runways, where the land speed record hopeful will run testing sessions until early August.

Running without its bodywork, the diesel-fueled, 1500 hp, twin-engine car was push-started, appropriately enough, by a JCB Fastrac "high speed" tractor (above). Tests on Monday with the streamliner bodywork in place saw the LSR contender pass the 120 mph mark and successfully deploy the parachute brake.

The Dieselmax project team expect the car to reach 200 mph during its airport tests, before heading to Bonneville later in August for its shot at the diesel speed record.

[Source: JCB Dieselmax project]

High school Solar Car Challenge kicks off Monday



Computer giant Dell and the Winston School in Dallas, Texas will fire up a fuel-free race at Texas Motor Speedway next week - the 11th annual Dell-Winston School Solar Car Challenge. Competing cars have been designed and built by 18 high school race teams from the U.S., India and Puerto Rico.

The Solar Car Challenge alternates between closed course events at Texas Motor Speedway and cross-country races, with next year's event heading from Round Rock, Texas to New York. This is the fifth year that Dell has been the event's headline sponsor.

Videos and pictures of last year's cross-country event are at the challenge website, where you can also follow this year's competition.

[Source: Dell]

Honda announces 2006 hybrid tax credits

American Honda Motor has received its ruling from the Internal Revenue Service on the allowable tax credits for its hybrid cars for the 2006 tax year, and it's good news for car buyers.

The 2006 Civic Hybrid (shown at right accepting its World Green Car award) gets the biggest boost, with a $2,100 tax credit, while the '06 Accord Hybrid and the automatic transmission '06 Insight are eligible for credits of $1,300 and $1,450, respectively.

Only the IRS and your tax accountant know for sure what tax credit you may be eligible for, so check it out before you sign on the dotted line for that new hybrid.

[Source: American Honda]

Senator Clinton pushes ethanol, calls for creation of "Strategic Energy Fund"

In an address to the National Press Club Tuesday, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY) jumped on the ethanol bandwagon, calling for a massive expansion of the U.S. ethanol distribution infrastructure to reach half of the nation's gas stations by 2015, aided by a 50-percent tax credit for station owners installing ethanol pumps.

Sen. Clinton called for an overarching energy goal of cutting U.S. imports of foreign oil in half by 2025 - a reduction of almost 8 million barrels a day.

In addition to widespread adoption of ethanol fuel, Sen. Clinton proposed a $50 billion "Strategic Energy Fund," paid for out of the windfall profits of big oil companies. Senator Clinton announced that she is introducing legislation to create the fund, which is intended to support "research, development and deployment of energy technologies that will reduce America's oil dependence and greenhouse gas emissions."

The full text of Senator Clinton's speech, and details  of the proposed Strategic Energy Fund are available here.

[Source: U.S. Senate web site - Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton]


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