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Greenlings: What's the difference between kW and kWh?

Understanding electric and plug-in vehicles requires a slightly different knowledge set than what mechanics and drivers have needed to know for decades. One of the most obvious new concepts is the large battery pack and electric motor added to the car. The capacity values of these devices are be written using kW (kilowatt) and kWh (kilowatt hours), but don't think that a 90 kW motor is anything like a 90 kWh battery pack. That little h makes a big difference. Exactly what is the difference? Well, that's what we investigate in this week's ... Read more →

Greenlings: Why does mileage drop in winter? Sam Abuelsamid

This week's Greenlings topic came to us from another reader tip. Don asked why his fuel economy suffers so much in winter weather. In his own experience, mileage drops about 10 percent when the ...

Greenlings: How do I plug my electric vehicle in at home? Domenick Yoney

As electric vehicles begin to find their way to peoples driveways and garages, knowing what's involved with charging up the batteries becomes more necessary. Over the years, electric vehicles ...

Greenlings: How does weight affect a vehicle's efficiency? Sebastian Blanco

Over the last few decades, the average weight of a vehicle sold in the U.S. climbed steadily after we got over the oil embargoes of the 1970s. Today, though, auto companies are putting a lot of ...

Why can't Americans have good, small diesels? Sam Abuelsamid

The question is often asked, "Why is it that drivers in Europe can get all of these amazing high-mileage cars that get 50, 60 or even 70 mpg but we have to celebrate when we get half of that?" ...

What is CAFE? 1 month ago on Autoblog Green

It was big news when the Obama Administration updated CAFE requirements in May to a new and higher national MPG standard of 42 mpg for cars (26 mpg for light trucks) by 2016. The higher standards will start increasing with 2011 model year vehicles. But what is CAFE? And how do these new numbers ...

Will we ever replace the standard rear- and side-view mirror? 1 month ago on Autoblog Green

Recently, we received the following question from a reader: Rear view mirrors inevitably create blind spots. They add untold fuel costs by resisting airflow past the automobile at speed. Since the first back-up camera and display technology came on the scene they have been obsolete. What is ...

Should I switch to straight veggie oil? What is holding SVO back? 2 months ago on Autoblog Green

We like to answer reader questions with our Greenlings series whenever possible, and thought that Timothy H. had a good topic. He sent in the following question/suggestion about straight vegetable oil (SVO): I have seen several articles dealing specifically with SVO, but not as it concerns the ...

How can we "refuel" electric vehicles today and tomorrow? 2 months ago on Autoblog Green

Among the many claimed advantages of electric vehicles are the ability to "refuel" your vehicles at home, never visiting a gas station again. In principle, the only thing you need to "fuel" an EV is a working plug. However, in life, few things ever turn out to be as simple as they might appear ...

How important is the appearance of a green car? 2 months ago on Autoblog Green

There has been quite a spate of green car designs in the past few years that seem penned to prove the adage that beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Indeed, some eco-intentioned vehicles appear to be the end result of an ultimate death match between form and function in which form never stood ...

What are the promises and pitfalls of carbon fiber? 2 months ago on Autoblog Green

For the last century or so, cars and trucks have predominantly been formed from one material in particular: steel. It's not hard to see why – steel is relatively inexpensive, highly abundant and easy to form into somewhat complex shapes that can be repaired with mostly basic tools. ...

Why choose a fuel cell or an internal combustion engine when using hydrogen? 3 months ago on Autoblog Green

Over the past decade, most of the world's major automakers have expended a lot research dollars and engineering resources on developing vehicles that burn hydrogen. While advocates like the idea of using hydrogen as an energy carrier because it's the most abundant element in the known universe ...

Why is there ethanol in gasoline? 3 months ago on Autoblog Green

Today, we take another look at ethanol for our weekly Greenlings post. You've probably noticed that many vehicles are labeled with a Flex Fuel badge from the manufacturer, indicating that the car or truck is capable of running safely on E85 – a blend of 85-percent ethanol and 15-percent ...

What are in-wheel motors? 3 months ago on Autoblog Green

Have you ever thought that putting motors inside the wheels of a vehicle may a more elegant way of providing propulsion? It would certainly eliminate a number of energy-robbing parts; transmission, driveshafts, differentials and make the drivetrain more modular and provide additional space for ...

What's up with natural gas vehicles? 4 months ago on Autoblog Green

One thing we try to do with our weekly series of Greenlings articles is answer reader questions about the green car industry (if you've got a burning need to know something, please let us know). Considering today's news that the Honda Civic GX is now available for sale in Utah, we thought we'd ...

Where are the most important MPG increases, at the upper or lower end? 4 months ago on Autoblog Green

Imagine, if you will, taking a sheet of paper and cutting it in half. Now take one of those halves and cut it in half again. Now keep repeating the process. As you keep cutting, the difference in the size of the subsequent pieces gets progressively smaller. This simple example is a demonstration ...

What's the difference between AC and DC? Which is better for electric cars? 4 months ago on Autoblog Green

AC/DC? We're not referring to the classic rock band; we're taking a look at electric motors. In today's Greenlings post, we'll delve into the ins and outs of the powerplants that we hope will soon be transporting millions of people around the world to and fro. That said, there are lots of ...

Does the government know if ethanol cars qualify for Cash-For-Clunkers? 4 months ago on Autoblog Green

AutoblogGreen reader Michael recently sent in a question regarding the about-to-start "Cash for Clunkers" program. Officially known as the Car Allowance Rebate System (CARS), the program allows owners of some older and inefficient vehicles to trade them in and get a rebate check worth up to ...

How can I pimp green my ride? 4 months ago on Autoblog Green

Driving a car that's had more than a few birthdays and wish you could make it greener? Whether your concern is centered on air quality, climate change or just saving a few bucks as fuel prices rise, there are many ways you can accomplish this goal using your common sense or perhaps a little modern ...

Can pulse and glide work to improve electric vehicle highway range? 5 months ago on Autoblog Green

Recently we got a question from a reader regarding the benefit of using the common hypermiling technique of "pulse and glide" with a battery electric vehicle. Given the relative scarcity of pure electric vehicles, P&G has mostly been used by hybrid drivers as one of the techniques to ...

Why don't we use solar to power our electric cars? 5 months ago on Autoblog Green

For years, we've been watching as solar-powered race cars travel at relatively high rates of speed for hours on end – as long as the sun happens to be shining, of course. In fact, the World Solar Challenge has been taking place in Australia every few years since 1987, and the actual ...

Can I convert a gas vehicle to electric? 5 months ago on Autoblog Green

There are all kinds of reasons why one might want to drive an electric vehicle (EV). Perhaps you're concerned about the environmental damage done by oil exploration, recovery, refining, and the eventual burning of carbon-based fuels. Maybe you just hate handing money over to huge companies with ...

Why gasoline turbocharged direct injected engines? 6 months ago on Autoblog Green

Hybrid and battery electric cars get most of the attention from drivers looking for more efficient transportation. Toyota has done a masterful job of marketing the benefits of hybrids and, for a great many people, hybrids are an excellent means of saving on fuel and reducing emissions (not ...

What is a continuously variable transmission? 6 months ago on Autoblog Green

As much as many of us would love to park our fossil-fuel-burning internal combustion engines for good in favor of electric or hydrogen-powered cars, that's not likely to happen on a grand scale in the next several years. Like it or not, we've managed to create a technology that's proven so ...

Green car info for people who are new to green cars - introducing Greenlings 6 months ago on Autoblog Green

For the past few months, we've been running a weekly series on AutoblogGreen called Greenlings. Now that the archive has been built up a bit, it's time to formally introduce the series to you, explain what it's about and invite you to help us out. The idea behind Greenlings is to step aside from ...

How can I live without a car? 6 months ago on Autoblog Green

Overall, the trend for the upcoming years will be more and more cars, maybe up to 3.5 billion around the world (there are about 800 million on the roads today). Cars like the ultra-cheap Tata Nano are opening the door for more and more people to own their own car, and a lot of people are eager to ...

Can we build a better battery with lithium? 6 months ago on Autoblog Green

While lead acid batteries have energized electric cars for most of the motoring age and nickel metal hydrides (NiMH) have helped hybrids return high gas mileage numbers more recently, the future seems to securely belong to lithium batteries for both applications. With all that's riding on this ...

What is a mild hybrid? 7 months ago on Autoblog Green

People like to categorize the world. It helps our brains figure stuff out, because we can only manage so much information. Lumping things into bins helps get information down to a manageable level. Unfortunately, most things don't readily fall into discrete categories. Hybrid drive technology ...

Can I run a car on natural gas? 7 months ago on Autoblog Green

Can you run a car on compressed natural gas? Yes, you can. Wow, that was easy. I guess we can wrap up this week's Greenlings post quickly. Not so fast. Like just about everything else in this world, the full answer is much more complicated than the simple yes. Here in the United States, there are ...

What is regenerative braking? 7 months ago on Autoblog Green

Ah, fire. One of humanity's oldest ways to generate energy. Technically, you could generate energy by burning brake pads, as seen in the picture above (thanks, Flickr!), but automotive engineers have managed to come up with a way to use brakes to generate energy without going up in flames. The ...

What are the benefits of charging stations vs. battery swaps vs. home charging? 7 months ago on Autoblog Green

As electric vehicles (EVs) slowly emerge back into the transportation picture after 100 years of semi-hibernation, consumers may be faced with a paradigm quite different from the regular visits to the gas station most are used to. The three leading new options to re-supply our autos with energy ...

What is a series hybrid/extended range electric vehicle? 8 months ago on Autoblog Green

Ever since the debut of the Chevrolet Volt concept in January 2007, the arguments have come fast and furious abut whether it is a hybrid or an electric vehicle. Technically, its actually both. There are those who insist on calling the Volt and similar vehicles from Chrysler, series or serial ...

What is cD and why does it matter? 8 months ago on Autoblog Green

Aerodynamics. When discussing overall efficiency, sometimes it's easy to overlook just how important the shape of an automobile is in determining how fuel efficient it is. Aerodynamics is the reason that the new Honda Insight looks so similar to the Toyota Prius and it's also the reason that the ...

What should I consider before buying a "green" car? 8 months ago on Autoblog Green

Car sales have totally tanked. So what good is a post on buying the right green car? Well, the reality is that most people in the U.S. still need a car to get around and, with the possibility of a "cash for clunkers" deal moving through Congress, why not start to think about getting a new car? ...

What are some advanced battery basics for beginners? 8 months ago on Autoblog Green

Electric cars have been with us since the very beginning of the automobile age and from that time until now, its most important component has been the battery. It stores energy chemically until it is needed to create the electricity that powers a vehicle's motor. There have been different types ...

How do power-split parallel hybrids work? 8 months ago on Autoblog Green

Over the past decade, if there is one word that has become synonymous with green motoring it is hybrid. Ever since Toyota launched the first modern commercially viable hybrid with the original Prius (above) in 1997, over one million of them have hit the roads. Of course, as is so often the case, ...

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