EarthFueled.com - hybrid articles

Genetically Modified Rape Taking Over North Dakota

Tagged with:

hybrid

Published Aug. 8, 2010 at 2:33 a.m.

794721-genetically-modified-rape-taking-over-north-dakota

Image: joeshlabotnik, Flickr Back when the bright yellow flowers were still known as Rape or Oilseed rape, Brassica napus produced a bitter oil, unsuitable for human consumption and used mainly to lubricate machines. Canadian researchers bred an edible hybrid known as "Canadian Oilseed, Low-Acid" -- or Canola, for short. Today, Canola oil claims to be one of the healthiest cooking oils, with high Omega-3 levels. Increasing use of C ...

Read

Post Talkback

New Battery-Testing Technique Could Mean Faster Electric Car R&D

Tagged with:

hybrid

Published Aug. 4, 2010 at 12:35 p.m.

794717-new-battery-testing-technique-could-mean-faster-electric-car-r-amp-d

Photo: Flickr, CC Not Sexy But Useful Some of the most important scientific and technological breakthroughs are the invention of tools that allow you to make better tools, or to do research faster. The general public never sees these things, but it still reaps the benefits. A new technique to test electric car and hybrid car batteries more quickly might just be such a breakthrough, because it could allow engineers to know within weeks how a new battery chemistry performs instead of having to

Read

Post Talkback

GM to Boost Volt PHEV Production Capacity by 50% in 2012

Tagged with:

hybrid, plug-in, volt

Published Aug. 3, 2010 at 2:25 p.m.

794718-gm-to-boost-volt-phev-production-capacity-by-50--in-2012

Photo: GM From 30,000 to 45,000 Units Thanks to strong interest by the public, GM has decided to boost production of the Chevrolet Volt plug-in hybrid by 50% in 2012. This means that instead of making 30,000, they'll make 45,000 at the Detroit-Hamtramck plant. The company is probably hoping that it can improve the economics of the Volt by reaching economies of scale faster than initially planned, and it no doubt feels Nissan breathing down its neck with its cheaper LEAF el ...

Read

Post Talkback

Sanyo's New Battery Factory Can Make 1 Million Lithium-Ion Cells Per Month

Tagged with:

hybrid, solar

Published Aug. 2, 2010 at 4:45 p.m.

794719-sanyo-s-new-battery-factory-can-make-1-million-lithium-ion-cells-per-month

Sanyo showing off its solar panels. Photo: Sanyo That's a Lot of Batteries Sanyo has announced the completion of its brand-spanking-new battery factory in Kasai city, Hyogo prefecture, Japan. There it will make lithium-ion batteries for hybrid and electric vehicles, bringing Sanyo closer to its goal being a dominant player in the EV market. "The factory will start with a production capacity of 1 million cells per month, with the aim to expand the production scale depending on demand." The

Read

Post Talkback

A Decade of Prius: 1.8 Million Sold, Half in the U.S.

Tagged with:

hybrid, prius

Published July 30, 2010 at 12:30 p.m.

794720-a-decade-of-prius--1-8-million-sold--half-in-the-u-s

Photo: Michael Graham Richard The Little Car that Could The Toyota Prius hybrid has been sold in the U.S. for 10 years (even longer in Japan, where it was first introduced in 1997), and during that decade this car went from a small niche player considered 'weird' by most people (I remember back when the #1 question was "do you have to plug it in?") to a best-seller halo car whose technology has found its way in many other models, including vehicles made by Toyota's competitors. During that

Read

Post Talkback

Australia's First Public Electric Car Charge Station is Go

Tagged with:

hybrid

Published May 25, 2010 at 7:27 a.m.

775906-australia-s-first-public-electric-car-charge-station-is-go

Photos: NineMSN, GoGet, ChargePoint. It was 2005 when we last reported on Australia's pioneering car share business GoGet. The guys have been going places since then, figuring that their service now keeps the equivalent of more than 230 cars off the road, through their more than 26 car share pods in four states (though we suspect the ...

Read

Post Talkback

Toyota Prius Named Top Green Car

Tagged with:

hybrid, prius

Published April 30, 2010 at 9:20 a.m.

Story by Darragh Worland, originally published April 2010 on Tonic.com It's been a rough year for Toyota, which has been plagued by recalls, but the Japanese car maker's top selling Prius is still scoring points for the embattled company. Kelley Blue Book (KBB), the largest auto valuation company in the US, says the 50-mpg Toyota hybrid is the best of the best according to its 2010 Top 10 Green Cars ...

Read

Post Talkback

The Lowdown on Lithium-ion

Tagged with:

hybrid

Published April 26, 2010 at 2:01 a.m.

What do cell phones, laptops, mp3 players, power tools and hybrid cars have in common? All these devices are a viable market for lithium-ion (li-ion) batteries, and the demand for these batteries keeps on growing.While some tout lithium-ion as the ...

Read

Post Talkback

MyFord Touch and Eco-Route Nav Feature Will Help Drivers Save Gas

Tagged with:

eco, hybrid

Published April 16, 2010 at 3:29 p.m.

743961-myford-touch-and-eco-route-nav-feature-will-help-drivers-save-gas

Photo: Ford We've known for a long time that one of the things that makes hybrid cars more fuel-efficient is the feedback that you get when driving them. Having a screen that shows you your instant-MPG and a historical graph is a great teaching tool, letting you know what kinds of driving and routes give the best (and worst) fuel economy. Ford wants to push this a bit further with the MyFord Touch onboard computer and the Eco-Route nav feature (kind of an extension of the SmartGauge in the

Read

Post Talkback

Test Driving Volkswagen's First Hybrid Vehicle: The 2011 Touareg

Tagged with:

hybrid, porsche's

Published March 10, 2010 at 5:58 p.m.

720141-test-driving-volkswagen-s-first-hybrid-vehicle--the-2011-touareg

Photo via MotorTrend VW's 2011 Touareg Hybrid The 2010 Geneva Motor Show was filled with so many splashy auto announcements--Porsche's first ever plug-in hybrid, a new Aud ...

Read

Post Talkback