The Toyota Prius - A Car to Save the World

The Prius is confirmed to be one of the most well-known hybrids in the US and it's is primarily due to the reputation of Toyota itself. Add to that sensible design and a practical, city-sized ride and you have a car everyone can feel much better about buying and looking good while doing so.

The Prius was launched as a lightweight automobile globally in 2000 although launch of the Prii started in Asia beginning in 1997. The first gen Prius in the US was a great success due to its mixture of contemporary features and design along with its ranking as an Ultra-Low Exhaust Automobile which offered customers the opportunity to get a $2000 tax credit for their purchase.

In 2004 the Prius was remodeled as a mid-size liftback designed to fill the gap between the Camry and the Corolla. Besides all of the other upgrades it is now categorized as a SULEV (Super Extremely Low Pollutants Vehicle) and is certified by Florida Air Sources Panel as an “Advanced Technological innovation Partially Zero Exhaust Vehicle” (AT-PZEV).

So, what do all of the elegant shortened forms really mean? Well, according to the EPA, this year's Prius gets an impressive 48 mpg in the town and 45 mpg on the road. But, asides from the considerable benefits Prius owners enjoy due to its great fuel-economy, the Prius also tells the world that you're environmentally conscious and responsible. The beauty of the car though is that it looks like what you anticipate to see in a hybrid: its got innovative styling cues, flared and expanded headlamps and a liftback that makes your vehicle look like a space probe you would expect to see in intergalactic space.

The Top 5 Electric Cars on the Market

With all of the dire predictions about the environment more and the high cost of gas, more and more people are expressing interest in purchasing completely electric cars. In the following breif post we will take a moment to list the most popular, gas-free vehicles on the market.

1. Nissan is the first automaker to produce an all electric volume in any real volume and, as we have already showcased in a previous post, this vehicle is the Leaf. Nissan Leaf The 2012 Leaf includes DC Fast Charge and backup camera and has a price tag of under $40K. The great thing about the Leaf is that it is battery-electric with a 100-mile range per charge.
   
2. GM currently offers the plug-in hybrid Volt but its first completely gasless vehicle will be the Chevy Spark. According to GM the Spark is the quintessential city-car destined to compete for parking spaces with Smart cars and Mini's from Manhattan to LA. Check out this interesting little blurb from the product page:
   

   Spark be nimble, Spark be quick

   Spark is compact, so we worked a little harder to pack in
   all the attitude we could. What is attitude? It’s five doors’ and
   four seats’ worth of “bring your friends along.” It’s parking
   where most fear to parallel. So the next time someone says
   it’s impossible to keep a car in the city, you can turn to them,
   smile and tell them why they’re wrong.

3. The Ford Focus Electric is available now and is meant to compete directly with the Leaf fro non-gas supremacy. The Focus Electric is, however, a little pricier than the $35K Leaf coming in at around $40K before taxes and title. An interesting side note us that, beginning in 2013, hybrids will also have electric motors and lithium batteries as Ford invests heavily in an electric future. 
   
4. The Mitsubishi i (poor name to be sure but maybe they're trying to capitalize on Apple's success with the vowel) can be reserved for a cool $30K which makes it a steal in comparison to the competition. Closely related but slightly larger than its Japanese cousin, the more powerful U.S. version of the iMiEV has an electric range of 62 miles (EPA adjusted) with a 16kWh lithium battery.
   
5. Our last entry for today is the 2013 Fit EV and will be priced at $36,625. The new EV will use Blue Energy lithium-ion batteries.
   
   Anyone who is interested in a more complete break-down of both the hybrid and completely electric vehicles beig offered in 2012 and 2013 should definitely check out the following link: http://www.cleanfleetreport.com/top-electric-cars-2010/
   
   Thanks for reading and look forward to our next post where we will look into the enviromental impact of all-electric as copared to gas only vehicles. Be well!

Pico y Placa - One City's Novel Way to Reduce Pollution and Congestion

On a recent trip to Ecuador for vacation and to visit family I was impressed by what Quitenos refer to as "pico y placa" which is a law which mandates when a person can use their automobile. In essence "pico" refers to rush-hour (forget about the literal meaning of the word because if you look it up in a dictionary you'll just find that it means "beak") and "placa" is the license plate of a car (the English cognate is "plaque" which kind of makes sense to me anyway). The last digit of your plate number determines which day of the week you cannot use your car between the hours of 7 and 9:30AM and 4PM to 7:30PM.

Some might say that this is more than a major annoyance and that it is an outright assault on personal liberty but I, personally, support the program and would love to see it instituted in NYC and other large North American cities like Toronto, Los Angeles and Chicago. This type of program was first brought into effect in the Columbian city of Bogota and adopted by Quito in 2010. The fines which increase steeply with each infraction and result in impound and jail time on the fourth occurrence are intended primarily to reduce traffic but have the added benefit of reducing pollution from idling cars.

Now, most of my family in Quito think "pico y placa" is a horrible idea and suggest that it has resulted in people buying and registering more cars to circumvent the law but I just don't think so. Ecuador, although steadily developing is still not rife with millionaires and the average salary in Quito is about $300 per month. People making this kind of money are simply not going to be buying new cars so they can drive on one day a week. Rather, it seems that people are being more strategic with their vehicle use and have adapted rather well. I hope to see more low-tech, high-concept ideas for green car use in the future and will be sure to keep my eye out so I can bring you more of this type of news.

"Environmental Art License Plate Frame"
Eco Touch DR-WCW24 Eco Touch Waterless Car Wash 24 oz.
Environmental Test System COO311519 Test Coolant Strip 50-Tube
Eco-look Wood Grain Dash Kits

Your Car's Carbon Footprint and the Zero Fuel Alternatives

We hate to be Debbie Downers at the GAB but with carbon in the atmosphere reaching historic quantities we can't really afford not to draw attention to the facts. Take a look a some of the figures published by  HybridCars.com:

A gallon of gasoline weighs just over 6 pounds. When burned, the carbon in it combines with oxygen from the air to produce nearly 20 pounds of carbon dioxide (CO2). By switching from a gas guzzler to a hybrid, you can literally save the earth a couple of tons of greenhouse gases.

• U.S. cars and light trucks together consume 8.2 million barrels of oil each day. This translates to more than 300 million metric tons of carbon that comes from our cars and trucks every year.
• Our transportation CO2 emissions are the largest source (about one-third) of our CO2 emissions, more than factories, homes, and all other sources.
• According to Environmental Defense, over the past decade and a half, all auto companies have increased their carbon burden by some degree or another. GM is the biggest global warmer, but Prius-producing Toyota has increased its output at an even higher rate.

 Warmer temperatures could spell disaster for any number of reasons ranging from increased range of disease carrying insects to flooding to famine. So, let's all ty to do our part by switching to hybrid or zero-fuel cars like the Nissan Leaf  http://www.nissanusa.com/leaf-electric-car/index.

Once you've got your hybrid or no-fuel car consider adding energy saving window tint from an environmentally responsible company such as eWindowTint.com who manufacture on a small scale and take advantage of per-exisiting urban infrastructure in NYC.

Going Green in Your Car

Currently the environmental situation of our planet looks pretty dire and automobiles and their assorted aftermarket parts and accessories certainly seem to be a great contributor to the damage being done. Although this blog was originally intended to focus on tints and cheap car modifications exclusively we felt that we just couldn't make that our exclusive focus because to do so would be environmentally irresponsible. Besides, there are plenty of other blogs out there concerned solely with products and that have no concern for environmental ethics or the future of humanity on our planet.

Despite the fact that the focus of the blog has changed somewhat we will still be discussing car accessories and new automotive technologies that help to create a more sustainable society. I hope to post frequently throughout the coming months and that our efforts will be appreciated. Take care!

Related Links:
Hot, Flat, and Crowded - Environmental
Eco-Products Compostable Dinner Plate - 9" - 500 ct. - Plates