Recently we have been seeing a lot more 3-wheelers than we used to. The Automotive X-Prize competition is full of them, with teams hoping to take advantage of the improved aerodynamics and reduced rolling resistance of 3-wheeled vehicles. While many of these vehicles end up looking like space-age ships (ahem, Aptera) or land rockets, the design principles are sound, and can even be cool.

Just take a look at this recent article by Popular Mechanics that looks at some of the historically cool 3-wheelers out there. Despite being around since the beginnings of the car and motorcycle, these vehicles never really took off. I can see 3 good reasons why that is about to change:

• Fuel efficiency: 3-wheeled designs have greater possibility for fuel efficiency, which is going to be a must as we transition away from gasoline and toward alternatives like batteries or hydrogen.
• Speed: 3-wheelers tend to be fast, very fast. Like motorcycles, often much faster than cars. However, they are safer than motorcycles and offer a more conventional drive for the everyday driver/commuter.
• Fun: For most drivers, the biggest difference in a vehicle’s “fun factor” is how well it handles. While the suspension on the average land boat may be getting better, they will likely never rival the sporty feeling you get behind the wheel of a trike.

I, for one, welcome our 3-wheeled friends to share the streets with us any time!

Related posts:

1. Honda Cub Makes a Comeback (Sort Of)
2. Japan: Excessive Idling v. Start-Stop EcoDrivers
3. Just When You Thought Americans Were Distracted Drivers

Though they would have us believe otherwise, in truth the team has been kicked out for failing to completely fill out the registration. The HP2G team is claiming that they left in the latest phases in order to bring their technology to the public in a time of need.

However, that doesn’t jive with the official report from the X-Prize foundation. Nor does it make sense that they would wait all these years to be discredited in the public sphere before rushing to make things public.

Here is the official word from the X-Prize Foundation:

HP2g put out a release last night claiming withdrawal from the Progressive Insurance Automotive X PRIZE as well as making some unsubstantiated allegations. I’d like an opportunity to set the record straight:

As you recall, HP2g was one of over 120 teams that entered the Progressive Insurance Automotive X PRIZE non-binding Letter of Intent program. While Mr. Pelmear states in his release that HP2G voluntarily withdrew from the competition, HP2g actually did not complete the full Registration Application prior to the deadline and was therefore rejected as a Registered Team.

Hopefully this will end some of the chatter around the car, which has nothing but the false claim of 110+ MPG, which is arrived at if you only count the gasoline portion of E85 and not all the ethanol that the car burns.

Related posts:

1. Amazing 110 mpg Mustang Runs on Hot Air and Cattle Manure
2. Kammback Creator to be Inducted into Automotive Hall of Fame
3. Super mileage competition nets 7,148 MPG

What would you say about using “cooked” chicken feathers to store hydrogen very efficiently?  How about using chicken feathers as carbon fiber reinforcement in things like wind turbine blades?

The answer to both questions is — yes you can!

Science Friday: “Hydrogen Storage in Chicken Feathers?”

Researchers say they’ve come up with a new material for storing hydrogen fuel — carbonized chicken feathers. Speaking this week at at the 13th Annual Green Chemistry & Engineering Conference in College Park, MD, researchers said that carbonized chicken feathers could absorb as much or perhaps more hydrogen than other materials for hydrogen storage, including carbon nanotubes or metal hydrides, at a much lower cost.

Link to podcast

Here’s another source:  Happy News

While I’m on the subject of Science Friday, the second segment in today’s show was also very interesting; talking about the enormous potential for wind power to far exceed all our needs.

Science Friday: Wind Energy Potential

Link to podcast

Image source: Just chaos

Related posts:

1. Lease a hydrogen fuel cell car for $315/month?
2. Toyota Promises Hydrogen Car by 2015
3. Honda to Lease First Ever Consumer Hydrogen Car, the FCX

Everyone knows the Smart Fortwo as the tiny, fuel-efficient car you see around cities and parked the wrong direction on crowded streets. However, a lot of people have always felt the car’s Achilles heal was the price tag. With the new “Cash for Clunkers” rebate program, anyone able to trade in will be able to get $4,500 towards the purchase of a new Smart Fortwo, which will put the car within the reach of many people.

However, smart USA has decided to sweeten the pot by offering payments as low as $99/month for recipients of a “cash for clunkers” rebate, which may be the perfect opportunity for interested buyers to get behind the wheel of a Smart. If you are on the bubble because of fuel economy, check out our review where the Smart Fortwo got 45.9 mpg.

As more details come out, we will keep you posted.

Related posts:

1. What Would an Aerodynamic Smart Fortwo Look Like?
2. Smart Fortwo Test Drive: 45.9 MPG
3. LA Auto Show: Ecodriving the Smart Fortwo

For those of us that bought fuel efficient vehicles in the first place, it can sting a little bit to know that the people who made bad vehicle choices in the past are getting $4,500 dollars for a new car while we get nothing.

Well, worry not. This may be of little consolation, but you can now decorate your beautifully used, fuel-efficient clunker with a bumper sticker showing off how great your mileage is.

Personally, I can sport the “My Clunker Gets 60 MPG” sticker. What about you?

Related posts:

1. Even With Cheap Gas, We Still Want Fuel Efficient Vehicles
2. Ford Fusion Hybrid is Surprisingly Fuel Efficient
3. Canada Kills ecoAUTO Program, Rebates to End for Fuel Efficient Vehicles

EcoModder member bondo is well known for his aerodynamic pickup bed cap, which he designed, builds, and sells himself. Recently he hit us over the head with another great aero design, this time a scale vehicle model he donated to the Ford Motor Company to help them pull through their current rough patch.

As you can see in the original thread, bondo built the model himself in his garage and chose Ford as the recipient because of their insistence to go it alone without federal bailout money and because he believes the company is under good stewardship. Personally, I think this this is a great design and Ford is lucky to have it. Congrats to bondo for putting it together.

Related posts:

1. Ford Transit EcoNetic to get 32.6 MPG U.S.
2. Will Ford Make It?
3. 2009 F150 Gets the Cold Shoulder from Ford

With all the new hands-free cell phone laws hitting the books these days, there is a lot of press about the distracted American driver. I am not doubting that. In the old days we had fiddling with the radio. Now we have the cell phone. Soon we will have internet and tv connected cars.

Over the last few years there has been lots of talk about TV and video dash displays in American cars from manufacturers, and lots of argument back from citizens groups opposed to the idea of more distractions on the road.

Well, one thing I have noticed lately is that that dream (nightmare?) is already a reality in Japan. It is not uncommon to see Japanese drivers stopped at lights watching cooking programs or game shows. At night you can see the bright screen lit up in the center consoles of so many cars speeding down the road.

The skeptics are right: once TVs get in cars everyone will be watching. But does that mean they are right that the TV screen will turn drivers into distracted pilots of rolling weapons?

That much, I think, is still up for debate. Of course the driving culture in Japan is different than my home back in the U.S., but unlike my local news, I have yet to see the Japanese TV screen lit up with stories of horrible car accidents and distracted drivers.

Furthermore, my own experience suggests that Japanese drivers are far better, more cautious, and more courteous drivers. Low speeds and narrow roads often mean pulling over to let other cars or pedestrians pass and high volume means a constant need to pay attention.

In my own experience logging hundreds of miles on my bicycle, I have only had one instance where I felt a driver had done something annoying. Even on the busiest roads with no shoulders (including bridges and such) drivers always drive safely.

This experience runs contrary to the idea that technologically connected cars create dangerous drivers. Even if Japanese drivers have a safer baseline, there would be some indication of it if these TV-capable cars really were creating rolling torpedos.

I don’t intend to say distractions aren’t dangerous, but perhaps we should shift our focus from removing distractions to improving drivers and, more extremely, making licenses harder to get.

Photo: Tark Siala

Related posts:

1. Drivers Log 30 Billion Fewer Miles in US
2. Japan: Excessive Idling v. Start-Stop EcoDrivers
3. Why Diesel is Not Going to be a Hit in Japan Anytime Soon

Not too many details are available yet: it has a 1kg tank of hydrogen and a whopping 6kW (8HP) fuel cell that give it a range of 240 miles, and a top speed of 50mph.  It weighs just 350kg (~771 pounds), owing mostly to the carbon fiber chassis.  They are looking to produce 10 next year, and ~50 the year after that, with leases available in 2012, for £200 ($315) per month, including the hydrogen fuel.  Key to their design is efficient regenerative braking (50% returned energy) using some ultracapacitors.

It looks like they are using hub motors in each wheel, and carbon fiber for the chassis.  It does not appear to be on their web page (yet), but they plan to release their plans so that anybody can build one.  I really like this idea of sharing the design information.  The aerodynamics seem to be worked out pretty well — the range of the car with just 1kg of hydrogen is proof of this!  The one (possible) snag is whether or not the side windows are operable — I guess toll roads can be handled with a wireless unit, though.  There is an intake grill, which may be used for ventilating the car.

I have my concerns with hydrogen — you can either get it from processing natural gas (which is obviously not very “green”) — or you need to use renewable energy (electricity from solar/wind/tidal/wave/biomass, etc.) to make the hydrogen.  There is no infrastructure for hydrogen, and this is a nontrivial hurdle.  But with this Riversimple car, they provide the hydrogen as part of the lease.  So this design concept works if you are located close to where they will have service.

Sources: ABG, Autoblitz, Riversimple

Related posts:

1. Honda to Lease First Ever Consumer Hydrogen Car, the FCX
2. Chicken Feathers for Hydrogen Storage and Wind Power?
3. Toyota Promises Hydrogen Car by 2015

At first I thought it was just the little 50cc scooters because their engine size exempted them from many of the Japanese regulations. Then I thought it was just sub 400cc motorcycles because their regulations were less strict. Eventually I realized there were just as many gas-burners spewing black trails of hydrocarbons as there were diesel buses putting out clouds of particulates.

So, what’s the deal? I certainly did not notice this trend the last time I was up by Tokyo. Perhaps rural emissions standards tend to be lower, like in the U.S. Perhaps no one is paying attention.

Either way, it is taught me a valuable lesson about the strict emissions standards we adhere to in the United States. While some in the industry and elsewhere complain that our emissions standards are overly strict compared to more densely populated regions like Japan and Europe, I tend to disagree.

The general philosophy is that Americans have gone nuts trying to reduce emissions to the point that they are no longer a problem. A little but more and we would never even notice, right? Not quite. Sometimes we take out air quality for granted in the U.S. I can remember looking out over the Philadelphia skyline on any number of occasions and never once thinking about automobile pollution.

However, on any given day in Kumamoto, a small city by most standards, it is hard to see the mountains across the city because they are so obscured by the slight haze the always hangs in the air.

So, don’t be tempted to think U.S. regulations are too strict. They may be expensive and a pain for auto companies, but they keep our air clean and the health and human well-being from that is probably immeasurable.

Related posts:

1. Why Diesel is Not Going to be a Hit in Japan Anytime Soon
2. Japan: Excessive Idling v. Start-Stop EcoDrivers
3. Car Culture in Japan

Okay, I know this isn’t official, but I couldn’t help but stop and take a picture when I saw this today.

The picture was taken out at a Toyota distribution lot in the countryside outside of Kumamoto, Japan. It is a busy lot and the stock is always changing. This is the first of three times that I have ridden my bicycle past it when I saw such a site.

Anyway, doesn’t the iQ look like just the car for America? I would say so.

Related posts:

1. Toyota Claims Bigger Engine are Better for Fuel Economy
2. Toyota Ecodrives the New iQ
3. Toyota Takes Over the World…But is it a Good Thing?

To most, the Smart Fortwo is the tiny little city car that you might see parked sideways on the street two to a spot or stuck in traffic somewhere around the city, but to EcoModders the Fortwo presents entirely different possibilities in terms of gas mileage.

The small car has a tiny body, 1.0 liter, 70 hp engine, and the ability to purchase a completely stripped down version. All of those things naturally appeal to EcoModders trying to get the best gas mileage out of a new car without buying a hybrid.

In this review I will go over some of the pros and cons of the Fortwo from a buyer’s perspective, and in a later post I will address some of the ecodriving tips that can be used to get the best gas mileage with the Smart Fortwo.

Fuel Economy (Pro)

My test drive took me around low speed, town, city, and highway driving of all sorts. I made an honest effort to ecodrive the Fortwo, but at the same time did not go easy on figuring out exactly how fast the car could accelerate from a stop. Overall, I would not say I ecodrove the car seriously. In fact, I wasn’t even using real-time fuel economy instrumentation, so I know it could be better.

Nevertheless, I was happy to see the 45.9 mpg result I got from my test drive. Smart’s critics in the U.S. tend to stick on the lack of diesel and the surprisingly low fuel economy rating for the car, so I wasn’t expecting much. However, the Smart Fortwo clearly gets impressive fuel economy by most standards, and has the potential for even better mileage in the right hands.

Definitely one of the car’s biggest pros.

Safety (Pro)

Smart knew it was going to have its work cut out for itself making the public think the Fortwo was safe despite its size. To do this, they made theFortwo  not only safer, but safer than average. The Fortwo has great front and side ratings, due primarily to the car’s ability to transfer impact forces around the cabin. You can see this tech on display in every Smart showroom and read crash survivor stories from Smart drivers here.

Drives Like an SUV (Pro)

The Fortwo is designed with high seating to give the driver a commanding view of the road. When driving the Fortwo I was sitting up higher than most sedan drivers and really felt quite a different driving experience than I am used to. For many drivers, especially those who like the high driving position for visibility, will think this is a huge plus for the Smart. It definitely gives it a much more commanding feel from the inside than you would expect seeing it from the outside.

Drives Like an SUV (Con)

However, depending on who you are, you might not like sitting so high up. For certain drivers this means feeling less connected to the road and a less pleasurable driving experience. Really, this is a personal thing. While I may prefer a lower ride for myself, I think most people will consider the ride height a pro.

Rear Visibility (Con)

The seats in the Fortwo have high backs, which means that the rear view mirror has to squeeze through a small opening to provide rear visibility. However, the rear view mirror does do a good job, and I wouldn’t consider it a problem. Unfortunately, there are the usual blind spots to the rear and sides that seem particularly difficult to surmount while driving the Smart. I am used to turning and checking what I can’t see with my mirrors, but this doesn’t work in the Fortwo and is a little disconcerting.

Easy Ingress & Egress (Pro)

Though I didn’t notice until it was pointed out to me by others, the Fortwo is quite a lot easier to get in and out of than most cars. The seats are at just the right height for the average person and made it easier for my grandfather and mother to comfortably get in and out of. The Fortwo strikes a good height balance between the typical sedan and SUV.

Tight, Hypersensitive Steering (Con)

While I am not usually one to complain about tight steering, the Smart Fortwo seemed a little twitchy to me. In regular, low-speed, city driving, this wasn’t any problem. In fact, I didn’t even notice this until I got on the highway, where at 60 mph I could feel the car moving around under me. Steering is something I am very picky about, but this still isn’t a deal-breaker, as the problem is quite minor.

Price (Con)

The Smart Fortwo I test drove sold for $15,000. When compared with a good deal on a Civic or Corolla, this seems like a lot. Especially for less seats and less options. You can get the Fortwo for as low at $12,000, but very, very few people actually buy the car at this price due to lack of options. This isn’t necessarily a budget car for someone trying to save a lot of money; it is more of a second car for a family commuting to work or adding another driver to the household.

Storage (Con)

During my test drive I had the good fortune of needing to haul a large box of scooter parts to the UPS store for shipping. However, it was quite a pain to get into the car. Even moving the passenger seat as far forward as I could, I couldn’t get it in the back. Smart has cleverly designed fold-flat front seats, so I was able to wedge the box in with the seat down. Even so, it still blocked all vision through the rear view mirror. My other car is also a two-seater, so I know what it is like to have to cram things in, but I could fit the box in my back hatch easily without obscuring my field of vision at all.

While the smart would make a good grocery-getter, I could never take it back and forth to college or to bicycle races as it doesn’t have the interior space for one cyclist and bike, let alone two of each. This may rule out the Fortwo as an only car for many active, outdoorsy types.

Engine Position (Pro)

Unlike most cars, you’ll find the engine in the rear hatch under the spot where you would normally put your groceries. It is easy to get to and all the normal fluids and things are easily accessible, making the sorts of everyday service you would prefer to do yourself quite easy, and even clean. No more messy engine compartments.

EcoDrivability (Pro)

More to come on this in a later post on how to get the best mileage from the Smart Fortwo, but the car definitely has the possibility to surpass the EPA’s fuel economy ratings when driven by the right person.

Automated Manual Transmission (Pro)

Unlike your common slushbox, the Smart Fortwo has an automated manual transmission that can be shifted by computer or manually with the gear selector or wheel-mounted paddle shifters. The paddle shifters may get a bit confusing if you like to shift while turning, but overall they make the driving experience much better. You can shift up earlier than you would ever expect in an auto and shift down early for engine braking. The transmission even disengages its auto-creep function when you are stopped at lights.

Transmission Gearing and Shifting (Con)

To get speed out of the Fortwo’s 1.0 liter, 70hp engine, the car has quite short gearing. This means revving up quickly and shifting often if you want to drive efficiently. There is also a quite pronounced lurch as the car makes it into second gear regardless of what rpm you are shifting at. This was the first thing I noticed about the car when I drove it and one of the biggest complaints I have heard from owners and test drivers.

Cool Factor (Pro)

During my test drive I got lots of looks. I was even stopped in a parking lot and asked about the car. It’s been out on the market for a while, but to most it is still a novel car. Lots of people like the sort of attention that the car garnishes, and if you really want to be on the cutting edge of eco-cool and small footprint driving, this car will give you that feeling.

Interior (Pro)

The Smart Fortwo has very nice fit and finish. The seats feel good and everything seems to be where it should be. The interior is definitely one of the things that would set the car apart from other vehicles with lower price points.

Accessories (Con)

Even though Smart’s wide range of accessories for customizing their cars may seem impressive, you get the opinion that buyers are getting nickel and dimed when it costs $75 for a fuel cover matching the paint of the rest of the car. Even more for a matching grille trim piece.

Overall: Thumbs up

I know I may sound pretty critical of the car, but if you don’t take a critical approach to things everyone would get a good review and there would be no way to tell the difference between the good and bad products. Nevertheless, Smart has put together a good car. It may not suit everyone and every purpose, but it has carved a niche for itself and it does a very good job in that position.

Related posts:

1. Get a Smart Fortwo for $99 a Month
2. LA Auto Show: Ecodriving the Smart Fortwo
3. What Would an Aerodynamic Smart Fortwo Look Like?

The Idler

The Idler is a quintessentially Japanese phenomenon. It may be a taxi driver, construction worker, or just someone eating just-purchased food outside of the convenience store.

Generally you will find the Idler in a parking lot or alongside a less travelled road with the windows up, A/C on, laying back in their seat with their feet up on the dashboard. Depending on what the Idler has for obligations, he might do this for hours at a time, especially if it is a taxi driver trying to keep the cab cool for possible passengers.

Several places in Japan have made this sort of practice illegal because of the pollution and waste of several hours of idling, but it is still incredibly common.

The EcoDriver

Surprisingly, there are also quite a few EcoDrivers in Japan. At first I thought everyone just drove around madly because they had such small cars they got good gas mileage anyway, but I quickly realized that was not the case.

Many times while waiting at stop lights I have heard to roar of engines starting back up when the light goes green. Even some of the city bus drivers are cutting the engine when idling at a light for a long time.

Even more surprisingly, people practice engine off coasting down hills. The other day I was biking out in the countryside to visit a friend of a friend’s tea house, and when returning down the mountain I was tucked in behind a truck with a motorcycle at about 35 mph. When we got to the bottom of the hill a few miles later, the motorcycle’s engine suddenly started up and the ride took off. I didn’t even notice he had the engine off!

Today, in fact, when driving with the owner of the guesthouse I am staying at, I noticed his habit of putting the (automatic) van in neutral when coasting or waiting at stops. Though he doesn’t drive a particularly efficient vehicle or express any concern about gas mileage, he does this simple thing as if it is common sense.

So, are Japanese drivers fuel wasters or fuel savers? I’m not ready to make that conclusion just yet, but it seems that common sense driving practices here have a larger fuel efficiency component than they do back home in the U.S.

Related posts:

1. One Man’s Crusade Against Idling
2. Audi Wants to Take the “Stop” Out of Stoplight
3. Why Diesel is Not Going to be a Hit in Japan Anytime Soon

It seems like a different European automaker is coming out with a new diesel engine or vehicle option every day. Over here in Japan however, there was quite a lot of hype over one or two diesel cars that might be sold by Honda or Toyota in the United States.

Everyone was excited to see the new generation of cleaner diesels from the Japanese companies. Meanwhile, those companies are already selling diesels in Europe and cutting back on their plans to sell them in the U.S.

Is this a mistake?

I think most of us would admit that diesel has serious image flaws in the United States, but that hasn’t prevented VW’s new TDI models from flying off the showroom floors and generating quite a bit of buzz. However, if we are going to understand the reluctance of Japanese companies to bring diesel anywhere, we need to understand the reality of diesel in Japan.

In Japan, diesel is still relatively restricted to off-road construction equipment, big transport trucks, and soot-spewing public buses. The first time I saw one of these buses I thought “wow, how odd.”

Now I know better. At least 50% of buses in my area will leave a huge cloud of poisonous fumes behind it when leaving from a stop. Because I am riding my bicycle behind these buses many times, I am quite aware of how nasty the situation is, and I assure you I am not exaggerating. It is all I can do sometimes to hold my breath until I get through the worst of it and navigate away from the bus in question.

Why are public buses polluting so badly? I can honestly say that I don’t know what the issue is. Perhaps the same emissions requirements don’t apply to public vehicles or my area just has sub-standard diesel emissions requirements.

Either way, I doubt the Japanese who live with it daily have a more favorable view of the situation. If this were my only experience with diesel, I would hate it too.

Related posts:

1. Japan: Excessive Idling v. Start-Stop EcoDrivers
2. Car Culture in Japan
3. Japan’s Polluters, Part II

(Photo: Egan Snow)

For a while now I’ve been mulling over a blog post featuring top online resources about EV conversions: sites that educate, facilitate and inspire.

I already had a short list of what I wanted to point to, but instead of wracking my brain to flesh it out, through chance I found myself mulling over nearly the same list I had in mind over at Nikki Bloomfield’s blog, aminorjourney.com.  (Nikki has plenty of EV experience: she owned and upgraded a City El, and has modified her Toyota Prius to plug-in operation.)

You will of course arrive at link #7 of Nikki’s list and may think, perhaps cynically, “well of course EcoModder would like this list.  It’s ON it!” (We’re recommended specifically for info about efficient driving techniques and aeromods.)

While it is generally true that flattery will get you everywhere, you’ll just have to believe me when I say finding EcoModder there was nothing more than an unexpected bonus (though entirely deserved, it can be argued).

Head on over to aminorjourney’s Ten Top DIY EV conversion links and read Nikki’s reasoning behind each of her selections:

1. www.evalbum.com
2. The EVDL
3. www.KiwiEV.com
4. DIYElectriccar.com
5. EVconvert.com
6. EVCapri.com
7. Ecomodder.com
8. EVparts.com
9. Project Forkenswift
10. WhiteZombie, Blue meanie and Plasmaboy

What do you think?  Are there any must-see or must-read conversion resources that are missing?  Let us know in the comments.

UPDATE: Just found this great link on electric car conversion issues.

Related posts:

1. Three Dirt Cheap DIY Electric Cars - Part 5
2. A $672 electric car, built by two DIYers
3. Three Dirt Cheap DIY Electric Cars - Part 4

Staying in Kumamoto City, a ruralish city in Western Japan on the island of Kyushu, I would like to share a few interesting trends I have noticed (wondering if they ever could or should go to North America):

• Station wagons: In Japan, a lot of new cars being sold are station wagons. Tons of them, in fact. Back in the U.S. I wondered why Toyota was doing something as foolish as bringing the Venza to the North American market when nobody liked station wagons anymore. Clearly the wagon has experienced a resurgence here, and it seems to be Honda leading the way. Perhaps Toyota is trying to head off its rival in the North American market.
• Stick shifts: Yesterday, I caught a ride with someone to take me to the local library since I couldn’t find it and she was driving there already, so she figured she’d show me. Her car was one of Japan’s ubiquitous and boxy little things, which has plenty of room to toss my bike in without any disassembly despite having a smaller footprint than a new Honda Civic, was a stick shift. In Japan you can get even minivans and family runabouts in the stick shift variety.
• Magazines: Just browse the magazine aisle of your local Japanese bookstore. You’ll find all sorts of goodies. Recently, in fact, I saw an entire shelf dedicated to publications on Toyota’s Prius. Ever wondered how to drive a third gen Prius most efficiently? There’s a magazine for that! For the new Insight, too.
• Insight II: Speaking of the Insight, April’s #1 seller in Japan, I have already seen quite a few running around during my cross country cycling trips. Americans may think it looks too much like the Prius, but around here it actually stands out from the pack reasonably. Especially when looking at the prices of Honda’s lineup in Japan.

Those are just a few examples. Hopefully, I will be able to do more than scratch the surface on the car culture here, and I may even be able to bring you a few pages of one of those fancy Prius driving guides! Let me know if there’s anything particular to the Japanese market you want me to check out.

Related posts:

1. Honda Insight Spurs Hybrid Price Wars in Japan
2. Why Diesel is Not Going to be a Hit in Japan Anytime Soon
3. Japan: Excessive Idling v. Start-Stop EcoDrivers

Recently, I challenged members of the EcoModder forums to design an aerodynamic Smart Fortwo concept car. The results were very impressive.

The parameters of the challenge were that the car must be based on the standard Smart Fortwo Coupe and keep the styling of the car consistent. Other than that members could go wild with any sort of ecomod they wanted.

Entries ranged from conservative wheel skirts and discs to full boattails to the Smartera, pictured above. The Smartera, cleverly combining the Smart styling and shape into the Aptera body was the clear winner, both for being ingenious and incredibly aerodynamic. Congrats, botsapper!

To see the rest of the entries check out the image gallery below.

AeroSmart ForTwo Concept Designs

◄ Back

Next ►

Picture 1 of 13

Related posts:

1. Get a Smart Fortwo for $99 a Month
2. Smart Fortwo Test Drive: 45.9 MPG
3. LA Auto Show: Ecodriving the Smart Fortwo

The Metro Buddy, a tiny electric car from Norway, seems to have a lot of the same design inspiration as the Citicar, which was built in the U.S. up until 25 years ago.

Despite its small size, the Metro Buddy will be able to get up to 50 mph and have a range of 50 to 75 miles, depending on which kind of battery pack it is equipped with. Buyers will be able to choose between lead acid, NiMH, and lithium ion battery packs, as well as a large range of exterior colors.

Source: ABG

Related posts:

1. The Geo Metro is Taking Over!
2. BMW Working on Their Answer to the Geo Metro?
3. First Citicar World Gathering in Columbia, Maryland

It seems like every day there are new headlines about automakers closing plants, losing sales, and shutting down dealerships. Still, about every other day, we here about another new economy car breaking even optimistic sales targets and getting huge amounts of pre-orders.

In the case of the 2010 VW Polo that certainly makes sense. Back when the VW Polo was still on sale in Europe is was easily one of the most desirable cars in the world. It was ahead of its time with great diesel fuel economy, a start-stop system, and overall attention to economy first and everything else second.

Unfortunately VW kicked it out of the lineup, but like so many other cars these days (think Insight, Fiesta…) it is making a comeback to combat fuel prices and dwindling crude supplies.

To that end VW has already secured 13,000 pre-orders for the new Polo, which will come with 7 different engine options and a 7-speed DSG transmission. The BlueMotion version is the most fuel efficient model and was rated at 62 mpg (US) in the European test cycle.

Source: ABG

Related posts:

1. New Honda Insight Outsells Toyota Prius
2. Honda Sales Down 34.9%, Fit Sales up 2.3%
3. New Honda Insight Already Beating Expectations

Most of the time these pages are covered with discussion about electric, hybrid, or efficient combustion engine news and opinion. However, there is more to a car than the power source. An under-appreciated, but still very important part of any car is its transmission.

In fact, as far as fuel economy goes, transmissions can either make or break the car. Ever wondered why the Honda Fit or Toyota Yaris gets worse mileage than you would expect? It’s because the transmission has shorter gearing to provide better performance with a smaller engine.

In the above video, GM discusses some of the issues linking the transmission to performance and fuel economy while at the same time highlighting their new 6-speed automatic transmissions. A move to the 6-speed gearbox helps on all accounts because it allows for your gearing to span a greater distance without creating too large of a gap between each individual gear.

In short: on the low end you will get better performance through shorter gearing but on the high end you will get better fuel economy through lower cruising RPM. GM is not the only one doing this, of course, but they do offer a nice explanation of how it works even if they do not go into detail about the associated cost increases.

Source: ABG

Related posts:

1. New Rav4 Engines to be Ultra-Low Friction
2. Honda Working on Variable Compression Ratio Engines
3. Toyota Yaris Diesel Wins World MPG Marathon with 70.49 MPG

This past weekend was the first (and only) Citicar World Gathering in Columbia, Maryland. If you don’t know, the Citicar was a small electric vehicle built in the U.S. between 1974 and 1983 before it was sold off and turned into Commutacar.

In attendance were three EcoModders, two of whom brought their own Citicars down to the event from Wisconsin.

As of this writing the event is still going on, so we can be sure we’ll hear even more once the EcoModders in attendance head home, probably even including some good videos from our HD video wizard, Ben Nelson.

Congrats to all the Citicar aficionados for a successful event!

Related posts:

1. Metro Buddy: A Modern Citicar?
2. New York Auto Show: VW Golf Wins World Car of the Year Award
3. Toyota Takes Over the World…But is it a Good Thing?