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Elk Horn, Iowa installs first electric car charging stations in new "Pony Express" lane

Elk Horn, Iowa's website says it is located, "In the heart of Southwest Iowa's picturesque countryside." Google Maps shows just how remote the town is, so it is clear that to make this place a forward-thinking electric vehicle destination takes a bit of chutzpah. While most EV advocates and manufacturers see electric cars as urban runabouts for the near future, Elk Horn businessman Mike Howard thinks that it makes sense to build eight EV charging stations in town. Four – one is solar, the others are connected to the grid – are ... Read more →

VIDEO: DIY Tesla Model S ad shows you don't need a real car to build hype Sebastian Blanco

How much do you like the Tesla Model S? Probably not as much as Kirk Perry (or someone who goes by that name on Vimeo), who just uploaded a homemade video advertisement for the all-electric sedan ...

A.U.T.O. lobbyist Veronica Moss visits, hates the new Times Square [w/VIDEO] Sebastian Blanco

As a lobbyist for the Automobile Users Trade Organization (A.U.T.O.), Veronica Moss calls 'em like she sees 'em. She hates that there are not enough roads for cars, for example. Moss recently ...

Carbon Footprints: Ditch the dog, get a Hummer H2, save the planet? Dan Roth

If you don't like dogs, there's now a new reason to continue avoiding canis domesticus. New Zealanders Robert and Brenda Vale have put forth the hypothesis that the care and feeding of a pooch is ...

SEMA 2009: Toyota auctioning Aemulus Prius for charity Sebastian Blanco

Five Axis brought two modified Pruis models to SEMA this year, and one of them could be yours. The Aerius (which means "belonging to the air," pictured above) and the Aemulus look similar, but ...

X Ray Frankenstein wants to keep Halloween going all year 17 days ago on Autoblog Green

Jesse Field wants your input. The designer of the Xrayfrankenstein, a "revolutionary high-tech ultra-light 3-wheel EV" wrote in to say that the website for the snub-nosed trike is now up and running and ready for critics to take a look. Field wrote: This vehicle was develop by (myself) a ...

Cheap electric car conversions could come from lead acids + supercapacitor 18 days ago on Autoblog Green

There's no debate that batteries for electric cars remain absurdly expensive and one of the main hurdles to widespread EV acceptance. A team of electric vehicle converters at the ChargeCar project at Carnegie Mellon University in Pennsylvania is trying to solve the puzzle by using low-cost lead acid ...

Greenlings: How does weight affect a vehicle's efficiency? 22 days ago on Autoblog Green

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 effort into reducing weight – Lotus set up an entire lightweight structures division, BMW is ...

Drive Smarter Challenge loves a back seat driver, if they're intelligent and green 23 days ago on Autoblog Green

The Drive $marter Challenge was started in early 2008 as a way to share tips on driving while using less fuel. The latest delivery method is a series four winning videos in the Drive Smarter Challenge video contest. The top prize goes to "Backseat Smart Driver," made by David Markus of ...

Some say "No plug, no deal," but not everyone is gonna buy that 28 days ago on Autoblog Green

This week, the Reuters/University of Michigan Surveys of Consumers found that plug-in hybrids have to be "affordable" if automakers think that customers will want to buy them. People are interested, U of M says, but cost is paramount to people deciding to make a purchase. Speaking at the Business of ...

Toyota out of the Chamber of Commerce? Plug in America calls out the troops 29 days ago on Autoblog Green

The Yes Men were in the news recently for a hoax that put the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's lame position on climate change under the spotlight. This week, Move On and Plug In America are pushing an online campaign to get Toyota to stop funding the Chamber's anti-climate lobbying. The campaign ...

REPORT: Michigan universities returning their electrical vehicles because of poor performance 1 month ago on Autoblog Green

Three Michigan universities are not happy with their electric vehicle, and want their money back. Actually, two have already returned their EVs, which were purchased on a trial basis, and Central Michigan University would like to do the same. Citing poor performance, especially during the cold ...

AltCar 2009: Dan Neil, "Some Inconvenient Questions," and GM hints it could sell Chevy Volt gliders 1 month ago on Autoblog Green

On top of the test drives (Wheego Whip), test rides (Coda Sedan) and a visit to the unlimited energy booth, a highlight of the AltCar Expo last weekend was getting to hear the LA Times' premiere auto scribe Dan Neil moderate two sessions called "Some Inconvenient Questions." Neil was lucky to ...

KU EcoHawks turn 1974 Volkswagen Beetle into a biodiesel-electric hybrid [w/VIDEO] 1 month ago on Autoblog Green

At the University of Kansas, a group of students is working small and thinking big. The EcoHawk students are part of a mechanical engineering senior project that is building small, 1/8th scale ecocars and has also turned a beat-up 1974 Volkswagen Beetle into a biodiesel-electric hybrid with ...

AltCar 2009: EF9's "unlimited clean energy" turbine could go into cars, if it works 1 month ago on Autoblog Green

Mark Tanner, who does R&D for EF9 Energy Systems, was pretty wiped out by the time we got to speak with him at the end of AltCar 2009 in Santa Monica last weekend. It's understandable. He'd been explaining how his system for "unlimited clean energy" was supposed to work to hundreds of ...

Vertical bike parking protects from theft, worry 1 month ago on Autoblog Green

Bikes are the most efficient thing on two wheels (sorry, Aptera), but they're not ideal for everyone's city commute. A new vertical parking/shower stall concept from Yinnon Lehrer over at Yanko Design could make biking an easier choice for a lot of people. The main reasons: you bike is ...

eCorolla to debut at Finnish Electric Motor Show [w/VIDEO] 1 month ago on Autoblog Green

The Electric Motor Show kicks off in Helsinki, Finland on the 6th of November and making its proud world debut will be the eCorolla. Just as you might expect from the name, the "eToyota" is an electric conversion of a regular Corolla. So why all the fuss? Well, this particular transmutation is ...

Got 4 or more cars in the driveway? WA$TED wants you! 1 month ago on Autoblog Green

Makeover shows have become a staple of "reality" television in the last several years. After all, who wouldn't want someone to come in and give them an all-new wardrobe, a pimped-out car or a refurbished house. One of the more recent shows is Wa$ted on Planet Green. The show is targeted at ...

EcoCAR, Year Two starts in Boston; student engineers cleaning up the Saturn Vue 1 month ago on Autoblog Green

GM may have discarded the Saturn brand in the company's bankruptcy, but there are still at least 150 young engineers working hard to turn a Saturn Vue into the most efficient vehicle possible. The engineers are all students from 17 universities who are participating in the EcoCAR challenge, the ...

Want an electric Trabant? It's already here 1 month ago on Autoblog Green

While we were enjoying the look of the updated and all-electric Trabant nT concept that made its debut in Frankfurt, reader Nikki made sure we knew that an electric Trabant is already here. As we can see in the before and after pics, the car looks wonderful (if you, like us, are a fan of the ...

VIDEO: Rush runs Leno's Green Car Challenge, takes out Al Gore twice 1 month ago on Autoblog Green

As expected, Rush Limbaugh strapped himself behind the wheel of Ford's specially-prepped electric Focus hatchback as part of Jay Leno's Green Car Challenge last night. We don't mean to brag or anything (well, maybe just a little), but we totally predicted the outcome way in advance of the actual ...

STUDY: Hummer owners believe they've made "a highly moral consumption choice" 1 month ago on Autoblog Green

There probably isn't any one passenger vehicle on earth that earns more ire from environmentalists than the Hummer H2. While the reality of the matter is that most Hummers aren't really much worse when it comes to fuel mileage and overall emissions than any other giant SUV (most civilian Hummers ...

MINI Es gather in Long Beach 2 months ago on Autoblog Green

Yesterday, about 20 MINI E drivers brought their all-electric rides to Jesse James' Cisco Burger in Long Beach, California for a little plug-in love fest. MINI E driver Todd C. was there and sent in some pictures and said that it was the first West Coast get-together for MINI E owners. The ...

New electric motorcycle company, Blindspot Cycles, sets up shop in Colorado 2 months ago on Autoblog Green

There's so much that's cool about how Blindspot Cycles created the "Drag N' Bag" motorcycle in the picture above, it's hard to know where to start. Is it that Blindspot Cycles' owner Chris Ravana gets his supplies (mostly) from junkyards around his home of Ford Collins, Colorado? Is it that he ...

Environmentalists treat Jeremy Clarkson's driveway to a steaming pile of manure 2 months ago on Autoblog Green

There are many things Top Gear front-man Jeremy Clarkson could be labeled as. Celebrity? Check. Petrolhead? Check. Environmentalist? Um, no. Whenever Clarkson has gotten the chance to get some seat time in what might be construed as an eco-friendly automobile, he always seems to find plenty not ...

Pretty in Pics: Leno's electric Ford Focus gets a face, specs 2 months ago on Autoblog Green

The new Jay Leno Show has been given as much push as any new program in recent memory, with a constant barrage on TV, the radio and all over the interwebs. One part of the show that has really piqued our interest is Jay's Green Car Challenge, which puts celebrities behind the wheel of an ...

VIDEO: Who Stole The Electric Car? movie trailer 2 months ago on Autoblog Green

Think the story of the EV1 just isn't funny enough? Directors James and Robert Dastoli are working on a film that turns a bit of EV history into a road-trip comedy. The plot, as described on the Who Stole The Electric Car? website, is as follows: In the year 1995, a self-centered average guy ...

Cross-country algae-fuel caravan arrives in D.C. 2 months ago on Autoblog Green

The cross-country tour featuring the FUEL movie bus and the Algaeus (the Prius running on algae biofuel) and other green vehicles has made it to Washington, D.C. After leaving San Francisco last week, the caravan made stops in Nevada, Michigan and Pennsylvania, among other places. Third Planet ...

Avion withdraws from Auto X Prize, cites increasing costs of participating in 100 mpg challenge 2 months ago on Autoblog Green

Another one bites the dust (see also: LincVolt and HP2G). The Automotive X Prize will not feature an updated diesel-burning version of the Avion prototype from 1984 . Craig Henderson, the president of Avion Car Company, has sent a withdrawal letter to the AXP claiming that the costs of ...

Insight 1G: first-gen Honda Insight with diesel upgrade gets 80 mpg 2 months ago on Autoblog Green

Ever heard of the Insight 1G? Sounds like the name of a first generation of the high-efficiency hybrid, right? It is, but the twist here is that the 1.0-liter, 70 hp gasoline engine has been swapped out in favor of a oil-burning 1.2L PD TDI from Volkswagen, specifically the Lupo 3L. How does the ...

Hydrogen advocate steps off the ABG comment platform 2 months ago on Autoblog Green

Regular AutoblogGreen readers will surely recognize the name Greg Blencoe. The organizing force behind Hydrogen Car Revolution often comments in posts relating to hydrogen and/or plug-in vehicles and certainly has his critics on these pages. Actually, make that commented. Blencoe has made it ...

BMW Blue Dynamics Land Yacht concept gets off on wind power 2 months ago on Autoblog Green

Echoing the design of Richard Jenkins' Greenbird, the wind-powered vehicle that set a land-speed record of 126.1 miles per hour earlier this year, we'd like to present a conceptual design for a BMW Blue Dynamics Land Yacht by Stefan Radev. Purely an exercise in "what if?" the renderings show a ...

El(ectric) Camino takes to the road in Wisconsin 2 months ago on Autoblog Green

For the last month, Tom Leitschuh has been cruising around Racine, Wisconsin in a 1981 Chevrolet El Camino without a single worry about his emissions or the price of gas. The reason is that his El Camino has been converted to all electric power and he generates electricity using wind and solar ...

VIDEO: Zipcar has $1 billion dreams... and 46 members per car? 2 months ago on Autoblog Green

How many cars do you think Zipcar owns around the world? Did you know it was 6,500? How big could Zipcar one day become? How about a $1 billion company? These are two of the numbers mentioned in an interview that CEO Scott Griffith gave to Fortune recently. Griffith also said that, today, Zipcar ...

It's Friday: They Might Be Giants ask "How can you deny an electric car?" 2 months ago on Autoblog Green

They Might Be Giants are proving that Neil Young isn't the only musician who can sing about cleaner transportation. The quirky band is releasing a CD/DVD album Tuesday called Here Comes Science that is geared towards kids and teaching about things like the periodic table and Roy G. Biv, a ...

Can I convert an older vehicle to something more environmentally-friendly? 2 months ago on Autoblog Green

Cash For Clunkers is officially over and helped put almost 700,000 new cars on the road. Now that the easy $4,500 are no longer available to buyers with low-mpg cars, we thought it'd be a good time to answer AutoblogGreen reader Adam's question that he submitted for our Greenlings series. Adam ...

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