Frankly Green

Making Hybrids Even Greener

November 5, 2008
San Francisco Journal
By Felicity Barringer

Link to Article at NYT.com

Thanks to my father for sending this article!

SAN FRANCISCO — The fig tree and the philodendron are the first things that meet the eye in the repair bay of Luscious Garage. Then the two Toyota Priuses come into focus — one with a slightly dented rear door, the other on a lift with two tires off and rusty brake rotors exposed. Then comes the eerie sense that something is missing: grime.

“You could eat off her floor,” said Sara Bernard, the customer in need of brake repair.

The only hybrid specialty garage run by a woman has opened in the Bay Area, which has more Priuses — 70,000 as of 2006 — than most states. And while its owner, Carolyn Coquillette, has a preoccupation with cleanliness that may not be unique in a mechanic’s shop, her ubiquitous recycling containers (for paper, plastic, rubber, metal and oil) and the solar panels on her roof set Luscious apart. So does its specialty: giving hybrid owners the option of going fully electric.

A Fond Farwell - Sir John Whitmore

My father sent this to me with this note: Dear Frank, This is terrific.  I think I may have told you that Sir John and I had adjacent lockers in The Driver's Club at Goodwood and had a number of conversations about the environment.  Sir John said that he wondered if he even should, as an environmentalist,  be racing.  He taught at UCSB, physics, I believe, and I've seen his work featured in their publications.
Thanks, Dad!

In his final contribution to Telegraph Motoring, John Whitmore decries the arrogance of motor industry bosses

By John Whitmore
Telegraph.co.uk

Link to Article

Few people with even a passing interest in motoring will have missed the media speculation about whether the big three American motor manufacturers are going to be bailed out by the U.S. Government to the tune of another $25 billion. The previous $25 billion was a loan approved in September to be used to fund investment in developing more fuel-efficient vehicles. Republicans, who favour the economic need over the environmental one, want to divert the existing the existing loan, whereas the Democrats want the bail-out to be an additional $25 billion.

But why should they be bailed out at all? The have continued to make obsloete, consumptive vehicles long after their sell-by date, they failed to invest in ecological vehicles soon enough, and they failed to anticipate the market decline due to shor-sightedness or was it obstinacy? Why should the American taxpayer fund their follies?

Link to Article

Thomas Friedman: Win, Win, Win, Win, WIn...

New York TImes
Op-Ed Columnist
By Thomas L. Friedman

Link to Article

How many times do we have to see this play before we admit that it always ends the same way?

Which play? The one where gasoline prices go up, pressure rises for more fuel-efficient cars, then gasoline prices fall and the pressure for low-mileage vehicles vanishes, consumers stop buying those cars, the oil producers celebrate, we remain addicted to oil and prices gradually go up again, petro-dictators get rich, we lose. I’ve already seen this play three times in my life. Trust me: It always ends the same way — badly.

So I could only cringe when reading this article from CNNMoney.com on Dec. 22: “After nearly a year of flagging sales, low gas prices and fat incentives are reigniting America’s taste for big vehicles. Trucks and S.U.V.’s will outsell cars in December ... something that hasn’t happened since February. Meanwhile, the forecast finds that sales of hybrid vehicles are expected to be way down.”

Making Bay Area Friendly for Electric Cars

Erin Allday, Chronicle Staff Writer

Link to Article

Bay Area environmental leaders are counting on a $1 billion investment to build the nation's first electric vehicle network - with service stations to recharge batteries and garages to swap depleted batteries for fresh ones - and finally make the gasoline-free cars practical.

The Palo Alto-based company Better Place says its network of electric-vehicle charging stations will cover the Bay Area by 2012. In exchange for the investment from Better Place, the mayors of San Francisco, San Jose and Oakland announced plans Thursday to collectively create cohesive regulations for electric vehicles that will apply to cities and counties throughout the region.

Charging Stations For Electric Cars Growing in Number

    * Public charging stations for electric cars are sparse around the          country
    * Most electric car owners charge at home while sleeping
    * More public charging stations are popping up in states like                California, Oregon

Link to Article, CNN.com

SEATTLE, Washington (AP) -- Owning an electric vehicle requires more than global-cooling ambitions. It takes guile, planning, sharp vision, a silver tongue -- and a 50-foot extension cord.

Steve Bernheim knows accessible outlets like a firefighter knows hydrants. He has to -- his Corbin Sparrow runs only 25 miles on a charge.

"You do guerrilla charging where you locate these plugs," said Bernheim, an attorney who lives in the Seattle suburb of Edmonds. "I'm an expert at finding them."

Charging Stations for Electric Cars Growing in Number

   

    * Public charging stations for electric cars are sparse around the country
    * Most electric car owners charge at home while sleeping
    * More public charging stations are popping up in states like California, Oregon

Thanks to Jim A. for this link!

Link to Article

SEATTLE, Washington (AP) -- Owning an electric vehicle requires more than global-cooling ambitions. It takes guile, planning, sharp vision, a silver tongue -- and a 50-foot extension cord.

Steve Bernheim knows accessible outlets like a firefighter knows hydrants. He has to -- his Corbin Sparrow runs only 25 miles on a charge.

"You do guerrilla charging where you locate these plugs," said Bernheim, an attorney who lives in the Seattle suburb of Edmonds. "I'm an expert at finding them."

John Whitmore: What Next? Flying Saucers?

My father sent me this article with the following comment: This piece is by Sir John Whitmore who drove for Ford in England in the 60's and with whom I raced at Goodwood.  We had adjacent lockers, and Sir John commented that perhaps, as in environmentalist, he shouldn't really be racing.  I thought this might be some useful food for your website.

Thanks, Dad!

Link to Article

John Whitmore has seen the future. It has neither wheels nor wings, and it is being realized in a laboratory in West Sussex

The motor industry is deluding itself, and kidding us, by showcasing luxury hybrid 4x4s and limousines, or electric sports cars whose carbon footprint is still far larger that of a small diesel hatchback. While they make a positive environmental statement and the investment in new technology is valuable, the vehicles themselves are of little use. They may be a stopgap, but they have no long term future. It is time to move on. Let us take a big leap.

Earthrace - Circumnavigation of the Globe

Thanks to Terry G. for this link.

Earthrace

The goal of Earthrace was to set a new world record for a powerboat to circumnavigate the globe, running 100% renewable biodiesel fuel, and with a net zero carbon footprint.  The amazing Earthrace boat started the attempt on 27 April 2008 from Sagunto in Spain.

After breaking the world record in just 60 days 49 hours and 23 minutes  Earthrace returned to Sagunto, Spain on the 27 June 2008, 12.24.00 GMT/14.24.00 CET knocking almost 14 days off the previous record. tThe journey was almost 24,000 nautical miles fueled by biodiesel to demonstrate the efficiency of, and draw global attention to, the potential for alternative fuel sources.

“This fantastic team of people and our astonishing boat have broken the record by a massive margin" said Pete Bethune, New Zealand skipper and owner of Earthrace,  "I finally feel that all the sacrifices made, especially by my wife and daughters, have been worth it.  I don't even  know how to begin to thank all the individuals and companies that have supported us along the way, some of them since the very beginning over five years ago.  Without them, none of this would have been possible”.

Converting Hybrids to Plug-in Electric

Hybrids trick out, plug in

    * San Francisco garage converts hybrid vehicles to plug-in electric power
    * For $7,500, Luscious Garage converts Prius, Mariner, Escape models
    * How will battery-powered vehicles change the nation's fuel infrastructure?
    * Electric cars don't pollute, but much U.S. electricity comes from fossil fuels

By Marsha Walton, CNN
SAN FRANCISCO, California (CNN) -- The owner of Luscious Garage is wondering whether the electric

Link to Article

Drivers of gas-sipping hybrid vehicles are increasingly interested in converting their vehicles from gasoline powered to electric, according to garage owner and lead technician Carolyn Coquillette.

While drivers of conventional gasoline-powered vehicles complain about higher fuel prices, clients of the San Francisco garage are investing big bucks to make their green cars even greener.

That's being done through plug-in conversions and adding more powerful batteries to currently available gasoline/electric hybrid cars, such as the Toyota Prius.

Converting Gas-Powered Cars to Electric

    * Switching his truck to an electric engine saved one man about $700        in four months
    * As gas prices rose, sales tripled for one conversion parts dealer
    * Some converters are fed up with spending money on gas, foreign oil
    * Others like the environmental bonus of going electric

By Curt Merrill
CNN

Link to Article

ATLANTA, Georgia (CNN) -- Larry Horsley loves that he doesn't buy much gas, even though he drives his '95 Chevy S-10 back and forth to work each day.

Horsley, a self-described do-it-yourselfer, simply plugs his truck into an electric wall outlet in his Douglasville, Georgia, garage and charges it overnight, instead of buying gasoline refined from mostly imported oil.