Automakers harnessing new technology to create vehicles using alternative energy. Not since the beginning of the last century has there been this much competition in the automobile industry. I'm not talking about which brands are popular or even which type of vehicle -- sport cars, trucks, SUVs -- are hot but rather exactly what types of engines will power the widest range of cars.

David Booth - The Windsor Star | Canada.com , November 6, 2008

It is a classic road rally, 600 miles from the liberal embrace of Berkeley to the anything-goes lights of Las Vegas. No speeding is allowed, or in some cases even possible. And if you stop to refuel, it had better be in someone’s trash. On Saturday, five teams began the Escape From Berkeley, maybe the world’s most eco-friendly motor race, driving all manner of alternative-fuel-burning jalopies, roadsters, and even a frying oil-fueled Mercedes-Benz, with a single goal: to complete the race using no petroleum. “Gentlemen, start your whatever they are,” the M.C. shouted to begin the race, which offers the winner $5,000.

By Jesse McKinley - The New York Times | Berkeley, CA , October 13, 2008

CSX Transportation believes it has found the answer to the chronic complaint of locomotives choking neighborhoods near rail yards with diesel exhaust with engines that run around the clock. The company will become the first railroad in Illinois to use what the freight industry calls "green" GenSet locomotives. Instead of a single hulking diesel engine, GenSet locomotives rely on a series of electrical generators, similar to the ones that temporarily provide juice to buildings during power outages. "A lot of people think there is a diesel motor powering these locomotives," said Dennis Biegel, CSX's senior road foreman of engines in Chicago, aboard one of the new GenSet models at the company's 59th Street yard. "It is actually done by big generators.

BY Guy Tridgell - The Southtown Star | Chicago, IL , October 12, 2008

The thought of a driverless, computer-guided car transporting people where they want to go on demand is a futuristic notion to some. To Jacob Roberts, podcars -- or PRTs, for personal rapid transit -- represent an important component in the here-and-now of transportation. "It's time we design cities for the human, not for the automobile," said Roberts, president of Connect Ithaca, a group of planning and building professionals, activists and students committed to making this upstate New York college town the first podcar community in the United States.

The Associated Press - IndyStar.com | Ithaca, NY , October 12, 2008

An alternative form of transportation may soon be available to Carbondale residents. Members of the city council will vote tonight on whether residents should be allowed to operate neighborhood vehicles on city streets. Neighborhood vehicles, which are self-propelled, four-wheel motor vehicles capable of attaining speeds of up to 30 mph, are approved as road-ready by regulations set by the United States Department of Transportation, but individual cities and states can choose to outlaw the vehicles on public roads. Cities typically set the maximum speed limit at 20 or 25 mph, according to various state legislation.

By Justin Lange - The Daily Egyptian | Carbondale, IL , October 07, 2008

Traffic was piling up going from West Seattle to Interstate 5 — and that meant Rich Feldman had to drive a few feet and stop, over and over, all the way up the access ramp. As they looked out at the line of cars ahead of their plug-in Toyota Prius, Feldman and the business executive sitting beside him, John Clark, couldn't have been happier. "This is the perfect kind of traffic. We love traffic like this," Clark enthused. A couple of minutes later, Clark peeked at his laptop computer and gave Feldman the good news: "You're at 159 on this trip," he said. That's 159 miles per gallon.

By Alan Boyle | Science editor - MSNBC | Seattle , September 23, 2008

As GM finally unveils their next-gen game-changer, the question on everyone's mind is whether getting your car's power from the grid is better for the environment than getting it from gasoline. The short answer is yes. The long answer... is why you read ecogeek. While the Chevy Volt might appeal to most simply because consumers will get to remove the weekly *gasp* of gasoline purchasing, there are others (like myself) who care more about the car's environmental impact. So this is an important question. First, even if you don't plug it in, this thing is going to be a green car.

By Hank Green - Ecogeek.org , September 16, 2008

Announcements by U.S. cities of subsidy packages for new automobile plants have become commonplace, but the most recent one is fraught with irony. Last week, the city council of Flint, Michigan voted unanimously to grant several tax breaks to General Motors in connection with the construction of a facility that will produce engines for the company’s planned plug-in electric car called the Chevrolet Volt, which is expected to start production in 2010. The deal includes a 15-year, 50 percent abatement of real property taxes on a new 500,000 square-foot plant, a 100 percent abatement of taxes on personal property (i.e. equipment) and the designation of the site as a brownfield redevelopment, which would make the plant eligible for additional state tax breaks. Flint officials have not yet released an estimate of the total cost of the package.

By Phil Mattera - Clawback.org , September 09, 2008

In an attempt to green up the planet, and its image, General Motors will confirm today plans to make half of its 181 plants worldwide "landfill-free" by the end of 2010. That means nothing from their manufacturing processes would end up in a landfill. Ten GM plants, including an engine plant in Flint, Mich., already are landfill-free, and GM will have about 80 more producing little or no waste within 20 months, according to a source who would not be named because the announcement has not been made. GM had no comment. The goal is achieved by finding ways to recycle or reuse more than 90% of materials.

By Sharon Silke Carty - USA TODAY | Detroit , September 05, 2008

If ever there was a car made for the times, this would seem to be it: a sporty subcompact that seats five, offers a navigation system, and gets a whopping 65 miles to the gallon. Oh yes, and the car is made by Ford Motor, known widely for lumbering gas hogs. Ford's 2009 Fiesta ECOnetic goes on sale in November. But here's the catch: Despite the car's potential to transform Ford's image and help it compete with Toyota Motor and Honda Motor in its home market, the company will sell the little fuel sipper only in Europe. "We know it's an awesome vehicle," says Ford America President Mark Fields. "But there are business reasons why we can't sell it in the U.S." The main one: The Fiesta ECOnetic runs on diesel.

By David Kiley - BusinessWeek , September 05, 2008