Eco-friendly car news

Sometimes cars are a necessary evil, and not all of us can afford to shell out five figures for a hybrid. In our travels, we’ve stumbled upon this site: http://www.greencar.com

It’s an aggregate of news as well as features on green cars for eco-conscious consumers. A rolling news feed features topics such as: Hydrogen speed record attempt; Campaign for Plug-Ins; Multiple Vehicle Ownership up; Ready for the Hydrogen 500?, and Biofuels Power Jet Engine, among many others.

The site is attempting to bridge the gap between the car enthusiast and the eco-conscious consumer.

Other recent eco-friendly car news:

Volkswagen to offset projected emissions of Cars

Read the post here:
http://www.environmentalleader.com/2007/08/30/volkswagen-to-offset-projected-emissions-of-cars/

Summary: Volkswagen of America plans to offset the carbon emissions of projected consumer use. From September 1, 2007, until January 2, 2008, vehicles sold by Volkswagen will have carbon emissions offset for the first year of ownership.

In addition, the Volkswagen site will show the carbon footprint calculation of vehicles alongside statistics on fuel efficiency, speed, and price, when they use the “Build a VW” feature, according to VW.

The offsets, from Carbonfund.org, will support the land acquisition and reforestation of 1,100 acres of habitat in the Lower Mississippi Alluvial Valley, Louisiana. The offsets will be based on the average annual emissions for each different type of model sold in the four-month period.

Volkswagen says it will encourage customers to continue to offset their emissions via a carbon calculator on a Volkswagen of America micro site hosted by Carbonfund.org.

Ford Motor Corporation To Install Patented Fumes-To-Fuel System

Read the article here
http://www.greenbiz.com/news/news_third.cfm?NewsID=35835

According to a company press release, Ford Motor Corp. announced that it would install its patented Fumes-to-Fuel system at its Oakville, Ontario, Assembly Plant, which will convert emissions from its paint shop into electricity.

The system will launch with an internal combustion engine before shifting to a stationary large-scale fuel cell to boost effectiveness. The company will buy the DFC300MA fuel cell from manufacturer FuelCell Energy Inc. The fumes from the paint solvent will get transformed into 300 kilowatts of green energy.

The technology was launched as a pilot installation at the Dearborn Truck Plant using a 5 kilowatt fuel cell. A year later, Ford installed installed technology at its Michigan Truck Plant using a 50 kilowatt Stirling engine to generate electricity.

The Oakville system announced Thursday will launch with a 120 kilowatt internal combustion engine before shifting to the 300 kilowatt fuel cell, which is expected to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 88 percent and eliminate nitrogen oxide emissions completely.