When it comes to being green on the roads, Canadians seems to be ahead of Americans. My friend Michael Graham Richard form treehugger wrote an article yesterday about this. In Canada 7 of the top 10 selling cars are small/compact cars the top 3 being the Honda Civic, the Toyota Corolla and the Mazda 3.

Michael noted that according to data from DesRosiers Automotive Consultants: “In 2008, 51.5 per cent of all light vehicles sold in Canada were entry-level — i.e. small — cars.” But what are the reasons of such a difference between Canadians and our southern neighbors. Some may say it’s a financial issue. Americans maybe have more money then Canadians and for this reason they seem to buy bigger cars. Another financial factor could be the fact that gas is more taxed in Canada.

Gas prices have shown to be a big factor in choosing a vehicle. We can take a look at Europe for a good example of this.

This is why many treehuggers think that a revenue-neutral carbon tax is the best way to make things change, and as long as you reduce other taxes (f.ex. the income tax) by a similar amount, you are not adding to people’s tax burden, and you are not trying to pick winners (like those corn ethanol subsidies from a few years ago that will be almost impossible to repeal, or the preference for hydrogen fuel cells that made CARB axe battery electric car programs like the GM EV1).

The Best-Selling Small Cars in Canada
From the Globe and Mail, all dollar amounts in Canadian dollars:

1. Honda Civic
2008 sales: 72,463
Base price: $16,9902. Toyota Corolla
2008 sales: 57,736
Base price: $14,835

3. Mazda3
2008 Sales: 50,317
Base price (sedan): $15,995

4. Toyota Yaris
2008 sales: 40,602
Base price (four-door sedan): $13,999

5. Chevrolet Cobalt
2008 sales: 33,754
Base price (sedan): $15,325

6. Hyundai Accent
2008 sales: 29,751
Base price (sedan): $14,295

7. Pontiac G5
2008 sales: 26,436
Base price (sedan): $15,745

8. Ford Focus
2008 sales: 23,654
Base price (sedan): $17,099

9. 2009 Toyota Matrix
2008 sales: 23,549
Base price: $15,975

10. Nissan Versa
2008 sales: 21,845
Base price (sedan): $12,498

Via Treehugger

Photo: Flickr, CC

If you look at gas prices these days you may tell yourself that its time to buy a big SUV or pick up truck since you can pay less then 60 cents per litre at the pump in some places. If you are one of those people you might want to think again. If you ask me I’m pretty sure that as soon as we start to go out of this recession gas prices will go skyrocketting again. Not only that but you still got to consider the impact on the environment. Things were going very good with eco friendly cars before the recession and it should stay the same now and after.

At the Paris auto show a bunch of new futuristic cars were featured. One of them was the Renault Ondelios which I personally love. The reason being that its a very eco friendly car on the construction portion. Its mostly covered in glass and features a fuel efficient diesel engine.

Now I’ll let the video give you more details on this cars.

This video from watchmojo.com attends the Paris Auto Show to discover the Hyundai i-Blue which is still a concept, for now and the company has declared it to be one of its “advanced low emission concepts.”

Here is a part of the press release from Hyundai on their blue drive technology:

Hyundai´s First U.S. Hybrid System Uses Breakthrough Lithium Polymer Batteries and Leapfrogs Existing Nickel–Metal Hydride and Lithium–Ion Technology

LOS ANGELES, Nov. 19, 2008 – Hyundai Motor America announced today the launch of Blue Drive an environmental initiative which will bring to market a family of eco–friendly Blue Drive products and establish Hyundai as an environmental leader. With Blue Drive products and technologies, Hyundai will be able to achieve a fleet average of 35 miles per gallon by 2015, five years ahead of government requirements. During a news conference at the Los Angeles Auto Show, the company revealed plans for its first U.S.–market gas–electric full hybrid (to be offered in the next–generation Sonata), introduced a sleek crossover concept powered by a turbocharged gasoline direct injection (GDI) engine, and announced future high–mileage editions of the Accent and Elantra, underscoring its global commitment to sustainable transportation.

Blue Drive At–a–Glance
– Hyundai plans to lead all automotive brands in the U.S. in fuel economy by achieving a fleet average of    35 miles per gallon by 2015, five years ahead of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration´s    (NHTSA) deadline, powered by the Hyundai Blue Drive global product strategy.
– Hyundai will begin building a gas–electric full hybrid edition of the next–generation Sonata for the North
American market in 2010. This Sonata will use a parallel hybrid drive system and lithium polymer
battery technology – leapfrogging competitive in–market nickel–metal hydride and planned lithium–ion    applications.
– Near–term, high mileage “Blue” editions of Accent and Elantra will join the Hyundai Blue Drive family in    2009.
– An all–new crossover, shown in concept form with a 2.0–liter Theta turbocharged GDI four–cylinder
engine, is green lighted for the U.S. market. The engine will appear in various Hyundai models in the
future.
– Long–term, the Hyundai Blue Drive family will be expanded to include Plug–in Hybrid Electric Vehicles
(PHEV) and Fuel Cell Electric Vehicles (FCEV).

“Hyundai aims to be the most fuel–efficient automaker on the planet,” said John Krafcik, vice president, Product Development and Strategic Planning, Hyundai Motor America. “We´re aligning our global R&D resources in Michigan, California, Nam Yang, and Frankfurt to develop the Blue Drive technologies we need to achieve our goal – a 35 mpg U.S. fleet average by 2015.”

Hitchsters is an easy-to-use website that conveniently connects travelers going to and from airports so that they can share a ride (and thus split the fare). The Hitchsters.com matching system makes riding in a car to the airport more affordable, more convenient, safer, and more environmentally-friendly.

This idea is especially great because of the fact that traveling by airplane is nothing close to eco-friendly. Hitchsters.com launched this week in the San Francisco Bay Area and they plan to expand to other cities in the near future.

Hitchsters.com helps match people looking to ride-share on the way to or from the airport (SFO, OAK & SJC) and hooks them up with a high-quality, yet inexpensive car service. By doing so a person saves on average $21/ride and reduces their carbon footprint by 30 lbs compared to taking a cab alone.

Hitchsters.com are trying to get the word out to help people save some money and save the environment a bit too. They’ve already launched in NYC and were honored last year by Time Magazine when they were named one of the “50 Best Websites of 2007″.

How it works (form Hitchsters.com website):

Log in to your MyHitchsters account, enter your trip itinerary, and select your saved location. (Not there? Add a new one to your MyHitchsters profile).

When matched, you will be notified with a text message and e-mail containing the first name and cell phone of your co-rider (nothing else is shared). As an additional safety feature, we preserve the phone numbers of all of the successful matches.

A partnering car service calls each party to arrange the ride.

If you are sharing a ride to the airport, then you will only be matched with someone else who is leaving from your area to go to the same airport. If you are sharing a ride from the airport, you will only be matched with someone who is on the same flight (no worries about late flights) and going to the same area you are.

After your trip, you will have an opportunity to evaluate your co-rider, and the limo company, with a “thumbs-up” or “thumbs-down” rating.

Apparently owning a big boat and being eco-friendly at the same time are now possible. Making it’s debut at the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show, the DSe Hybrid 12m from Island Pilot is powered using a combination of diesel, solar, electric power and when the production model comes out it will also have wind turbines to top everything.

Using only solar power the boat can cruise at speeds of six knots with absolutely no emissions which is great for a Sunday afternoon in the sun. On the other side if you need to get somewhere in a hurry you can always switch to diesel and get it gliding at 13 knots. Without the diesel engine running, this sea marvel is almost silent.

The bad side is the $600,000 price tag that comes with it. If your a true greenie and you have the money, Island Pilot is taking pre-orders for a 2009 delivery but be prepared to lay down another $5,000 just to reserve one.

Via: Gizmag and Engadet

The BMW Hydrogen 7 is the world’s first production-ready hydrogen vehicle. Yes it can fully work on hydrogen which I believe make it the world most eco-friendly car.

If the Hydrogen is created from renewable energy, it makes it 100% clean. Than you may ask why can’t you find it in showrooms? Like they say in this video there is no infrastructure to support hydrogen refuelling. If oil producers turned themselves to ward’s making hydrogen instead of digging for oil and causing environmental disasters, we could truly be heading into a greener more sustainable world. But that’s just IF.

In this video learn more about this car the BMW Hydrogen 7. For more information click Here.

One contribution you can make to improve air quality is to increase your use of alternative forms of transportation. In this video clip learn about alternative to driving such as car sharing.For more information click Here

Hi everyone I’m sorry for not posting for a few weeks. I was away on vacation and when I came back I got laser surgery to my eyes so I wasn’t able to sit in front of my PC for a long enough time.

So here is a starter for my comeback. Has always I love to post a video once in a while and I happened to stumble upon this video for watchmojo.com.

It’s a really basic explanation on how to save gas when driving your car. You probably know that there are many ways you can spend less money on gas and reduce your overall fuel consumption but the easiest ones are often the most efficient. Watchmojo.com Veronica Delfino talked to an expert who gave some tips on reducing fuel consumption.

But there’s at least one person who hasn’t had to experience the humiliation of the fill-up more than once this summer. Meet Danni Brancaccio, a college student 20 years of age who has pledged to get through this summer using only one tank of gas.

Her shiny blue-green 1997 Honda Civic gas tank holds 11.9 gallons, and she is sipping that liquid as slowly as she can. The Vancouver, Washington native rides a bike 1.5 miles every morning to her nearby park-n-ride, then takes the bus to her law-clerk job 16 miles away in Portland, OR. Sometimes she catches a ride with her mom, but only if her Mom is going that way.

Her “one-tank-or-bust” idea is resonating with the media, and she’s been featured on ABC and CNN, where she represents herself with intelligence and humor. According to her CNN spot, the benefits of her experiment are not only publicity and money savings — she’s also lost five pounds.

And, it seems like she is walking and riding her way to success. With only a few weeks left in her summer, she’s still got a 1/4 tank left.

I find this kind of effort deeply inspirational, but I still don’t think it’s going to get me on an LA bus. Last time I took the bus, when I first got here 18 years ago, it stopped suddenly in the worst part of town, and the driver then demanded we all get off and wait for another bus, which took another 45 minutes to show. So I’m afraid I’m not the world’s best bus advocate. But hey — I’m only 30 miles from the beach — maybe I can ride my bike, or catch a ride from my mom.

Read Danni’s blog here.

Look at this thing.  It looks like something Doc Brown would drive in “Back to the Future,” doesn’t it?  Or that Woody Allen would steal in “Sleeper”?

It’s the Aptera Typ-1, a prototype three-wheeled, two seater road vehicle that the company claims can get 300mpg in its hybrid version (there’s also an electric version which can go 120 miles on a charge).  For $500 you can reserve one for when they start rolling them out in 2009.

Aptera, which apparently is Greek for “wingless flight,” is a company of a dozen employees based north of San Diego California.  Not only do they intend to sell these babies for “under $30,000,” they also intend to enter the car in the Automotive X-Prize competition.  You might remember the X-Prize, which awarded $10 Million to Burt Rutan for his first private manned space flight.  The Automotive X-Prize, funded by the same group, promises $10 Million to the competitor that can create a car that is mass-produceable and gets at least 100 mpg.

Although it looks like a pretty wide load, the Aptera folks claim that is will fit in a standard parking space.  Still, most parking spaces these days are that frustratingly narrow “compact” deal, so better to park on the street, I’m guessing.

I think I’ll hold onto my $500 and wait to see how the first batch of these performs on the road, but then I might be tempted, just to see the jaws drop when I pull it into my driveway.

Click on the video to see the darn thing in action: