Here at talkgreen, we like to showcase eco friendly things that are “Rockin”. People don’t like boring stuff and boring doesn’t bring change. The car you see in the pictures is called the Vermot AG Veritas RS III Roadster Hybrid and it’s nothing close to boring. This little thing looks like it can literally rip pieces out of the pavement and it’s powered by a V10 delivering 507-horsepower. But wait a minute… this blog is supposed to be about the environment… and you’re probably asking yourself how can a big V10 be anywhere close to environmentally friendly. The answer lies in between the front axles. Continue reading…

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

Each year, International Car Free Day is celebrated in more than 1,500 cities around the world. The Parking and Sustainable Transportation Office has organized once again a wide variety of activities to promote sustainable transportation and a cleaner environment, all the while making the University of Ottawa community aware of the effects of our dependency on cars.

Through the day, there was music, a free bicycle repair workshop, an information fair, electric bike demonstrations, a farmers’ market, a free store, games and a FREE barbecue sponsored by the Office of Risk Management.

During this event you were also able to donate your old mountain bike to “Bicycles for Humanity”.

TalkGreen is currently looking for writers who could be part of the team. Here are the topic that we write about:

If you are interested in becoming a writer for TalkGreen, please send an email to writer.search@talkgreen.ca with your contact information and the reasons why you would be a good candidate for TalkGreen.

We have been talking about the Th!nk City a few weeks back but we never would of thought this car would be coming to the U.S. market. The EV that really drives like a car will be sold for a rumored sub-$25 000 price point. It’s intended to be in showrooms in 2009. More information has come out on Reuters via Th!nk’s venture capital partners Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers and Rockport Capital. Ray Lane, a managing partner at Kleiner and chairman of Th!nk North America, said today “In a couple of years, we hope to be selling 30-40-50,000 cars per year.”

Th!nk’s VC partners’ high profile participation in the electric car maker’s U.S. launch is evidence of the greater attention being paid to battery electric technologies after an initial preference for biofuel development.

Via: Auto Blog Green