(Source:  AASHTO)

Enactment of the FY 2010 budget resolution “will be the starting point as the House considers the new surface transportation authorization bill,” Kansas Secretary of Transportation Deb Miller testified today before the House Budget Committee.

The International Energy Agency on Friday lowered its estimate for global oil demand in 2009 as the crisis curbs demand in the United States, Russia and China.

The agency said demand would drop for a second consecutive year for the first time since 1982-1983.

In its closely watched monthly survey, the IEA cut its forecast for demand this year by 270,000 barrels a day to 84.4 million barrels a day — 1.5 percent lower than a year earlier.

The Paris-based agency said demand for oil last year was estimated to have slid 0.4 percent to 85.7 million barrels a day.

To put that into some kind of concrete yet still unimaginably large and therefore abstract terms, the IEA estimates that the world will consume 270,000 fewer barrels of oil every day. On a related not, a professor at Cambridge University is predicting a 40-50% drop in greenhouse gas emissions due to the global economic downturn.” reports GreenDaily.com

Click here to read more.

(Source: Autobloggreen)

 

Last November, when we talked with SmartUSA boss Dave Schembri at the LA Auto Show, he acknowledged that a number of the people who had placed early orders for the tiny fortwo had canceled before taking delivery. At that time, the cancellation rate was about thirty percent, although most of those cars were being taken up by people who wanted immediate delivery. Apparently, that situation has changed as dealers who last year typically had no more than a meager handful of cars in stock now sometimes have dozens. 

Click here to read the entire article. 

(Source: USA Today; Photo: Dmitry Lovetsky, AP)

 

“For so long, Americans have viewed the automobile and the airplane as our transportation vehicles,” says Anne Canby, a former transportation secretary for Delaware and train advocate. “Until now, rail hasn’t been a major player in the discussion.”

Driving the new-found interest in trains is $8 billion that was tucked into the president’s economic stimulus legislation signed last month.

“People in this country don’t appreciate what modern rail travel is,” says Doyle, referring to the 180 mph Talgo system. “It is as smooth as riding in an airplane without any turbulence.”

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(Source:  India Times)

CHENNAI, India:  Chennai metro railway, within a month of obtaining cabinet clearance and awarding contracts for the first phase of construction, touched yet another milestone this week, by employing a European technical consultant for design and supervision of the project. 

Chennai metro rail corporation (CMRL) has awarded the USD 30 million technical consultancy contract to a consortium of five companies named Egis Rail India, led by French transport infrastructure projects company Egis Projects. US-based NYSE listed engineering and architectural design giant Aecom Technology Corporation is part of the consortium. 
While the names of other firms involved in the consortium are not known, an official source confirmed the awarding of the contract to Egis. “The technical consultant will conduct engineering feasibility studies, prepare designs and oversee their execution,” the source said. CMRL, the management consultant, will continue to be the entity tendering construction contracts.

Egis projects, which has been involved in a number of road and rail based projects in Europe, including high speed, light and underground rail lines in France, earns 9% of its revenues from Asia. Its Indian subsidiary Egis India has floated the consortium Egis Rail India, which was one of the two entities, short-listed from six, for the final race to the Chennai metro rail consultancy contract. 

Click here to read the entire article.

(Source: NHTSA)

The website states ” The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has provided the information in this booklet in compliance with Federal law as an aid to consumers considering the purchase of new vehicles. The booklet compares differences in insurance costs for different makes and models of passenger cars, utility vehicles, light trucks, and vans on the basis of damage susceptibility for the vehicle. However, it does not indicate a vehicle’s relative safety for occupants. ”

Click here to print or download a PDF.    Shown below is the PDF version for viewing:

(Source: AASHTO)

(Source: Autobloggreen)

Autobloggreen article says ” One of the problems for some of the smaller teams that want to win part of the $10 million Automotive X Prize is that they might not have enough funds to get their cars into the streets for the competition. The X Prize team is looking out for them, though, and recently posted a notice about Startup Nation’s 2009 Elevator Pitch Contest that is offering cash to the best ideas to come across the Intertubes. Even if you’re not participating in the AXP, you can still submit a two-minute audio or video file here and tell them why you need X million dollars for your idea. The deadline is March 20. ”     Click here to read the entire article.

(Source: Autobloggreen)

Th!nk details U.S. manufacturing, sales plans: hopes to sell City EV for under $20,000

This morning at the Michigan Information Technology Center in Ann Arbor, Th!nk finally gave the media the details of it’s planned expansion into the U.S. market. The short version: by 2010, Th!nk North America hopes to be building electric vehicles in the U.S. These City models (seen above) will be able to go around 70 mph, pass all required safety standards and be targeted at fleet customers, initially. Th!nk NA will be submitting a loan application to the Department of Energy on March 31, and its U.S. plans are dependent on getting this money. Well, Th!nk officials were hesitant to put a firm number out, but Th!nk CEO Richard Canny said that the price to consumers, after government incentives, would probably be under $20,000, but you’ll need to figure in an $80-90 per month fee to lease the battery. 

Click here to read more about this “North American Invasion” plan. 

(Source: TreeHugger)

TH!NK Electric Car Maker Wants to Move to Sweden (or the U.K.)

 Norway’s electric vehicle manufacturer TH!NK has a long and troubled history – gone bankrupt twice, changed hands a couple of times (including a short stormy marriage with Ford) and stopped its production line late last year when the economic crisis hit. But TH!NK’s woes are far from over, it seems, as the company’s leaders try a novel idea: an offer to move TH!NK lock, stock and batteries to a nation willing to prop it up until propserity re-appears. The two current contenders? Battered Britain andSlumping Sweden. Sweden may be in the lead, as Saab has tanked, and Swedish King Carl Gustaf has already reportedly purchased two TH!NK electric vehicles – in blue and gold, of course.

Click here to read more about this “migration” plan.

(Source: Detroit News via Autobloggreen)

 After driving the Chevy Volt prototype and sitting down for a number of discussions, the members of the president’s task force on the auto industry have returned to Washington. While the team was in Michiganover the past few days, they had a chance to see GM’s latest technology, look at what Chrysler has brewing, and spent time reviewing the viability plans of the automakers.

“We have been and will continue to work as hard and tirelessly as we can,” the official said. “This is obviously a very substantial undertaking and we want to move with all deliberate haste.”

The group spent most of the day in Detroit, visiting UAW President Ron Gettelfinger and other union officials in the morning before heading to Warren for meetings with GM and Chrysler.

Advisers to the task force visited Chrysler’s Warren truck assembly plant, meeting Chairman and CEO Robert Nardelli and other top executives, the company said in a written statement.

“In addition to meeting, the group toured the assembly plant and reviewed Chrysler current and future products, including electric and hybrid vehicles,” the company said. The meeting also included Chrysler Vice Chairmen Tom LaSorda and Jim Press and Chief Financial Officer Ron Kolka.