(source: GizMag via Gizmodo)

Driving would be way more fun if we didn’t have to worry about the whole gas and brake thing, right? Sentience understands this, and their intelligent cruise control means you can finally forget about it.

(Source: Freakonomics,New York Times via Planetizen; Photo Courtesy: respres@Flickr)

• Los Angeles Transportation Facts and Fiction: Transit
• Los Angeles Transportation Facts and Fiction: Freeways
• Los Angeles Transportation Facts and Fiction: Smog
• Los Angeles Transportation Facts and Fiction: Sprawl
• Los Angeles Transportation: Facts and Fiction, Introduction

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Here is the article on Driving and Delay:

Time to bring the quiz to a close. We’ve seen in past posts that, by the standards of U.S. cities, Los Angeles is not sprawling, has a fairly extensive transit system, and is decidedly light on freeways. The smog situation has vastly improved. The final two stereotypes await.

Thanks to the great distances between far-flung destinations, and perhaps Angelenos’ famed “love affair” with the car, Angelenos drive considerably more miles than most Americans. 

Answer: False.

 According to the Federal Highway Administration, Angelenos drive 23 miles per resident per day. This ranks the Los Angeles metro area 21st highest among the largest 37 cities. The champions (or losers) are probably Houston, followed by Jacksonville and Orlando, all of which are over 30 miles per day. New Yorkers drive the fewest miles (17 VMT per resident per day), thanks in large part to relatively high transit ridership and lots of walking trips.

Despite our reputation, we Angelenos don’t exhibit any particularly great predilection for freeway travel either. Los Angeles ranks 14th out of the 37 largest metro areas in terms of highway miles driven per resident per day. To be sure, this is above the median, but it hardly points to the sort of unique freeway fetish Angelenos are accused of harboring.

(Source: Treehugger)

Is this the “Holy Grail” Battery We’ve Been Waiting For?

Click here to read the entire article.

This image below has been going around the internet for quite a while and is quite popular in teh urban planning circles.  Treehugger had a post today and I captured it for you all.  Here is that striking picture from Muenster, Germany.   I am sure you will think twice before you start the car tomorrow..

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(Source: TreeHugger)

Image: Press-Office City of Müenster, Germany

And That’s Just Space…
They say an image is worth a thousand words. In this case, it really is. You can write about urban planning and air pollution and traffic congestion, but the three photos above show you at a glance the difference between these three means of transportation. And space isn’t everything: Cars also cost more money, pollute more, increase risks of obesity and all kinds of diseases, etc.

Click here to read more.

(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: Autbloggreen) 

The Autoblogger says “2008 saw the biggest drop ever in CO₂ emissions from new vehicles sold in the UK, with a year over year reduction of 4.2 percent. Wtih a fleetwide average of just 158 g/km, cars amount to just 11.5 percent of total UK carbon dioxide emissions. The combination of rapid escalation in fuel prices in 2008 and congestion charges in cities like London undoubtedly pushed many car buyers to some of the low emissions specials like the VW Polo BlueMotion, Smart ForTwo CDi and Ford Fiesta ecoNetic.”

(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.

(Source:  bizjournals.com; Photo courtesy: AndrewJ@Flickr)

AT&T Inc. announced Wednesday that it will spend more than half a billion dollars over the next 10 years on alternative-fuel vehicles.

The Dallas-based telecom giant (NYSE: ATT) will invest $565 million on about 15,000 vehicles over the next decade, including $350 million on 8,000 compressed natural gas vehicles — the largest investment in that vehicle type by an American company in history.

The remaining $215 million will be spent replacing more than 7,000 passenger cars with other fuel-efficient models.

“AT&T and other U.S. corporations have a unique opportunity to partner with the new administration as it works to lead the country out of this economic downturn,” said Randall Stephenson, chairman and chief executive officer of AT&T. “This investment is a first step on our part to help boost other industries while at the same time encouraging wider use and production of efficient vehicles and domestic fuel alternatives.”

Billing it as a way to not only go green but also create infrastructure and jobs in a flagging economy, AT&T said its spending will either create or save about 1,000 jobs each year for the next five years. Both the chassis manufacturing and the conversion to CNG will take place domestically.

(Source: Autobloggreen)

Do you live in Paris and want to buy a two-wheeled EV? If so, you are eligible to receive €400 (or up to 25 percent of the purchase price) for an all-electric scooter. You might wonder which electric scooter models are currently available in France. There’s the neo-retro eSolex, a few EVTs and many more that qualify for the money, as long as they don’t go faster than 50 km/h (30 mph). The city has proudly announced that your new ride can be recharged at any of the 40 charging stations distributed around Paris, and the recharge is free!

Click here to read more.