(Source; Philstar via ITDP)

NEW DELHI (Xinhua) — Promoting bicycle as a green and healthy mode of transport, leaving their cars behind, New Delhi residents will for the fourth consecutive year, be all set on a Heritage Cycling Ride Sunday morning.

The event, sponsored by Delhi Cycling Club, was started in October 2006 by Institution for Transportation and Development Policy (ITDP), a non-government organization, engaged in research and advocacy for green, sustainable, and equitable traffic and transportation policies and programs.

According to ITDP website, membership of the club is free and open to all the cycling enthusiasts concerned about road safety, environment, climate change, and health and fitness.

To spread the message, the Delhi Cycling Club has formed a google group, says Rajendra, event coordinator for Delhi Cycling Club.

During the 10-kilometer ride, cyclists will stop at several historic monuments. This will help people learn about the heritage and historical monuments of Delhi in an interesting, educative and enjoyable way, the google group information about the club says.

Click here to read the entire article. 

 (Source:  Autobloggreen)

Last month, Germany reported a shocking 21 percent improvement in auto sales, and the greatest driver in the uptick was a used vehicle scrapping plan that pays drivers 2,500 euros ($3,150) to remove their old car from the road. With new car sales in most other countries down by at least that much, it was widely speculated that other governments would look closely at Germany’s new system to see if it would be worth adopting in their areas.

An opinion piece at Automotive News (sub. req’d) suggests that it’s time for the United States to implement its own vehicle scrapping program. President Obama’s recently-passed economic stimulus plan does contain provisions that are intended to help spur new vehicle sales, but has nothing as dramatic as what’s been enacted in Germany. 

Click here to read the entire article.

(Source: Autobloggreen)

California Air Resource Board chairwoman Mary Nichols told an EPA hearing last week that the state would consider withdrawing its request for a waiver allowing it to regulate carbon dioxide. Before that happens though a national standard needs to be put in place. If such a standard were established it would make automakers much happier. Currently, 13 other states have adopted the proposed California mandate. The problem is that the California rule establishes average CO₂ emissions requirements for an automaker’s entire fleet, much like CAFE does for fuel economy. 
With CAFE, the entire sales volume for an automaker is averaged across the country. If CO₂ is regulated at the state level, even though each state has the same standard, automakers have different sales mixes in different states. An average would have to be calculated for the sales in each state. In states more where a greater number of larger, heavier emitting vehicles are sold, automakers may have difficulty meeting the averages while sales in other states where more smaller cars are sold could not be used to offset those. 

Click here to read the entire article.  (Video: Mary Nichols, talking about fuuture of climate regulation)

(Source: Autobloggreen)

Changing the road tax legislation in Germany wasn’t an easy thing to do. Here’s how the new tax works, starting July 1st:  

First, there’s a base tax based on displacement: €2 per each 100 cubic centimeters if it’s a gasoline car or €9.5 if it’s a diesel car. Additional taxes are based on CO₂: for each gram over 120 that your car emits per kilometer, your tax will be increased by €2. That CO₂ limit will drop to 110 grams in 2012 and, from 2014 onwards, it will be 95 grams. So, for example, the new Toyota IQ 1.33, which emits 113 gm/km. The 1.3-liter gas engine will be taxed at 13 * 2 = €26 and the number will stay the same until 2012. At that time, its owner will be charged an extra €6 additional (€32 in total) because 113-110 = 3 grams at €2 each. Then, in 2014, the tax will be even higher: 113-95 = 18 grams, at €2 each, €36 additional (€62 total). I’ll let you do the math with a Porsche Cayenne S.

 (Source: Reuters) 

 (Source: CNN)

One dentist in Iowa found an ingenious way of keeping his chair filled with patients.

You may not have the answer for how to thrive in a lousy economy. I may not have the answer for how to thrive in a lousy economy. But the truck stop dentist figured it out a long time ago.

“When your dental practice is in a truck stop, you don’t have a lot of patients coming in for their six-month cleanings,” said Dr. Thomas P. Roemer. “You have people walking in holding their jaws in pain. Treatment is not optional — they need to see a dentist, and they need to see me now.”

Dr. Roemer’s one-man dental office is inside the Iowa 80 Truckstop, at Exit 284 of Interstate 80, near the small town of Walcott. The complex proclaims itself to be the world’s largest truck stop, and if you’ve never been there — well, the truck stop itself is probably a story for another time. Suffice it to say that the establishment is spread over 200 acres, that it features its own movie theater, a 300-seat restaurant with a 50-foot salad bar, the Super Truck Showroom (more than 75,000 truck-related items for sale, festooned with enough gleaming chrome to make you reach for your sunglasses).

Click here to read the entire article.  (Video is not from the CNN article.  I found it on YouTube)

 (Source:  Time) 

(Source: Washington Post)

But the slow ride may soon be over. The project is one of dozens nationwide that are likely to benefit from President Obama’s initiative to fund high-speed and intercity passenger rail programs, including $8 billion in stimulus money and $5 billion more over the next five years in the administration’s proposed transportation budget.

  (Source: AOL Autos via CNN) 

 Basketball phenom LeBron James has one. As does actor Matt Dillon. So, famously, does politician Al Gore’s son.

A triple digit speeding ticket results in different punishments in different states.

You may think it’s a Bentley, Benz or even a Prius, or the latest celebrity accoutrement, but we’re not talking about that. All of these famous individuals have a speeding ticket citation for allegedly driving above 100 mph.

As the three drivers were cited in three different states, they all face varying combinations of penalty fines, courts fees and possible license suspensions. But even if a prospective fine won’t hit LeBron’s oversized pocketbook too hard, it often adds up to a pretty penny for the average motorist once an insurance adjustment — or policy cancellation — is taken into account.

What does it mean to get caught going triple digits? We take a look.

When you hear about it

Maybe you were driving too fast on a straight section of freeway and heard that ominous siren that means a hefty speeding fine is on the way. Maybe you were opening your mail over a cup of morning coffee and noticed a letter with a funny-looking city insignia on it.

Or maybe you were sitting watching TV when you noticed a police car pulling up outside then heard a knock on the door. However the police got to you — and it varies by the state you live in – you’ve now been cited for driving above 100 mph.

Click here to read the entire article.