The World's First Production Hybrid Motorcycle (really more like a noped – a moped sans pedals, if you ask us) is about to go on sale in India, and it will return about 280 miles per gallon with a top speed of 40 miles per hour. If that top speed seems a bit on the slow side, well, that's what you get for the low, low price of $855.

Eko Vehicles, a manufacturer based in Bangalore, developed the vehicle with assistance from U.S.-based Emerging Technologies. The ET-120 uses a 70cc gasoline-powered engine mated up with a small electric motor, and the company claims the machine will offer performance on par with a typical 120cc powerplant.

So, it may not be as interesting as electric motorcycles from Brammo or Zero, but it will also be much more accessible to a lot more users than most other competitive products, save, perhaps, for the ubiquitous Honda Cub. And it comes with a five-year warranty, to boot.

[Source: Eko Vehicles via Wired]

How long has the U.S. Postal Service been using zero-emission vehicles? If we don't count horses, then the answer isn't 2001, when the USPS began using all-electric Ford Ranger EVs to deliver mail in California and Washington, D.C. No, the mail was delivered via electric vehicle all the way back in 1899. That's when a Columbia electric automobile astonished people by setting a speed record for mail collection, as described in a new In The Driver's Seat post by Linda Nicholes and a USPS PDF. And, to fit in with the holiday spirit, let's not forget this line: "In 1909, electric mail trucks were put in service in New York City and Boston. During the 1911 Christmas season, New York's electric vehicles operated night and day, with batteries and drivers changing every eight hours." EVs were used in New York City until around 1917.

Returning to the present day, there's a reason Nicholes is writing about the USPS and EVs. Congressman Jose Serrano has introduced a bill that would pave the way for 20,000 modern-day electric delivery vans to be put to USPS use. Considering the duty cycle that many mail delivery trucks are put through – 25-mile routes, on average, lots of stops and starts, and driving through residential areas – a lot of mail EVs could be just the present that Nicholes is wishing for.


[Source: USPA via In The Driver's Seat]

'Twas the ABG before Christmas, and all through the green car world,
the sound of EV and H₂ infighting ceased to be heard;
The infrastructure debates were put away for the night,
They'll return soon enough, in the New Year's bright light;

The SVO was filtered by the restaurant with care,
In hopes that a new old Mercedes soon would be there;

When out on the highway, there came zero clatter,
Since electric drive means no noise, to better hear the radio chatter;

Away to the future, the new gasoline alternatives flew,
Shiny they were, amazing and new;

Now Volt! now Tesla!, now, Karma and Leaf!
On, Equinox! on Fluence! on, Triac and TDIs all!

We heard them exclaim, as the drove out of sight,
Clean driving to all, and to all a good-night."

(Hey, we're bloggers, not poets. Check out Santa posts from previous years here, here and here.)
Photo by kevindooley. Licensed under Creative Commons license 2.0.

After the call for offers by La Poste, the French Postal Service, a 250-unit contract for electric delivery vans has been awarded to the Citroën Berlingo First. The model, which is based on the standard Citroën Berlingo, features batteries and a powertrain developed by Venturi. The specs? A three-phase electric motor good for 42 kW (57hp) using nickel and sodium chlorine batteries that provides a range of 100 km (about 60 miles) with a maximum speed of 110 km/h. Using a standard European 220V plug, an 80 percent charge takes 5 hours. Life expectancy is about 1,000 cycles. Work-wise, the Citroën Berlingo First is able to load up to 3 cubic meters (105 cu. ft.) and 500 kg (1100 lb) of payload. These electric vans will join the first 100 electric quads, called Quadéo, which are used for the postal service in the 7th and 8th districts of Paris

[Source: Venturi and La Poste]

Fiat's rumored 2-cylinder engine has finally been confirmed for the Fiat 500 and will start production in Poland next year. The small displacement engine, called SGE, uses all the goodies from Multiair technology and is able squeeze three different power levels from the out its 900 cc. There is an aspirated version good for 64 hp and two turbo versions able to produce 80 and 105 hp, all in line with the current 4-cylinder engines that are currently used for this model. Fiat could also use these engines to power other cars across the range, such as the Fiat Panda, where this engine was first featured as a concept, or the larger Fiat Punto, where sub-100 g/km CO₂ figures will be available for gasoline models.



[Source: Motor Report]

Want to ride a scooter but just can't seem to fit one into your lifestyle? Is that because you can't fit your lifestyle onto your scooter? If so, perhaps you should consider a new four-person Vespa like the one seen above. It will easily accept one rider and three extra passengers, and, being based on the Italian scooter company's GT platform, it should have no problem reaching highway speeds. City maneuverability? Well, that's another question.

Want to see one under the tree? Sorry to burst your bubble, but Vespa has no plans of actually offering anything like this for sale. The machine you see here was built by Vespa South Africa as a promotional tool, but it's reportedly a fully functional machine. According to a Vespa spokesperson, "You won't have a problem finding passengers for this scooter. Park it anywhere, and in minutes you'll have a queue of admirers." We certainly don't doubt it.

[Source: motoring.co.za via 2StrokeBuzz]

We're not entirely sure what to make of reports regarding Isuzu's tie-up with General Motors for diesel engines that seem to conflict with one another, but here we go anyway. According to Bloomberg, Isuzu is considering whether it should end its joint venture with The General for the production of large-displacement Duramax diesel engines.

PickupTrucks.com adds that GM has its own excellent team of diesel engine specialists that are fully capable of designing the automaker's next heavy duty truck engines. In fact, the 4.5-liter diesel that had been planned for light duty applications was wholly engineered by GM. Okay, got it.

But wait. According to Green Car Advisor (sadly without citing sources), Isuzu has proposed that it develop a new HD diesel engine for GM. Both reports could be true; Isuzu may have decided that it should continue to work with GM, and that could have led to the proposal, but we can't say for sure.

GCA also indicates (again, without citing a source) that GM and Isuzu are also in talks that would have the Japanese company take the lead in developing new pickup trucks for Southeast Asia and South America. GM's current Chevy Colorado and GMC Canyon pickups share common underpinnings with trucks that Isuzu developed for overseas sales.

[Source: Bloomberg, PickupTrucks.com, Green Car Advisor]

Italian magazine Quattroroute is reporting that Ferrari will show its first road-going hybrid next March at the Geneva Motor Show. The concept is reportedly based on the the 599 GTB and is expected to use a derivative of the kinetic energy recovery system (KERS) that was used on the Ferrari formula one cars during at least part of the 2009 season.

The KERS setup and the concept road car both used a lithium ion battery pack. According to the diagram published in the magazine, the road car will have the battery and the power electronics mounted on either side of the rear transaxle. An electric motor is incorporated into the transaxle itself. If the road car is similar to the race car, this will essentially be a mild hybrid system providing automatic start-stop, regenerative braking and electric boost. Judging the situation by the battery size, the Ferrari won't offer any pure electric propulsion. The system is expected to boost urban driving mileage by over 30 percent from the current 8.7 mpg (U.S.) to a slightly less miserable 13.8 mpg. Thanks to Daniele for the tip!

[Source: Quattroroute]

Electric vehicles moving on electrons generated from coal are cleaner than gasoline-powered vehicles, but those coal plants are still pretty dirty. Not everyone is in favor of coal-powered EVs, but it's hard to argue against shifting power generation from coal to renewable resources. Thankfully, there's one big hint that the U.S. is starting to move away from coal plants: the quiet.

Sustainable Business reports that no new coal plants broke ground in the U.S. 2009 and that total coal use is down this year, according to data from the Energy Information Agency. Also, 26 coal plant proposals were "defeated or abandoned," this year. Bruce Nilles, director of the Sierra Club's Beyond Coal Campaign, told SB that, "Although there are still about 90 remaining proposals, the landscape has shifted 180-degrees." With all of this popular opposition to coal, will we see a similar shift of support to renewable options, which are often more expensive, in 2010?


[Source: Sustainable Business]
Photo by brownpau. Licensed under Creative Commons license 2.0.

Ballard Power Systems has announced that it has received a $24 million contract from Daimler to supply its FCvelocity fuel cell systems. At the beginning of 2008, Ballard sold off its automotive fuel cell assets to Daimler and Ford but retained its commercial business for heavy duty and stationary applications. The FCvelocity systems are designed for applications like trucks and buses.

Daimler recently unveiled its latest-generation Citaro FuelCell hybrid bus, which uses the fuel cell in a series hybrid configuration. The first thirty of these buses are due to go in service in 2010. Ballard will start deliveries in April 2010.


[Source: Ballard]

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