Archive for the ‘Biofuels’ Category

Thinking of buying one of the most fuel-efficient cars like the Toyota Prius, the Honda Insight, or even the Ford Focus or Chevy Cobalt XFE this year, but waiting for even lower prices as dealerships become more desperate to move inventory?

That’s probably not going to happen. It’s true that right now many of the fuel-economy leaders are sitting on lots, just begging for a deal, but act fast! Sales of these models have been proven closely tied to the price of gas, which is suddenly quite steeply on the rise.

Factor in that this Memorial Day weekend, many more Americans are expected to hit the highway compared to last year, despite the rise...

An article in Science magazine says that growing corn for ethanol is an inefficient use of farmland. (Of course, if you've been paying attention, this isn't really news.) A better option? Growing trees that can be burned to produce volts for electric vehicles. Sorry, hippie friends.

According to the authors' calculations, an acre of crops, converted to ethanol, would provide about 9,000 miles worth of fuel for a small SUV with a combustion engine. An acre's worth of trees or switchgrass, however, could be converted into electricity and provide around 14,000 miles worth of travel in a similar-sized battery-powered vehicle. Big difference.

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Looks like Bentley Motors can eliminate staunch Islamists from the list of potential buyers for its "greenest car ever," the E85-powered Continental Supersports that debuts at the Geneva Motor Show in March. Green Car Reports’ Editor-in-Chief John Voelcker reported yesterday that Sheikh Mohamed al-Najimi, an Islamic scholar, suggests that simply riding in an ethanol-powered vehicle might well be a sin for Muslims.

Al-Najimi, of the Islamic Jurisprudence Academy in Saudi Arabia, reached this conclusion based on a statement by the prophet that declares any dealings with alcohol - be it purchase, sale, transport, consumption, or manufacture -...