ePower Synergies Inc. is a “designer, developer, and manager of transportation systems for sustainable eCommunities.” The company would like to offer Niagra Falls tourists the chance to rent a ZENN Neighborhood Electric Vehicle. According to The Buffalo News, Brian M. Klumpp Jr., vice president of marketing and sales for ePower, thinks electric vehicle rentals would be "a great way to help attract people to this neck of the woods." Local Tourism Advisory Board member Debora Krieger pointed out that "Earth's Favorite Vehicle's" 35-mile range would leave ZENN drivers attempting to nip across the border into Canada stranded somewhere between Lewiston and Niagara Falls. What then? Ever the pragmatist, Mr. Klumpp Jr. said they'd tow 'em back.

Thanks to a Ohio ban on indoor smoking enacted last November, Honda's Buckeye state employees may no longer indulge in the evil weed inside the plant. In response, Honda's tobacco addicts began driving off the property, parking at the sides of nearby roads, lighting up and then (presumably) tear-assing back to the plant. The local county sheriff's office became concerned about hundreds of people parking and puffing along the roads. According to MSNBC, Plan C: Honda will create outside smoking areas on their property. Smokers will also be able to partake in their own cars on Honda's parking lot. The automaker remains committed to its anti-smoking program, but the new policy makes sense, as workers get a half-hour lunch break and two 10-minute shift breaks.

While Toyota has declared itself fully committed to a hybrid-powered future, Honda's hedging its bets. Honda is developing hybrids, more efficient gas-powered engines, clean diesels and now, biomass. Working with non-profit partner Research Institute of Innovative Technology for the Earth (RITE), Honda says they've developed a new bacterial strain that produces large volumes of ethanol. The microorganisms munch on widely-available waste products including wood, leaves and plant stalks to ferment sugar into alcohol. Quoted by Reuters, RITE's chief researcher at their molecular microbiology and genetics lab didn't beat around the bush. Hideaki Yukawa claims his team has cracked the biomass nut: "This achievement solves the last remaining fundamental hurdle to ethanol production from soft biomass." Next year, Honda plans to set up a test plant (so to speak).

The Orange County Register reports that dozens of investigators from the Orange police and the county DA’s office raided a local Nissan dealership on Monday. According to the report, Douglas Nissan stands accused of using stolen pay stubs, driver licenses and social security numbers to secure car loans. “There may have been thousands of fraudulent loans processed with the stolen identities of thousands of unsuspecting people," the Chief prosecutor explained at a press conference held in front of the dealership. "The vast majority of the victims were Hispanic." And behind him… it was business as usual. Even as officers carted away hundreds of boxes of lease documents, dealer jackets and loan applications, customers continued shopping. “The only thing going on here is a big sale," claimed a manager. Talk about dedication.

CNN Money recently named Google as America's top workplace of choice. Among the Googliscious perks: free meals, a swimming spa and access to on-site doctors. Some 1300 people apply per day. In Italy, college grads seeking similar satisfaction send their resumes to the home of the Prancing Horse. Paddock Talk reveals that a study by Stockholm’s Universum Communications says Italian engineering, science and economics students consider Ferrari their ideal workplace. Ferrari’s training initiatives, culture and wellness plan make for a happy workforce. Yeah okay, but what about “employee pricing?”  

The Motor Authority says the the flying Wallenbergs have joined a consortium in the hunt for ownership of Volvo. The Swedish family already control an investment group that owns an 11 percent stake of Scania, the truck-maker. In his book "The Rise of the Wallenbergs," author David Bartol claims the W's are serious players, controlling most of Sweden’s top companies. “In no other Western country, does a single family enjoy the same degree of influence or authority." There is some irony here. Henry Ford was one of the world's most notorious anti-Semites. Raoul Wallenberg was famous for saving tens of thousands of Hungarian Jews from the Nazi slaughter.

“It’s more fun to drive a slow car fast than a fast car slowly,” is a common aphorism in these parts. But slow racing? The UK’s Slow Car Club is for drivers who want to race “without going to all the bother of buying a fast car, getting a racing license, or doing any tuning.” South Dakota’s SC (Slow Car) Racing club shares their lack of motivation. Organizer Trevor Puckett proclaims “We are not out to have the loudest car, the brightest underglow, the better brand name, or who can break the law the most in one night, we are all about a driver's skillz, and to have fun.” Our news peg for this story? The Slow Car Club holds its next event on September 2; they need all the advance warning they can get.

If patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel, then death is the only refuge of a camera-craving road safety campaigner. As far as these well-meaning advocates are concerned, if a single roadside surveillance device saves a single life, then it’s fully justified. Never mind scientific distinctions between “speeding” and “inappropriate speed.” Never mind government studies that place red light running near the very bottom of the list of accident causation. Never mind concerns about the erosion of personal privacy. One life trumps all.