Steve Titus REALLY hates using foreign oil. The Bozeman, Montana resident began his personal quest for total energy independence by building a plug-in solar – electric vehicle. Titus’ passion then propelled him to develop the Solar Bug, an ATV powered by roof-mounted solar cells. The machine may only go 20 miles per charge, but Titus has his eyes on the prize: “I was tired of going to the gas station,” says Titus. The Bozeman Daily Chronicle reports that Steve and six like-minded friends paraded their rechargeable vehicles through downtown Bozeman on Friday. While one of the participants optimistically predicted that the area could become an epicenter for green vehicle technology (like Portland and Seattle), you gotta credit these guys for their plain talking. “More and more Americans are sick of paying $80 for gas once or twice a week.” 

Want to join the E85 generation but can’t stand/afford the flex-fuel vehicles on offer? CarJunky.com reports that XcelPlus International will sell you a small black box that converts any car or truck to run on ethanol. Designed by AGE Technologies in Brazil, the FlexTek system includes a controller unit and chemicals which “permanently plate internal engine parts to protect them from wear and oxidation.” To assuage the skeptical, FlexTek offers a free warranty covering the box (of course) and (more importantly) the vehicle's engine. While the article proclaims ethanol as a widely available fuel, it isn’t. According to the U.S. Department of Energy's Alternative Fuels Data Center, there isn’t an E85 pump within 75 miles of Saluda, Virginia, where XcelPlus is based.

Right after taking control of the House of Representatives, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi formed a panel to look into global warming. Now she's locked in a battle with House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman John Dingell over proposed CAFE standards, seeking to preserve a rapid rise in the new requirements. Domestic automakers haven't hidden their opposition to Pelosi's plan. Cerberus' Stephen Feinberg claims her approach would raise Chrysler's vehicle prices by $7K apiece. GM Car Czar Maximum Bob Lutz estimates it would cost GM $8K per vehicle. They're all predicting that drastic increases in CAFE would cripple or kill the U.S. auto industry. The result: cutbacks, layoffs and bankruptcies throughout industry. Thousands of industrial workers would lose their jobs. People who belong to labor unions. Labor unions that contributed to Nancy Pelosi's election fund, to the tune of $63K in 2006. In fact, according to Freedom Works, Pelosi ranks ninth overall in contributions from Big Labor AND her largest single contributor was Occidental Petroleum, another industrial enterprise that relies on the auto industry for income. The Nance better watch that whole environmental zealousness shtick– she's biting the hand that feeds.

The San Jose Mercury news reports that the California legislature has pulled over Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger on the good intention-paved road to Hell. If that sounds confusing, that's because it is. The headline: Sen. Dean Florez, D-Bakersfield accused the Governator of rigging state contracts to favor GM products. The story behind the story: federal laws forced the state to buy alternative-fuel vehicles; only "flex-fuel" Chevrolet Impalas and Silverado pickups met the contract requirements. (So Kalifornia bought 1,138 of 'em.) The story behind the story that's behind the story: there's no place to fuel these vehicles with E85, save a privately owned station in San Diego (that the state doesn't use). When confronted with the facts, Florez wanted to know why the State didn't apply for a waiver that would have allowed them to buy "real" green machines. The man who OK'ed the contract had a simple reply: "Demand creates supply." Who knew?

Autospectator reports that Volkswagen has raised the fuel mileage on its already stingy Polo BlueMotion. Powered by a 1.4-liter TDI [diesel] engine, Volksie's miserly machine deploys every mileage stretcher known to mankind, from special transmission ratios to low-rolling resistance tires. Baby Blue was sipping 3.9 liters of fuel per 100 kilometers. VW's boffins "optimized the engine configuration" to squeeze an extra tenth of a liter efficiency from the mini (small "m") mill, dropping consumption to 3.8 liters per 100 klicks. That's almost 62 mpg folks AND it exceeds all Euro-emission requirements for diesels. VeeDub pulled-off this mpg miracle without relying on hundreds of pounds of batteries and electric motors — if you know what I mean.

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.

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).

As Albany legislators head for an 11th hour decision on whether or not to authorize an as-yet-undetermined congestion charging scheme for New York City, anti-charge activists in Manchester [UK] claim that a clear majority of local residents oppose Manchester City Council's plans to implement road tolls. The Association of British Drivers (ABD) reveals that Manchester Against Road Tolls (MART) members hit the streets with an anti-charging petition. Some 81% of 1577 households signed. ABD Manchester Coordinator Sean Corker said "The Manchester authorities have spent £400,000 of tax payers money on glossy leaflets and American models featured in bogus case studies. Despite the huge propaganda campaign, this survey by ordinary people of ordinary people clearly shows that the overwhelming majority of residents object to the imposition of a congestion charge." Will NYC face a similar groundswell? Watch this space.   

Someone ought to tell H2daily.com's wonderfully-named O.J. Fagbire that it's not DaimlerChrysler anymore. And then someone can tell us why the hydrogen-powered Mercedes-Benz A-Class F-Cell goes to Iceland for test, rather than some more polluted country. Isn't Iceland an energy independent country with a limitless supply of geothermal and hydropower energy? Why would THEY need a zero-emissions vehicle? Alternatively, why wouldn't they? Who else can power hydrogen fuel cells without burning hyrdrocarbons to do so? "This means that totally environment-friendly motoring is already a reality in Iceland," says Prof. Dr. Herbert Kohler of DaimlerChrysler. Hey, it's a start.

Congestion charging has been a fact of life in London since February 17, 2003. And now, New York City wants some of those extra tax revenues environmental benefits. Mayor Bloomberg’s hopes for a congestion charge currently face a tight deadline. As Newsday explains, if the New York State Senate enacts a bill clearing the way for a congestion charge on Monday, the city scores a $500m federal grant for its implementation. If not, not. To get it done, Mayor Bloomberg’s Albany shock troops have drafted an “act now, think later” bill. If passed, a 12-member commission will develop recommendations for putting an unspecified congestion charging plan in effect. Now that's what we call forward thinking!