It may not be surprising that any politician from Illinois, the United States’ second largest corn-producing state, supports ethanol, but in Senator Obama’s case, this does come as a bit of a shock. I don’t like to inject EcoModder into political discussions very often, but when it comes down to our possible future president and [...]

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That’s right, EcoModder is going to be at this year’s Hybrid Fest!  On July 19th& 20th I will be holding down the fort in Madison, Wisconsin. That’s quite a drive for me (925 miles from my home in NJ), but I think it will be worth it in order to hang out with some more [...]

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A year ago, EcoModder forum member Ben Nelson got an old, non-running motorcycle and converted it to electric drive. He’d never had a motorcycle before and wasn’t an expert with electric vehicles, but in true DIY nature, he learned as he went along.
The bike was never designed to be a fast, flashy race bike, [...]

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image: Mr. Thomas
A few months ago Daimler reported that they were testing 100 electric versions of its Smart car in London, and that if all went well they would work on putting the car into production for the general population to buy. Well, now Daimler CEO Dieter Zetsche has said that all did go well. [...]

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If you haven’t noticed, people aren’t exactly keen on driving trucks and SUVs these days. This isn’t just affecting commuters, but also city governments, businesses, and truckers. Just last month the F150 finally fell from it’s position as the best-selling vehicle in the US, and now it’s come out the Ford is delaying the release [...]

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Image: 顔なし
Even though you may remember the US version of the Suzuki Swift as the nerd-chic Geo Metro or Pontiac Firefly, the rest of the world currently thinks about the car as that sweet looking subcompact owned by the family down the street. This current incarnation was released in Japan and Europe in 2004, and [...]

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Earlier I talked about how March represented a dramatic drop in vehicle miles traveled, but that’s nothing compared to a recent report stating that Americans have cut back 30 billion miles over the last six months. The drop was measured between November 2007 - April 2008, and compared to the same period from a year [...]

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Gen-I Matrix/Vibe:
+ FE vs. Cargo and Passenger Capacity
+ Fun to Drive (especially handling)
+ Added Feature Content
- Uncomfortable Driving Position
- Hodgepodge of Toyota and GM Parts
- Spartan Interior
“New United Motor Manufacturing Inc.” or NUMMI is printed on stickers under the hood. What’s up with that?
That’s the name given the to the GM/Toyota joint venture in [...]

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Okay, so maybe the car itself won’t be coming back from the dead, but it’s very possible the name is. ABG reports that even though the Insight will not be coming back to Honda showrooms, the name might be. The coming years will be big for both Honda and Toyota, with lots of new hybrids [...]

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Who says racing has nothing to do with fuel economy? Honestly, I was rather shocked to hear about the prominence of hypermiling techniques in racing, especially NASCAR. Perhaps the revolution is hitting home with more people than the news would lead us to believe. Here’s the word direct from Earnhardt and ESPN:
Knowing the race was [...]

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