Gas 2.0

Urine: The Hydrogen Fuel of the Future?
Zero S Electric Motorcycle Test Drive
Toyota to Launch Overpriced Plug-in Prius in 2012: $48,000 for a Minor Upgrade
McDonald’s Debuts Plug-In Car Charging Station
Consumer Reports: Insight is ‘Most Disappointing’ Honda In a Long Time

Posted: 06 Jul 2009 01:05 PM PDT

Could this be what the future of fuel looks like?

Pee. What can’t it do? From its reputable use as a fertilizer to questionable use as a hangover cure, urine has way more uses than you might imagine (or even want to know in the first place). Seriously. Some people even claim drinking it makes you healthier. Sounds completely quack to me, but what do I know?

Actually. Scratch that. This I know: drinking your own pee is universally questionable behavior.

But in the realm of interesting uses for your own bodily fluids, using urine as a source of hydrogen to power the cars of the future is a serious undertaking and based on completely sound science.

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Zero S Electric Motorcycle Test Drive

Posted: 06 Jul 2009 10:55 AM PDT

The US electric motorcycle market is a niche within a niche. Motorcyclists still represent a tiny fraction of the traffic mix in the country where the automobile is king. While most motorcycles get better mileage and have lower emmissions than most cars, they still run on gas.

There are very few electric motorcycles on the market, even fewer being mass manufactured. The one that comes closest to performing like a “real” motorcycle is the Zero S. This 17hp machine with 60 foot pounds of torque is actually more enjoyable than some of the gas-powered bikes in the same horsepower class I’ve ridden. The massive torque of an electric motor makes the Zero the envy of all low-power motorcycles.

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Toyota to Launch Overpriced Plug-in Prius in 2012: $48,000 for a Minor Upgrade

Posted: 06 Jul 2009 09:57 AM PDT

Over the holiday weekend, Japanese news daily Nikkei reported that Toyota will start mass producing plug-in hybrid vehicles in 2012.

The plug-in Prius will have a reported all-electric range of 12.4-18.6 miles after a full charge, and will cost $48,000—roughly twice the price of the regular gasoline-hybrid Prius.

Considering that a used Prius can be converted into a plug-in hybrid today for less than $15,000—giving the car the same or better statistics and driving range—I’d have to ask: what the hell is Toyota thinking?

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McDonald’s Debuts Plug-In Car Charging Station

Posted: 06 Jul 2009 09:33 AM PDT

Come July 14th, a new “green” McDonalds will be opening in Cary, NC. It will be the first U.S. location for the fast food chain to offer electric car recharging.

The restaurant–located at 1299 Kildaire Farm Road in Cary–will be using a ChargePoint station to provide the service. ChargePoint is a private fee-based network of charging stations. They provide grid access and related services for owners of plug-in cars.

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Consumer Reports: Insight is ‘Most Disappointing’ Honda In a Long Time

Posted: 06 Jul 2009 03:00 AM PDT

It seems that in the quest to sell the cheapest hybrid they possibly could — a “hybrid for everyone” as Honda’s tagline goes — Honda has majorly skimped on some truly essential bits. Have they made a critical strategic error?

As detailed in the just released August issue of Consumer Reports magazine, out of a crop of 22 small hatchbacks and wagons, the Insight — Honda’s much-touted all new Hybrid — came in 21st on the road test with one of the worst performances CR has seen from Honda in longer than many of the editors at the venerable publication can remember. The only car in that group to fare worse on the road test was the Dodge Caliber.

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