| Florida’s High Speed Rail Already Running Into Problems Posted: 30 Mar 2010 09:44 AM PDT 
High speed rail in the United States is off to a clumsy start. After the Obama administration announced it would be dolling out billions of dollars to high speed rail projects around the country, states started putting together project proposals and the like to get their cut of the funding. Then the numbers came in; California would get a lion’s share of the money, followed by the MidWest, Florida, Texas, and the Northeast. Unfortunately it looks like the most “shovel ready” of the HSR projects, the proposed line between Tampa and Orlando, is already running into problems. For one, it wouldn’t make the commute between the two cities all that much shorter… so why bother? (more…)  |
| Tax Cars Based On Engine Size? Posted: 30 Mar 2010 08:39 AM PDT 
There are lots of ways our government is trying to gently nudge (or coerce) automakers into making more fuel efficient cars. There are of course the upgraded CAFE standards, which demand a fleet-wide fuel economy average for cars of 35.5 mpg by 2016. The Feds have also given out billions in low-interest loans to electric car makers and alt-fuel startups. But what about a tax? As it turns out, the Peoples Republic of China already imposes a tax on engines with more than 2.0 liters of displacement, and Washington state has also considered just such an idea. But is it a good one? (more…)  |
| It’s Official: Nissan LEAF Electric Car Will Cost $32,780 – Could Be $20K After Tax Credits Posted: 30 Mar 2010 08:02 AM PDT 
Over a morning conference call for just a few members of the media — of which I was happy to be a part during my layover in Seattle on my way out to the New York Auto Show — Brian Carolin, Nissan’s Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing, spilled the long-awaited pricing beans on the upcoming Nissan LEAF electric car. Contrary to some of the recent rumors, at a base price of $32,780 it is relatively affordable… so affordable, in fact, that, after the $7,500 federal tax credit, Nissan is able to offer the LEAF for a lease price of $349 a month not including generous state incentives. When you add in some of those — like a $5,000 tax credit in California, up to $6,000 in Colorado, $5,000 in Georgia, and $1,500 in Oregon — all of a sudden you might be talking a final price of around $20K. (more…)  |
| Make Quiet Waves With an Infinyte Electric Boat Posted: 30 Mar 2010 07:27 AM PDT 
I’m not much of a boater. To be entirely honest, open water with no land in sight kind of scares me. But I’ve managed to make it on a few boats, and the one thing I always noticed, and hated, was the noise from the outboard motor. It can be impossible to have a civilized conversation even at half throttle. The other problem is that these engines suck down gas like it is going out of style. That is why I like this electric boat from Infinyte. It replaces the big, stinky outboard with two 2 horsepower electric motors, resulting in a quiet and civilized journey. (more…)  |
