Monday, April 12, 2010

Gas 2.0

Gas 2.0

Electric Chevy Spark Heading To India

Posted: 12 Apr 2010 05:45 PM PDT

While we tend to focus on the needs of the American motor public here on Gas 2.0, the fact of the matter is there are two huge countries who are going to dominate the transportation equation in coming decades. I am referring of course to India and China. GM and Ford both already have their toes in the Chinese waters, posting impressive sales gains. But India is dominated by microcars and Tata, the largest domestic Indian automaker. GM and Ford need something big to break into the market… and by that I mean something very small.

To this end, GM is planning on introducing an all-electric version of its Spark — which will be coming to the US as a gas-powered car — to select Indian markets. But will the fiscally frugal country spend the extra rupees for an electric car?

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Detroit To Add 30 Miles Of Bike Paths

Posted: 12 Apr 2010 05:40 PM PDT

I’ve only visited Detroit once, half a lifetime ago. Even though it was so long ago, I can still remember some of the urban decay and the sense of desolation that permeated the city. Still, I like Detroit. It is home to America’s car culture, and it used to be a bastion of the middle class. But it is in desperate need of revitalization, and lots of ideas are being proposed to save the city, like urban farming.

Before these radical ideas can transform Detroit though, baby steps need to be taken to better the present state of the city. To that end, the Motor City is planning to add 30 miles of bike lanes to its vehicle-centric grid.

As it stands, Detroit has a few disjointed bike lanes across the city, but nothing of the sort to encourage biking en masse. For decades Detroit has emphasized roads at the expense of pedestrians and bikers, and with good reason. Detroit thrived during the 1950’s and 60’s due to its car culture. But times have changed, many jobs have left and are not coming back. People are trying to get away from cars and save money on other ways of commuting. Biking is one of those ways out, and Detroit seems to be listening.

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Brazilian Sugarcane Ethanol Launches Marketing Blitz in Face of U.S. Tariffs

Posted: 12 Apr 2010 09:59 AM PDT

Calling themselves the “underdogs,” the Brazilian Sugarcane Industry Association (UNICA) has today launched an advertising campaign and a new website, sweeteralternative.com, to bring awareness of the successes of the Brazilian ethanol industry to a U.S. audience.

The UNICA campaign claims to simply educate the U.S. about how beneficial Brazilian sugarcane ethanol is for both consumer’s pocketbooks and the environment… but the way I see it, the marketing is clearly aimed at changing the subtext of the convoluted tariff and taxation systems currently in place that have essentially banned the importation of Brazilian ethanol into the U.S.

Not coincidentally, those tariffs are expiring at the end of this year unless congress renews them.

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U.S. ‘High Speed’ Rail Service Sees Big Increase In Ridership

Posted: 12 Apr 2010 09:12 AM PDT

I am lucky to live in the Northeast, at least when it comes to trains. We’ve got the only “high speed” rail service in the country, and I can hop a train to just about anywhere in between Boston and Washington D.C. It is cheaper and less aggravating than driving during rush hour, though it isn’t what I’d call a smooth ride.

But that hasn’t stopped riders from taking to the rails in increasing numbers. Amtrak posted an overall 4.3% increase in ridership for the first half of their fiscal year in 2010, and they say they are on the path to beating their annual ridership record. One of the biggest jumps was seen on the Acela “high speed” rail service, which posted a 14% jump in ridership. Are Americans ready to take back to the rails en masse?

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