Gas 2.0

Yen Goes Up, Mazda Goes Down
A Brief History of Hybrid Cars Gives a Sense of Deja Vu
EV 2.0 Powers Up the Grid

Posted: 08 Sep 2010 10:22 AM PDT

The Japanese yen is currently trading strongly against the US dollar, having – as I write this – just come down from a 15-year high. This is bad news for any Japanese manufacturer hoping to sell small cars in the US, but it’s especially bad news for Mazda.

Mazda has announced several potentially important new green technologies in recent weeks (click here, here, and here for just a few examples) and, unless something changes for them soon, the future of those innovations is clouded by serious, “capital-D” Doubt.

Find out more about Mazda’s yen-anxiety, and what they plan to do about it, after the jump.

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A Brief History of Hybrid Cars Gives a Sense of Deja Vu

Posted: 08 Sep 2010 10:19 AM PDT

If you think hybrid-electric vehicles are a 21st Century exclusive, think again. General Motors showed off (working!) hybrid prototypes in the 1960’s…

…and the technology was already more than 60 years old! Take a trip with me, into the forgotten history of hybrid cars, after the jump.

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EV 2.0 Powers Up the Grid

Posted: 08 Sep 2010 10:12 AM PDT

The Truth About Cars blog is reporting that Japan is busy laying the groundwork for a next-generation EV infrastructure that will integrate electric vehicle systems with the nation’s power grid, enabling power to freely flow to (and from) future EVs.

More about what TTAC is calling “EV 2.0″, after the jump.

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