Green Motoring
MotorWeek was one of the first mainstream media outlets to provide regular coverage of advances in green motoring technologies and the use of alternative fuels. With uncertain fuel prices, MotorWeek continues to give viewers a front row seat as automakers seek to strike a balance between giving car buyers the performance they desire and the fuel economy they demand. It’s said, “They don’t build them like they used to,” and that’s never been more true than right now!
Clean Cities Success: Waste to Fuel
Our success story of the week hails from Hoover, Alabama where renewable biofuels reign supreme. 300,000 gallons of E85 are consumed each year by their flex fuel police vehicles. Hoover leads the state with 88% of their municipal vehicles using some type of advanced fuel, including biodiesel. Commercial B20 is used by their public works fleet, but the city also… Read More
Clean Cities: Propane Taxis
Our Success Story this week takes us to MotorWeek’s hometown Baltimore, Maryland where Charm City is now in the propane taxi game. Veolia Transportation is adding over 50 propane cabs to their checker and yellow cab fleets. The gasoline-to-propane conversions are being done in-house. The 2-12 gallon tanks easily fit in the trunk, while a new dash gauge indicates… Read More
Clean Cities Success Stories: Propane Vans
Our Success Story this week takes us to Kansas, and to Renzenberger Inc—a company that has provided crew transportation services to the nation’s railroads for nearly 30 years. When fuel prices spiked, Renzenberger looked to propane to help control costs. This year their fleet added 20 propane-gasoline Ford E350 passenger vans converted with the Icom JTG system.… Read More
Clean Cities Success: Boulder, Colorado
Our success story of the week comes from Boulder, Colorado, with a city-wide commitment to alternative-fuel vehicles. This lineup of flex-fuel police cars and light-duty pickups is a small sampling of the nearly 200 alt-fuel vehicles put into service since 2001. Along with E85, many of Boulder's maintenance trucks and street sweepers use B20 biodiesel. Propane is… Read More
Clean Cities: Texas Florist Episode 3308
Our Success Story this week takes us to an East Dallas, Texas florist that has used alternative fuel in their delivery vans since 1990. McShan Florist added compressed natural gas vans to their fleet more than 20 years ago to address the growing problem of urban air pollution. In fact, they were a pioneering stakeholder in the Dallas-Fort Worth Clean Cities… Read More
Clean Cities Success: Canyon County E85
Our success story this week takes us to Caldwell, Idaho, where a small county vehicle fleet has made a big commitment to running clean and green. Boasting the only ethanol-gasoline blending pump in the state, the Canyon County fleet of Ford Fusions and Crown Victoria police cruisers fuel up on domestically-produced ethanol. Anti-idling technology reduces fuel… Read More
Clean Cities Success: Delaware Rest Area
The big rig idle reduction movement is going strong in Smyrna, Delaware at the Chauncey O. Simpson Memorial Rest Area on US highway 13. To help eliminate wasteful idling, the state installed 24 electrified parking areas through a federal grant in partnership with the Delaware Clean Cities Coalition… the units allow truckers to shut down their engines completely,… Read More
Clean Cities Success: Biodiesel Program
An award-winning program in Texas is helping to eliminate clogged sewer lines and educate students about the benefits of biodiesel. The Cease the Grease program allows residents to discard leftover cooking grease at 21 sites throughout Dallas—including outlying areas like Cedar Valley College in Lancaster. CVC’s Automotive School has also embraced the program.… Read More
Clean Cities Success: LA Alternative Fuel Vehicles
City of Los Angeles has over 4,400 alternative-fuel vehicles. Everything from gas-electric hybrids to dual fuel refuse trucks to electric cars like the Mini-E. The city field tested 5 Mini E plug-in electrics. City workers said that they were getting about 100 miles on a full charge; recharging takes about 3 hours using a dedicated charging station. For… Read More
Clean Cities Success: Hybrid School Buses
Lansing, Michigan has the state’s first hybrid-electric school buses. Dean Transportation, a locally-owned school bus company, acquired the Thomas Built Saf-T-Liner C2e buses in 2010 to help reduce student exposure to exhaust emissions. The 4 buses use an Eaton hybrid system that combines a diesel engine with an electric motor/generator. Batteries can provide… Read More