Ontario Gets Green License Plate for Green Vehicles

Ontario is introducing a "green" license plate for next year. The plate will allow the "environmentally friendly vehicles" that have them to access the HOV lanes, irregardless of how many people are in the car.

The vehicles in question are either plug-in hybrid electric vehicles or electric vehicles. Current hybrids need not apply.

The plates will also give drives access to recharging stations at GO Transit and other provincially operated lots, and parking spots will be set aside at places like Wal-Mart shopping centres and the University of Toronto.

"The McGuinty government's plan is to have one out of every 20 passenger vehicles on Ontario's roads (be) an electric vehicle by 2020. Green licence plates will encourage Ontarians to think green when choosing a vehicle," Transportation Minister Jim Bradley said.

The plate, which features a green border and lettering on a white background, with a trillium, is expected to be available as part of Ontario's Electric Vehicle initiative, which begins July 1.

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Cash for Clunkers Figures From the AP Analysis

The AP finally got its hands on the raw data for claims against the CARS (Cash for Clunkers Program) and some of the deals are eye-raising. Despite it all, the fuel efficiency of trade-ins averaged 15.8 mpg, while the new vehicles averages 24.9 mpg.

The AP has been trying for four months to get the claims data from the administration. And Edmunds and others have been arguing with the administration about the cost and whether it was worth the money.

Some eye-raising stats from the AP analysis.

• Despite the big difference in overall mpg improvement for the program the most common swap made, at over 8,200 times, was an old Ford F-150 for a new Ford F-150. The mpg increase was around 1 to 3 mpg in those trades.
• Thousands more bought new Silverados or Dodge pickups with their trade-ins. In Texas, seven of the 10 most common transactions involved drivers trading old pickups for new ones.
• 677,081 clunker trade-ins cost the taxpayers almost $3 billion to fund. That money went to purchase $15.2 billion dollars in new vehicles at nearly 19,000 dealerships across all of the states.
• Around 95,000 of the new vehicles got less than 20 mpg. That's about one in seven.
• The government is currently investigating $562,500 in rebates that were apparently used to buy new cars that had worse or the same mileage as the trade-ins.
• California had the most deals made with 76 thousand. Texas had 43 thousand (mostly for trucks) and New York saw 37 thousand deals made.
• One dealership had 1,432 sales, worth more than $30 million. The next closest had 672 sales.

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The Top 10 in Gas Mileage

The top 10 list of vehicles with the best gas mileage are dominated by hybrids and diesel engines.  To increase your gas mileage, the best cars for getting the best gas mileage tend to be smaller, but not necessarily so.  Hybrid or diesel engines tend to offset the need to decrease weight, just look at the Ford Escape Hybrid, which shows up ninth on the list.

			MPG
Ranking	Category	Vehicle	City	Highway	Combined
1	Family Sedan	Toyota Prius 4 cyl, 1.8 L, Automatic (variable gear ratios), Regular	51	48	50
2	Small Car	Honda Insight 4 cyl, 1.3 L, Automatic (variable gear ratios), Regular	40	43	41
3	Family Sedan	Ford Fusion Hybrid FWD 4 cyl, 2.5 L, Automatic (variable gear ratios), Regular	41	36	39
3	Family Sedan	Mercury Milan Hybrid FWD 4 cyl, 2.5 L, Automatic (variable gear ratios), Regular	41	36	39
4	Small Car	Chevrolet Cobalt XFE Coupe 4 cyl, 2.2 L, Manual 5-spd, Regular	35	37	36
5	Small Car	Volkswagen Jetta 4 cyl, 2 L, Automatic (S6), Diesel	30	42	35
5	Hatchback	Volkswagen Golf 4 cyl, 2 L, Automatic (S6), Diesel	30	42	35
5	Hatchback	Volkswagen Jetta 4 cyl, 2 L, Automatic (S6), Diesel	30	42	35
5	Station Wagons	Audi A3 4 cyl, 2 L, Automatic (S6), Diesel	30	42	35
5	Station Wagons	Volkswagen Jetta SportWagen 4 cyl, 2 L, Automatic (S6), Diesel	30	42	35
6	Small Car	Volkswagen Jetta 4 cyl, 2 L, Manual 6-spd, Diesel	30	41	35
6	Hatchback	Volkswagen Golf 4 cyl, 2 L, Manual 6-spd, Diesel	30	41	35
6	Hatchback	Volkswagen Jetta 4 cyl, 2 L, Manual 6-spd, Diesel	30	41	35
6	Station Wagons	Volkswagen Jetta SportWagen 4 cyl, 2 L, Manual 6-spd, Diesel	30	41	35
7	Upscale Sedan	Lexus HS 250h 4 cyl, 2.4 L, Automatic (variable gear ratios), Regular	35	34	35
8	Family Sedan	Toyota Camry Hybrid 4 cyl, 2.4 L, Automatic (variable gear ratios), Hybrid, Regular	33	34	33
9	SUV	Ford Escape Hybrid FWD 4 cyl, 2.5 L, Automatic (variable gear ratios), Regular	34	31	33
9	SUV	Mazda Tribute Hybrid 2WD 4 cyl, 2.5 L, Automatic (variable gear ratios), Regular	34	31	33
9	SUV	Mercury Mariner Hybrid FWD 4 cyl, 2.5 L, Automatic (variable gear ratios), Regular	34	31	33
10	Small Car	Toyota Yaris 4 cyl, 1.5 L, Manual 5-spd, Regular	29	36	32
10	Hatchback	Toyota Yaris 4 cyl, 1.5 L, Manual 5-spd, Regular	29	36	32

Diesel fuel has its drawbacks, of course, but so do hybrids. Mostly the issues these days come down to cost, given the nature of 'clean' diesels. Which is why the combination of hybrid and diesel, while it would get very high in gas mileage, is usually considered too costly for mass production.

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Fisker Working With UAW to Work in Delaware Plant

Fisker is negotiating with the UAW to begin working in the GM plant they are in the midst of buying in Delaware. I'd say it's surprising that a new car company like Fisker is ready to jump right into the Union pool, but what do I know about such things? (Source: Fisker, UAW aim to reach labor deal | Industry Summits | Reuters). Based on his quotes, Fisker wants an experienced work force to start with.

Fisker is hoping to close the deal on the plant and the Union before the beginning of next year.

They are looking to export half of the units built in the new/old plant, which is expected to reach 100,000 units annually.

"These guys seem to have it together. If you look at speed of execution for a start-up, it seems sort of amazing what they can do," Gettelfinger (head of the UAW) said.

"We're very hopeful that we'll be able to represent workers there," he said.

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Nightline Going After Surge in Toyota

ABC News (Nightline) is running a story on runaway Toyota cars tonight. I just received the press release.

Refusing to accept the explanation of Toyota and the federal government, hundreds of Toyota owners are in rebellion after a series of accidents caused by what they call "runaway cars."

Safety analysts found an estimated 2000 cases in which owners of Toyota cars including Camry, Prius and Lexus, reported that their cars surged without warning up to speeds of 100 miles per hour.

Toyota says the incidents are caused by floor mats becoming stuck under gas pedals, but owners say that's not what happened to them.

Watch the full report tonight on 'World News with Charles Gibson' and 'Nightline'.

Toyota is in the midst of a recall on all the affected vehicles, while issuing a warning to all drivers. There has been a sudden surge in the amount of communication from Toyota.

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Paice vs Toyota: Follow the Link

This is a great write-up on the Paice litigation against Toyota.

Car Wars: Toyota Locked In Litigation Over Hybrids

Paice doesn't make hybrid cars, nor does it have any plans to do so. Instead, the company's goal is money—getting the maximum royalty fee for every Toyota hybrid sold here using technology that a federal court in Texas already found belongs to Paice.

"It's a death blow for Paice if Toyota is able to take our ideas and not pay for them," said Paice lead counsel Ruffin Cordell, a Washington partner at Fish & Richardson. "These guys have been using Paice's technology for years now."

It makes it hard to sympathize with Paice, when they have no intention of ever building off of their ideas. But at the same time, they did market their work to auto companies. And I do support the idea of patenting your work.

Either way, if you really want the details on the litigation, follow the link above. The write-up takes you through the entire story up to today.

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Toyota Donates Two Hybrids to Cincinnati

Local governments seem to have a love/hate affair going with hybrids. They like the fuel efficiency and green image they present. They like the ability to make a statement about more than just local affairs, i.e. oil dependency. But what they don't like is how expensive hybrids are.

Well, for one precinct in Cincinnati, that's not going to be an issue. Toyota is donating two SUV Highlander Hybrids. The H270 hp Highlander will be used as K-9 Units.

With the addition of two more hybrid SUVs, that will bring the Cincinnati department up to eight hybrids.


Toyota has a special connection with Cincinnati’s K-9 team. A couple of years ago, the automaker helped the police department acquire and train a patrol dog. The dog, affectionately named “Tundra,” after Toyota’s full-size pickup, is considered one of the best canines of its kind in the country. In 2004, the Cincinnati Police Department hosted the 2004 United States Police Canine Regional Trials, and Toyota contributed $15,000 in support of the local competition.

“We are extremely pleased that the Cincinnati Police Department trusts our Highlander Hybrids to the point of adding two more vehicles to their fleet,” said Clyde Dyson, general manager of TMS’ Cincinnati Regional Sales Office. “Toyota has been a strong advocate of local law enforcement for many years, and we feel privileged to be helping them protect and serve the people of the greater Cincinnati area.”

In appreciation to Toyota, the Cincinnati Police Department will be conducting K-9 demonstrations for company employees at the Cincinnati Regional Sales Office on Monday, November 2. These demos are open to the Media and begin promptly at 11:30 a.m. During this event, K-9 officers will conduct simulated scenarios for dogs specially trained in bomb and drug detection and standard patrol situations. A few converted, police-owned Highlander Hybrids will also be on display.

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