Though it remains to be seen whether this year’s oil and petrol price hikes will prompt a fall in emissions stateside, it’s clear that prior to this summer’s events Americans were failing to get the green message. According to Emissions of Greenhouse Gases in the United States 2007, a report released by the Energy Information Administration (EIA), there was an increase in greenhouse gas emissions of 1.4 per cent over the course of last year. The figures do not make for ... read more

 Green cars are all the rage in the motoring Press with every motor show seemingly devoted to exciting new concepts and talks about establishing fuel efficient cars to prompt a resurgence in a flagging market. Why, hybrids have even increased their market share to more than three per cent. However, it seems that in some areas green cars are not catching on so quickly. In particular, electric cars are failing to get off the ground in Dublin with reports that only two NICE Mega City vehicles ... read more

 While the “big three” in the US automotive industry - Ford, Chrysler and General Motors - plead their case to Congress for a $25billion federal aid package, a number of smaller companies have set their sights on a slice of a golden… but green… pie of their own. The Department of Energy has already set up a $25billion loan programme to speed up the development of green cars and many companies are competing hastily to grab their share of the cash. Earlier this week ... read more

 Another motor show is being dominated by the latest green car concepts - this time it is the turn of the New England International Auto Show, held at the Boston Convention & Exhibition Centre, to be bitten by the environmental bug. The 52nd annual version of the show has adopted a special theme, entitled “Fuel Solutions” in an attempt to show car shoppers that there are still affordable options available despite the slumbering economy. Although the exhibition still includes ... read more

 The green car race is in overdrive with reports from the Nikkei suggesting that Toyota Tsusho Corp, a Toyota affiliated trading house, will start importing rare earth elements from Vietnam and India. If proven accurate, the acquisition of independent sources of key materials would give Toyota a sizeable advantage in the production of hybrid cars. Currently, China supplies around 90 per cent of the rare earth elements used in Japan but it is beginning to tighten its export restrictions. In ... read more

Honda has released the first photograph of the production version of the all-new Insight hybrid, which makes its world debut in January 2009, at the Detroit Motor Show. This first image of the US version of Honda’s affordable family hybrid shows how the new five-passenger, five-door Insight will look when it goes on sale in the UK in spring 2009. ... read more

With the Bologna Motor Show in full swing, Volkswagen have shown several new models, including: The Golf BiFuel has been developed to run on both LPG and conventional petrol, with the German giants promising a 39.8 mpg and emissions of 149 g/km from the 1.6 litre 98 PS engine, and when running on purely LPG the emissions are reduced by 10%. The manufacturers have performed extensive crash test and durability studies on the fuel tanks and LPG operation, and claim that the resulting Golf ... read more

The price of crude oil fell to less than $47 a barrel yesterday, to a three and a half year low the Financial Times reports. The latest drop means the price of oil has plummeted $100 a barrel in less than five months and makes the July record high of $147 a barrel seem like a distant memory. While initially this may result in good news for motorists at the petrol pumps, it has raised fresh concerns that the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) cartel could agree to cut oil ... read more

Ford has submitted its business plan to the US Congress to demonstrate its vision to return to profitability, in order to secure a bridge loan from the government. The US carmakers, Ford, GM and Chrysler have all call for government aid to help see them through hard times. Washington responded by demanding that the big three prove that they can recover their business to reassure the US taxpayer that a state hand-out would not be squandered. Ford’s rescue mission business plan  includes ... read more

The UK’s failing transport system is costing an estimated £17,350 on average per UK business, according to new research published by the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC). The BCC report that 90 per cent of businesses have experienced increased operating costs while 80 per cent claimed a loss of man hours as a result of poor road infrastructure to serve our private transport and similarly insufficient public transportation systems. Other key findings from the BCC’s publication; “The ... read more