PDX Transit

Nissan Leaf tops the Chevy Volt with 367 MPG

Tuesday, 08. 18. 2009  –  Category: Driving, Technology

The Nissan Leaf is a zero emssion, plug-in electric card.  It tops the Chevy Volt stagger fuel efficiency with whopping 367 MPG. Business week reports that the Leaf [will] run a 100 miles on a single charge [and] will cost no more to buy and run than a traditional gasoline-powered car. Charging time is [...]

230 MPG!!

Saturday, 08. 15. 2009  –  Category: Driving, Technology

If the new Chevy Volt actually hits the market next year, there will finally be a car that addresses  the majority of driving styles, if not the majority of pocketbooks. With their announcement that the Volt will travel about 40 miles on a charge, many drivers will not have to buy gasoline for months at [...]

Does the Toyota Highlander really get 431 MPG?

Tuesday, 08. 11. 2009  –  Category: Driving, Technology

Toyota has been working on the Highlander FCV, and they claim that the latest version of the hydrogen-powered SUV (the FCV-adv) traveled for 431 miles on just one tank of compressed hydrogen.
Impressive indeed. But as Christopher DeMorro points out in an article on Gas2.org, the claim is rather misleading. Toyota merely drove 331.5 miles from [...]

Mapping the streets of Paris by bike

Friday, 08. 7. 2009  –  Category: Driving, Technology

Its been a while since any reports of the google streetview team visiting portland, but they are cetainly making their way around the world.  The google team has ditched their car for a more ecco friendly tricylce and are now visiting France.  

"The riders, wearing Google tee-shirts and white helmets, are visiting well-known sites such as [...]

All aboard: High-speed American passenger rails network on track

Friday, 04. 17. 2009  –  Category: Technology, Train

"President Obama on Thursday highlighted his ambition for the development of high-speed passenger rail lines in at least 10 regions, expressing confidence in the future of train travel even as he acknowledged that the American rail network, compared with the rest of the world’s, remains a caboose."
Read the entire article Obama Seeks High-Speed Rail System [...]

Toyota’s Budget electric car – Drives 80Km with no fuel

Monday, 01. 12. 2009  –  Category: Driving, Technology

Toyota FT-EV unveiled a electric car for under $20,000 that can be driven up to 80km without using a drop of petrol

Hawaii Endorses Plan for Electric Cars

Wednesday, 12. 3. 2008  –  Category: Driving, Technology

"The Hawaiian Electric Company on Tuesday endorsed an effort to build an alternative transportation system based on electric vehicles with swappable batteries and an “intelligent” battery recharging network."
Hawaii endorces plan for electric vehicles

Speech, a new kind of engine for Ford automobiles

Monday, 12. 1. 2008  –  Category: Driving, Technology

Ford Motor Company's Sync system is a microchip located in the dash of 21 new cars, trucks, and crossovers that delivers a fully integrated, voice-activated in-car communications and entertainment system. Sync can read incoming text messages, and accurately translate emoticons and messaging expressions such as "LOL."

Read the entire article, Ford introduces speech engine

Squeezing out miles per gallon using electric fields

Thursday, 09. 25. 2008  –  Category: Driving, Technology

A simple device has been developed by Temple University to significantly increase the fuel economy of larger internal combustion engines. The device uses electrical fields to reduce the viscosity of fuel, allowing it to separate into smaller droplets. Six months of road testing in a diesel-powered Mercedes-Benz automobile showed that the device increased highway fuel [...]

Zytek – a leader in hybrid technology

Thursday, 09. 4. 2008  –  Category: Driving, Technology

Zytek stretches both Johnny Mowlem and hybrid technology. While Johnny Mowlem has won at both the Daytona Rolex 24 and the Mobile One 12 hours of Sebring in GT racing, soon he will be campaigning in the American Le Mans LMP1 prototype class. Zytek, a world leader in hybrid technology, is having Mowlem test their [...]