GREEN CAR JOURNAL'S TOP 5 FOR 2009™ ANNOUNCED – ONE TO BE NAMED 2009 GREEN CAR OF THE YEAR® AT LOS ANGELES AUTO SHOW
Winner to be Unveiled at a Nov. 20 Press Conference

LOS ANGELES – Oct. 30, 2008 — Green Car Journal's Top 5 for 2009™ – the year's best-of-the-best 'green' vehicles - have been identified by the magazine's editors. These vehicles are the five finalists competing for the Green Car Journal's 2009 Green Car of the Year® award: the BMW 335d, Ford Fusion Hybrid, Saturn Vue 2-Mode Hybrid, smart fortwo and Volkswagen Jetta TDI. The 2009 Green Car of the Year will be unveiled at a morning press conference on Nov. 20 during Press Days at the Los Angeles Auto Show.

The five models are important milestones for their manufacturers. The VW and BMW clean diesels are leading edge models signaling the advent of highly efficient, advanced diesel sedans that meet emissions certification in all 50 states. Ford's Fusion Hybrid, a full hybrid, is this automaker's first hybrid sedan. Saturn's Vue 2-Mode is GM's first application of its two mode hybrid system in a V-6 front-drive platform. The smart fortwo is a new-for-the-U.S., fuel efficient micro car with a small eco footprint.

"This is an exciting year for 'green' cars because of the many innovative and advanced models now emerging," said Ron Cogan, editor and publisher of the Green Car Journal and editor of GreenCar.com. "In fact, this year's selection of nominees was more challenging than in years past because of the auto industry's greater emphasis on greener vehicles and the number of potential vehicles to consider. For the first time, we've also seen a pair of clean diesels and a small gasoline model giving hybrids serious competition."

Green Car Journal's Green Car of the Year program focuses on recognizing new model vehicles that provide real answers for new car buyers looking for a personal stake in lessening environmental impact. This may be through substantial improvement in fuel efficiency, lower emissions, use of an alternative fuel, or an overall lower environmental load.

Green Car Journal editors perform an exhaustive review of vehicle models to identify those that merit consideration for the Green Car of the Year program. Vehicles using all types of technologies, fuels, and powerplants are eligible. To qualify for consideration as a nominee in the 2009 Green Car of the Year program, a vehicle must exhibit characteristics that substantially raise the bar in environmental performance and be in production by January 1 of the award year. Plus, a potential nominee must be driven by Green Car Journal to allow first-hand evaluation of driving dynamics.

The 2009 Green Car of the Year will be selected by a jury comprised of nine jurors. These include Carl Pope, executive director of the Sierra Club; Frances Beinecke, president of the Natural Resources Defense Council; Jean-Michel Cousteau, president of Ocean Futures Society; automotive expert and "Tonight Show" host Jay Leno; and automotive icon Carroll Shelby. Four Green Car Journal editors round out the jury.
About Green Car of the Year®

The Green Car of the Year® award is an important part of Green Car Journal's mission to showcase environmental progress in the auto industry. Since 1992, Green Car Journal has focused on the intersection of automobiles, energy, and environment, first with an industry newsletter and then with an award-winning auto enthusiast magazine. Today, the magazine is considered the premier source of information on high fuel efficiency, low emission, advanced technology, and alternative fuel vehicles. Green Car of the Year® is a registered trademark of Green Car Journal and RJ Cogan Specialty Publications Group, Inc.
About the Los Angeles Auto Show

For the third year in a row, the Los Angeles Auto Show will be held in the fall. Green Car Journal has been unveiling the Green Car of the Year® winner at the Los Angeles Auto Show every year since it initiated the annual award in 2005. The show opens for media only Nov. 19-20. Media registration is now open and the deadline to register online and still receive credentials in the mail is Oct. 31. Online registration will remain open until Nov. 6 but credentials must be picked-up on site. Public days run from Nov. 21-30. For general information visit www.LAautoshow.com.

[Green Car Journal]

Joule is Africa’s first battery electric engineering masterpiece from Optimal Energy. The silent passenger MPV is manufactured as a standard six-seater which complies with UN-ECE safety standards offering an optimal, no-compromise, and zero emission urban driving experience.

Joule is as beautiful and elegant as it is stylish with a classically timeless appeal set to transform the face of the urban transportation landscape. Developed from the outset as an electric vehicle, Joule delivers optimal design, maximum interior space and a minimal exterior and environmental footprint.

* Maximum 400km Range
* Regenerative ABS Braking system
* Steel space frame and side impact protection
* Two dynamic drive train options
* Excellent vehicle handling and dynamics
* Sports-like acceleration from standstill
* Optimal interior space with minimal exterior footprint

[Optimal Energy]

The energy plan also calls for an increase fuel economy standards 4% per year, up to $4 billion in retooling tax credits and loan guarantees for domestic auto plants and parts manufacturers to support their manufacture of the new fuel-efficient cars, a mandate for all new vehicles to be flex-fuel vehicles, and a call for America to develop next-generation biofuels and the required infrastructure.

Jalopnik Snap Judgment: We're as wary of campaign promises as the next guys, but some of the elements of Obama's proposal make sense. While a plug-in White House fleet is just a nice PR move, significant tax credits that encourage people to take a chance on new technology is good for both consumers and automakers. Additionally, while we don't think any US automaker bailouts are a good idea, providing loan guarantees and retooling tax credits for domestic manufacturers will provide them with needed breathing room as they realign their product mix. Do they deserve that breathing room after gorging themselves on trucks for a decade? Debatable, but to paraphrase: You go to market with the car companies you have, not the car companies you want. [Green Car Congress; Photo Credit: Gizmodo]

The top of the parking garage has solar panels that not only power the building, but provide shade for cars packed on the top deck. The entire building was built with green paints and finishes and a low-e glazing system helps maintain the garages temperature a little more efficiently that other parking garages, therefore leaving you with a potentially cooler (or warmer) car after it has sat for eight hours or more. It includes a water treatment run-off system, as well.

One of the bigger points of the building is that it has 14 spaces primarily devoted to electric vehicles. Not only that, but each parking spot includes electrical outlets to juice up the ride while it sits parked. The building has 900 spaces total, so the 14 is less than 2 percent of the overall capacity, but still, a building catering to electric vehicles is a sign of the future, man. [Inhabitat]

Some of the highlights:

Life Is Better With Wheels: "It is...clear that mobility is becoming a fundamental component in perceptions of today's quality of life."

Bentleys Are Irrational: "As a luxury performance brand, the reasons for purchasing a Bentley are based on a more emotional than rational need for transportation."

Emergency!: "As this document makes clear, the world is facing a potential crisis over climate change and access to energy."

Upshot is that Bentley is putting its money, it heaping piles of money, behind FlexFuel. But not really first generation biofuels, which because they are derived from crops that people need for food has caused, as the report points out, riots. They are basically endorsing second-generation biofuels, made from heaps of decomposing filth waste products. Later, the situation will get completely kick-ass, when we brew up all our biofuels from farmed ocean algae, and also drive FlexFuel Bentleys in a future in which their is no sickness or war and we all live to be 317.

But you know what? We approve of this high-ground-taking on Bentley's part. Leadership! Even if they persistently remind us that emissions generated by Bentleys amount to the equivalent of "two cans of Cola in an Olympic sized swimming pool"—in other words, not very dang much, when compared to other carmakers. Of course, that's a bit of a bogus claim when you consider that Bentley might not even exist were it not for the global auto industry.

The El Camino

special secret surprise!!!
the baddest assest biodiesel "el camino" ever
with your own b100 biodiesel pump + station!!!

uh huh...
that's right...
the original black beauty biodiesel el camino
run on b100 sustainably sourced biodiesel
this super stealth flat matt black el camino hasn't seen a lick of petroleum + has been my daily driver 4 several years
one of the few diesel el caminos ever made
factory diesels r super hard 2 find
(they only made a few hundred in 83' +84')
it's fully smoked + tinted by a custom shop
it gets pretty decent gas mileage cause it's not so heavy
5.7l gm diesel, automatic, cruise control ac, pb, ps,
139,000 miles
i love it soo much + I wanna share the love
(u know i'll find another one 4 myself)
+
it comes with a basic oh so easy home fueling station -
if you have room 4 a trash can - you have room 4 your own gas station!
easy instructions included
a 55 gallon super lightweight storage drum - a hand pump + filter
with unique quick release fittings that take the hassle out of threading etc.
so easy I can do it myself all dressed up + no mess
+
we'll give you a resource guide 2 finding the most sustainable b100 biodiesel source near you!

2 see more about bio-diesel + the el camino -
(go 2 dhlovelife bio-diesel vlog#1)

so get up and get off the fossil fuels!!!
xo
daryl
Sale info will be posted on Dec. 20th. Keep you eyes open!

The Ranch BioBeast

ranch bio-beast!!!
meet tomcar....
isn't he cute?
this tough buddy will + can do almost anything you need on the ranch
a sandrail (think baja 1000), mule hybrid
the tomcar is workhorse extraodinaire
+ it runs on b100 biodiesel
(sustainably sourced - the only kind we like )!!!

25 mpg - up to 250 miles fuel range
(with optional 2nd tank).
the highest safety profile - like a roll cage on wheels
designed for 300hp but powered by 35...
seamless frame + roll cage welded as one unit.
safety fuel tanks, racing regulation 4 point seat belts.
very low center of gravity
+ long suspension travel makes the tomcar extremely safe 2 drive
for all skill levels
towing capacity - 2500 lb, up to 100% cargo payload (on TM5 models).
3 cyl turbo diesel running on b100!

street legal (low speed vehicle)
built to do the toughest jobs ever imaginable
+ made in the u.s.

(h/t to Rafael) [Camino & Ranch Beast]

Australia: the land that bequeathed onto us such treasures as Radio Birdman, The Saints, The Celibate Rifles, and Steve Irwin. When most of us think of hot Australian cars we think of Ford Falcons or Holden Monaros blasting across the Outback. And of course, we think of El Camino-esque, still-in-production Utes, wishing they'd follow the GTO to the States. But older utes are much like '30s and '40s American pickups, and as such, they're really responsive to classic rodding tricks.

20 year-old Steve Jones (not the Sex Pistol) and his dad built this neat little rod from a rusty hulk his father picked up from a friend. It took the Joneses 4 years to build the truck, as he had to pay for all the parts and only had a part-time job at the time. The LPG-fueled 283 feeds into a TH 350 and out to a Chrysler rear end. The interior features bits from Saab, Holden and Nissan, while the stereo pumps out 640 watts of good will. Body mods include a 2-inch chop, alumium hood side panels and a one-piece bonnet, and it's all coated in PPG Orange Pearl.

Just the ticket for cruising for Sheilas or haulin' a load of shrimp to the barbie. (We need some new Australian clich s. Can somebody help us out, please? Anybody? Bueller?)

Fair Dinkem, Mate [Custom Classic Trucks]

Related:
Australia's Joss SuperCar Enters Growing Supercar Field [Internal]