How to Beat the Congestion Charge(potentially) and Save on Fuel Costs without resorting to buying a Boring Bare-Bones Car

Take a SEAT in the Ibiza Ecomotive and experience sporty style motoring with economy.

From an RRP of just £10,995 , you can get a tax saving, potentially charge busting, sub-100g/km CO2 emissions,high mpg, and well equipped motor car.

As standard this three-cylinder 1.4 turbo-diesel is fitted with air conditioning,state-of-the-art diesel particulate filter, low rolling resistance 14" tyres, extra smooth redesigned five-speed gear box,speed-sensitive hydraulic power steering, steering wheel mounted MP3-compatible single disc CD/radio, electric front windows...

Worth taking a look ,this economical SEAT is available for delivery in early April of next year.
This newcomer is said to be expected to make a big impact among buyers eager to minimise their carbon footprint, but are unwilling to pay the earth for their next car.
Further details can be obtained from the SEAT web site

Why the Smart car's been sent to Coventry

An early green Christmas present of a fully electric version of the Smart has been delivered to Coventry City Council.

The iconic car is the first of 100 cars to be delivered as part of a UK-based market trial for the introduction of a fully electric version of the popular two-seater (smart ed).

The car will be made available on a lease arrangement to selected UK corporate customers. It sets a new benchmark in the electric vehicle sector; it has 30kW output and a top speed of 60 mph. It offers nippy in-town performance with 0-30 mph in 6.5 seconds. With a range of up to 70 miles, the smart ed is exempt from vehicle excise duty and congestion charge.

Coventry City Council will be using the electric smart within their fleet of pool vehicles. This facility allows employees to leave their cars at home when they travel to work, but to still have access to a vehicle for business journeys.

Dermot Kelly, Managing Director Mercedes-Benz Cars, said: “This market trial is an important part of our commitment to sustainable mobility and the first car to be delivered is a significant milestone for smart and Mercedes-Benz Cars.”

Cllr Gary Ridley, Cabinet member for Climate Change, Housing and Sustainability said, "The Council is proud to be the first owner of the new electric smart and is glad to be part of the drive for new cleaner and greener technologies in cars. To make its running costs even greener, the electricity used to recharge the car is from renewable resources. As the biggest employer in the city, we should be leading by example and encouraging other businesses to think about their carbon footprint and their impact on their environment while carrying out their day to day activities."

The smart ed emits no carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, unburned hydrocarbons, particulate matter or any harmful substance – in fact it emits nothing at all. It retains all the safety equipment you would find on a regular smart, so unlike other electric cars, a smart ed has ESP, ABS brakes two airbags and seatbelt pre-tensioners.

In terms of practicality, the car has its own charger on board, which means it can be plugged directly into any UK mains 3 pin plug socket to recharge. A meter on the dash swivels through 90 degrees so it is possible to see the state of battery charge

This market trial is supported by Cenex, the UK’s first national Centre of Excellence for low carbon and fuel cell technologies. Cenex is a project partner and will be assisting in the field trial phase of the project.

The drive train for the smart ed is produced in the UK by technology partner, Zytek Group, who undertake final assembly of the smart ed in Fradley, near Lichfield.

BMW stand-out winners of the Greenest Car Manufacturer of the Year Award

Towards the end of this current eventful year of outstanding progress in green car manufacturing, it is fitting that Green-Car-Guide.com, itself having successfully made great strides in its own development, should make the Award to a manufacturer, in these terms:"we feel there is one manufacturer in particular who deserves special credit for making an amazing effort to bring more efficient cars to market, across a range of models... In the January 2008 version, available on our site today, the same manufacturer has an incredible 12 cars in the guide out of a total of 68." That outstanding manufacturer is BMW.

Commenting on the award, Mark Harrison, BMW’s Corporate Communications Manager, said: “BMW is very proud of our EfficientDynamics technologies. The successes of both our BMW and MINI brands are built on the fact that they are great to drive, rewarding to own, and have strong design and engineering foundations. It is vital for both us, and many UK car buyers, that our environmental developments do not reduce those values. As a company, we have been working on hydrogen power, fuel-efficient engines and the introduction of lightweight technologies for over 20 years. The recent introduction of EfficientDynamics features brings our work to today's roads. It offers fuel consumption and emissions levels comparable to, and in some cases better than, today's hybrids, but retains the dynamic qualities that one would expect of both BMWs or MINIs. We are pleased that Green-Car-Guide.com has recognised our work and we are committed to remaining as a leading car manufacturer in the battle to reduce emissions and fuel consumption.”

Roll-on 2008!

About itself the Green-Car-Guide.com said:"For ourselves, 2007 has been a phenomenal year. Our site was only launched in September 2006, but in the last year we’ve been on TV, on the radio, worked with a variety of the national media, we’ve given talks about green cars at numerous events around the UK, and we’ve had around one million page views of our site."

To view a sustainable Christmas greeting from Promote, the company behind Green-Car-Guide.com, click here

May I also add my Sincere Best Wishes to You All: Seasons Greetings.I Wish You a Very Happy and Sustainable New Year

The agile Vauxhall Agila will fit in at 120g/km CO2 emissions







This is one to watch for in 2008. Vauxhall’s New Agila will offer low emissions and a low price when it arrives in showrooms in April.

Available to order from early next year, the compact newcomer benefits from CO2 figures of just 120g/km on both the entry-level petrol and diesel engines, meaning it will fall into VED Band B – the cost of a tax disc being just £35 a year.

The Agila is small enough to be manoeuvrable into tight parking spaces, but has five doors, five full-size seats and good luggage space.

The tall roofline provides a spacious feel and a high seating position, making it easy to get in and out, and helping with good visibility.

The Agila has an all-new chassis, three new engines and an automatic gearbox will be available for the first time. Petrol units include a 1.0-litre three-cylinder unit developing 65PS and an 85PS 1.2, the latter of which will be available with optional automatic transmission. Vauxhall’s 75PS 1.3CDTi diesel will also be on offer.

The Agila will cost from only £7,595. Three trim levels will be on offer, all with good levels of standard equipment, plus a versatile interior layout.

The rear seat backs can be folded down to create a completely flat load floor on all but the entry-level model, providing a luggage capacity of 1050 litres.

Detail provided by Green Car Guide

Also, if you missed them you can scroll down two posts for the Top 10 Best Green Cars or click here

Volvo invests in Green Forestry to reduce carbon emissions








It seems ,contrary to what we might think,all is not green in the forest. By way of a sort of Christmas related story ,I include this item, not about a car though but a green vehicle. The Volvo Group, once renowned for building 'clunky' cars before selling its cars division to Ford, has bought into the producer of the El-forest forwarder which is the world's first forestry machine that uses energy efficient electric-hybrid technology.

The El-forest forwarder is designed to reduce carbon emissions by cutting fuel consumption by one-half. Volvo will help this innovative equipment into service much quicker. The first forwarder will be delivered next year to the state-owned Sveaskog -
Sweden's largest forest owner.

And the Christmas connection? Well, looking at the picture above, a caption could perhaps be added, something like : "Hey,be careful! That could be my Christmas tree."



(c)copyright 2007 CFM Services Limited.All rights reserved.

Green Car Guide 10 of the Best

I thought you would like a list of the cars considered at this time to be the best green cars by the Green Car Guide. The cars have been chosen for their environmentally friendly credentials.

The Mini Cooper diesel (shown above) comes in at number 2 on the list. Top slot goes to (you may have guessed) the best selling Toyota Prius. So which came third? The list includes:

• 2 electric cars
• 2 petrol-electric hybrids
• 2 cars capable of running on petrol or bio-ethanol
• 2 petrol cars
• and 2 diesels

You can see them here

G-Wiz!GoinGreen's going even better with the G-Wiz i

GoinGreen, the leader in the UK electric vehicle (EV) market, announces the arrival of the G-Wiz i, the most advanced variant of this iconic EV. GoinGreen launched the emission-free G-Wiz dc drive in London in May 2004 and in June 2006 introduced the G-Wiz ac drive and now there is the G-Wiz i, which benefits from improvements in safety, comfort and performance.

The G-Wiz i has an increased top speed certified at 50mph and a range of up to 48 miles per charge but what really marks the G-Wiz i from other electric vehicles is its swift acceleration to 30mph (60% quicker than its nearest competitor). This superior torque enables the G-Wiz i to easily keep up with London traffic and to cope with hills. The G-Wiz i is also upgradeable to high-performance lithium-ion batteries, which are designed to increase range significantly.

After extensive customer feedback Reva Electric Car Company (RECC), the manufacturer of the G-Wiz, has collaborated with GoinGreen in creating this new generation G-Wiz and the key points are:

Safety - working with Lotus Engineering, RECC has introduced a new safety package to the G-Wiz i, frontal crash tested at 25mph city speed. Safety features include front and side impact protection, a strengthened space frame, a collapsible steering column, a hill rolling restraint feature and new front disc brakes that deliver a 30% improvement in braking performance.
Comfort - the advanced ac drivetrain results in extra power but more smoothly, whilst the new roomier cabin layout and a curved windshield provides a more comfortable driving position and improved vision.
Performance - the G-Wiz has always been small and nippy making it ideal for congested urban roads. With its tiny turning circle and superior torque the G-Wiz i is so easy to manoeuvre, simple to park and fun to drive.

The G-Wiz i has a colour-impregnated and fully recyclable body; standard colours include marine blue, lightning silver or deep black. A range of extras includes a DAB radio / CD with mp3 player input and climate control seats. It comes with a two-year warranty, one-year roadside recovery and a choice of service packages. The 2+2 seat G-Wiz is in the lowest insurance group and is exempt from the London congestion charge and on top of all this, the fuel bill for a year’s electricity will cost less than the price of a tank of petrol (£40-50).

Prices start at £8,895 inc VAT. GoinGreen is taking orders now for February 2008 delivery.
www.goingreen.co.uk

Eco-friendly ( no CO2 emissions) solar charger from FreeLoader

Today,I am digressing from my usual patch. I have come across something which you may find very useful.

So,what do you buy a person for Christmas who apparently has everything already?Well,if they have most things already, they will have the accessories of life including the iPod, mobile phone, SPS ,and so on. But what if these gadgets run out of power,what then? They probably do not have a ready supply of power with which to recharge all their toys and things,say,when they are out on the road or otherwise travelling.

This is where the Free...Loader Portable Solar Energy Charger can come in.

This gift, about the size of a mobile phone , can be silently soaking up the sun in a convenient corner in your car as you drive, glove shelf perhaps, or elsewhere and when loaded it can deliver the power ,for example, required for upto 44 hours for the mobile phone,and for the PDA upto 22 hours. The FreeLoader comes in two colours pink and silver (but not green,I'm afraid as it is already considered green enough!), and is supplied with a variety of gadgets.
And,here's the clever part, though not quite as green, if the sun is not out there are two more options to use this recharger. Firstly,you can USB the charger to your computer.Or,secondly, you can simply put in some batteries and recharge from the charger that way. All options make the FreeLoader a very portable asset. At £29.95 this travel kit could be an essential for motorists.For further details you can go to the Fireboxwebsite