EPA Urged to Revise Proposed Zero Emission Rate for Electric Plug-In Vehicles California’s and the nation’s economy and environment will reap significant benefits – and avoid costly impacts – if proposed federal standards to establish national vehicle greenhouse gas and fuel economy standards for new cars and trucks sold in the United States “are rigorous [...]
Boosters especially effective in side impact crashes A study released in Pediatrics by The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia offers updated evidence that children ages 4 to 8 who are restrained in the rear seat of a car in a belt-positioning booster seat are 45 percent less likely to be injured in a crash compared with [...]
Phoning while driving and texting behind the wheel are in the news. This is the highway safety issue of the moment, the subject of cartoons and, on a more serious side, the focus of legislation. A key question is whether such laws succeed in changing patterns of driver cellphone use. Insurance Institute for Highway Safety [...]
The I.I.I. Offers Tips to Avoid Deer-Related Accidents Cars and deer can be a lethal combination. Deer migration and mating season generally runs from October through December, and causes a dramatic increase in the movement of the deer population. As a result, more deer-vehicle collisions occur in this period than at any other time of [...]
Nissan North America Targets 20,000 Reservations by Launch Near End of 2010; Will Expand Production to U.S. in 2012 In response to strong initial demand for the Nissan LEAF zero-emission electric car, Nissan North America, Inc. announced it will begin taking reservations for LEAF in spring 2010. Nearly 22,000 people in North America have contacted [...]
A national survey released today showed 86 percent of licensed U.S. drivers described handheld texting while driving as “very dangerous,” with 93 percent supporting a nationwide ban on texting – Despite strong support for a nationwide handheld texting ban, only 42 percent of respondents believe drivers would stop texting if banned. More than 75 percent [...]
Auto researchers and engineers are examining the use of lighter-weight materials and components in their quest to develop more fuel-efficient vehicles. Ford’s distinctive approach to alternative materials is not just about the need to be lighter, however, but also about the need to be greener. The company’s use of more bio-based, recycled and reclaimed materials [...]
‘Cash for Clunkers’ Reveals Preference for Smaller Gas Engines; New Study Shows Awareness of Turbo Benefits Creates Dramatic Shift in Americans’ Buying Behavior As American consumers shift their buying behavior towards more fuel efficient vehicles, turbocharging — already in use by roughly half of new vehicles in Europe — has emerged as the engine technology [...]
Expert Shares Advice for Putting the ‘Spark’ Back into Your Relationships No doubt about it, the economic downturn has definitely put a strain on most Americans’ pocketbooks, but according to a new survey(i), it is also having an effect on Americans’ personal relationships, changing how they keep them fresh and healthy. While Americans seemingly value [...]
Methanol fuel cells reduce plant’s CO2 emissions Nissan North America has become the first vehicle manufacturer to commercially deploy methanol fuel cells to power its material handling equipment (tugs) at its Smyrna, Tenn., assembly plant. The methanol fuel cells from Oorja Protonics, OorjaPac(TM), provide a more energy efficient and cost effective battery-charging process for the [...]