Green Cars and Green Claims - Part 3

This is the final part of a three-part series. For the first part go here, or follow this link for all Detroit Auto Show 2008 articles.

Chrysler

Chrysler had a nice big sign up for their Aspen two mode hybrid but very little information on it. Their Global Electric Motorcars company had several vehicles on display, including the e2 pictured here. It’s under $7,000 and while a rear window and right side mirror are optional extras it does have a smog rating of 0.00.

BMW

BMW presented the BMW Hydrogen 7, the world’s first hydrogen-powered luxury saloon virtually free of emissions in everyday use. Currently 100 vehicles are on test drive, where the engine can be switched between hydrogen mode (200km/125miles range) or gasoline (another 500km/310 miles) to increase range. The advantage of hydrogen engines of course are they emit only water vapour. however, how green they are depends on how the hydrogen is manufactured.

Mini focused on lower fuel consumption as a unique selling point. With Brake Energy Regeneration they convert engine power into drive power for the wheels and electric power being generated only when moving or braking. With the Auto Start Stop function means that for all manual gearbox versions the engine no longer idles when stopped. When the gearshift is in neutral and the clutch isn’t pressed the engine switches off. Once the clutch pedal is pressed again the engine restarts. Finally they have a simple device called “the gearshift point indicator” that literally points to which gear you should be in for maximum engine (and therefore fuel) efficiency. Interesting!

Fisker Automotive

Fisker launched their $80,000 “eco-chic” car, which looks pretty nice as you can see from the photo below (or after the ‘Read more’ link if you’re reading this on our homepage). And yes, they are solar panels on the roof. Clearly aimed at the eco-conscious rich and celebrities, the vehicle is a plug-in hybrid that gets 50 miles from an overnight charge, and then a combustion engine takes over. 0-60 in 5.8 seconds is not bad at all, so if you can afford it (though you could get two Chevy Volts for the price) you can pre-order one for $5,000 now… The company was one of the few who printed their press kit on recycled paper with soy-based vegetable inks so get the thumbs up there.
[Read more]

Solio Solar Charger Product Review

The Solio H1000 is a universal charger for electronic devices that stores power, either from an electrical socket or from solar energy - a “hybrid” charger. I was sent one on loan for a 3 month trial on behalf of the manufacturers, Better Energy Systems.

As you can see I was sent a lovely orange one, but other colours are available. The Solio is dubbed a “hybrid” device because it accepts power from either a standard wall socket or the sun. Unlike standard chargers it uses no energy when plugged into a wall socket and not attached to a device (once charged of course).

It can store this energy within its internal battery for up to one year, and can be used any time for on-the-go charging of most portable electronics devices. It comes with several plug attachments, one for Nokia phones, a mini USB connection, and a female USB connector (see the photo for more details). It also comes with a USB connector to charge the Solio if you have not charged it from the sun. There is no wall socket adaptor when you buy it, this can be purchased for additional cost (probably to encourage you to use the solar panel), as well as an iPod connector, 12V car charger adaptor, Gameboy, Motorola adaptor and so on.

 

My testing with the Solio didn’t get off to a perfect start, I was unable to charge it from the sun, I had to charge it through the USB connection to my PC. I don’t know why, but leaving it in the sun initially had no effect - it did of course later on.

Despite the device being simple and having only one button and two lights (one red and one green) it was at first a little confusing to wonder what all the light flashes meant. The instruction manual is in pictures rather than words which helps transcend the language barrier but doesn’t particularly help with other aspects of its operation. After the first use though it all became clear.

The device itself comes in several colours, and as you can see from the pictures it has a clip for attaching to backpacks etc, which came in handy once on a walk and in a coffee shop when my mp3 player battery died. It’s also a great conversation piece! Talking of mp3 players, I’ve tested it on two, an iRiver S10 and a Creative Zen:M.

The iRiver charged perfectly as you can see from the picture and the video above, I just used the female USB to connect this up. The Zen did not seem to charge up (via the mini USB), however it seemed to accept this as if it was a wall socket connection, and essentially powered the Zen during operation rather than charging the battery. In a way it achieved the same goal - using the device - however in this case I had to have to Solio connected if I wanted to use the device, rather than charging it for a while and using it separately. Maybe it was just me, I’m not sure if this is usual or deliberate, but it wasn’t a problem.

Overall I think it’s a useful product, it survived a trip to Europe and back, the auto show in Detroit and once again proved handy in airports and train stations where all the sockets were taken up by laptop users. Currently you can get 10% off a Solio by visiting the Life Goggles Reviews and Shop page.

If you’ve used the Solio, or a similar device, why not leave a comment below or drop us a line and let us know your thoughts?

Heroes Episode Guide - Season 2 Chapter 4: The Kindness Of Strangers

WARNING, PLOT SPOILERS!
Heroes is a different creature these days, I don’t get the same excitement from each episode that I used to - wondering what twists and turns are going to happen and will they save New York? Now there’s a less definite goal and I end up watching it like any other series and wait and see where it goes rather than guessing. But I’m actually still enjoying it, just in a slightly different way.

This episode’s title refers to both the new family, the Dawsons, taking in Micah (although they’re not really strangers), the twins on the run who help Sylar and I think importantly Mohinder and Matt looking after Molly - who neither are related to. The stories bubble along nicely, whether we need new heroes or not is debatable, I do feel original characters are neglected - we don’t get to see Peter or indeed Niki at all this episode. We do see Nathan more though (sans beard) which is good and the revelation that Matt’s dad may be the bad guy is like the heroes of old.

And then there’s Claire. A favourite but she’s not doing much apart from flirt with a bloke and Mr Bennet’s got his own secrets. I keep forgetting why she’s hiding again - because they’re going to do tests on her? West was captured and freed, as was Matt and other heroes so why wouldn’t they do the same with Claire. Maybe Mr Bennet would be punished. Ahhh, it’s still like the Heroes of old - lots of questions! The main one being - what’s happened to Sylar? He still likes killing despite the loss of his powers.

Green Cars and Green Claims - Part 2

This is part two of a three-part series. For the first part go here, or follow this link for all Detroit Auto Show 2008 articles.

Toyota

Toyota is well known for their Prius, but this is a purpose built hybrid, not an exisiting model with a hybrid option. They hope to have all models with a hybrid option by 2020, however seem to be falling behind the competition in this respect, perhaps as a result of resting on the success of the Prius. They will have 400 demonstration plug-in hybrids by 2010 but not models for sale. It plans to offer diesel engines on the Tundra and Sequioa, though these are still pretty inefficient vehicles.

Their stand was made of eco-friendly materials and incorporated energy efficient elements such as using LEDs. They also unveiled the Toyota A-BAT concept runs on the same hybrid powertrain as the Prius (below left), and had an excellent cutaway of a fuel cell hybrid, demonstrating how it worked (below right).

Lexus didn’t have much of a green angle (like most of the luxury manufacturers) with only their RX 400 SUV on show, to my eye at least.

Ferrari

Yes, even the great gas guzzler Ferrari had a F430 Spider bio fuel vehicle on display, even though it’s just a concept. It runs on E85 (85% ethanol, 15% gasoline for those who don’t know), and has actually slightly more horsepower than the current version.

Honda

Honda have the Accord ES is a “near zero” emission vehicle yet I don’t know whether it was because I was tired or they hadn’t yet put all the vehicles out for the public show, but I couldn’t find one on display.
[Read more]

Swap clothes online with Swango.com

In a nutshell Swango.com describes itself as the coolest place online to swap clothes and “swapping as easy as shopping”. Sort of an eBay but for swapping clothes, Swango puts a 21st century slant on going round to your friend’s house and rummaging through their clothes. And we all know it’s greener to reuse than buy new.

At the moment just based in the US, Swango differs from other sites by being cheap and also allowing buying and sellers to share the cost of shipping. To find out a bit more and where the ’swapping’ actually comes into it, Life Goggles spoke to Swango’s Matt Poulton.

LG: Tell us about Swango and how you became involved in it?
Matt: I have been involved with Swango since the inception of the idea. Along with others at Swango, I helped research and develop the business model behind it.

Most of us have lightly-worn, in-style clothing and shoes in our closets that we’ve lost interest in wearing (or that we’re still wearing, but not enjoying!). What if you could remix your wardrobe with a fresh set of stylish, brand name clothing for only a fraction of what it would cost new?

Swango allows people from across the country to swap their clothing with other Swango members, while paying next to nothing in the process. A small per-item fee of $.99 (plus co-shipping) is all you’ll pay on this ever-changing, real-time online clothing swap. Swango more closely mimics a real-life clothing swap than any other online swap site since it allows users to swap multiple items with multiple members and check out just one time.

Would you describe it as an environmentally friendly company?
Yes. Obviously, we cannot avoid the consequences that a company that relies on the transportation of goods has on the environment. We do not overlook that or try to skirt around the issue, but we strongly believe that swapping clothing on a large scale can help in the battle against fast fashion and needless consumer textile waste caused by the disposal of perfectly good and wearable clothing.

There are other swap sites and you can sell clothes on eBay and other sites - what makes Swango different?
Although these are great sites, we offer a different solution to revitalize your wardrobe. Without spending all your cash or increasing your credit card balance shopping for clothes, let somebody else give your clothes a try and grab some new clothes for a great price from like-minded people around the country.

You have a unique shipping/postage scheme - tell us about that?
Swango uses a co-shipping approach to relieve the buyer and seller of unnecessary shipping negotiations and to maintain a consistent experience for Swango members. Since peer-to-peer swapping is more co-op than an e-commerce in nature, it seems appropriate for both parties to contribute toward the cost of shipping.

With co-shipping, the buyer pays a flat rate of $1.00 per item for baby and children clothes and accessories, and $2.00 per item for junior and adult clothes and shoes. The seller chips in the difference to buy the necessary shipping label. On average, the seller pays about $1.00 to $3.00 per item, depending on how many items the ship in one package.
[Read more]

Green Cars and Green Claims - Part 1

This is part one of a three-part series. Follow this link for all Detroit Auto Show 2008 articles.

At the Detroit Auto Show I’ve seen many claims and examples of cleaner vehicles and alternative fuel vehicles. As a guest of GM I had the closest look at their vehicles, but there were plenty of unveilings and new technologies from most auto manufacturers. In this three-part series I’ll take a look at some of the major green announcements and vehicles from the show.

GM

Most of GM’s brands had a green announcement in one sort or another, even Hummer. Under their banner of “gas friendly to gas free”, GM unveiled five different programs to reduce gasoline usage. These were:

- Fuel efficiency
- Ethanol E85 (see my Coskata announcement)
- Hybrid
- Electric (such as the Chevy Volt)
- Fuel cell (hydrogen)

In fact, most of the talk with any GM employee turned to green issues whether in press conferences, group interviews or one-on-one talks. The wind seems to have truly shifted firmly in the belief that in order to sell more cars in the future, the reliance on (mainly) foreign oil needs to be broken - see my interview with Bob Lutz, GM’s Vice Chairman.

Saturn extended their commitment to the Green Line of the Vue and Aura, positioning Saturn as the green brand for GM. The 2009 Vue Two mode hybrid uses a system that has been used in buses since 2003 in over 1,000 vehicles in 70 cities. Apparently it is 50% more fuel efficient than it’s non-hybrid version, and can get 500 miles on one tank. The engine turns off when idling, it uses electric only at low speed, and has seamless regenerative braking. They also showed their Flextreme concept vehicle that can drive for 30 miles on electric power only.
[Read more]

Bob Lutz GM Vice Chairman Interview

As a guest of GM at the Detroit Auto Show, I was fortunate enough to sit down with a small group of people (that gradually got larger the more we talked…) and speak with Bob Lutz, GM’s Vice Chairman.

Loved by some, criticised by others, Bob is quoted as saying a few years ago that hybrid cars were just a “marketing tool”. Having publicly admitted that was wrong a while ago, it was very interesting to hear his thoughts on the future of alternative fuel and alternative fuel vehicles.

Our video below is a short (~4 minutes) excerpt of the interview, where Bob talked about the reasons behind the Coskata announcement and the progress on the Chevy Volt.

In addition Bob talked about being involved in the Chevy Volt and hybrid programs at GM more than any others, the need for government intervention in the distribution infrastructure of ethanol and whilst the cost to produce ethanol could be ~$1 per gallon, once profit margins and taxes have been added it was more likely to be $2 per gallon. For more of the interview there are a few other links.

Firstly Clayton over at Gas 2.0 has a great transcript of part of our conversation, specifically around the ethanol and Coskata announcement.

You can find the full video here (over 20 minutes), from Matt Kelly’s excellent Next Gear Show Green. It’s honestly a fascinating watch and if you’re even only slightly interested in the auto industry, hearing the thoughts on the future of fuel directly from a high level executive is well worth your time.

For more info on the Chevy Volt, take a look at GM-Volt.

Keep tuned this week and next for more details on the Chevy Volt, green claims from the Auto Show and an interview with GM Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Rick Wagoner.

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