Electric Car Adoption Accelerating!

Automobile manufacturers aren’t the only ones preparing for a green driving future.

With several plug-in cars, including the fully electric Nissan Leaf and General Motors' rechargeable Chevrolet Volt, expected to be on the market this year, and some 51 electric models coming online by 2012 , there’s a lot of grass roots support for the green driving option.

Here’s the buzz on what just a few organizations, businesses and government entities are doing to accelerate the adoption of electric cars:

• Project Get Ready, a non-profit initiative led by the Rocky Mountain Institute, is helping cities and states nationwide prepare their infrastructure for plug-in electric vehicles.

Here’s a map that details their progress: www.projectgetready.com/category/city

• KB Home, one of the largest U.S. home builders, now offers to pre-wire homes for charging stations for electric cars! The Los Angeles-based company has announced that it will offer the feature on custom-built homes so consumers won't have to add a 220-240 high-voltage box later. KB Homes, which operates in 10 states, has built about 500,000 homes since its founding in 1957. The cost of adding home charging is one-third hardware (the box itself) and two-thirds installation and labor costs, according to a story in the New York Times. Homes built in the 1990s or later usually have adequate 200-plus amp service but not older ones.

• The U.S. Postal Service has asked Bright Automotive to create a prototype for an electric mail truck. The automaker is one of five companies working with the postal service to create an electric version of the classic Grumman LLV. Quantum Technologies Inc., Zap!, EDAG Inc., AC Propulsion and Auto Port Inc. will work with the USPS to test the feasibility of an electrified fleet. Bright Automotive, working with AC Propulsion, will supply an electrified mail truck in July, when it will undergo testing in Washington D.C. for a full year.

• Edmunds.com is advocating that vehicle energy consumption should be expressed as Monthly Fuel Cost (MFC) -- what it will cost to fuel up — or more accurately "energy up" — a vehicle in dollars per month, no matter how that energy is stored and delivered. A common MFC figure will make all fuels and energy sources easily comparable, and most directly support consumers' efforts to manage their transportation budgets. For more information and to see charts showing the monthly cost of gasoline, electric and other alternative energy sources for various make and model cars visit: http://www.edmunds.com/industry-car-news/fuel-mileage-equivalency.html

• Federal Tax Credits are available for certain 2009 hybrid makes and models. And, tax credits may be available for 2010 electric cars. For details, visit http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/taxevb.shtml

• GE (NYSE: GE) and Juice Technologies are working together to create intelligent plug-in electric vehicle (PEV) charging devices for U.S. and global markets. The chargers integrate GE’s smart meters with Juice Technology's Plug Smart(TM) engine to help consumers charge their cars during low-demand, lower cost time periods. Smart chargers will hasten acceptance of plug-in cars by making them more attractive to consumers and utilities. Consumers will benefit by receiving the lowest-possible charging rates for their cars. Utilities will be able to better control the demand for electricity and take on the added load of electric vehicles without over taxing their grids. Utilities will also realize greater value from their capital equipment during overnight and other low-demand times, when it is substantially less utilized.

• The States of California and Hawaii are working with Better Place, Inc, a leading electric vehicle services provider, accelerating the global transition to sustainable transportation.

o Hawaiian Electric Companies and Better Place Hawaii signed a historic Memorandum of Understanding to collaborate on the infrastructure and energy needs to power Better Place's unique network of public charging spots and battery swapping stations with renewable energy, in order to make mass adoption of electric vehicles a reality in the state by 2012.

o California’s plan to create a network of public charging spots for electric cars will make electric cars cheaper to own and run, and so more appealing to consumers. As the eighth largest economy in the world, and with a per-household vehicle ownership rate among the highest in the world (about 1.8 cars per household), California joins Israel, Denmark and Australia as world leaders in executing this bold vision. For more information, visit: http://www.betterplace.com.

Share with us here your latest buzz on electric cars, the charging stations that will make them convenient to own and operate, and any new government incentives for buying them.

“DRIVE THE USA IN YOUR CHEVROLET” – Remember that jingle? Take a Classic Car Tour This Summer.

Everybody loves classic cars! Even if you can’t afford to own one, or don’t have the skill to restore that old beauty under the tarp in your barn, there are still plenty of fun ways to vicariously enjoy classic cars. Here are just a few:

Take a driving vacation and visit a classic car museum. You can find one near you by looking on the Internet. Here are a few suggestions:

The Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles is dedicated to the exploration and presentation of the automobile and its impact on American life and culture, using Los Angeles as the prime example. Encompassing more than 300,000 square feet, its exhibits and lifelike dioramas feature more than 150 rare and classic cars, trucks and motorcycles. For more information, visit: http://petersen.org/

The Antique Automobile Club of America (AACA) Museum at Hershey, PA displays vintage automobiles in unique scenes and settings! Visitors can stroll through eight decades in time while traveling from New York to San Francisco. It’s a trip down memory lane: http://www.aacamuseum.org/

The Sarasota Classic Car Museum in Sarasota, FL is recognized as one of the oldest continuously operating antique car museums in the nation. It features more than 100 automobiles, from some of the world’s foremost manufacturers, including: Alpha Romeo, Bentley, Cadillac, DeLorean, Edsel and Ferrari. You can view Circus Magnates John and Mable Ringling’s collection of Rolls Royce autos, John Lennon’s psychedelic 1956 Bentley (registration mark 222 APL) and Paul McCartney’s beloved Mini Cooper. For more information, visit: http://www.sarasotacarmuseum.org/

The Northeast Classic Car Museum in Norwich, NY collects, preserves, interprets and exhibits vehicles related to the evolution of transportation, with particular emphasis on the role of the automobile and its impact on American Culture. Chartered by the New York State Department of Education, the museum currently has more than 125 vehicles on display in 5 connected buildings. For more information, visit: http://www.classiccarmuseum.org/about_us.php

The LeMay Car Museum in Tacoma, WA. Harold E. LeMay was a Tacoma garbage collector who grew wealthy from trash and amassed the largest private collection of cars and car-related memorabilia in the world. For years, the 300-car collection has been housed in an 80-acre former military academy named Marymount. Visit this website to learn about current visiting hours/tours and future plans for the museum: http://www.lemaymuseum.org/

The Browning-Kimball Classic Car Museum at Union Station in Ogden, Utah has a small but colorful collection. For more information, visit: http://www.theunionstation.org/carmuseum.html

For a list of links to many other automobile museums nationwide, visit:
http://www.antiquecar.com/resources/collections.php

Here’s another stop for you for a special event:

Visit the Sloan Museum in Flint, MI, in June for the Sloan Museum Auto Fair, and on September 19, 2010 for the Auto Golden Memories Car Show. This special event is exclusively for original or authentically restored vehicles produced in 1959 or earlier. For more information, visit: http://www.sloanmuseum.com/car_shows.html

But, if you can’t get away, you can still cruise the Internet and see plenty of classic cars.

About.com has a resource library containing information on a wide variety of classic car makers and the models they produced, so you can see online the cars that have fascinated millions for the last one hundred years. Its database is called Motorbase, and you can search for the classic car of your dreams.
Check it out here:http://classiccars.about.com/od/classiccarsaz/Classic_Car_Profiles.htm

If you feel the need to buy a classic car portrait or poster to decorate your office wall, check this out: http://www.classiccarportraits.co.uk/pages/Ford_cars.htm

And don’t forget: This June marks a golden anniversary in Corvette lore. Fifty years ago, the first Chevy sports cars took on the epic challenge of racing twice around the clock at LeMans. Read about this in Automobile Magazine online at: http://www.automobilemag.com/features/racing/1003_chevrolet_corvette_racing_history_then_and_now/index.html

If you have a favorite classic car museum, or a favorite website for classic cars, share it with us here!

Do You Eat While You Drive? Forget Cholesterol! Another Reason Why Burgers May Be Killing You!

Raise your hands now and tell the truth! Who doesn’t eat while driving! But, experts say eating while driving can be hazardous to your health – a recipe for disaster!

According to a 2006 study recently released by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute, 80% of crashes and 65% of near-crashes involve some form of driver distraction within three seconds before the crash.

Cell phone usage led the list of distracting activities, but daydreaming, personal hygiene, and EATING while driving, were also spotlighted.

Now, online newspapers are having a field day with follow-up stories about eating while driving – some with more humor than accuracy.

Here’s a sampling:

Headline from the NYDailyNews.com: Eating while driving causes 80% of all car accidents, study shows ----- (Editor’s note: Not really – but nice try.)

Read the story: http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/2009/07/19/2009-07-19_eatdrive_sure_recipe_for_a_crash.html#ixzz0hK1L1Kyl

The Boston Globe / Boston.com did a “man on the street” style survey and reported the following about Boston area residents’ eating-while-driving habits:

A Northeastern University student, age 19, keeps one hand on the wheel while the other holds a slice of pizza. “You can manage it,’’ says the Newton resident. “It’s hard to use the phone and the pizza and the car, though.’’

A 54-year-old Boxford, MA resident tells the story of a woman she saw sipping espresso from a tiny china cup while driving in Cambridge. “She had her pinkie finger up in the air.’’ ( A real proper Bostonian, no doubt.)

A 45 year-old woman from Plainfield, Vt., says she eats toast in her car while driving to work, even though “there’s always a possibility that you’ll show up with a few crumbs on your chest.’’

Read more here: http://www.boston.com/lifestyle/food/articles/2009/10/14/dining_while_driving_theres_many_a_slip_twixt_cup_and_lip_but_that_doesnt_stop_us/

Here’s another article from MoneyCentral.msn.com, citing an official eating-while-driving “restraining order.”

Hagerty Classic Insurance, a classic car insurance company, began looking more closely at the problem of eating behind the wheel after a DMV check on an insurance applicant turned up a "restraining order" against anything edible within his reach while driving.

In looking into the company's claims history, Hagerty found that drivers had the most problems during morning commutes, when spills were likely to mar their work attire. Many of those motorists ran into trouble not so much from eating, as from trying to clean up spills while still driving.

Next Hagerty did a study to see which foods are the Top 10 worst offenders.

1. Coffee: It always finds a way out of the cup.
2. Hot soup: Many people drink it like coffee and run the same risks.
3. Tacos: A food that can disassemble itself without much help, leaving your car looking like a salad bar.
4. Chili: The potential for drips and slops down the front of clothing is significant.
5. Hamburgers: From the grease of the burger to the ketchup and mustard on top, plenty of goop can end up on your hands, clothes and steering wheel.
6. Barbecued food: Similar issue arises for barbecued foods as for hamburgers. The sauce may be great, but it will end up on whatever you touch.
7. Fried chicken: Another food that leaves you with greasy hands, which means constantly wiping them on something, even if it's your shirt. It also makes the steering wheel greasy.
8. Jelly- or cream-filled doughnuts: Has anyone ever eaten a jelly doughnut without some of the center oozing out? And jelly can be difficult to remove from material.
9. Soft drinks: Not only are they subject to spills, but they also can fizz as you're drinking them if you make sudden movements. Most of us have childhood memories of soda fizz in the nose; the sensation isn't any more pleasant now.
10. Chocolate: Like greasy foods, chocolate can coat your fingers as it melts against the warmth of your skin, leaving its mark anywhere you touch. Try to clean it off the steering wheel and you could end up unintentionally swerving.

Read more at:
http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/Insurance/InsureYourCar/10-worst-foods-to-eat-while-driving.aspx

And here’s just one more citation, as it were, for the road:

Celebrity Football Player Arrested for Eating Pizza, while driving….

http://backporch.fanhouse.com/2009/12/30/saints-mccray-arrested-for-driving-while-eating-pizza/

What I really want to know: How dangerous is it to be texting a food order to your favorite sub shop while you’re driving?

Share your thoughts with us on this all consuming topic! And seriously, don’t eat and drive!

AAA Offers Interactive Programs to Help Parents Improve Their Teenagers’ Driving

According to the American Automobile Association (AAA), the per–mile fatality rate for 16–year–olds is approximately 10 times that of adults. Why are teens so accident prone? AAA cites the following reasons:

• New drivers learn both good and bad driving habits mostly through experience.
• Novice drivers are less likely to stay focused, scan their surroundings effectively, identify potential hazards early, and make tough decisions quickly.
• Teen drivers perceive less risk in specific violations and dangerous situations, but more risk in relatively routine situations.
• Novice drivers usually drive too fast and too close to others, have unrealistic confidence in their own abilities, and leave inadequate safety margins in traffic.
• Teen drivers are less likely to wear their safety belts because they don't view preventive measures as important.
• Teen drivers are more likely to get in a crash when drinking and driving because their lack of experience behind the wheel cannot compensate for their impaired senses and judgment.
• Teens are more likely to overload a car, leading to high fatalities in a crash. Sixty–three percent of fatally injured teen passengers were killed in cars driven by other teens.
• Peer pressure and driver overconfidence lead teens to believe risky driving is rewarding and cool.

The AAA web site provides resources for parents to help them educate their teenage sons and daughters.

AAA's Teaching Your Teens to Drive: A Partnership for Survival Program helps parents provide supervised driving experience to novice drivers. The program materials include a colorfully illustrated handbook and live–action video. An interactive CD–ROM is available as well.

Through this program, parents can help their new drivers develop the following skills:

• Basic vehicle control
• Positioning and speed adjustment
• Passing and off–road maneuvers
• Visual search habits
• Freeway and night driving
• Driving on slippery surfaces
• Reducing risks

The AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety recently released an update of its popular educational tool for parents and teens, the interactive DVD, Driver–Zed. Realistic full motion graphics, exciting footage filmed from the driver’s perspective and other details create a high–end computer gaming experience. Teens will be challenged as they face a wide range of risks, from a child chasing a ball into the street to aggressive, tail–gating drivers. Driver–Zed 3.0 will help teens become safer drivers and avoid life threatening vehicle crashes. For more information on this, visit: http://www.web.aaasne.com/sne/public_affairs/teendriving.php