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What Are We Doing?
Welcome to Cool Eco Cars. This website will help you to see that there are many other options available to us as consumers to satisfy our transportation needs and desires. We do not have to think that the options at our disposal are all going to be ugly, and/or box like. Actually that is about as far from the truth as you can get. Manufacturer's like General Motors, with their Chevrolet, and Saturn branches. Also Toyota, and Honda, as well as BMW, Lexus, Ford, Chrysler, SSC, Hyundai and many others have jumped into the eco car reality. Some companies by choice to help make our world a better and greener place to live. A place that has less emissions, or even better no emissions from the vehicles that we choose to drive.

What Can We Do?
By setting strict guidelines as to what we as a society will tolerate for the new emissions levels coming from the vehicles that we produce, purchase and drive. Deciding to not buy and or use vehicles that do not meet our personal requirements is a good place to start. Write to your state representative telling them that you want them to enforce stronger regulations on the newer vehicles that are being produced in our country. The rest of the world and auto makers will conform as well once we set the example of making our world a better place.

2 SSIC - All Electric
Sports Car from Factory Five

Honda CRZ Hybrid
Concept
Honda FCX Clarity

Chevrolet Volt
Concept

2009 Honda
 Fit Sport

Tax Credits for Plug-In Hybrids?
Washington's growing interest could help make plug-in hybrids more affordable. The payoff: 150 miles per gallon. Click Here to read all about it.

What Kind of Improvements are Being Made Now?
According to GM, "aerodynamic improvement is a critical step in meeting the range targets necessary for moving the vehicle to a final production decision." Aerodynamic drag accounts for approximately 20 percent of the energy consumed in an average vehicle, directly impacting vehicle fuel efficiency. Aerodynamics development begins with a 1/3-scale model where basic shape and major features are defined. The model includes a highly detailed underbody and engine compartment. Radiator and under hood cooling flow is developed with computational fluid dynamic models. Simultaneously, computation development takes place to determine aerodynamic drag of design alternatives. Development continues with full-scale models, where shape is refined and optimized for low wind noise. The development process concludes with a vehicle prototype validation of the math-based analysis and physical testing.

Texting and Driving

Th!nk Electric Carmaker Coming to U.S. - Tuesday, April 22nd, 2008 - Will a car, not really capable of comfortable highway driving speeds and not that great of a distance range, make it in the US market? A couple venture capitalists on the east and west coasts seem to think so. Th!nk, a Norwegian electric car maker is coming to the US and will be based out of Menlo Park, CA.

The Th!nk City, due out in 2009, will have a top speed of 65mph and will have a range of 110 miles on a single charge, and designed to meet all U.S. federal motor vehicle safety requirements. It will be equipped with ABS and dual front airbags. The price is estimated to be below $25,000.

Th!nk, the Norwegian electric carmaker, secured funding from two U.S. venture capital firms to bring its business to North America. The financial backing—from Silicon Valley-based Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers and Boston-based Rockport Capital Partners—will allow Th!nk to set up shop in Menlo Park, California under the banner Th!nk North America. The company’s first production car will be the Th!nk City, a small all-electric vehicle capable of reaching 65 miles per hour and traveling up to 110 miles on a single charge.

China Vies to Be World’s Leader in Electric Cars - April 1, 2009 - Tianjan, China - Chinese leaders have adopted a plan aimed at turning the country into one of the leading producers of hybrid and all-electric vehicles within three years, and making it the world leader in electric cars and buses after that.

The goal, which radiates from the very top of the Chinese government, suggests that Detroit’s Big Three, already struggling to stay alive, will face even stiffer foreign competition on the next field of automotive technology than they do today.

Water-fuel car unveiled in Japan - June 14th, 2008 - Japanese company Genepax presents its eco-friendly car that runs on nothing but water.

The car has an energy generator that extracts hydrogen from water that is poured into the car’s tank. The generator then releases electrons that produce electric power to run the car. Genepax, the company that invented the technology, aims to collaborate with Japanese manufacturers to mass produce it.

Manufacturers for some time now, but it appears that a Japanese company named Genepax may have pulled ahead of the competition with a prototype vehicle that runs entirely on water and air. Their new "Water Energy System (WES)," generates power by supplying water and air to the fuel and air electrodes using a proprietary technology called the Membrane Electrode Assembly (MEA). The secret behind MEA is a special material that is capable of breaking down water into hydrogen and oxygen through a chemical reaction.

Google pushes 100-mpg car - Tuesday, June 19th, 2007 - I say it is about time some of the big Fortune 500’s set up to the plate and start putting more money into things to advance alternative energy. Hopefully the Google vibes carry on to other large corporate companies in the nation.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) - Google said Tuesday it is getting in on the development of electric vehicles, awarding $1 million in grants and inviting applicants to bid for another $10 million in funding to develop plug-in hybrid electric vehicles capable of getting 70 to 100 miles per gallon.

The project, called the RechargeIT initiative and run from Google’s philanthropic arm, Google.org, aims to further the development of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles - cars or trucks that have both a gasoline engine and advanced batteries that recharge by plugging into the nation’s electric grid.

“Since most Americans drive less than 35 miles per day, you easily could drive mostly on electricity with the gas tank as a safety net,” Dan Reicher, director of Climate and Energy Initiatives for Google.org, wrote on the organization’s Web site. “In preliminary results from our test fleet, on average the plug-in hybrid gas mileage was 30-plus mpg higher than that of the regular hybrids.”

What makes a Hybrid a Hybrid?
A hybrid vehicle is essentially a vehicle that gets its power from 2 or more different energy sources. The most common type of Hybrid in today's market would be the gas-electric hybrid.

A gas-electric hybrid combines the use of a gas internal combustion engine and a battery/electric motor to create energy to propel the vehicle.

Hybrid Vehicle Listing. - Here is a listing of the current Hybrid vehicles that are available or about to be available from the information that we have gathered. Further investigating of each Hybrid vehicle's availability and/or projected date of release may be necessary.

Sedans and Compact Cars - Chevrolet Malibu Hybrid, Honda Accord Hybrid, Honda Civic Hybrid, Honda Insight Hybrid,  Lexus GS450h Hybrid, Lexus LS 600H L Hybrid, Nissan Altima Hybrid, Saturn Aura Green Line Hybrid, Toyota Camry Hybrid, Toyota Prius Hybrid

What is Biodiesel fuel?
Biodiesel is a clean burning alternative fuel. It is a domestic product made from easily renewable resources like soybean and vegetable oil. Pure 100% Biodiesel (Neat) contains no petroleum diesel. However, Biodiesel is also often sold in a blend of Biodiesel and standard petroleum diesel. Biodiesel is for use in diesel engines only.

Types of Biodiesel Fuel - There are two basic types of Biodiesel that are commonly sold throughout the States. B100 and B20. B100 is 100% (Neat) Biodiesel fuel. It is the cleanest type of biodiesel fuel.

The second common fuel would be the B20 Biodiesel blend. This fuel is 20% Biodiesel blended with 80% petroleum diesel. While not as clean as B100, B20 still has significant improvements over your standard petroleum diesel. Your diesel engine will give you better gas mileage, run much more efficiently and last longer with the use of either grade of biodiesel. And if that is not reason enough already, it is much safer for the environment.

Where can I fill up with Biodiesel? - Biodiesel is available in most states. It is widely available in many agricultural states where Biodiesel fuel is predominantly produced. Click here to see the availability of Biodiesel fuel in your area.

Can I make Biodiesel fuel at home? - YES! It is possible to make your own Biodiesel in your own home. There are numerous kits and equipment available to you to start making your own biodiesel fuel right out of you own garage.

What is Ethanol fuel?
Like Biodiesel, Ethanol too is a clean burning alternative fuel made right here in the United States. Ethanol is produced from corn and other common crops. It is a oxygenated high-octane fuel. Ethanol is also commonly known as Ethyl Alcohol or Grain Alcohol in its purest form.

The main benefits of using ethanol are:
- Decrease the harmful emissions that regular unleaded gasoline's put in our atmosphere.
- Increase the efficiency of your engines life through higher octane and oxygen.
- Decrease American dependence on foreign fuels.

Ethanol is not used in its purest form (100% ethanol) in the common engine. It is generally blended with unleaded gasoline to create a useable type of alternative fuel. These common blends are E10 and E85.

Types of Ethanol Fuel - The two common types of ethanol that are widely sold throughout the United States are E10 and E85.

E10 is a blend of 10% ethanol with 90% unleaded gasoline. E10 is safe for use in all vehicles without modification. You could start using E10 today. It would be beneficial to the performance of your vehicle and to your health.

E85 is a blend of 85% ethanol with only 15% unleaded gasoline. E85 must only be used in engines modified to run E85 fuel. E85 is a higher grade alternative fuel for use in flexible fuel vehicles or FFVs. They truly are a "Flexible" vehicle. FFVs can run on E85, regular unleaded gasoline or any mixture in between and up to 85% ethanol. Giving the driver flexibility of what fuel they want to use.

Ethanol is an "oxygenated" fuel. This means the properties of ethanol contain more oxygen. The more oxygen in the fuel mixture the better it naturally detonates or burns. The added oxygen also allows it to burn cleaner. Also, since the BTU value of ethanol is lower than regular unleaded gasoline, it burns cooler. The cooler you keep your engine the longer your engine will last. View other tips to keep your engine efficient and in optimal condition here.

Where can I fill up with ethanol? - As more and more FFVs are being manufactured, more and more E85 fueling stations are popping up around the country. Our friends over at E85fuel.com have a database of the most up to date E85 fueling locations.

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