We talked about the Charm City Circulator, Baltimore’s new system of hybrid buses, back when it had just started up; now that it’s been running a while, we thought we’d check in and see whether or not the locals took to it.

As it turns out, they have. The C3 is free, first of all (not that bus fare in Baltimore is all that expensive), and it shadows popular MTA bus routes. It’s also a cleaner ride around town than MTA buses, and not always late to designated stops, either. And riders are generally pleased with the experience. “This is the best thing ever!” says someone on the C3 Facebook page, noting that “your wonderful bus delivers me from…my hotel to the hospital and allows me to spend my cab money on other Baltimore attractions.” Yelp.com also yielded happy riders, with one reviewer asking “what’s not to like?…10 minute headways means there’s always a bus coming.” People are responding well to the idea of a hybrid bus, too - Baltimore is a much greener city than is often assumed.

In fact, Baltimore Brew has suggested just limiting MTA service to express buses and transit hubs and letting C3 cover everything else because, so far, it’s a better system with more money and community support. And, as the article points out, Baltimore’s public transportation network is beyond redundant and it’s time to finally trim down their 3 or four badly-run options into one or two that actually work. That the C3 is at the top of this list already says a lot about the potential for greener transportation in general, despite how often naysayers try to shrug it off as a gimmick or a fad.

We must say, we’re proud of Baltimore for offering such a nice service - we’ve ridden the C3 a couple of times and really enjoyed the experience. Let’s hope the city government and the MTA are paying attention.

Well, looky here! Looks like hybrid car sales spiked up last month to the tune of a 20% increase, compared to a 12% increase for the auto industry as a whole. And while Toyota’s hybrid sales still dominate the market, Ford has taken second place; their Fusion Hybrid sales are up 64%, and the Escape is up 25%.

Ford’s approach to greener cars has been cautious and variant - Ford sustainability expert John Viera told Hybrid Cars that “there is no silver bullet” when it comes to eco-friendly cars whose problems range from upfront expense to support/maintenance infrastructure. We’re pretty sure he meant magic bullet, but that’s beside the point. Instead of using a single technology to brand themselves, Ford has kept a broad scope, putting work into “advanced internal combustion technology, hybrids, plug-in hybrids, and electric cars.” Not a bad idea. Actually, we salute Ford’s efforts to supply more than one kind of green vehicle to the marketplace, even if it complicates their marketing. Options and adapability are an important part of green living, and it’s good to hear people besides us beating that drum. The risk for Ford is that one particular type of green car could heat up, leaving them in the dust behind a company that threw more resources into it, but that doesn’t seem to be where things are headed, and questions like “could Ford fall behind if electric cars take the world by storm?” are a little premature.

The Wall Street Journal has declined rapidly since Rupert Murdoch bought it and turned it into his right-wing Livejournal, but this tidbit about electric trucks caught our eye. The WSJ posits that electric trucks outpace electric cars in the marketplace because trucks are less of an upfront expense for companies than cars are for individual consumers. Rather astute of them, yes? They further explain that “electric cars will be expensive…and it could take the average family many years to ‘break even’ based on money they saved by not buying gasoline.”

This all came about because Fed Ex will soon be using eStar buses for their urban delivery routes (they plan to deploy 400 trucks by the end of the year). The WSJ continued their reasoning that delivery companies see more upfront savings from electric vehicles because they “travel more miles [and] are also at their best in stop-and-go traffic and urban settings.”

Meanwhile, electric vehicle manufacturer ZAP is working on overall efficiency by shipping out lithium battery systems for their full range of vehicles.  Lithium battery systems improve electric car performance and lifespan (at least four times the life of standard batteries and twice the driving range), and ZAP customers have been told to expect “improved acceleration and handling of their vehicles.” We’ve been writing about lithium batteries off and on for a while now, so we’re obviously pleased to see them in use. Hopefully the paths of increased corporate usage of electric vehicles and consumer engine/battery improvements converge while the public is still interested in the technology.

Wow, it’s been a while since the last update. Sorry about that! Finals and one of us having to throw hours of his life into the Pit of Eternal Suck that is the Maryland Film Festival kinda got in the way of the blog for a minute there, but we’re back! And we’ve got some interesting news this time.

Electric cars are whisper-quiet compared to conventional automobiles, which poses a unique hazard to the deaf and hard-of-hearing. The scenario of an impaired pedestrian walking right in front of a car because he or she didn’t hear it coming has been brought up a lot, and while one would think people would help keep each other safe in situations like that, the sad truth of it is that investments in human kindness rarely see returns.

So electric car manufacturers are going for the next best thing: Star Wars. Yep, the Daily Mail reports that “regulators in the European Union, Japan and the United States are considering allowing manufacturers an array of sounds - from the conventional [engine noises] to sci-fi sounds from Star Wars” so pedestrians can hear them coming. There’s even talk of allowing manufacturers to create their own “signature sounds” for their electric vehicles, which strikes us as a potentially terrible ringtone-for-your-car situation, but the basic idea is (pardon the pun) perfectly sound. Car noises alert people to oncoming cars, and also inform drivers of whether or not the car is accelerating or decelerating. Plus, all the hopeless dorks at Corn Car HQ want our cars to sound like the Millennium Falcon.

What other sound packages would be cool to include with electric cars? Anyone?

Finally, some real ethanol news. It’s nice to find some actual news stories to comment on instead of cantankerous op-ed pieces that might as well have been written five years ago, for how relevant they are now. We’ve got cantankerous covered, thanks.

Anyway, auto supplier Ricardo Inc. has built an ethanol-burning engine that, they claim, has better fuel economy than a traditional gas engine. Using diesel engines as a model, Ricardo built one that runs on a 30% to 50% ethanol blend that tops off at 15 mpg and weighs between 400 and 500 pounds. Meant for heavy trucks, their engine costs less than a comparably-sized diesel engine. The problem, of course, is that Ricardo’s optimum blend isn’t available anywhere yet, but Oil Price Information Service’s Tom Kloza points out that “people are agnostic” when it comes to fuel prices, and we don’t see gas getting much cheaper any time soon. It also helps that the U.S. Energy Information Administration is projecting improvements for the ethanol industry this year, based on a reversal of gasoline consumption dips that will boost demand for biofuels, and the rising requirements of federal renewable fuels standards.

And for what it’s worth, 2004 presidential candidate Wesley Clark supports ethanol. In fact, he was on hand for Ricardo Inc.’s engine test at today’s Washington, D.C. Auto Show, where he talked up ethanol’s job creation and environmental benefits, as well as the role it could play in national security. Clark may have been the laziest presidential candidate this side of Fred Thompson, but at least something can stir him to action. We’re glad it’s ethanol.

So Porsche has officially said no to proposed hybrid versions of the 911 or the Boxster - hybrid components, they claim, would add too much weight, and sports cars aren’t meant for city driving anyway. Debatable point, but whatever. The good news is that Porsche does want to make an all-electric sports car, assuming it could meet the performance standards of a regular engine. Or, more likely, when the corporate yuppie fartbags who drive Porsches can be convinced to go electric.

But hybrids are making progress elsewhere. Peugeot is still in production for its 2011 diesel-hybrid vehicle, the 3008 Hybrid4 Concept, and both Mercedes-Benz and GM are following suit. “Both cars are mild hybrids,” says Fox News’ website, “meaning the electric motor adds power to that of the combustion engine, as well as restarting it from stops. But they are not capable of running in all-electric mode, like…the Toyota Prius.” That was…surprisingly vitriol-free for Fox. Huh.

Anyway, hybrids and other green cars have been a hit for American automakers, whose finances are still delicate after Detroit’s 2007-08 freefalling crash - The Daily Green reports that “Ford’s hybrid sales were up 147% for the year,” adding that “the Ford Fusion Hybrid is a hit.” Ford has been recouping its losses, ending 2009 with a full percentage point gain in US market share, and their stock price is now 10 times improved. Their success could partly explain why GM is gunning for hybrid and diesel-hybrid vehicle production in the coming year - both GM and Chrysler are still struggling. Then again, Ford could go nowhere but up - owners of the ‘93 Taurus understand what we mean here.

Still, this is all promising news for 2010. Keep sending us stories, folks, and we’ll keep reporting ‘em. There might be a list in the works, too…

Way back in May of last year, we laughed off the prospect of a chocolate-fueled car in our List of Things that Wouldn’t be Powering Cars Any Time Soon.

Well boy, are our faces red. Turns out a group of plucky young squires from Warwick University have designed a chocolate-powered race car. Really.

According to a write-up from Jalopnik, “its body is made of potatoes, the steering wheel is carrots,” referring to the recycled plant and fruit fibers/extracts used to build it, “and the fuel is derived from chocolate.” And it works, too; the car can hit 145 mph and apparently corners like a champ.

So we have to scratch chocolate off that list of ours. Anyone got any ideas for something to replace it?

Branching off yesterday’s Tesla Motors post, they’re one of the 111 teams competing in the Progressive Automotive X-Prize contest, which put an unnecessary “x” in its name about 7 years too late for cool points. Nevertheless, it awards “a $10 million prize to build a practical vehicle capable of getting the equivalent of 100 miles per gallon of gas.” Some of the other teams include Indian company Tata Motors Ltd.; Aptera Motors, another CA start-up with big/futile hopes for a three-wheeled electric car (look out, ladies); LINCVOLT, Neil Young’s conversion project that we wrote about last year, and many others, of course. None of the Detroit manufacturers are entering anything, but they’ve got other things on their plate right now, be it getting the Chevy Volt ready for consumers, being forcibly restructured by the government, or both simultaneously.

The road competitions for the PAX-Prize will start next year, so gentlemen, charge your engines!

Happy St. Paddy’s day, folks! Hope you spent it safely and responsibly, in the spirit of Corn Car’s Official St. Patrick’s Day Mascot, Flashy the Drunken Leprechaun (pictured at left).

Now then, to business. Two states - Florida and Washington - have recently introduced tax breaks for electric cars. Both states intend to drop their sales tax on the vehicles, and the proposed Florida bill intends to give tax breaks to businesses that use electric cars. Some in Florida are even suggesting that lanes on main roads and highways be reserved for electric cars. This is a pertinent issue in the Sunshine State, home to some of the worst driving in continental America; a state where “merge” is a personal challenge and the levels of pack-animal aggression would make even Marylanders scratch their heads. It is an automotive hinterland where people routinely back out of their driveways at 60 mph. That they’ve even considered sacrificing an entire lane for the smaller, gentler electric car is staggering.

Of course, before we get all gooey, CEO of Volkswagen Group of America Stefan Jacoby says that it will take 35 years for the electric car to “gain a significant share of the global automotive market.” Indeed, he insists that “there is no country on earth that is really properly prepared for electric cars,” because most power grids aren’t set up to withstand hundreds of thousands of vehicles plugged into them. Which is a legitimate concern, and one that we’ve pondered from time to time. But it’s also true that Jacoby doesn’t want electric cars to take off before then, what with VW’s commitment to diesel engines and all.

Either way, it’s good to get people using electric cars now so that our infrastructure can mature with the technology - we certainly don’t want to be saying that we’re not ready for electric cars 35 years from now, do we?

The year is 1978. The Cold War rages on, artificial insulin has just been invented, the city of Cleveland goes bankrupt under the temperamental eye of then-mayor Dennis Kucinich, and the world sees both the tragic death of Keith Moon and the equally tragic birth of Ashton Kutcher. And, weirdly enough, Jack Nicholson was driving a hydrogen car. Probably while wearing flared pants and a shirt with lapels large enough to threaten commercial aviation, and his bit about the car “revolutionizing suicide” due to the lack of poisonous exhaust fumes was in poor taste, but this is still pretty amazing. Even moreso than those taffy-thick Canadian accents. Yikes.

Returning to 2009, Daniel Sperling appeared on The Daily Show recently to explain the government’s role in advancing fuel-efficient cars. Sperling didn’t have too many nice things to say about corn ethanol, claiming that it doesn’t do much for climate change and that the money would be better spent on electric cars, but the more interesting portion of this interview was his explanation of what has kept electric/hybrid/hydrogen cars from rocketing into the mainstream; the technology is well on its way, but the auto and fuel industries (and consumers of course) need to accept it, and the government is the mediator between those two forces. We hadn’t really thought about it that way, but that does make a lot of sense and, really, that smacks of Obama’s approach to the issue. In our next post, we’ll suggest ways for the government to sweet-talk Big Industry into accepting flex-fuel cars, but feel free to comment if you have ideas of your own.