I was in Manhattan for a couple of days this week on a press event and noticed a new addition to the local cab fleet. For years now, the classic Crown Vics have been getting supplemented by Toyota Siennas, Ford Escape hybrids and the odd Prius. While cabbies love the mileage they get with the Prius and Escape, the passengers aren't always so thrilled with the volume available in the back seat. This is where the Nissan Altima hybrid comes in. The Altima has a roomier back seat than the other two hybrids, making it more suitable to the task. Unfortunately, that battery sucks up about a third of the trunk volume, making the Altima less suitable if your destination is one of the New York area airports. When we had an Altima Hybrid in the ABG Garage last year it managed 32.4mpg, which is quite respectable. Plus, it's probably the most attractive yellow car prowling the streets of Gotham right now.

[Source: TreeHugger]

"We have to build cars and trucks that people want to buy." So said Rick Wagoner, head of General Motors, at a recent conference in Dallas, Texas in response to why GM didn't begin offering hybrid cars earlier. Yeah, Rick, that's entirely true. But, your company also has to have at least a modicum of foresight in order to be successful in the tough American market these days. For instance, Toyota is just now reaping the benefits of its hybrid electric vehicles, despite the fact that the automaker has been building them since 1997. Did Toyota know something that GM didn't? Not really, as the entire world has been watching oil prices climb for the last few decades. It was bound to happen in the United States -- GM's own backyard -- as well, and now that it has indeed taken place, the three remaining American automakers have been caught with the wrong product at the wrong time sitting on dealer lots.

[Source: MSN Money Central]

With gas prices likely heading north of $4/gallon in some areas of the U.S. this summer, Enterprise Rent-a-Car is looking to provide some relief for their customers. The biggest rental agency in the U.S. has opened four new outlets in the Atlanta area that will be specializing in greener vehicles, primarily hybrids. Enterprise expects over sixty percent of rentals from the four green outlets to be hybrids or other fuel efficient models. The company has now accumulated over 4,000 hybrids in its rental fleet although that's just a tiny fraction of its 1.1 million vehicle fleet. Enterprise and other rental agencies are charging premiums of $5-15 a day for hybrids over conventional models. Hertz and Avis Budget Group have also added 3,500 and 2,500 hybrids to their fleets as demand for more efficient rental cars has expanded. So far the hybrid rentals have largely been confined to larger markets such as San Francisco, Los Angeles and Atlanta. Travelers aren't the only ones renting hybrids. Drivers with an interest in potentially buying a hybrid that want a longer test drive are also opting for the gas electric models as a way of evaluating whether they are appropriate for them.

[Source: Detroit Free Press]

"None of us is as smart as all of us."

That is the first message that I saw when I found my way to WeBreatheGreen.com. The site asks you to answer surveys which are then supposed to be seen and interpreted by those who make the decisions about the products and services which are available to consumers. Surveys have long been one way that companies find out what you want. I hate taking them as much as the next guy, I'll admit. But, If I thought that my answers would make a difference, I would be more willing to take the time to answer them. I don't know how successful this particular website is at driving the marketplace, but it sure does look neat with its "pod" arrangement. Kind of like grapes or peas...

Besides the look of the site, another thing I like about the design is that you can just view the comments, questions or insights from their members. For instance, when I clicked on the dark green pod at the bottom labeled "Insights", I was able to see some of the results from surveys which members of the site had filled out. One such survey indicated that 52 percent of those who responded to a particular survey planned to buy a hybrid car within the next three years. Good to know, huh? Granted, those who responded very well might have been those favoring green options already. Still, I found it interesting enough to share it with the rest of the class.

[Source: We Breathe Green]

Jamaica will join the list of countries or states that are rewarding hybrid vehicle purchasers with lower taxes on the importation of the cars. According to Finance and Planning Minister Dr. Omar Davies, "Our estimate is that this led to revenue loss of approximately $550 million during the last fiscal year. However, the greater objective of reducing our energy import bill is being served." That is some positive thinking, I would say. More than just hybrid cars are likely to be issued import tax breaks, as Dr. Davies indicated that, "The tax officials and officials from the Ministry of Industry, Technology, Energy and Commerce are in further discussion about broadening the list of goods, which would be qualified." Sounds like a good idea to reward those with the foresight to focus on energy savings.

[Source: Jamaica Information Service]

Toyota has long had a reputation as one of the highest quality car-makers in the world, and in large part of that reputation was built at a complex in Japan's Aichi prefecture known as Toyota City. Toyota City is a huge all-encompassing facility that actually includes 10 plants that produce almost everything that goes into cars and was the birthplace of the legendary Toyota production system. This system includes things like just-in-time manufacturing, and many other innovations that help the highly efficient facility produce such high quality products. Today, Toyota City produce several model lines including the Japanese market Camry, and the hybrid Prius.

Recently CNET got a chance to tour the plant that has produced Prius since its initial introduction in 1997. In its first full year of production in 1998 the factory produced 17,653 Priuses, and in 2005 that number increased almost ten-fold to 175,157. CNET tells about how the plant works and also the improvement process that yielded 600,000 ideas for improvement in the past year alone.

[Source: CNET]

According to a Reuters report from Tokyo, Nissan will finally enter the hybrid market with a completely self-developed vehicle in 2010. Currently Nissan isn't selling any hybrids although they have a hybrid Altima coming in 2007. The Altima will be using technology licensed from Toyota. Ford also uses Toyota-licensed technology in the Escape/Mariner hybrid. Nissan/Renault CEO Carlos Ghosn has made clear previously that hybrids don't make a lot of sense from a business standpoint because of low margins. For one thing, they are significantly more expensive to build than their conventional counterparts. Consumers so far have been unwilling to pay the full cost difference in the bottom line, particularly on smaller cars like the Civic and Prius, so manufacturers have had to sell hybrids with little or no profit margin. More expensive hybrids like the Honda Accord and Lexus RX400h have so far sold relatively poorly.

The main reason Nissan gives for selling the Altima with licensed Toyota technology is to meet California's average fuel economy standards. Nissan has been developing their own in-house hybrid technology, in parallel with the Altima development and this is what they expect to produce in 2010. Nissan has not commented on the Reuters report so far so no additional details are available on what kind of vehicle or technology to expect.

[Source: Reuters]