Europe To Get Standardised Charging Points

With electric cars ready to hit the showrooms this year Europe's electric vehicle market is already inline for an element of standardisation. Antonio Tajani, the European Industry Commissioner, has released plans to standardise charging points.

"This is no abstract concept, it's a set of 40 practical actions" he said "Electric cars are being keenly awaited by European citizens, it's important for those people to be abel to cross boarders and still charge their cars.

With senior authorities such as Antonio Tajani already looking to benefit the charging facilities across the continent it is evident that electric cars are going to become an integral part of motoring in the near future, I for one am looking forward to the next evolution of electric motoring to see if any manufacturer is capable of making a car with serious performance and convenience, and yes Tesla have made a good job at the performance side of things but a 16 hour battery charge...Seriously?

Less Emissions Than A Hamster Fart - New Ford Start Leaked

Ford must be a little upset by the circumstances in which the entire world has discovered it's latest concept, the 'Start' car, as it was leaked out on the internet a day before it's official unveiling was meant to take place at the Beijing auto-show. Nevertheless it's great news for us car fans! Of course lots of car companies are kicking out concepts at the Beijing auto show, it's the the place to do it these days, but Ford's design team in California are targeting this little dude at the ever growing cities in the far east and of course it is packed full of eco credentials.

Under the wee bonnet is a 1.0 litre, 3 cylinder turbo engine that ford has donned with 'EcoBoost' technology which manages to get under 100g/km of C02. We are talking 90mpg here and less emissions than a hamster fart. Ford have also said that despite it's miniature power plant it will still have the power of a 1.6 four cylinder engine, pretty impressive stuff and perfect as a city car. It is also made of super light weight composite panels and other eco-features such as one piece moulded rear seats to keep costs and resources to a minimum.

The styling is really cool, a futuristic take on the now seriously old Ka which it would make an ideal replacement for. However, both interestingly and annoyingly, Ford have said this really is strictly for the Asian market and it will not be making it's way to Europe any time soon. This is a shame because if it ends up resembling anything like it's concept (and it probably will) the Start would be a great seller, certainly in the UK, and by the time this car hits the roads motorists will be even more eco conscious and willing to adopt this new wallet friendly mobile.

So the styling won't make it to europe but the engines will, expect to see the EcoBoost technology in the new Focus and Fiesta soon, this will be a necessity for Ford not only to benefit consumers wallets but also to stay on top of the new emissions rules which could result in major fines by 2015, for more on that story feel free to Click Here.

I digress...Of course being a car from the future means it also features some great new tech. For example, the 'MyFord Mobile' concept may well be featured in the Start where owners of the iPhone for example can have a custom profile on their phone which when plugged into the car will set the the radio to their favourite stations and be able to voice control the heating and air conditioning.

We are seeing lots of these eco babys coming from various manufactures recently, a testament to the future of efficient motoring. Stay posted for further updates on the Start and more eco minis soon.

Ultra Eco Leaf Car - More Pictures!

Doing the rounds I came across a few more leaf car pictures earlier and thought i'd throw them up here as the original post only had the one image. These detail a little better how the unique roof of the Leaf car looks and works. Just like a real leaf, the roof is able to emit oxygen from it's surface as well as doubling as an ultra efficient solar panel which is one of the ways in which it provides power to the car as well as using the wheel turbines. Obviously this is a concept project but it actually works! Give the technology a few years and we could very well see elements of this vehicle making their way to mass produced cars in the future.

How To Design Your Twitter Background - Eco Style

We decided to feature this post as setting up a descent background for our twitter profile has been harder than it first seems and so we wanted to share it with you guys just in case you were scratching your heads too!

Even though we have had our twitter page set up for a little while now, this was mostly to register our name and get in the twitosphere as soon as possible. I decided now was the time to bling up our page with a purposeful twitter background that was both informative and aesthetically pleasing. The trickiest element of designing the page is getting the sizing right. This isn't because you dont know what size to make it, it's finding the optimum size which will display your background on all monitor sizes without hiding your content thats the problem.

As twitter gets displayed on different size screens the content column fluctuates in it's location which can often hide elements of your design, some of which might be important information. Very annoying! In an ideal world you need your content on the left of your background to be visible on a 15" laptop screen up to a 30" desktop monitor and everything in between.

By starting your design with a panel 250x1000 (tall and thin) everything you want people to be abel to see must fit within here and be located at the far left of your canvas. By constraining all of the important info in here, it will allow for people with 15" monitors upwards to view your juicy content. This is pretty much the most important thing to consider when designing your page. After you have accommodated this space into your design you are free to go wild with the rest of your content.

Here is our twitter background for a little bit of inspiration...

25 Awesome Jeremy Clarkson Quotes

Stumbling around the internet over lunch we came across a great post from RideLust detailing 25 of Jeremy Clarkson's best quotes, such as; 12. “The air conditioning in Lamborghinis used to be an asthmatic sitting in the dashboard blowing at you through a straw.” and 3. “When they debate as to what the sound of the SLR engine was akin to, the British engineers from McLaren said it sounded like a Spitfire. But the German engineers from Mercedes said ‘Nein! Nein! Sounds like a Messerschmitt!’ They were both wrong. It sounds like the God of Thunder, gargling with nails.” Click Here for more awesomeness

Our Website Development Progress 5 - The Holding Page

Time is flying by! It's been around 6 weeks since we started development of EcoForecourt and now the nitty gritty hardcore coding work is taking place. Until recently things have been relatively hands on for us in terms of liaising with the designers and making decisions on usability, structure and layout etc. As the look and feel of the site has been finalised, work on the CMS (Content Management System) is now being carried out which, among other things, involves linking up all the necessary components of the site that will be editable by admin and putting together a profile layout and control for users of the site. In the mean time then, and seeing as we at EF are not coders, we have been putting together a holding page that will be live very soon over at www.EcoForecourt.com. A holding page I hear you say? Don't underestimate the power of the holding page! It will be the hub of all pre-launch activity, detailing what the site is all about, what we stand for and how to keep up to date on our progress, it also includes the all important count down timer! Once our domain name is hosted on our own servers the holding page will go live and be announced! Just as a side note and on the off-chance any of you are interested, it takes up to 60 days to transfer a '.com' domain name after registering it so thats what we are waiting for. It should be any day now so stay tuned!

17 DIY Cars Hacked For Maximum Econess!

Treehugger.com have posted a great little article featuring some hilarious examples of home made eco 'improvements' to enthusiasts cars. From actual wood burners to DIY aerodynamics there are some brilliant modifications to put a smile on your face. Despite the light hearted approach to many of these conversions there is an element of ingenuity in all of them that has to be admired and makes you wonder if there might actually be a commercial application to be found in some of the more unique modifications. Check it out here

Technorati Verification!

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Many thanks!

Our Website Development Progress 4 - News

News section added! In addition to our Daily Thoughts blog and as one of the primary features of the site, EcoForecourt has a fully fledged News section where by the latest updates and reviews from the eco world of motoring will be featured on a daily basis. Among others, I shall be a contributor to the news pages but we will also be on the look out for young, budding journalist talent who are looking for great experience in writing for a professional website on one of the most in vogue topics of our time; the future of motoring.

We will be making an official announcement about this soon so stay tuned if you are interested in writing for us!

EcoForecourt.com vs World Cup

So it looks like the launch of EcoForecourt.com will probably coincide with the most popular sporting event of the decade - The World Cup. So it's probably wise for us not to try and grab attention during the intense football action when everyone will only be glued to the TV and be in pubs across the land thinking about goals and beer. We'll keep you posted but expect an EcoForecourt.com holding page to be up and running any time now!

Format Wars - What New Fuel Will We End Up Using?

One of the most recent format wars that comes to mind is BluRay vs HD-DVD. A few years ago the tech blogs, websites and news pages were often awash with information, speculation and reviews of which format was dominating the digital entertainment industry each week. There were of course key players on both teams and if it were not for the withdrawal of Toshiba from the format race we might have been left with the choice of 2 or more formats to run your entertainment on - not that this is a bad thing. Lets face it though, most of us aren't really that fussed about what format the disc is that goes in your player, just as long as it does a good job right?

The future of fuel however is likely to be a very different story. What about our new alternative fuels? Which one will dominate? Which companies are going to get a sturdy foothold in the market share, Which fuel will you likely use and which will come to market first?

To cut this short, hybrid cars are already winning the race, which currently leaves, not the notorious oil conglomerates to mop up the money, but instead we are seeing battery manufacturers, with the likes of LGChem, laughing all the way as they struggle to keep up with the demand for ever improved lithium-ion power packs.

At this years Geneva motor show nearly every manufacturers stand featured eco inspiration in their new models and press releases, from Volkswagens super high MPG blue efficiency Polo to Ferrari's 599 HY-KERS. One particular company however, stood out the most; Porche. Typically being a manufacturer of performance orientated (and therefore uneconomical) cars, Porsche simultaneously unveiled 3 new hybrid vehicles this year, a GT3 leMans racer, the jaw dropping 918 Spyder and their all new Cayenne 4X4.

When the Carrera GT was first unveiled or even the first Cayenne just 4 years ago, the last thing on peoples minds would of been efficiency, economy or environmental responsibility. Merely a few years on and the primary focus of Porche's show as it unveiled it's latest range of super cars was it's hybrid technology and advancements in fuel and energy efficiency, demonstrating, that even companies who's last concern that seems to be only a blink ago, is now part of their flagship car, paving the way for the future and setting the benchmark for other companies to follow suit.

Hybrids, however eco friendly they are perceived today, are probably going to be an interim technology in the long run though. While the governments and super companies of the world are for ever recognising the importance of going green and eco, hybrid technology, while seemingly new, is something they have been able to turn their attention to in the short term to maximise green credentials.

The future of automotive design is looking at 100% electric vehicles and hydrogen fuel cell alternatives as well as cars that essentially power themselves from energy developed by wheel turbines and are carbon neutral as they clean the air in their immediate environment. As a personal thought, if an infrastructure (petrol stations and refineries being the primary candidates) can be developed to support hydrogen as we have done with petrol and diesel, the future of hydrogen powered cars looks healthy. There are already hydrogen fuel stations in California acting as a development program for the technology as well as serving the few hydrogen drivers currently cruising the sunny highways of LA. As we have the option of petrol and diesel today in the future it will not be unlikely to have the option of classic fuels as well as hydrogen and electric available to us at “fueling” stations.

Electric vehicles are already making a big push in the industry too. With the likes of the Silicon Valley designed Tesla Roadster making a prominent statement that performance does not have to be compromised for efficiency. With a 0-60mph time similar to that of a 911 Turbo it is a clear indicator that there is vast potential in the application of electric motors in the future of transport. Further supporting the electric trend is Volkswagen, while not focusing so much on the performance benefits electric motors bring to the table - such as 100% torque 100% of the time - Volkswagen have recently announced their Milano Taxi model which will be cleaning up the streets by 2013. Of course like all of these alternative fuels, in their infancy they each bring with them their own problems and electric cars biggest problem by far is the charging time and range. Where you might be able to drive 250 miles or so on a full charge in the Tesla, the 'empty' to 'ready' time can be 16 hours! Volkswagens Milano Taxi, albeit a lot better still only gets you an 80% charge in 4 hours - imagine standing next to the pump for that long, these are all substantial stationary charging times which the industry needs to overcome as best as it can before the masses will be able to adopt electric vehicles, even if they really want to.

In the grand scheme of things we are just scraping the surface of AF (Alternative Fuel) vehicles and their accompanying technologies, and while traditional fuel prices and gas guzzlers tax brackets are only continuing to rise, there are engines out there developing some fantastic economy figures running on traditional fuels. That being said, we are witnessing a pivotal point in automotive history that will eventually change the way the world fuels it’s transport in years to come.

New Lease Of life For Hydrogen Fuel Cells In Cars

In recent times hydrogen has had it's fair share of stumbling block in the race to becoming an actual alternative fuel, the fear of explosions due to it's highly volatile properties, the problem with carrying large quantities of hydrogen requiring heavy tanks to be installed in vehicles and of course the lack of infrastructure to supply the fuel to the world. However, Israeli scientists and entrepreneurs claim to have advanced hydrogen fuel one step closer to the reality of it becoming a genuine alternative fuel. As opposed to using metal or composite cylinders of compressed gas that resemble the likes of diving equipment, hydrogen is stored in thousands of miniature glass capillaries which, once development is completed, will only be slightly thicker than a human hair. Dan Eliezer, chief scientist of Geneva based C.En Ltd said "We have shown new materials that can store more hydrogen than any other system," The 370 glass filaments are slotted into a larger glass tube called a capillary-array, about the width of a drinking straw. The Israeli development team say 11,000 such tubes will fuel a car for 240 miles (400km) and take less than half the space and weight of tanks currently installed in the few hydrogen cars now available. Despite a sizeable investment of $10million into the fuel cell project by Generali Insurance, the project is unlikely to gain traction without a much larger capital injection to upscale the development. Once again with Hydrogen, one of the more significant problems is the crucial need for a substantially better infrastructure and distribution network to supply hydrogen to the masses and this will not be feasible without the support of major car companies, which have poured billions of dollars into their own closely guarded research programs. Despite these hurdles Moshe Stern, C.En's chief executive, said "the electric car will dominate the market for years to come, but the cheap and unlimited supply of hydrogen will make it the power source of the future". "Within a few years, perhaps a decade, hydrogen fuel will shift the world's energy balance away from oil", he said. "The real revolution is not the technical revolution, it is the political revolution," said Stern. "We are Israelis. We know what it means to be blackmailed by oil,"

New Volkswagen Electric Taxi

Taking it's name and colour theme from taxi's of Milans past, Volkswagens new green and black eco taxi has been unveiled today at the Hannover Messe auto show. Described as "an urban MPV tailored to the needs of taxi drivers" the Milano taxi is powered 100% by electricity. As with most electric vehicles being developed today it draws it's power from lithium-ion batteries that are installed on the underside of the vehicle. An 80% charge takes just over an hour and with 85kW of power developing a top speed of 75mph and a pretty impressive range of 186 miles between charges, Volkswagen has upped it's game in the alternative fuel - eco race - that every other manufacturer is currently competing in. One of the more unique features of the Milano taxi is its swivel-sliding door, which extends into the roof to make for a wider opening. It also uses any vacant front passenger space to carry luggage and a cut back dash to boost interior room. IN the passenger side a screen in the rear displays the current fare and allows passengers to get more information on local points of interest. On the drivers side there is a touchscreen computer, which tidies up the dash and integrates the often bolted on technology such as taxi radio, telephone, sat-nav and trip computer etc. Volkswagen has announced that it will launch its first, zero-emission, production electric vehicles in 2013.

British Built Axon Hybrid Car

There's a new British motor industry and it's green.

From the ashes of the old rises some of the world's best low-emission technology, Cue the Axon 8080. Northamptonshire-based Axon Automotive have just launched this plug-in hybrid, which mixes batteries and a little bioethanol engine, making it good for 100mpg, with just 50g/km CO2 and no range anxiety either.

An ultra-lightweight carbon fibre poppet bankrolled by the UK Technology Strategy Board, the 8080 will be in showrooms as early as 2011 and should qualify for the Government's five grand eco bung. So much cooler than a G-Wiz.

Axon Automotive has been selected to be part of a signing ceremony to launch the cooperation between E-ON and Milton Keynes council over plans to install electric car recharging points.

Milton Keynes is one of three ‘Plugged-in Places’ locations across the country, which will receive funding to install recharging infrastructure to accelerate the uptake of electric cars.

Zero Emission London Taxis By 2012

As part of a £23 million project with the UK government’s Technology Strategy Board, Intelligent Energy, a clean power systems company with a range of fuel cell and hydrogen generation technologies, has recently been leading a programme to develop a fleet of zero emission London taxis by 2012.

Currently three taxis are undergoing reliability trials, with a total of twenty taxis due to be produced by 2012 - an official unveiling is planned later this year.

Chief executive officer at Intelligent Energy, Henri Winand, said,

“With the price of oil continuing to rise and CO2 emissions increasing, we need to introduce alternatives to the petrol and diesel engine. Fuel cell vehicles offer considerable well-to-wheel emissions savings, and produce no pollution at the tail-pipe. The black cab is an internationally recognised and iconic symbol of London and this partnership is an important part of making low carbon transport a practical and near-term reality. This project is central to our plans to supply zero emissions power systems to the automotive market.”

Intelligent Energy’s other successes in recent years include the development of the world’s first hydrogen fuel cell motorbike (the ENV), a collaboration with Suzuki to manufacture a Fuel Cell powered scooter (the Suzuki Burgman Fuel Cell Scooter) and supplying a fuel cell system to Boeing which powered the world’s first manned fuel cell aircraft.

We will be following the updates of this story as it progresses on EcoForecourt.com upon launch.

Make Like A Car And Leaf

Following the ever growing green trend, Chinese car designer SAIC has unveiled this pretty radical looking green car type thing. I guess it looks more like a buggy actually but either way it's an interesting looking mode of transport that caught my eye. The amazing thing about this car though is not it's looks but what it actually does and how it does it.

Aptly named the 'Leaf Car' due to it's foliage inspired roof which houses photovoltaic cells, the car features individual wheel turbines, which spin a lot like those tacky 'bling' rims made ever so popular on rappers Hummers a few years ago. However, very much unlike a Hummer, SAIC claims the turbines generate electricity as the car is travelling in a sort of self charging movement. The metal-organic chassis also captures CO2 for use in a microbial fuel cell which would actually emit water vapor. In essence it runs on renewable energy and somehow emits oxygen, making it the world’s first “carbon negative” car. Put simply if this car were to make it to the road it would actually be good for the environment - cleaning the air as it went along.

Did You Know?

I really wanted to share this with everyone, it is scary and incredible but really highlights the changing world we are in...

F1 To Go Turbo...Again?

In May 1977 Renault revealed its first ever Formula One car, the RS/01. It boasted two distinctive innovations, one was its radial tyres developed with Michelin and the other was its engine, a 1,492cc turbo charged unit, the first of its kind in Formula 1 developing power in the 1000bhp region. This was eventually banned by the FIA in the mid eighties for a switch to naturally aspirated engines. Today, In a bid to attract new sponsors, teams and manufacturers to the sport, Formula 1 bosses are considering a move back to smaller, 1.5 litre, turbo charged engines once again by 2013. This time it is a different story though, It is also the sports first step to help promote it's 'green' credentials along with the reintroduction of KERS that the FIA currently debating over. If the F1 series were to drive down costs and clean up it's act by turning to the leaner greener turbo engines, Volkswagen has said it will look at entering the pinacle series in 2013 with a possible partnership with Williams and smaller engines aren't the only aspect that might be returning to the sport either, Michelin has also this week spoken about a return to F1, but has imposed several conditions on the FIA: it wants a switch to 18-inch rims to make its F1 tyres more relevant to its road and sports car programmes, and it wants the sport to be doing more for the environment.

How To Charge Your Phone Through A Tree

During my daily eco web browse of the web just checking up on the news and what not I came across this really cool solar charger. Typically when you think of solar chargers, tacky plastic casings and novel key rings often come to mind - this is stunning design however, is far from the likes of generic solar chargers you find in the back of gadget magazines.

"Beautiful! This is a great marriage of function and beauty" as one person quite rightly commented on the Electree's news post. It has universal adapters so it is compatible with a multitude of devises and even has USB connectivity too! Thanks to 54 tiny photovoltaic panels this device will store energy in a battery during the day, allowing you to re-charge your stuff whenever you need and to top it off, all of the wires re hidden away in the bonsai tray maintaining it's great aesthetics. Unfortunately this is still a working prototype so i'm not sure when it will beo n the shelves, but i want one! So i'll be sure to keep you updated as and when I hear more.

Our Website development progress 3

Another week has passed and development is moving along swiftly - The look and feel is finalised and the design has been cut up into working HTML that I have been messing with for the past few days trying to figure out if anything needs tweaking, changing or is simply spot on! I want to show the world already but we just aren't quite there yet! We are waiting for the functionality of the site to be fully in place first and thne demo's will be going out to the press and you will get to see screen shots then! We have some really cool features, one that is given away by the screen shot up there) that we are excited to share with everyone and cant wait for your feedback! Stay tuned EcoForecourt.com is nearly here!

Electric Mini Laps Nurburgring!

With the exception of the Tesla Roadster It has often been a problem with electric cars that they don't really have the 'umph' that the equivalent petrol or diesel model would provide, which is why this news is really encouraging!

With a lap time of under 10 minutes the mini's trip around the ring might not be the fastest this year but BMW is pretty happy that Former DTM racer Thomas Jäger took their latest electric model (The Mini E) for the ride of it's life - hitting a respectable 116mph at one point.

It is figures like this that bode well for the future of electric vehicles, and it is not just the lap times that are impressive, the charge times are a vast improvement over the likes of the Tesla car too. At just 4.5 hours from 'empty' to 'ready' the Mini E shaves a good 12 hours off the charging time off the Tesla Roadster and still utilises the same lithium-ion battery technology that is becoming the standard for powering these electric vehicles.

For more pictures and specs visit our Flickr page!

What are your thoughts on electric cars and might you consider one in the future?

EcoBus Spotted On Flickr

After uploading some images of the latest Tesla Roadster model (the Sport) to our Flickr page I came across a great example of where else greener technology is being utilised in the world. Introducing the low emission Volvo EcoBus! Think of the times you have been stuck behind a bus in town and it's throwing out horrible black fumes forcing you to wind up your windows, close your vents and choke until you manage to pull away. When you think about it, it's no wonder there are pollution and smog problems in cities all over the world. Yet buses - as cumbersome as they can be - are an essential part of our public transport system. Did you know, in London 6 million people uses buses every single day - and thats just one city! After doing a little bit more research into the afformentioned EcoBus it appears Volvo has taken us one step closer to a solution for cleaner public transport. Running a hybrid engine has reduced the C02 discharge and nitrous oxides by 40-50% compared to the diesel bus. It is also equipped with the Volvo I-Sam hybrid system meaning the the bus can be powered soely by the electric motor which is charged by the braking system, or the diesel engine which can be used separately or simultaneously. Pretty cool. Thanks Volvo!

100 Miles on £1 - The Future Of Motoring

I came across this nice little video while searching for content for our EcoTube channel. It explains the benefit of electric cars and is an interesting insight into why they are going to play an integral role to the future of motoring, with just one bonus being able to drive 100 miles for just £1. Pretty cool. There is often the argument that electric cars still get their energy from power stations that are inherently uneconomical by nature, however, new technologies and government regulations are forcing power stations to become increasingly more efficient and resource friendly which bodes well for the future...watch this space.

Go well.

Our website development progress 2

Once you have a seen a wire frame they all pretty much look the same so we won't bore you with any more grey lines - every other primary page for the site was laid out this way and sub pages that can be easily replicated in the future will follow the same format just with different content in them. So the task at hand recently has been to design the look and feel of the site. We wont be giving too much away just yet but the fact you are reading this blog will give a good indicator of EcoForecourts feel and theme. Our thing is keeping it eco and keeping it green both visually and literally. To echo our eco status we are hosting EF on 100% carbon neutral servers, we are only a short time into establishing EF and already we are setting the foundations for a sustainable service through green technology.

If you have any recommendations for how we can be greener please let us know - we're all ears :)

Go well.

Our website development progress 1

Seeing as EcoForecourt is not actually live yet we thought it might be interesting to share with you what it has been like for us developing the site so far, what stage we are currently up to and the decisions and tasks we have had to tackle along the way.

One of the firs stages was to create wireframe layouts of how the site is going to be displayed, grey lines with no pictures look pretty boring we know, but we want to make EF as super user friendly as we can so this stage was very important from day one. The idea was the less cluttered the better. We opted for clean lines and no fuss so everyone knows just how to navigate the site and gets the most out of it. Here is one of our early wireframes for the Homepage:

News page wireframe:

Although these pages have evolved a little since their conception it has basically remained the same layout, pretty minimal and clutter free - we look forward to you trying it out!

Please feel free to give us your input on the designs - especially if you see a spelling mistake!

Go well.

Daily Thoughts?

So you might be curious about what exactly it is we get up to at the Eco Forecourt(EF) HQ? Then you are at the right place! Welcome to our little blog.

Here you will find news about the day to day goings on at EF and lots of other snippets of information ranging from big important announcements like what new biscuits have turned up in the tin this week and whether or not our sandwich man Matt has had his baby yet? To other things - like new people joining the EcoForecourt team and general progress within the company.

You can even come and talk to us on here too! So please feel free to comment on as much or as little as you like - even if it's about what you had for lunch today - we love hearing from you. Go well.