Articles by Sara Barz

Consumer Reports knocks plug-in hybrid Hymotion L5 conversion kit on efficiency, value

Is a product doomed if the highest praise its evaluators can offer is "viable"?

In the February issue of Consumer Reports, CR editors tested a 2008 Toyota Prius equipped with a Hymotion L5 conversion kit sold by A123 systems of Watertown, Mass. The conversion kit failed to deliver its promised 100 mpg, but did spike the prius' average efficiency of 42-mpg up to 67 mpg for the first 35 miles of driving. But at a $11,000 a pop, CR concluded that the kit "won't save the consumer money overall."

For the truly plugged-in, however, Hymotion's lithium-ion battery conversion kit is only one of the first forays into the world of commercial plug-ins. Here in the states, 3Prong Power of Berkeley, Calif. offers a conversion with old-fashioned lead-acid batteries that promises a 10-mile all-electric range for a more affordable $6,700. And around the Pacific Rim, Chinese automaker BYD Auto presented the world's first mass-produced plug-in hybrid in December of 2008.

(h/t: autobloggreen)

A look at EPA administrators since the agency’s founding

As government titles go, “administrator” doesn’t have the same ring as “secretary,” “czar,” or “ambassador.” But it’s an accurate moniker for the top job at the Environmental Protection Agency, where the president’s appointee is charged with running an agency of 17,000 employees organized around 10 regional offices, with an overall annual budget of more than […]

NYT: Temporarily relax regulations to allow Big Three’s European models in the U.S.

The Big Three make high-quality, fuel-efficient cars. No, really, they do. They just sell them in Europe — Ford Ka, anyone? And now that $15 billion of the the $25 billion designated in the 2007 energy bill to provide funds for fuel-efficiency retooling will likely serve as loan guarantees to keep GM and Chrysler solvent, […]

Volkswagen Jetta TDI: 2009 Green Car of the Year

2009 Green Car of the Year: Volkswagen Jetta TDI At the L.A. Auto Show Thursday morning, the Green Car Journal jury voted the Volkswagen Jetta TDI the 2009 Green Car of the Year. The TDI "clean diesel" runs on ultra-low sulfur diesel fuel and uses a "common rail direct injection system" that decreases 95 percent […]