Well, you might have to wait a bit longer, but at least the video is here. The Fiesta’s commercial looks fun and I imagine it’ll be quite viral. We’re very excited about the Ford Fiesta, and the growing demographic of urban hipsters whose opinions are weighing heavily on current marketing campaigns. New cars are all about mileage, handling, and looks. We’re finally moving towards European sensibility when it comes to small, urban vehicles.

The American Fiesta has lost some of the panache of the very popular European model, but maintains the spirit. Some of the small differences include a longer nose, redesigned rear bumper, thicker springs to accommodate the heavier weight due to American safety regulations, a slightly redesigned interior, and instead of European projection headlamps and fog lamps we get the typical ugly headlamps and what appears to be glow sticks and aluminum foil fog lamps. The main thing we’re interested in, however is the handling. This is the Fiesta’s true strength. Compared to other subcompact cars, the Fiesta has a very well-tuned suspension. The Fiesta has not even been released yet, and it’s being called the “Best small car in America”. We’re excited about it, and optimistic that it will usher in a new era of American vehicles. We hope sales are good so other American companies see the need for well-tuned city cars that get great gas mileage.

VoteVets TV ad refused by Fox News

No matter your political affiliation, most Americans would agree that depending on foreign countries to provide oil negatively impacts us in more ways than one. These impacts are economic as well as political by empowering hostile regimes. VoteVets, a veterans group is trying to eliminate our dependence on foreign oil. They created a TV ad about some of the brutal realities, which aired on CNN and MSNBC. According to TreeHugger, Fox News refused to air the ad, calling it “too confusing.” TreeHugger suggests the real reason is more complicated. They point out that Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal owns a 7% stake in News Corp. (which owns FOX), so suggesting the U.S. should abolish foreign dependence on oil would be a conflict of interest. Needless to say, VoteVets was disappointed with Fox’s decision. The organization’s senior advisor, Richard Smith responded,

Back in 2007, Rupert Murdoch, owner of News Corporation, announced he would become a green campaigner. He suggested he was devoted to “educating and engaging” his viewers about global warming. Murdoch was a former skeptic who confessed to having been “somewhat wary of the global warming debate.” While we believe Fox has made strides in improving the company’s carbon footprint and educating their viewers on topics of green energy, there are also countless examples of Fox News’ failure to report “fair and balanced” news.

While we believe Fox’s motivations for the decision surround a conflict of interest, rather than an intentional desire to misinform, what do you think? Is Fox News right to reject the commercial? Is their reasoning that the ad is truly “too confusing”? Watch the commercial and let us know your thoughts. Thanks, TreeHugger.

Whether you’re a green motoring enthusiast or a technology nerd, you’ve probably heard about iPhone apps that help you carpool. With tools such as PickupPal, Zipride, Ridester, 511 Rideshare, it’s becoming popular to find carpool buddies online. It helps the environment, improves road congestion, and gives you somebody to converse with on that commute. Anybody who’s used Craigslist to buy or sell things knows that finding random people online can be good or really bad. Therefore, you might need additional motivation to offer somebody a ride to work who doesn’t own a car. Perhaps if they paid you in cold hard cash?

Currently it is illegal for you to rent your private vehicle to people for money in most states. Insurance companies understandably don’t like the idea, nor does the government since they would like to collect tax money from licensed taxi services. In San Francisco there have been questions raised lately about this. Few people in San Francisco own cars since garages, parking, and taxes are so high there. On one end there are pedestrians and public transportation users. On the other end, there are car owners spending lots of money for their cars to sit. Inevitably the demand for private car sharing was going to come up and money talks. You could decide on your rate, and rent out your vehicle to someone in need. This would be facilitated through an organization which absorbs the insurance costs for that day’s rental and you get paid. The renter would be able to find a vehicle when he/she needed, and you’d be able to collect money for lending out your car.

A new bill in California (AB 1871) has been written up to change California law to allow personal vehicles to be rented out, without the risk of losing insurance coverage. Companies like Zipcar have allowed people to find hourly rental cars belonging to Zipcar for a while now. Many people in urban areas have already chosen a lifestyle without owning an expensive 3,000 pound hunk of metal. Hertz and other rental companies have already adopted hourly rentals so the idea of renting out our own cars isn’t too mindblowing. If being green is all about efficiency, hooking idle cars up with people in need of wheels is smart.

Would you consider renting your car out to the public?
Would you consider driving a stranger’s car?
What drawbacks or benefits do you see?
Leave your feedback in the comments.

Green Earth Technologies have come up with an API approved biodegradable motor oil. What does the API (American Petroleum Institute) mean for us? It means that the product meets the correct specifications to use in our high performance gasoline engine. Even if you still have doubts, know that Green Earth Technologies is running their product with the Gunnar Racing team in ALMS. So chances are it can take the abuse of daily driving abuse.

So what is G-Oil? Manufactured from rendered beef tallow, it has the same molecular structure traditional petroleum-based products. The company states that “it takes three barrels of crude oil to make one barrel of motor oil, but it only takes only one barrel of animal fat to produce one barrel of G-Oil”, which is pretty amazing. Unfortunately there aren’t enough barrels of animal fat to solve the world’s oil problems, but when it comes to lubrication Green Earth Technologies may have the best Green solution out there.

Only question in my mind are the operating temperature ranges for the oil and how many miles do can you go before you need to change the oil.

1. Register as a new member on Green-Racer.com
2. Post 3 topics of discussion within the forum area that relates to alternative fuel.

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Green-Racer.com is a alternative fuel community that caters to the performance minded individuals out there who still enjoy speed/performance. “Going Green” doesn’t have to mean boring and our goal is not only to see what the latest “Green” performance cars have the offer, but to figure out ways to incorporate “Green” into our existing cars.

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Want to know the future of automotive technology? Look to Motorsports for the answer. All of our cars are equipped with some sort of technology developed from racing. Now with environment concerns being the hot topic, the motorsports community is taking a more in depth look into how Green technologies can help improve efficiency of their race car and be friendlier to environment. Thanks to SEMA and MIA (Motorsport Industry Association), drivers, team owners, and series executives are gathering at the “Race Has Gone Green” conference to learn how they can get involved in the green mindset and to really understand if going “green” makes any sense.

Here’s the official press release from American Le Mans Series:

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SERIES A FOCAL POINT OF “RACE HAS GONE GREEN” CONFERENCE IN LONG BEACH
MIA/SEMA summit addresses role of motorsports in auto innovation

Drivers. Series Executives. Team Owners. All are represented in the Motorsport Industry Association-SEMA “Race Has Gone Green” conference to be held Friday, April 16 at the Long Beach Convention Center held in concert with the 39th annual Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach. The weekend also will feature the second round of the 2010 American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patrón on Saturday.

The conference will focus on the future of racing and emphasize the importance, and viability of developing products for the racing and automotive industries with efficiency and the environment in mind. Panelists and keynote speakers will explain how they are profiting from this new business and share information about that success.

At least five participants have direct involvement with the American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patrón. Scott Atherton, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Series, will participate on a panel entitled, “Is Green Racing Here to Stay?” along with Michelin’s Technical Director Forrest Patterson. Michelin, a world leader in tire research, also supports the American Le Mans Series’ MICHELIN® Green X® Challenge that awards teams each race for their overall performance, fuel efficiency and low environmental impact via reduced carbon emissions.

Steve Pruitt, whose Corsa Motorsports team fielded the 21st Century’s first gas-electric hybrid race car to race in the American Le Mans Series, joins a panel discussing “Energy Efficiency and Performance”.

Presenting the keynote luncheon address will be Mazda’s Robert Davis, Senior Vice President of Product Development & Quality. Mazda competes in the Series with a Dyson Racing Lola prototype that uses the biofuel, isobutanol.

Paul Drayson, driver and team owner of Drayson Racing, will close the session with remarks from his global perspective as Great Britain’s Minister of Science and Innovation. In addition, the American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patrón — recognized as the Global Leader in Green Racing — will announce and present its ‘Green Dream Team” of drivers who will serve as the Series’ ambassadors for its green racing initiatives.

The “Race Has Gone Green” conference begins at 8:00 a.m. PT in the Long Beach Convention Center and concludes at 2:15 p.m. with a Paddock Tour of teams participating in the weekend’s race. Anyone interested in attending may contact Jeremy Burne (jbfauto@aol.com). Tickets are $275 for MIA/SEMA members and $375 for non-members.

The Tequila Patrón American Le Mans Series at Long Beach is the second round of the 2010 American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patrón. The race, set at the historic Long Beach street circuit, is scheduled for 4:40 p.m. PT on Saturday, April 17 with coverage on SPEED set for 8 to 10 p.m. ET. Live radio coverage will be available on American Le Mans Radio presented by Porsche – a production of Radio Show Limited – as well as Sirius Channel 127 and XM Channel 245. Visit the Series’ schedule page for ticket and accommodation information. Live Timing and Scoring, track schedule, entry list and much, much more will be available on Racehub at americanlemans.com.

2010 Audi S4

Back in 2004, Audi’s 4.2-liter 340 horsepower V8 motor found in the Audi S4 was named one of the 10 best engines by Ward’s Auto, for 3 years. We had the opportunity to throw it around city traffic for a week, and were astounded at the power, grunt, and drivability. The power band was excellent, and although its weight and balance caused a bit of understeer, we were very confident in the turns.

With such a great powertrain, why would Audi abandon it? 2010 has shown itself to be the year of innovations in efficiency. We are seeing more hybrids, electric vehicles being released, and even Porsche is getting on board with alternative fuels. That S4′s 4.2-liter V8 was getting around 15 miles per gallon in our city driving. It makes sense, then that Audi has now equipped the S4 with a new V6 which gets 27% better fuel economy. The amazing part is that it’s actually quicker than the V8, and better balanced as well.

2010 Audi S4 goes back to a V6, while gaining performance

As a lover of small, efficient cars I’m excited at the direction they’re taking. The $50k’s are a major market for german sports sedan makers. The BMW M3 and Mercedes’ C63 AMG are both higher priced but fighting for the same market of young professionals who demand quality, luxury, and performance. We’ve heard rumors that the next generation M3 will go back to a 6 cylinder, but with twin-turbos. The German sport touring makers are very market driven, and if people are clamoring for more fuel-efficient vehicles, that’s exactly what they can expect to see. We’ll keep you updated on the next BMW M3.

Need electricity? Get off your ass and make some.

If you were Sheriff Joe Arpaio, of Phoenix, Arizona you might be concerned with allegations that you have abused your power. Arpaio has gained national attention for aggressively cracking down on illegal immigration, among other concerns on his operation of the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office. That said, he has another concern. He has made several attempts to trim inmates’ waistlines by cutting food intake to 2,500 calories, stating the inmates are “too fat.” His methods may strike controversy but I can’t help but enjoy watching his latest creation. He has now installed an energy-generating stationary bike, attached to a 19″ TV. Inmates can watch whatever local television channel they want, as long as they put in the effort to bike, thereby generating electricity for the television. Sheriff Arpaio has received criticism in the past from human-rights organizations for making inmates pay money to see nurses. This pedal-powered TV, however is a smart move because television is a privilege, not a right, and it shows ingenuity and an honest attempt to improve inmates’ health. Check out the video below.

Now transitioning over to the automotive world, we are already seeing more manufacturers produce electric cars. Electricity to our homes isn’t free, financially or environmentally. Call me a treehugger, but I would love to have an exercise bike in my home wired to my electrics in addition to my solar panels.

F/A-18 Green Super Hornet run on 50% biofuel

This site is called Green-Racer and we’re environmentally conscious speed addicts here. Therefore a press release from the Department of the Navy caught my eye. April 22nd is Earthday, and to celebrate it the US Navy is going to demonstrate the ‘Green Hornet,’ an F/A-18 Super Hornet powered by a 50/50 biofuel blend. The test is a demonstration of an initiative to increase warfighting capabilities by reducing our dependence on fossil fuels from unstable regions. By 2016 the Navy wants to have a “Great Green Fleet,” of nuclear ships, surface machinery with hybrid electric power, and aircraft flying only on biofuels. By 2020 half of the total Department of the Navy’s energy consumption will come from alternative sources.

The ‘Green Hornet’s’ biofuel blend is from the camelina sativa plant, which is a US-grown food source. The point of the test is to demonstrate the Navy’s initiative towards green energy, and to confirm there’s no difference in performance compared to standard petroleum-based JP-5 jet propellant. The test will take place at the Navy Fuels Lab at NAVAIR Patuxent River, MD. Plans to transition to biofuels have already begun for the Marine Corps as well.

Algae is a renewable resource with lots of potential

Here at the Green-Racer office we recently had an argument about long-term human sustainability. We focused on the inevitable food shortages resulting from a population expected to reach 9 billion by 2040. My suggestion – we all need to start eating algae. It’s a renewable resource, it’s very healthy, it grows fast, and it grows in the ocean so it doesn’t take up land area. World crisis averted.

Yes, algae can be used to create biofuel.

Now comes the even better news. Algae can be used to make biofuels and yes, it can fuel your vehicle. Some are betting that algae-based biodiesel fuels will fuel our future cars. These biofuels have the potential to be high-yield, efficiently produced, renewable fuels. In combustion of biodiesel and straight vegetable oil (SVO), formation of pollutants such as NOx and soot are concern enough that $325,000 was just granted to Anthony Marchase and Azer Yalin from the National Science Foundation to determine the pollutant formation chemistry of algae-derived biofuels. The study is to determine what the consequences would be if we suddenly went from zero to 20 billion gallons of algae-based biofuel per year over the next 20 years. The study will perform combustion and pollution experiments in a controlled environment to study exhaust particles and gasses. I wonder if these tests were done in the 1880′s when the first mass-produced internal combustion engined motorcoaches were being produced. I guess at the very least we’ve learned to study the effects of new technologies and the foresight to reconsider implementing polluting ones.