Green Car of the Year?

Green Car of the Year? None Other Than the Volvo S40 DRIVe!

By Max Rossi

Over the past few years, a number of magazines and organizations have developed "Green Car of the Year" awards, a move designed to help focus consumers on which cars are environmentally sensitive. Two years ago a beefy sport/utility vehicle from General Motors won such an award, for the simple reason this particular hybrid variant consumed much less fuel than the standard gas powered models. Yet, even that hybrid model barely achieves 20 mpg fuel economy.

Recently, the five passenger Volvo S40 sedan was awarded the "What Car?" magazine Green Car of the Year award because the compact car emits fewer pollutants than comparable vehicles while delivering an admirable 31 mpg on the highway despite utilizing a highly potent 2.5L I5 engine. These two attributes are important for people who want to drive an earth friendly car, but still want style, technology and fun driving appeal, a rare combination for any green car.

Start/Stop Technology Advances Volvo's Appeal

In order to achieve emissions levels comparable to the world's most popular hybrid model, the Toyota Prius, Volvo added an important engineering feature with the S40 - start/stop technology. This particular characteristic shuts off the engine when a driver comes to a standstill (such as at a traffic light), shifts the transmission into neutral, and presses the clutch. When the light turns green, the driver steps on the clutch which automatically reactivates the engine, allowing him to shift and be on his way. Start/Stop technology is what makes the gas powered S40 a favorite of the "What Car?" crowd, giving drivers the best of both worlds - raw performance along with earth friendly driving.

Start/Stop is a Volvo invention which is able to do its job thanks to the addition of a special, compact battery that has been designed to provide support to the main battery by means of offering extra power. This unusual battery combination means that the S40 restarts quickly and smoothly, while also allowing the audio system to run uninterrupted while at a stop. Air-conditioning powers down when the engine goes off, but quickly kicks back on if needed.

Safety And Technology Leadership

Long recognized for its safety leadership - the Swedish automaker invented the three-point seat belt, childproof locks on rear doors, anti-locking brakes and so much more - Start/Stop technology proves that the company is a leader in reducing harmful emissions. Start/Stop is also available on other Volvo models including the C30 Sports Coupe and V50 Sportswagen DRIVe models.

All Volvo S40 models come equipped with a 2.5L I5 engine (turbocharged on higher trim models) and are paired to a five speed "geartronic" transmission which allows drivers to operate the car in either manual or automatic mode. The base sticker price for the standard S40 is $28,550 plus an $825 destination fee; taxes, registration and tags are extra.

So if you are looking for a car that is both kind to the environment while still offering maximum fun to drive appeal, then the Volvo S40 DRIVe edition delivers abundantly on both counts.

Max Rossi writes for FCPgroton.com http://www.fcpgroton.com/ a worldwide foreign auto parts distributor. Get European car parts at affordable prices.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Max_Rossi
http://EzineArticles.com/?Green-Car-of-the-Year?-None-Other-Than-the-Volvo-S40-DRIVe!&id=2514927

Green Car Insurance

Green Cars Means Cheaper Insurance

By Amy Nutt

It seems that these days everyone wants to do their part to help protect the environment. Due to growing consumer demands, Business and Industry are now coming up with ways for people to benefit from living a green lifestyle. One way of encouraging eco-friendly living is for insurance companies to provide cheaper car insurance for people who buy green cars. Recent research shows that drivers are increasingly more likely to purchase a green car.

There are many reasons why people are gravitating toward green cars. Because green cars have lower emissions, they will save more on gas. As well, lower emissions will result in a decreased carbon footprint since there is less carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide being released into the atmosphere. This helps slow down global warming.

Because some green cars such as hybrids tend to be expensive, insurance companies are now providing discounts to people who buy more energy efficient vehicles. This can include not only hybrids, but cars that have high mileage. Research has shown that people who drive hybrids are a lower risk of getting involved in an accident and tend to be less reckless drivers. These drivers are considered more sensible and they care about the environment so there risk is lowered. A lower risk driver will receive lower premiums. As well, many of these companies that offer discounts for green drivers are involved in programs that work to make a more sustainable environment.

Green Car Insurance is basically a method of providing discounts for people who drive low emission vehicles. The insurance was designed and implemented on the concept of reduce, reuse, and recycle. They reward eco-friendly customers with discounted car insurance premiums. Most of these companies offer some type of carbon offsetting program. This means they take a percentage of the price of a policy and give it to carbon offsetting projects. Some of the programs involve planting trees, supporting recycling projects, or other eco-projects. They may even offer extra incentives such as using recycled car parts for repairs and recycling the car if it is irrecoverable. There are a number of green car insurance companies that will offset 100% of a vehicle's emissions.

There are also proposed pay-as-you-go car insurance programs. This is where your insurance rates are based on the actual number of miles you drive. This encourages drivers to reduce the number of miles they drive each year. Drivers would confirm mileage either by their repair records, odometer readings, or even a piece of equipment installed on the vehicle that tracks mileage.

Customers are now being rewarded for their green lifestyle with insurance discounts. For example, GMAC offers a program with their OnStar system allowing customers to send their mileage stats via OnStar, and if their yearly confirmed mileage is less than 15,000 miles, they can receive up to a 54% discount on their GMAC car insurance.

The number of insurance providers that are providing policies that include green options is increasing. Unfortunately, not that many people know about these eco-friendly insurance options because they receive less advertising than traditional insurance policies. If you are one of the millions of people who are concerned about the future of the planet and its resources, ask your insurance company if they offer a green insurance policy. As more people learn about these great insurance options, the green trend will continue to swell. Educating consumers about the importance of green cars will encourage more people to consider purchasing a green car.

Offering cheaper insurance for green car owners means more people will buy these vehicles and thus create a cleaner and greener environment.

Environmentally friendly Salvage Cars features an online parts search or choose from over 1000 used tires in stock. Schedule your vehicle, used tires, or Cheap Car parts pickup today.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Amy_Nutt

Energy Harvesting Shock Absorbers

A team of Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have successfully created a new shock absorber that harnesses energy from small bumps in the road while also making the vehicle drive smoother on the road. MIT Senior Shakeel Avadhany and his teammates say their regenerative shock absorbers are able to offer up to a 10 percent improvement in fuel efficiency than standard shock absorbers used in most cars today.

Zack Anderson explains the idea behind the project started when they were interested in trying to figure out where energy is being wasted in a vehicle. They discovered some hybrid cars already do a good job of recovering the energy from braking, so the team looked elsewhere, and quickly homed in on the suspension.

They started their testing by renting a variety of different car models, outfitting the suspension with sensors to determine the energy potential, and driving around with a laptop computer recording the sensor data. Their tests showed that there was a significant amount of energy lost by the suspension, especially on heavier vehicles Once they realized the possibilities, the students set about building a prototype system to harness the wasted power. Their prototype shock absorbers use a hydraulic system that forces fluid through a turbine attached to a generator.

The system is controlled by an active electronic system that optimizes the damping, providing a smoother ride than conventional shocks while generating electricity to recharge the batteries or operate electrical equipment. During testing of a 6-shock truck, the MIT students found each shock absorber is able to generate up to an average of 1 kW on standard road, which is "enough power to completely displace the large alternator load in heavy trucks and military vehicles." If for some reason the electronics on the shocks fail, the fail-safe feature will have the shocks act simply like a normal shock absorber.

They have formed a company, called Levant Power Corp., to develop and commercialize the product they call GenShock. The team is currently doing a series of tests with their converted Humvee to optimize the system’s efficiency. They hope their technology will help give an edge to the military vehicle company in securing the expected $40 billion contract for the new army vehicle called the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle, or JLTV.

The group will have a final product ready this summer, when they'll start contacting companies to persuade them to upgrade their shock systems. For example, if Wal-Mart were to convert its fleet of trucks with these new shocks, the company could save $13 million per year in total fuel costs.