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Recharge Wrap-up: BYD electric buses at Special Olympics, hybrids perform better than rated

A new study finds that real-world fuel economy of hybrids could be significantly higher than EPA ratings. Researchers at the University of Vermont, with the help of their own "total on-board tailpipe emissions measurement system," found the fuel savings of Toyota Camry Hybrid over a standard Camry to exceed its sticker values by 18 percent on the highway and 33 percent in the city. The results of this study suggest that the projections of the fuel and emissions benefits of hybrids could be adjusted to reflect more these more positive real world values. The study's authors, Britt A. Holmen and Karen M. Sentoff, say more research is warranted based on these findings, and that "similar studies can be used to develop robust models of all types of HEV platforms under actual driving conditions and improve quantitative estimates of the future fleet contributions to the US CO2 emissions inventory and petroleum consumption." Read more at Green Car Congress. The 2016 Chevrolet Volt made an appearance at the 2015 Brickyard 400 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Chevy displayed the silver Volt alongside a Camaro and Malibu of the same color and model year. The Volt also recently made an appearance at the premier of Tomorrowland with George Clooney behind the wheel. Read more at The News Wheel. BYD electric buses provided transportation at the Special Olympics 2015 World Games in Long Beach, CA. Shuttling 6,500 athletes required the help of multiple charter companies, including local buses from the Chinese automaker. "BYD stepped up majorly as one of our key supporters and their tremendous efforts made our athletes feel welcomed," says Long Beach Community Foundation President and CEO, and 2015 Host Town Transportation Coordinator Marcelle Epley. "We depended on them, and they came through 100 percent." Both Los Angeles and Long Beach have recently decided to purchase electric buses from BYD. Read more in the press release below. BYD Zero-Emission Buses Used to Transport Athletes at 2015 World Games LONG BEACH, Calif., Aug. 2, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- This week the largest Special Olympics ever was hosted in the City of Long Beach – thousands of athletes, coaches, dignitaries and families descended upon Los Angeles for what was a spectacular week of uplifting camaraderie, sportsmanship and competition.

Meet the Greenest and Meanest vehicles of 2016

If you've been keeping track, you won't be surprised with the number one entry in this year's list of greenest cars from the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE). In fact, the top three spots on the 2016 list are all the same as they were in 2015. After that, things get interesting. For one thing, this is the first Greenest list that doesn't have any purely internal combustion engine powertrain on it. Hybrids, yes, but if you want to be one of the top 12 greenest cars this year, you'd better have some sort of electric angle. ACEEE says that the conventional, gas-powered Smart Fortwo and Chevrolet Spark just missed the cut. In a statement, ACEEE lead vehicle analyst Shruti Vaidyanathan said, "The 2016 scores are in, and plug-in electric vehicles are outpacing all other vehicle offerings in terms of environmental friendliness." Like last year, one of the noticeable vehicles missing from the green list is the Tesla Model S. One reason? ACEEE takes curb weight into account (lighter is better), and the Model S is a heavy beast. The ACEEE doesn't just look at the clean side of the ledger. It also puts out a "meanest" list. These are the vehicles that pollute the most, not only from their tailpipes, but also any pollution created during the entire manufacturing process, from mining the raw materials to the energy used to produce the vehicle at the factory. The entire list, from greenest to meanest, is done using a "cradle to grave" analysis. You can see how the ACEEE determines its rankings here, explore the entire greenest cars site here, or click through our galleries to see which vehicles are extra green (above) or extra mean (below) this year. 12: Mercedes-Benz GL550 4MATIC View 12 Photos More Electric Cars than Ever on Greenest Vehicles List Electric Vehicles Nab 9 out of Top 12 Spots in ACEEE's Environmental Vehicle Rankings Washington, DC: Despite a tumultuous year for the automotive industry, manufacturers have continued to offer exciting technology options for a growing vehicle market. Today at greenercars.org, the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE) released its 19th annual comprehensive environmental ratings for vehicles. The following vehicles comprise the Greenest List for 2016: Greenest Score 1. Mercedes-Benz Smart ForTwo Electric Drive Convertible / Coupe 63 2. Chevrolet Spark EV 63 3. Fiat 500E 62 4. Toyota Prius Eco 61 5. Volkswagen E-Golf 61 6. Nissan Leaf S / Leaf SV 61 7. Kia Soul Electric 59 8.

2015 Chevy Impala Bi-fuel burns CNG, starts at $37,385*

Currently, the only natural-gas-powered passenger car offered for sale by an OEM in the US is the Honda Civic Natural Gas. Starting this fall, that long-running CNG car will be joined by a CNG-burning 2015 Chevy Impala for both fleet and retail customers. General Motors announced today that the car will start at $37,385, plus an $825 destination charge. That comes to $38,210 before taxes and options. Those options include two trim lines, the base LS and the upper-level LT. Chevy doesn't break out the details in the press release announcing the price, but you can see the trim details for the standard gas-powered 2014 Impala here. Exact information on the 2015 models is not available just yet, but GM spokesman Chad Lyons told AutoblogGreen that the equipment that you see listed on the site for 2014 is "almost exactly the same" as what will be available for 2015. The 2015 Impala gets around 19 city mpg on CNG, but official EPA numbers are not yet available. That means the LS will come with 18-inch aluminum wheels, electric variable-assist power steering, projector-beam headlamps, and 10 air bags. The LT adds an eight-inch touch screen with MyLink, premium Cloth interior and dual-zone automatic climate controls. The cost for this upgrade is unspecified. For CNG purposes, we can ignore the numerical prefix used for the gas-powered LT trims, since that denominates the engine type, and all the CNG models use a 3.6-liter engine with hardened valves and valve seats that can better handle natural gas. The trunk capacity also drops from 18.8 cubic feet to 10 cu .ft. in order to fit in the CNG tank that holds the equivalent of 7.8 gallons of gas. That amount of CNG should move you 150 city miles, which is around 19 mpg, but official EPA numbers are not yet available. With the addition of the gasoline on board, the overall range is 500 city miles. The car burns CNG when available and switches to gas with "no interruption" either when the tank is empty or when the driver selects the gas tank. Find more details in the press release below. GM says the CNG Impala will will be available nationwide this fall. CNG is a growing fuel in the US, thanks in part to fracking. The Civic Natural Gas, which starts at $26,640, is growing towards a nationwide availability. Next year, for example, the Shell Eco-marathon Americas in Detroit will allow CNG for the first time. Chevrolet Announces Pricing of CNG-Capable 2015 Impala 2014-05-06 LONG BEACH, Calif.