It's tales from the road for episode #21 of the AutoblogGreen Podcast. Sebastian got a peek behind the curtain at GM to see the Chevrolet Volt, and Sam jet-setted to sample wares from Audi and BMW. Hybrids, diesels, EVs, and more – plus, we wrap up with an interview with Tesla's Daryl Siry for a total of 43 minutes. Thanks for listening!

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Episode 20 of the AutoblogGreen Podcast has us recapping Geneva mere days before we head to New York. There were lots of exciting things over in Switzerland, and we touch on a few of them. Th!nk's new Ox will be a Tesla-magnitude achievement if it hits the market doing what the company says it will. GM rolled out the new version of its mild hybrid system that will be propagating across virtually all models in all brands to help boost CAFE. Better efficiency for about half of what a sat nav option costs? We'll take it. Speaking of hybrids, there was a lot of talk from BMW, Mercedes, Volkswagen ,and others about upcoming Euro-branded hybrids, and diesel hybrids at that. Mercedes will debut li-Ion batteries in a production hybrid, while Toyota has yet to see a compelling argument for diesel hybrids. Rest assured that if people want it, Toyota will build it, though. Before closing, we look forward to the couple of things we know about in New York, like the debut of the Acura TSX/Honda Euro Accord which will sport a 50-state legal diesel, and the Automotive X-Prize folks will be holding a press conference, as well. 32 minutes this time around. Stay tuned, we'll surely be abuzz when we return from New York.

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Just a quick reminder that the deadline for new AutoblogGreen blogger applications is tonight at midnight. You can read all of the details of the application process here. Oh, and just between you and me: considering that I just got back from the Detroit Auto Show this afternoon and I didn't get a whole heck of a lot of sleep during the last few days, there's a reeeeeal good chance I won't start looking over the applications until tomorrow afternoon. Hint, hint.

We're working on an update to our little AutoblogGreen website. As this is happening behind the scenes, we got an email from a reader named Bill, who wasn't too pleased with us. He wrote:

Why not add "concept engines" as a topic to introduce new up and coming innovations, how about "MPG" as a topic for mileage improvements, etc. Or do you only pander to large mfg sponsors to promote their deviated agenda? Same Ol S---, I'll be watching with no expectations. [...] I like that at least you added HCCI as a topic.

Now, problem #1 were his typos, which I cleaned up. Problem #2 is that (I think) we do cover green car improvements whether they come from large or small companies. Problem #3 is that we do have MPG as a topic, and we have Emerging Technologies where we would put things that he suggests for "concept engines." But Bill raises a good point (aside from highlighting the old truism that berating someone isn't the best way to try and get them to change), and that is what sort of new categories would our readers like to see? We've got our ears open and I will be reading the comments to see what you have to say. Remember, we're much more likely to hear you if you keep a civil tone. Thanks, and I look forward to your suggestions.

As we head toward the Frankfurt Motor show, AutoblogGreen Podcast #11 is filled with talk about what we'll see at the show. There've been lots of developments from European manufacturers, and we're eager to see those cars up close. Sam also got the chance to attend a GM Powertrain event at their Milford proving grounds where he was able to drive some of the new engine technologies around, including HCCI. While there, he also snagged interviews with Paul Najt and Uwe Grebe talking about the work they've been doing developing new GM powertrains. It's 36 minutes this week, and we've fixed the RSS and audio issues from the last couple episodes. Thanks for listening!

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Excuse me while I take care of a little bit of AutoblogGreen housekeeping.

To start with, we'd like to share ourselves with you. If you've got your own website and want to offer your readers the AutoblogGreen headlines, we've created a bit of code (available here) that gives you a constantly updated headline widget. There's also one for Autoblog (click here), so you'll never be without the latest auto news. As you can see with the two examples above, the widget's background can be adapted to match whatever color scheme is on your website and if you do use the widget, it'd be awful swell if you let us know. As John mentioned over on Autoblog, maybe - just maybe - this will put an end to the endless stream of content-stealing splogs we find. Ah, who am I trying to kid?

Speaking of content, we're still accepting applications for new bloggers, but not for long. If you've been meaning to finish up your application, you've got 24 hours. We need them in by Thursday morning. You may have noticed one new name on the site, Art Vatsky, and we're looking to add two more very soon. Art has been interested in alternative engines and alternative fuels since the 1980 energy crisis and has been a project manager on Stirling and Rotary engines, as well as a consultant on alternative fuel systems, both on the vehicle and infrastructure side. He worked with a developer of hybrid vehicle technology early in the 21st century and has done work with various transit bus system operators on energy saving systems and has recently became involved doing similar for refuse trucks. With his long background in this field, he says he feels the technology exists for Americans to use a lot less fuel than they currently do. The challenge is to get the word out so that vehicle users get back to basics and act in their own best interest. That is why he is glad to join the Autoblog Green team, he says.

Please welcome Art and keep your eyes peeled for more fresh voices. Or perhaps it's time to let us know what skills can you bring to the site?

Wow, sometimes time just flies by, doesn't it. A year ago, when I wrote the first post* on AutoblogGreen I had no idea where this work would take me and the rest of the bloggers and, of course, our readers. In a little while, I'm going to put up a list of our top stories during this first year, but for now let's reflect on the journey.

We've covered all sorts of auto shows this past year: from Detroit to Geneva, from New York to Santa Monica. We got caught in the alphabet soup of AFVI and EDTA, two organizations that are doing quite a bit to further the technologies we talk about a lot here on the site. I won't list all of the features we've had over the past year, because we keep a constantly updated list here. In short, it's been a big year and we thank you for stopping by and participating. And thanks to all of the newsmakers for their engineering skills and (sometimes) crazy ideas of how to get us from point A to point B without making as much CO2.

Looking forward to keeping the journey going...

(* actually, we had some posts up starting on April 18th last year, but we didn't really publicize our presence until last year's Earth Day because we wanted to have some content before opening the doors)

I was speaking with a friend about AutoblogGreen the other day, and discovered that he didn't realize he could make our site into a niche site, focused solely on biodiesel, which is what his green car passion is. I showed him how to use the categories links beneath the tall and narrow ad in the central column. Because he didn't realize this, I thought perhaps there are others out there who could use a refresher course, or, I guess, a fresh course.

For example, to make AutoblogGreen a biodiesel site, click on "biodiesel" in the middle column and the site will display only the posts we writers have tagged as biodiesel stories. Even though we'd naturally like you to read the entire site, if you're part of an online community focused on a specific aspect of the green car world (EVs, hybrids, etc.), you can do this trick for any of our categories and send that specific link to your group (just find the URL in the address bar after clicking your preferred category. Share this link with your fellow community members, and give the gift of AutoblogGreen this holiday season.

Finally, I'd like to invite you to take a look at all of the features we've had up on AutoblogGreen in the last six months. There have been a lot, about dozens of categories. We've got interviews, vehicle reviews and exclusive show reports. Click through the jump, then click on any of the images to go the original pieces. Enjoy.

You may have noticed the two new names that popped up on AutoblogGreen today and/or the removal of the "Bloggers Wanted" ad that used to sit over there on the right. What this all means is that I'm happy to announce that we've taken on two new writers: Jeremy Korzeniewski and Dane Muldoon. Dane's from Australia, and will give us a bit of an international perspective on the green car movement (and, if you think he spells things funny, well, maybe he thinks the same about us). Jeremy is based in the U.S., and is what is known as a bit of a green car freak. Please welcome Jeremy and Dane to our team, and if you yourself are new to the site, feel free to ask us questions by clicking on the comments link below. We're all ears.

I'm pretty sure it was the ancient Greek philosopher Heraclitus who said your browser can't view the same blog twice, as things are always changing. This is especially true at AutoblogGreen, and we want you to be part of the change. We need more people who love cars and green car technology (and have the chops to convey that enjoyment to others in snappy blog posts) to write for us, so we're putting out the call to take on some more paid bloggers. Here's the details:

A good candidate must exhibit:

• Prolific knowledge of the auto industry and/or green auto scene
• Ability to write with wit, concision and authority
• Consistent schedule
• Self motivation
• A demonstrated passion for autos

We also require that you:

• Possess a fast computer (laptops are best) and fast Internet connection
• Own a decent digital camera
• Have the software and knowledge to create and manipulate photos
• Are available to blog on an almost daily basis
• Keep a valid drivers license

The following characteristics would be nice, but not required, of our new bloggers.

• Time to travel to green car events
• Previous blogging or automotive writing experience

Here's how to apply. Send applications to writers [@] autobloggreen.com. Your email should have no attachments except for a resume (if you want) and include the following information inside the email.

• A subject line with your full name
• Your full contact information including physical address, email, daytime/evening phone numbers, IM user IDs
• Brief bio of yourself telling us why you're the right blogger for the job
• Three sample posts written in the AutoblogGreen style
• A list of car(s) you currently own or a description of how you use alternate transportation
• Three suggestions on how to improve AutoblogGreen
• Your nomination for 2006 best auto (or green car trend) of the year and why

We'll only consider complete applications that come with no more than a resume attached to the email. Due to the large volume of applications expected, we unfortunately cannot respond to each and every one. If you've made the cut past the first round, we'll contact you and go from there. If you've applied before we hope you apply again, as we appreciate each and every person who considers joining our team.

I was perusing my Technorati feeds this evening when I spotted some familiar words. It was the post I wrote this morning about Saab bringing their flex-fuel cars to the Australian market. However it wasn't coming from this site. It was on a page hosted over on Wordpress.com, a free blog hosting service from the creators of wordpress. I checked out the site and it was populated with all the posts from AutoblogGreen.com. It had all the images on our posts, links, everything. Well almost everything. There was no attribution or references to AutoblogGreen. Wordpress.com support has been contacted and hopefully the site will get shutdown promptly. In the meantime if you're reading this content and you're not on the AutoblogGreen.com site, please go there and let us know where you found our content. Quoting other's content and commenting on it is OK but it needs to be attributed and hopefully linked. That's how the web works.

update: Wordpress.com responded very quickly and the site in question has been taken down. However, if you do spot content from AutoBlog or AutoBlogGreen being posted anywhere else without attribution please let us know.

In yesterday's exciting chapter, we left our hero (yours truly) impaled on the horns of a dilemma. Well, impaled is perhaps too strong a word. Let's just say I was perplexed. What is the "best" alternative fuel out of a short list of 5 choices? The final contestants were E85, CNG, Biodiesel, Electricity and Straight Vegetable Oil. I gave the first two their shot in Part 1, so it's on to the rest of the line-up after the jump.

Yesterday I was in line at the post office, running out to attend to some errands between posts. Since my mind was on AutoblogGreen content, and this was no ordinary post office, I noticed a few things. Before I get to my mini-rant, let me say that the post office I was at is just a drive-through window. It's a full-featured office, sure, but there's no lobby. The entire office works from one window that you hand your mail through and where the nice postal employee hands you your stamps or whatever. Since I try to walk the walk of being green, I was on my bicycle in line behind four or five cars. They just sat there and idled as we waited. It took at least ten minutes for me to get to the window, and when I pushed off, there were seven or eight cars behind me, continuing the line around the lot.

We've heard a lot about the United States Postal Service and their shift to greener delivery vehicles. I'm sure at the organizational level, people are concerned with being green. This is great. But what of the regular old USPS delivery truck that sat in the parking lot just wasting energy as the driver talked with the staff member inside? I'm not frustrated that they wanted to chat, but turn the vehicle all the way off, why don't ya?

And the people in line. I don't know them, I don't have anything against them, but the woman with the "I vote to protect the environment" sticker on her Subaru slowly idling her way to the window was too much. Governments and companies and activists can make all the green decisions they want, but if We The People don't make changes in our personal lives, we're not going to have a beneficial environmental impact. To do this, we not only need good fuel saving tips (like these), but we need to move away from our old habits. I mean, it seems there is a clear manta about how idling takes more gas than shutting down and then re-starting up the car when the line moves (see debate/information here, here and here, and feel free to add your own thoughts in the comments below), but still people in drive through lanes throughout the country idle the day away.

It's hard to rant about people when you don't really know them - for all I know, the woman in the Subaru walks and bikes everywhere she goes and uses her car just one day a week - but standing there watching all this fuel being burnt for no good reason got me a little worked up. We need to do better, I thought. Then the rain started on the ride home, and I calmed down a bit. I'll keep on doing my best to green up this planet, but I'm sure in a few weeks I'll get riled up again over something. Stay tuned...

Related:

• USPS hybrid delivery vehicle being tested in Boston
• Australian government's advice to drive greener: drive less
• Biofuel news roundup: Pandas, the Postal Service and Case Construction Equipment

[Source: The slight build-up of bile in my brain]

It was a year ago today that Hurricane Katrina taught us we're a vulnerable nation. As we mark the anniversary, a lot of good timelines have popped up on the web to understand how things happened. Today on AutoblogGreen I wanted to show how the hurricane and biofuels mix in New Orleans, Louisiana and the Gulf Coast in general. This is not an exhaustive list (please add your own information in the comments), but instead a list to get a feel of how biofuels and green car enthusiasts are still going strong in the region and how they helped in the (ongoing) recovery efforts. One long-term effect Katrina had on biofuels was that everyday folks around the country took a more serious interest in biofuels as gasoline prices increased following the storm. More specific effects include:

• August 29, 2005. Katrina hits New Orleans.
• Sept. 2, 2005. Josh Tickell starts supplying groups and individuals in need with biodiesel. He secures a tanker of biodiesel from West Central Soy and uses his Veggie Van to deliver it to groups in areas like Baton Rogue.
  
• Sept. 5, 2005. Luke Perry (yes, that Luke Perry) applauds VeggieVan's biodiesel-based relief efforts.
  
• Sept. 8, 2005. Ethanol is touted as a the right fuel to help the stricken Gulf Coast.
  
• Late September 2005. Former President Clinton says it's a good idea to use biodiesel in hurricane clean-up efforts, and applauds the work of the Veggie Van.
  
• Sept. 28, 2005. The DOE recognizes the Veggie Van and other green energy relief efforts.
  
• October, 2005. Rebuild Green, a community-based organization in New Orleans, starts efforts to rebuild the city as green as possible, including using renewable energy methods.
  
• Nov. 2005. The USDA gives a $7.6 million grant to ease barge congestion on the Mississippi River caused by Hurricane Katrina. This money means grain barges can move easier (making ethanol production more stable) starting in December.
  
• May 2006. The Shaw Group announces it will build two new biodiesel plants in Louisiana.
  
• July 2006. Louisiana passes a law that requires two percent ethanol blend for all transportation fuel sold in the state.
  

[Source: VeggieVan, Sierra Club, Iowa State Daily, Ethanol Producer, DOE, Future Energies]

In the past few months, we've gotten a few tips from AutoblogGreen reader Sarah Turner (she's written in about Stirling Engines and biodiesel producer Global Commodities going out of business). Now she's tipped us off about something a little closer to her heart: her personal quest to drive around the world in an alternatively-powered vehicle. Turner is basing her journey on the 1965 drive by two Americans in one of the first Toyota Land Cruiser FJ40s that is recounted in the book "Who Needs A Road?" Turner said she considers the book's subtitle, "The longest and last motor journey around the world" a challenge.

Many details of the trip, like which vehicle she'll use to just what type of green power will be in the tank are still in the planning stages right now, but given that Turner has made some long-distance drives in the past (she's got pictures of an Alaska-Arizona charity drive on her new website) it might not take long before she hits the road. I hope she'll keep us informed.

To see what another recent green driving adventure, I recommend reading about Panamericana 2006, the North to South America trip that took place earlier this spring.

[Source: Sarah Turner]