National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has proposed that automakers adopt sound emission rules for their hybrid and electric vehicles to protect pedestrians and bicyclists who may be unable to hear the vehicles approaching. NHTSA says that designing the vehicles to make noise at speeds below 18 mph would prevent about 2,800 injuries over the life […]
A single driving license model will be introduced across Europe on January 19, and new rules about the design of the license card itself and the period for which it is valid. This is expected to stop citizens, police forces and those responsible for the issuing of driving licenses becoming confused by conflicting rules in […]
Deutsche Telekom AG, Germany’s largest phone company, which owns 38,000 vehicles in its home country — or more than one for every two employees there — is among corporate car buyers taking advantage of tax breaks that have propped up the auto market in Germany. With private demand slackening, cars bought by companies for employee […]
Logistics company Transplace surveyed 65 shipper and carrier fleets through the EPA’s SmartWay Fleet Program to get a strong sense of how fleet efficiency metrics can be approved. Here are five measures that meet or exceed expectations for surveyed fleets:
• Weight Reduction – The EPA figures that every 10% reduction in truck loads can reduce fuel use by 5% to 10%. Common ways to achieve this include using cast-aluminum alloy wheels, downsizing to lighter engines and using aluminum cab frames.....
Just as General Electric is now adapting its fleet plan and acquiring less electric vehicles than intended, the Obama administration and the US General Services Administration cut purchases of hybrid and electric models by one-third last year and bought mostly Asian brands. More than half were purchased through Hyundai, Toyota, Mitsubishi, and Honda. The government has been bringing in more vehicle by foreign-owned companies, much of it having to do with the head start these companies have had over the Detroit Three.....