Car2go solidifies Austin car-sharing program, will start in Washington, DC soon

Filed under: Transportation Alternatives, SMART, Daimler

Daimler’s open-ended Car2go car-sharing program has its deepest U.S. roots in the city of Austin, TX. That’s where the first North American Car2go program was established and where a two-year pilot program just concluded. The trial’s end doesn’t mean the free-range Smart cars will go away, though. Instead, Daimler and [...]

Ferrari increases customization options with new Tailor-Made program

Filed under: Ferrari, Design/Style

Good things come to those who wait. Or so the saying goes, at least. And while that may not seem like something you’d associate with performance automobiles like Ferraris, maybe it should. Because while some will pay a premium to get a Ferrari – any Ferrari – right away, others are willing [...]

Turning scrap metal into German classics is our kind of recycling program

Filed under: Frankfurt Motor Show, Classics, Etc., Audi, Mercedes-Benz, Porsche, Design/Style

There were plenty of curiosities to see art the Frankfurt Motor Show this year. City cars converted into beach buggies. Electric supercars. Exotics with trick folding roofs. Even a tuner Porsche crossover posing as a new vehicle. But few were as intriguing as what we [...]

Netherlands sees measurable results from fee-per-mile test program

Filed under: Etc., Legislation and Policy, Europe/EU

Should drivers be charged a tax fee for the miles they drive? A controversial tax proposal over in the Netherlands calls for just that, with miles driven measured via a meter placed in vehicles.
All eyes are on the Netherland’s fee-per-mile trials, with the program’s ability to ease traffic congestion [...]

Future Steel Vehicle program wraps up phase two of lightweight autobody project

Filed under: Emerging Technologies, Etc., MPG, Lightweight, USA

The Steel Market Development Institute (SMDI) will reveal results from phase two of its Future Steel Vehicle (FSV) program at the 10th Annual Great Designs in Steel seminar in Livonia, MI on Wednesday, May 18th.
FSV is a global program that aims to develop lightweight steel auto body concepts [...]

USDA mulls insurance program for biofuel crop producers

Filed under: Biodiesel, Legislation and Policy, USA

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) will soon explore the feasibility of offering crop insurance to producers of biofuel feedstocks ranging from straw to corn stover to woody biomass. This feasibility evaluation, to be funded by the Risk Management Agency, builds upon the USDA’s ongoing effort to insure growers [...]

Tennessee attorney gets 26-month sentence for defrauding biofuels subsidy program

Filed under: Biodiesel, Legislation and Policy, Green Daily, USA

67-year-old H. Max Speight, a disbarred Tennessee attorney, has been sentenced by a federal court and will serve a 26-month sentence for defrauding a federal biofuels subsidy program. Though his sentence may be considered harsh, Speight’s partner, William Tacker II, was convicted and sentenced to five years [...]

Paris plans to launch world’s largest electric car sharing program

Filed under: EV/Plug-in, Green Daily, Europe/EU

Car sharing programs have steadily increased in popularity within the past few years and will likely see continued growth as we move forward. Paris hopes to cash in on some of the action by offering up the world’s largest electric car share fleet. Paris’ grand plan is an optimistic one, [...]

Ducati officially rolls out Monster 796, Monster Art customization program

Filed under: Motorcycle, Design/Style

Ducati Monster 796 – Click above for high-res image gallery

It doesn’t exactly come as a surprise, but Ducati has just officially announced that it will soon be putting a new Monster on dealership floors in June. As you might expect from the name, the new Ducati Monster 796 will use the same [...]

Report: Aston Martin considering custom vehicle program for customers

Filed under: Europe, Aston Martin, Design/Style

Aston Martin Rapide Silver Blonde – click above image for high-res image gallery

To many of us here gathered around Autoblog’s virtual water cooler, the star of the Geneva Motor Show wasn’t the electrified Porsche 918 Spyder, but rather the Touring Superleggera Flying Star, better known as the Bentley Continental Shooting [...]