Chevy Bolt and Chrysler Pacifica Win North American Car of the Year Awards Chevrolet’s Bolt EV and the new Chrysler Pacifica minivan—including its plug-in hybrid version—joined the Honda Ridgeline as winners of the North American Car, Utility Vehicle, and Truck of the Year, respectively. Ford Announces Plans for a Mustang…
International Hydrogen Council Forms In January at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, 13 CEOs and chairpersons from major international corporations met to form a new “Hydrogen Council.” The first global initiative of its kind, the council plans to invest more than $10 billion in hydrogen-related products over the…
Toyota launches TOYOTA NEXT Open Innovation Program in Japan In Japan, Toyota Motor Corporation has launched the TOYOTA NEXT Open Innovation Program. The program seeks to promote joint development of new services by using new ideas, technologies, and solutions held by various organizations regardless of scale, as well as by…
Throughout the year, the “Let’s Clear the Air” column of the National Alternative Fuels Training Consortium (NAFTC) eNews provides articles and other materials about specific issues of a technical nature designed for automotive technicians, students, and others with a technical interest in the alternative fuel vehicle (AFV) industry. These articles…
Federal Highway Administration Launches Alternative Fuels Corridors Initiative The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) announced recently the designation of 55 routes that will begin the formation of a national network of “alternative fuel” corridors. Electric Vehicle Use Reduces Greenhouse Gas Emissions 61% in Minnesota The Great Plains…
This year, the National Alternative Fuels Training Consortium (NAFTC) eNews launched a new column as an ongoing effort to support the first responder community. The column “On Scene: AFVs and First Responders” is written by NAFTC first responder trainers Jeff Julian and Gary Garrisi, and provides news and information specific…
Training Roundup In the past few weeks, the National Alternative Fuels Training Consortium (NAFTC) hosted a propane autogas training and branched out to promote alternative fuel vehicle (AFV) safety training to new audiences. The NAFTC hosted a Propane Autogas Vehicle Technician Training on October 18-20 at Lawson State Community College,…
Since 2005, the NAFTC has actively supported the first responder community with educational opportunities on properly and safely responding to automobile incidents involving alternative fuel vehicles (AFVs). Vehicle types covered in these materials include electric drive, propane autogas, natural gas, biofuel and hydrogen powered vehicles. Little did we know that…
Odyssey Updates – Site Recruitment Continues The National Alternative Fuels Training Consortium (NAFTC) continued to recruit Odyssey event site hosts this month. Several organizations have already agreed to host Odyssey events in 2017. If your business or organization is interested in hosting an Odyssey 2017 event, complete the online hosting…
Electricity as a Vehicle Fuel This article is the sixth in a series examining alternative fuel production and source materials. Previously we looked at biodiesel, natural gas, propane, ethanol, and hydrogen. This month’s article is the last in this series, and covers electricity as a vehicle fuel . Electric drive…
