Last year the Taxi and Limousine Commission (TLC) officially addressed the city’s plan to turn the taxi fleet hybrid. Expectations are that taxi cabs purchased after September 2008 must get 25 miles per gallon or better. The plan graduates in an increase of 30 miles per gallon in the following year on all new taxi cabs added to the fleet in the fall of 2009.

It has drawn some fire from the Taxicab Board of Trade initially due to safety concerns as taxis are on the road long term for a great deal of their life span. The bigger issue at hand is probably cost as the city pushes to replace the fleet with hybrid taxis to 30% by the end of 2009, then 100% before 2013.

Meanwhile to further its plans the TLC’s discussions have turned to the “black car” fleet that provides services to corporate clientele. With an average of 12 to 15 miles per gallon, companies will probably welcome the switch to hybrid. The plan allows the black car transfer an extra year to make the switch in comparison to the time line set forth for the taxi cabs.

Companies offering low interest loans are available to assist in the funding owners will need to make in the costly switch. It is estimated that over 23,000 TLC vehicles will be affected in the first phase, however the anticipated cost savings attributed to this change could be well into the thousands of dollars. If coupled with the proposed law to waive the city sales tax on fuel-efficient vehicles owners might even be seeing green as well as driving green.

This turns out to be just one of the efforts Coca-Cola is making to go green in its day-to-day operations. On top of Coca-Cola’s fleet of diesels and their use of the new hybrid electrics on order and in the test field, a Coca-Cola subsidiary, Montevideo Refrescos SRL is using an electric truck from Zero Air Pollution (ZAP), called the Xebra. The Xebra is estimated to run as fast as 40 mph. Each charge produces enough power to travel 25 miles until the next charge.

Montevideo uses 30 Xebra’s for the last leg of product distribution. The larger diesel- or hybrid-electric trucks deliver to a preliminary distribution hub and the Xebra’s pick up from that point to complete product deliveries in more congested areas.

In addition to Coca-Cola testing out the new Xebra motors, other companies are using vehicles manufactured by ZAP as well for similar distribution needs. UPS is leasing 42 ZAP vehicles for use in Northern California in their effort to go green. The methodology is the same in that the ZAP vehicle is used for the final delivery in the handling of small parcels. Meanwhile in Las Vegas ZAP carries Domino’s pizza to its customers.

Prior to the announcement of the sale with Coca-Cola, Eaton announced it ranked second on Corporate Responsibility Officer (CRO) Magazine’s 100 Best Corporate Citizens 2008 list.

Meanwhile across the states in San Francisco, Mayor Gavin Newsom is requesting city and county leaders to voice a commitment to purchase plug-in vehicles from auto makers if they start making more of them. He will share his efforts at the U.S. Conference of Mayors this summer. Currently a local garage converts hybrid vehicles to hybrid plug-ins for the city.

Plug-ins are more beneficial now than when they were first on the scene as a potential vehicle of the future. Oil plays a miniscule amount in the production of our electricity then it did years ago; not to mention that gasoline is hardly needed in a plug-in as well.

While PHEVs cost more, mostly due to the battery size needed per vehicle, the cost is offset by the money you’re saving in gasoline and service costs. As more plug-ins are produced it is believed the cost of batteries will decrease as well. More communities could reap the benefits of vehicles that get cleaner as they age. The cost savings and reduction in greenhouse gases alone are enough to rally for increase production of PHEVs.

So from Vermont to San Francisco support may be garnered for this upcoming vehicle of the future. It is likely that UVM’s exercise in testing the plug-in as a reliable vehicle in harsher conditions and San Francisco’s mayor drumming up support to increase production for communities ready to commit to using plug-in hybrids, are a step in the right direction to ask the auto industry to reach its goals sooner rather than later.

GET’s product line has been produced from organic feedstock. Products to date have included automotive and marine motor oils; and 2-cycle motor oils. Bio-Tec will share their formulas that have transformed biomass from animal fat-tissue into similar motor oils.

This news is on the coat-tails of GET announcing their partnership with Philadelphia’s Inventek Colloidal Cleaners LLC who will assist in manufacturing GET’s environmentally safe carwash and windshield rain repellent.

GET Delivers Performance and Stays Green

GET attempts to meet consumers’ demands to not sacrifice performance while offering green products. Their products are not limited to automotive and marine performance oils and appearance products. GET also produces lawn and garden products and household cleaning products. They boast their products as American-grown and totally green.

GET On Safety

They are proud of, and it is quite interesting to note as well, that their diamond safety rating is between a perfect three zero to four zero rating making their products safe in the realm of flammability, reactivity with other chemicals, and no toxicity posing health risks.

So while you or your mechanic may need chemical goggles, smock, gloves and ventilation for protection from using one of the many leading brands of motor oil on the market carrying a rating above zero; GET’s zero rated G-OIL is completely safe and 100% biodegradable. So for you do-it-yourself types G-OIL would be a welcome change as it can be disposed of with G-DISPOSOIL which converts the oil into soil.

The growing concern is that the solution to use corn-based ethanol in the future will further increase greenhouse gas emissions. Producing ethanol = global warming? That could be the case according to the researchers which included co-authors from Iowa State University, the Woods Hole Research Center and the Agricultural Conservation Economics. It seems unfortunate that this is being reported after a push in the U.S. to increase the use of biofuels in the next decade or so; and it obviously warrants some future study into the questions raised.

The biggest concern is not that ethanol is bad but whether the road taken to get the corn-based ethanol we want as a source of renewable fuel is justifiable. Tearing down forests or replacing current grass- and croplands to produce biofuels is causing more environmental concerns worldwide than solutions.

The Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) voiced its own concern as the headlines seem to put ethanol in a poor light. The message that the RFA and the scientists in the study would both concur on is that which was put forth by a number of scientists in a letter to the President and Congress urging them to take into consideration how biofuels are produced.

The rush to judgment since the news broke is probably premature. It is not necessarily noteworthy news as there is an understanding that this is what we would come to expect of first generation biofuel technologies.

It should be noted that of the 36 billion gallons a year of renewable fuel required by the Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS) in the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, 21 billion gallons should come from advanced biofuels. This translates into what is known as second generation biofuels. With this understanding it is apparent that further studies need to be done on the amount of biofuels produced from first generation biofuels to see if continued production is feasible in the future.

To learn more, read the AP’s article from last week and visit the RFA’s website for more information on biofuel technologies.

Some things to consider when applying for your tax credit:

1. The purchase date of your vehicle

2. When you actually acquire the vehicle

3. The type of vehicle purchased

4. The number sold of that particular type of vehicle

5. Whether the vehicle is leased or owned by the purchaser

6. Whether the vehicle is new or used

The above factors into what the credit amount of the vehicle is to start and what percentage of credit the buyer will realize upon tax time.

For instance two owners may buy the same model car at two different times of the year and receive the car at the same time but while the first purchaser reaps the rewards of a 100% tax deduction the second purchaser may benefit from 50% or less of the tax deduction.

It is important to note that the credit does not apply to used hybrid vehicles. In the instances that the car is leased you may be out of the credit as the leasing company has the right to claim the credit. Also when you buy is key as in some cases the full credit is only available until a point in time after the manufacturer records the sale of its allowable number of hybrids for a particular make.

Daunting to say the least, if you are considering purchasing a hybrid or alternative fuel vehicle and were looking for the benefits of a tax break you have to plan ahead. You’ll be better served to be prepared instead of surprised when you sit down with your accountant.

For more information, see the IRS Summary of the Credit for Qualified Hybrid Vehicles or their updated information page on Hybrid Cars and Alternative Fuel Vehicles.