Frontal view of Toyota Prius Mk III hybrid: its battery was innovated by Stan Ovshinsky Ever since the first Toyota Prius hybrid cars began traveling on streets and highways in many parts of the world, more and more people have had the pleasure of driving these dual engine cars that incorporate both a standard gasoline […]
Mid East purchasers of Fisker Karma electric hybrids should be aware of the car’s potential fire risks Wealthy residents of opulent Mid East countries such as Abu Dhabi have been well known for owning various types of luxury vehicles, ranging from solid gold Mercedes sport cars that run on biofuel to ungreen armored gold trimmed […]
Investors still have faith in the Israeli-led Better Place electric car company. After the board fired its visionary founder and CEO Shai Agassi, and laying off half its staff in Israel last month the company has secured a $100 million investment. The company aims to reduce range anxiety of the use of electric cars by providing […]
The Fisker Karma electric hybrid sport: Not everybody’s car at $98,000 Electric cars cruising the roads of the Middle East and elsewhere in the world have been frequent Green Prophet clean technology articles ever since Better Place’s founder Shai Agassi launched his unique electric car network concept back in early 2008. Since then, a number […]
There really isn’t a better market than the Arabian Gulf for Fisker’s luxury electric vehicle, that smooth and opulent 5,000 pound Karma, so it comes as no surprise to learn that one of the world’s most expensive electric vehicles will soon be spotted flying down roads throughout the Middle East. While many western buyers are […]
Inside a Better Place battery switching station. Maurice interviews two Better Place electric car buyers who defend their decision to buy electric, and support the company which is flailing financially. Better Place international CEO Shai Agassi has been fired from the company he founded ; and in the wake of his departure, the company may also […]
It’s easy to poke fun at Dubai for all of its insane excesses, but because we’re big-hearted greenies, we also want to give the Emirate a giant high-five when it does something worthwhile. And the Green Bus is certainly that. Although the merits of bio-fuel are still debatable (depending on the source), this pilot bus, […]
Could it be a world-changer? A cheap solution to help African kids get to schools and clinics? Israel’s Izhar Gafni (who we interviewed here) had an outlandish idea to create a durable cardboard bike from scratch with raw materials sum totalling about $9. Add in some labor costs and you can get a pretty cheap […]
Despite a major upheaval in recent weeks, the electric vehicle company Better Place is pushing forward its business expansion plans with a $4 million deal recently signed with Elco Holdings Ltd. One of the largest industrial groups in Israel, Elco will purchase 125 Renault Florence ZEs that will be distributed to its subsidiaries Electra Ltd. and Electra […]
In the wake of ousting its guru-like CEO visionary Shai Agassi, rumors are circulating that Better Place Israel will be laying off staff, about half of its workforce, according to Haaretz. The plan is to cut about half of its Israeli staff, numbering somewhere between 400 to 500 people. The article states: “After anticipated development […]
A few days after we praised the new Better Place electric car pricing model in Israel (a lease plus charge plus 1000 km for $510), the company’s founder and visionary CEO Shai Agassi stepped down, or was ousted as some newer sources would rather say. While company press releases attempt to break the news as […]
Israel's iconic CEO Shai Agassi has been fired from his position at the electric car company Better Place. He will be replaced by Evan Thornley, the current CEO of Better Place Australia.
The best news to come from Better Place is an attractive $510 leasing plan per month which includes 1000 km. Israel’s Better Place, headed by the iconic entrepeneur Shai Agassi has just released news of an attractive leasing deal bound to win over new subscribers: for NIS 1990 a month ($510 USD), for 36 months, […]
There’s been a huge jump in Tel Avivians riding on two wheels in the last decade. When I first visited Tel Aviv about 12 or 13 years ago I was one of the only cyclists on the road, along with a few other nuts, and the African immigrant workers hauling around skeins of fabric in […]
Abu Dhabi cars to run on compressed natural gas. The Abu Dhabi Food Control Authority (ADFCA) has converted 20 vehicles in its fleet of 500 to run on compressed natural gas (CNG). It’s part of their commitment to reduce harmful emissions and their press release says they’ll convert about 20% percent of the total fleet […]
Two weeks ago Green Prophet decided it was high time to put Tel Aviv’s bicycle sharing program to the test, since we are such fervent advocates of cycling. We hired two bicycles from a station at the corner of Ehrlich and Yefet streets in Jaffa, a predominantly Arab neighborhood just south of Tel Aviv, but only […]
Fly into Israel? Land at sea first on this 250 acre platform runway proposed for international flights. There has been talk for a couple of years already that Tel Aviv’s international airport will move to the sea, literally. A proposal has been submitted to create an artificial island off the city’s coast to replace the […]
Bikes blocking traffic or crosswalks are being impounded in Tel Aviv. From the first time I visited Tel Aviv more than a decade ago, up until today so much has changed in the way the city’s residents accept cycling. Back then if you rode a bike you were either a migrant worker pushing fabric rolls […]
It keeps the blazing heat back, and white is the best car color for holding value, according to the UK Daily Mail In the market for buying a new car? Believe it or not, white colors help hold a car’s value. Although white is usually considered more plain and certainly not as attractive as various […]
Is this McLaren SLR Mercedes Sports Coupe Really White Gold? It Must be at US$ 2.5 Million Super luxury sport cars such as solid gold Mercedes sport coupes , gold plated Porche 997 GT-2 coupes; and especially a gold trimmed armored plated Rolls Royce are not what one might call environmentally friendly vehicles. Even if […]
Last month Israel’s Better Place rolled out their all-electric vehicle network to the Israeli public with much fanfare. Of the hundreds of civilians that bought the cars, warm reviews of excitement ensued. Pictures and photo ops were maximized. Since opening the car sales channel to the public the number of Better Place cars on the […]
Not a thing of beauty, but the Runner will zip you around town at 70 kph – Photo via Haaretz/ David Bachar It’s not a Trekker that is commonly seen flying on the streets and sidewalks of cities like Tel Aviv. It’s also not a car, as is the Better Place Renault Fluence ZE that […]
The 2012 summer Olympics are over but electric car marathons are beginning to heat up. Israel’s Better Place smashed the 24 hour distance record of 994.14 miles set last month by Renault’s Zoe. The new record was set with a Hoden Commodore. This is an Australian made electric car modified to use Better Place’s innovative […]
A fleet of fancy cars are gathering dust in the short-term parking lots at Abu Dhabi airport. The car parks, walking distance from the terminals, are meant for stays of three days or less. You pay dearly for convenient location, air conditioned walkways and covered car bays. That is, if you actually came back to […]
A simple change in operations gives aviation an environmental win-win-win. Continuous Descent Arrival (CDA) is an aircraft operating technique in which arriving planes descend in a relatively straight line to the runway. In conventional descent, an aircraft drops in a stair-step manner, requesting control tower permission to descend to each new lower altitude, with portions of […]