Let’s face it. The conscious decision of trading a fuel-powered, high-performance vehicle for a less-powerful but greener alternative is not exactly the easiest thing to do. For starters, in most parts of the world, biofuel can be pretty hard to come by. As for electric vehicles, well, keeping your car fully-charged for hours of travel can be near impossible. But going “Green” does have its benefits.

Let’s not get started on the “save the world for the children” campaign. It’s something we’re all familiar with, and it’s something that we all understand perfectly. Instead, let’s focus on the benefits that will affect YOUR life.

(1) Green Cars Save Lungs (and Lives)

Since you won’t be emitting as much carbon dioxide or carbon monoxide with your green ride, then you can expect less pollution to damage your health. While you won’t inhale enough pollutants to develop a respiratory or cardiopulmonary sickness in one day, everyday exposure to these pollutants can and will damage your lungs in the long run. By going for a green car, you minimize the pollutants released in the environment, thereby cutting everyday air pollution by the tiniest bit. If you persuade others to join you and to get green cars for themselves, you make a bigger change in helping make the environment safer for you, if not your children, or your children’s children.

(2) Lower C02-Related Taxes

In some parts of the globe (like London, we’re told), the road tax you pay the government increases or decreases based the amount of C02 your ride releases and the type of fuel your vehicle uses. Naturally, fewer emissions can help lower your road tax. Now, an article from EzineArticles.com, entitled: “The Benefits of Having a Green Car”, also mentions that you won’t have to pay any taxes if your gas emissions are way below 100g/km. Now if this rule applies to your area, then this can mean pretty sweet savings in the long run.

If you drive an electric car, then you also won’t have to pay a single dime for fuel tax. After all, your car doesn’t run on fuel, it runs on power. Fuel tax for natural gases are also a lot lower than what you’d have to pay if you were driving using diesel or petrol.

(3) Green Car Insurance Companies Usually Offer Low-Priced Insurance

Some Green Car Insurance Companies have better and cheaper offers when it comes to green car insurance. It acts as a type of incentive for people to buy more green cars.

So actually by buying a green car, you’re saving more than just the environment, you’re also saving more money. That’s why, if you don’t own a green car now, you might want to think about purchasing one in the near future.

Again: It’s not easy being green—but if you stick with it, the rewards can be incredibly fulfilling.

ECC, also known as the Electric Car Corporation Plc, has just announced its launch of a new, “all electric”, 4-seater, production car that will be made available to the public today.

This recent UK launch comes right in the heels of the announcement from the government saying how they subsidize and support the use of electric cars. The British government has also expressed their commitment in making the UK the “world leader” in creating and exporting quality electric cars. London’s own mayor, Boris Johnson, has also revealed plans of introducing 25,000 recharging points throughout the city. These recharging points should make it easier for electric car drivers to keep their rides ready for longer road trips.

The new electric car is going to be called the Citroën C1 ev’ie. It’s the first 4-seater, all-electric ride that’s designed to give its drivers (and passengers) superior comfort and performance. This car even comes complete with all the standard safety features you’ll find in your usual gas-powered car.

WhatGreenCar.com also reports that this vehicle is capable of running 60-70 miles when fully-charged, at a level speed of approximately 60mph. Not bad for an electric car, right?

To keep this car completely-charged, you can also plug it in for around 6-7 hours in a domestic 13 amp socket. That should cost you around 90p, which means you’re going to be spending less than 2p per mile.

Citroën C1 ev’ie models will be assembled in the United Kingdom from the donor car. And the company expects to produce around 500 of the C1 ev’ies in the next 12 months. Significantly rising to 2,000-4,000 units by next year depending on public demand and the government support.

“We are committed to providing greener alternatives for motorists and are delighted to be supplying ECC with C1s for this exciting project,” the Managing Director of the Citroën UK, Xavier Duchemin, said.

ECC plc Chief Executive David Martell also commented: “We believe this is the first serious alternative to a petrol or diesel car. It drives just like a petrol car and has excellent capacity for use in any town or city in the UK…The key to building a successful electric car is an efficient battery management system (BMS). ECC has developed an advanced and sophisticated system, which when coupled with regenerative breaking, can provide the driver with much greater range and better performance.”

The C1 ev’ie is said to be priced at $16,850 and can be bought directly from ECC.

When you look around, cars are becoming smaller and smaller. Well, that’s not necessarily a bad thing because they save a lot of space, power, and most of all, they’re easier to park. Since they’re smaller, you don’t need too much fuel powering them and of course, they have lower emissions. When it comes to small cars, one manufacturer stands out from the rest and that happens to be Mitsubishi.

Most of the cars that Mitsubishi releases can accommodate as much as four people. Aside from that, they’re powered by an engine that is only 600 cc in volume. Despite of the diminutive size, Mitsubishi makes sure that they’re stylish and functional at the same time.

Right now, there are three vehicles that Mitsubishi is grooming to be sent outside Japan and these are the i MiEV, i MiEV Sport concept, and Concept cX. The i MiEV uses a 330-volt lithium-ion battery, which is mounted below the floor in order to maintain a low center of gravity. Meanwhile, the i MiEV Sport concept uses an aluminum chassis for extra toughness and durability. Aside from that, it uses a Super All-Wheel Control System that is needed to improve traction, output, and control. Last but not the least is the Concept cX, which is essentially an electric-powered SUV.

As I was looking through some old archives of early electric cars, I came across one of the most iconic electric vehicles in the 90s: the Nissan Future Electric Vehicle. Sure, General Motors was at the top of the pecking order when it comes to electric-car technology. However, Nissan showed that it’s also a major player when they announced the release of the Nissan Future Electric Vehicle.

The Nissan Future Electric Vehicle was a stylish vehicle that looked like any other car out there. There was only one difference and that’s it runs using electricity. It’s actually a four-passenger coupe and it ran using the prototype lithium-ion batteries. These batteries were extremely sophisticated during that time. However, other automakers perfected the technology and this battery type is the most commonly used battery these days.

When it comes to speed, the Nissan Future Electric Vehicle can go as fast as 75 miles although its range is a bit limited. Despite of the Nissan Future Electric Vehicle’s promise, the 90s certainly wasn’t the time to release a fuel-saving vehicle such as this. Back in the early 90s, everybody acted that oil would last forever. Of course everybody knows that it wouldn’t. however, nobody was stopping anyone during that time.