Jim Motavalli

MY MOST RECENT CONTENT

Wed, May 09 2012 at 11:37 AM

Better Place is set to launch an audacious electric car option: buy the vehicle but lease the battery, and pay for 'electric miles' like you would a cellphone contract. Today Israel and Denmark; tomorrow the world.

Ultra-green Europe slow to buy electric vehicles

Fri, May 04 2012 at 10:05 AM

Cargo bikes are catching on in Germany, France and England, and everybody loves public transit. But so far, despite generous subsidies, electric cars have failed to make a dent on the market.

The incredible, half-sized Chevy Spark

Tue, May 01 2012 at 12:44 PM

The Big Three won't get fooled again, trying to sell huge SUVs when gas is $4 a gallon. The $13,000 Spark is Chevrolet's smallest car ever: It's tiny, but offers the same interior space as a typical 1973 gas-guzzler.

Should I buy an electric car?

Fri, Apr 27 2012 at 11:55 AM

It depends on where you live, says a new report because some states force you to charge up from a dirty coal grid. But that's just a snapshot, and the long-term outlook favors EVs.

Holy smokes, Batman, it's the Batmobile

Fri, Apr 20 2012 at 3:02 PM

Our blogger drives one of America's great automotive icons, which is scheduled to be auctioned next month. You can bet this car turns heads!

It's a gas: Propane car sets speed records

Tue, Apr 17 2012 at 12:21 PM

The Maxximus LNG 2000 can do zero to 60 in less than 2 seconds, and can run on propane, CNG, LNG or even gasoline. It's a showcase for the vast potential of natural gas, currently running around $2 a gallon.

Park and pedal: Bike commuting made simple

Wed, Apr 11 2012 at 7:38 PM

Want a cool way to combat expensive gas? Take your bicycle at least part of the way. (We can't all live in Portland, where bicycle commuting has become a religion practiced by more than 5 percent of the population.)

From the New York Auto Show: The cool ones

Fri, Apr 06 2012 at 2:48 PM

Some of the most interesting vehicles in New York were in the basement. I checked out an electric DeLorean, a natural gas wheelchair van, and a flying car.

Happy days at the New York Auto Show

Thu, Apr 05 2012 at 9:23 AM

Even the big cars are fuel misers these days, as buyers with cash in their pockets cast a wary eye on $4 gas. Did GM really roll out a 35-mpg Chevrolet Impala? Yes, indeed.

Eating while driving: A bad idea that will make you sick

Fri, Mar 30 2012 at 4:07 PM

Driving with a burger in one hand and a cellphone in the other is a sure recipe for highway disaster. And all that old food is hanging out, just waiting to give you food poisoning.

Commenting (6)

The article is about the

Mon, Aug 29 2011 at 10:30 AM

The article is about the "most likely to succeed," not about my personal favorites. But I do like the Volt--precisely for the reason I like other plug-in hybrids. It is electricity without the range anxiety. I do hope they make a cheaper version, such as a production version of the MPV5 crossover (based on the Volt) and shown in China.

I re-read my article and

Mon, Aug 29 2011 at 10:27 AM

I re-read my article and didn't see any typos, so maybe you're on a higher plane.

I re-read my article and

Mon, Aug 29 2011 at 10:27 AM

I re-read my article and didn't see any typos, so maybe you're on a higher plane.

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Green Tech Blogger

Member since August 2008

Jim is a freelance journalist, speaker, book author, radio personality and expert on all things environmental.

Jim blogs weekly for The New York Times, is a regular contributor to The New York Times’ "Automobiles" section, and has a weekly syndicated "Wheels" column. He also contributes to The Daily Green. He writes “Green Living” for the Environmental Defense newsletter and has contributed to Men's Journal, AMC Outdoors, Popular Mechanics, The Nation, The Boston Globe, Philadelphia Review, Salon, Grist, The Guardian, Tomorrow Magazine, Greenwich Magazine, Sierra and many other newspapers, magazines, and websites. He is a two-time winner of the Global Media Award from the Population Institute, and has shared his environmental expertise in radio interviews across the country.

His books include Naked in the Woods: Joseph Knowles and the Legacy of Frontier Fakery,Forward Drive: The Race to Build "Clean" Cars for the Future and Feeling the Heat: Dispatches from the Frontlines of Climate Change.

An , Jim is as comfortable lecturing at environmental conferences or academic gatherings as he is addressing the general public. His speeches are provocative and relevant.

Jim spent 14 years as editor of , a national bi-monthly where he now contributes as a senior writer. He has also served as executive editor for New Mass Media and edited an alternative news weekly. He is a member of the Society for Environmental Journalists (SEJ) and has taught journalism at Fairfield University and University of Connecticut. He hosts a bi-weekly public affairs and music radio show on listener-sponsored WPKN-FM.

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Jim Motavalli

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