The players in car pooling are different, yet complement each other! This is what the Dynamique covoiturage  website claims, as it distinguishes three types of player: private companies, associations and regional authorities.

For these different players, car pooling is an efficient and practical solution that facilitates the mobility of people in an area or of employees in a business. However, it is also a method chosen to reduce CO2 emissions.

As for Green Cove, the company is testing new car pooling models. According to Développement durable, Green Cove, which runs the car-pooling site 123envoiture.com is going to put online a car-pooling platform dedicated to VSBs and SMEs with fewer than 500 employees.

Additionally, Green Cove has just launched an invitation to tender towards rural zones with the aim of promoting local tourism through car pooling. The company is looking for areas that are poorly serviced by public transport, to which it could be possible to travel by car pooling.

The iPhone is at the forefront of car pooling. In fact, according to Energies Nouvelles, several large companies operating in the market, such as Covoiturage.fr, have been offering their service on it for a few weeks now. All you need to do is indicate your destination and desired departure time on the screen, and the application automatically localises other travellers wishing to share a vehicle. Travellers are then put into contact with each other via text message or telephone call.

On the "sporty" side, the hybrid coupé version of Honda’s CR-Z should be making its debut in a year, with 150 thermic HP added to 50 electric HP under the bonnet.

So, we learn from Cartech, the CR-Z Type R will be capable of reaching a speed of 100 km/h (62 mph) in only six seconds. The coupé should be shown in early 2011 at the Tokyo show, to be put on sale a few months later. Honda, which had originally planned to use clean diesel technology for its large cars, finally abandoned this strategy at the end of 2008 in order to opt for the hybrid system, specifies Green Car Advisor.

As for the 2010 version of the Volkswagen Polo, which was just voted car of the year, well, it continues to perpetuate the tradition of small sporty models, with 180 HP this time, announces Automoto.

It offers a 1.4 TSI direct injection engine, with turbo and supercharging. With acceleration of 0 to 100 km/h (62 mph) in 6.9 seconds, and claiming a maximum speed of 229 km/h (142 mph), the Volkswagen Polo GTI settles for only 6 l/100 km in terms of consumption. According to Green Car Congress, the vehicle will thus save 25% in fuel.

For this model, the manufacturer opted for downsizing, a solution that aims to reduce engine size, CO2 emissions and fuel consumption. On this subject, see Downsizing, or the future of the thermic engine , which evaluates this environmentally-friendly and efficient solution.

A Ferrari… on two wheels ? According to le blog Auto, this is the latest bright idea from the manufacturer Segway (see the interview with François Coenen, President of Segway France). It is offering an official, limited-edition "Ferrari" version of its PT i2 electric personal transporter. With a range of 38 kilometres (almost 24 miles) from a single charge, and a maximum speed of 20 km/h (about 14 mph), this special red edition is branded with the Scuderia Ferrari logo.

It’s all over for budget-devouring, CO2-producing cars : American engineers have unveiled an experimental electric saloon that is capable of storing electricity when parked and thus of sending surplus kilowatts back into the mains network.

According to Ouest France-Auto, this concept, which has been called "V2G" or "Vehicle-to-Grid", works with a computer system that manages the kilowatt supply and demand 24 hours a day.

The first prototype was shown at the annual conference of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in San Diego. It’s a Toyota Scion XB, developed at the University of Delaware.

According to the 2009 barometer published by the Research Institute for Business Vehicles (a French association aiming to analyse important trends in the European mobility market), 25% of French business decision makers will be ready to obtain electric vehicles and 47% hybrid vehicles in the next three years.

Also according to this barometer, and quoted by Ecologie Caradisiac, the larger the company, the stronger the attraction for electric or hybrid vehicles.

Caradisiac introduces two initiatives from companies to reduce their environmental footprint.

In fact, e-commerce company RueDuCommerce is promoting products that reduce vehicles’ consumption and pollution: it supported, for example, the development of a "Petrol–Water Hybrid" engine.

It is also ensuring that its parcel dispatches are made by transport companies that invest in electric or hybrid delivery vehicle fleets. Finally, the company’s employees favour public transport and car sharing for getting around.

Caradisiac also tells us about PSG’s new car pooling website, launched in partnership with covoiturage.fr. It has now become possible to travel to a football match in the company of other supporters… and do the environment some good!

The American city of Houston has decided to make a huge effort to develop electric vehicles.

The authorities have therefore signed a partnership with Nissan in order to develop electric vehicle recharging terminals. According to Green Auto blog, Houston’s secret objective is to steal San Francisco’s title of the electric vehicle capital of the United States … Watch this space!