Green Auto News: Mr. Green Car: Are electric cars safe?

By Allen Penticoff Free-lance Writer The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHSTA) just issued a statement that their recent investigation into battery
[ more ]


January 25, 2012 | Also published in Fast Lane> Mr. Green Car | 1 Comment

Auto News: Mr. Green Car: Ford Focus 2012 reasonably priced with decent fuel economy

By Allen Penticoff Free-lance Writer One night, I was passing through Oregon, Ill., on my way to Dixon with friends when
[ more ]


January 11, 2012 | Also published in Automotive News> Fast Lane> Mr. Green Car | Comments (0)

Mr. Green Car: Flywheels in your future?

By Allen Penticoff Free-lance Writer This week, I’ll veer into a technical report, thanks to regular reader, Henry Tideman of Oregon, Ill.
[ more ]


December 28, 2011 | Also published in Fast Lane> Mr. Green Car | 1 Comment

Green Auto News: Mr. Green Car: The all-electric Nissan Leaf

By Allen Penticoff Free-lance Writer OK, now I’m getting really confused. Which do I like better, the Chevy Volt or the
[ more ]


December 14, 2011 | Also published in Fast Lane> Mr. Green Car | 2 Comments

Mr. Green Car: The simple life afloat

By Allen Penticoff Free-lance Writer For those of you who have been reading my column for some time, you know I am
[ more ]


November 30, 2011 | Also published in Fast Lane> Mr. Green Car | Comments (0)

Mr. Green Car: Finding hybrids in places you wouldn’t think of seeing them

By Allen Penticoff Free-lance Writer A few weeks ago, I was doing a little business at the Chicago-Rockford International Airport when I
[ more ]


November 16, 2011 | Also published in Fast Lane> Mr. Green Car | Comments (0)

Mr. Green Car: More about the success of the Chevy Volt

By Allen Penticoff Free-lance Writer In my last Mr. Green Car column (Oct. 19-25), I told you about my experience with a
[ more ]


November 2, 2011 | Also published in Fast Lane> Mr. Green Car | 1 Comment

Mr. Green Car: Mr. Green Car test drives the Chevy Volt, gives two thumbs up

By Allen Penticoff Free-lance Writer The future has arrived. We have waited for this moment for several years now. Chevrolet, and
[ more ]


October 19, 2011 | Also published in Fast Lane> Mr. Green Car | Comments (0)

Mr. Green Car: Why you should care about Keystone XL

By Allen Penticoff Free-lance Writer At first glance, you would think a Keystone XL is a large can of beer. But that
[ more ]


October 5, 2011 | Also published in Fast Lane> Mr. Green Car | Comments (0)

Mr. Green Car: Should Rockford be a test track for fuel economy?

By Allen Penticoff Free-lance Writer In the last Mr. Green Car (Sept. 9, 2011) I commented on proposed changes to the Corporate
[ more ]


September 21, 2011 | Also published in Fast Lane> Mr. Green Car | Comments (0)

Mr. Green Car: Green cars at the 10th Anniversary Renewable Energy Fair

By Allen Penticoff Free-lance Writer As I have for the past three years, I’ll report about what showed up at the Illinois
[ more ]


August 24, 2011 | Also published in Fast Lane> Living> Mr. Green Car | Comments (0)

Mr. Green Car: Sharing stuff can help save energy

By Allen Penticoff Free-lance Writer Thanks to reader Bob Lindstrom (nobody is more into efficiency than Bob) for bringing this little item
[ more ]


August 10, 2011 | Also published in Fast Lane> Mr. Green Car | Comments (0)

Mr. Green Car: Best green cars of 2011

By Allen Penticoff Free-lance Writer Recently, I was passing some time in Loves Park’s North Suburban Library by reading the June/July 2011
[ more ]


July 27, 2011 | Also published in Fast Lane> Mr. Green Car | Comments (0)

Mr. Green Car: Toyota’s green car technology progress report

By Allen Penticoff Free-lance Writer I recently read a three-page advertorial in the May 30 Time magazine about where Toyota is with
[ more ]


July 13, 2011 | Also published in Fast Lane> Mr. Green Car | Comments (0)

Mr. Green Car: Polluting for pleasure

By Allen Penticoff Free-lance Writer This will be another column full of mea culpa — I will be railing against something I
[ more ]


June 29, 2011 | Also published in Fast Lane> Mr. Green Car | Comments (0)

Mr. Green Car: Entertainment and carbon dioxide

By Allen Penticoff Free-lance Writer I have been flying airplanes since I was a Boy Scout seeking an Aviation merit badge—and an
[ more ]


June 15, 2011 | Also published in Fast Lane> Mr. Green Car | Comments (0)

Mr. Green Car goes to Paris—cars and trucks

By Allen Penticoff Freelance Writer This is the third, and final, column in a series about my observations in Paris, France. The
[ more ]


June 1, 2011 | Also published in Fast Lane> Mr. Green Car | Comments (0)

Mr. Green Car: Mr. Green Car goes to Paris, part two

By Allen Penticoff Freelance Writer In the last “Mr. Green Car” column (May 3 issue), I wrote about the subway and train
[ more ]


May 18, 2011 | Also published in Fast Lane> Mr. Green Car | Comments (0)

Mr. Green Car goes to Paris

By Allen Penticoff Free-lance Writer Every now and then, Mr. and Mrs. Green Car travel to someplace distant and exotic. The world
[ more ]


May 4, 2011 | Also published in Fast Lane> Mr. Green Car | Comments (0)

Mr. Green Car: Carbon footprint of new cars—continued

Mr. Green Car By Allen Penticoff Freelance Writer In the last episode of Mr. Green Car, we looked a bit at the carbon
[ more ]


April 20, 2011 | Also published in Fast Lane> Mr. Green Car | Comments (0)

Mr. Green Car: Life cycle assessment of vehicle manufacturing

By Allen Penticoff Freelance Writer The title of this piece sounds pretty dry to begin with—like something an engineering student would write.
[ more ]


April 6, 2011 | Also published in Automotive News> Fast Lane> Mr. Green Car | Comments (0)

Automotive News: Mr. Green Car: More about keeping old cars going

By Allen Penticoff Freelance Writer Enough of the numbers! Time to tell a tale again of keeping old cars going. January 2011, my
[ more ]


March 23, 2011 | Also published in Automotive News> Fast Lane> Mr. Green Car | 1 Comment

Mr. Green Car: Here we go again—oil prices skyrocket

By Allen Penticoff Free-lance Writer Up against my deadline once more, I was going to write about the carbon footprint of manufacturing
[ more ]


March 9, 2011 | Also published in Fast Lane> Mr. Green Car | Comments (0)

Mr. Green Car: 2010’s 10 top sellers, and how to double your gas mileage

By Allen Penticoff Free-lance Writer I recently heard that despite survey after survey indicating consumers would like to buy hybrid vehicles, sales
[ more ]


February 23, 2011 | Also published in Fast Lane> Mr. Green Car | Comments (0)

Mr. Green Car: The cost of driving

By Allen Penticoff Free-lance Writer Again, The Rock River Times’ Staff Writer Jim Hagerty provided a good lead story for Mr. Green
[ more ]


February 9, 2011 | Also published in Mr. Green Car | Comments (0)

Mr. Green Car: Green auto manufacturing

By Allen Penticoff Free-lance Writer Jim Hagerty, staff writer for TRRT, wrote a story that appeared in the Jan. 12-18 Fast Lane
[ more ]


January 26, 2011 | Also published in Mr. Green Car | Comments (0)

Mr. Green Car: Winter driving—part two

By Allen Penticoff Free-lance Writer In the last Mr. Green Car (Dec. 29, 2010-Jan. 4, 2011), we took a look at floor
[ more ]


January 12, 2011 | Also published in Mr. Green Car | Comments (0)

Mr. Green Car: Winter driving–part one

By Allen Penticoff Free-lance Writer It already seems like winter has been here for months, yet technically it has only been here
[ more ]


December 29, 2010 | Also published in Mr. Green Car | Comments (0)

Mr. Green Car: Saudi Arabia and the U.S.–a marriage of convenience

By Allen Penticoff Free-lance Writer In this episode of Mr. Green Car, we’ll take a look at the long “marriage of convenience”
[ more ]


December 15, 2010 | Also published in Mr. Green Car | Comments (0)

Mr. Green Car: Exploring where our oil comes from–oil sands

By Allen Penticoff Free-lance Writer I don’t know about you, but to me, the two words “oil” and “sand” don’t really sound
[ more ]


December 1, 2010 | Also published in Mr. Green Car | Comments (0)

Mr. Green Car: An air-powered car

By Allen Penticoff Free-lance Writer While seeming like one of those fantastical notions from the pages of Popular Science or Mechanix Illustrated
[ more ]


November 17, 2010 | Also published in Mr. Green Car | Comments (0)

Mr. Green Car: Bioenergy Days wrap-up: Midwest pioneering alternative forms of renewable energy

By Allen Penticoff Free-lance Writer Of all the alternate forms of energy that were of discussion and on display at the International
[ more ]


November 3, 2010 | Also published in Mr. Green Car | Comments (0)

Mr. Green Car: Flying on beans: More from Sept. 26-28 Bioenergy Days

By Allen Penticoff Free-lance Writer Among the programs at the International Bioenergy Days (IBED) Sept. 26-28 at the Coronado Performing Arts Center
[ more ]


October 20, 2010 | Also published in Mr. Green Car | Comments (0)

Mr. Green Car: Bioenergy Days: Going ‘green’ on the streets

By Allen Penticoff Free-lance Writer Rockford recently hosted the International Bioenergy Days. The first of these events took place in conjunction with
[ more ]


October 6, 2010 | Also published in Mr. Green Car | Comments (0)

Mr. Green Car: The cost of speeding

By Allen Penticoff Free-lance Writer The first speed limit was in the United Kingdom in 1861, set at 10 mph for “light
[ more ]


September 22, 2010 | Also published in Mr. Green Car | Comments (0)

Mr. Green Car: Protect the environment with the Ford Fiesta

By Allen Penticoff Free-lance Writer I first bumped into the new 2011 Ford Fiesta at the Chicago Auto Show back in February.
[ more ]


September 8, 2010 | Also published in Mr. Green Car | Comments (0)

Changing the oil, protecting the environment

By Allen Penticoff Free-lance Writer At the Ninth Annual Illinois Renewable Energy and Sustainable Lifestyle Fair in Oregon, Ill., Aug. 7-8, I
[ more ]


August 25, 2010 | Also published in Mr. Green Car | Comments (0)

Mr. Green Car: Transportation highlights from the 2010 Renewable Energy Fair

By Allen Penticoff Free-lance Writer This year, Saturday and Sunday, Aug. 7-8, marked the Ninth Annual Illinois Renewable Energy and Sustainable Lifestyle
[ more ]


August 11, 2010 | Also published in Mr. Green Car | Comments (0)

Mr. Green Car: A green trip to Vermont in a 1981 diesel-powered VW Rabbit

By Allen Penticoff Free-lance Writer I recently had a long road trip in my funky old 1981 VW Rabbit diesel. The destination
[ more ]


July 28, 2010 | Also published in Mr. Green Car | 1 Comment

Mr. Green Car: Green lawn care–part two

Editor’s note: The following is the second in a series. Part one appeared in the June 30-July 6, 2010, edition. By
[ more ]


July 14, 2010 | Also published in Mr. Green Car | Comments (0)

Mr. Green Car: Green lawn care

By Allen Penticoff Free-lance Writer By this time of year, many of us have spent a lot of time keeping our lawns
[ more ]


June 30, 2010 | Also published in Mr. Green Car | Comments (0)

Mr. Green Car: Hybrid trucking

By Allen Penticoff Free-lance Writer The best part of writing the Mr. Green Car column is all the new things I learn.
[ more ]


June 16, 2010 | Also published in Mr. Green Car | Comments (0)

Mr. Green Car: 305-horsepower Mustang gets 31 mpg

By Allen Penticoff Free-lance Writer At this year’s Chicago Auto Show, I noticed a Ford Mustang with 31 mpg emblazoned on
[ more ]


June 2, 2010 | Also published in Mr. Green Car | Comments (0)

Mr. Green Car: Maintaining your older vehicle: Brakes–part two

Editor’s note: The following is the second in a series. Part one appeared in the May 5-11, 2010, issue. By Allen
[ more ]


May 19, 2010 | Also published in Mr. Green Car | Comments (0)

Mr. Green Car: Maintaining your older vehicle: Brakes–part one

By Allen Penticoff Free-lance Writer I write occasionally about vehicle maintenance topics because a survey by The Rock River Times once determined
[ more ]


May 5, 2010 | Also published in Mr. Green Car | Comments (0)

Mr. Green Car: Teardrops: Tiny campers

By Allen Penticoff Free-lance Writer I drive up and down Alpine Road in Rockford what seems to be endlessly. There are something
[ more ]


April 21, 2010 | Also published in Mr. Green Car | 3 Comments

Mr. Green Car: Fuel-cell vehicles

By Allen Penticoff Free-lance Writer In the last Mr. Green Car, I discussed how hydrogen is made and used in internal combustion
[ more ]


April 7, 2010 | Also published in Mr. Green Car | Comments (0)

Mr. Green Car: Hydrogen Power

By Allen Penticoff Free-lance Writer All motor vehicles other than pure electrics rely on hydrocarbons to provide the energy needed to power
[ more ]


March 24, 2010 | Also published in Mr. Green Car | Comments (0)

Mr. Green Car: World’s oldest muffler?

  By Allen Penticoff Free-lance Writer There are times when a motor vehicle part seems to defy the laws of “planned obsolescence.” The
[ more ]


March 10, 2010 | Also published in Mr. Green Car | Comments (0)

Mr. Green Car: Chicago Auto Show 2010 through green eyes

[st width=640 height=480] By Allen Penticoff Free-lance Writer I actually have blue eyes, but I see through “green” eyes. Everywhere I look, I’m
[ more ]


February 24, 2010 | Also published in Mr. Green Car | Comments (0)


Page 1 of 212


Click for Rockford, Illinois Forecast










pni