Malcolm Bricklin On Hybrid Cars, Auto Bailout and The Car Czar

On CNN

If you've ever sen the car in the video it's called the Bricklin SV-1 and was made between 1974 and 1976. It's maker is Malcolm Bricklin, an American Entrepreneur. Bricklin brought Suburu to America from Japan, as well as Fiat X1-9, and the Yugo.

In the 90s he turned his attention to making environmentally friendly vehicles, making an electric bike called The EV Warrior.

Today, Bricklin is combining his experience with fuel cell technology and his knoweldge of manufacturing techniques and economics to create a line of plug - in hybrid vehicles or PHEVs, which he says can be installed in your car right now, making it more gas efficient.

I sat down with Bricklin at the San Francisco screening of "The Entrepreneur" , a movie about him. In our talk, he revealed that he got a call that morning to be the President-Elect's "Car Czar", a job he turned down. He explained why.

"The person in that job would be cutting (jobs), and that's not me; I grow things," he said.

Bricklin also says the Auto Bailout passed of $15 billion "Is not enough" and says the companies need much more money. But he alos says something shocking: that the money will not result in the maintenance of jobs. That's the most alarming news of the day.

See Visionary Vehicles

Bauer's SF Limo's Green Initiative - Blog Action Day

On Blog Action Day, we are all concerned about the environment. But the real heroes are those people and organizations that have actually made and effort to "Go Green."

Bauer's Transportation is one of those heroes.

On it's website, Bauer's explains...

What is Bauer's iCars division? -- As Limousine Digest "Operator of the Year", Bauer's has continually addressed the need to be an industry leader in looking to the future. Because of it's large fleet of over 120 vehicles, Bauer's takes its environmental impact very seriously and has always been conscientious in working with corporate America to provide solutions.

The Hybrid sedans are only one of many vehicles in the fleet that are environmentally friendly:
Bauer's has been in the clean air business since 1999 with its airport shuttle fleet of electric buses.
Bauer's partnered in 2005 with Google to add an additional 33 bio-diesel shuttles to the fleet to service Google employees.
Bauer's is the first limousine company to team up with community partners to address clean air issues with it's park enhancement initiative. A portion of every dollar goes back into local community park efforts to continue the Bauer's legacy of corporate responsibility.

The RX 400H SUV is the third generation of Lexus hybrids, which works by seamlessly integrating a gas engine, an electric motor and a high-powered battery. The battery provides power for the electric motor and is recharged by recapturing energy that would normally be lost when decelerating or coasting. This recapturing of energy is called regenerative braking. If needed, power from the hybrid's gas engine can be diverted to recharge the battery as well. Because of these charging strategies, hybrid cars never need to be plugged in.

But Bauer's is so serious about this initiative, it's President even owns a Lexus Hyrbid!

Nice work for the environment. To learn more, call Bauer's at 1-800-LIMO-OUT

About Gary Bauer - Bauer's Worldwide Transportation CEO - San Francisco, CA

The SF Examiner captures Bauer's Worldwide Transportation's President Gary Bauer in this story. He's going to become the king of Hybrid Cars if he keeps this up!

Gary Bauer: From high school entrepreneur to limo executive

(Jason Steinberg/Special to The Examiner)

Gary Bauer is the president and CEO of Bauer’s Worldwide Transportation, which operates a fleet of 135 luxury vehicles.
SAN FRANCISCO (Map, News) - While most kids his age were lazing idly and sleeping in late, Gary Bauer, founder of Bauer’s Worldwide Transportation, was taking a decidedly different approach.

As a precocious high school student, Bauer was already operating his own landscaping company in Marin County during the day, and transporting his buddies at night in a Cadillac he bought for $3,000.

“I would do landscaping from 6 in the morning to 6 at night, and drive the Cadillac from 7 p.m. to 3 a.m.” said Bauer, who grew up in Novato and now lives in Foster City. “I would get about three hours a sleep a night, six days a week.”

Now, with a fleet of 135 luxury vehicles, including state-of-the-art business shuttles, stretch Navigators and San Francisco Cable Cars, Bauer can afford to sleep a little more, and he does — by his admission, he’s getting “four hours of sleep a night.”

Bauer’s transportation service began with the aforementioned Cadillac and steadily grew exponentially. In 1994, Bauer moved his company from Marin County to 17th Street and Harrison in San Francisco, and in 2000, he relocated to Pier 27, where the business operates with 165 employees, including 110 trained chauffeurs who transport 12,00 people daily.

Bauer’s Worldwide Transportation has exclusive partnerships with major sports franchises in the Bay Area and an extensive program shuttling workers to the Google Inc. (GOOG) complex in Silicon Valley.

Along with continually expanding his transportation service, Bauer also created California Coach Sales, which customizes vehicles and pioneered models such as the stretch Navigator and Hummer.

His work ethic aside, Bauer’s most impressive attribute may be his progressive environmental advocacy. Highlighting his company’s “Corporate Green Initiative” is the fact that 85 percent of the miles his vehicles travel do so with alternative fuels, such as compressed natural gas, biodiesel and propane. He is looking into other outlets such as hybrids and electric vehicles.

“We think it’s very important to promote responsible environmental practices,” Bauer said. “Ever since I started my landscaping business, I’ve always wanted to maintain a strong support for a healthy environment.”

Along with using eco-friendly alternative fuels, Bauer has also created SaveIt, a charitable outlet that donates proceeds of the company’s profits to help build and maintain parks and green spaces in various Bay Area communities.

“SaveIt is a way of giving back to the areas that use our services,” Bauer said. “We know were in the position to create positive change, and we want to continue to do so.”

Business
Last project: Consolidating hotel shuttles around SFO to reduce emissions and congestion

Number of e-mails a day: 200

Voicemails: 65

Web site: Google

Perks: Meeting exciting influential people in the business world

Education: San Diego State University

Last conference: National Limousine Association — Day on Capitol Hill

First job: Window cleaning

Original aspirations: Financial investor

Career objective: To continue the growth of our “Green Initiatives” by being a leader within the corporate transportation industry

Personal
Age: 37

Height: 5’11”

Likes: Positive, upbeat, motivated individuals

Hometown: Novato

Sports/Hobbies: Jet Ski riding, water skiing, boating and snowskiing

Transpiration: Lexus hybrid

Favorite restaurant: Slanted Door

Computer: Toshiba Satellite

Vacation spot: Bahamas

Favorite clothier: Custom-made suits

Role model: Anthony Robbins

Reading: Business systems and motivational books

Motivation: Seeing my team excel on a daily basis

Hybrid Cars - Sexy Female Celebs - Bauer's Worldwide Transportation

We all know that hybrid cars are good for the environment, but did you know how many sexy Hollywood celebrities have them? What do Selma Hayek, Cameron Diaz, Patricia Arquette, Alicia Silverstone, Donna Mills, Ariana Huffington, Carole King, Alexandra Paul, and Susan Sarandon have in common?

We find out as The Rolling Stones sing "Anybody Seen My Baby? See the video. But we can tell you Kendra Wilkinson needs one. You can get hybrid cars Limousines for rent at Bauer's Worldwide Transportation at www.bauerslimousine.com