...This New Car...

Get Revved Up

WICN is currently presenting the second season of a 13-week series titled This New Car. This special focus on our weekly program The Business Beat is a roundtable discussion on hybrid and alternative fuel technologies. With the dependence on high-priced fuel and ecological concerns, this show comes at the perfect time to educate consumers. This New Car makes the technology understandable and interesting not only for the gear head, but for the person interested in saving money and making the environment safer for future generations.

These lively and informative discussions will cover topics that include biodiesel fuels, hydrogen combustion, fuel cells, electric and plug-in vehicles just to name a few. Steve D’Agostino, host of The Business Beat, moderates an expert panel featuring:

• Jim Dunn of the NASA Center for Technology Commercialization in Westboro
• Gilles Labelle of Westboro Toyota’s Hybrid Center of Massachusetts in Westboro
• Craig Van Batenburg of the Automotive Career Development Center in Worcester

(L to R): Craig Van Batenburg, Steve D'Agostino, Jim Dunn, Gilles Labelle

This New Car will air Sundays at 9:30 p.m. on WICN 90.5 FM and on the web at wicn.org. Past episodes are available for download and as podcasts on our Schedule page.

Our Experts

Jim Dunn

Mr. Dunn is the CEO of the Center for Technology Commercialization in Westborough, MA and Director of NASA's Northeast Regional Technology Transfer Center, with over 30 years experience in high-technology ventures from startups to Fortune 100 companies like IBM and Exxon. Mr. Dunn has a B.S.E.E. from Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) and is a member of SAE, IEEE, EAA, and the Technology Transfer Society.

Mr. Dunn has written many papers on alternative-energy topics such as fuel cells, energy storage, and hybrid electric vehicles and has received over 10 patents. Mr. Dunn has consulted on numerous projects in the battery, hybrid vehicle, and fuel cell fields. In 2005, Mr. Dunn was recognized by Fuel Cell Management Magazine as one of the world's "Top 30 Contributors" to the fuel cell field. Mr. Dunn is currently developing the world's first fuel cell powered electric airplane, the E-plane, scheduled to make its maiden flight in 2006.

Mr. Dunn is very active in the renewable-energy field and has participated in the annual Tour De Sol since 1996, sponsored by the Northeast Sustainable Energy Association. In 2005, Mr. Dunn co-chaired the event, including developing the new Monte Carlo Rally segment. Mr. Dunn is a hybrid enthusiast and owns a Toyota Prius hybrid and a Honda Insight hybrid.

Gilles Labelle

Labelle, a 61-year-old native of Quebec who lives in Hudson, has had an interesting career path, to say the least. In 1981, he co-founded Cambridge Isotope Laboratories, a developer of stable isotopes and chemical compounds. Labelle retired in 1988 after the company went public. After retiring, he spent time consulting, focusing on investments and traveling before founding the Hybrid Center six years ago. It wasn't money that caused the career shift. He was sick of playing golf, and wanted something new. "By building a hybrid center, they gave me an opportunity to expound my beliefs and give people an alternative solution to transportation," Labelle says.

Craig Van Batenburg

Craig Van Batenburg, former owner of Van Batenburg’s Garage Inc., 1977 – 2004, is a Master Hybrid Technician. He has been the owner and lead technician for over 26 years at his own shop. Prior to that it was dealerships, both automotive and motorcycles, that he received his training with. His specialty is Honda and Acura, with a deep background in Asian technology.

Craig delivers management and technical seminars nationally. He is owner of the Automotive Career Development Center that he founded in 1998 to develop new classes. Craig has trained over 4,000 independent technicians in hybrid systems since his first class in early 2000. Craig Van Batenburg is certified with Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and New York for their I/M emission programs, offering First, Edge, and OBDII training. He also contributes articles, both technical and management related, to Motor Age, Auto Inc, and Action magazines.

Craig receives over 150 hours of training annually to stay current with the changes in automotive technology, is a leader in electric/hybrid technical training. He works with state government on air quality issues, is a certified AMI (Automotive Management Institute) instructor and graduate (AAM) as well as Aspire trained as a technical instructor. ACDC owns a Toyota Prius and Honda Insight as company cars and for research. Governor Pataki recently awarded ACDC a certificate for ACDC's involvement with the Tour de Sol.