Green Car Advisor
Green Vehicles
September 21, 2009
It's not the first time a U.S. politician has criticized Japan and South Korea for unfairly blocking sales of U.S. cars, but this time the complaints is aimed at eco-protectionism.
Sen. Debbie Stabenow, a Michigan Democrat with strong ties to the U.S. auto industry, has asked President Obama to protest policies that effectively bar U.S. cars from being sold under those countries' cash for clunkers programs.
In a letter sent Friday to the president, Stabenow complains that while the U.S. clunkers program was open to all car sold here, import regulations in Japan and tariffs in South Korea make it all but impossible for Japanese and Korean motorists to buy an American-made car under their countries' clunker programs.
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Sen. Debbie Stabenow worries that green cars like GM's Chevrolet Volt could be barred from Japanese and South Korean markets under protectionist policies.
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"We followed international law and made [the U.S. program] apply to all cars sold in the United States, not just American cars," Stabenow wrote. "That is why it is so outrageous that Japan and [South] Korea would have the audacity to implement similar programs that discriminate against American automakers."
You can read the entire letter here.
Stabenow is asking Obama to "remind" Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama and South Korean President Lee Myung-Bak "of their obligations under the WTO," or World Trade Organization charter, promoting fair and equal trade.
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- John O'Dell September 21, 2009, 11:02 AM
- Categories:
- Green Vehicles, Japan, Opinion
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- Debbie Stabenow
, Green Cars, Japanese Protectionism
June 29, 2009
Michelin recently gathered a group of auto designers to discuss what the electrification of the auto will bring in terms of performance, safety and interior and exterior design and function.
Rather than boil that day down into a long posting, we thought - given that Michelin video-taped the entire proceeding - that you might enjoy seeing and hearing for yourselves what the designers, representing Ford, GM, Nissan, Volvo and Fisker Automotive, had to say.
Click on any of the pictures above and you'll jump to the Michelin Challenge Design site, where the seminar is broken down into videos of the opening remarks, the keynote talk on "EV Design, Then and Now" by Ford Americas design chief Moray Callum, and a dozen individual segments in which some of the world's leading designers talk about the seismic shift electric propulsion is bringing to the auto and to auto design.
Among the topics they tackle are changing public perceptions of the EV; battery charging systems; designing for occupant safety; EV battery swapping,and how design affects battery packaging.
There's also a segment to help consumers understand electric vehicle design issues and, our favorite, a section on "the EV and passionate design."
Have fun.
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- John O'Dell June 29, 2009, 2:28 AM
- Categories:
- Batteries, Green Vehicles, Plug-ins and Electric
- Technorati Tags:
- Michelin Challenge Design; EV Design
April 21, 2009
John Waters, the brains behind the battery pack system that powered the General Motors EV1 electric vehicle in 1999, thinks he's got another bright idea - design and manufacture a 100-mile-per-gallon plug-in electric hybrid light-duty truck, sell it exclusively to fleet operators and call it the Bright IDEA.
Indiana-based start-up Bright Automotive brought a working concept model of the IDEA to Washington, D.C. on Tuesday morning to show it off. The privately held company plans to introduce the IDEA truck late in 2012 and be producing 50,000 units annually by 2013.
The company did not state a base price for the vehicle or say where it would be manufactured. (Several locations in midwest states are being considered.) During a Tuesday morning teleconference, Waters also declined to identify Bright Automotive's investor base.
The Washington, D.C. introduction wasn't by accident. Bright Automotive is lobbying hard for $450 million of the $25 billion in economic stimulus funds that the Obama administration is making available to automobile companies. Waters today referred to the stimulus money as the "green car fund" - and voiced his opinion that entrepreneurs should get the lion's share of the cash.
Not surprisingly, the IDEA leans heavily on ideas that were incorporated into GM's EV1: lightweight materials, low-resistance tires, an aerodynamic shape and a highly efficient battery and drivetrain.
Here's how that technology adds up to a bright idea, according to Waters. Low-resistance tires can improve fuel economy by from six percent to nine percent. A ten percent weight reduction brings a seven percent improvement in fuel efficiency. Those savings, Waters said, will allow Bright to incorporate smaller, less-costly batteries, which will cut both vehicle weight and the retail cost.
Bright Automotive believes that its vehicle would save a vehicle operator ten cents per mile and $6,000 per year in fuel costs. Waters said his firm is targeting fleet operators, including the U.S. Postal Service, which operates 160,000 neighborhood delivery vehicles with an average fuel economy of about 10 miles per gallon.
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- Greg Johnson April 21, 2009, 12:39 PM
- Categories:
- Batteries, Emissions, Fuel Economy, General Motors, Green Vehicles, Hybrid, Plug-ins and Electric, Transportation Alternatives
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- Bright Automotive
, EV1, General Motors, GM EV1, Hybrid, John Waters, Plug In Hybrid
April 20, 2009
To hear Ford Motor Co. Executive Chairman William Clay Ford Jr. tell it, developing the green vehicles that will be needed to break this country's dependence upon foreign oil will be the easy part.
The really tough stuff will involve gaining consensus on such touchy subjects as instituting a new federal gasoline tax and determining which technologies will get the nod as new electric-generating plants are designed, permitted and brought online.
"I actually think that the least disruptive piece will be the car piece," Ford said during a half-hour Q&A during a Fortune magazine green ideas conference on Monday at the Ritz Carlton in Laguna Niguel, Calif. "We can get there relatively easy, but a lot of these other pieces are going to be big issues that we're going to have to solve as a nation."
"One thing that I'm encouraged about is that the [Obama] administration really wants to lead that discussion on a national basis," Ford said. "I am optimistic ... we can't go on with fossil fuel burning the way we are ... it's just not a path that this country wants to go down."
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- Greg Johnson April 20, 2009, 9:23 PM
- Categories:
- Alternative Fuels, Batteries, Biofuels, Emissions, Ford, Fuel Cell, Fuel Economy, Green Vehicles, Hybrid, Hydrogen, Plug-ins and Electric, Tax Incentives
- Technorati Tags:
- Ford Motor Company
, Green Cars, Hybrid Vehicles, Hybrids, William Ford Jr.
April 14, 2009
The battery wars heated up again today as Michigan awarded four $100-million tax credit packages to a quartet of advanced battery projects that could lead to the creation of thousands of new jobs in the economically distressed state. One of the $100-million tax credit packages is contingent upon state legislators passing enabling legislation.
The credits awarded by the Michigan Economic Growth Authority are part of the state's bid to build an advanced battery industry that, by 2020, would lead to the creation of 40,000 new jobs.
The Detroit Free Press is reporting that the winners will spend a cumulative $1.7 billion on their proposed projects.
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GM engineers work on a Volt battery pack.
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The winners of $100-million tax credit packages are:
A joint venture between Milwaukee, Wisconsin-based Johnson Controls and French battery manufacturer Saft Advanced Power Solutions. The companies plan to build a plant in Holland, Michigan.
A123 Systems Inc. of Watertown, Massachusetts, which on Monday said it had drawn another $70 million in capital from General Electric, plans to build a plant in Livonia. Last week, A123 announced that it would supply batteries for Chrysler LLC's upcoming line of electric vehicles.
KD Advanced Battery Group, which is a joint venture between Dow Chemical, Kokam America and Townsend Ventures, has yet to say where it would build its planned facility.
Korea's LG Chem-Compact Power, which has a contract to provide batteries for General Motors Corp.'s Volt, was awarded a $100-million tax credit package that is contingent upon additional state legislation being passed.
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- Greg Johnson April 14, 2009, 9:54 AM
- Categories:
- Batteries, Chrysler, General Motors, Green Vehicles, Hybrid Technologies, Legislation, Plug-ins and Electric, Tax Incentives
- Technorati Tags:
- Battery Research
, General Motors Corp, Michigan Offers Tax Breaks For Battery Makers, Tax Incentive, Volt Battery Pack
March 29, 2009
Even in Turmoil, Automakers Cannot Afford to Ignore Environmental Concerns
So Rick Wagoner's gone - or will be as soon as an official announcement of his widely reported resignation as GM's chairman can be cobbled together.
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Rick Wagoner is expected to resign as GM chairman at White House's behest.
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He took one for the team as politicians in Washington demanded blood in return for an increased effort to save General Motors Corp. from years of missteps, and, worse, no steps at all.
Wagoner is generally considered to have been one of the best and brightest to sit at General Motors' helm in the post WW II years and however sad that may be, we don't disagree.
But he suffered from a case of the GM ego that has blinded so many of the company's top executives, and that was compounded by the fact that he was piloting a behemoth that required early and decisive action to effect a change pf course, and he was loathe to slam on the brakes and crank the wheel hard.
Wagoner - as have many in Detroit - finally recognized that change was coming, that political and social pressures were building and that the auto industry needed to begin responding to growing demand for cleaner, greener vehicles if it was to remain competitive.
But, like too many in Detroit, Wagoner's epiphany came too late and he didn't underestimated the speed at which his company was entering that 180-degree turn.
Still, he might have made it but for the economic collapse that has thrown much of American commerce into a sideways skid.
It was on Wagoner's watch, after all, that GM admitted it had made bone-headed mistakes in killing the EV1 electric car and in not moving quickly to developing hybrid gas-electric technology, thereby ceding that segment of the market (and the adherent reputation for greenness) to the Japanese for nearly a decade.
It was Wagoner's team, too, that came up the Volt, which has the potential to vault GM back into the green game as a leader - if the company can survive its other ills and emerge from the economic crunch in any sort of fighting shape.
Reams and volumes will be written in coming days and weeks about Wagoner, his faults and failings, contributions and conquests.
Our contribution is to comment that, on green issues, he had the stuff to compete and the vision to see that wholesale change was needed but was too infected by the 'GM knows best' virus to see that the change needed to be made now, not later.
Wagoner's replacement is likely to be named Monday - nature, government and corporate analysts all abhor a vacuum - and a lot of money is riding on former chief financial officer Fritz Henderson, who just recently was named president and chief operating officer in what was widely believed to have been an anointing as heir apparent.
So the chairman is (figuratively) dead, and long live the new chairman.
And may he learn from his predecessor that all the greatness that once was GM means little in today's rapidly changing and incredibly challenging world.
We're not convinced that either Congress or the White House can fix things either, and hope the auto industry "rescue" plan to be announced Monday by President Obama will leave room for ongoing participation by people who actually know something about the industry.
One thing we are sure of, however, is that the green agenda is going to continue to be pushed, and pushed hard, whoever is running the show.
Washington wants it, a growing number of people want it and Detroit - however reluctantly - has seen and understands that like it or not, fuel efficiency, reduced emissions and, finally vehicles that offer freedom from oil is now a critical ingredient in the recipe for success.
John O'Dell, Senior Editor
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- John O'Dell March 29, 2009, 6:50 PM
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- General Motors, Green Vehicles
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- Rick Wagoner Resignation
March 26, 2009
Don't you just love competition?
Toyota Motor Corp. on Thursday confirmed that the current Prius model will continue to be sold in Japan even after the new, 2010 Prius (left) goes on sale in May.
The marketing maneuver is designed to help blunt competition in Toyota's home market from Honda's new (and cheaper) Insight.
The Insight's sales price in Japan starts at 1.89 million yen ($19,000), while the third-generation Prius will start at 2.3 million yen ($22,000).
Japanese media accounts have Toyota President Katsuaki Watanabe confirming that the older model, which is smaller and somewhat cheaper, will remain on the market in Japan.
Japanese media reports also suggest that Toyota is planning a Yaris-based hybrid that would serve as another lower-cost alternative to the Insight. The Nikkei newspaper on Wednesday quoted a Toyota engineer as saying "we are developing a low-priced hybrid like Honda's Insight."
Don't look for the second-generation Prius to remain on the market in the U.S. Toyota earlier said that motorists on this side of the Pacific Ocean will get the third-generation model.
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- Greg Johnson March 26, 2009, 1:15 PM
- Categories:
- Green Vehicles, Honda, Hybrid, Japan, Toyota
- Technorati Tags:
- Honda Insight
, Japan, Prius Toyota, Yaris
March 25, 2009
What good is a green car without a showroom in which to showcase it? And what good is a showroom if it doesn't have attractive vehicles to lure customers?
In what amounts to a marriage of convenience, Fisker Automotive on Tuesday announced the names of 32 existing dealerships nationwide that will display and service the company's planned line of high-end, plug-in hybrids.
The alliances with existing dealerships that sell other models are designed to give Fisker an immediate presence nationwide without the expense of building a dedicated dealer system. That's tough enough to pull off even in a good economy.
In return, dealers who've signed with Fisker hope to get their hands on some attractive vehicles that will drive showroom traffic and spark sales, either of Fisker's cars or the other vehicles on display.
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- Greg Johnson March 25, 2009, 8:44 AM
- Categories:
- Fisker, Green Vehicles, Plug-ins and Electric, Solar
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- Electric Car
, Fisker Karma Plug In Hybrid
March 19, 2009
We've never been enamored of the California legislation that opened its carpool lanes to solo drivers of certain high fuel-economy hybrids and clean-burning natural gas vehicles.
(Not that our principled stand is enough to stop Green Car Advisor's senior editor from driving solo in the HOV lanes when he's in Edmunds.com's state-credentialed, natural-gas burning Honda Civic GX.)
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States with carpool lanes usually require vehicles to have two or more occupants, unless vehicle is a 45-mpg hybrid or a specially designated clean-air vehicle.
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So we were planning a modest celebration for New Year's Day in 2011 when the special dispensation was set to expire and carpool lanes were to be handed back to carpoolers. Something along the lines of a mass chuckle as solo greenies sadly rejoined drivers of fuel-guzzling sedans, sport utilities and pick-up trucks that never escaped the hoi polloi lanes.
Imagine our disappointment then upon learning that California Assemblyman Ted Lieu (D, Torrance) has introduced legislation to extend the HOV Lane special dispensation to 2016. His bill, AB 1500 could surface in a committee hearing as early as March 30.
We think it's a bad idea to breathe new life into a bad idea.
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- John O'Dell March 19, 2009, 7:00 AM
- Categories:
- Chevrolet, Green Vehicles, Honda, Hybrid, Natural Gas, Toyota
- Technorati Tags:
- Carpool Lanes
March 18, 2009
By
Greg Johnson, Contributor
Auto company marketing mavens have good reason to keep their ears close to the blogs these days.
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Give us a Prius without the expensive hybrid system, one blogger suggests.
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Those who have been following the
chatter on Edmunds.com's hybrid forum in recent weeks have heard from car enthusiasts who fret that, during a gritty recession, many consumers can't afford the steep premium it takes to drive home in a really green machine that returns 40 miles or more per gallon.
These hybrid-savvy consumers maintain that a hefty percentage of car buyers would be content with a more-affordable, conventionally powered car, no matter its slightly lighter shade of green, if it could provide fuel economy in the 40 mpg-range. The discussions, not surprisingly, focus on the Toyota Prius and the Ford Fusion Hybrid. Both have been in the news a lot lately.
One blogger praised the Prius for its miserly ways. But then he complained that, with a $22,720 starting price it is "too expensive for a lot of people. Many people just don't have money to burn ... Most just want a cheaper car that performs better...."
The blogger suggested that Toyota offer a non-hybrid Prius - for the aerodynamic body style, no doubt - that eschews the batteries and electric motors that add to the weight and cost, but incorporate such fuel-efficient technology as direct injection, proper engine sizing, six-speed automatic transmissions and start/stop technology.
(Actually, beefier batteries are required for stop/start systems, which shut the gas engine down when the car comes to a stop and instantly restart it when pressure on the brake pedal is released. The gas engines also require some extra engineering to work that way. Nothing that improves fuel economy comes cheaply.)
Some of the online chatterers sound as if they're standing on a grassy knoll outside of Ford's headquarters and aiming a parabolic microphone at the building.
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- John O'Dell March 18, 2009, 10:40 AM
- Categories:
- Ford, Fuel Economy, Green Vehicles, Hybrid, Toyota
- Technorati Tags:
- Fuel Efficient Cars
, Green Cars, Hybrids
March 16, 2009
It's not easy being green, particularly when vehicle manufacturers worldwide are singing the blues and clamoring for sales-tax breaks to help move less-expensive conventionally-powered cars and trucks off of dealer lots.
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Green cars like BYD Autos' plug-in hybrid aren't moving well in China's slow economy.
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That's true even in China, one of the world's largest car markets.
Their country remains an attractive long-term market for new-energy vehicles but at present, Chinese consumers are hard-pressed to pay a premium for a green car.
Chinese automakers, though, are scrambling to produce advanced technology cars and trucks in the wake of a central government edict that calls for 60,000 green vehicles to be on the roads by 2012. To help move them off dealers' lots, Beijing is offering subsidies of up to $36,500 to consumers in big cities who buy hybrid, electric cars and fuel-cell vehicles.
The subsidies were created because although the Toyota Prius, Honda Civic Hybrid and the domestically produced BYD F3DM are on sale, Chinese consumers bought fewer than 1,000 hybrids in 2008. To put that figure into context, consider that Toyota's combined U.S. sales of its Prius and Lexus models recently passed the one million mark.
Henry Li, general manager for BYD Auto, bemoaned the situation to the Reuters news agency during a recent interview at the firm's Shenzhen headquarters: "I hope government subsidies can help boost demand, because this is good technology, though expensive compared to conventional cars."
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- John O'Dell March 16, 2009, 11:08 AM
- Categories:
- BYD, China, Fuel Cell, Green Vehicles, Honda, Hybrid, Plug-ins and Electric, Toyota
- Technorati Tags:
- China
, Electric Cars, Green Cars, Hybrids
February 25, 2009
Opel Ampera plug-in hybrid is among the green stars of the upcoming Geneva auto show.
By Nick Kurczewski, Contributor
When the Geneva auto show opens its doors to the media March 3, the exhibition halls will be jammed with a wider range of smaller, smarter and more fuel-efficient cars than ever before.
Green vehicles were once a sideshow, with headline-grabbing debuts of outrageous supercars and luxury sedans in the main ring at Geneva. But like easy credit and cheap gasoline, those days are gone.
Intelligently designed, fuel-efficient, low-emission vehicles are now the key to survival for the world's car manufacturers.
Even high-end manufacturers like Bentley Motors are getting in on the act. Rather than its usual lineup of sport-tuned touring cars that gulp gasoline the way a band of rugby fans down lager at a pre-game fest, the English luxury brand will unveil a bio-fueled concept -- albeit one with more than 600 horsepower.
Other stars of the show will include the Opel Ampera, the European version of the Chevrolet Volt; Mitsubishi's i-MiEV Sport Air, an electric sports car concept; and the shape-shifting Rinspeed iChange electric vehicle.
Green Car Advisor offers an advance look at these and other soon-to-be-unveiled eco-stars of the Geneva show.
Opel Ampera
As General Motor's European subsidiary, it makes sense that Opel would get a version of Chevrolet's much-hyped Volt hybrid.
Luckily for Opel, the Ampera also seems to have gotten the good looks in the GM family tree. While the Volt has been criticized for a somewhat bland exterior, the Ampera has a more aggressive and modern design that better lives up to the promise of the state-of-the-art drivetrain.
Like the Chevrolet Volt, the Ampera will be capable of running up to 40 miles on electric power alone, before switching to a small internal combustion engine that recharges the battery pack.
Opel says that the Ampera's lithium-ion battery pack can be charged from a standard European 230-volt outlet.
The Volt slated to arrive in U.S. showrooms near the end of next year, so expect the Ampera to make its European debut in 2011.
Mitsubishi i-MiEVs
Mitsubishi will debut a European version of the i-MiEV electric car it expects to launch in Japan later this year. Both are based on the Japanese company's tiny "i" city car.
The i-MiEV uses a 47-kilowatt (62-horsepower) electric motor that draws power from a 330-volt lithium ion battery pack. Range is estimated at 100 miles.
The European model will be slightly wider than the Japanese model, and perhaps a bit more powerful -- to cope with European safety standards and higher speed limits.
A U.S. version of the i-MiEV, if we get one -- and we think we will -- is likely to be based on the Euro model.
A sport version of the i-MiEV will also break cover in Geneva.
Very little is known about the concept, called the Sport Air, though we expect it likely will be a closer-to-production version of the huggable-cute i-MiEV Sport concept seen at the Tokyo auto show in 2007.
Chevrolet Spark
Not every important green car in Geneva will have an electric motor or hybrid power plant under its hood.
At first glance, the Chevrolet Spark looks like another sharply styled little Euro-hatch.
That's the point.
Frugal and attractive small cars like the Spark are key to the survival of General Motors -- and to weaning many American car buyers from opting for the super-size option in their dealers' showrooms.
The five-door Spark hatchback first appeared as the Beat concept car during the New York auto show in 2007.
The production version looks almost identical to that concept. When it goes on sale in Europe in early 2010, the Spark will feature a choice of economical 1.0- and 1.2-liter 16-valve engines.
U.S. sales are to follow in 2011.
Tata E-Nano?
A spokesman for India's Tata Motors told us to expect a surprise in Geneva.
Known for basic and cheap economy cars, Tata -- India's largest auto manufacturer -- is unlikely to pull a dust cover off some supercar.
Our guess: the top-secret news is the unveiling of an electric-powered version of the company's subcompact Indica hatchback, or the Nano city car (left).
Tata Motors has been working hard on developing electric versions of its current lineup for the European market. The company last year bought a majority stake in Miljo Grenland Innovasjon, a Norwegian company specializing in electric car technology.
The collapse of the global auto industry has hit Tata Motors hard, especially now that it owns struggling British luxury brands Jaguar and Land Rover, but we're not counting it out of the electric car sweepstakes.
The four-door Nano hatchback will be the cheapest car in the world, priced at roughly $2,000 when it goes on sale in India later this year.
A low-speed battery-electric version suitable for urban centers or gated communities could be just what Tata needs to get its toe into the European or U.S. markets.
Rinspeed iChange
Rinspeed's annual dream machines in Geneva have been capable of hovering above land and water, tilting, running on bio-waste, and adapting the cabin environment to match a driver's state of mind.
The wacky Swiss company is now ready to debut its latest crazy creation, a shape-changing electric car called the iChange. Power comes from a 130-kilowatt electric motor.
This concept car's most intriguing feature is the adaptable seating arrangement. The iChange has what Rinspeed refers to as "1, 2, 3 seating," courtesy of an "electronic trick tail."
The exterior body-panels of the iChange can be reconfigured depending on how many passengers are on board.
Rinspeed says the result is not only a zero-emission car, but one whose ultra-low aerodynamic drag helps reduce power consumption from the electric motor to give it more range. Details to come at the show, we hope.
Bentley BioFuel Car
Bentley couldn't simply unleash a bio-fuel car onto the world. It had to make it the fastest Bentley ever.
We can live with that, considering the speed and grace of this strangely alluring yet contradictory concept. Sneak preview photos provided by Bentley show a car very much resembling its current gas-powered Continental GT.
Larger lower intakes and outlets in the hood now feed extra air to the W12 engine, reconfigured to run on a mix of gasoline and ethanol.
Oomph is estimated to be well in excess of 600 horsepower.
Ethanol helps raise the octane level of the fuel, which boosts power and gives this bruiser Bentley the performance credentials needed to keep its blue-blood clientele happy.
If the ethanol comes from biowaste instead of valuable food crops, those Bentley bluebloods may even be able to claim they are turning blue-green.
EDAG Light Car Open Source Concept
German engineering firm EDAG will display a high-tech car that is completely recyclable, electric powered and featuring state-of-the-art LED technology.
From the sneak peeks of the car we've seen, the finished product looks great. Too bad EDAG slapped a painfully awkward name onto this otherwise very promising concept car.
The body of the Light Car is constructed of lightweight basalt fiber. As strong as pricey carbon fiber commonly used in race-car construction, the basalt-fiber platform is cheaper to produce, provides high levels of occupant safety, and is entirely recyclable.
Power for the Light Car is provided by small electric motors located in each wheel.
The car's headlight and taillight housings aren't real hardware but instead are projected onto the exterior using LEDs. According to EDAG, owners can customize the shape and size of the lights (though there was no word as to the legalities of this clever option). Here's a company video animation that explains how it would work.
LEDs in the tail provide vehicles that are following the Light Car with information that could include driving tips like the Rinspeed's braking force (back off, I'm hitting the brakes HARD) and public service info like real-time traffic updates.
Peugeot 3008 Hybrid
French automaker Peugeot will show its new 3008 MPV, a small crossover that employs a 2.0-liter diesel-electric hybrid powertrain and four-wheel drive. The system should be available in European models of the 3008 by 2011.
Sized to compete with small sport-utes like the Nissan Rogue, the 3008 hybrid will combine 36-hp electric motor with the diesel engine. The electric motor will provide power to the rear while the engine drives the front wheels.
Peugeot has no sales presence in the States, but we wouldn't be shocked if the 3008's hybrid system shows up here in another automaker's cars someday.
Keep in mind, the standard gas-powered version of the 3008 (above, left) uses the same 1.6-liter motor as the BMW Mini Cooper. A hybrid/all-wheel-drive version of the Mini Crossover Concept (a Mini-based sport-ute shown at last year's Paris auto show) sure makes sense to us.
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- John O'Dell February 25, 2009, 3:00 AM
- Categories:
- Auto Shows, Bentley, Biofuels, Chevrolet, Diesel, Ethanol, Flex-Fuel, General Motors, Green Vehicles, Hybrid, MINI, Mitsubishi, Peugeot, Plug-ins and Electric, Tata
- Technorati Tags:
- Green Cars at Geneva Auto Show
February 20, 2009
Hybrids have come a long way from the 2000 Honda Insight (left). Later this year, Porsche plans to introduce the exotic 2010 Porsche Panamera hybrid.
Shopping for a hybrid? Or just curious about what's out there these days?
It was less than a decade ago that American motorists saw their first hybrid, the two-seat Honda Insight that went on sale here in December 1999.
Toyota followed with its Prius in mid-2000 (nearly three years after it went on sale in Japan as the world's first modern mass-market hybrid) and until the Honda Civic Hybrid launched in 2003, that was it.
Today, though, there are 24 hybrids being sold in the U.S., with a dozen-and-a-half more in the wings.
Base prices range from down around $19,000 to up over $100,000, and fuel economy from 20 to 50 mpg. There are sedans, hatchbacks, crossovers, pickups and SUVs for 11 automakers.
In the next three years we'll be seeing more -- sedans, SUVs, exotics and luxury models -- with hybrid and plug-in hybrid powertrains.
Senior Editor Daniel Pund takes you through them one-by-one, in a comprehensive look at the U.S. hybrid market.
You can get the lowdown by reading his piece on Edmunds' Inside Line.
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- John O'Dell February 20, 2009, 11:42 AM
- Categories:
- Green Vehicles, Hybrid, Plug-ins and Electric
- Technorati Tags:
- Hybrids
February 16, 2009
(Modified 2/17/09 to reflect amendment to plug-in hybrid credit provision and to correct a typographical error in same section.)
Now that the Economic Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 has passed through Congress and is awaiting the signature of the President who so adamantly has wanted it, we thought we'd revisit, as best we can, the provisions that apply directly to the green car world.
We say "as best we can" because a full and final version of the bill is still hard to find - and we couldn't. The closest we can come is the official White House website
, which has the conference committee version that was approved on Thursday, but hasn't updated it to the final version that passed both the Hue and Senate on Friday.
So here's the most accurate info we have as of this morning:
Sales Tax Deduction
There is, of course, a sales tax deduction provision aimed at stimulating new car buying in general.
It would make state sales taxes for new car purchases a federal income tax deduction and it would apply to purchases of hybrids and other fuel-efficient vehicles as well as to purchases of Hummers and Dodge Rams and Lincoln Navigators.
It won't put a lot of money in anyone's pockets, and many automakers say it isn't likely to turn things around dramatically this year, but it will help reduce tax bills for people who've got the wherewithal to buy a new vehicles in the first place and could at least keep a bid situation from getting worse.
Status Quo For Conventional Hybrids
The measure, far as we know, doesn't alter the diminishing tax credits system already in place for conventional hybrids: Up to $3,400 until an automaker sells 60,000 hybirds, then a 50 percent drop each six months until the credit disappears.
Toyota, by dint of its sales lead in the hybrid segment, had used up all of its credits by the end of 2007; Honda's disappeared on Jan. 1; Ford's start dropping at the end of March. GM and Nissan still have full credits available for qualifying models, according to the Department of Energy website that tracks such stuff.
Plug-Ins Win
The bill aims to promote development and sales of plug-in hybrids and some pure EVs, though, by instituting a new tier of tax credits ranging from $2,500 to $7,500 for a vehicle, like the upcoming Chevrolet Volt, with a battery large enough to provide 40 miles of so of all-electric drive on a single charge (the Volt uses an on-board generator to keep things humming along once the initial grid charge is depleted).
The battery pack for an eligible vehicle has to have a capacity of at least at least four kilowatt hours, and the credit increases by $417 for each additional kilowatt hour of capacity after that, topping out at $7,500 for vehicles of 10,000 pounds or less (most cars and light trucks).
For vehicles weighing from 10,001 pounds to 14,000 pounds, the maximum credit is $10,000; it jumps to $12,500 for 14,001- to 26,000-pound vehicles; and tops out at $15,000 for vehicles in excess of 26,000 pounds.
Don't Hold Your Breath, Though
Sorry to say, though, that in most instances, the money for those credits will just be sitting there for the next 23 months.
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- John O'Dell February 16, 2009, 3:00 AM
- Categories:
- Alternative Fuels, Fuel Cell, Green Vehicles, Hybrid, Hydrogen, Legislation, Plug-ins and Electric, Tax Incentives
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- Economic Recovery Reinvestment Act
, Economic Stimulus Plan, Green Cars
February 11, 2009
Ford's 2010 Taurus SHO is a sportier, high-performance version of its flagship sedan.
By John O'Dell, Senior Editor
A confession: I like to go fast.
A sizeable slice of the driving population does. Automakers know this, so they make cars with powerful engines even though, by now, they (and we) know that powerful and fuel economy don't go together (unless it's a powerful electric motor).
You can't fault them for it - these so-called halo cars draw attention to their brands and usually pull people into their showrooms - even if the people don't buy or end up driving away in something a lot less powerful, and a lot less expensive, then the car that brought them in.
All of which leads to this: Ford Motor Co., operating a little farther back from the precipice than its domestic rivals and thus a little better able to experiment - is bringing back its performance sedan, the Taurus SHO. It will debut this week at the Chicago Auto Show.
But Ford's bringing back the "Super High Output" sedan with a twist.
It is claiming green credentials for the car, which won't use a V8, usually the engine of choice for hot Detroit metal and the engine type used by the last generation Taurus SHO sold from 1996-1999.
Instead, the 2010 Taurus SHO, like the original, introduced in 1989, will use a V6 - although quite a different V6 than that first model's 3-liter, 200-horsepower mill.
And like the original, it will be a pricey Taurus: starting price is $37,995, versus $25,170 for the base'09 Taurus and $32,520 for the top-of-the-line Taurus Limited with all-wheel drive.
The new SHO gets one of Ford's ballyhooed 3.5-liter, direct-injection, twin-turbocharged "EcoBoost" V6s
, this one tuned up to a 365 horsepower rating, 10 ponies more than the 355-horsepower versions being fitted into top-of-the-line 2010 Ford Flex and Lincoln MKS sedan and MKT crossover models.
The new engine probably is greener than its predecessor models in terms of smog-causing tailpipe emissions - engines are a lot cleaner now than they were a decade ago.
But without knowing the expected fuel economy (and Ford hasn't released that yet), it's hard to say whether the new SHO will best its predecessor in the fuel efficiency and greenhouse gas categories.
The '99 SHO, with a 3.4-liter, 235 horsepower V8, was rated by the EPA at 19 miles per gallon in the city and 27 mpg on the highway. That's the equivalent of about 17 city and 25 highway under the revised EPA ratings system that took effect in 2007.
All Ford has said so far about the new SHO is that its supercharged V6 will deliver V8 power with 6-cylinder fuel economy.
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- John O'Dell February 11, 2009, 12:33 AM
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February 3, 2009
GM Gets Three Models on 'Greenest' List and Tops 'Meanest' Ranking With Hummer H2
By John O'Dell, Senior Editor
In an anticlimactic repeat, Honda's natural-gas burning Civic GX topped the annual "greenest vehicles" of the year listing being published this morning by the non-profit American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy.
It is the 12th year the Washington-based environmental and economic lobbying group has published its Green Book Online, which ranks passenger cars and light trucks for overall environmental impact.
Although the list for the 2009 model year contained no big surprises, it was marked by the reappearance of General Motors Corp., with trio of small cars among the dozen "greenest" vehicles in the market - the Chevrolet Cobalt compact and its Pontiac G5 twin placed eighth overall and the Chevrolet Aveo subcompact finished10th.
The GM cars, which were rated highly for their fuel economy, knocked Ford's Focus off the "greenest" list after its appearance there last year as the only domestic car in the top twelve.
The Ford didn't get a lower score - but the average scores in the top 12 were higher this year than last.
Evolution, Not Revolution
Generally, the 2009 list was marked by continued improvements in the fuel economy and reduced greenhouse gas emissions of scores of vehicles rather than by stellar performances from just one or two models.
Manufacturers are fine-tuning their engines and transmissions, improving materials, and adding emission control technologies, said ACEEE transportation program director Therese Langer.
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- John O'Dell February 3, 2009, 5:00 AM
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- Alternative Fuels, Chevrolet, Daimler, Diesel, Emissions, Flex-Fuel, Ford, Fuel Economy, General Motors, Green Vehicles, Honda, Hummer, Hybrid, Lamborghini, Lincoln, Mercedes-Benz, Natural Gas, Nissan, Plug-ins and Electric, Pontiac, Smart, Subaru, Toyota, Volkswagen
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January 9, 2009
(Note: Article updated after initial posting to include Lexus hybrid)
The upcoming North American International Auto Show in snowy Detroit - media preview days begin Sunday and the show opens to the public on Jan. 17 - is likely to be a pretty glum affair, what with the auto industry imploding and the prospect of many people really being interested in buying a new car right now ranking right up there with being interested in having wisdom teeth pulled sans anesthesia.
But carmakers are trying, and what most are trying hardest with is fuel efficiency and alternatives to the thirsty, greenhouse-gas spewing cars and trucks of the past.
Oh, there will be speedsters and factory-built hot rods on display at the show - Ford Motor Co., for example, will unveil the 540-horsepower 2010 Shelby GT500 Mustang and Audi will be showing a 525-horsepower, V10-version of its exotic R8 sports car.
But most attention will be focused on advanced technology cars such as the 2010 Prius hybrid (right)
and the battery-electric city car concept that Toyota will show, Honda's Prius-fighting 2009 Insight hybrid and concepts such as the all-electric, plug-in hybrid and fuel -cell electric trio, collectively called Concept Zero, that Mercedes-Benz will unveil.
Beyond the cars, the show's media preview will spotlight industry executives who will be delivering news about their companies' green futures.
Most notably, Toyota is expected to outline its hybrid and electric-vehicle strategies for the next few years and Ford is expected to discuss its plans for a stable of future EVs, starting with a commercial truck it plans to launch in 2010.
Green Car Advsior, along with Edmunds Auto Observer, Edmunds Inside Line and Edmunds.com, will be covering the show 's media days and bringing you timely reports, but we thought we'd also offer a preview today of the major green vehicles that will be displayed and discussed.
Green Preview
So, by manufacturer, here they are:
Audi
Volkswagen's upscale stablemate is expected to announce plans for its upcoming U.S. diesel lineup. So far, the company has said it will launch a 3-liter diesel version of its Q7 SUV (right)
later this year and has broached the possibility of a diesel A4. We'll know more after Audi's Sunday afternoon press conference.
BMW
The pride of Bavaria will discuss the X5 and 3-Series diesels it plans to bring to the U.S., perhaps supplying us with some performance and fuel economy numbers as well as a marketing time-line.
Chevrolet
Nothing big here, unless the General decides to announce the upcoming Volt plug-in hybrid's pricing and/or the battery suppliers.
The Chevy vehicle that gets officially introduced at the show is the redesigned 2010 Equinox crossover (right), which will come with a new six-speed automatic and a fuel-efficient, direct-injection four-banger expected to deliver 182 horsepower (almost as much as the '08 model's base V6) and highway fuel economy of 30 miles per gallon.
Chrysler
The company has three brands that it has tied together for car show purposes with a trio of concept electric vehicles.
Those to be displayed in Detroit are further refined versions of the Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep EVs originally unveiled last September and first shown publicly at the Los Angeles International Auto Show in November.
By brand, they are the Chrysler EV, an extended-range electric version of the town and Country minivan; the Jeep EV, a gas-electric Wrangler; and the Dodge EV, a Lotus-based, bumblebee-striped battery-electric sports car that would look great in the garage next to an electric Tesla Roadster.
Chrysler has said that it will bring one of the cars to market in 2010, but hasn't said which or in what kind of numbers. Maybe that's what we'll hear at the show.
Fisker
The nascent plug-in-hybrid company headed by, and named for, noted auto designer Henrik Fisker (BMW, Aston Martin, Fisker Coachbuild), will show the production version of it first proposed vehicle, the Fisker Karma sports sedan (right)
that it unveiled to great interest at last year's Detroit show. Fisker also will unveil a new version - a convertible, we suspect - caled the Karma S.
Like the Chevy Volt, the Karma uses an on-board internal combustion engine to generate power to keep its electric motors turning the wheels.
Ford
We expect a discussion of the company's electric vehicle strategy, perhaps with a teaser glimpse or two of potential future offerings and a look at the commercial truck the company has said it will launch in 2010.
Honda
The news here will be the unveiling of the production version 2009 Insight hybrid (right)
, a sub $20,000, five-seater Honda hopes will finally, finally, pump its hybrid sales up into Prius territory.
We're expected to hear a lot of technical detail and, perhaps, even a firmer price for the car, which looks in pictures a bit like the Prius it's designed to battle.
Lexus
Toyota's luxury unit will reveal its first stand-alone hybrid model, a small car that is based off the upcoming 2010 Prius.
Although it is not unusual - its pretty common, even - for photos of new models to leak out before their official unveiling, the best we've been able to come up with for the new Lexus hybrid is this rendering (left) published in a Japanese auto magazine a few months ago.
Mercedes-Benz
The covers will come off a trio of EV concepts from Daimler's luxe brand. All use the same swoopy, sport wagon-ish body (below right) - a design that also shows where Mercedes is heading with the compact B-Class replacement due in 2010 and, perhaps, headed for the U.S.
The so-called Concept Zero family consists of the E-Cell, a battery-electric with a range of about 60 miles; the E-Cell Plus, a plug-in hybrid that uses a 3-cylinder gas engine-generator to extend the range of its batteries when the initial charge is depleted (think Chevy Volt), and the F-Cell, which uses a hydrogen fuel-cell to produce electricity on-board by combining hydrogen and oxygen in the fuel-cell stack. Range is about 125 miles. Mercedes says the E-Cell Plus can go almost 400 miles on an overnight battery charge and a tank of gas.
Toyota
The company whose name has become synonymous with 'hybrid" is introducing the redesigned 2010 Prius at the show, but photos of the car leaked out weeks ago and you've got to believe that anyone who's interested has already seen it. What will be news, of course, are the specifications and performance numbers.
The other biggie on the product front from Toyota will be the unveiling of a concept electric vehicle, probably called the FT-EV if the company's previous auto show naming practices prevail (that would stand for "future technology-electric vehicle").
The car, believed to be built on a current Toyota subcompact chassis, is the company's effort to give us a look at what a Toyota-built battery-electric EV for short-range urban driving might look like if the company does, as it has said it would, put an EV into its retail fleet in 2012.
Not The End
And, of course - Detroit being Detroit - there likely will be a surprise or two. So consider this list a starter, not a definitive catalog.
China's BYD, for instance, will be there with the plug-in-hybrid (left)
it launched in its home market a few weeks ago, beating the big boys like GM and Toyota to the punch by a matter of, oh, a year or two. Who knows what the company - whose name is an acronym for Build Your Dreams and whose future is being backed by investment whiz Warren Buffett - will do next? We might find out as the Detroit show rolls along.
We'll be back when media days begin on Sunday to keep you up-to-date.
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- John O'Dell January 9, 2009, 3:00 AM
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- Audi, Auto Shows, BMW, BYD, Chevrolet, Chrysler, Daimler, Dodge, Emissions, Fisker, Ford, Fuel Cell, Fuel Economy, General Motors, Green Vehicles, Honda, Hybrid, Hydrogen, Jeep, Mercedes-Benz, Plug-ins and Electric, Toyota
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January 2, 2009
By John O'Dell, Senior Editor
(Note:Story updated 1/5/09)
Although it applied early for the honor, Plug In America, the support group for plug-in hybrids and electric vehicles, didn't make the cut when organizers of the Presidential Inaugural Parade were picking participants.
So the organization, whose motto ought to be "never say die" (a good one for backers of battery-electric cars, dontcha think?) , is staging its own, pre-inaugural parade to pull in some publicity for EVs and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs).
The event, dubbed "Inaugural Parade West: Plug In America," will be staged on Jan. 17 - three days before the real parade honoring the swearing-in of the 44th president - in Santa Monica, reports Zan Dubin Scott, who helped start the advocacy group.
Scott said that the parade so far has booked 32 40 electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids for the event, which is scheduled to begin about 9:30 a.m. (at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium, in case you are interested in attending, and no, it won't be televised although a clip or two may well show up here and there and the evening news).
Parade "participants" will include Tesla Roadsters, Toyota RAV4 EVs, Vectrix electric motorbikes, Chevy S10 EVs and a variety of Prius plug-in conversions.
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- John O'Dell January 2, 2009, 12:02 PM
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- Alternative Fuels, Chevrolet, General Motors, Green Vehicles, Hybrid, Plug-ins and Electric, Toyota
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, PHEVs, Plug In America Inaugural Parade, Plug In Hybrids, Plug In Parade
December 29, 2008
Sad news.
Michelin, citing the "depth of the current economic crisis," said today it is cancelling the planned 2009 Challenge Bibendum -- a premier global showcase and test bed for alternative fuels and power train technologies.
----------
The 2007 Challenge Bibendum was held in Shanghai.
----------
The biennial green car
event, which was to have taken place in Rio de Janeiro in april, will be held over until 2010, the French tire giant said.
In a brief statement, the company said the decision "takes into account the increasing financial constraints of several of Challenge Bibendum's traditional partners. Many will be unable to participate, to the extent that they have done in the past, in an event which illustrates the existence of solutions to the challenges of tomorrow's road mobility."
Michelin said that for 2009 the Challenge Bibendum organizing team will "propose a series of different initiatives to our partners to stimulate ongoing debates on the future of road mobility."
We hate to see the event delayed, even for a year (and even though we weren't going to be able to travel to lovely Rio to witness it first hand), but trust Michelin and partners will do everything possible to stage a bigger and better Challenge in 2010.
John O'Dell, Senior Editor
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- John O'Dell December 29, 2008, 4:19 PM
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, Michelin
December 12, 2008
China, whose big cities often are choked by smog so dense it is hard to see through, is taking aggressive steps to push its people into cleaner, more fuel-efficient cars -- even as it continues to build carbon-belching, coal-fired power plants.
In what Chinese officials see as both an environmental and economic move, the national government is considering reducing or abolishing a purchase tax on new cars while at the same time providing subsidies to consumers who buy low emission, fuel-efficient vehicles.
"The adjustment on taxation could be one of the most effective measures to boost vehicle sales if the [economic] slowdown continues," Dong Jianping, deputy secretary general of the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers told the Shanghai Daily newspaper.
Dong also said that cutting the purchase tax would be dependent on vehicle engine size -- with engines smaller than 1.5 liters receiving a bigger benefit.
The Chinese government already pushes use of more fuel-efficient vehicles by boosting taxes on vehicles with engine sizes greater than 3.0 liters and reducing them on vehicles with engines smaller than 1.0 liter.
In addition, the newspaper reported, China's commerce ministry is studying a direct subsidy program for purchasers of eco-friendly vehicles and expects to put it in place soon. No details are available.
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- John O'Dell December 12, 2008, 2:16 PM
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December 5, 2008
Beam by beam, a plant that will churn out millions of gallons of cellulosic ethanol a year is now rising in Georgia. Its owner, Range Fuels, is vying to be the first business in the industry to claim a commercial plant.
Close on its tail, a handful of other companies--from corn ethanol veterans to startups backed by big-name investors--are pushing ahead with plans to manufacture non-food-based biofuel using everything from corncobs and wheat straw to waste wood and landfill trash, the subscription news service ClimateWire reported today.
The transition of cellulosic ethanol technologies from a lab-bench promise to a mass-production process has been moving quickly. These businesses are in the vanguard of an industry that is now driving the next generation of biofuels to the market.
Whether they can do this and make money is what everyone wants to know. The next three years will bring answers, based on the number of large-scale plants in the works.
"We are moving as prudently and with as much urgency as possible," David Aldous, the recently named CEO of Range Fuels and a former executive vice president of Royal Dutch Shell PLC, told ClimateWire. Aldous said that the plant, which will use heat, pressure and a chemical catalyst to convert wood into fuel, should be ready by late next year.
These pacesetters are assisted by a federal mandate that guarantees an initial baseline market--36 billion gallons of biofuels by 2022, only 15 of which can come from corn-based ethanol, a number that industry is a few years away from hitting.
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- Scott Doggett December 5, 2008, 10:18 AM
- Categories:
- Alternative Fuels, Biofuels, Emissions, Energy Companies, Ethanol, Green Vehicles
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, BP PLC, Cellulosic Ethanol, Coskata Inc., Energy Biosciences Institute, Energy Department, Ethanol, Iogen Corp., POET, Range Fuels, Royal Dutch Shell PLC, Verenium Corp., Vinod Khosla
December 3, 2008
By John O'Dell, Senior Editor
Sales of hybrid cars and SUVs took a worse beating than the industry as a whole in November, plummeting 50 percent from a year earlier and off 24.8 percent from October.
----------
Industry leading Prius hybrid sales in November were off 50 percent from a year earlier.
----------
Industrywide sales of all new cars and light trucks were down 37 percent from a year ago.
The hbrid segment was hit with the triple whammy of falling gasoline prices, high sticker prices in a recessionary economy and tight credit that cut many potential buyers out of the market.
"The environment is taking a back seat to the macroeconomic situation," said Edmunds.com market analyst Jessica Caldwell.
With gasoline falling below $2 a gallon, many hybrid models just didn't pencil out for consumers when their premium prices were compared with prices for other fuel efficient vehicles with conventional powertrains, she said.
Altogether, automakers sold 16,536 gas-electric hybrids last month, down from 21,979 in October.
To make matter worse, consumers purchased twice as many hybrids - 33,063 of them - in November 2007, when there were several fewer models available.
Hybrids' market share dropped to 2.21 percent in November, down from 2.62 percent in October and 2.82 percent in November 2007.
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- John O'Dell December 3, 2008, 3:30 AM
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- Cadillac, Chevrolet, Ford, Green Vehicles, Honda, Hybrid, Lexus, Mercury, Nissan, Saturn, Toyota
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- Hybrid Sales Fall
, November 2008 Hybrid Sales
December 1, 2008
EV charger manufacturer Coulomb Technologies, which recently announced that it has orders for 40 of its networked charging stations to be installed along major traffic corridors in California, says it now has established distributorships that cover 28 states with plans to expand into all 50.
Coulomb, headquartered in Northern California, is displaying its wirelessly linked charging stations at the Electric Drive Transportation Assn.'s annual conference in Washington, D.C. this week.
The company's "Smartlet" stations supply current at a variety of voltages for battery-electric and pug-in hybrid vehicles. Station users' would use prepaid accounts that would be debited via a wireless transaction when they access one of the charging stations - unless the station owner has opted, as several have, to deliver the power at no charge.
Coulomb said it will market the stations exclusively through its regional distributors, who now cover the major states in all regions except Texas and the Midwest.
Richard Lowenthal, Coulomb's chief executive, has said that he wants to position the company to have a commercial recharging infrastructure in place when vehicles with rechargeable batteries beginning appearing in the marketplace.
In addition to independents such as Tesla Motors, Miles Electric Vehicles, GEM and Zap that already market electric vehicles, several major and independent automakers, including General Motors, Toyota, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Ford, Mercedes-Benz, Chrysler, BMW, Fisker Automotive and Aptera Motors have announced plans for plug-in hybrids or battery-electric cars that will begin to hit the market -- some for testing, others for retail sales or leasing -- by late next year.
John O'Dell, Senior Editor
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- John O'Dell December 1, 2008, 1:55 PM
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- BMW, Chrysler, Fisker, Ford, General Motors, Green Vehicles, Mercedes-Benz, Miles, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Plug-ins and Electric
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- Coulomb Technologies
, Electric Vehicle Charger, EV Charger, Plug In Hybrid
November 19, 2008
By John O'Dell, Senior Editor
Hyundai Motor Co., itching for the same level of respect U.S. consumers give fuel-economy leaders Toyota and Honda, is beginning to roll out a broad family of efficient new green cars aimed at making it the nation's gas mileage leader by 2015.
Borrowing a page from German's Mercedes-Benz and Volkswagen, Hyundai has chose to make its green cars Blue -calling its fuel-efficiency initiative the Hyundai Blue Drive.
----------
Cutaway shows architecture for Hyundai's Blue Drive hybrid system, with flat, rear-mounted battery pack and 4-cylinder gas engine and electric motor drivingfron wheels.
----------
The South Korean carmaker, which
previously had pledged
to have a U.S. retail fleet with average fuel economy of 35 miles per gallon five years before that standard will be mandated, said in a press conference at the Los Angeles Auto Show today that it will achieve the goal with a mix of conventional and plug-in hybrids, advanced-technology gasoline internal combustion engines and, in select states, fuel-cell electric vehicles.
As a first step, Hyundai officials said, the company will introduce fuel-efficient "Blue" editions of its gasoline-fueled Accent and Elantra compacts in 2009.
The cars will use low rolling-resistance tires, aerodynamic bodywork, higher gearing and specially tuned engines to achieve better mileage and lower tailpipe emissions that present models of the same cars.
A similar "Blue Motion" line was launched by Volkswagen in 2006. Mercedes-Benz followed with its "Blue Efficiency" effort early this year.
Hyundai Hybrid
The Blues will be followed in 2010 by a gasoline-electric hybrid model of the Sonata midsize sedan (below, left) designed expressly for the North American market.
Hyundai said its "full hybrid" Sonata - capable of a limited amount of all-electric travel - is jumping past the lithium-ion battery technology that American, Europe and Japanese automakers are racing to perfect and instead says it will go with a lithium polymer technology for its various battery-dependent models.
Plug-in versions that use larger, grid-rechargeable battery packs for longer all-electric range, will follow at an unspecified pace, company executives said.
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- John O'Dell November 19, 2008, 1:55 PM
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, Hyundai Fuel Cell Vehicle, Hyundai hybrid, Los Angeles Auto Show
November 13, 2008
Ford Motor Co.'s top executives have met almost daily during the past six weeks to formulate a make-or-break plan to keep the company solvent in the face of the worst financial crisis in decades, The Detroit News
reported
today following exclusive interviews with the automaker's top executives.
With gasoline prices falling, some argued Ford should abandon its costly plan to retool North American truck factories to make smaller, more fuel-efficient cars from Europe, and others pushed to stave future investment in products like the F-150 pickup that has seen drastic sales declines in recent years.
But global product development chief Derrick Kuzak--with the support of CEO Alan Mulally--argued that if Ford has a future, it needs to deliver a new generation of class-leading cars and trucks that consumers actually want.
"We're only going to be in business if we create products that people really do want and value," Mulally told the News. "This is the essence of creating a viable Ford."
Unlike rival General Motors Corp., which has curtailed its investment in some new vehicles to conserve cash, Ford is betting the business on new, fuel-efficient cars in a make-or-break bid to turn the company around before time runs out.
Ford's latest launches have done little to arrest its decade-long decline in U.S. market share, and it is far from certain that the cars and trucks in Ford's pipeline will be enough to turn the tide.
Yet, Wall Street analysts such as Eric Selle of JPMorgan say this is the only way forward for an automaker that has wasted too many years producing lackluster products that barely covered its costs.
"The status quo is no longer acceptable," he told the News. "Abandoning the product plan would have been a bad move."
Ford has demonstrated that it can make money off its small cars in Europe, Selle said, adding that the concessions it won from the United Auto Workers union last year should allow Ford to do the same thing in this country.
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- Scott Doggett November 13, 2008, 11:31 AM
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, Fuel Efficient, General Motors, GM
November 6, 2008
By John O'Dell, Senior Editor
As cash-starved automakers search frantically for anything in their budgets that they can eliminate in order to save money, major green car programs seem to be escaping the ax.
----------
Continuing development of green car projects such as the 2010 Prius hybrid are critical to the future of the auto industry.
----------
General Motors Corp. executives, for instance, have said that the 2010 Volt plug-in hybrid
(right)
is immune from the financial mayhem as they delay some new products, cancel others, furlough workers, stop paying into 401(k) retirement plans and take other drastic measures.
And today, during a telephone conference call with reporters and analysts to discuss its sinking quarterly profit (down 69 percent from the same period last year), Toyota Motor Co. said it will accelerate its hybrid program even as it cuts costs by scaling back or delaying some projects and reducing capital spending.
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- John O'Dell November 6, 2008, 2:34 PM
- Categories:
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- Automakers Protecting green Car Projects
, Fuel Cell Cars, Hybrid, plug-in hybrid
Remember that $25 billion, low-interest loan program Congress recently approved funding for to help the ailing auto industry re-tool U.S. factories to build more fuel-efficient cars and trucks?
Not a penny of the auto industry bailout loans has been distributed - the Energy Department only published its rules for the program yesterday - but the domestic auto makers already are asking that the total be doubled, to $50 billion.
The chief executives of General Motors Corp., Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler, along with the president of the United Auto Workers Union, are in Washington today meeting with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and the Michigan Democratic contingent, the subscription-only Greenwire news service reports.
Whether they get the extra funding or not, it will be a while before any of the companies actually gets any money - the loan applications have to pass several government review processes including one for environmental friendliness.
It is expected to be early next year before any funding is delivered - and that's if applications start rolling in now. It would take a presidential declaration of an emergency situation to speed things up.
Under the DOE's interim rule, preference will be given to automakers that have been operating in the U.S. for 20 years or more - a provision that favors the domestic companies. But any automaker with a U.S. factory - or plans to build one - can apply.
One big hurdle - the applicants have to show that they are financially viable and will likely be around to repay the loans - a provision that could hurt Chrysler and a few others.
Read Edmunds Auto Observer's take on the bailbout rules,
Continue reading...
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- John O'Dell November 6, 2008, 11:57 AM
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- Chrysler, Ford, Fuel Economy, General Motors, Green Vehicles
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- Auto Industry Bailout
November 4, 2008
By John O'Dell, Senior Editor
About the only thing sinking faster than new car sales these days is consumer interest in hybrids.
As the economy continues to tank and gas prices continue to fall, the number of consumers using the various Edmunds.com information channels to gather data on hybrid models has plummeted.
Hybrid consideration -- tallied by tracking the number of visitors to Edmunds' sites who spend time looking at model specifications and pricing data and cross-shopping hybrids with other hybrids and with conventional models -- is off 86 percent from its peak in mid-June.
By comparison, considerations of all new car and truck models are down 35 percent from the peak in May, according to data compiled for Green Car Advisor by Dr. David Tompkins, Edmunds.com's executive director of business solutions.
Consideration doesn't necessarily predict sales -- it could be that we're seeing the casual shoppers being knocked out of the box with only hard-core, determined buyers left looking.
Indeed, hybrid sales in October, while down 45 percent from their peak in April, were off only 9.4 percent from a year earlier. If seven models that weren't sold a year ago are omitted, the drop is sharper, at 16 percent. By comparison, total sales for the month were off 39 percent from the year's high in May and were down 32 percent from October 2007. Subtracting the 1,551 extra hybrids sold this year makes almost no difference in drop in total sales.
The sales figures show that hybrids continue to be popular among a significant slice of the public that's still buying cars -- they accounted for 2.6 percent of total October sales, their highest market share since July.
But Edmunds' hybrid consideration numbers may portend a bigger drop as the year progresses.
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Hydrid consideration (green) grew as gas prices rose but since summer has fallen faster than has consideration of all vehicles (red), according to Edmunds.com data. (Click on chart for expanded view.)
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With the nation in a recession that's been building since summer, you'd expect the numbers of people shopping for new cars, on-line and in dealerships, to decline, said Daniel Hall, vice president and data analyst at global auto industry consulting firm AutoPacific.
That the rate of decline for hybrid consideration is so much sharper, said Edmunds analyst Tompkins, shows that shoppers are being far more cautious about expenses than when gas prices were at their peak this summer and the line for hybrids at any price stretched around the block.
Back then, shoppers were enamored of the fuel economy a hybrid model could deliver in comparison to a conventionally powered model of the same vehicle.
Now, shoppers are looking not only at fuel economy -- which is less important to many as gas prices fall -- but at the so-called hybrid premium automakers charge to cover the extra cost of the battery packs and advanced powertrain components a hybrid requires.
Additionally, the nation's economic woes have made it more difficult for people to obtain loans, especially for big-ticket items such as homes and cars. When credit is already tight, a hybrid's premium price thins the herd, said Edmunds.com pricing and sales analyst Jessica Caldwell.
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- John O'Dell November 4, 2008, 3:00 AM
- Categories:
- Cadillac, Chevrolet, Ford, Fuel Economy, General Motors, Green Vehicles, Honda, Hybrid, Mazda, Mercury, Nissan, Toyota
- Technorati Tags:
- Consumer Interest In Hybrids
, Hybrid Consideration Dims, Shoppper Consideration of Hybrids
October 29, 2008
By Scott Doggett, Contributor
Building upon fuel-consumption displays found in the Toyota Prius and other vehicles, Ford announced today that its 2010 Ford Fusion and Mercury Milan hybrids will be equipped with an instrument cluster that will provide real-time information and verbal coaching to help drivers maximize fuel efficiency.
The SmartGauge with EcoGuide (pictured) will give drivers current fuel-economy data and, unique to the Ford and Mercury hybrid sedans, offer verbal encouragement to help them become mileage-maximizing motorists.
The interactive system provides four levels of information display, from a basic "Journey" mode to the content-rich "Empower" level that will present the most detail on engine performance as well as the most feedback on how to improve fuel efficiency.
The graduated levels of information are offered to appease motorists who just want the basics, others who can't get enough fuel-economy feedback, and everyone in between.
Jeff Greenberg, Ford's senior technical leader, said the main question hybrid drivers have is, "How do I know I'm getting the most out of my hybrid?" Ford's response is SmartGauge, which the automaker developed in collaboration with IDEO and Smart Design, he said.
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- Scott Doggett October 29, 2008, 12:00 PM
- Categories:
- Chevrolet, Emissions, Ford, Fuel Economy, Green Vehicles, Hybrid, Mercury, Plug-ins and Electric, Toyota
- Technorati Tags:
- 2009 Chevrolet Tahoe Hybrid
, 2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid, 2010 Mercury Milan Hybrid, Ford Motor Company, GM, Hybrid, Smart Gauge, SmartGauge, SmartGauge With EcoGuide
October 3, 2008
In case you've been in a deep, dank cave with no wireless connection for the past few hours, the news du jour
is that the House has approved the Wall Street rescue measure that includes the original $700-billion in bail-out bucks plus wads of cash for renewable energy, biofuels and energy-efficiency programs.
The $17 billion energy package also includes a plug-in hybrids tax credit plan
with an estimated price tag of $1 billion. It won't expire until the auto industry has, collectively, sold 250,000 plug-in cars and trucks that run at least part of the time on all-electric drive from energy stored in rechargeable, on-board batteries.
While none of the major automakers has yet to offer a plug-in, just about all (Honda Motor Co. is a notable exception) are working on them, with General Motor Corp.'s Chevrolet Volt perhaps the best known of the bunch.
Reporters walking the floor of the Paris Auto Show this week, however, are seeing a lot more as European car makers seem to have embraced the idea
of electric cars and gas- and diesel-electric hybrids with a fervor usually associated with revival meeting preachers.
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- John O'Dell October 3, 2008, 12:47 PM
- Categories:
- Chevrolet, Fuels & Technologies, General Motors, Green Vehicles, Honda, Legislation, Mercedes-Benz, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Opinion, Plug-ins and Electric, Renault, Smart, Subaru, Tata, Toyota
October 2, 2008
By John O'Dell, Senior Editor
It's been pretty well established that there wasn't much of an auto market in the U.S. last month.
"Catastrophe" and "disaster" are applicable adjectives; "It sucked" is how some wags have described it.
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Sales of new GM hybrid SUVs like this Chevrolet Tahoe helped hybrid market.
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We've had Edmunds' crack number crunchers parsing the data for us, looking for any glimmer of hope that might be found in the "green" and fuel-efficiency parts of the market and, so, far, have to say that they haven't come up with much.
The first pass through Wednesday's raw sales data provides at look at how hybrids did in comparison to the market as a whole.
And depending on how you do the comparison - to the previous month or to the same month a year ago - we found a mixed message for September hybrid sales.
Hybrid Segment Outpaces Market
The market as a whole was down 26.5 percent from September 2007 and was off 22.5 percent from August '08. It was the first month since the late 1990s that sales dropped below the 1-million mark.
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- John O'Dell October 2, 2008, 4:41 PM
- Categories:
- Cadillac, Chevrolet, Chrysler, Ford, General Motors, Green Vehicles, Honda, Hybrid, Mercury, Nissan, Toyota
October 1, 2008
OK kids, this one is for the eco-conscious but kinda lazy amongst us - those who especially like the idea of being planet-friendly when all the work is done for 'em.
Vroom Vroom Vroom (hey, that's it's name!), an on-line car rental site with a green consciousness, is launching U.S. operations today and says that it wants to make you feel good about renting cars.
The company won't limit your choices to green cars, but says insterad it will be purchasing carbon offset credits with each rental booked though its service.
Peter Thornton, VVV's chief executive, says the carbon offset program is a new one for the 6-year-old company Australian company, which has become profitable and wants to share its good fortune. "We're doing this because environmental protection is an important issue for us and our customers," he said
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- John O'Dell October 1, 2008, 3:00 AM
- Categories:
- Emissions, Green Vehicles
- Technorati Tags:
- Carbon Offset
, Green Car Rentals
September 29, 2008
AltCar Expo 2008 closed its doors Saturday evening, ending from what by all accounts was another successful effort to showcase alternative transporation or fuels technologies to mainstream consumers.
We brought you a couple of pre-event reports and now are taking advantage of the goods nature of one of our colleagues, Edmunds New Product Manager Dori Merifield, to bring us a wrap-up report from the eyes - and pen - of one of those interested consumers.
Dori is an member of Edmund's corporate Green Team, helping to make sure the company is an environmentally responsible corporate citizen, and is an active environmental advocate in her own right.
She spent much of Saturday at AltCar, listening to the various symposia, examining displays and vehicles and talking to expo-goers and exhibitors about the event and the products.
Here's her report:
Thousands of people visited AltCar Expo over the weekend, many hoping to find an efficient but viable alternative to their present cars and trucks.
The Santa Monica Civic Auditorium was filled with vehicles large and small that ran on a variety of alternative fuels - electricity, natural gas, hydrogen, biodiesel and even compressed air.
AltCar visitor examines Hybrid Technologies' Mini Cooper EV conversion.
There were also lots of conversion companies on hand hoping to persuade people of the wisdom of converting existing cars to a plug-in electric vehicles.
At one symposium, UC Davis Professor Andy Frank - father of the plug-in - explained why using electric cars to help reduce our oil consumption is so important: "Oil production is going to peak this year or next - after that supply will decrease and the cost will only increase."
Peter Ward, of the California Energy Commission staff, said the bigger problem is that 38 percent of greenhouse gas emissions in California come from transportation (a lot of that is from buses, delivery trucks and other commercial vehicles) and that the state is the third largest consumer of gasoline in the world.
Frank believes the solution is to convert existing cars to alternative energy.
Most cars on the road aren't new, he said, "so if only 10 percent of new cars are hybrid or electric, we're only replacing 1% of all the cars on the road each year. We simply don't have 50 years to make this change."
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- John O'Dell September 29, 2008, 1:49 PM
- Categories:
- Auto Shows, Fuel Cell, General Motors, Green Vehicles, Honda, Hybrid, Hydrogen, MINI, Miles, Natural Gas, Plug-ins and Electric
September 15, 2008
By Nick Kurczewski, Contributor
Paris, fashion capital of the world, usually has more influence on what hangs in your closet than what's parked in your driveway.
But from October 4th through the 19th, when the doors to the Paris auto show are open to the public, the automobile takes center stage in the City of Lights, and big fuel economy numbers will be as essential to automakers as little red dresses or neatly tailored black suits are to the fashion world. Â
Car manufacturers will be displaying everything from hybrids, such as the new Honda Insight, to electric cars and fuel-sipping diesel and gas-powered models like the new Ford Ka and Toyota iQ (above) city cars.
To help whet your appetites, Green Car Advisor offers a look at the cars that are set to make the biggest impression in this distinctively enviro-chic auto show:
Honda Insight
The newest hybrid from Honda represents the Japanese company's most determined effort at cracking Toyota's stranglehold on this increasingly important market.
The five-passenger, four-door hatchback uses an improved version of Honda's Integrated Motor Assist system. Better fuel economy, a lower center of gravity and reduced cost are said to be the main benefits.
The Insight is expected to be cheaper than its rival, the next-generation Toyota Prius, when both cars go on sale early next year. Our one complaint: Why did Honda feel the need to copy the potatolike profile of the Prius?
Toyota iQ
If the Insight is Honda's take on a Prius fighter, the iQ is Toyota's attempt at outsmarting the Smart Fortwo.
The iQ is slightly longer than the Smart, and the Japanese city car offers two tiny rear seats, whereas the Fortwo -- as the name makes clear -- is strictly a two-seater.
The iQ goes on sale in Japan in October and in Europe later this year.
Will Toyota bring the iQ Stateside? The company's not saying, but with the sales success of the Smart Fortwo in America, it would be pretty dumb not to consider the idea. And Toyota's not noted for dumb.
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- John O'Dell September 15, 2008, 3:31 AM
- Categories:
- Alternative Fuels, Auto Shows, Chevrolet, Diesel, Ford, General Motors, Green Vehicles, Honda, Hybrid, Nissan, Plug-ins and Electric, Renault, Smart, Toyota
- Technorati Tags:
- New Green Cars
, Paris Auto Show
September 4, 2008
By John O'Dell, Senior Editor
As promised, Honda has released the first official photo of its new Prius-fighter, the 2010 Honda Insight hybrid.
Smaller than the Honda Civic Hybrid but still a five-seat vehicle, the new Insight (right) is expected to be priced at under $20,000, making it the least-expensive hybrid on the market when it goes on sale next year.
Although still called a "concept," the car pictured is not expected to be much different from the production version that will be introduced in the flesh (so to speak) on Oct. 2 at the Paris Motor Show.
The Insight, a five-door hatchback sedan, takes many of its styling cues from Honda's FCX Clarity fuel-cell electric car, Honda says - ignoring critics who say it owes a lot of its look to Toyota's Prius, the world's best-selling hybrid.
(Honda probably wouldn't be hurt if that association was to be made by a lot of buyers, but we're not going to suggest that any resemblance to the Prius is intentional. Both cars were designed to minimize wind resistance, and that pretty much dictates the basic body shape.)
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Honda's Insight (right) and the CR-Z concept (left) borrow design cues from FCX Clarity fuel-cell car (center).
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Whatever it looks like, the new Insight - which takes its name from the original Honda hybrid, the two-seat Insight introduced in 1999 and discontinued in 2006 - sticks with Honda's proprietary Integrated Motor Assist hybrid system.
It is a somewhat downsized version of the system, though, likely with a smaller battery pack and power control unit than in the IMA system that helps propel the Civic Hybrid. A smaller car, however, can get away with a smaller hybrid system.
While not revolutionary on the technology side of things, the new Insight is a ground-breaker on the price front.
It "will break new ground as an affordable hybrid within the reach of customers who want great fuel economy and great value," said Takeo Fukui, Honda chief executive.
The company wouldn't disclose fuel economy estimates, but one would expect a car that is lighter and more streamlined than the Civic hybrid to deliver better mileage.
Honda says the Insight will be followed - probably sometime in 2010 - by an all-new model based on the CR-Z sport coupe concept car shown at the Tokyo Auto Show in October, 2007.
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- John O'Dell September 4, 2008, 9:36 AM
- Categories:
- Auto Shows, Fuel Economy, Fuels & Technologies, Green Vehicles, Honda, Hybrid
- Technorati Tags:
- 2010 Honda Insight Hybrid
, Honda Hybrid, Insight, Paris Auto Show
September 2, 2008
By Bill Visnic, Senior Editor
So here's what it comes down to: two global automotive giants jousting over who has the better technology for future hybrids.
In this corner, if somewhat reluctantly, it's Toyota Motor Corp. and the
"plug-in" hybrid-electric vehicle
(PHEV), an extension of its renowned Hybrid Synergy Drive system popularized the world over by the standard-setting Prius.
And in that corner, simultaneously playing underdog and catch-up, is General Motors Corp. and its heavy-duty green hype-machine, the Chevrolet Volt - a vehicle that, just as with Toyota's plug-in Prius, doesn't yet exist in retail form.
The Volt, still being tested and prototyped, is the high-fashion showcase for GM's potentially game-changing but unproven "extend-range" electric vehicle (E-REV) technology.
GM says that a Volt vs. plug-in Prius match-up isn't really an apples-to-apples comparison because the Volt isn't really a hybrid.
The company insists that it is an electric vehicle - albeit one fitted with a "range-extender" combustion engine that can recharge its lithium-ion batteries in the event the vehicle needs to be driven beyond the planned 40 miles of electric-only propulsion.
Truth is, the Volt is an EV, but it also fits the classic definition of a series hybrid, in which one powerplant produces electricity to feed the electric motor that propels the vehicle.
The Prius, plug-in or otherwise, is a hybrid of another stripe; a parallel hybrid, so called because its two power plants (gas and electric) can work separately or be harnessed together- operating in parallel - to provide propulsion.
The two systems are going to end up head-to-head in the race to win the hearts and minds of an expanding population of environmentally concerned buyers and head-to-head in the struggle to determine whether one design prevails in a high-efficiency future nobody can yet fully forecast.
Oh, and one final bit of fun and intrigue: neither company has been immune to a little trash-talking about the other's technology.
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- John O'Dell September 2, 2008, 1:00 AM
- Categories:
- Chevrolet, Fuels & Technologies, General Motors, Green Vehicles, Hybrid, Plug-ins and Electric, Toyota
- Technorati Tags:
- Chevrolet Volt
, General Motors, GM, Plug In Prius, Toyota Motor
August 29, 2008
No sooner were the words out (see previous post
) than we were proven wrong: you won't have to piece spy pix together to get a look at the 2010 Chevy Volt - it appears to have a role in the upcoming action flick "Transformers 2," as evidenced by a spy video
posted on the Modern Mythology
comics fan blog Thursday and later picked up by the Transformers Live Action Movie Blog
.
The purple-blue car, clearly bearing the Chevrolet Bow Tie emblem, has "VOLT" emblazoned across its rear fascia, as the screen capture above makes clear.
The action, apparently in or near Long Beach, Calif., where the movie is being filmed, was shot from an elevated position, so the car is somewhat foreshortened in the video, but its resemblance to the Volt concept and the production design details that have been leaked previously by General Motors is unmistakable.
Unclear from the video is whether the car is running with the Volt's extended-range electric powerplant and advanced lithium-ion battery pack or with a conventional gasoline engine jammed in to make it ready for the movie.
John O'Dell, Senior Editor
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- John O'Dell August 29, 2008, 12:42 AM
- Categories:
- Chevrolet, Green Vehicles, Plug-ins and Electric
- Technorati Tags:
- 2010 Chevrolet Volt
, Modern Mythology, Transformers 2
August 27, 2008
Organizers of the Progressive Insurance Automotive X Prize
opened the official registration process this week - the first step in qualifying for the fuel efficieny competition's $10 million in prizes - after receiving letters of intent form more than 120 teams.
The prospective entrants are from 17 countries, with most coming from the U.S. - 28 states are represented on the initial list.
The contest challenges entrants to design, build and operate a production-capable vehicle that can deliver, at minimum, the equivalent of 100 miles per gallon fuel economy.
Prospective entrants range from Indian automaker Tata Motors to a high school team from West Philadelphia.
Missing from the preliminary list are all of the major U.S., European and Asian automakers, but a few celebrities apparently will be on hand, among them Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Neil Young, who has said he intends to enter his 1960 Lincoln Continental - converted to a plug-in hybrid running on biodiesel..
Registration closes January 1, 2009, and entrants then will have about eight months to prepare for a series of competitions that will start in New York in September and take the vehicles to as many as nine major U.S. urban areas through early 2010.
Winning teams must deliver vehicles that achieve at least 100 miles per gallon-equivalent fuel economy and meet stringent emissions standards. the teams also must present compelling business cases for their vehicles.
Click here for more information about the competition, the prize and the entry process.
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- John O'Dell August 27, 2008, 12:54 PM
- Categories:
- Alternative Fuels, Biofuels, Emissions, Fuel Economy, Fuels & Technologies, Green Vehicles, Hybrid, Plug-ins and Electric, Tata
- Technorati Tags:
- $10 million X Prize
, Fuel Efficiency, Progressive Insurance Automotive X Prize
August 25, 2008
By John O'Dell, Senior Editor
If the though of driving around with tanks of hydrogen pressurized to 5,000 pounds per square inch makes you nervous, consider this: Fire fighters routinely enter burning buildings with 4,500 psi air tanks strapped to their backs.
With those words of assurance, GM hydrogen specialist Alex Karos led us out to the fuel-cell Equinox for our first refueling lesson.
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GM's Alex Karos, center, explains working of hydrogen fuel nozzle while Edmunds editors Chris Walton (left) and Brian Moody (back to camera) look on.
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Yup, I've driven and blogged about the Chevrolet Equniox fuel-cell electric vehicle several times in the past year, even wrote our first-drive review of it for Inside Line. But I'd never actually pumped any of its hydrogen fuel.
Well, General Motors finally has a few Equinoxes (Equinoxii? Equinii?) in its long-term media fleet and has loaned one to the crew at Edmunds for the next week.
So you'll be reading a lot more about it in up coming reviews from staffers for both Edmunds.com and Edmunds Inside Line. We here at Green Car Advisor will provide links to the pieces as they appear so you'll not miss 'em.
Still A Gas
But while you're waiting, we though we'd try to give you a feel for a fueling process that could someday replace topping off the tank with a gas other than gasoline.
Right now it's a bit more difficult - requiring a greater degree of dexterity than pulling into your local service station for a tank of regular unleaded.
We did, actually, pull into a local service station, a Shell station on the corner of Santa Monica Boulevard and Federal Way in West Los Angeles. Shell recently installed a hydrogen pump there as part of program, backed by the feds, to help get people used to the idea of hydrogen as a fuel for passenger cars.
There are two big islands at the station, one with a bunch of gas pumps, the other with a gas pump and the new one labeled "Shell Hydrogen."
There were 10 of us from Edmunds gathered there the other morning, all aiming to drive the Equinox while we have it and all required to go through the brief fueling lesson so we could fill it up ourselves while out there on the road.
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- John O'Dell August 25, 2008, 3:05 AM
- Categories:
- Alternative Fuels, Fuel Cell, Fuels & Technologies, General Motors, Green Vehicles, Hydrogen
- Technorati Tags:
- Equinox Fuel Cell Vehicle
, General Motors, Hydrogen Fuel Cell Vehicles, Pumping Hydrogen, Shell Hydrogen
As the nine cars crossed the Hydrogen Road Tour
"finish line" Saturday in the shadow of the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, promoters of the 13-day, 31-city event piped in Survivor's "Eye of the Tiger" - theme song of "Rocky III" -as many in the audience of about 150 people waved mini checkered flags.
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Daimler's A-Class mercedes-Benz fuel cell car on display at Road Tour finale.
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The image they hoped to convey, of course, was the hydrogen, like actor Sylvester Stallone's fictional fighter, Rocky, is a winner.
It remains to be seen, though, whether the hydrogen fuel-cell technology promoted by the tour has a chance of knocking gas-electric hybrids out of contention as the dominant alternative to fossil fuel-powered engines.
General Motors, Honda, Toyota and Nissan were among automakers showing off their hydrogen fuel-cell cars by featuring them in the tour, which began in Portland, Maine, on Aug. 11 and ended Saturday at the California Science Center in Los Angeles.The tour was backed by the U.S. Energy and Transportation departments, the National Hydrogen Association and the California Fuel Cell Partnership.
Fully fueled, such cars, which produce electricity through an electro-chemical process in the fuel cell stack and limit tailpipe emissions to mere drops of water, have traveling ranges that vary from 100 miles for Daimler's Mercedes-Benz F-Cell to about 270 miles for Honda's FCX Clarity.
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- John O'Dell August 25, 2008, 2:30 AM
- Categories:
- Alternative Fuels, BMW, Daimler, Ford, Fuel Cell, Fuels & Technologies, General Motors, Green Vehicles, Honda, Hydrogen, Mercedes-Benz, Toyota
- Technorati Tags:
- Electric Cars
, Green Vehicles, Hydrogen Fuel Cell Vehicles, Hydrogen Road Tour
August 21, 2008
By John O'Dell, Senior Editor
California once again is taking a lead role in a significant environmental cleanup effort involving the automobile.
This time, though, it nothing to do with tailpipe emissions, greenhouse gases or fuel economy.
It's those little lead wheel-balancing weights that are the culprit and in a court decision that sets the stage for a nationwide effort to get the lead out, Chrysler and the three largest wheel weight makers in the U.S. have agreed to stop using them in California by the end of 2009.
The agreement is likely to have nationwide repercussions and comes just two weeks before the federal Environmental Protection Agency is expected to announce a national education and voluntary compliance campaign to eliminate lead wheel weights, which release thousands of tons of toxic lead particles into the environment each year.
The weights are considered an environmental hazard because they have a tendency to fall off and get ground to lead dust by passing vehicles.
A lot of the lead particles washed from road surfaces during rainstorms end up in groundwater supplies.
In its suit, the Oakland, Calif-based
Center for Environmental Health
maintained that errant tire weights are responsible for 500,000 pounds of lead being released into California's environment alone each year.
The weights are the nation's largest unregulated source of new lead leaching into the environment, said Jeff Gearhart, director of the Clean Car Campaign at the Michigan-based
Ecology Center
.
"This is about to become a major national issue, he told
Green Car Advisor
in an interview following the California settlement.
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- John O'Dell August 21, 2008, 10:02 AM
- Categories:
- Chrysler, Green Vehicles
- Technorati Tags:
- Clean Car Campaign
, Environmental, Lead
August 19, 2008
We hope GM doesn't release the Chevy Volt to dealers as slowly as it is dribbling out information about it.
The latest teaser, from GM battery guru Denise Gray, is that the lithium-ion battery pack for the extended range electric car (also called a plug-in hybrid, and both terms are correct) will weigh-in at about 400 pounds, have fewer than 300 cells and pack 16 kilowatt hours of energy.
Gray, director of hybrid energy systems for General Motors Corp., divulged the info during last weeks Management Briefing Seminars sessions in Traverse City, Mich.
She said the T-shaped pack will take six or seven hours to fully charge and is being designed so it can fit into a number of different compact models that GM offers worldwide.
In other Chevrolet Volt news, GM says that tweaks to the car's aerodynamics (it was a all angles and sharp edges in its concept phase, looking quick but delivering the aerodynamics of a refrigerator box) have added almost 7 miles to the distance it can travel on battery power alone.
The company has promised a car that can deliver 40 miles of all-electric driving before the on-board internal combustion generator kicks on.
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- John O'Dell August 19, 2008, 3:00 AM
- Categories:
- Batteries, Chevrolet, Fuels & Technologies, General Motors, Green Vehicles, Hybrid, Plug-ins and Electric
- Technorati Tags:
- Chevrolet Volt
, General Motors, GM, Hybrid, Lithium-Ion Batteries
August 18, 2008
Toyota has said it out loud, but apparently all the other major automakers are on board with the idea as well: everything's gonna be a hybrid before long.
----------
Sustainability concerns, social responsibility will double in importance in auto industry decision making over the next dozen years, study found.
----------
That's the message in a recent study by the IBM Institute for Business Value, which found that automakers, equipment suppliers and industry consultants overwhelmingly agree that by 2020 all new vehicles will feature some degree of hybridization.
The report, Automotive 2020: Clarity Beyond the Chaos, says that sustainability will be second on a rapidly greening auto industry's priority list , closely trailing -- and closely tied to -- technological progress.
The authors say that 125 industry executives representing 85 percent of the world's major auto industry companies -- including the 10 largest carmakers -- participated in the study.
They agreed that sustainability issues will drive investments and decision-making (what kinds of vehicles to build, what performance capabilities to stress, even what paints to use) for decades to come.
Battery technology - for hybrids and, some day, all-electric vehicles - will be foremost among the factors pushing the industry to innovate, the study says.
But the driver in first place, by a long shot, is us.
"Enlightened consumers will expect their vehicles to provide information, entertainment, safety and convenience. They will demand economy, environmental responsibility and sustainability," the authors write in their forward.
And woe to the automaker that doesn't listen.
John O'Dell, Senior Editor
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- John O'Dell August 18, 2008, 3:30 PM
- Categories:
- Green Vehicles, Hybrid, Surveys
- Technorati Tags:
- Hybrid
, IBM Institute for Business Value, Sustainability
August 13, 2008
Design intern Evan Mai is reflected in mirror at GM Design Dome as he puts final touches on Azadi concept, a passenger car his team designed for India's crowded city streets.
By Dale Buss, Contributor
Warren, Mich. -- If the future of General Motors is reflected in the ambitions and attitudes of its summer design interns, the company will be a savvy player supplying culturally relevant, environmentally innocuous vehicles in each of the world's fastest-growing markets.
Those prospects were on panoramic display Tuesday as the interns and the Chevrolet concepts the designed ringed the inside of the Design Dome here at GM's Technical Center.
Creative vehicle ideas ranged from the ".Ru," a car aimed at Russia's teeming urban avenues, to the "He," a family car for upwardly mobile Chinese.
In between were the "Aux," a rugged concept meant for the Russian outback; the "Jian," meant for students and twenty-somethings in China; and the "Azadi," whose designer proposes a fold-out back seat to pack in passengers on India's crowded streets.
In their projects, the interns had to deal with issues just starting to arise for today's designers: How to use exotic lightweight materials, what cars without bulky internal combustion engines and transmissions might look like, and how to design around the big, cylindrical fuel tanks vehicles using compressed hydrogen gas would need for their fuel storage.
What nearly all of the designs - aimed for developing countries in the year 2020 -- had in common was an assumption that roads and cities in such markets will get ever-more crowded, putting a premium on small frames and flexible interior spaces.
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Ryan DeYoung, who studies 3-D animation at Ringling College of Art and Design in Florida, with model of Azadi concept.
----------
The concepts also shared some version of a "green" powertrain: GM's electric and fuel-cell propulsion system known as E-Flex - the same system being used in the Chevrolet Volt, the plug-in electric car due in 2010.
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- John O'Dell August 13, 2008, 4:26 PM
- Categories:
- Alternative Fuels, Fuel Cell, General Motors, Green Vehicles, Plug-ins and Electric
- Technorati Tags:
- Auto Designers
, Fuel Cell, General Motors, Hydrogen
Honda's Integrated Motor Assist mild hybrid system (right) would get a boost from new high-power lithium-ion batteries the company could start using for 2010 models.
By
Bill Visnic, Senior Editor
TRAVERSE CITY, Mich
. -- Honda Motor Co. is preparing for an all-new, advanced lithium-ion battery that will allow its engineers to extend Honda's Integrated Motor Assist hybrid-electric technology to larger vehicles, a senior company executive told Green Car Advisor during an annual auto-industry conference frequented by heavy-hitters from carmakers' management ranks.
Honda has in the past been non-committal about lithium-ion, but that posture apparently is changing. And Honda recently was linked in lithium-ion talk with Japanese electronics giant and battery developer Sanyo Electric Co.
John German, American Honda's manager of environmental and energy analysis, said the coming lithium-ion battery formula -- the developer of which he wouldn't name -- does not enjoy extra capacity compared with known lithium-ion characteristics. Instead, the new chemistry is targeted at allowing the batteries to charge much more quickly.
This, in turn, will allow for an increased amount of battery capacity that can be assigned to actually powering the motor. And more power means the IMA system can be employed for larger, heavier vehicles.
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- John O'Dell August 13, 2008, 2:47 AM
- Categories:
- Batteries, Fuels & Technologies, General Motors, Green Vehicles, Honda, Hybrid, Toyota
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- Honda
, Hybrid, Lithium-Ion, Sanyo Electric Co., Traverse City
August 8, 2008
For a good long while, Cadillac
was synonymous with success
.
If you made it big, especially during the fifties, when Cadillac outsold all other luxury makes in America combined, you treated yourself to an Eldorado or a Fleetwood. Later, you might consider a Coupe de Ville.
Those models were retired over the years -- they had "completed their natural lifecycles," as one General Motors spokesman put it 2002. That was the year the Eldorado was laid to rest at the age of 50.
Now comes the news that the General has put on indefinite hold plans to release new versions of the DTS and STS, the remaining duo of Cadillac's once broad selection of large Caddies.
Taking their place in the Cadillac lineup will be smaller, fuel-efficient models.
"It's the absolute right thing to do right now,'' industry analyst John Wolkonowicz told Bloomberg earlier this week. "They have to build the models that a high volume of customers want to buy right now."
Some 1,500 workers build the 4,000-pound, 15-mile-per-gallon DTS at GM's Hamtramck, Michigan, plant. The plug-in Chevrolet Volt is scheduled to go on line there in 2010.
Scott Doggett, Contributor
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- Scott Doggett August 8, 2008, 5:38 PM
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- Cadillac, Chevrolet, Emissions, Fuel Economy, General Motors, Green Vehicles, Plug-ins and Electric
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- Cadillac
, Fuel Economy, Fuel Efficient, General Motors, GM
August 7, 2008
California EV startup Green Vehicles
said today that sales of its three-wheel plug-in all-electric Buckshot pickup and two-seater Triac runabout will begin in October.
The Buckshot will be available for test drives at the company's San Jose showroom starting next month, and test drives of the Triac (right and bottom) will start in October, company President Ehab Youssef told Green Car Advisor by phone.
Delivery of the Buckshot (left)
will start sometime in October and delivery of the Triac will begin at the end of that month or early November, Youssef said, adding that Green Vehicles hopes to produce at least 50 of each model a month initially and increase output to 100-200 a month in the second quarter of 2009.
Both vehicles will be equipped with 144-volt Lithium-ion battery packs and a regenerative braking system, Youssef said. At an average speed of about 45 miles per hour, both vehicles will have a 100-mile range under ideal conditions between charges, he said.
The Buckshot will have a 1-ton gross vehicle capacity and retail for $17,995, Youssef said, and the Triac will have a top speed of 80 miles per hour and will retail for $19,995. He said both vehicles can be fully charged in as little as five hours using a standard 110-volt outlet.
If everything he says about the Buckshot and Triac are true, Youssef may well be president of "Gold Vehicles," because zero-emissions vehicles with these specs for under $20,000 will likely be hot commodities as long as crude oil remains a pricy one.
Scott Doggett, Contributor
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- Scott Doggett August 7, 2008, 6:43 PM
- Categories:
- Batteries, Emissions, Fuel Economy, Green Vehicles, Plug-ins and Electric
- Technorati Tags:
- Electric Vehicles
, Fuel Efficient, Green Vehicles, PEV, plug-in electric vehicles, Zero Emissions
