Hybrid News

Filed under: Hybrid, MPG, Lexus, Mercedes Benz, Porsche

Does anyone really think a 21-mpg BMW 328i is a fuel-efficient vehicle? Apparently Jim Henry of BusinessWeek does.

Henry has written an article that tries to make the point that drivers with fat wallets don′t need to “sacrifice driving performance for fuel efficiency.” That’s a fine case to try and make, but when Henry starts his article by finding that “A list of the most fuel-efficient luxury-brand models includes some impeccably prestigious, comfortable, and well-performing cars,” methinks he’s been going about his task all wrong.

Seems to me that the right way to write an article on the topic of fuel efficiency and driving performance is to look at high-mpg cars, and then find the ones that might be considered luxurious. Sure, you might end up with the same cars (Henry includes the hybrid Lexus RX 400h, the diesel-powered Mercedes-Benz 𐻈 Bluetec (pictured), and the Porsche Cayman and another dozen or so more as meeting his green-but-golden criteria), but at least your focus was on the fuel savings, not on ways to shoehorn a green label onto luxury cars. Granted, we like to write about some of these same cars here on AutoblogGreen because they showcase the efforts (such as they are) by automakers to increase efficiency, but to flat-out call them fuel-efficient? Hmm.

In any case, when you’re talking about these luxury buyers, good mileage isn′t a concern. Henry writes that a source confirmed for him that “luxury buyers in particular, continue to be much more concerned with factors such as the manufacturer’s reputation or whether a vehicle is well made and fun to drive. Fuel economy is far down the list.”

[Source: BusinessWeek]

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BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD Step behind the curtain at Ford Motor. Experience the documentary first-hand.

Original post by Sebastian Blanco

Filed under: Etc., BMW, Mercedes Benz, PSA

It looks like BMW will be looking for their third different engine partner for the next generation of the Mini. The engines for the first Mini were co-developed and built in a joint venture with Chrysler while the current second-generation models were whipped up with PSA (parent of Peugeot and Citroën). BMW executive Klaus Draeger has told German media that the company has ended their work with PSA. Apparently PSA was unhappy that the engines were too expensive to build which goes contrary to the original intent of the program: reducing the costs of building small engines.

There have been many reports in recent months of BMW teaming up with Mercedes to use common hardware on the next generation Mini and A/B-class. Now that BMW has ended their relationship with the French company, BMW could either move ahead with Mercedes or just go it alone.

[Source: Motor Authority]

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BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD Step behind the curtain at Ford Motor. Experience the documentary first-hand.

Original post by Sam Abuelsamid

Shoppers will experience a version of sticker shock when they look at the 2008 models on dealers’ lots. But the surprises won’t come from the prices as much as they will from the Environmental Protection Agency’s revamped fuel economy information.

Original post by george_douglas@nrel.gov

Filed under: EV/Plug-in, Transportation Alternatives, Suzuki, Tokyo Motor Show

Fellow blogger Alex Nunez says that the the Suzuki SSC is “a geometric, omnidirectional ‘mothership’”. We won’t argue with that description, but we’ll add that it kinda looks like an upside-down Jawa Sandcrawler from Star Wars too. Another thing that the SSC, or Suzuki Sharing Coach, has in common with the Sandcrawler: it houses droids. Well, sort of. The accompanying Suzuki PIXY houses a human occupant, but we won’t hold that against it ‘cause it’s just a concept after all.

While we’re comparing the SSC with other vehicles, why not draw some attention to the Opel Flextreme which was just shown off at the Frankfurt Motor Show. Like the SSC, the Flextreme also excretes human transporters from its hind-quarters. Consider too that Toyota has been showing off the i-Swing single-seater since ‘05. Do we spot an emerging trend here?

[Source: Suzuki]

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BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD Step behind the curtain at Ford Motor. Experience the documentary first-hand.

Original post by Jeremy Korzeniewski

Filed under: Natural Gas

Last May 26th, the first known US incident where a failure of the natural gas fuel system lead to a fatality occurred when a man was refuelling a SuperShuttle. Further investigation by the California Department of Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH) has shown that the cause of the failure was corrossion crack in the fiberglass over-wrap. Acid from the battery had split on the tanks, probably because of a rear-end collision that happened three weeks before the incident.

The cylinder was an older model manufactured by Comdyne, and known for being sensitive to acids. It is recommended that after any collision or any suspect of tanks being in contact with acid, CNG tanks should be depressurized and then removed from service.

[Source: NGV]

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BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD Step behind the curtain at Ford Motor. Experience the documentary first-hand.

Original post by Xavier Navarro

Filed under: Emerging Technologies, Hydrogen

I will never stop being amazed by some of the future energy tech research that’s going on. This story is so unusual, “out of the box” doesn’t even get close. And out of the shell just sounds cheesy.

But out of the shell thinking is exactly what is going on at Ohio State University, where two researchers, L.S. Fan, Distinguished University Professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering at OSU, and doctoral student Mahesh Iyer, are using eggshells to help make hydrogen (and collagen, but we’re not as interested in that, are we?).

The two have developed a now-patented process whereby the eggshell waste, which contains very absorbent calcium carbonate, soaks up CO2 from a reaction that produces hydrogen fuel. Absorbing the CO2 byproduct is vital to making the hydrogen manufacturing process cleaner, and calcium carbonate can capture 78 percent of carbon dioxide by weight. With a potential supply of about 455,000 tons of eggshells a year in the U.S., that’s a lot of CO2 absorbed. Not enough for a full-bore hydrogen economy, Fan says, but enough to make this worth pursuing.

The problem? That hydrogen manufacturing process is the water-gas-shift reaction, and it starts with fossil fuels (like coal) that are gasified to produce carbon monoxide gas. This then combines with water and produces carbon dioxide and hydrogen. Here’s where the eggshells captures the CO2, leaving you with hydrogen. Fan says, “And in the long term, we′re demonstrating that carbon-based fuel sources, like coal or biomass, can be efficiently converted to hydrogen and liquid fuel. The goal is an energy conversion system that uses a dependable fossil energy source, but at the same time has very little environmental impact.”

Hmm. Maybe I’ll skip the omelette.

[Source: Ohio State University]

 

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BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD Step behind the curtain at Ford Motor. Experience the documentary first-hand.

Original post by Sebastian Blanco

You are if:

You are perfectly healthy but yet so damn lazy that you need to wait for an elevator to go up or down one flight of stairs and think that everyone else on the elevator should deal wit…

Original post by default@goarticles.com (J.J. Jackson)

Filed under: Etc., EV/Plug-in, Hybrid

There is a lot of debate about the real world economics of electric cars, hybrids and other alternative power-trains relative to a conventional gas or diesel fueled car. Over at Electronic Design News, Paul Rako has taken a different approach to evaluating the value proposition. He hearkens back to the old TV commercials with Sally Struthers urging viewers to donate money to help feed starving children. Using that as the basis for a virtual currency unit he calls the Struther which is defined as the cost of keeping a child alive for five years he calculates the cost of various options.

Some of his calculations are a bit dubious however such as the assumption that the battery in a hybrid only last five years. The idea that spending nearly $100K on a Tesla roadster will sacrifice the lives of fifty children is also questionable. After all, any new technology usually comes in at a high initial price that is necessary to seed a market. Where Rako’s calculations make perhaps a little more sense is the solar cell example. Here he does some present value calculations to determine the net cost of installing PV panels, the savings and how much that money could make if invested elsewhere. It’s a thought provoking piece that makes some interesting, if flawed, points.

[Source: Electronic Design News, thanks to Domenick for the tip]

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BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD Step behind the curtain at Ford Motor. Experience the documentary first-hand.

Original post by Sam Abuelsamid

LAS VEGAS — In May 2005, gang members opened fire on each other from opposite sides of the Las Vegas Strip, wounding three innocent bystanders.

Original post by george_douglas@nrel.gov

Filed under: Etc.

According to Helen Clark, Chevron Corp.’s manager of corporate brand and reputation, roughly 10 percent of Americans “hate us and our industry and there’s nothing we can do to change their minds.” The reason, according to Peter Beutel, president of oil commodities consultant Cameron Hanover, is because most consumers don’t understand the industry because they only know about volatile gasoline prices and news reports about big oil’s record profits.

Hmmm, if only 10 percent of Americans hate Chevron and “big oil” in general, what about the rest of the population? There are apparently just as many who are on their side, and the other 80 percent are undecided. In other words, they need some persuasion to choose one side or the other. Chevron has the obvious goal of swaying those undecided consumers to see things their way, so they are starting a new advertising campaign today, starting with a TV spot on CBS. Additionally, they have updated their website and created a new game, which is accessible there, called “Energyville”. In this game, players can choose what types of energy to give their fictional “Power City”, and they can see how each one impacts the city, good and bad. You know, ’cause choosing what types of energy to sell consumers is based solely on what their benefits and drawbacks are… but whose benefits and drawbacks are the primary concern?

[Source: Advertising Age]

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BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD Step behind the curtain at Ford Motor. Experience the documentary first-hand.

Original post by Jeremy Korzeniewski

Filed under: Diesel, MPG, BMW

BMW has annouced the new 1-series Cabriolet, and it’s got a few surprises. Remarkably, the 1-series does not have a retractable hardtop but one made of cloth, quite unlike most of the compact cabrios sold in Europe. One benefit of the retractable hardtop is obvious: they can′t be ripped into with a knife by nefarious types, but they also help by reducing fuel consumption at highway speeds.

Diesel convertibles were not common until the late ’90s. Now, though, you can buy most of the available compact and subcompact convertibles with a diesel option: the Peugeot 207 CC and 307 CC, Renault Mégane, Ford Focus, Volkswagen EOS, etc.

The engine of choice for the 1-series cabriolet is a 4-cylinder, 2-liter unit good for 177 HP. Consumption and C̘ emission figures aren’t announced in the press release, although the figures for the coupé version are from 4.8 to 9.2 l/100 (49 to 25 mpg) and from 122 to 220 g of C̘/km.

Want to see more? Flip through this high-resolution gallery we have for you.

[Source: BMW]

 

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BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD Step behind the curtain at Ford Motor. Experience the documentary first-hand.

Original post by Xavier Navarro

Original post by Tideland Prius

Dear Roger: My sister recently purchased several “Emily Bruner’” hollies, however several Web sites say that they need the pollinator “James Swann”. She is having difficulty locating a plant of “James Swann”. Do you have any suggestions as to where she can find them? Thanks.

Original post by george_douglas@nrel.gov

Golf Clubs Review - Snake Eyes Golf Clubs from Golfsmith

I know how frustrating it can be to find the right set of golf clubs, especially for the right price! I did my fair sh…

Original post by default@goarticles.com (JJ)

Original post by wes878