Friday, August 31, 2007

Top 10 green cars that have been lost to time (1924-1973)

Filed under: , , , , ,



Modern Mechanix is a really great magazine that began in 1928. It's a lot like Popular Mechanics and Popular Science but focused on the efforts of do-it-yourselfers. There are lots of ideas we may think are new like compressed air cars and small cars but were chronicled in the pages of this magazine. Looking through the archives, it became clear how much cool stuff has been around for a long time. Below the fold you will find our picks for the top 10 articles about green automotive inventions.

[Source: Modern Mechanix]

1. Low-Cost Homemade Car Runs 40 Miles Per Gallon (Jun, 1950). Former college professor builds a car with the frame and wheels of a 1934 Ford and scrap lumber and it gets 40 MPG.



2. Water Succeeds Gasoline As New Invention Is Perfected (Dec, 1935). G. H. Garrett's split water into hydrogen and oxygen and ran a motor with little modification.



3. Three-Wheeled Auto Makes Speed with Low Fuel Cost (Oct, 1924). Flivver was designed in Germany and uses very little fuel. It can go 10 MPH, there were no taxes on it and you didn't need a license to drive it.



4. Flier Designs Streamline "Push Button" Car (Nov, 1938). Built by a California airman, this car lowers fuel use through clever designs like a covered front wheel. I think car car companies should do that today.



5. Japanese Minicar (Dec, 1958). Subaru 360 gets 60 MPG and can go 50 MPH. 54 inches high, 51 inches wide and 117 inches long.



6. A New Switch for Electrics (Jul, 1973). "A NEW day is dawning for the electric vehicle" is the start of the article about the electric vehicles of the early seventies.



7. Motorcyclette Has Speed, Comfort (Feb, 1932). This little bike saves on weight by getting rid of the brakes and using the rider's feet instead.



8.Motor Scooter Burns LPG (Dec, 1955). Ralph Carlton converted his scooter to run on clean propane, which is in a tank at the front. Is that "Green's fuel" on that back?



9. Postman Goes Around on Motor Scooter (Jul, 1939). Take THAT Segway! Postman Henry R. Smith built this gas powered scooter for $150.



10. Auto Fuel From Cow Manure (Sep, 1949). What better place to end, than in the end? Cars that run on poop. The "bio-gas" generator is not a new idea, the 1949 article says, and mentions uses dating back to 1912.

 

Read | Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments


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

You think the Fiat 500 is based on an iPod? Wait for the Apple VW joint effort

Filed under: ,

OK, this is going to be a bit speculative. But I hope you'll forgive a bit of rumor-mongering and wishful thinking at the end of the day.

As Autoblog mentioned yesterday, Apple and Volkswagen are reportedly in talks to co-develop a vehicle together (let's hope they don't call it the iCar or the iBug). Automotive News (subs req'd) reminds us that the two companies worked together in a 2003 promotion that gave new VW buyers in America a free iPod. Autoblog recycles the joke that, "The world has waited long enough for a car that runs on sunlight, is reliable, five times as fast and is twice as easy to drive," but I don't think they're totally off-base.

Take VW's recent push to bring out more smaller cars and plenty of diesels and the whole BlueMotion thing; add in Apple's move to produce greener computers (finally), and I just don't see this car - if it is ever produced - being a gas guzzler. What's your take?

[Source: Autoblgo, Automotive News]

 

Read | Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments


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

Ford announces greener anti-corrosion technology

Filed under: , ,


Ford has announced a new and greener method to apply anti-corrosion treatment to its vehicles. Ford claims that the method cuts water use in half and eliminates 90 percent of the sludge that is usually produced.

The new technology, which is being tested in a small portion of Lincoln Town Cars, cuts steps from the pre-treatment process (from 13 to 8). It also uses Zirconium Oxide instead of Zinc Phosphate, which has less heavy metals in the phosphate bath. The result is a less polluting sludge and, additionally, it saves energy because water must not be heated.

Tests will continue through 2008 and the process will be eventually expanded to all North American plants when it is finalized.

Related:
[Source: Ford]

 

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments


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

Hyatt hotels to provide accommodations for Tesla Roadsters

Filed under: ,



For those taking a road trip in their new Tesla Roadster, Hyatt Hotels will be providing accommodations for their cars as well as their bodies. Tesla and Hyatt have reached an agreement to install charging stations at their hotels in Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco, Sacramento, and Lake Tahoe. Hyatt will provide 220V charging outlets that can charge the Roadsters in three to four hours. The same 220V chargers will be available to Tesla owners for home use. Plugging in to a standard 110V outlet charges the car in seven to eight hours.

[Source: San Francisco Chronicle]

 

Read | Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments


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

Friday Humor: You could always ride a mule... or a moose

Filed under:

The next time you complain about the high price of gas, just remember that you do have other options. You could ride a bike. You could walk. You could ride a mule. A what? Yep, a mule. Rod Maday has certainly proven that it can be done by riding 1,500 miles on a mule to look for a job. It took him six weeks to get from Boy River, Minnesota to the Department of Workforce Services office in Gillette, Wyoming. It seems he did not like what he saw, as he decided to continue on west to continue his job search.

On second thought, forget all about riding the mule. As you might already be aware, animals emit their own greenhouse gases, and replacing our cars with them is probably a step in the wrong direction. According to this article, "A grown moose will burp and pass methane gas equal to 4,620 pounds of carbon dioxide emissions a year. A car would have to go 20,800 miles to emit the same amount." Maybe you should get a hybrid.

[Sources: The Asbury Park Press and The Post Chronicle]

 

Read | Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments


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

Why you should never trust MSRP

Filed under: ,

highlander,hybrid

There is no one MSRP. It's actually a range that can vary a lot. The ad above says $35,845 but that's for a particular combination of options. The 2007 Highlander Hybrid MSRP ranges from $32,490 to $38,010. That's a difference of $5,520 from the base model to fully loaded. So, if you see a car site or ad with just one MSRP, remember it's for a single configuration in a range that can vary.

What you really should look for is something called invoice, the price dealers pay for a vehicle. Unfortunately, the invoice price isn't totally trustworthy either because cars can be bought lower than invoice price, but invoice is always lower than MSRP. Of course, like MSRP, invoice prices have ranges because of vehicle options, so websites with invoice prices that inclue options, like Autobytel, are a good place to start. There are MANY, MANY, MANY other websites you can use as well.

Recently, I wrote about the Hummer using a 2007 MPG rating for 2007 cars. A lot of comments thought I was being unfair and they were right. Your mileage will vary and the number on the sticker actually has a range; +- 3 MPG for city and +-4 MPG for highway. The point I am making is don't trust a thing in car ads; not price, not MPG, not a thing! You should always do research before you buy a car.

[Source: Automotive.com]

 

Read | Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments


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

Buy a new VW, get one year's worth of carbon offset from Carbonfund

Filed under: ,



Starting tomorrow and continuing through the second day of 2008, if you buy a new Volkswagen in the US, Volkswagen of America, Inc. will buy you a year's worth of carbon offsets from Carbonfund.org. The offsets will come through re-forestation in the Lower Mississippi Alluvial Valley, a place that used to be a wetland ecosystem that but was converted to mostly farmland. Carbonfund and VW will plant 250,000 native trees there, enough to call this place "The VW Forest."

Carbonfund's slogan is "Reduce what you can, offset what you can't." The program's VW page explains just how little this promotion will cost VW per vehicle. An annual CO2 offset for even the biggest vehicles (ones that get between 15 and 25 mpg) costs just $40.25; for cars that get more than 35 mpg, the cost is only $17.25. And that's what it costs individuals; I assume there is some sort of corporate/promotional discount that VW is getting. Still, planting more trees is a good thing.

Press release after the jump.

[Source: VW, Carbonfund]
30 August 2007
VOLKSWAGEN TO OFFSET OWNER'S CARBON FOOTPRINT THROUGH PARTNERSHIP WITH CARBONFUND.ORG

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. - Volkswagen of America, Inc. announced today that they have partnered with Carbonfund.org to offset one year of carbon emission from each new Volkswagen vehicle sold in the United States from September 1, 2007 through January 2, 2008.

"We developed this partnership to help bring our customers to the forefront of environmental initiatives," said Adrian Hallmark, executive vice president, Volkswagen of America. "Vehicles are an important and necessary part of our society, but there are actions we can all take to help ensure a cleaner environment for future generations."

Hallmark added, "We hope that Volkswagen's investment will serve as a catalyst to involve our owners and create awareness beyond our defined contribution."

Working with Carbonfund.org, a non-profit organization dedicated to finding solutions to climate change, Volkswagen plans to reforest land in the Lower Mississippi Alluvial Valley (LMAV) in Northern Louisiana, a wetland ecosystem that had been largely converted to farmland. The total carbon reduction is estimated at more than 372,000 tons of carbon dioxide from the planting of over 250,000 native trees in the Volkswagen Forest. Not only does this program help reduce the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere but it also restores native trees to habitat, provides food for local wildlife, reclaims barren pastureland and increases water security.

"Carbonfund.org is a non-profit organization supporting renewable energy, energy efficiency and reforestation projects globally that reduce carbon dioxide emissions and the threat of climate change. We are proud of this new partnership with Volkswagen of America, which is the first time a car company and its community of owners have mobilized on this scale to offset carbon emissions and reduce their climate footprint," Eric Carlson, executive director of Carbonfund.org.

Reforestation is a form of carbon sequestration, which captures and removes carbon dioxide from the atmosphere - trees use CO2 and store it in the trees' mass and in the soil. The climate, soils, and growing conditions in the LMAV result in carbon absorption rates that are among the highest of any region in the United States: 450 tons of carbon dioxide per acre, compared to 170 tons per acre in comparable projects world wide.

In addition to this carbon offset program and the upcoming Jetta TDI Clean Diesel, Volkswagen has also partnered with Carbonfund.org to offset carbon emissions at a vehicle test drive program at the Teva Mountain Games and for an upcoming Clean Diesel marketing Tour. The tour is designed to educate consumers about the advantages of Clean Diesel and Volkswagen's alternative fuel strategy.

About Volkswagen of America, Inc.

Founded in 1955, Volkswagen of America, Inc. is headquartered in Auburn Hills, Michigan. It is a subsidiary of Volkswagen AG, headquartered in Wolfsburg, Germany. Volkswagen is one of the world's largest producers of passenger cars and Europe's largest automaker. Volkswagen sells the Rabbit, New Beetle, New Beetle convertible, GTI, Jetta, GLI, Passat, Passat wagon, Eos, and Touareg through approximately 600 independent U.S. dealers. Visit Volkswagen of America online at vw.com.

About Carbonfund.org

Carbonfund.org is a leading national non-profit that educates the public about the dangers of climate change and makes it easy and affordable for individuals, businesses and organizations to reduce their climate impact. Carbonfund.org promotes affordable carbon reduction strategies and supports renewable energy, energy efficiency and reforestation projects that reduce and offset carbon dioxide emissions. Carbonfund.org combines education and outreach with affordable high-quality carbon offsets to help drive the price of clean technology below its dirty counterparts. Carbonfund.org works with more than 200 businesses and organizations to offset their offices, travel, events, shipping and production emissions. For more information, please visit: www.carbonfund.org.

 

Read | Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments


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

Frankfurt Preview: More information trickles out about GM's Opel E-Flex

Filed under: , , , , ,



As the days before the Frankfurt Motor Show drop away, more bits of of news are appearing about the cars that will appear there including the Opel-badged E-Flex concept from GM. We already know the new car will have a different body style from the Chevy Volt that's been generating interest since January. The gas/E85 range extender will also be replaced by a diesel, possibly of 1.3L capacity.

Since the E-Flex is a derivative of GM's next-generation Global Compact Car platform it shouldn't be a surprise to anyone that the car will be similar in size to the Opel Astra, a car that is built on the same architecture. Finally, while the Volt was advertised as having a 6 hour recharge time the new concept will be rated at three hours. This last item comes courtesy of the fact that Europe has 220V as standard for electrical outlets while the US is 110V.

According to GM product planning director Benoit Schlumberger one of the keys to getting E-flex volumes up will be the Chinese market. That's also were GM is likely to put the most emphasis on the fuel cell version of the car. The Chinese are are seen as the most likely to make an effort to put some hydrogen infrastructure in place in the near term especially as the cost of fuel cells starts to come down to earth.

[Source: AutoIndustry]

 

Read | Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments


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

Madrid to use B40 in bus fleet

Filed under: , ,



The Autonomous Region of Madrid (Spain) has bought a new set of public buses to expand their network. The region currently uses B10 on a 21.5 percent of its fleet but this new set of buses are guaranteed by the manufacturer to be capable of using up to a B40 mixture (40 percent of biodiesel). The region also expects to have 50 percent of the fleet running with biodiesel, albeit B10 or B20 blends, by 2011.

Madrid also announced not long ago a new network of segregated bus routes (like in São Paulo) which would cover regional services running on CNG. The system, called Busmetro, will be fully unveiled in the near future. The city has also a set of electric mini-buses operating on small routes covering the Historic Center (as shown in the picture)

Automakers often set a limit on the highest percentage of biodiesel that can be used in diesel vehicles without voiding the warranty and that's why some manufacturers (like Peugeot) clearly state the highest percentage the warranty covers.

[Source: Autonomous Region of Madrid]

 

Read | Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments


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

Axel Friedrich on reducing fuel consumption: "It's nothing magic."

Filed under: ,

"We need solutions for the next 20 years, not just dreams," according to Axel Friedrich, and he is absolutely right. Not only do we need solutions for the future, but we need solutions for today. This goes for the United States, Europe and the entire world. According to this article on the Wall Street Journal (sub. required), Germany, a country from which some of the fastest, most powerful cars come from, is especially at odds with emissions and fuel mileage regulations. I hear a great deal of consternation happening here in the States too, but maybe it's worse in Germany. Recently, Friedrich irked Volkswagen by taking their most popular model (the Golf) and getting Universities to improve its efficiency by reducing the weight of the vehicle and making other changes. Not surprisingly, this had the effect of reducing fuel consumption and harmful emissions. Volkswagen was not amused, though, and they stated that the changes to the car could compromise usability, safety and increase the price.

Many of the ideas that Friedrich is suggesting were covered in our post about the top ten easiest ways to save gas now. He also is not a hydrogen supporter, after his company looked into the fuel carrier and deemed it unfeasible. No matter, as he is certainly right about the need to make changes now, not later. Internal combustion is here to stay, probably for many years to come. Therefore, it would be unwise to sleep on making them as efficient as possible. Until the day that alternative cars are the rule and not the exception, though, we are likely to support all of the possible solutions to our oil addiction.

[Source: The Wall Street Journal]

 

Read | Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments


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

There will be no stopping the Chinese-built Smart clone

Filed under: , , ,



Automotive News Europe (subs req'd) is reporting that there is very little that will stop the upcoming sales of a Smart 'clone' in Europe. Even though Martin Motors, the European importer of the Noble, a Chinese-built car, has been threatened with lawsuits, Martin is saying the cars will go on sale at the end of October or early November for between seven and nine thousand euros. The Smart car company is part of Mercedes-Benz.

The CEO of Martin Motors, Guido Martinelli, explained to Automotive News Europe that Mercedes' legal threats are not a big deal. "After a preliminary hearing between our lawyers and those from our German distrubtor, we see no evidence in Mercedes claims. We plan to show the Noble at the IAA in Frankfurt," he said.

IAA organizers may prevent the Noble from making an appearance "if the model infringed intellectual property rights," Automotive News Europe writes. Look at the pictures above. You think it qualifies?

[Source: Luca Ciferri and James Franey / Automotive News Europe]

 

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments


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

Ann Arbor, MI switching entire bus fleet to hybrids

Filed under: ,

The city of Ann Arbor, MI is replacing its entire municipal bus fleet over the next two years and all the new buses will be hybrids. The Ann Arbor Transportation Authority will be getting the first fifteen units this fall with the rest of the 69 vehicle fleet being supplanted during 2008 and early 2009. AATA provides transit bus services to the city and surrounding communities.

The extra cost of the first twenty buses is being covered by a federal grant, although it's not clear at this point how the other forty-nine buses will be paid for. The buses are being built by California-based Gillig and they use the GM Two-Mode hybrid system with a nickel metal hydride battery. The early experience of hybrid buses in Seattle proved to be disappointing with hybrid buses getting lower mileage than conventional buses. A later study conducted by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory compared the hybrid and conventional buses over the same routes and duty cycles for a six-month period and found the hybrids to have a 27 percentage advantage.

[Source: MetroMode via YpsiDixit]

 

Read | Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments


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

Honda Civic Hybrid chosen as the greenest car in Germany

Filed under: ,


The Honda Civic Hybrid is the greenest car in Germany. That's the statement made by the Verkehrsclub Deutschland (VCD), which has just released their annual report for the 2008 model year. The Civic Hybrid managed to accomplish all the requirements VCD asked in a car, not only on the greener side of the equation but also in aspects such as handling and ease of operation. The test included noise levels, fuel consumption and low emissions as well.

This is the second time Honda wins the first position in this test (first time was in 2006), in which up to 350 cars are tested. This year, the first runner up was the Toyota Prius, followed by the Citroën C1, Peugeot 106 and Toyota Aygo (fitted to the base 1.0 liter engine). The list continues then with the Daihatsu Cuore and Trevis, the VW Polo BlueMotion, the Daihatsu Sirion and the Mazda 2.

Related:
[Source: VCD (link is in German)]

 

Read | Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments


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

The Scooter Scoop hosts the first Genuine Rattler Buck Ten review

Filed under: ,

Scooters are great when it comes to saving gas, and some studies show that they can cut down on emissions too, especially when you consider that they are less likely to be stuck in traffic. Obviously, due to their smaller size and the ability to fit more of them on the road, scooters can also cut down on congestion and parking problems. But, like other two-stroke scooters that we have shown you, the Genuine Scooters Rattler Buck Ten is not likely to show up on your green-radar. Two-stroke engines can in fact be made clean enough to meet emissions requirements, but it takes more effort to do it. Four-stroke engines are likely to always be cleaner under the same circumstances. But, if your sole goal is to save money on your gas bill, a scooter like the Rattler will do very nicely.

[Source: The Scooter Scoop]

 

Read | Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments


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

ZENN will offer warranty services from 4CS

Filed under: ,


ZENN promotional video

We haven't heard much from ZENN recently, but the electric car company announced yesterday that ZENN will be offering warranty services through 4CS. It looks like vehicles and parts will be covered through 4CS' iWarranty and iParts services. If you're ready for a way-too-busy website design, you can check out the 4CS homepage for more information. I've pasted the 4CS press release after the jump, as there's a bit of technical mumbo-jumbo (e.g., the phrase "focused portal") and I'll let the truly interested parse it for themselves. For most of us, the important thing to know is that ZENN's one-year warranty for their low-speed electric vehicles is now being operated by 4CS. That's all. Carry on.

[Source: 4CS]

Electric-Powered Vehicle Manufacturer Selects 4CS to Manage Warranty and Parts

EAST MOLINE, Ill., Aug. 30 /PRNewswire/ -- 4CS, the leading provider of intelligent warranty management software, today announced that ZENN Motor Company, a leading manufacturer of electrically powered vehicles, has selected iWarranty and iParts software solutions. ZENN will implement iWarranty: eClaims, Reporting and Analytics, Service Contracts, and Parts Return Modules. The company will also be implementing iParts: Webview, Parts Order, and Reporting Modules.

Mike Bergeron, VP of Engineering of ZENN Motor Company, states that the company was looking for a system which would, "effectively manage warranty, registration, and service to help support retailers to better service the customer." Bergeron explains that ZENN was attracted to iWarranty because, "4CS' work flow, templates, and structure are all very applicable to our business," and that ZENN selected iParts because it will integrate seamlessly into iWarranty. "Having both iWarranty and iParts will provide the company a focused portal for its retailers."

Sarah Studnicka, 4CS Customer Relationship Manager, adds, "We are very pleased to have the opportunity to work with ZENN Motor Company. 4CS is confident that iWarranty and iParts will help to streamline their claims and ordering processes. Adding ZENN to our customer base allows us to expand into a new and exciting segment of the automotive market."

About ZENN Motor Company:
http://www.zenncars.com/

Headquartered in Toronto, Canada, ZENN Motor Company is dedicated to producing zero-emission transportation solutions for global markets, including the revolutionary ZENN, the perfect vehicle for urban commuters, fleets, the environmentally conscious driver, and consumers who just want to save money. The ZENN is sold through a growing network of retailers across the United States.

The ZENN is a fully electric low speed vehicle (LSV) with European styling and appointments that offers customers tremendous operational cost savings compared to a vehicle powered by an internal combustion engine.

The Neighborhood Electric Vehicle is an exciting new development in personal transportation. The ZENN fills a significant gap that cannot be met by inferior golf-cart type products in the marketplace. Sales opportunities for the ZENN, including larger fleets, abound in many niche markets such as resorts, urban core environments, gated communities, convention centers, airports, college and business campuses, municipalities, parks and more.

About 4C Solutions, Inc.:

4CS is a leading provider of warranty software solutions. 4CS iWarranty software helps reduce the warranty cost of the products significantly by improving the quality and reliability of the products, sharing the cost and information with suppliers and business partners along with automating the warranty management processes.

The iWarranty product directly connects manufacturers, suppliers, dealers, partners and customers in a service network. It optimizes the entire warranty cycle through the integration of the following applications: Claim Submittal, Claim Processing, Claim Review & Payment, Parts Return, Supplier Warranty, Purchased Warranty, Warranty Analytics, and Warranty Center.

For more information, visit http://www.4cs.com/ or call 800.709.8773

 

Read | Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments


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

Car emissions reduced but global emissions overall increase

Filed under: ,

Environmental Defense has launched a report about how automakers are improving to reduce emission levels. The highlights of the report state that, although individually almost all models reduced emissions in the last three years, the overall contribution to global warming has continued to grow since 1990. That is, although cars pollute 3 percent less than in 2004, the net increase in emissions is 1.5 percent since 1990.

When reporting about brands, the report says that the American Big Three were the worst performers in emissions. On the other hand, Toyota is praised not only for its hybrid models but also for improvements in the Corolla; BMW is lauded for a 12 percent across the board reduction because of Mini.

Speaking about the six best sellers in the US:
  • GM is the automaker which pollutes the most, although its global impact is 6.5 percent smaller due to sales decrease.
  • Ford also increased emissions but for the same reasons as GM, its impact is 6 percent lower.
  • DaimlerChrysler's pollution increased as well with the worst truck average.
  • Toyota's emissions dropped 3 percent overall; however its impact was up 125 percent thanks to increased sales.
  • Honda sold more as emissions shot up 4.4 percent, the company has the most efficient lineup.
  • Nissan had the biggest jump, selling more trucks than cars.
[Source: Environmental Defense]

 

Read | Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments


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

Cardiff University: Storing hydrogen in an organic polymer

Filed under: ,

There are many stumbling blocks when it comes to the successful use of hydrogen as an energy carrier for automobiles. Among those stumbling blocks is figuring out how to extract hydrogen in an environmentally friendly and cost effective manner, how to transport that hydrogen and subsequently refill a car with it, and where to put it once you've successfully managed to get around the first two. General Motors is working on the issues, as Sam recently reported. Universities all over the world are also attacking the problems, including Cardiff University in the U.K. Professor Neil McKeown and others are working on a new polymer which needs to be porous enough to be lightweight, but also must be tight enough to keep the hydrogen inside. They have doubled the amount of hydrogen their polymer could store by weight and are still testing other variations. They are halfway to their goal of storing six percent hydrogen by weight.

It should be noted that the prospect of having hydrogen-fueled vehicles in the hands of real paying customers in large quantities is still likely a long way off. Modern technology is capable of creating electric vehicles using hydrogen as their fuel source, but not in the necessary quantities and not nearly at the efficiency level required to make them financially viable. But, the same could be said for most other high-tech items that we all use today, and with a few breakthroughs, there might come a day when your electric car uses a hydrogen-fueled range-extender. Or not. We'll just have to wait and see. Let the comments start... now!

[Source: Cardiff University]

 

Read | Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments


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

Autoblog Green Podcast #11

Filed under: , , , ,

As we head toward the Frankfurt Motor show, AutoblogGreen Podcast #11 is filled with talk about what we'll see at the show. There've been lots of developments from European manufacturers, and we're eager to see those cars up close. Sam also got the chance to attend a GM Powertrain event at their Milford proving grounds where he was able to drive some of the new engine technologies around, including HCCI. While there, he also snagged interviews with Paul Najt and Uwe Grebe talking about the work they've been doing developing new GM powertrains. It's 36 minutes this week, and we've fixed the RSS and audio issues from the last couple episodes. Thanks for listening!

SUBSCRIBE to the AutoblogGreen Podcast in iTunes
LISTEN to the show now
ADD the AutoblogGreen Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator

 

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments


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