A startup automaker sees the benefit of working
with today's coalitions of car-buyers/drivers/early adopters,
technologists, companies and policy advocates.
Hybrid X has been created and developed by Toyota's European styling centre, ED2, in the south of France
Comments Off
Filed under: Etc.
On NPR's All Thing's Considered this afternoon, one of the pieces was on the increasing gas prices, and how the upward trend is happening about three weeks earlier than is common for the summer spike. This article, from the San Francisco Gate/AP, says since crude oil is back up to over $60 a barrel, gas prices, particularly in California and Hawaii, are starting to top $3-a-gallon, and the AP found drivers across the country who are taking the bus or thinking about starting to research hybrid vehicles (to you, we extend a warm welcome on AutoblogGreen).
This is how Tom Kloza, chief oil analyst for the Oil Price Information Service, colorfully described the upcoming gas price situation to the AP: "The West Coast will certainly be the wild, wild West this year," and "In the rest of the country it's just petro-noia. They're worried that they won't have enough gasoline. But on the West Coast the concern might be warranted."
The AP writers spoke to other analysts who also said that $3 gas will come to the rest of the country later in the summer. What's it like in your part of the world?
[Source: AP]
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.
Comments Off
Filed under: Diesel, Etc., Transportation Alternatives, Legislation and Policy
In the automotive world, diesel engines, here in the U.S. at least, are hard to come by. Part of this is because of the bad experiences Americans have had with them due to the early efforts of U.S. carmakers. Another reason we don't see too many here is because emissions standards for diesels are tough to meet without spending a good deal of money on after-treatment features. The manufacturers of the vehicles pass the money for the components that are required to make the engines legal to the consumer, and as I said, due to bad first experiences, many are reluctant to pay more for the efficiency benefits of the compression-ignition engines.
Despite the lack of choices in the automotive sector, boats and trains make widespread use of diesel engines. Trains have been using hybrid diesel/electric powertrains since the end of locomotive steam engines. The engines in trains must meet standards created in 1997, and I don't see any requirements for the marine diesel engines on the EPA site. A significant help to the emissions of these engines is being made with the low-sulfur diesel fuel that the EPA has mandated. But, the EPA has also proposed new emissions controls for the engines this month. For details on the changes and what impact they will have on emissions, click here for marine and here for locomotive.
[Source: EPA]
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.
Comments Off
Filed under: EV/Plug-in, Tesla Motors
The very first AutoblogGreen podcast is coming your very, very soon and it contains an extended discussion with Tesla Motors CEO Martin Eberhard. Martin has plenty to say about the progress that the company is making with the Roadster and the WhiteStar sedan project. In addition to that, we talked about the electric vehicle marketplace and other manufacturers. You'll have to wait just a little longer to hear Martin's words, but you can read what his colleague Darryl Siry thinks right now. Darryl is Vice-President of Marketing and Communications for Tesla and a man after my own heart. He is brutally honest about what he thinks and doesn't hold back. He also blogs both on his own personal sites and at the official Tesla blog and he has new entry where he talks about the media and some other companies that are trying to sell EVs. It's a very worthwhile read and really nails one of the issues with the mainstream media. There is an old saying about sales people, that they don't have to know about what they are selling or even like, a good sales person can move anything. Much the same thing applies to many reporters, they know little or nothing about they report, they just tell the story they are given in their own words, with little or no analysis. We at ABG (and also over at Autoblog) as enthusiasts about the subjects we cover, try to go beyond that use our knowledge to give our own perspective. We're not perfect, but we do our best.
[Source: Tesla Motors]
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.
Comments Off
Filed under: Diesel, Hybrid, Bentley, Geneva Motor Show
Until today, the only time we've used the "Bentley" tag here on AutoblogGreen it was in a story on the Top Ten worst polluting vehicles. Now, we might be using it more often, because the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ) is reporting that the British luxury automaker announced in Geneva that it is considering both hybrid and diesel powertrains for future models. Bentley will decide later this year.
The original FAZ article is in German and, since I can't find a translation in English anywhere, I'll give you my own:
The Volkswagen-connected luxury mark Bentley is considering installing diesel and hybrid engines next year's models as a way to transform the company's image. On top of this, Bentley wants to open new sales agencies in the USA and Europe this year, Bentley CEO Franz Josef Paefgen told Dow Jones Newswires at the Geneva Motor Show on Wednesday. Decisions concerning the new models will be made later this year.
Paefgen confirmed that Bentley is concentrating on profitability and not primarily on image change. The company plans to sell 9,000 and 10,000 automobiles annually. In 2006, Bentley sold about 9,300 automobiles. In the coming years, the CEO sees a further growth in the luxury segment range.
The US market is Bentley single largest market and makes up about 40 percent of total sales; the British market makes up 20 percent. The weak US dollar is, according to Paefgen, is a point of discussion within the company. However, the weak US dollar does not mean that Bentley would "make no more money" in the USA. As the CEO said, Bentley will be debt-free in less than five years.
[Source: FAZ via Christian at German Car Blog]
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.
Comments Off
Filed under: Etc.
A bad batch of fuel that apparently contained a little silicon has sidelined if not damaged a number of late-model vehicles in England. The fuel didn't harm old cars but new vehicles with computer controls and delicate sensors were confused. Many shut down completely or went into a "limp home" mode that allows only minimum speed. In some cases, the sensors were damaged and needed replacement. Safety officials are warning motorists not to attempt draining their fuel tanks for fear of causing an explosion or fire. The problem petrol stations have been identified and their tanks have had the contamination cleared.[Source: ickent.co.uk]
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.
Comments Off
The Ford diesel truck production shutdown that resulted from stopped diesel engine shipments from International is over. On Feb. 23, Navistar International stopped sending 6.4-liter diesel engines that Ford uses in its F-250, F-350 and F-450 Super Duty pickups to Ford's Louisville, Ky., truck plant. That plant stopped production on Friday and operated on fewer shifts over the weekend. Now that the engine shipments are back on, a Ford spokeswoman told the AP that the plant is back up to full speed by next Monday, according to USA Today. As we mentioned, this dispute is over payments to International that Ford withheld because of warranty claims on International's 6.0-liter diesel engines. In court last week, the judge told the two companies to work things out. A Navistar spokesman told the AP that they just want to be paid.
Related:
[Source: USA Today]
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.
Comments Off
Filed under: Biodiesel, Emerging Technologies, Vegetable Oil
Other advantages of the technology are said to be that no petroleum-derived products are added to the process; the glycerol by-product is used as a heating agent to power high temperature steps in the reaction; and biofuel can be produced that is capable of dealing with the incredibly cold temperatures found at the high altitudes that modern passenger aircraft fly at.
Analysis: The really smart thing about the four step Centia process is that while it has two common, initial steps no matter what the feedstock, the final two steps can be tweaked to produce virtually any fuel composition required. This is very smart technology because it takes low cost feedstocks and builds whatever high-value biofuel you need out of them.
Related:
- Georgia Tech develops a new rocket engine that uses 40% less fuel
- Air Force conducting cold weather test phase of GTL fuel in B-52
- Toyota in Joint Project to Commercialise Second-Generation Biodiesel Fuel
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.
Comments Off
Filed under: Biodiesel, Etc., Ethanol, EV/Plug-in, Solar
We have shown you DIY solar lawnmowers, Toro's biodiesel lawnmowers and tractors, John Deere's biofuel musings and ethanol mowers. Now, here is a story about a farmer who has converted his previously dino-powered tractors, mowers and various farming machinery into electric power. He charges them using solar panels, as well.
Additionally the same article shares some other environmentally friendly mowing and farming machinery that is available for you to purchase. Go green on your greens!
Related:
- Toro to introduce environment-friendly biodiesel-powered mowers and a hydrogen fuel cell utility vehicle
- Non-polluting DIY Lawnmower runs on solar power
- John Deere: biofuels is the right thing to do
- A greener way to cut down greens
- Lots of lawnmowers now running on E10
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.
Comments Off
