Diesel already accounts for 30 per cent of new car sales in India, says the Centre for Science and Environment, a non-governmental organisation in New Delhi. That figure is expected to rise to 50 per cent by 2010.

A third of the British capital's 32 boroughs are now looking into a scheme proposed by a London borough to introduce different rates for parking permits based on vehicle fuel emissions.

Klaus Bonhof, manager of the Daimler Chrysler alternative fuels division and BMW's Frank Ochmann see commercial production out in 2025 time frame.

An additional benefit to the microbial fuel cell is that while it generates electricity, it cleans up the wastewater, something that usually requires the consumption of energy.

The enormity of GM's challenge was evident last week when it called journalists to a backgrounder to explain the technological hurdles facing the Volt project -- and reiterate that it can't guarantee the futuristic car will ever hit the road.

Randy Holmquist is providing his Canadian and other customers with an electric alternative to gasoline and diesel.

Filed under: Biodiesel, Diesel

With the growing acceptance of biodiesel, the fuel has become more available and standards are being created to make sure that all biodiesels are created equal. With some of those hurdles being overcome, manufactures are able to do a better job of testing and ensuring that their engines will operate on biodiesel blends with a higher concentration of renewable fuels. Cummins has done exactly that, and has announced that their 2002 and later emissions-compliant ISX, ISM, ISL, ISC and ISB engines are now certified for biodiesel blends up to B20, up from the previous B5. I would expect more of this type of announcement in the future.

[Source: Renewable Energy Access]

 

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Filed under: MPG, PSA, Toyota, AutoblogGreen Exclusive, Peugeot

Peugeot 107 near Ann Arbor, click for high-res gallery

For the past six months, I've been seeing several Peugeot 107s on the road in the area near my office and home. At first I speculated that maybe Peugeot might be plotting a return to the US market at the entry level. Given the low value of the US dollar of the against the Euro right now and for the foreseeable future, it doesn't seem like it would make a lot of sense for PSA (Peugeot's parent company) to return with a car like the 107 that would have slim margins at best.

It turns out that I missed a couple of stories relating to the 107 over the past year. I knew that the 107 had a Citroen-badged twin dubbed the C1. However, the C1/107 are built in a plant in the Czech Republic in a joint venture between PSA and Toyota. Toyota sells a variant with slightly different styling in Europe as the Aygo. Last September it was reported that Toyota was developing a Smart competitor named the Aygo, for possible US introduction by 2008.

Toyota has a US Technical Center on the eastern edge of Ann Arbor about two miles from where I see the 107s on an almost daily basis now, heading in the direction of the Tech Center. Is it possible that Toyota is using the Peugeot 107 variant for testing here to throw people off the track without having to resort to lots of camo? Is this the new entry level Toyota below the Yaris? Only time and Toyota will tell. In the meantime, the current Aygo is available with a 1.0L gas three cylinder good for 50hp, or a 1.4L 54hp diesel four cylinder. The diesel is rated at 4.1L/100km (57.4mpg).

Related

• Peugeot coming back to US market at the low end?
• Update on the Peugeot 107 in North America
• Spy Photos: Peugeot 107 in Michigan redux

 

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Filed under: Hydrogen

Hydrogen and hydrogen fuel cells have opponents and proponents on this site, and many times they are rather vocal. Which is a good thing, I think, because they both raise points and facts that the other side may not have considered.

One thing is for sure, though. Hydrogen is a hot topic, and developments are taking place in the hydrogen arena. Like it or not, hydrogen is coming. Opponents of hydrogen as an energy carrier often site safety as a problem. Obviously, hydrogen is flammable. Even if a vehicle is powered by a fuel cell and never burns the hydrogen, if it were to escape it could cause an explosion of at least be a fire hazard. So Mikuni, a maker of automotive fuel products, has developed a hydrogen sensor to monitor the storage of hydrogen for leaks. Step by step, little by little, hydrogen vehicles will come, and products like these will lower their costs. I personally think that electric vehicles will be more popular and common, but we'll see.

[Source: Mikuni via Fuel Cell Works]

 

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Filed under: Biodiesel, Etc., Transportation Alternatives

The biodiesel-powered Earthrace superboat will not set a round-the-world record. Last Sunday while traveling near the coast of Guatemala at night, the radical 78-foot Earthrace boat collided with a small fiberglass fishing boat. The Earthrace boat was basically unscathed except for prop damage but the fishing boat was demolished. The Earthrace crew managed to pull two injured fisherman out of the water but couldn't find a third. The Earthrace boat limped into a Guatemalan port where officials have not let the crew leave, even though repairs have been made. Court appearances have been postponed three times. The captain's blog has been very detailed in the accident and days in port. Captain Pete Bethune, who hails from New Zealand, was not at the wheel of Earthrace when the accident happened. An engineer was driving and he told the skipper that the fishing boat may not have had the proper lighting. That engineer has left the team, and the team has posted a want ad for a replacement. Earthrace had been slowed early in the run with prop problems. According to Bethune's blog, his insurance company has settled with the dead man's family. Now it may be only a question of whether any of the crew, which includes an American, will have to face criminal charges.

[Source: stuff.co.nz]

 

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