Autoblog

With the Feds eager to keep raising the bar on CAFE standards, and apparently doing so based on proposed future technologies, General Motors Corp. bluntly told federal regulators not to count on the Chevrolet Volt, or other planned plug-in hybrids, when proposing new rules. GM is maintaining the position that those vehicles will be built in such low numbers through 2015, that they won't make a significant enough impact on the fleet. As it stands, Chevy plans to be build 10,000 Volts in 2011 (the first year of production), and 60,000 the following year... and meeting those numbers is highly dependent on outside suppliers for battery and technology delivery (let's hope they don't mimic the problems Toyota is having with the Prius battery supply). It was earlier this year when the NHTSA proposed a 25 percent increase in fuel economy rules from 2011 through 2015. It has been estimated that meeting those standards would cost GM about $17.3 billion. Although GM isn't trying to skirt tougher regulations, it is their goal to set "reasonable perspectives" with regulators. At a time when GM is struggling to survive (and they are not alone), the CAFE noose just may need to be loosened a bit.

[Source: Freep]

Picture this: we're no longer beholden to energy resources from unstable regions and we're no longer burning petroleum-based fuels in our cars. Despite the radical change in fuels, engines are largely the same, as is the fuelling infrastructure. While it sounds like a nice dream, Volkswagen has been hard at work making it reality. They've combined aspects of diesel and gasoline engines into their Combined Combustion System, realizing efficiency gains and emissions reductions.

Using Bosch piezo injectors that operate like those in diesel engines, providing multiple squirts of fuel directly into the cylinder prior to top dead center and after ignition, the CCS engine can achieve a long burn while keeping cylinder temperatures and pressure at bay. Holding the cylinder temps down also reduces oxides of nitrogen in the exhaust, the main problem with lean-burning engines' emissions. VW also has plans to use this engine technology as part of a hybrid drivetrain.

The most exciting part of the whole project is the new fuel that Volkswagen co-developed with German firm Choren Industries. The new fuel is synthetic and based on a combination of planted crops, bio-degradeable trash and waste from forest industries. That's right, it runs on trash, gets better mileage, doesn't pay a power penalty, can be filled up from conventional-style pumps and doesn't help fund unstable tinhorns. Put that in your tank and burn it!

More pictures after the jump

[Source: Autocar]

In addition to the higher-output Panda Sport, Fiat will be showing two new methane-powered vehicles at the Paris show at the end of the month. Over the past year, across Europe, Fiat has sold 24,000 methane-powered cars; the major advantage being reduced CO2 emissions.

The rather oddly-named Panda Panda (shown) is a flexible-fuel vehicle that can run on either methane or conventional gasoline, going on sale in Italy beginning January. Using the floor-plan from the four-wheel-drive Panda but driving only through the front wheels, the supplemental methane tanks are placed where the 4WD mechanicals would be, giving the Panda Panda the bonus of increased range.

The Multipla Multi-eco concept, meanwhile, runs on methane, gasoline or E85 bioethanol. Like the Panda Panda, the methane is stored in separate tanks, while the main tank takes either gas or bioethanol, leaving the ECU to switch modes automatically according to the fuel used.

We're still waiting for our flying DeLorean that runs on either plutonium or garbage, with a flux capacitor pumping out 1.21 gigawatts!

(More pics of the Panda Panda after the jump.)

[Sources: Fiat, Autocar]

BP plans to make a major investment in alternative energy sources, funding "radical research" at a new bioscience energy research lab. Outlining a ten-year program costing $500 million, BP chief executive Lord Browne said Wednesday that the company plans to site the lab at a major academic center in the U.S. or the U.K., with talks already underway with several universities.

The BP Energy Biosciences Institute intends to launch its first research programs by late 2007, with initial focus in three areas:

• developing new biofuel components and improving the efficiency of petroleum/biofuel blends
• more efficient extraction of biofuels from feedstock
• developing plant species with higher biofuel yield, that can be grown on land not suited for food crops

[Source: BP]

Despite all the carping about gasoline prices these days, sales of Cadillac's new Escalade and their ilk are boomin' louder than the gigawatt stereos they often house.

So says MSNBC, which points out that despite post-Katrina price shocks and media outlets trumpeting hybrids and new small car offerings, U.S. consumption of unleaded hooch is actually rising. In fact, fully one-in-four new cars sold in America houses a V8 engine under its hood. SUVs outpoint hybrid sales 23-1. The 'King of Bling,' Cadillac's Escalade saw its sales jump a whopping 127 percent last month.

So what gives?

While it appears that MSNBC is basing its assertions about the surprising resiliency of SUVs squarely on the load points of General Motors' massively improved GMT900 trucks, it has a point. For all of the hype surrounding the newer generation of crossover vehicles and more fuel efficient body-on-frame SUVs, conventional cars and wagons with smaller displacement engines remain significantly better when judged by a fuel gauge. And yet a good portion of American consumers won't touch them, despite their inherently superior driving dynamics and often greater cargo capacity.

So... has the death knell of the SUV been prematurely sounded? Is the American motoring lifestyle inextricably linked to large, high horsepower vehicles? Or are GM's revised full-sizers riding a wave soon to reach the shore? Have your say in 'Comments.'

[Sources: MSNBC.com; Skeptically.org]

The Global Hybrid Cooperation partnership - a joint venture of General Motors, DaimlerChrysler and BMW - took the wraps off its new state-of-the-art "full hybrid" system Thursday.

The system integrates electric motors with a fixed-gear transmission into a unit comparable in size and complexity to a conventional automatic transmission. The magic happens via the unit's combination of four fixed gears with two electric continuously variable transmission (ECVT) modes, granting a total of six distinct operating modes:

• Input-split ECVT mode, or continuously variable Mode 1, operates from vehicle launch through the second fixed gear ratio.
• Compound-split ECVT mode, or continuously variable Mode 2, operates after the second fixed gear ratio.
• First fixed-gear ratio with both electric motors available to boost the internal combustion engine or capture and store energy from regenerative braking, deceleration and coasting.
• Second fixed-gear ratio with one electric motor available for boost/braking,
• Third fixed-gear ratio with two electric motors available for boost/braking.
• Fourth fixed-gear ratio with one electric motor available for boost/braking.

In comparison to conventional hybrid systems, the GHC design is claimed to provide better combined city/highway fuel economy, better performance, and better towing capability.

More details in the full press release after the jump.

[Source: DaimlerChyrsler]

Could it be? Toyota is taking a page from a book by General Motors and other U.S. automakers by announcing plans to offer flex-fuel vehicles that run on E85 fuel or gasoline by 2008. Toyota had resisted the urge up until now, due to the risk of fuel corroding the rubber engine seals, but the company isn't exactly one to stay out of an alternative fuel party for very long. Initially, the Japanese carmaker will offer the models in ethanol-happy Brazil, and rather than announce plans to expand into the U.S., Toyota suggested that Americans switch to blends of fuel with 10 percent ethanol (which most traditional gasoline engines can handle), making the gasoline savings more widespread.

Cable network Outdoor Life Network (OLN) is set to debut a 13-part television series featuring actress Daryl Hannah, a modified Chevrolet S-10, hemp oil, and an AstroTurf-covered 1982 Volkswagen Jetta that runs on bio diesel. Coolfuel: Roadtrip charts the journey of Australian Shaun Murphy (and his Jack Russell terrier, Sparky) as he traverses 30 states on 30 unique vehicles, running solely on alternative fuels.

Highlights include a bio diesel Hummer limousine, an Electra Cruiser electric Harley-Davidson motorcycle, and a BMW Z3 that runs on corn whiskey.

Coolfuel: Roadtrip premieres Tuesday on OLN at 8 pm Eastern.

Check out the link for the show's website, which includes video clips, images, and alternative fuel educational resources.

At the annual Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) World Congress this week, speakers and members outlined what powertrains and alternative fuel sources will move tomorrow's vehicles.

All agreed the gasoline engine will continue to dominate the North American market, the world's largest, until at least 2020. However, with technologies such as direct injection and turbocharging, the future gasoline engine may scarcely be recognizable as it delivers fuel economies nearly equal to today's best diesel. As for diesel, panelists noted such engines, which already dominate in Europe, will constitute around 25-percent of cars sold in the U.S. within 15 to 20 years.

Interestingly, everyone was in agreement that hybrids such as the Toyota Prius would probably never go fully mainstream in the market. Even Toyota representative Dave Hermance stated that a 25-percent share would be 'optimistic.'

Other powertrain technologies discussed were BMW's lean-burn engines and hybrid types. 

Where do you see future powertrains? Fire away in Comments.

[Source: The Car Connection]

According to the Nutraingredients.com, there is currently a heated debate between the food industry and biodiesel advocates in Europe over the use rapeseed oil. The European Union seeks to increase the percentage of biofuel used in transportation from the current 2.5-pct to 5.7-pct by the year 2010 and rapeseed oil is a major source for the alternative fuel.

It's also a source for many food products such as margarine and sauces. Food industry organizations, such as the International Margarine Association of the Countries of Europe (IMACE), point to the already high price commanded by rapeseed oil in the marketplace. They argue that increasing the biodiesel requirement will negatively impact them and consumers. The biodiesel industry replies that the food industry has the ability to replace rapeseed oil in their products. As for the high price, the industry goes on to say that legislation will have to be implemented anyway to keep biodiesel prices comparable to regular diesel.

Consumer reluctance to purchase imported rapeseed oil has only served to compound the issue.

[Source: Nutraigredients.com]