Cars & Transportation

It may not be easy being green, but U.S. automakers no longer have a choice. Hobbled by declining sales, too reliant on gas-guzzling trucks and SUVs for profits, they face a new law mandating a 40 percent increase in U.S. vehicle fuel economy standards by 2020.

They’ve got their work cut out for them if they want to keep up with foreign competition. By our measures, Honda was the greenest major automaker in 2007, followed by Toyota, Hyundai Kia, Volkswagen, and Nissan. Appearing at the bottom of the list: Ford Motor, General Motors, and DaimlerChrysler, in that order.

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Could electricity become a feasible, affordable fuel for vehicles? To find out, NRC is guiding a $7 million federal R&D program on plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), such as the concept car shown here, to further develop and reduce the cost of this technology. The interdepartmental program’s focus is on energy storage, electrical drive components, power train optimization, and regulations for emissions and fuel efficiency.

Hybrid electric vehicles combine an electric motor and an internal combustion engine. Plug-in hybrids have larger batteries than hybrid electric vehicles and can be recharged by the vehicle engine, by regenerative braking, or by plugging them into an electrical outlet.

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The Chevrolet Volt is a plug-in hybrid concept car created by General Motors. Concept Chevy Volt is an electric vehicle with an innovative rechargeable electric drive system that runs on electricity, gasoline, E85 or biodiesel. In this video clip we take a closer look at this concept car that is scheduled to reach showrooms in late 2010.

From msnbc news: DETROIT – General Motors Corp showed off its progress in developing the highly anticipated Chevrolet Volt and detailed its road map for bringing the rechargeable car to the market by 2010, an ambitious timeline challenged by some rivals.

“We are moving with incredible speed,” Frank Weber, GM’s vehicle line executive in charge of the Volt, told reporters. “This project is not concept work. This program is not theory. It is reality.”

Weber said GM’s senior executives remain committed to launching the Volt by November 2010, calling the plug-in hybrid the “No. 1 priority project that we have now within GM.”

GM, which is counting on the high-mileage Volt to leapfrog Toyota’s market-leading hybrid Prius, on Thursday opened its battery research labs and design studio to dozens of journalists and analysts.
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From msnbc news: DETROIT – General Motors Corp showed off its progress in developing the highly anticipated Chevrolet Volt and detailed its road map for bringing the rechargeable car to the market by 2010, an ambitious timeline challenged by some rivals.

“We are moving with incredible speed,” Frank Weber, GM’s vehicle line executive in charge of the Volt, told reporters. “This project is not concept work. This program is not theory. It is reality.”

Weber said GM’s senior executives remain committed to launching the Volt by November 2010, calling the plug-in hybrid the “No. 1 priority project that we have now within GM.”

GM, which is counting on the high-mileage Volt to leapfrog Toyota’s market-leading hybrid Prius, on Thursday opened its battery research labs and design studio to dozens of journalists and analysts.
Continue reading…

If we are all outraged by gas prices these days imagine how airlines are feeling. Rising fuel cost has gotten so bad that the largest expense of these airlines is now fuel so they are taking action. Believe it or not they are doing more than cutting flights to save fuel; they are trying to lose weight. That means getting rid of anything and everything that isn’t absolutely necessary to save weight and fuel. Here are some examples:

US Airways is chucking meal carts and replacing them with models that are 12 pounds lighter. They’ve also tossed the glassware in first class in favor of less jet-set but lighter plastic cups. Carriers also are pulling magazine racks, trash compactors and ovens…American Airlines has all but called in Jenny Craig to shave weight from its fleet, pulling in-seat phones and their heavy wiring, removing lavatory power converters and investing in lighter silverware for business class passengers

Is that going to work? Well US Airways claims that its “lighter beverage carts will save $1.7 million in annual fuel costs,” and “American expects to cut fuel consumption by 111 million gallons through its weight reduction efforts.” This is very good but for some airlines it’s already to late. Flying empty has taken three airlines to their graves in the past few weeks.

Independent tests conducted by engineers at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory on the mono-fueled version of the BMW Hydrogen 7 prototype have found that the car’s hydrogen-powered engine surpasses the super-ultra low-emission vehicle (SULEV) level, the most stringent emissions performance standard to date.

“The BMW Hydrogen 7′s emissions were only a fraction of SULEV level, making it one of the lowest emitting combustion engine vehicles that have been manufactured,” says Thomas Wallner, a mechanical engineer who leads Argonne’s hydrogen vehicle testing activities. “Moreover, the car’s engine actively cleans the air. Argonne’s testing shows that the Hydrogen 7′s 12-cylinder engine actually shows emissions levels that, for certain components, are cleaner than the ambient air that comes into the car’s engine.” Continue reading…

According to the guy in this video the Th!nk City is the only EV that feels like a car. It might not be the most beautiful car out there but I believe it’s the most reliable EV with it’s 125 miles driving range and a full charge of only 8 hours. If you compare it to a Smart that uses fuel, the Th!nk is better for your wallet and better for the environment. That of course is the case if you live in Europe because the car is not available in North-America and probable won’t be for the next few years.