Filed under: Hydrogen, Chevrolet, GM

If nothing else, politics is about showmanship, grandstanding and appearances. If you've ever watched a Congressional hearing on C-Span you might have noticed that members of Congress tend to spend a lot more time speechifying than actually asking questions of the witnesses and listening to answers. I think it's safe to say that new Congressman Eric Massa (D-NY) will fit right in. For his trip from his upstate New York District to DC earlier this week for the new session of Congress, Massa decided to set an example by driving down in a zero emissions vehicle. General Motors' fuel cell research center in Honeoye Falls sits in Massa's district, so Massa decided to drive a fuel cell Chevy Equinox from his home in Corning to Washington.

The problem is that the Equinox has a maximum range of about 200 miles and it's about 280 miles from Corning to the Shell hydrogen station on the outskirts of Washington. To get around this little unfortunate detail, Massa drove from Corning to Harrisburg, PA where a second, fully-fueled Equinox was waiting. That second vehicle was towed from the DC hydrogen station behind a Tahoe hybrid. At the changeover point, the Tahoe hooked up the used Equinox and towed it back to Honeoye Falls. Just like other "zero emission" vehicles transfer their emissions to some remote location, this one transferred emissions to the Tahoe hybrid. Not a jet, but most certainly not zero emissions, either.

[Source: New York Times]

Freshman NY Congressman's "zero emissions" trip to DC originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Thu, 08 Jan 2009 20:05:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Ethanol, USA

Not that long ago, a lot of gas station owners thought having ethanol in your gasoline was the "cool" thing to do (examples here and here, and there are now over 1,900 E85 stations in the US). One gas station in Albany, NY, though, is advertising its gasoline as "ethanol-free." Why? Bob Haines, who works at the Rhaodes' Service Center, told the local Fox staion that it's because, "Small engines can't cope with ethanol." It's winter time and some gasoline-powered snow blowers get can be damaged by the ethanol in some gasoline. The small percent of humidity that the ethanol absorbs is enough to damage some small engines, as we've heard before. While most car engines are computer-operated and can manage the E10 situation, small and simple engines can't.

The "100% Ethanol Free" gas is appealing even to people who don't operate small engines. Some local motorists are driving the extra mile to fill up with the straight gasoline. Haines himself belongs to the anti-ethanol side, and said, "Come up with something better, boys, because this is not the way to go."

[Source: Fox 23]

Gas with ethanol getting the cold shoulder originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Thu, 08 Jan 2009 19:16:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: EV/Plug-in

Coulomb Technologies has launched its first public EV charging stations on its ChargePoint network this week in downtown San Jose CA. The Smartlets, which were announced last summer at the Plug-In 2008 conference, use a subscription service to allow drivers to park and charge their vehicles. When a driver signs up for the service (currently free after a $9.95 processing fee) they receive a smart card. Waving the card in front of the Smartlet unlocks the door and gives access to a plug. After plugging in, the door locks again until the driver is ready to leave (see more details here). The Smartlet is connected to a network and sends the subscriber data to Coulomb's servers for verification and then charges the subscriber's account. Eventually Coulomb will be offering several plans on its ChargePoint network, much like different cellular plans. Currently, there are three ChargePoint Smartlets located near the San Jose State University campus, but ChargePoint is negotiating with several other cities to install its system. If you live in San Jose and have a plug-in vehicle you can sign up at mychargepoint.net and use the system for yourself. The website lets subscribers find Smartlets in their area and will even tell them if they are available or occupied.


[Source: Coulomb Technologies]

First Coulomb ChargePoint stations now available in San Jose, CA originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Thu, 08 Jan 2009 18:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Emerging Technologies, Mazda

One of the keys to cutting vehicle emissions over the past 40 years, aside from electronic engine management systems, has been the catalytic converter. Unfortunately, catalytic converters are expensive due to the fact that precious metals such as platinum and rhodium have to be used to trigger the reactions that transform the noxious emissions from the engine into something less harmful. Traditional converter manufacturing methods use base material coated with the catalyst. Unfortunately, the catalyst tends to clump up, reducing the effective surface area that makes contact with the exhaust.

Mazda has developed a new manufacturing process with a base structure that holds the precious metal catalyst material in place. When combined with a method of producing nano-sized catalyst particles less than 5nm in diameter, the effective area that is exposed is dramatically increased. Mazda has managed to reduce the amount of precious metals in the converter for the new 2010 Mazda3 by 70 percent to just 0.15g/L of capacity. Given the spike in precious metal prices in the past year, this could be a huge benefit to Mazda and whoever they share the technology with. If the same technology can be applied to other types of catalytic converters like lean NOx traps, it could also reduce the cost premium of diesel engines.

[Source: Mazda]

Continue reading New Mazda3 catalytic converter cuts precious metal use by 70%

New Mazda3 catalytic converter cuts precious metal use by 70% originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Thu, 08 Jan 2009 17:43:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Ferrari, Maserati, Mercedes Benz, Porsche, Volkswagen, Legislation and Policy, Green Daily, USA

Every year, automakers that fail to meet the federally-mandated CAFE fuel efficiency standards receive fines in proportion to their gas-guzzling crimes. Last year, DaimlerChrysler set a record with a fine of $30,357,635.50, and that figure is proving tough to beat. Still, Mercedes-Benz, which made up half of the failed marriage that was DaimlerChrysler, tried its best to top itself by recording a whopping $28.9 million fine for cars produced in 2007, again taking the gold medal. Come on, guys, we know you can do better ... or worse, or whatever.

Other manufacturers that fared poorly in CAFE reporting include Volkswagen, which was hit with a $4.5 million fine (much of which was due to the Touareg light truck), Porsche and Maserati, which tied with $1.2 million fines each, and Ferrari, which had $1.1 million in CAFE fines pulled from the clutches of its purse strings.

These huge fines are exactly why automakers are worried about the impending increase in fuel economy requirements. Those companies that managed to stay under the requirements are also going to need to know as soon as possible what mileage requirements are going to be in the coming years if they have any hope of staying in the clear. It looks like that will not happen quickly.

[Source: Detroit Free Press]

Huge fine for Mercedes-Benz for poor fuel efficiency originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Thu, 08 Jan 2009 16:52:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: EV/Plug-in, Hybrid, Chevrolet, GM

While we've been sitting here drumming our fingers on the table waiting impatiently to get the call from GM to come over to Milford or Warren, the NBC crew swept into town and went for the first media drive of one of the Chevy Volt/Cruze mules. The report that was on NBC's Today show this morning actually tries to put GM in a good light for a change. Matt Lauer and Phil LeBeau visited the tech center and spoke with Volt design chief Bob Boniface and dropped by a local Chevy dealer. The report wraps up with some too-brief footage of the two gentlemen in one of the Cruze-bodied mules like the one that Rick Wagoner drove during his last visit to DC. You can watch the video after the jump, but since this is American network news, don't expect any significant details. Thanks to Nick for the tip!

[Source: Hulu]

Continue reading VIDEO: NBC grabs the first media drive of a Volt mule!

VIDEO: NBC grabs the first media drive of a Volt mule! originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Thu, 08 Jan 2009 16:08:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Emerging Technologies, EV/Plug-in, Legislation and Policy, USA

Remember the US presidential election? I know, I know, it seems so long ago now. But one of the big topics in that marathon event was a discussion of jobs, the economy and green energy. From what I remember, there was a lot of talk about how the latter would help the former. The GridWise Alliance, which held GridWeek 2007 last April, has now given us an idea of how that might happen.

According to the Smart Grid Jobs Report, installing a smart grid (you know, the kind where your plug-in car could talk to the utility company) in the US would create 280,000 new jobs here. A federal investment of $16 billion over four years would create those jobs as well as stimulate smart grid investments of $64 billion, the report says. 280,000 jobs may sound good, but the US is losing more than that each month. Maybe the GridWise Alliance can convince Obama that we need to build like three smart grids, just to have two backups.

[Source: GridWise]

Continue reading GridWise Alliance says a US smart grid would create 280,000 new jobs

GridWise Alliance says a US smart grid would create 280,000 new jobs originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Thu, 08 Jan 2009 15:08:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Etc., EV/Plug-in, Detroit Auto Show, USA

Whilst brainstorming a way to fill a bit of unused space and show off some of the eco-friendly zero-emission vehicles appearing at this years Detroit Auto Show, someone suddenly had a light bulb appear over their head. "Hey! Let's build a track to show the cars in motion!" "That's good, Jim, but we need to push the 'green' angle more," came a quick response. "Perhaps some potted plants," continued the be-lighted one, "No wait, how about a veritable verdant wood!" And so it was decided that an oval course, 700 feet in length, would be nestled amongst a scenic forestscape comprised of 100 Michigan maple, birch and pine trees along with a couple of ponds, replete with waterfalls. And placed in the basement of Cobo Hall. We cannot wait to see this.

Called the "Michigan EcoXperience", the earnest effort will give the public a chance to take a ride in the featured vehicles from Tesla Motors, Mitsubishi, General Motors and Ford (What! No Fisker?). While professionals will be chauffering ticket buyers during the show, freeloaders journalists will be allowed to drive themselves on the press preview days. Officials have wisely placed a 10 mph speed limit on the track as well as crash barriers. Thanks to Patrick M. for the tip!

[Source: Autonet.ca, Detroit News]

Detroit preview: there will be a forest and a driving oval in the basement originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Thu, 08 Jan 2009 14:24:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Legislation and Policy, Green Daily, USA

With a brief, three-sentence statement, the Bush Administration has done what we've been expecting for quite some time: pawn off future CAFE decisions to the next administration. So, Obama and his future team will now be in charge of deciding exactly how to proceed with tough new regulations that will have an extremely important impact on the cars that we'll be driving in a few years.

A few questions will need to be tackled before any regulations are handed down, such as whether or not individual states like California have the right to add additional rules to those adopted by the rest of the nation. Considering that the automakers are already in a world of hurt financially, some may see stringent regulations as "kicking them when they're down," while others may see it as an historic opportunity to make real changes.

Currently, there's a deadline of April 1, 2009 to set the future standards for the 2011-2015 model years. We have serious reservations as to whether that's enough time for automakers to meet any new rules that are too stringent, but we'll just have to wait and see what happens in the Spring. See the official statement after the break.

[Source: Green Car Advisor]

Continue reading Surprise! Bush administration passes on setting CAFE standards

Surprise! Bush administration passes on setting CAFE standards originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Thu, 08 Jan 2009 13:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: EV/Plug-in, On Two Wheels

Austrian motorcycle manufacturer KTM has seemingly made a successful introduction to the four-wheeled world with its X-Bow roadster, and the company has assured us that there is more to come. While we anxiously await production electric and hybrid motorcycles along with small city cars from KTM, we can at least feast our eyes on a few eco-concept vehicles that were designed by industrial design students at FH JOANNEUM University with the assistance of KTM designers.

All of these concepts are amazing, but two of them in particular caught our eye, since they are intended to be run on electricity and they seem fairly production feasible.

• KTM sr 85 Deuce - An environmentally-friendly lightweight vehicle
• KTM 360° - A super-light, silent electric bike

Ina addition to the two electric vehicles, there is an off-road-ready four-wheeler, two water-bound machines and one that flies. See 'em all in our gallery below.


[Source: FH JOANNEUM University]

KTM partners with University to design eco-friendly concepts originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Thu, 08 Jan 2009 12:54:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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