Archive for May, 2009
Are three wheels better than four?
Posted by: | CommentsJay Leno, on Jay Leno’s Garage, recently test drove the Aptera 2e. The Aptera 2e is very lightweight and energy efficient. The Aptera 2e is actually registered as a motorcycle. Having an extremely low coefficient of drag (aerodynamics), is the key to the Aptera 2e. Features of the Aptera 2e include smart phone connectivity, rear vision system, solar assisted climate control, and a passenger cabin “safety cell”. To learn more about the Aptera 2e, go to Aptera.com.
Jay Leno’s review is below.
Jay Leno test drives the Aptera 2e
What is TDI technology? (Hint: Clean Diesels)
Posted by: | CommentsTDI stands for Turbocharged Direct Injection. Today’s TDI engines are “Clean Diesels”. The use of a computer controlled injection system, diesel particulate traps, oxidation catalyst, and other emission components, diesels can produce high fuel economy with low emissions. TDI engines can also run on biodiesel, usually B5 (5% biodiesel, 95% petroleum diesel). To learn more about TDI engines, click HERE.
Volkswagen, a leader in diesel technology for years, even won the 2009 Green Car of the Year with their Volkswagen Jetta TDI. Read the article HERE.
To illustrate how clean the emissions are at the tailpipe, Volkswagen produced the “Coffee Filter” ad. Even though the test would have been more practical (and scientific) using a new diesel without TDI technology and compared it to a new TDI engine, the ad is interesting. It shows how far diesels have come in 20+ years.
Volkswagen Clean Diesel Test
Test Drive a Concept Car Online – Volvo The Game
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Volvo The Game
Are air powered vehicles possible?
Posted by: | CommentsZero Pollution Motors and Motor Development International are working to develop a compressed air powered car. At low speeds the vehicle runs only on compressed air. At speeds over 35 mph the vehicle uses fuel to heat air. The fuel can be gasoline, ethanol, propane, or a bio-fuel. To see how the Compressed Air Engine works, click on the picture.
Compressed Air Engine - Zero Pollution Motors
The current design vehicle has the following specifications:
75 horsepower
Maximum Speed = 96 mph
Fuel Economy = 106 mpg
With a Range of 848 miles (8 gallon tank)
For more specifications, click HERE.
What do you think? Will air powered vehicles compete with electric vehicles?
Is Ford seeing the greener side of life?
Posted by: | CommentsGoing green is the new catch phrase…and rightfully so. Ford Motor Company (quite possibly the only big three manufacturer to stave off bankruptcy, we will learn about GM’s fate in a week or so) is working to develop more eco-friendly products to meet consumer expectations who want to live more sustainable lifestyles.
Ford states that:
…designers and researchers are taking a total green approach to vehicle development and design, stepping beyond just fuel efficiency and what’s under the hood and incorporating more sustainable materials and processes inside the vehicle, too.
What is Ford doing or planning to do?
- Soy-based foam seat cushions and backs
- Seat fabrics made with varying degrees of post-industrial yarns
- Suede-like material created from plastic pop bottles
- Underbody systems, such as aerodynamic shields, splash shields, and radiator air deflector shields, made from post-consumer recycled resins such as detergent bottles, tires and battery casings
- Chromium-free leather
- Engineered ebony wood
- Corn-based, compostable and natural-fiber filled plastics
- Polylactic acid (PLA), a biodegradable plastic derived completely from the sugars in corn, sugarbeets, sugarcane, switch grass and other plants
- The replacement of petroleum-based fillers with soy protein fillers in rubber for items such as door seals, floor mats, gaskets and splash shields
- The replacement of petroleum-based fillers with soy protein fillers in rubber for items such as door seals, floor mats, gaskets and splash shields
The key task engineers are faced with is to design and use sustainable products that don’t sacrifice functionality and durability. I believe we are at a turning point in time where people expect companies to be more environmentally conscious. If the technology exists to minimize our carbon footprint with little added cost and significant positive environmental impacts, why not implement it? I believe it is up to our generation to make a concerted effort to develop products that are sustainably. The age of design, produce, use, and throw away is not going to work for much longer.
What do you think? What efforts should be made to make products more environmentally friendly and sustainable?
Tesla Motors builds relationship with Daimler AG
Posted by: | CommentsWhen I think of Daimler AG (formerly Daimler-Benz/DaimlerChrysler), I think of Karl Benz - recognized as the inventor of the automobile (patented in 1886). When I think of Tesla Motors, I think of a company that has extreme potential to make a significant contribution during the electric car revolution. When you put the company that invented the automobile with the company that is revolutionizing the automobile, good things could happen.
On May 19th, Daimler AG acquired almost a 10% equity in Tesla Motors. See the full press release HERE. With Daimler’s global connections, this will most likely expedite the mass production of electric cars.
What do you think? Will alliances help the mass release of the electric car?
Does your vehicle have any recalls?
Posted by: | Comments
SaferCar.gov
The Perfect Time to Require Higher Fuel Economy Ratings
Posted by: | CommentsToday the White House outlined a plan to increase vehicle fuel economy and decrease greenhouse gas emissions. President Obama announced a policy that would significantly increase fuel economy ratings for vehicles starting in just 3 years – 2012. Here is an excerpt from the press release:
Press Release at WhiteHouse.gov
The new standards, covering model years 2012-2016, and ultimately requiring an average fuel economy standard of 35.5 mpg in 2016, are projected to save 1.8 billion barrels of oil over the life of the program with a fuel economy gain averaging more than 5 percent per year and a reduction of approximately 900 million metric tons in greenhouse gas emissions. This would surpass the CAFE law passed by Congress in 2007 required an average fuel economy of 35 mpg in 2020.
I am writing this blog from a rest area near the Minnesota/Iowa border. As I am sitting outside under the picnic pavilion I am watching all the cars and trucks coming and going…saying to myself, yep that car gets 24 mpg, that truck 18 mpg, etc. I believe this is the exact right time to make such a bold move. The technology is advancing, energy issues are at the forefront, and automakers are already restructuring to a changing economy. This plan will help push innovation in high gear. Seven years from now hopefully I will be able to look at cars on the freeway or in a parking lot and say…yep that car gets 39 mpg, that truck gets 30 mpg…for the majority of new vehicles that I see.
What do you think? Is President Obama’s plan achievable?
Can automotive customer loyalty programs save you money?
Posted by: | Comments
Automotive dealerships and service facilities have followed the airline and hotel industry in developing loyalty programs for their customers. Today I was quoted in Margarette Burnette’s featured article – “Do car dealer loyalty plans save cash?” on Bankrate.com. Read the full article HERE.
Yesterday Chrysler released a list of 789 dealerships that will be closing due to their Chapter 11 bankruptcy restructuring. General Motors (GM), not yet in bankruptcy court, said today that they will begin notifying 1,100 “underperforming and low sales volume” dealerships “about their long term plans”. See the official press release HERE.
GMFactsAndFiction.com
What do you think? Will a smaller network of dealers make Chrysler and GM profitable? Or will less dealers result in fewer sales?
Is your local Chrysler dealership going to close? Here’s the list.
Posted by: | CommentsChrysler released a list of 789 Chrysler dealerships that it plans to close due to it’s “Chrysler Restructuring”. You can find the official document at ChryslerRestructuring.com, click on “Docket”, go to Docket #780, click on images, and then Exhibit A.
A direct link to the pdf document can also be found HERE.
Chrysler filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy protection on April 30th.
Hydrogen and Ethanol Out? Electric In? – A Paradigm Shift?
Posted by: | CommentsIt was just 6 years ago that former President Bush announced a $1.2 billion dollar initiative to accelerate hydrogen fuel cell technology.
Has the pendulum now swung the other way? Recently President Obama cut $100 million from the 2010 fiscal budget in the hydrogen fuel cell program. The reasons cited were that it is unlikely to see a major shift to a hydrogen economy in 10 to 20 years.
So where does that leave us? Ethanol? Maybe not. Several ethanol manufacturers have been filing Chapter 11.
When gas prices were $4+ a gallon, ethanol was a viable alternative. However, since gas prices have somewhat stabilized in the $2 range and corn prices have been volatile, ethanol is on the downswing. The American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE) has started a petition to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to increase the ethanol use to 15% in gasoline (currently it is capped at 10% in regular gasoline).
The slowdown in the hydrogen and ethanol fields may help automakers race to produce electric cars. Tesla Motors, the maker of the hot Tesla Roadster (available now), said this week that orders for their Tesla Model S have exceeded 1,000 reservations. This is for a car that won’t be ready until late 2011. Is this renewed interest for electric cars a paradigm shift for the auto industry?
What do you think? Are we headed for a hydrogen, ethanol, or electric car economy?
Dealerships, Independents, and Chains – Where to get your vehicle serviced?
Posted by: | CommentsAccording to a recent Consumer Reports survey, more people are satisfied with independent repair facilities than with dealerships – although both scored relatively high on maintenance procedures.
When searching for a quality repair facility you basically have three choices:
Independents (locally owned and operated shops)
Chains (e.g., AAMCO Transmissions, Car-X, Jiffy Lube, Firestone, Meineke Car Care Center, Midas)
Dealerships (e.g., Toyota, GMC, Ford, Lincoln, Mercury, Nissan, Mazda, Volkswagen, Lexus, Chevrolet, Honda, Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, Buick)
ASE Blue Seal Shop Locator
Another method to find a quality repair facility is to use AAA’s Approved Auto Repair network. To review AAA’s stringent guidelines, click HERE. AAA also has an online search tool to find a repair facility near you.
The Motorist Assurance Program has a handy brochure on “How to Pick an Auto Repair Shop“.
The key is to find a local repair facility and build a rapport with the service writers and technicians.
What do you think? What type of repair facility do you use?
How high will gas prices rise this summer?
Posted by: | CommentsAccording to CNNMoney.com gas prices have risen 10% over the last two weeks. Yesterday, the Energy Information Administration reported that the average price of gasoline in the US was $2.24 a gallon. The key question is, “How high will gas prices rise this summer?”
Typically demand increases as the Memorial Day holiday nears. This is generally recognized as the start of the summer driving frenzy. Schools are out, beaches are open, RVs are traveling, and boaters are headed to the lake for skiing and fishing. Basic economics indicates as demand increases, supply decreases – which increases prices.
AAAFuelGaugeReport.com
To find fuel prices near you, you can use the following websites:
AAAFuelGaugeReport.com
GasBuddy.com
GasPrices.MapQuest.com
Energy Information Administration, Department of Energy
What do you think? Will gas prices continue to rise? How high will gas prices have to go before you change your driving habits?
The Old Schoolhouse Magazine reviews the Auto Upkeep Homeschool Curriculum Kit
Posted by: | Comments
The Old Schoolhouse Magazine - TheHomeschoolMagazine.com
Below is a short excerpt from the review by Amy Christy:
When I first thought about this course, I envisioned this being more of a “father son” project, but I ended up being the one who participated in these labs. They were great! I am not a “technical” person at all and that’s just the point. This course is for everyone. In fact, I think it was created with people like me in mind especially. The text is so easy to follow and learn from, that a person who feels quite out of their element in a mechanical situation can now be more at ease!
You can read the full review HERE.
Auto Upkeep Homeschool Curriculum Kits are offered in paperback or hardcover text bindings. To help homeschool co-ops, co-op packages have been assembled for additional savings. Auto Upkeep Homeschool Curriculum Kits and co-op packages can be purchased at AutoUpkeep.com/Kit.
