September 3, 2010
We're all about alternatives to gasoline here so when General Motors announced pricing earlier this week for the compressed natural gas conversion of its full-size 2011 Chevrolet Express and GMC Savana Cargo vans, we posted the info.
But the price did make us gulp - the base $25,980 vans become $41,890 vans after the conversions.
We know CNG is cheaper and cleaner than gas or diesel and we know fleet managers are looking for every way they can to cut a penny here and a penny there from operating costs (not to mention collecting green points from government, which sometimes extends benes to clean and green fleets such as preferential HOV lane access or a leg up in obtaining service contracts).
But $41,890 for a van?
So we called GM and got ahold of the Mikes - Mike McGarry, alternative fuels manager for fleet and commercial vehicles, and Mike Jones, fleet and commercial vehicles product manager.
They were worried that we somehow thought the vans were aimed at the retail market, but once we assured them that we knew the difference between a CNG-burning Honda Civic GX and a CNG-burning Chevy Express van, they relaxed and walked us through the financial rationale.
You've first got to understand that commercial vehicles have longer and harder lives than do most passenger cars and light trucks - 30,000 miles a year for 7-10 years isn't at all unheard of.
That gives the fleet manager more time to recoup up-front costs of alt-fuel or advanced-tech vehicles through accrued saving on fuel and maintenance.
It also helps to understand that in a fleet with loads of vehicles, even a penny a gallon saved on fuel costs adds up quickly to sometimes impressive annual sums.
The Mikes use a couple of assumptions in showing how the CNG conversion for their vans pays off - Jones said the difference in gasoline and CNG prices in many regions can result in a pay-back of the entire $15,910 in under 4 years.
Continue reading...
- Posted by
- Permalink | Comments (0)
- John O'Dell September 3, 2010, 2:10 AM
- Categories:
- Alternative Fuels, Chevrolet, GMC, General Motors, Natural Gas
- Technorati Tags:
- CNG, CNG Van Conversions, Compressed Natural Gas, GM
September 2, 2010
As the Obama Administration readies for the next round of federal fuel economy rule making, an influential consumer group is urging that automakers be required to meet a 60 mpg fleet average for light cars and trucks beginning in 2025.
That would represent a 71 percent increase from the present Corporate Average Fuel Economy - or CAFE - standards that require a 35 mpg fleet average by 2016.
The proposal, launched today in a report issued by the Consumer Federation of America and backed by the National Resources Defense Council, is sure to elicit howls of protest from automakers and others who see the idea of requiring the auto industry to pull consumers into ecological car shopping as misguided.
Supporters of using fuel economy regulations to require manufacture of increasingly more efficient cars and trucks say that the auto industry's history is one of avoiding improved fuel economy in favor of building bigger, heavier - thus less efficient- and more profitable vehicles that don't require enormous investment in new technologies.
But Jeremy Anwyl, Edmunds' chief executive, says decades of sales data and consumer research show that "its just not clear that the market is there to support smaller cars or more expensive technologies."
Requiring vehicle to be built to achieve predetermined fuel economy standards "without ensuring there was demand for those vehicles is one of the reasons Detroit got into the mess of relying on large SUVs,' Anwyl said. "They provided the profits that made up for the losses automakers were taking on small cars."
The CFA report argues that the increased cost of a 60 mpg fleet average for light vehicles - estimated about about $2,600 for passenger cars and $3,200 for light trucks - will be erased by fuel savings.
Continue reading...
- Posted by
- Permalink | Comments (0)
- John O'Dell September 2, 2010, 3:25 PM
- Categories:
- Fuel Economy
- Technorati Tags:
- 60 MPG, CAFE, CFA, Consumer Federation America, Fuel Economy, NRDC
September 2, 2010
Above, the instrument panel on the 2011 Lexus CT 200h premium compact hybrid in Normal, EV and ECO modes.
The all-new 2011 Lexus CT 200h compact hybrid, which will appear at the Paris Motor Show in coming days and reach dealerships in October, is equipped with four driving modes to mesh with the moods of its driver, the automaker announced today.
The driving modes: Sport, when the driver wants a more dynamic experience, and Normal, Eco or EV to satisfy tamer driving desires.
Supplementing the Normal drive mode of the new Lexus full hybrid compact's electronically-controlled continuously variable transmission, the three other drive modes may be selected to improve sportiness, or driving efficiency, fuel economy and emissions.
From start-up and at speeds of less than 25 miles per hour, the CT 200h can operate in EV mode for up to one mile driving under electric motor power alone for zero tailpipe emissions and zero gasoline consumption.
In ECO mode, throttle response to aggressive accelerator pedal inputs is reduced and air-conditioning control optimized for improved fuel economy.
Sport mode focuses on dynamic driving, maximizing the CT 200h's high performance and handling. Engine revs are held higher, and throttle and power steering settings are modified to give a faster response to driver inputs. Sport mode also provides less intrusive operation of the vehicle stability control and traction control systems.
The instruments are synchronized to driving mode selection. Backlit in "hybrid blue" for the EV, ECO and Normal drive modes, the instrument panel illumination switches to red when Sport mode is selected. Simultaneously, the hybrid power indicator changes to a tachometer.
Sorry, Road Rage is not an available mode.
We'd be remiss if we failed to mention that numerous other models, mostly sports cars, feature drive modes. The two most common modes are Sport and Touring.
Among hybrids, the Honda CR-Z, which has only just recently begun appearing in showrooms, features Sport, Normal and Eco modes. There are other hybrids with selectable driving modes and we suspect the modes will become a standard feature on most full hybrids soon enough.
Scott Doggett, Contributing Editor
- Posted by
- Permalink | Comments (0)
- Scott Doggett September 2, 2010, 2:27 PM
- Categories:
- Emissions, Fuel Economy, Hybrid, Lexus
- Technorati Tags:
- 2010 Paris Auto Show, 2011 Lexus CT 200h, Driving Modes, Emissions, Fuel Economy, Hybrid
September 2, 2010
CODA Automotive, maker of the soon-to-be-released CODA Sedan, will sell the battery-electric vehicle to Hawaii residents and fleet operators starting next year, following up Nissan's plans to do the same with its battery-electric Leaf.
CODA will make its plug-in electric vehicle available in Hawaii starting in the third quarter of 2011, the company said in a statement today. The company is expected to begin delivery of its Sedan to parts of the continental U.S. later this year.
Nissan plans to sell the Leaf in Hawaii starting in January. BEVs are part of Hawaii's efforts to have so-called clean energy provide 70 percent of its power by 2030. The state offers a $4,500 state tax credit towards the purchase of an electric vehicle and a $500 state tax credit towards the purchase and installation of a home charging station.
The company claims its 33.8 kilowatt-hour battery system will set it apart from the competition by enabling consumers to travel a dependable 90 to 120 miles in real world driving on a single charge, no matter what season.
The automaker hopes to deliver as many as 14,000 all-electric cars within its first year of production. The cars will come with a roughly $40,000 price tag - about 25 percent more than the $32,780 price tag Nissan put on its all-electric Leaf last month - before factoring in the $7,500 federal tax credit and other incentives offered for a limited time to Americans who buy a plug-in electric car.
- Posted by
- Permalink | Comments (0)
- Scott Doggett September 2, 2010, 12:06 PM
- Categories:
- Batteries, Coda, Emissions, Fuel Economy, Plug-ins and Electric
- Technorati Tags:
- 2011 CODA Sedan, All-Electric, Battery-Electric, BEV, CODA Holdings, Electric Car, Electric Vehicle, EV, Hawaii
September 2, 2010
But Buyers of Upcoming Plug-in Hybrids, Such as the Volt, Will be Ineligible Until 2012.
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed a measure this week allowing up to 40,000 more Californians with environmentally sensitive cars to drive solo in carpool lanes.
The measure also extends the lifespan of existing carpool-lane stickers for hybrid and electric vehicles, and will allow drivers of upcoming plug-in hybrids access to carpool lanes without the need of a second occupant.
But while owners of the Nissan Leaf electric vehicle due out later this year will be immediately eligible for the stickers permitting solo-occupant vehicles to ply the state's carpool lanes, California motorists who buy Chevrolet Volt plug-in hybrids, also due out later this year, will have to wait until 2012.
That's because owners of pure electric vehicles have been eligible for the sticker for some time. The new law extends the eligibility by four years for electric-vehicle owners.
But the Volt (pictured), which can travel up to 40 miles on electricity before depending on gasoline for fuel, is a plug-in hybrid and as such its owners won't be eligible for a carpool-lane sticker until 2012 under the new California. The same will be true for the owners of other plug-in hybrids that come on the market before then.
The new law also extends access for 85,000 owners of non-plug-in hybrids, such as Toyota's Prius, for six months beyond its previously scheduled expiration at the end of this year.
However, a previous law set the maximum number of stickers for conventional hybrid owners at 85,000 and that number has been reached, meaning that no new stickers are being issued to owners of non-plug-in hybrids who don't already possess the coveted decals.
The new California law has national significance, because numerous other states tend to follow the Golden State's lead when it comes to green-car legislation.
- Posted by
- Permalink | Comments (0)
- Scott Doggett September 2, 2010, 10:13 AM
- Categories:
- Chevrolet, Emissions, Fuel Economy, General Motors, Hybrid, Legislation, Nissan, Plug-ins and Electric, Toyota
- Technorati Tags:
- BEV, Carpool Lane Permits, Chevy Volt, Decals, Electric Vehicle, EV, HOV, Hybrid, Nissan Leaf, Plug-in, Stickers, Toyota Prius
September 2, 2010
Making good on their word to introduce more hybrid vehicles, Lotus reps today announced that the British automaker will unveil a pair of heavyweight front-engine Lotus hybrids at the Paris Auto Show later this month.
One will be a four-door hatchback in the style of the Porsche Panamera. The other will be a two-door coupe.
Both cars will be based on the modular-hybrid concept chassis Lotus debuted at this year's Geneva Auto Show for both its own Evora 414E Hybrid Concept (pictured) and Proton's Giugiaro-designed hybrid concept.
The concepts from Geneva used hybrid systems based on the Lotus-developed 1.2-liter, three-cylinder, monobloc "Omnivore" engine specifically designed to provide energy for electric-drive series-type hybrids.
That engine produces 47 horsepower and kicks in once the battery is depleted to generate power to recharge the battery and extend the vehicle's driving range.
- Posted by
- Permalink | Comments (0)
- Scott Doggett September 2, 2010, 9:12 AM
- Categories:
- Auto Shows, Emissions, Fuel Economy, Hybrid, Lotus
- Technorati Tags:
- 2010 Paris Auto Show, Hybrid, Lotus Evora 414E
September 2, 2010
The Ford Focus Electric, which will debut in late 2011 in the U.S. and 2012 in Europe, will be powered by a lithium-ion battery system that utilizes cooled and heated liquid to regulate battery temperature, extend battery life and maximize driving range, the company announced today.
Thermal management of lithium-ion battery systems is critical to the success of all-electric vehicles because extreme temperatures can affect performance, reliability, safety and durability.
As a result, Ford said it has chosen an advanced active liquid-cooling and heating system to regulate the temperature of its lithium-ion battery packs, which are designed to operate under a range of ambient conditions.
While air-cooling methods work well for many of today's smaller car battery systems, the larger, more complex lithium-ion battery technology powering Ford's all-electric vehicles calls for an aggressive thermal management system.
An active liquid system heats or chills a coolant before pumping it through the battery cooling system. This loop regulates temperature throughout the system against external conditions.
On hot days, chilled water absorbs heat from the batteries, dispersing it through a radiator before pumping it through the chiller again. On cold days, heated water warms the batteries, gradually bringing the system's temperature to a level that allows it to efficiently accept charge energy and provide enough discharge power for expected vehicle performance.
The liquid cooling and heating system also enables the Focus Electric to automatically precondition the battery pack temperature during daily recharging. When the vehicle is plugged in to the power grid, the vehicle system will be able to warm up the battery on cold days and cool it down on hot days.
A liquid cooling and heating system for batteries is not unique to Ford. Batteries in the upcoming Chevy Volt extended-range plug-in hybrid and Tesla Motors Roadster EV are liquid cooled. The Nissan Leaf EV's are air-cooled.
Continue reading...
- Posted by
- Permalink | Comments (0)
- Scott Doggett September 2, 2010, 8:27 AM
- Categories:
- Chevrolet, Ford, General Motors, Hybrid, Nissan, Plug-ins and Electric, Tesla
- Technorati Tags:
- Battery, Chevy Volt, EV, Ford Focus Electric, Hybrid, Nissan Leaf, Plug-in EV, Tesla Motors, Tesla Roadster
September 2, 2010
Sales of gas-electric cars and trucks in August were down 40.4 percent from a year earlier, with only a handful of models - led by Ford's still accelerating Fusion Hybrid - posting advances over their year-earlier performances.
----------
Honda CR-Z, the only new hybrid model introduced in August, wasn't enough to pull the gas-electric segment out of a summer slide.
-----------
For the most part, though, the summer's lukewarm hybrid activity continued, held down by general economic malaise and slowly rising gasoline prices that haven't yet triggered a rush to fuel economy as $4-a-gallon gasoline did in the summer of 2008.
Even the industry's volume leader - Toyota's Prius - dropped like a rock. The month's few gains were achieved mainly through incentives or the new-model bump that causes initial sales of many new or heavily refreshed vehicles to rise even against an outflowing tide.
Continue reading...
- Posted by
- Permalink | Comments (0)
- John O'Dell September 2, 2010, 1:45 AM
- Categories:
- Cadillac, Chevrolet, Ford, General Motors, Honda, Hybrid, Lexus, Mercury, Nissan, Saturn, Toyota
- Technorati Tags:
- August Hybrid Sales, Hybrids
September 1, 2010
General Motors has made no secret of the fact that it intends to use a scare tactic to help sell its Chevrolet Volt plug-n hybrid, due to appear in U.S. showrooms starting this December.
GM executives and PR people, mindful of the fact that the Volt will be coming on market about the same time as the all-electric Nissan Leaf, have repeatedly told reporters that unlike Leaf owners, Volt owners needn't be concerned about running out of electricity.
That's because, unlike the Leaf, the Volt has an onboard gasoline-powered generator that can produce electricity. When the Chevy's battery runs low on juice, the generator can fire up and get you to your destination. And if the generator's tank is low, the Volt owner need only find a gas station.
Someone coined a term for the concern some EV owners have about running out of juice. It's "range anxiety." Now GM wants control over it, as in the automaker has sought a trademark for it.
Why would GM want to own "range anxiety"? The automaker says it wants it for the purpose of "promoting public awareness of electric vehicle capabilities."
But in reality GM wants the term to control its usage. It wants to own "range anxiety" so that the unauthorized use of the term - the use by another company without GM's consent - would constitute a trademark infringement.
If, for instance, a Nissan representative said, "Prospective Leaf buyers needn't worry about range anxiety," Nissan could be sued by GM, that is, if the much-larger automaker possessed the trademark.
GM's got a good point: A Volt owner won't ever experience range anxiety unless his battery is depleted and he's at risk of running out of gasoline before reaching a gas station.
But for Pete's sake, "range anxiety" is part of the EV lexicon, same as "green cars." No one should be able to possess the trademark for either term.
A spokesman for Tesla Motors, which has been making nothing but sporty electric vehicles for more than two years, issued a statement today in response to GM's trademark application.
"By all means, GM can have 'range anxiety,' " Ricardo Reyes said. "To Roadster owners, the term is as irrelevant as 'gas stop' or 'smog check.' We are, however, looking into trademarking 'Tesla grin.' "
That's a good one.
Scott Doggett, Contributing Editor
- Posted by
- Permalink | Comments (0)
- Scott Doggett September 1, 2010, 2:16 PM
- Categories:
- Batteries, Chevrolet, Emissions, Fuel Economy, General Motors, Hybrid, Plug-ins and Electric, Tesla
- Technorati Tags:
- Chevy Volt, Electric Vehicle, General Motors, Nissan Leaf, Plug-in Hybrid, Range Anxiety, Tesla Motors, Trademark
September 1, 2010
Tesla Motors announced today that its Roadster has been approved for the Japanese government's Clean Energy Cash Rebate Program, which allows buyers of the all-electric high-performance sports car in Japan to receive a cash rebate of up to 3.24 million yen (or $38,000 at today's exchange rate).
The Roadster is only the second standard-sized car, following the plug-in Prius hybrid by Toyota, to qualify. It is also the only qualified import vehicle.
Palo Alto, California-based Tesla designs and makes electric vehicles and EV powertrain components. To date, it has delivered more than 1,200 Roadsters to customers in North America, Europe and Asia. It remains the only automaker in the U.S. that builds and sells highway-capable EVs in serial production.
Tesla entered Japan in May of this year and has begun deliveries of its Signature Series Roadsters to pioneer customers. The base model, which starts at 12.8 million yen ($149,200), including tax but before the cash rebate, is available for custom orders immediately.
Nissan North America and Hawaii have partnered to advance zero-emission mobility by promoting the development of electric vehicles, and an electric-vehicle charging network, throughout the state.
The partnership was announced at the Asia Pacific Clean Energy Summit and Expo in Honolulu. The Nissan Leaf battery-electric car will be available in Hawaii beginning in January 2011.
Hawaii has a $4,500 state tax credit towards the purchase of an electric vehicle and a $500 state tax credit towards the purchase and installation of a home charging station.
The state tax credit, paired with a $7,500 federal tax credit, could bring the price of a Leaf, which carries a manufacturer's suggested retail price of $32,780, to as low as $20,780 for Hawaii consumers. The tax incentives are available for a limited time only.
General Motors announced today that production of the Chevrolet Volt extended-range plug-in hybrid will commence this November 11, which is Veterans Day in the U.S.
Dealer deliveries typically start about a month after production begins, so the early models should begin appearing in dealer showrooms the first half of December.
Between now and November, the Detroit-Hamtramck Assembly Plant will continue building the pre-production units that are going into GM's captured test fleet for use by employees for real-world evaluation.
GM has said it plans to build 10,000 Volts by the end of 2011 and another 30,000 in 2012.
- Posted by
- Permalink | Comments (0)
- Scott Doggett September 1, 2010, 1:06 PM
- Categories:
- Chevrolet, Emissions, Fuel Economy, General Motors, Hybrid, Legislation, Nissan, Plug-ins and Electric, Tax Incentives, Tesla
- Technorati Tags:
- Chevy Volt, Electric Vehicle, Hawaii, Japan, Nissan Leaf, Plug-in Hybrid, Rebate, Tax Incentives, Tesla Motors
September 1, 2010
By John O'Dell, Senior Editor
It sounds like a lot of cars, until you stop and compute.
Pike Research is predicting that global sales of battery-electric and plug-in electric vehicles will grow substantially over the next five years with a total of 3.2 million BEVs and PHEVs sold by 2015 - a compound annual growth rate of 106%.
But annual sales by 2015 will be only a bit above 1 million electric-drive cars and trucks, said Pike Senior analyst Dave Hurst. That's only about 1.5 percent of the anticipated 70 million light vehicles that will be sold around the world that year.
Pike's EV sales forecast comes in a week when EV supporters have been hit by reports that high depreciation will make electric vehicles less economical to own than regular internal combustion vehicles in the first three years and that the impact of the batteries and electricity for EVs will make them less environmentally friendly than some diesels.
The report also comes in the midst of an ongoing global economic slump, something that could have profound impact on consumers' willingness to pay the technology premium that makes most electric-drive vehicles cost more than their conventional counterparts.
Hurst, however, tells us he considered those issue and decided that in the first few years of ECV and PHEV sales they simply won't matter much.
"Environmental and economic concerns will play a role, but in the first few years we don't see them having a big impact because the newness factor will still be strong enough" to created demand, Hurst said in an interview with Green Car Advisor.
Continue reading...
- Posted by
- Permalink | Comments (0)
- John O'Dell September 1, 2010, 12:35 PM
- Categories:
- China, Plug-ins and Electric
- Technorati Tags:
- EV Sales Forecast, EVs, PHEVs, Pike Research
September 1, 2010
Mazda's SKY-G direct-injection gasoline engine (pictured), which the Japanese automaker unveiled at the 2009 Tokyo Auto Show last November, may enable the next-generation Mazda3 to get as much as 40 miles per gallon in highway driving when the car is introduced in 2015.
Mazda spokesman Jeremy Barnes confirmed last week's comments from Kiyoshi Fujiwara, the company's head of product planning and powertrain development, saying that a Mazda3-sized vehicle paired with a SKY-G engine ("G" for gas) and a six-speed automatic transmission may get 40 mpg in highway driving.
However, Barnes said that Mazda hasn't decided if the Mazda3 would get that engine. He also said that Mazda will sell a SKY-G-powered car in North America in 2011 and a car with a diesel version of the engine a year later.
The new engine is part of Mazda's broader, previously announced plan to meet progressively more stringent emissions standards by boosting fleetwide fuel economy by 30 percent over the next seven years. Such plans also include a turbodiesel version of the SKY engine, a stop-start idling system and a hybrid vehicle that will use a powertrain licensed from Toyota Motor Corp.
The company is pitching better fuel economy to build upon increasing sales in the U.S., as the automaker sold about 136,000 vehicles in the country during the first seven months of this year, up 14 percent from a year earlier, Mazda said last month.
Mazda, whose only hybrid is the Tribute that it introduced in 2007, said last April that a turbodiesel version of the engine would be incorporated into its next-generation mid-sized diesel car. That engine, the SKY-D, would provide highway fuel economy of up to 43 mpg in highway driving and a 20-percent improvement in fuel efficiency over Mazda's current 2.2-liter diesel, the company said.
- Posted by
- Permalink | Comments (0)
- Scott Doggett September 1, 2010, 10:48 AM
- Categories:
- Diesel, Emissions, Fuel Economy, Hybrid, Japan, Mazda
- Technorati Tags:
- Diesel, Emissions, Fuel Economy, Hybrid, Mazda3, SKY-G Engine
September 1, 2010
Also Seeks $761 Million European Clean Transport Loan for Fuel Efficiency Development
Ford Motor Co. may have sold Volvo to China's Geely Holding Group, but the Swedish automaker's cars will continue to remind buyers of their Ford heritage for some time to come.
----------
2011 Volvo S60 will offer 4-cylinder direct-injected gasoline engine.
----------
Volvo gets to continue using technologies introduced during the years Ford owned it, including the new EcoBoost engine system, which Volvo will call its GTDi engine - for "gasoline turbocharged direct injected."
The Volvo engine will be a 1.6-liter inline four-cylinder in two states of tune: the T3 with 148 horsepower and 177 lb.-ft. of torque, and the T4 with 177 horsepower and a base177 lb.-ft. of torque that can be jumped to 199 lb.-ft. with extra boost from the turbo.
The first use, announced today, will be on 2011 V60 and S60 models, which already come with diesel and larger gasoline engine options.
Volvo hasn't said whether it will use the suite of EcoBoost technologies in other models, but with just about every nation on the globe clamoring for more fuel-efficient cars, we imagine more will be coming,
EcoBoost, if you don't recall, is a system that increases an engine's power output while reducing fuel consumption. It allows automakers to use smaller engines in their cars to deliver better fuel economy with the performance of a lager-displacement and less-efficient engine.
Its key ingredients include turbocharging and direct injection - a fuel delivery system that enables a gasoline engine to mimic a diesel, and obtain diesel-like efficiency in the fuel combustion process by injecting highly compressed fuel directly into the cylinder rather than spraying it across the top of the cylinder at the intake port.
----------
GTDi engine also will be available on the 2011 V60 sport wagon.
----------
The deep cylinder injection results in more complete combustion of the fuel, improving fuel economy, reducing emissions and boosting power output.
Separately, Volvo said that it has increased its request for a loan from the European Investment Bank to 600 million euros ($761 million) from 500 million euros as it has changed the time frame for use of the funds to the 2010-2013 period from the original 2009-2012 period.
Much of the funding, if obtained, is to be used for development of fuel efficiency and carbon reduction technologies. The loan would come from the European investment Bank's clean transport financing program.
- Posted by
- Permalink | Comments (0)
- John O'Dell September 1, 2010, 10:02 AM
- Categories:
- Emissions, Fuel Economy, Geely, Volvo
- Technorati Tags:
- Direct Injected Engines, Direct Injection, Emissions, Fuel Efficiency, Geely, Volvo
September 1, 2010
The new Mercedes-Benz Vito, a light van produced that the German automaker has been selling in many countries (excluding the U.S.) since 1996, has just received a comprehensive revamp and for the first time is available with a BlueEFFICIENCY drivetrain.
Standard new engines and new transmissions reduce emissions and fuel consumption by up to 15 percent to 31.7 miles per gallon on the slightly generous European cycle while enhancing performance, Mercedes said in a statement today. All of the engines reportedly comply with the Euro 5 emissions standard.
Further reductions in fuel consumption and emissions are possible with the optionally available BlueEFFICIENCY technology. The technology, which is available as an option for the Vito panel van and comes as standard for the Vito crewbus licensed as a passenger car, is a unique offering in the vans segment.
The new BlueEFFICIENCY four-cylinder engines are rated at 70 kilowatts (95 horsepower) in the Vito 110 CDI, 100 kW (136 hp) in the Vito 113 CDI and 120 kW (163 hp) in the Vito 116 CDI. Fuel economy improves to 34 mpg.
Continue reading...
- Posted by
- Permalink | Comments (0)
- Scott Doggett September 1, 2010, 7:31 AM
- Categories:
- Diesel, Emissions, Ford, Fuel Economy, Mercedes-Benz, Plug-ins and Electric
- Technorati Tags:
- BlueEFFICIENCY Technology, Diesel, ECO Gear, Emissions, Fuel Economy, Mercedes-Benz Vito Van
August 31, 2010
Toyota announced today that it will make its Hybrid Synergy Drive technology the focus of its stand at the Paris Auto Show late next month, reflecting the recent launch of the British-built Auris HSD and European Prius sales passing the 200,000 mark.
The modularity of HSD makes it readily adaptable to make use of different power sources. This is reflected in Prius Plug-in Hybrid, 200 of which are now on the road around the world in selective lease programs, paving the way for being marketed globally in 2012.
Toyota's presentation at Paris will include the Hybrid Synergy Drive Gallery, an interactive exhibition that charts the company's drive towards sustainable mobility through its development of HSD for use in plug-in hybrid vehicles, electric vehicles and fuel cell hybrid vehicles.
The future expansion of HSD technology into other market segments will be represented by the FT-CH Concept (pictured), which will make its European debut at the show and is Toyota's first proposal for a full hybrid for the small compact car segment.
- Posted by
- Permalink | Comments (0)
- Scott Doggett August 31, 2010, 4:26 PM
- Categories:
- Auto Shows, Batteries, Emissions, France, Fuel Economy, Hybrid, Toyota
- Technorati Tags:
- 2010 Paris Auto Show, FT-CH Concept, Prius Plug-in Hybrid, Toyota Hybrid Synergy Drive
Next Page »
We're all about alternatives to gasoline here so when General Motors announced pricing earlier this week for the compressed natural gas conversion of its full-size 2011 Chevrolet Express and GMC Savana Cargo vans, we posted the info.
