The fleet of new cars and trucks sold to U.S. consumers averaged 21 miles per gallon in the 2008 model year, a modest increase over the previous year, with Honda and Hyundai having the most fuel-efficient fleets in America, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency reported Friday.
New vehicle fuel efficiency improved 2 percent in 2008 from 20.6 mpg for the 2007 model year. The government projected it will improve slightly to 21.1 mpg in the 2009 model year.
The EPA figures are based on real-world estimates for city and highway mileage found on window stickers at dealer showrooms, instead of mileage values developed through laboratory testing.
Honda Motor Co. led the industry in 2008 with 23.9 mpg, followed by Hyundai Motor Co. and its affiliate Kia Motors Corp. with 23.7 mpg, and Toyota Motor Corp. with 22.8 mpg.
Volkswagen AG's fleet averaged 22.3 mpg, followed by Nissan Motor Co. with 21.9 and BMW AG with 21.2.
General Motors Co. led U.S. automakers with 19.7 mpg, followed by Ford Motor Co. with 19.4 and Chrysler Group LLC with 19.3. The EPA projects Ford will increase its fuel efficiency by more than 1 mpg in the 2009 model year and overtake GM.
BMW's announcement this week that its ActiveHybrid X6 crossover utility vehicle will carry a U.S. sticker price of nearly $90,000 was disappointing, but even more disappointing is the fact that the model isn't alone among hybrids priced well out of reach of most people.
Toyota offers a Lexus LS 600h L for $107,300. The 7-Series Hybrid from BMW will surely be a six-figure car when it becomes available this spring. The Cadillac Escalade Hybrid starts at $73,425. The list is frustratingly long.
Our hawk-eyed colleagues at Edmunds' AutoObserver.com picked up on the trend and wrote about it in a piece that's as well written as it is informative. We encourage you to use your turn signal, pull to the side of the road and give it a read.
BMW announced today that its U.S.-bound 2010 ActiveHybrid X6 crossover utility vehicle will carry a base price of $89,725 and reach American showrooms early next month on the heels of its North American debut at the Los Angeles Auto Show.
The maker-described "one-of-a-kind Sports Active Coupe" (yes, BMW calls its X6 hybrid a SAC) features two-model hybrid technology mated to a 4.4-liter twin-turbo V8.
The price includes a number of standard features that are optional on the X6 xDrive50i, among them a 7-speed automatic transmission, leather interior, 20-inch Aero Wheels with mixed-sized performance tires and a rearview camera.
And, BMW reps pridefully point out that the ActiveHybrid X6 is the world's most powerful hybrid vehicle and that it's roughly 20 percent more fuel efficient than the standard X6, and that it's just one of many hybrid vehicles the automaker has planned.
While we applaud BMW for coming out with a hybrid version of the X6, its fuel economy leaves a lot to be desired. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency estimates it at 17 miles per gallon in the city and 19 mpg on the highway, for 18 mpg combined.
While that is impressive for a 5,688-pound vehicle with sub-6-second zero-to-60 quickness, we would have preferred to see the German carmaker come out with a lighter X6 hybrid - the ActiveHybrid actually weighs 400 more than the standard X6 - and one priced closer to $70,000 than $100,000.
Daimler AG is considering launching a series of small Mercedes-Benz cars in the U.S. in a bid to tap Americans' growing interest in downsized models that offer upscale features and finishes, the German automaker's chief executive said.
---------- The Mercedes-Benz A-Class, right, gets 50 MPG but isn't available in the U.S. ----------
Under its tentative plan, Mercedes would import by 2012 at least one of four next-generation compact models it will start selling in Europe in late 2011, Daimler CEO Dieter Zetsche said in an interview with The Wall Street Journal (subscription required).
These diminutive Mercedes would go head to head with an expanding field of premium small cars in the U.S., including the A3 from Volkswagen AG's Audi unit and BMW AG's 1 series and Mini Cooper.
Unlike traditional compacts these cars can be costly; the Mini goes for as much as $34,000 depending on options.
Daimler's tentative move comes as buyers in Europe and the U.S. are increasingly redefining what they want in a luxury car. The severe economic downturn has driven even affluent consumers toward smaller and more understated models with higher fuel efficiency.
U.S. sales of large sport-utility vehicles such as the Chevrolet Suburban have plunged, while sales of tiny but stylish subcompacts such as the Honda Motor Co. Fit have grown, the Journal reported.
Panelists Say Earth-Friendly Future Won't Come Easy For Private Transportation
Although predominately a business-oriented exploration of environmental practices and processes the Opportunity Green 2009 conference at UCLA this weekend promised transportation geeks a look at ideas of personal mobility in a green future.
We're not sure it followed through, as the program became in part a promotion of the Mini E electric vehicle program - thanks to the event's sponsorship by Mini USA - and in part an examination of the obstacles still in the way of truly green mobility.
---------- Passer-by eyes Mini E parked on UCLA campus during Opportunity Green conference. ----------
Thus the opening of the panel entitled "The Next Generation of Transportation," consisted of a somber warning from moderator Dan Neil, the L.A. Times' Pulitzer Prize-winning auto critic.
"I'm sorry," he opined, "but I fear that society cannot magically make the wide, sweeping changes needed in transportation without suffering" the same far-reaching government and corporate grab for control "that we see coming in health care."
Event sponsor Mini, of course, disagreed - the company was there to persuade eco-friendly professionals that parent BMW, a fossil fuel-burning company of global proportions, is finding its inner green machine and that the right answers to our transportation needs are on the way.
Spotlighting the Mini E and offering test drives to the participants of the event, Mini collected input from drivers about their experiences to add to the data its in-house green team will use as it plans the BMW's eco-friendly future.
Neil pointed out in the transportation session that the Mini E is a not-ready-for-prime-time electric car - not with that "beautifully upholstered lithium battery pack in the back seat," taking up room most drivers would want for passengers and cargo.
BMW says it will offer four-cylinder diesel engines in some of its U.S. cars, definitely in the 3 Series and likely in the 5 Series sedans as well.
The automaker had revealed the four-cylinder diesel program more than a year ago but said at the time that a decision to bring it to the U.S. would be made after the Presidential election and a clear signal from the new administration as to the fuel economy demands that would be placed on auto makers.
President Obama's decision to accelerate the federal 35.5 mile-per-gallon fleet average fuel economy requirement to 2016 from its original 2020 deadline apparently was the signal BMW needed.
The company, which sells a ton of diesels in Europe, said it hopes to eventually hit 20 percent market share for its oil-burners in the U.S., Inside Line Senior Editor Erin Riches reports in a dispatch from the company's North American headquarters in New Jersey.
Love those leather seats in your Bimmer so much you want to take 'em inside when you park the car.
Well now you can, sort of.
A Maryland-based company that makes floor and wall covering from recycled leather scrap says that the company that supplies BMW's leather upholstery is now supplying it with scraps.
EcoDomo LLC, a 5-year-old company out of Rockville, Md., uses scrap leather, tree bark and natural latex to manufacture high-end floor and wall tiles with, it says, the look and feel of leather, the resilience of cork and the wear characteristics of hardwood flooring.
Spokesman Christian Nadeau - on his way to the Greenbuild 2009 sustainable bulding materials expo in Phoenix, Ariz. (Wednesday through Friday this week) - told Green Car Advisor that one of the company's suppliers is a major European upholstery products manufacturer that does not only BMW seats but leather seats for several other automakers as well.
Great Britain, where the Mini was born, will finally get a chance to sample the all-electric version of the tiny car (right).
BMW, which now owns Mini, said a lease program that has put nearly 1,000 battery-electric new-generation Mini-Es on the road in the U.S. and Germany will be extended to the United Kingdom next year with 40 of the cars available for 6-month leases.
Half the leases - at 330 British pounds per month ($527 at today's exchange rate) - will be with fleet users and half with private parties who agree, as in the U.S. and Germany, to drive the car at least 300 miles a month, keep it garaged when not in use and provide Mini with a regular stream of comment and criticism.
The purpose of the program is to find out how people use the cars, especially their driving and battery-charging patterns.
General Motors and India's Reva Electric Car announced today that they will jointly produce a battery-powered vehicle for South Asia based on the Detroit carmaker's best-selling mini-car, the Chevrolet Spark (pictured).
Under the alliance, GM will provide the vehicle platform and manufacturing facilities for the zero-emissions car, which will begin production next year, while Reva will supply the technology for the battery, electric drivetrain and power management systems.
They did not provide forecasts for production, but GM has the capacity to produce 225,000 vehicles of all types at its two plants in India and has plans to scale up its factory in Maharashtra state by an additional 160,000 vehicles.
GM, which is also due to launch its plug-in Chevrolet Volt in the U.S. next year, joins a growing list of the world's major carmakers that are due to launch electric cars over the next three years as part of their carbon-cutting strategy.
Some, including Japan's Mitsubishi Motors, have already launched them.
Last week at the Frankfurt Motor Show, Renault announced that it was launching four electric vehicles in 2011-12. Audi, BMW and Mercedes-Benz showed planned battery-powered luxury models.
Lithium-ion car battery maker A123 Systems Inc. increased the number of shares in its initial public offering and priced them for $13.50 apiece, above the estimate range.
The upsized deal helped the Watertown, Massachusetts, company raise $380.4 million, far above what it had expected. On Tuesday, facing strong demand, A123 had raised the price estimate range of the IPO to between $10 and $11.50 apiece, up from the original range of $8 to $9.50.
A123 sold 28.1 million shares, 9.3 percent more than expected.
A123, which was founded by scientists linked to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, develops batteries and battery systems for hybrid electric vehicles, plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, and all-electric vehicles and works with such carmakers as BMW, Chrysler and General Motors.
"The fact that they have received several hundred million dollars from the government and have strong venture backers and corporate partners like Motorola and Qualcomm clearly reveals the confidence in this intriguing cleantech story," said Scott Sweet, senior managing partner with advisory firm IPO Boutique.
A123 won a $249.1 million grant in August from the U.S. Department of Energy as part of a competition for $1.5 billion in federal stimulus funds for companies that make advanced automotive batteries.
The IPO's underwriters, led by Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley, have the option to buy another 4.2 million shares, which could bring the deal's total proceeds to $437.5 million.
California took the pulse of the zero-emissions vehicle industry this week and found plug-in electric vehicle manufacturers worried about charging infrastructure and public expectations.
The California Air Resources Board is hearing from fuel cell and EV manufacturers in preparation for releasing regulations for its Zero-Emissions Vehicle Program. Targets for 2015 and thereafter are due out by Nov. 10, with final targets due by early next year.
In its fifth major revision of the program since 1990, it voted last year to reduce the 2014 sales target from 25,000 to 7,500 vehicles.
A philosophical difference emerged between conventional car manufacturers and electric-only car companies.
Nissan, which is shooting for a 100-mile range for its Leaf EV, is playing down its perks. When asked to compare gasoline-powered and EV batteries, a company executive said not to expect comparable performance.
"Since the battery's not part of the emissions, it's not required to last 10 years and 150,000 miles," said Brian Verprauskus, senior manager of corporate planning for Nissan North America. "The issue's going to be the degradation. If the customer is OK with reduced range after 10 years, it'll definitely last that long, but after 10 years, we think there'll be more advanced batteries and the customer's going to want to swap it out with a next-generation battery."
Tesla Motors, on the other hand, is emphasizing the ways EVs differ from conventional cars. "We're trying to market cars based on the new attributes of EVs themselves," said J.B. Straubel, Tesla's chief technical officer. "It's an offensive technology shift. We can offer some new competitive advantages to customers."
EV manufacturers said the installation of charging infrastructure remained the biggest bottleneck to widespread implementation. BMW, which ran into charging issues with its MINI E pilot program, said the industry needed to agree on a standard for in-home charging infrastructure.
BMW plans to being selling its own electric city car in the U.S. sometime after 2010 ad is studying the ins and outs of an EV launch with its ongoing Mini E trial ( we have one of the cars in the Edmunds long-term fleet and if you haven't been following its ups and downs you can get enlightened here).
It looks like the biggest issue, other than cost - the Mini Es come with an $850 monthly leasing fee and no mass-market EV is going to succeed with that kind of a price tag - is going to be infrastructure.
Our own experience with the Mini E has been that and EV with 90 or so miles of range - at best - makes a great runabout for local driving but for most people will never be more than a second, or third, car.
Mini's first big problem with its EV test, already well-documented, is that the cars were supplied with European-spec cords for the fast-charge system and hadn't yet been blessed with the Underwriters Lab seal that is required by electrical inspectors in most U.S. jurisdictions.
BMW plans to offer four-cylinder gasoline engines in the United States in an effort to meet stricter fuel economy rules, a company executive said today.
Introduction of the powerplants, equipped with the automaker's next-generation twin turbochargers, "is the goal and we will do it," Jim O'Donnell (pictured), chairman and CEO of BMW of North America, said on the sidelines of the Frankfurt Motor Show, subscription-based Automotive News reported.
O'Donnell said the engines will allow the automaker to reach U.S. fuel-economy targets before 2015. Under federal guidelines proposed today, automakers will have to improve the fuel economy of their fleets by 5 percent annually before a national standard of 35.5 mpg takes effect in the 2016 model year.
BMW will add a four-cylinder variant for its next 3 series in the United States by spring 2012, O'Donnell said. The automaker already equips its European 3 series with four-cylinder gasoline and diesel engines.
BMW also is considering adding four-cylinder gasoline engines to its X1 and X3 crossovers and 1-series model in the United States.
In Europe, the X1 will be available with a four-cylinder, twin-turbo diesel engine when it launches this fall. The X3 and 1 series also are offered with four-cylinder gasoline and diesel engines in Europe.
"We see potentially a significant market that could get to 100,000 four-cylinder engines" in the United States, O'Donnell said.
Hyundai Motors' ix-Metro Hybrid city car is one of several dozen 'green' cars and concepts debuting at Frankfurt show.
By John O'Dell, Senior Editor
This week's Frankfurt Auto Show promises to be the greenest major auto show to date - a showcase for fuel efficiency improvements and alternative powertrains that are coming to the forefront as the mainstream auto industry finally begins coming to grips with the need to begin weaning itself - and us - from petroleum.
If it already seems to you that China is positioning itself to exercise substantial control over the green-car market through its natural resources -- and you don't like it -- you're not likely going to like this story one bit.
That's because Bloomberg news service is reporting, and we are relaying, that Alcoa Inc., the largest U.S. producer of aluminum, is speaking with unidentified automakers to develop and supply metal for lightweight, energy-efficient vehicles in China as passenger-car sales in that country surge.
"The automobile sector is a strong consumer of aluminum and I believe it will become more so if you combine lightweight and energy efficiency" needs in the future, Chief Executive Officer Klaus Kleinfeld said today. "There are some companies we're talking to, and that's an area we're seeking to build activities," he said, without giving details.
Passenger-car sales in China soared a record 90 percent last month as tax cuts and subsidies spurred demand, bringing the nation closer to overtaking the U.S. as the world's largest automobile market. Rising vehicle sales in China, as well as building demand, will drive aluminum consumption, Kleinfeld said.
"China is ahead of the curve, and I'm positive of things that are going on," Kleinfeld said while attending the World Economic Forum in Dalian, China.
The Asian nation consumes about seven kilograms of aluminum per capita, compared with 35 kilograms in the U.S., he said, according to Bloomberg. Kleinfeld on Sept. 3 raised Alcoa's forecast for global aluminum consumption because of demand from China.
China's demand will rise 4 percent this year, compared with a previous prediction of no growth, Kleinfeld had said. That changes the company's outlook for global demand to a decline of 5.5 percent from a previous forecast of minus 7 percent.
Lexus has already teased us with the "official sketch" of its upcoming compact concept for the 2009 Frankfurt Motor Show, but today it released what it claims is the first "official photo" of the car.
That would be the image at right, which to us looks like an artist's rendering.
Along with the, uh, photo comes a name: the Lexus LF-Ch Concept. "LF" means it's a concept vehicle, borne from the L-Finesse design mantra. "C" indicates it's a C-segment car; competitors will include the Audi A3 and the BMW 1-series. And "h" is for hybrid.
The rear three-quarters photo/rendering of the low-emissions vehicle shows door handles that look too flush to be production-ready and windows that look surreal. Otherwise, the fuel-efficient vehicle could closely resemble a production model.
Lexus sources say the car will enter production by 2012. There's no word on whether it will be coming to the U.S., but with impressive fuel economy and all-electric performance under certain conditions would make it competitive with its American-offered Audi and BMW rivals.
The factory where Tesla Motors will make its all-electric, zero-emissions Model S sedan will be located in the Southern California cities of Long Beach or Downey, with a decision possibll as early as next week.
The plant, which is expected to bring 1,000 to 1,200 engineering and assembly jobs to the recession-plagued state, is scheduled to open in 2011. California has a 12.1 percent unemployment rate, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
In an interview with the Long Beach Press-Telegram, Tesla CEO Elon Musk said both cities were finalists for the plant. Musk said the possible locations were Long Beach's former Boeing 717 aircraft plant, which ceased production in 2006, or a former NASA production site next to Downey Studios.
Possibly complicating the Long Beach deal is an alternative city plan to convert the Boeing plant into a movie studio. Musk did not comment on which city had the inside edge. A Tesla source told Green Car Advisor today not to expect "any news on Model S facility this week, but we are close."
The Tesla source said the company is very serious about hitting the publicized $57,400 base price for the Model S and would reconsider an otherwise suitable site for the EV's production if the cost of leasing the site would jeopardize the base price.
Funding for the plant for the Model S, which is expected to have a 300-mile range between charges, will likely come from a recent $465 million low-interest loan Tesla received from the U.S. Department of Energy.
Community leaders in the Northern California city of Fremont, home to the soon-to-be-shuttered NUMMI joint venture between Toyota and General Motors, also have appealed to Tesla.
But the company said NUMMI's 5 million square feet is far too large for Tesla's needs. Both Southern California sites are about 1 million square feet.
3 Executives Named
Tesla, which currently has about 150 job openings, named three executives today.
BMW, which is repositioning itself as a green-car company after years of branding itself as a maker of high-performance cars, announced today that it will unveil its ''Vision EfficientDynamics'' diesel-electric hybrid sport car concept at the Frankfurt Motor Show next month.
The 3-series-size concept is a showcase for BMW's lightweight body construction, hybrid-drive technology, and new packaging and aerodynamic ideas. It features gullwing doors and is powered by a 1.5-liter, three-cylinder turbocharged engine that's slated for production in 2011.
That engine works with two electric motors, mounted front and rear. The rear motor is said to generate 34 horsepower and 214 pound-feet of torque, although BMW says it can achieve 51 hp for short bursts.
The motor acting on the front wheels delivers a claimed 80 hp and 162 pound-feet of torque, but can supply up to 139 hp momentarily. Altogether, BMW's new diesel-electric hybrid system is rated at 356 hp and 590 pound-feet of torque.
The high-profile debut of the vehicle is significant in that it is clearly represents BMW's shift toward low-emission vehicles and technology as part of its wider EfficientDynamics strategy.
As you'll recall, BMW pulled out of Formula One as part of this repositioning of the brand. The company has done a splendid job of selling itself as the maker of the "ultimate driving machine" as defined by high performance.
That said, its marketing department believes that BMW will not be regarded as a premium brand in the future if it does not become overtly environmentally friendly. Hence the release of photos, including the one shown here, showing the car in a verdant setting.
MINI has unveiled a concept for a new coupe (pictured) that will expand the brand's lineup to five models and bring another powerful-yet-fuel-efficient small car to market.
MINI will show the coupe concept at the Frankfurt auto show next month. The BMW-owned brand aims to bring the coupe to market in two to three years as a rival to the Audi TT and Peugeot's new RCZ.
MINI, which this month celebrates the 50th anniversary of its foundation, says the two-seat concept is designed to be the most dynamic and agile MINI ever.
The coupe's roof is made of aluminum and the concept's sleek looks have been achieved by lowering the roofline compared with the standard MINI hatchback.
Because of its lighter roof, the coupe weighs about 220 pounds less than the standard MINI.
The front-wheel-drive concept is powered by MINI's most powerful engine, a 1.6-liter turbocharged powerplant found in the carmaker's high-performance models from tuning division John Cooper Works.
That engine achieves 39.8 miles per gallon and has CO2 emissions of 165 grams per kilometer.
The coupe will join the hatchback, convertible and Clubman wagon versions already on sale and a crossover model in the final stages of development.
BMW announced today that it will debut an ultra-high-mileage version of its 320d sedan at the Frankfurt Motor Show next month.
The car, officially the 2010 320d Efficient Dynamics Edition, is equipped with a diesel engine achieving 57.4 miles per gallon and equally impressive CO2 emissions of just 109 grams per kilometer.
The automaker attributes the vehicle's lofty fuel economy to turbo-charged version of BMW's 2-liter, 4-cylinder, 163-horsepower engine, which is mated to a 6-speed manual transmission.
The vehicle sits lower to the ground than its regularly aspirated diesel sibling and is fitted with low-drag wheels to improve aerodynamics.
Additionally, the usual power parasitic losses that occur are stymied a bit through the use of brake-energy regeneration and electric power steering.
Acceleration remains a very respectable 0-62 miles per hour in 8.2 seconds despite all the attention given to the vehicle's fuel economy and greenhouse-gas emissions.
It would be nice of BMW exported it to the United States, but no one in Munich is discussing that option - at least not publicly.
Likewise, the price of the vehicle has not been disclosed publicly.
In an uncharacteristically succinct statement issued today, Lexus announced that it will introduce a premium compact concept at the Frankfurt Motor Show on September 15th and it unveiled an official sketch of the car.
"The concept will demonstrate a mix of technical innovation and ground-breaking design that promises to raise the bar in the premium compact segment," the statement said, adding that further information about the unnamed vehicle won't be available until the show.
That said, we have to assume that by "technical innovation and ground-breaking design" the new model will feature some of green innovations found in Lexus's low-emissions, fuel-efficient hybrid models.
Among those innovations: A rear-wheel-drive hybrid powertrain featuring a 3.5-liter V6 gasoline-fuel internal combustion engine mated to a high-output electric motor.
The vehicle, which will likely represent Toyota's effort to compete with Audi's A3 and BMW's 1 series cars in Europe, might be destined for U.S. showrooms.
Unfortunately, that bit of wishful thinking won't likely be confirmed or denied before the Frankfurt show.
The public is invited to attend two major plug-in electric vehicle events in California in coming days.
The more newsworthy of the two will likely be the Plug-In 2009 Exposition held at the Long Beach Convention Center. It's there that green-car reporters from around the world will descend for more than three days of speeches, discussions and demonstrations revolving around plug-in electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles.
The public is invited to attend a slice of the event - from 5:30 to 9 p.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 11. The public portion will consist of vehicle displays (Chevy Volt, Ford 550 plug-in hybrid truck, Ford Escape plug-in hybrid, and a plug-in Toyota Prius to name a few), followed by a panel discussion.
Panelists will include: Peter Horton, writer/director, "Grey's Anatomy" and "The Philanthropist"; Bill Nye, "The Science Guy"; Chris Paine, director, "Who Killed the Electric Car?" and "Revenge of the Electric Car"; Chelsea Sexton, founder, The Lightning Rod Foundation and a former General Motors EV1 specialist.
Cost is $10 and tickets can be purchased at the door. Visit the Plug In 2009 Website for additional information.
The lovelier of the two events will be the 2nd Annual Benefit Party for Plug In America, a respected nonprofit organization that promotes PEVs and PHEVs, held this coming Sunday from 4 p.m. till 8 p.m. at the Thomas Fogarty Winery in Woodside.
Among the vehicles on hand will be the pre-production Aptera 2e, a Tesla Roadster, a BMW Mini E, a Tango, a Tzero, an A123 Hymotion Prius conversion, electric motorcycles from Mission Motors and Zero Motorcycles, plus some one-off conversions and plenty of RAV4 EVs.
The event, titled "Plug-Ins, Pinots and Progress," will make for an excellent and informative afternoon-evening and, as benefits often do, will contain a spectacular auctions portion. Among the items that will be going to the block: a week's stay at a Hawaiian resort for 2-3 people, a Zero X electric motorcycle, and an A123/Hymotion L5 Plug-in Conversion Module (a $10,000 value) for all you Prius owners.
Bids can be submitted online. Tickets to the event start at $120. Visit the Plug In America Website for more information.
The chairman of BMW Group announced in a statement today that the Megacity electric vehicle the Bavarian automaker is developing will, like MINI, be sold under a sub-brand.
Without elaboration, Dr. Norbert Reithofer (pictured) stated:
"This auto will be launched on the market as a sub-brand of BMW. As BMW is the innovation driver within the Group, the decision for a sub brand under BMW is the most logical step. Details on this topic will be made known later this year."
It would, we think, be most logical if the vehicle is one in a string of electric vehicles (or at least zero-emissions vehicles) that the BMW group produces.
Later on, Reithofer provided some details about BMW's decision Monday to tap SB LiMotive, a joint venture between Bosch and Samsung SDI, to supply lithium-ion battery cells for the Megacity EV, is has a vague launch date of the first half of the next decade.
"This cooperation," Reithofer said, "gives us access to state-of-the-art lithium-ion storage technology. Both partners of this joint venture Bosch and Samsung SDI have the competence and ability to handle the entire battery lifecycle up to the stage of re-use or recycling."
That's interesting, because it means that BMW considered the final disposition of its EV batteries in its decision to work with SB LiMotive. It's more evidence that when BMW talks about sustainability, it backs up its words with actions that are consistent with them.
SB LiMotive, a joint venture between Bosch and Samsung SDI, will supply lithium-ion battery cells for BMW's Megacity zero-emissions electric vehicle due in the first half of the next decade.
---------- Right, BMW's Megacity EV concept. ----------
"The decision is a major milestone along the way to serial production of the Megacity Vehicle. The battery is a key component in any electric vehicle -- it determines the range and performance of the car," BMW CEO Norbert Reithofer said in a statement today.
"With SB LiMotive we have selected a supplier who offers the best available technology, combining leading German automotive expertise with future-oriented Korean battery know-how."
The Megacity car is an offshoot from BMW's Project i, which was tasked to develop new mobility concepts for cities with more than 10 million inhabitants.
SB LiMotive, which recently acquired General Motors' hybrid battery supplier Cobasys, is a 50-50 joint venture between autoparts maker Bosch and Samsung, a South Korean lithium-ion battery supplier that specializes in consumer electronics applications.
BMW last week announced it would pull out of the Formula 1 circuit at the end of this season, after management decided to focus its efforts on sustainability issues and reducing carbon emissions.
The invention of safe, reliable and lightweight batteries that can propel a car hundreds of miles on a single charge is the last major technological hurdle in electric-vehicle development.
If C4C Comes Back, Tech Premium For Many Could Be Offset; Manufacturer Rebates Would Do Same
By John O'Dell, Senior Editor
Got a gas guzzler that would qualify under the cash for clunkers program for a federal credit toward a new, more efficient car or truck? (That's if we still have a cash for clunkers program when the dust settles from Thursday's reveation that the programs's initial funding apparently has run dry.)
The situation's up in the air right now, but if you are in the mood to keep doing research, or perhaps have had the car-buying impulse jump-started and have decided to take the plunge - clunker incentive or no - this is a good time to look at hybrids and diesels.
----------
2009 Camry Hybrid has lowest technology premium, $239.
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If Congress keeps cash for clunkers going, or automakers step up with bigger incentives of their own to keep the market moving, the credits - ranging in the C4C program from $3,500 to $4,500 depending on the fuel economy of the new car or truck - could help make a previously unaffordable hybrid or clean diesel a lot more compatible with your budget.
German luxury automakers including BMW and Mercedes-Benz are close to benefiting from a U.S. concession that will allow them and a few other foreign makers to keep selling cars that emit more greenhouse gases than those made by mass-market rivals such as Ford, General Motors and Toyota.
So reports the Wall Street Journal today in an article (subscription required) that points out better than most how recent U.S. legislation benefits foreign automakers and harms domestic ones.
Under a provision of a plan to curb greenhouse-gas emissions, the Obama administration has proposed to set less stringent standards for carmakers that sell fewer than 400,000 vehicles a year in the U.S. That target defines the major German brands as well as a few smaller Asian manufacturers such as Suzuki Motor Corp. and Mitsubishi Motors Corp.
The easier targets are expected to apply to a limited portion of a carmaker's sales volume, and last for about four years -- unless the government grants an extension.
In effect, the "German provision" would make it easier for Mercedes to keep selling cars like its $147,000, 12-cylinder S600 sedan (pictured), rated at 13 miles per gallon, while GM or Toyota would be required to meet tougher mileage standards with smaller, more efficient cars, the Journal notes.
The rules are expected to be formally proposed later this year by the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Transportation to enforce the administration's mandate that makers boost the average fuel efficiency of their fleets to 35.5 miles mpg by 2016.
A spokesman for GM -- now majority-owned by the federal government -- said the Obama administration's proposal "creates fewer concerns" than California's policy because it is expected to exempt only a quarter of each qualifying auto maker's fleet, rather than all vehicles sold by those companies. It also would be in effect for only four years, compared with seven under the California program.
Other industry experts and some former government policymakers take a more critical view of the administration's plan.
David Cole, chairman of the Center for Automotive Research at the University of Michigan, said the provision would hand "a distinct competitive advantage" to German and other exempted companies that compete with the major U.S. and Japanese brands in the U.S.
Daniel Becker, director of the Washington-based Safe Climate Campaign, which advocates tougher regulation of automotive fuel economy and greenhouse-gas emissions, said BMW and Mercedes "should be required to meet the same standards as General Motors and Ford."
When BMW's Mini unit launched its Cooper D -- as in diesel -- last summer, there was talk
that the company would bring the fuel-efficient, low-emissions vehicle to the U.S.
Citing unidentified sources, the blog reports that the cost of tweaking the European diesel engine in the current, R56 generation of Mini Coopers to meet U.S. emissions standards is so great that it would prohibit the pint-size oil-burner from being price competitive the American market.
Calls by us to Mini USA seeking confirmation were not immediately returned.
The Euro-spec Mini D delivers about 50 miles per gallon -- that's U.S. gallon, not British -- and putts along quite nicely with a 120 mph top speed from a 110-horsepower engine that delivers 177 pound-feet of torque.
BMW, which you wouldn't expect to be a big player in the Cash for Clunkers program
, is trying to use it to move some metal by offering to match, or in one case double, the clunker cash for buyers of the company's diesels (right)
: the 335d sedan
or the X5 xDrive35d
sport utility.
The German automaker says it will provide a $4,500 trade-in allowance on the two models to buyers who don't have qualifying clunkers to surrender for the federal clunker credit of $3,500 to $4,500.
That's a good thing because the X5 diesel has a base price ($51,200) that's more than the $45,000 clunker program cutoff and wouldn't qualify to be purchased with a clunker credit. And only the $44,000 base model of the 335d qualifies under clunker program rules - upgraded models quickly go over the limit.
In addition to the BMW incentive and any clunker credit, the $44,000 335d sedan also qualifies for a $900 federal "clean car" tax credit because of the diesel's lower CO2 emissions.
That means it would be possible, with the right trade-in (one that qualifies for the federal clunker credit) to get a $9,900 discount on a base 3-series diesel.
As soon as Ford started promoting its upcoming four-cylinder EcoBoost engine earlier this week, pundits started quibbling over the marketability of Lincolns with 4-bangers.
Well, how 'bout a Mercedes-Benz or a BMW with a 3- banger?
In the never-ending search for more fuel efficiency, both German automakers are working on three-cylinder gasoline engines for their small and, possibly, medium-size passenger vehicles.
Both companies are motivated by Europe's strict new CO2 limits, which can be met most rapidly by decreasing fuel consumption.
In an interview with Britain's Autocar magazine, a Mercedes-Benz spokesman said the company has a 1.2-liter, turbocharged, three-cylinder engine that cranks out 168 horsepower and up to 185 lb-ft of torque, "enough to drive a mid-size car like the C-class very well."
It also delivers a 6 percent fuel economy improvement over a small four-cylinder engine with the same performance characteristics.
The uber-spy-pix-photographers at KGP Photography are famous within the automotive world for snapping shots of pre-production vehicles undergoing extreme-conditions testing in Death Valley, the vast desert straddling the California-Nevada border that's home to the highest-recorded temperatures in the Western Hemisphere.
But on a recent night, the master snappers came across a 2010 BMW 7-series "Hybrid Erprobungsfahrzeug," or Hybrid Trial Vehicle, in a parking lot near the scorching proving grounds and did what they do best (and we're not referring to how many hotdogs they can consume in 5 minutes). Their candid images appear here.
In these pics, the gold car is the 2010 hybrid and the silver the 2009 conventionally powered model. As you can see, the changes appear to be limited to the wheels and to cosmetic or aerodynamic alterations to the front bumper. Otherwise, the exteriors of the vehicles are nearly identical except for the paint.
Hidden from the auto-spies' eyes is a 20-horsepower electric motor that works with a conventional twin-turbocharged V-8 to - as BMW board member Dr. Klaus Draeger told us last January - "significantly reduce both fuel consumption and emissions." (That is the objective of all mass-produced passenger hybrid vehicles, no?)
There's also a lithium-ion battery pack and a regenerative braking system in what is sure to be a package with a stratospheric price in line with Lexus' $106,000 LS600 h hybrid. As it is, the 2009 non-hybrid BMW 7-series starts at $80,300.
Audi is joining stablemate VW in an ongoing campaign to sing the praises of diesel in a country that largely considers the fuel an oily, smelly, poor cousin to gasoline.
But the German automakers have invested a ton in bringing several of their diesel-powered vehicles to the U.S., and are determined to make consumers here as aware of diesel's good points as are consumers in Europe - where diesel vehicles are more popular than gasoline versions.
The basis of Audi's diesel campaign, which launched today, is that diesel packs more energy than gasoline, and thus delivers better fuel economy, which can help reduce our national consumption of imported crude oil.
Drive a diesel and help the U.S. cut oil consumption by 1.5 million barrels a day is the message posted on YouTube, plastered on fuel pumps and broadcast on TV in ads like this:
Audi would prefer that you drove one of its diesels - the Q7 crossover SUV is already here and the A3 hatchback launches this fall.
Auto Industry Lines Up To Praise National Program Idea, Now the Hard Work Begins
By John O'Dell, Senior Editor
The auto industry, tired of being seen as the bad guy whenever fuel economy and emissions regulation is on the table, is wasting no time lining up in support of tomorrow's White House announcement on development of a national carbon emissions and fuel efficiency program.
A cynic might think this doesn't bode well for the ultimate result of the rulemaking process that President Obama will outline at a press conference in Washington Tuesday morning: That the auto industry figures it has enough clout left to wring the life out of any effort to significantly improve fuel economy.
But we think it simply shows that an industry on life support and dependent on government largess here and overseas has finally read the writing on the wall and realizes that this is as good as it is ever going to get and that if it doesn't play ball it will have no say in the rules it eventually will have to live by.
Automakers also have been caught in a trap of their own making. They've been fighting California, the national leader in establishing greenhouse gas controls on motor vehicles, insisting that individual states shouldn't be able to set carbon emissions rules and that a national standard is needed.
Now the Obama administration has stepped to the table and said, as the president is wont to: "Okay, let's develop a national rule."
To oppose that would be political suicide.
In that vein, the two lobbying groups representing almost every car maker that does business in the U.S. have jumped on board and are voicing support for the so-called National Program for Autos.
We've been trying for months now to get some face time with entrepreneur Shai Agassi, founder of EV charging infrastructure pioneer Better Place, so far to no avail.
---------
Exchanging large hybrid and EV battery packs such as this form a Ford electric vehicle test model, won't be easy, automakers say.
----------
We want to ask him about his business model and how he intends to get the world's contentious and competitive automakers to sign on to a plan that would make it possible for an independent such as Better Place to set up shops to easily and economically swap depleted battery packs for fresh ones in various brands of electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles.
It seems to us this would take a degree of cooperation and commonality (where to put the packs so they could be pulled and exchanged quickly would require some common design features, battery attachment points and even size and weight ranges) that automakers so far have been loath to agree to.
Our paths almost crossed this week as Agassi attended a forum on battery development near out home base in Southern California - unfortunately, though, we were on the other side of the country in Florida at an alternative fuels and vehicles conference.
But several major automakers were there, as part of a panel, and according to E&E News' coverage of the Fortune magazine-sponsored event, were pretty united in their opposition to the idea of swappable batteries.
While patting Agassi on the back for his vision - a network of roadside "service stations" where the fuel is electric and the main service the swapping of depleted batteries for fully charged ones - executives from Toyota Motor Co., BMW and Ford Motor Co. all were doubtful it would work.
E&E News reports that Bill Reinart, national manager of Toyota's advanced technology group, said lithium-ion batteries and the highly charged plugs that power are not designed for constant switching and that a number of safety hazards could be created
Tom Baloga, vice president of U.S. engineering at BMW, agreed, according o the report , explaining that constant damage to batteries is likely during switching.
"Anytime you have a rapid connect and disconnect, you have to think about stability," Baloga said. "We have to be concerned about that."
Baloga added that Better Place's battery swap model is worth studying, but raised the same concern we have with battery pack uniformity and whether a battery exchange station could afford to stock a variety of packs to meet the needs of motorists who, some day, might be driving a dozen or more makes and styles of electric vehicles.
We're talking about the need to stock lots of various designs of 400- to 1,000-pound assemblages that cost $5,000 to $25,000 each, not a bunch of 50-pound, $120 lead-acid batteries.
BMW has loaned a pair of 2008 Hydrogen 7 vehicles to the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles. One car will remain in service as an on-the-road demonstration vehicle. The other will go on display inside the museum.
The Petersen's Alternative Power Exhibit also features a hydrogen fuel-cell vehicle, a coal- and wood-burning truck, a steam-powered car from the 1970s, a General Motors EV-1 and a 1963 Chrysler Turbine car.
Last year, researchers at Argonnne National Laboratory put BMW's hydrogen-burning V12 engine to the test and found that it -- as BMW had been claiming -- produces little more in the way of tailpipe emissions than water vapor.
Argonne's scientists found that the Hydrogen 7's exhaust stream is one of the cleanest in the industry, surpassing even the "Super Ultra-Low Emission Vehicle (or SULEV) that is now the cleanest rating.
BMW has placed about 100 of the 7 Series sedans with celebrities, politicians and opinion-leaders to help raise awareness about its hydrogen fuel initiative.
You don't need a weatherman to know which way the federal funding for green vehicle technology research has been flowing.
The Clinton administration favored plug-in hybrid electric vehicle research. The Bush administration steered funding to hydrogen fuel-cell research. And who hasn't heard President Obama's repeated pledge to have 1 million plug-in hybrid electric vehicles on American roads by 2015?
But some in Washington, D.C. are cautioning against the anticipated swing of federal funding back to plug-in hybrids at the expense of hydrogen technology research.
"I hope that we will avoid again putting all of our eggs in one technology basket," U.S. Rep. Brian Baird (D, Wash.) said while chairing a Tuesday hearing in Washington, D.C., by the House Subcommittee on Energy and Environment. "While we must be targeted in our federal R&D programs, this single-minded approach ignores the importance of balancing a diverse portfolio with sustained funding for longer-term research."
Subsequent testimony by Steven Chalk suggested that the principal deputy assistant secretary for the Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy has taken to heart Obama's 2015 pledge.
Daimler AG
says that its Mercedes-Benz Hybrid LLC subsidiary will build a research and development near Ann Arbor, Mich. that will focus on conventional and alternative propulsion systems.
Government officials in Michigan said that the project will include a $9.9 million investment and create 223 direct jobs and an estimated 231 indirect jobs.
The Michigan Economic Growth Authority earlier this week won Daimler's decision to locate the center in Michigan by approving a $7.5 million,10-year tax credit for the 65,000-square-foot R&D facility Government agencies in Ann Arbor are expected to consider abatement of local taxes on the R&D center as part of the incentive package.
Officials in Michigan said that Daimler opted for Michigan over a competing bid from Greenville, S.C.
What led Daimler to choose Ann Arbor?
"It was the Detroit workforce," a Daimler spokesman told The Detroit News, a reference to the thousands of skilled but jobless auto industry workers in the area.
Daimler has until June 15 to select a specific site for the facility and has said an Ann Arbor locale depends of local tax breaks.
As our sister blog Edmunds AutoObserver reports, the German automaker already is working in the Detroit area, in cooperation with General Motors and BMW, on the two-mode hybrid technology already used in GM's full-size SUVs and pickups and slatled to be offered in upscoming BMW and Mercedes-Benz SUVs.
The new center likely would be dedicated to hybrid systems for Daimler's Mercedes-Benz passenger cars and, possibly, for its large commercial trucks as well.
Hopes for widespread introduction of clean, fuel-efficient diesel cars and light trucks in the U.S. over the next few year are diminishing as quickly as most of our 401ks.
---------- Diesels such as Ford's 65 mpg Fiesta ECOnetic aren't seen as marketable in the U.S. ----------
The latest casualty seems to be the once-promised Nissan Maxima diesel sedan, Senior Editor Billl Visnic reports in our sister blog, Edmunds' AutoObserver
.
The 3-liter V6 turbodiesel originally slated to launch here later this year is most likely on hold and well could be canceled, Visnic says, victim of the economic meltdown that has made spending on pricey technologies such as clean diesel a difficult decision for both automakers and consumers.
General Motors Corp. last week said it has shelved plans for a new diesel V8 for its pickups and SUVs, Ford Motor Co. has been grim about the outlook for diesel cars here, Toyota has canceled a diesel engine development program and Honda Motor Co. last year said it was ditching plans to launch a diesel Acura model in the U.S.
As Visnic points out, only the Europeans - heavily invested in diesel technology because of fuel economy and greenhouse gas emissions policies over there - are still big backers of diesels for the U.S
Volkswagen already sells the new diesel Jetta here; Audi launches the diesel-powered Q7 late this spring, followed by the diesel A3 in the fall as a 2010 model; Mercedes-Benz has three diesel-powered U.S. models, the ML-, GL- and R-Class, and BMW currently offers a diesel-engine 3-Series sedan and a diesel-powered X5 crossover here.
They say you shouldn't count your chickens before they hatch, lest they don't. BMW was doing that back in November, when it talked about how federal clean-diesel tax credits would lower the diesel premium
it would be charging for its new diesel X5 crossover and 3 Series sedan models (right)
when they hit showrooms in the U.S. this year.
But the automaker lucked out -- it announced today that its diesel models have, indeed, qualified for the federal "Advanced Lean Burn Technology Motor Vehicle Tax Credit."
The BMW 355d sedan will earn purchasers a credit of up to $900, while the pricier X5 diesel (officially the "X5 xDrive35d Sports Activity Vehicle" -- only the Germans can best the feds at coming up with long, convoluted names for things) -- comes with a credit of up to $1,800.
The 3 Series diesel is EPA rated at 23 miles per gallon in the city and 36 mpg on the highway, the X5 at 19 mpg city and 26 mpg highway.
Before applying the credit, the 355d starts at $44,725, or $3,800 more than the comparable gasoline-burning 3 Series model; the X5 diesel starts at $52,025, or $2,550 more than its gasoline counterpart.
Audi's top U.S. official says Americans have a small-equals-cheap mentality and as a result, they won't be given the option of buying the none-to-cheap Audi A1 that will be available to Europeans later this year.
However, Audi of America President Johan de Nysschen said Audi is "seriously looking" at bringing the A1 to the land of the free and home of the brave when the subcompact receives is updated - six to eight years from now, according to an article published today in Automotive News (subscription required).
Bringing the model here any sooner could damage the German automaker's efforts to build widespread recognition for the brand, de Nysschen said.
"People who know us consider us very highly, but not enough people know us yet," de Nysschen said in the interview at Audi's U.S. headquarters in Herndon, Virginia.
De Nysschen said Audi's U.S. dealers asked for the A1, until they found out what it would cost. European pricing hasn't been set, but the car likely will have a price tag of about 20,000 euros - or $25,550, give or take, at current exchange rates.
"They said: 'This is impossible. You cannot charge this much for small cars,' " de Nysschen said of the dealers' reaction. "In their mind, they were thinking $18,000, because that's the conditioning our society still has."
The A1 is about 10 inches shorter than the A3, Audi's smallest U.S. model. In Europe, the A1 will compete against BMW's 1 series and its various MINI models. Both are sold in the United States, starting at $29,000 and $27,000, respectively.
Yes, it would seem that the A1 is competitively priced, so one has to wonder what's up with Audi. Also, the MINIs are popular in the United States, so saying Americans aren't willing to pay a hefty price for a supermini car is factually deficient.
As Audi CEO Rupert Stadler put it, "Americans still want big cars, but with increasing fuel-efficiency."
True, but a good many of them want small city cars with good fuel economy and status, and the Audi A1 meets that criteria. We assume - as Audi's U.S. dealers apparently do - that the model simply wouldn't compete favorably against the BMW 1 series and the MINIs.
Audi will offer a hybrid version of its Q5 premium SUV in the U.S. starting in late 2010, Wolfgang Hatz, head of powertrain development for the Volkswagen group, told Automotive News (subscription required).
If the car is a success in America, Audi said it may launch it in Europe.
In an interview at the Detroit Auto Show last month, Hatz said Audi must offer a hybrid model to compete with rival vehicles that already offer the technology, such as the Lexus RX 400h. The BMW X6 will be offered as a hybrid late this year, and Mercedes-Benz plans to roll out a hybrid in each of its major models starting with the S400 hybrid this year.
That said, Hatz thinks the greatest potential lies in diesel.
"If you look at what you have to spend to get the advantage of the hybrid and what you have to spend on other technologies like diesel, the diesel is much more cost-effective," Hatz told Automotive News. "We have to do hybrids in order to show people that we are able to do them."
Hatz said the cost to develop a hybrid powertrain is three to four times greater than that for a standard drivetrain, compared with less than 50 percent greater for a diesel drivetrain. Considering the low volumes of hybrid vehicles, it makes for a "negative business case" to offer the drivetrain in one model only, Hatz said.
"At the moment, we have to spend quite a lot on the basic technology, which then we can perhaps spread later on more models," he added.
Audi had planned to offer its first hybrid in the larger Q7 premium SUV, but the dollar's weak value against the euro made the business case unworkable. Hatz said the Q5 was a natural alternative.
Already on sale in Europe, the gasoline version of the Q5 (pictured) goes on sale in U.S. in March. It will compete with the BMW X3 and Mercedes GLK.
There's an eco-friendly BMW supercar, the Z10 ED, under consideration to showcase Bayerische Motoren Werke's suit of fuel-efficient, low-emission technologies, reports Britain's Autocar
.
That's good news, but we wish sometimes that instead of packing all the good stuff into a $150,000 two-seat exotic, one of our major automakers would do so in an affordable family sedan.
We know it would still be costly because a lot of the components used to improve fuel economy and cut emissions are one-a-kind, just-developed-in-the lab sorts of stuff that must be hand-built and hand-fitted into an existing vehicle.
Still, it would be nice to show the 90 percent of the car-buying population that can't afford a Z10 supercar, or even a Tesla Roadster, that even the 'ol family hauler can be made green and that the exorbitant cost of the technologies will come down if people tell automakers, "Hey! That's what we want!"
But we digress, so, back to the Z10 ED we go.
According to the info Autocar winkled out of someone at BMW, the two-seater will use all the technologies now spread among the company's existing EfficientDynamics model lineup. That includes lightweight carbon fiber and aluminum chassis and body parts, green electronics, and nifty new engine and exhaust technologies.
The article quotes an unidentified BMW insider saying that the idea "is idea is to bring all the very latest technology together" to provide high performance " without overburdening the environment."
Okay, maybe the last thing the world needs more big-bucks hybrids (Lexus so far hasn't burned up the sales charts with its attempts), but BMW has said it "probably" will have hybrid versions of both the X6 and the 7-Series on sale in the U.S. sometime later this year.
----------
BMW's 7-Series hybrid concept is introduced in Detroit by Klaus Draeger, the automakers' chief of development.
----------
BMW used the Detroit auto show to unveil the Concept 7-Series Active-Hybrid, a mild-hybrid job that combines a 20-horsepower electric motor with the car's conventional twin-turbocharged V-8 to "significantly reduce both fuel consumption and emissions," said BMW board member Dr. Klaus Draeger.
There's also a lithium-ion battery pack and a regenerative braking system in what is sure to be a package with a stratospheric price in line with Lexus' slow-moving LS600 h hybrid.
The company also reminded that the Concept X6 Active-Hybrid is still around - it finally is bringing to market the two-mode hybrid transmission technology co-developed with General Motors and Daimler.
The pricey two-mode hybrid transmission is particularly well-suited to crossover-type utility vehicles, said BMW, and will enable the X6 hybrid to use "about 20 percent less fuel than a comparable vehicle."
"We are certain both hybrid concepts will be particularly attractive for the U.S. customer," said Robertson. "Together with our diesel models, we are able to offer the U.S. customers a variety of solutions to suit different needs and tastes."
"Both hybrid models will be ready for series production in 2009," said Robertson. "That means they will probably be available to our customers from the end of the year."
That "probably" leaves something to think about, however.
The European automakers still display a certain distaste for hybrid technology, preferring to promote diesel. Both of BMW's development partners with the two-mode system, for example, have had production models on sale for some time - GM with its Tahoe/Yukon/Escalade SUVs and former Daimler division Dodge with its now-discontinued Durango and Aspen hybrids.
So, with the economy in a tank and luxury car sales falling along with everything else, we'll take a wait-and-see approach to this latest hybrid news from Bimmer.
(Note: Article updated after initial posting to include Lexus hybrid)
The upcoming North American International Auto Show in snowy Detroit - media preview days begin Sunday and the show opens to the public on Jan. 17 - is likely to be a pretty glum affair, what with the auto industry imploding and the prospect of many people really being interested in buying a new car right now ranking right up there with being interested in having wisdom teeth pulled sans anesthesia.
But carmakers are trying, and what most are trying hardest with is fuel efficiency and alternatives to the thirsty, greenhouse-gas spewing cars and trucks of the past.
Oh, there will be speedsters and factory-built hot rods on display at the show - Ford Motor Co., for example, will unveil the 540-horsepower 2010 Shelby GT500 Mustang and Audi will be showing a 525-horsepower, V10-version of its exotic R8 sports car.
But most attention will be focused on advanced technology cars such as the 2010 Prius hybrid (right)
and the battery-electric city car concept that Toyota will show, Honda's Prius-fighting 2009 Insight hybrid and concepts such as the all-electric, plug-in hybrid and fuel -cell electric trio, collectively called Concept Zero, that Mercedes-Benz will unveil.
Beyond the cars, the show's media preview will spotlight industry executives who will be delivering news about their companies' green futures.
Most notably, Toyota is expected to outline its hybrid and electric-vehicle strategies for the next few years and Ford is expected to discuss its plans for a stable of future EVs, starting with a commercial truck it plans to launch in 2010.
Green Car Advsior, along with Edmunds Auto Observer, Edmunds Inside Line and Edmunds.com, will be covering the show 's media days and bringing you timely reports, but we thought we'd also offer a preview today of the major green vehicles that will be displayed and discussed.
Green Preview
So, by manufacturer, here they are:
Audi
Volkswagen's upscale stablemate is expected to announce plans for its upcoming U.S. diesel lineup. So far, the company has said it will launch a 3-liter diesel version of its Q7 SUV (right)
later this year and has broached the possibility of a diesel A4. We'll know more after Audi's Sunday afternoon press conference.
BMW The pride of Bavaria will discuss the X5 and 3-Series diesels it plans to bring to the U.S., perhaps supplying us with some performance and fuel economy numbers as well as a marketing time-line.
Chevrolet
Nothing big here, unless the General decides to announce the upcoming Volt plug-in hybrid's pricing and/or the battery suppliers.
The Chevy vehicle that gets officially introduced at the show is the redesigned 2010 Equinox crossover (right), which will come with a new six-speed automatic and a fuel-efficient, direct-injection four-banger expected to deliver 182 horsepower (almost as much as the '08 model's base V6) and highway fuel economy of 30 miles per gallon.
Chrysler The company has three brands that it has tied together for car show purposes with a trio of concept electric vehicles.
Those to be displayed in Detroit are further refined versions of the Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep EVs originally unveiled last September and first shown publicly at the Los Angeles International Auto Show in November.
By brand, they are the Chrysler EV, an extended-range electric version of the town and Country minivan; the Jeep EV, a gas-electric Wrangler; and the Dodge EV, a Lotus-based, bumblebee-striped battery-electric sports car that would look great in the garage next to an electric Tesla Roadster.
Chrysler has said that it will bring one of the cars to market in 2010, but hasn't said which or in what kind of numbers. Maybe that's what we'll hear at the show.
Fisker
The nascent plug-in-hybrid company headed by, and named for, noted auto designer Henrik Fisker (BMW, Aston Martin, Fisker Coachbuild), will show the production version of it first proposed vehicle, the Fisker Karma sports sedan (right)
that it unveiled to great interest at last year's Detroit show. Fisker also will unveil a new version - a convertible, we suspect - caled the Karma S.
Like the Chevy Volt, the Karma uses an on-board internal combustion engine to generate power to keep its electric motors turning the wheels.
Ford We expect a discussion of the company's electric vehicle strategy, perhaps with a teaser glimpse or two of potential future offerings and a look at the commercial truck the company has said it will launch in 2010.
Honda
The news here will be the unveiling of the production version 2009 Insight hybrid (right)
, a sub $20,000, five-seater Honda hopes will finally, finally, pump its hybrid sales up into Prius territory.
We're expected to hear a lot of technical detail and, perhaps, even a firmer price for the car, which looks in pictures a bit like the Prius it's designed to battle.
Lexus Toyota's luxury unit will reveal its first stand-alone hybrid model, a small car that is based off the upcoming 2010 Prius.
Although it is not unusual - its pretty common, even - for photos of new models to leak out before their official unveiling, the best we've been able to come up with for the new Lexus hybrid is this rendering (left) published in a Japanese auto magazine a few months ago.
Mercedes-Benz The covers will come off a trio of EV concepts from Daimler's luxe brand. All use the same swoopy, sport wagon-ish body (below right) - a design that also shows where Mercedes is heading with the compact B-Class replacement due in 2010 and, perhaps, headed for the U.S.
The so-called Concept Zero family consists of the E-Cell, a battery-electric with a range of about 60 miles; the E-Cell Plus, a plug-in hybrid that uses a 3-cylinder gas engine-generator to extend the range of its batteries when the initial charge is depleted (think Chevy Volt), and the F-Cell, which uses a hydrogen fuel-cell to produce electricity on-board by combining hydrogen and oxygen in the fuel-cell stack. Range is about 125 miles. Mercedes says the E-Cell Plus can go almost 400 miles on an overnight battery charge and a tank of gas.
Toyota The company whose name has become synonymous with 'hybrid" is introducing the redesigned 2010 Prius at the show, but photos of the car leaked out weeks ago and you've got to believe that anyone who's interested has already seen it. What will be news, of course, are the specifications and performance numbers.
The other biggie on the product front from Toyota will be the unveiling of a concept electric vehicle, probably called the FT-EV if the company's previous auto show naming practices prevail (that would stand for "future technology-electric vehicle").
The car, believed to be built on a current Toyota subcompact chassis, is the company's effort to give us a look at what a Toyota-built battery-electric EV for short-range urban driving might look like if the company does, as it has said it would, put an EV into its retail fleet in 2012.
Not The End
And, of course - Detroit being Detroit - there likely will be a surprise or two. So consider this list a starter, not a definitive catalog.
China's BYD, for instance, will be there with the plug-in-hybrid (left)
it launched in its home market a few weeks ago, beating the big boys like GM and Toyota to the punch by a matter of, oh, a year or two. Who knows what the company - whose name is an acronym for Build Your Dreams and whose future is being backed by investment whiz Warren Buffett - will do next? We might find out as the Detroit show rolls along.
We'll be back when media days begin on Sunday to keep you up-to-date.
BMW will soon kick off an advertising campaign as part of an ambitious effort to promote two of its fuel-efficient diesel vehicles: the X5 xDrive35d crossover and the 335d sedan
.
The Munich automaker believes the campaign, which will launch this Sunday with TV commercials during the season premiere of Fox's "24," is needed to change America's perception of diesel vehicles as mobile soot-spewing machines.
"They are demonstratively better than they were 25 years ago," Patrick F. McKenna, the German automaker's U.S. marketing manager, told the Wall Street Journal recently.
Because diesel gets better mileage than gasoline, it emits fewer greenhouse gases. And the cancer-causing particulates found in diesel emissions are now mostly trapped in filters.
To change diesel's negative perception, BMW is using ads that feel like a grammar-school science lesson. The teacher: Brian Unger, the host of the Discovery Channel show "Some Assembly Required."
In one commercial, the Journal reported, Unger uses a scale to weigh beakers of fuel. "If this is the amount of gas it takes to go 10 miles, then this is the amount of diesel that it takes to go the same distance," he says, showing off less liquid in the diesel beaker.
In another spot, he holds up a tiny metal ball. "Imagine this is a gallon of fuel," he says. "If we all switched to diesel, we could save 90 million of these every single day." Millions of little metal balls begin to rain down on him.
It's the first time in a decade that BMW has enlisted the help of a pitchman. The campaign will also include print and online ads.
The folks at the BMW Blog
say they've seen Bimmer's '09 product plan and it contains a pair of new BMW electric-vehicle concepts.
BMW has been talking EV most of the year, and the blog report says the first of the new concepts, to be introduced in March at the Geneva Auto Show, is an eDrive concept that uses the Mini E's battery-electric drive system installed in either a BMW 1- or 3-Series.
The second, if the rumor mill is grinding true, is a battery-electric version of the Z roadster, to be dubbed the Z Vision Concept and due at either the Frankfurt or Tokyo auto shows later in the year.
And on the Honda front, thanks to Insightman
via Autoblog Green
, comes word that the 2009 Insight hybrid to be unveiled next week at the Detroit auto show will come in three flavors - likely to be the DX, LX and EX trim lines that differentiate the price- and equipment-levels of other Honda models.
Insightman also suggests that there will be no spare, just a flat fix kit; that the top-of-the-line EX model will feature a 7-speed CVT with paddle shifters; that the only interiors offered will be blue or grey cloth and that side air bags will be option on all trim levels.
Small cars fare better in crashes than they used to, but they still lag behind larger vehicles in protecting passengers. Their disadvantages are especially clear in side-impact crashes.
---------- Chrysler's PT Cruiser did poorly in the side-impact test. ----------
Of the nine small cars recently tested by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, all received the group's top rating of "good" in frontal crashes, but only two got good ratings when broadsided.
The Insurance Institute tested nine small cars for the 2009 model year in front, side and rear collisions. The group included the BMW Mini Cooper, Chevrolet HHR, Chrysler PT Cruiser, Ford Focus, Hyundai Elantra, Saturn Astra, Suzuki SX4, as well as the Toyota Matrix and Pontiac Vibe, which are essentially the same vehicle sold under two brand names.
Only the SX4 and Matrix, and its twin the Vibe, received good ratings for protection in side crashes. The Ford and Chevrolet were judged acceptable in side-impact protection, while the Hyundai and Saturn were marginal and the Chrysler was poor.
Only the Ford Focus was top-rated in rear-impact crashes that test how well the vehicles' seats and head restraints protect passengers. The Chrysler PT Cruiser was the worst performer, with poor ratings for side and rear protection.
European carmakers must cut emissions of global-warming gases from new vehicles by 18 percent within the next six years, the European Parliament agreed Wednesday after a long battle between environmentalists and automakers that ultimately resulted in greatly watered-down legislation.
In accordance with the 27-nation pact, carbon-dioxide emissions from new cars will be cut to 130 grams per kilometer in a phased approach starting in 2012 and with full compliance by 2015.
Under the phase-in, 65 percent of Europe's new-car fleet must meet the target in 2012; 75 percent in 2013, 80 percent in 2014 and 100 percent beginning in 2015.
To meet the 130 grams per kilometer average, the EU will give carmakers individual targets based on the weight of their cars. The targets range from 122 grams per kilometer for Fiat and 137 grams per kilometer for BMW and Daimler.
Car companies that miss their targets will face fines that were slashed nearly in half under intense lobbying by the automakers.
The European Commission, which originates EU laws, had envisaged the full cuts to carbon dioxide by 2012 and a CO2 target of 120 grams per kilometer on average. But Germany fought hard for BMW and Mercedes-Benz, which will now be able to produce their biggest, luxury gas-guzzlers until 2014, protecting jobs and export earnings.
The World Car of the Year organization has announced the initial slate of candidates for 2009 World Green Car of the Year.
Launched three years ago, the title has been awarded in the past to the BMW 118d (2008), the Mercedes-Benz E320 Bluetec (2007) and the Honda Civic Hybrid (2006).
The 2009 candidates must be new and on sale by December 31.
The list includes the Audi Q7 3.0 TDI (pictured), BMW 335d BluePerformance, Chevrolet Tahoe/GMC Yukon hybrids, Citroen C1, Fiat Palio Weekend Electric, Fiat Siena Tetrafuel model, Honda FCX Clarity. Go to Edmunds.com's Inside Line to view more candidates.
The organization includes working automotive journalists from around the globe, including regular Inside Line contributors Matt Davis, Hormazd Sorabjee, Peter Nunn and Peter Lyon.
The top 10 finalists will be announced in January, with the winner revealed in April at the 2009 New York Auto Show.
Ward's Automotive Group has announced its 15th annual 10 Best Engines list, which "reflects the diversity of 2009 powertrains that will play a role in reshaping America's automotive landscape."
The winning engines were selected by editors for Ward's, publisher of automotive trade magazines since 1924.
Thirty-two engines were considered this year. Eligibility requirements included: Availability in a regular-production U.S.-specification model on sale no later than first-quarter 2009. And, the engine must be in a vehicle priced no more than $54,000 (a price cap indexed to the average cost of a new vehicle).
The winners by manufacturer, engine and vehicle tested:
Audi; 2.0-liter TFSI (Turbocharged Fuel Stratified Injection) DOHC (double overhead camshaft) I-4 (inline 4-cylinder); A4 Avant BMW; 3.0-liter turbocharged DOHC I-6; 135i coupe BMW; 3.0-liter DOHC I-6 Turbodiesel; 335d sedan Chrysler; 5.7-liter Hemi OHV (overhead valves) V-8 (a V-shaped engine with eight cylinders); Dodge Ram truck/Challenger R/T large car Ford; 2.5-liter DOHC I-4 HEV (hybrid electric vehicle); Escape Hybrid SUV General Motors; 3.6-liter DOHC V-6; Cadillac CTS sedan Honda; 3.5-liter SOHC (single overhead camshaft) V-6; Accord coupe Hyundai; 4.6-liter DOHC V-8; Genesis sedan Toyota; 3.5-liter DOHC V-6; Lexus IS 350 sedan Volkswagen; 2.0-liter SOHC I-4 Turbodiesel; Jetta TDI sedan
The diesel engines from VW and BMW and the engine from the Ford Escape Hybrid all got better than 30 miles per gallon during Ward's testing and often topped 40 mpg, said Tom Murphy, executive editor of Ward's AutoWorld magazine.
EV charger manufacturer Coulomb Technologies, which recently announced that it has orders for 40 of its networked charging stations to be installed along major traffic corridors in California, says it now has established distributorships that cover 28 states with plans to expand into all 50.
Coulomb, headquartered in Northern California, is displaying its wirelessly linked charging stations at the Electric Drive Transportation Assn.'s annual conference in Washington, D.C. this week.
The company's "Smartlet" stations supply current at a variety of voltages for battery-electric and pug-in hybrid vehicles. Station users' would use prepaid accounts that would be debited via a wireless transaction when they access one of the charging stations - unless the station owner has opted, as several have, to deliver the power at no charge.
Coulomb said it will market the stations exclusively through its regional distributors, who now cover the major states in all regions except Texas and the Midwest.
Richard Lowenthal, Coulomb's chief executive, has said that he wants to position the company to have a commercial recharging infrastructure in place when vehicles with rechargeable batteries beginning appearing in the marketplace.
In addition to independents such as Tesla Motors, Miles Electric Vehicles, GEM and Zap that already market electric vehicles, several major and independent automakers, including General Motors, Toyota, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Ford, Mercedes-Benz, Chrysler, BMW, Fisker Automotive and Aptera Motors have announced plans for plug-in hybrids or battery-electric cars that will begin to hit the market -- some for testing, others for retail sales or leasing -- by late next year.
Batteries with limited storage capacity are the main hurdle to Germany's goal of putting 5 million electric cars on its roads by 2030, the Bloomberg news service reported today
, citing the country's transportation and environment ministers.
Europe's largest car market wants at least 1 million electric cars on the road by 2020 and 5 million a decade later, environment minister Sigmar Gabriel said today in Berlin. Germany currently has about 55 million cars operating nationwide.
Germany lost its leadership in battery technology half a century ago and "desperately" needs to regain that expertise for electric car demand to rise, said Gabriel, echoing comments by transport minister Wolfgang Tiefensee.
Vehicles require a range of 124 to 180 miles without a recharge before technology can meet the demands of drivers, they said.
"The challenges are enormous," Tiefensee said. "But we need electric vehicles to reduce our dependence on oil."
Road transportation accounts for almost a fifth of global carbon-dioxide emissions, which are blamed for contributing to rising temperatures, and carmakers are looking for ways to make driving less harmful to the planet.
Emissions from Germany's transportation sector have risen more than 4 percent since 1990 while the country's overall CO2 output has declined.
When BMW's Mini unit launched its Mini Cooper D - as in diesel - last summer, we wished, oh how we wished, the company would bring it to the States.
---------- Right-hand drive version of the Mini Cooper D is at home in Great Britain. ----------
That didn't look possible then, but now AutoblogGreen
is reporting that a Mini diesel just might be in the works for us after all.
A year ago, demand for Minis, diesel and gas, had the factory in Oxford, England, running full time and there was no extra capacity to build more Minis for the U.S. There also was the little problem of getting a clean enough diesel system to pass tough U.S. emissions standards.
It seems, though, that the global economic crunch as slowed sales, and thus production, of Minis and the Oxford factory now has some unused capacity.
Additionally, Mini is working a U.S.-spec version of the Mini Cooper D engine. It would use special catalysts and a lean NOx trap, like the now delayed Honda diesel and the VW Jetta TDI, rather than a urea injection system as is used on larger BMWs and Mercedes-Benzes.
No launch date for the U.S. diesel Mini - with gas prices so low and diesel fuel still relatively high here, there's no big economic reason to rush one over.
Still, the Euro-spec Mini D delivers about 50 miles per gallon (U.S.) and putts along quite nicely with a 120 mph top speed from a 110-horsepower engine that delivers 177 pound-feet of torque.
BMW Group introduced its highly anticipated all-electric and zero-emissions plug-in MINI E minicar to the world today, much to the delight of the international motor press corps, at the 2008 LA Auto Show.
During the unveiling, BMW announced that the MINI E will initially be made available to select private and corporate customers as part of a pilot project in California, New York and New Jersey.
When the program gets underway next year, BMW will be the world's first manufacturer of premium automobiles to deploy a fleet of some 500 electric vehicles for private use in daily traffic.
Powering the MINI E is a 150-kilowatt-hour, 204-horsepower electric motor fed by a high-performance rechargeable lithium-ion battery. The motor transfers power to the front wheels via a single-stage gearbox almost silently and entirely free of emissions.
The deputy mayor of Los Angeles and a BMW engineer demonstrated the quiet and clean operation of the MINI E by driving two around the MINI stage in the South Hall of the Los Angeles Convention Center.
Specially engineered for automobile use, the battery technology permits 150 miles of travel between charges.
BMW announced today that its high-performance, fuel-efficient diesel-powered 3-Series sedan and X5 crossover will be available in the United States starting at $44,725 and $52,025, respectively.
The 335d sedan (pictured) is priced $3,800 more than the gas-powered performance-comparable 335i model, which starts at $40,925, after the diesel's $900 tax credit is taken into account, BMW spokesmen said during a Web teleconference with reporters.
The X5 xDrive 35d (below) costs $2,550 more than the gasoline 6-cylinder X5 XDrive 30i, which starts at $47,925, after the diesel's $1,550 tax credit is factored in. But with the tax credit, the diesel variant is actually $6,150 less than the gas-slurping V-8 X5 xDrive 48i selling for $56,625 on up.
Both vehicles are 50-state legal, due to their low emissions, and feature an inline 6-cylinder engine with twin turbochargers that help it achieve 265 horsepower and an outstanding 425 pound-feet of torque.
Indeed, the 335d will only be available with an automatic transmission because the power would make a manual transmission "inappropriate," said Tom Baloga, BMW's vice president for engineering.
Despite the power, which takes the 335d from 0-60 miles per hour in a flat 6 seconds, the diesel sedan delivers an impressive 23 miles per gallon in the city and 36 mpg on the highway compared to the 17 mpg city and 26 mpg highway for the gasoline 335i.
Or put another way, the diesel 335 gets more than 30 percent better fuel economy around town and nearly 40 percent better fuel economy on the open road than the gasoline variant.
That's what the leasing team for BMW's upcoming Mini EV must be thinking.
Since announcing the car 21 days ago, BMW says that more than 9,000 people have expressed interest in leasing one - at the rather hefty price of $850 a month.
The scramble should be interesting as BMW has said it will only released 500 of the Mini E models, as the battery-electric car is being called.
Actual lease applications won't be available until the middle of the month - and then only to people in certain areas of California, New York and New Jersey where electric vehicle recharging infrastructure exists.
The 9,000-plus "hand-raisers" expressed interest in the Mini E lease program by signing up for information on the Mini web site.
The 2-seat car looks like a standard Mini with the rear seat removed to make room for the batteries. Range is estimated at about 150 miles on a single charge.
Mini Es also will sport special paint jobs and decals identifying them as electric cars.
The lease price, which will cover all maintenance, is only $29 a month less than the lease price of a $77,000 BMW 750i sedan.
Tesla Motors said today that its directors had approved $40 million in convertible-debt financing to step up production of its Roadster electric sports car (pictured) and Model S electric luxury sedan and to expand its battery-electric powertrain sales unit.
Last week, Tesla founder Elon Musk said the electric-car startup was moving to close a commitment exceeding $20 million from existing investors to bolster a cash balance that had dropped to $9 million.
The directors opened a roughly 30-day financing round during a meeting Sunday, company spokeswoman Rachel Konrad told Green Car Advisor today, adding that most of Tesla's major investors had pledged a combined $40 million to ensure that amount was met when the round closes.
In addition to the new financing round from investors, Tesla also expects to secure another $200 million in still-pending loans from the U.S. Department of Energy. Musk said last week that the investor financing would suffice until the DOE loans become available.
Collection of the pledged $40 million will take place after the financing round concludes at the end of this month or early December, Konrad said.
NOTE: Updated 10 p.m., 10/27, with confirmation and comments from AC Propulsion's Tom Gage.
EV pioneer AC Propulsionreportedly has landed the contract to supply the motor controllers and battery packs for the upcoming Mini E electric car.
Electric vehicle activist and Plug In America co-founder Paul Scott reports in an e-mail this evening (and in a posting on the Revenge of the Electric Car Website) that a member of MiniUSA's media team, Nathalie Bauters, has confirmed to him that the San Dimas-based electric propulsion systems maker and Scion Xb converter will be supplying the critical electric propulsion system.
Neither AC Propulsion CEO Tom Gage also confirmed the deal to Green Car Advisor late Monday. He said that BMW, Mini's parent, has planned a formal announcement for the Los Angeles Auto Show media preview on Nov. 19 and that he's prohibited from saying much about the contract until then.
nor Bauters or anyone else at Mini (a unit of BMW) could be reached for comment. We'll update as soon as we do talk to one of both parties in the reported deal.
Gage did say, though, that ACP will be delivering the drive systems "pretty much" all at once rather than feeding them to BMW over a long period and that he understands that BMW wants to begin leasing the cars in the first quarter next year, or within the next three to five months.
The contract is the "biggest ever" for ACP, said Gage, who recently announced a deal to supply electric drives to a Taiwanese company planning to build an EV for sale in that country.
BMW confirmed the Mini E program earlier this month, announcing plans to lease 500 of the cars to select customers in parts of Southern California, New York and New Jersey. One qualification -- a locking garage.
The company is taking names of potential lessees on the Mini website but hasn't been free with details.
Scott, and we don't know where he got the info although he is -- pun intended -- well plugged-in, says the lease will cost a stiff $850 a month.
That's a bunch for a 2-seat car, although we'd bet a lot more than a year's lease would cost that Mini will have no difficulty even in this lousy economy finding 500 people willing to fork over the dough for a chance to be among the first behind the wheel.
The rules were crystal: chow mescaline and Twinkies, crank Hendrix or Led Zep, and design alt-fuel race cars for model year 2025 that defy normal imaginations.
At least that's our understanding of the rules given the nine Southern California automotive design studios competing in the fifth annual L.A. Auto Show's Design Challenge.
This year's entries will be judged by Tom Matano of San Francisco's Academy of Art University, Imre Molner of Detroit's College for Creative Studies, Stewart Reed of Pasadena's Art Center College of Design, and Daniel Simon, founder of Cosmic Motors.
The winning design will be announced at the auto show on Nov. 20. And now for your dreaming pleasure:
The question of just how automakers bringing diesels with urea-based anti-NOx exhaust systems into the U.S. would guarantee that the emissions-cleaning chemical would not be allowed to run dry was a sticking point for months in negotiations between federal regulators and carmakers.
---------- New 2009 Mercedes-Benz diesel SUVs use urea system to knock down NOx emissions. ----------
Well, now we know: The vehicles won't start if the urea tank is allowed to run too low.
We would love to make a joke here, but the industry trade journal Automotive News (subscription only)
beat us to it Monday, with one of the best double-entendre
headlines we've seen (or read) in years: "Urea must flow or new diesels won't go."
You know, of course, that the urea we're talking about isn't the kind produced by too many beers at a ball game, but a type of chemical ammonia that's synthesized from natural gas (and we'll spare you any attempt at a bodily functions joke here).
It is carried in large tanks on board the trio of Mercedes-Benz diesel SUVs -- the GL320, ML320 and R320 (above, right)
that hit dealer showrooms at the beginning of the month and is periodically injected into a special "selective catalyst reduction" or SCR exhaust catalyst, where it combines with the emissions of toxic NOx, or nitrogen oxide, breaking it down into harmless water vapor and inert nitrogen.
Hydrogen fuel-cell and plug-in hybrid test programs move over. BMW Group is joining the alternative fuels race in a big way, announcing today that it soon will field a fleet of 500 battery-electric Minis in the U.S.
The "Mini E" electric cars will debut at the Los Angeles Auto Show's media preview Nov. 19 and 20 and while BMW has not provided a launch date for the leasing program, it said the electric cars are to be built over the next few months, indicating a late 2008 or early 2009 start.
The company, which has been teasing about an electric Mini program since July
, said in a prepared statement being released this morning that it plans to lease Mini E models "to select private and corporate customers as part of a pilot project."
In addition to program and vehicle details, the company also released a number of exterior and interior photos (below).
Motor Trendreported today
that there are "whispers out of General Motors" suggesting that GM might offer the Cadillac CTS with a fuel-efficient 4.5-liter Duramax V-8 turbodiesel engine.
While the emissions-sensitive engine was initially expected to serve in SUVs and light-duty pickups, GM engineers have long pointed out that the dual overhead cam, four-valve diesel V-8 will fit in the same space as a small-block gasoline V-8.
GM says the 4.5-liter Duramax is capable of delivering more than 310 horsepower and 520 pound-feet of torque. It also claims the engine meets the tough 2010 emissions standards, making it legal in all 50 states.
Motor Trend points out that while the CTS is due to get a 2.9-liter V-6 diesel in Europe, the 4.5-liter diesel V-8 could easily fill the obvious gap between the 304-hp direct-injection V-6 of the regular CTS and the 556-hp supercharged V-8 of the CTS-v in the U.S.
That's especially true, the magazine notes, now that the Ultra V-8 engine program has been canned. In the CTS, the Duramax V-8 could easily deliver comparable performance to the Ultra, with 20-25 percent better mileage.
A diesel CTS for the U.S. would be a risk, but the downside for GM is in fact minimal. The engine already exists, as does the transmission capable of handling the torque, so there's little incremental investment required and therefore fewer sales needed to make the business case. The Duramax play also makes sense in light of the proposed corporate average fuel economy regulations mandating 35 mpg average by 2020.
American consumers are rightly wary of diesels, but moves by Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Audi to bring 50-state-legal diesel cars to the U.S. will help transform the oil-burner's image here over the next few years. And, as Motor Trend notes, it certainly won't hurt Cadillac's image to be seen offering the same sort of technology as Europe's blue-chip luxury brands.
Johnson Controls-Saft announced today
that it will be providing lithium-ion batteries for BMW's 7 Series ActiveHybrid car (right
).
Lithium-ion batteries are 30 percent smaller and 50 percent lighter than nickel-metal hydride batteries currently used in hybrid electric vehicles, or HEVs.
The lithium-ion cells and modules will be produced at the Johnson Controls-Saft production facility in Nersac, France. The facility, which is the world's first production facility for lithium-ion batteries for HEVs, opened in January 2008 and is scaleable as demand increases.
Mary Ann Wright, who leads the joint venture and is vice president and general manager of Johnson Controls' hybrid battery business, said the contract with BMW "consolidates our leading position in lithium-ion batteries for hybrid and electric vehicles."
Johnson Controls-Saft is a joint venture that has brought together Johnson Controls -- the world's leading supplier of automotive batteries -- with Saft, world leader in high technology batteries with extensive lithium-ion battery expertise.
Unlike most of the vehicles there, it won't be running, but a production model of General Motors Corp.'s Volt series hybrid car (left)
will be on hand for viewing at AltCar Expo 2008
this weekend in Santa Monica, Calif.
The two-day event, now in its third year, is one of the nation's premier showcases for alternatives to the conventional gasoline-burning automobile.
Organizers say more than 100 vehicles - cars, trucks, scooters and 'cycles with natural gas, battery-electric, hydrogen fuel-cell electric, compressed air, biodiesel, flex-fuel and hybrid propulsion systems - will be on hand, several available for test drives.
The expo, to be held Friday and Saturday at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium, drew more than 10,000 attendees last year.
In addition to the vehicle displays, the event features numerous displays by alternative energy providers and proponents; a series of seminars addressing climate change and transportation and energy trends and featuring panelists from government, industry and advocacy groups.
With global economies stalled, auto sales - and profits - in the tank and pressure mounting daily for new automotive technologies to improve fuel economy and slash CO2 emissions, automakers the world over are finding themselves in a massive R&D investment bind.
To help relieve pressure on their collective pocketbooks, Germany's two top luxury-car makers suggest, the major players in the auto industry need to be working together on development of electric vehicle standards. Speaking at a global auto engineers gathering, Thomas Weber, research chief at Daimler, and Klaus Draeger (right), BMW 's head of development, called for universal common standards that would enable carmakers to avoid duplicating R&D efforts.
Agreement on common power management and charging criteria, for example, would end the need for each automaker to invent its own components and systems - a situation that resulted in two competing and incompatible electric car charging systems in California when EVs first appeared in the 1990s.
In their presentations at the engineering summit, reported by the industry trade journal Automotive News
, Weber and Draeger said that common standards would mean that automakers and technology developers would share the burden of staggering development costs.
Weber (left)
also called for standard auto emissions rules, pointing out that there now are different requirements in the U.S., Asia and Europe.
That forces automakers to develop different emissions systems and powertrain configurations for each region. "We need to say this is nonsense," Weber said.
For their part, Daimler - parent of Mercedes-Benz and Smart - and BMW, parent of BMW, Mini and Rolls-Royce -- are widely expected to begin a collaboration of their own later this year.
Originally intended to help with development of small cars - the new hot product now that fuel prices and energy security have become major issues worldwide - the joint effort could involve electric vehicle R&D as well, analysts at Global Insight suggest.
BMW's North American President Jim O'Donnell, in a videotaped interview
with Business Week
, has confirmed rumors that the Bavarian automaker is developing a new 4-cylinder motor, one that's diesel-powered, turbocharged and will outperform the current 6-cylinder N52 engine (right)
,
which debuted in 2004 inside the BMW E63 630Ci.
In the interview, O'Donnell (below) said:
"We are working on a new, 4-cylinder engine that will deliver stronger performance in terms of acceleration than the current 6-cylinder, that will deliver lower emissions and will give you better fuel economy; so it's a win, win, win situation. So this will be a high-tech 4-cylinder engine, obviously turbocharged. We can't really confirm or deny when it is going to come into the U.S. -- if it's going to come into the U.S. -- until after the [presidential] election and the government makes it clear what is going to be the platform that manufacturers have got to work to."
We're not sure what to make of that last sentence, because if what he's saying about the engine is true, it shouldn't have trouble meeting America's fuel-economy standards.
Or is he saying BMW will have this hot new engine, but won't export it to the U.S. unless John McCain is elected president? Or unless Barack Obama wins the contest? Why would that be? The videotape ends with "got to work to"; if he explained himself moments later, whatever he said got left on the cutting-room floor, so to speak.
Or perhaps we've got it all wrong. Perhaps his comments were primarily intended to take some of the attention away from Mercedes' announcement earlier this week that it will launch a new generation of super-efficient diesel engines later this year, starting with a 2.2-liter four-cylinder "BlueEfficiency" powerplant.
Mercedes' turbocharged engine has a 7.0-second acceleration time from zero to 62 miles per hour, a top sped of 155 mph and yet gets a claimed 45 miles per gallon on the European test cycle; it'll be substantially less under the EPA test in the U.S. Still, that engine has people talking, certainly more than O'Donnell likes.
So, is this a case of German luxury rivals now competing for downsized-engine primacy? Could be, given that smaller engines are going to be the norm not only in Europe but in the U.S. and Canada as well as governments on both sides of the Atlantic require better fuel efficiency and fewer greenhouse-gas emissions from domestic and foreign automakers alike.
Pressed to lower its cars' carbon dioxide emissions and to give consumers more fuel-efficient vehicles, luxury car maker Daimler says it anticipates that gas- or diesel-electric hybrids could account for one in fiive of its Mercedes-Benz unit's cars and SUVs by 2015.
Beginning with an S-Class hybrid(right) next year, Daimler plans to roll out at least one hybrid vehicle a year, Susanne Klauser, a spokeswoman for the German carmaker told Bloomberg News today.
German auto companies, heavily invested in advanced diesel technology, have been slow to jump on the hybrid bandwagon and still argue that putting two powertrains in one car is a costly and inefficient way to go green.
But there's no arguing with success and Daimler, BMW, Volkswagen and Porsche all have watched Toyota Motor Co.'s Prius shoot to the top of the best-seller lists in recent years, as consumers have become convinced that hybrids are one of the best ways to cut fuel consumption.
Daimler hasn't abandoned other green technologies, however, and recently showed Green Car Advisor a spate of projects including an advanced fuel-cell electric car and an improved clean-emissions gasoline engine that delivers diesel-like torque and fuel economy.
Volkswagen has big plans for the 2009 Jetta TDI, but sales of the new clean diesel model that debuted in the U.S. last month may be outstripping the company's best estimates.
"It certainly met and probably exceeded our expectations," Mark Barnes, chief operating officer of Volkswagen of America Inc., said in an interview with Bloomberg News. He wouldn't say, however, what those expections were.
Diesel Jetta sales in the U.s. last month totaled 2,417 - and the Jetta TDI didn't go on sale til Aug. 18. Total Jetta sales for the month rose to 11,217, with the diesel model accounting for 21.5 percent.
That could rise to 35 percent with a full month of sales in September, Barnes said.
VW has said it intends total U.S. sales of all of its models to top the1-million mark by 2018 and that diesel models will play a big part in the increase, which would more than triple last year's combined sales of the automaker's Volkswagen, Audi and Bentley models.
BMW announced today that it will soon employ start-stop technology in vehicles packing six-cylinder engines, beginning with its 6-series sedans.
The technology turns off the engine when the vehicle comes to a stop, instead of allowing it to burn gasoline idling, and starts the engine when the accelerator is depressed.
The German automaker, like most automakers worldwide these days, is striving to improve the fuel efficiency of the vehicles it makes. Start-stop can significantly increase fuel economy in city driving and stop-and-go freeway traffic.
BMW already employs start-stop in some vehicles fitted with four-cylinder engines.
Unfortunately, BMW does not currently export vehicles equipped with four-cylinder engines to the United States. That is expected to change, as Edmunds.com's Inside Linereported this week.
Mercedes-Benz, with its 2009 BlueTec SUVs
, and Volkswagen with its 2009 Jetta TD
I are the big players in the U.S. diesel market these days. But it looks like BMW is close behind.
We got the keys to a Euro-spec BWM 745d over the weekend and gave it a whirl as part of a program, sponsored by diesel systems developer Bosch
, to show off the differences that advances in diesel technology have brought to oil-burners in recent years.
Diesels, long thought of by U.S. motorists as smelly, noisy and dirty - because they were smelly, noisy and dirty - have undergone a metamorphosis overseas as Europe's carmakers turned to them to help cope with governmental concerns over CO2 emissions and consumer concerns over fuel prices that are now running in the neighborhood of $8 a gallon.
They now are clean and quiet and pretty near odorless thanks to stringent emissions filtering systems and the low sulfur content of modern diesel fuel.
They also deliver quite a wallop in the fuel economy department - usually offering 30 to 35 percent better mileage than gasoline versions of the same vehicles.
The 745d, for instance, delivered a pretty consistent 24 miles per gallon in combined highway and city driving while we had it- 33 percent more than the comparably performing, gasoline-fueled 4.8-liter 750i sedan that's EPA rated at 18 miles per gallon in mixed use.
As the nine cars crossed the Hydrogen Road Tour
"finish line" Saturday in the shadow of the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, promoters of the 13-day, 31-city event piped in Survivor's "Eye of the Tiger" - theme song of "Rocky III" -as many in the audience of about 150 people waved mini checkered flags.
----------
Daimler's A-Class mercedes-Benz fuel cell car on display at Road Tour finale.
----------
The image they hoped to convey, of course, was the hydrogen, like actor Sylvester Stallone's fictional fighter, Rocky, is a winner.
It remains to be seen, though, whether the hydrogen fuel-cell technology promoted by the tour has a chance of knocking gas-electric hybrids out of contention as the dominant alternative to fossil fuel-powered engines.
Fully fueled, such cars, which produce electricity through an electro-chemical process in the fuel cell stack and limit tailpipe emissions to mere drops of water, have traveling ranges that vary from 100 miles for Daimler's Mercedes-Benz F-Cell to about 270 miles for Honda's FCX Clarity.
The Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers today distributed a press release, saying that it had trademarked "EcoDriving" and launched a Website with fuel-saving tips for motorists.
This is the same Alliance that has vigilantly opposed legislation that would compel automakers to meet government-mandated fuel-economy standards.
The Website the Alliance launched -- ecodrivingusa.com -- contains what you'd expect: Nothing on how the industry can clean up its act and provide more fuel efficiency, just tips on how motorists can drive more fuel efficiently, a means to calculate your vehicle's carbon footprint, and of course instructions on how to "promote the EcoDriving program."
As for the Alliance's claim that they possess the trademark to "EcoDriving"?
The term "EcoDriving" is not unique to the Alliance or its services or products -- a litmus test that trademark terms must pass -- and the term has been in the public domain for awhile.
It can, for example, be found on ecomodders.com, ecodrive.org and other Websites that promote fuel-responsible driving and, unlike the Alliance and its new Website, aren't funded by BMW, Chrysler, Ford, General Motors, Mazda, Mercedes-Benz, Mitsubishi, Porsche, Toyota and Volkswagen.
In case you've been wondering, major automakers and the lame-duck Bush Administration have reaffirmed their joint commitment to hydrogen fuel and to getting fuel-cell electric and other hydrogen-using vehicles into the retail market by 2018.
The happy group renewed its vows during a hydrogen technology showcase Thursday in Washington.
----------
A pair of Chevrolet Equinox Fuel Cell electric Vehicles are shown in rendering of a hydrogen fuel station being installed near los Angeles International Airport.
----------
"With continued investment, hydrogen holds the potential to help fundamentally change the way we power our vehicles and reduce greenhouse gas emissions," Bud Albright, an Energy Department undersecretary, said in remarks delivered during the public showcase.
The Energy Department, Transportation Department, nine automakers with prototype hydrogen-using vehicles and a number of fuel companies and other hydrogen advocates are in the midst of a cross-country tour to promote hydrogen as the logical successor to oil for fueling cars and trucks.
The manufacturers in "Hydrogen Road Tour '08" are BMW, Daimler, Ford Motor Co., General Motors Corp., Honda Motor Co., Hyundai-Kia, Nissan Motor Co., Toyota Motor Co. and Volkswagen AG.
The hot air that escapes from a car's tailpipe could help us use less gas.
Researchers are competing to meet a challenge from the U.S. Department of Energy to improve fuel economy 10 percent by using wasted exhaust heat as energy to help power the vehicle, according to an Associated Press article.
General Motors is close to reaching the goal, as is a BMW supplier working with Ohio State University. Their research into thermoelectrics -- the science of using temperature differences to create electricity -- couldn't come at a better time, as high gas prices accelerate efforts to make vehicles as efficient as possible.
GM researcher Jihui Yang told the AP that a metal-plated device that surrounds an exhaust pipe could increase fuel economy in a Chevrolet Suburban by about 5 percent, a 1-mile-per-gallon improvement that would be even greater in a smaller vehicle.
The mileage improvement was achieved by using the generated electricity to reduce the load on the alternator. Because it takes mechanical power from the crankshaft to move a belt that runs the alternator that produces electricity to power headlights, ignition coils, the radio and other electrical components, the greater the load on the alternator, the greater the demand on the vehicle's fuel to turn the crankshaft.
Reaching the goal of a 10 percent improvement would save more than 100 million gallons of fuel per year in GM vehicles in the U.S. alone, the AP reported.
Honda's FCX Clarity fuel-cell electric car (right) is one of 10 vehicles traveling 'cross country in Hydrogen Road Tour '08.
Ever wonder what a hydrogen fuel cell really looks like, or how a fuel-cell electric vehicle handles? Itching to try that hydrogen-burning BMW 7-Series that so far has been piloted publicly only by high profile business, entertainment and political people?
(Article modified at 6:45 a.m, Pacific Daylight Time)
Your chance of laying eyes, or hands, on a vehicle using what many still believe will be the fuel of the future increases beginning today as a coalition of hydrogen backers launch a 13-day, 18-state, 31-city, cross-country tour to boost interest in hydrogen vehicles.
We wish them well. And we hope everyone who has a chance stops by, takes a look - or a drive - and becomes a hydrogen missionary.
But there's a sad note to what is being billed as the "Hydrogen Road Tour '08."
At times, Mostly,
the vehicles will be trucked rather than driven to locations very near their various destinations on diesel or gasoline-burning commercial carriers. After being off-loaded, they'll be driven under their own power just a few short miles to the venues.
America's auto-emissions regulators have nothing on the youth brigade of the Swiss Green Party.
The youth have obtained the 100,000 signatures needed to put a measure before Switzerland's voters that would ban passenger vehicles that have a curb weight of more than 4,820 pounds, emit more than 250 grams of carbon dioxide per kilometer, or have front ends deemed dangerous to pedestrians.
The measure would also ban diesel cars lacking particle filters. Non-compliant cars registered before the measure goes into law would be fitted with a governor limiting them to 62 miles per hour.
The measure, which is viewed as moderate by its proponents, would remove all but the most fuel efficient models from Swiss roads. The forbidden list contains 785 models. In Porsche's lineup, for instance, all but the Boxster and Cayman fitted with 2.7-liter engines would be barred.
Lots of Mercedes-Benzes, BMWs and Audis would be history, as would every Ferrari, Maserati and Lamborghini. Not all automakers would suffer. Lotus's entire lineup, for example, would be compliant.
The vote has not been scheduled and could be a couple of years away. Also, more than 90 percent of initiatives presented to Swiss voters since 1848 have been rejected. But "moderates" can hope.
Honeywell International
has been selected by Ford Motor Co. to develop turbochargers for the first of its EcoBoost engines
, which will initially appear in next year's 2010 Lincoln MKS.
The new turbocharged 3.5-liter V-6 engine will perform like a large V-8, but will deliver the fuel economy of a V-6, Honeywell announced today.
To help bring the new engine to market, Honeywell says it leveraged the latest advances in turbine design and materials to optimise the performance and ensure the reliability of its gasoline turbo technology.
The twin-turbo 3.5-liter V-6 will deliver upwards of 340-plus pound-feet of torque across a wide engine range - 2,000-5,000 rpm - versus 270 to 310 pound-feet of torque for a conventional naturally aspirated 4.6-liter V-8 over the same speed range.
Honeywell expects the global turbocharger segment to grow from 30 percent of the overall automotive market to more than 38 percent by 2013 as automakers look to boost engines to help increase fuel-efficiency and reduce exhaust emissions without sacrificing performance.
Honeywell provides turbochargers to many automakers, including BMW, Chrysler, Mercedes-Benz, Nissan and Volkswagen.
The future of diesel passenger vehicles in the U.S. market is coming under question by some in the auto industry as diesel fuel continues to run about 20 percent higher than gasoline, nearly erasing the diesel vehicle's fuel efficiency advantage.
But European automakers with a strong diesel product line - including Volkswagen
, Mercedes-Benz
and BMW
- all say they will stick with their plans to launch a number of 50-state legal diesels in the U.S. in coming months and years.
The doubters are no slouches, though.
We've written about Nissan Motor Co.'s diesel concerns
(which exist even though the company intends to being a diesel car to the U.S.) and on Monday the Wall Street Journal
quoted a board member from tier-one auto industry supplier Continental saying he's become more skeptical about the economics of diesel in the U.S.
Fuel-Sipper Savings
Our own number crunching,
however, shows that even at a 20 percent fuel price disadvantage, diesels can still save money at the pump because they can deliver 30 percent or better fuel economy over gasoline-fueled versions of the same models.
The new diesels also are qualifying for federal green car tax credits that help offfset the diesel premium carmakers charge to cover the higher cost of diesel engines and emissions equipment.
Earlier this month we told you that Automotive News Europe was reporting that BMW plans to export nearly 500 electric versions of its popular MINI Cooper to California.
Today, Shawn Ticehurst of BMW Group, parent of the MINI brand, confirmed that "several hundred" electric MINIs would be coming the United States and that BMW was presently testing electric versions of the popular little car.
He said the cars would be available to the public. But whether they will be sold or leased - and technical details, such as the driving range between charges - are unknown at this time, Ticehurst said.
At least one blog reported today that BMW was seriously considering exporting diesel-powered MINI Coopers to the United States.
Ticehurst wouldn't deny the report, but he wouldn't confirm it either, chuckling instead as he said, "We haven't announced that at all."
Right, BMW 7 Hydrogen on Nürburgring racetrack. The car or one like it will be available for test drives.
The Detroit area is famous for the Woodward Dream Cruise, a summertime showcase of thousands of hotrods, muscle cars and other exotics.
Now in an effort to improve Motown's gas-guzzling image, a new group has organized what they call Nextcruise, which will actually give the public an opportunity to drive what many see as the next generation of vehicles - hybrids, fuel cell, clean-diesel, plug-in electric and other green machines.
The low-emissions, fuel-efficient vehicles will be available for free 15-minute drives on a first-come, first-served basis in Pleasant Ridge, just outside Detroit, in mid-August.
The event will take place from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 16, and from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 17, at Memorial Park, 23925 Woodward Avenue, Pleasant Ridge 48069-1199.
Nine automakers have agreed to provide green vehicles and green-car-technology demonstrations for event to date. They are: General Motors, Chrysler, Ford, Nissan, Toyota, Volkswagen, Audi, Mercedes-Benz and BMW.
Soy foam in the seats the Ford F-150 pickups and Lincoln Navigator SUVs. Locally farmed hemp
, "ethically produced" woolen fabric and floor mats made of sisal in the Lotus Eco Elise.
Some automakers are increasingly going to great lengths to make the interiors of some of their models if not environmentally friendly, at least a bit wholesome.
But others, well...
Early today the Ecology Center of Ann Arbor, Michigan, posted its second-annual consumer guide to toxic chemicals in cars and children's car seats at www.HealthyCar.org.
More than two hundred 2008- and 2009-model-year vehicles and more than 60 children's car seats were tested for unhealthy chemicals that seep in gaseous form from the steering wheel, dashboard, armrests, seats and carpet.
The "new-car smell," as the gases are commonly called, mingle with the air occupants breathe and have been linked to allergies, birth defects, impaired learning, liver toxicity and cancer.
The Ecology Center reported that Mazda, General Motors and Nissan improved since last year's findings, with GM showing the greatest gains of the domestic automakers, with an average vehicle ranking improvement of 27 percent.
The list of the 10 best and 10 worst vehicles as picked by the Center appears in the chart above.
Average child-car-seat scores improved 28 percent overall. The list of 10 best and worst car seats for 2008 as picked by the Center appears at left. Click on the chart for a better look.
Below are the three worst 2008-model-year vehicles by interior pollution, according to the Center (click on each to enlarge). From left to right: Mitsubishi Eclipse, Suzuki Reno and Volkswagen New Beetle.
Below are are the three best vehicles by interior pollution, according to the Center (click on each to enlarge). From left to right: Acura RXD, Chevrolet Cobalt and Smart Passion Cabriolet.
Right, the 2009 Chevy Silverado Hybrid.
Below, the 2009 GMC Sierra Hybrid.
By Scott Doggett, Contributor
The Environmental Protection Agency has posted the official mileage numbers for the new two-mode hybrid variants of the 2009-model-year Chevy Silverado and GMC Sierra full-size pickup trucks offered in limited availability starting late this fall.
The rear-wheel-drive models achieved 21 miles per gallon city, 22 mpg highway and 21 mpg combined while the 4-wheel-drive models achieved 20/20/20 mpg. The open bed crew-cab hybrid trucks scored the identical numbers as their 2009 full-body SUV siblings.
However, the conventional model with the same 6-liter V8 only manages 14 mpg city and 19 highway in RWD running on premium-grade gasoline, and only 13 mpg city and 19 highway in RWD running on regular. The EPA did not provide combined estimates for the 2008 models.
The hybrids are outfitted with an advanced two-mode powertrain developed by BMW, DaimlerChrysler and General Motors.
One of our sister blogs -- specifically, Edmunds.com's InsideLine
-- reported in January that the U.S. version of BMW's 2009 diesel-powered 335d sedan with a 6-speed automatic transmission should achieve EPA fuel-economy estimates of 23 miles per gallon in the city and 33 mpg on the highway.
Why, then, are we reporting that information now?
Two reasons: First, BMW only today made an official announcement regarding the car's mileage. And second, because we should have spotted the InsideLine report and linked to it back in January, but the report somehow eluded us. Our attitude is better late than never, but we're still scratching our heads about it and pointing fingers at one another.
BMW today confirmed InsideLine's report that the brand-new twin-diesel engine puts out 265 horsepower and 425 foot pounds of torque. Acceleration from zero to 60 miles per hour requires a flat six seconds. IL had reported zero to 60 "in less than 6.2 seconds," which of course is not incorrect.
The price of the all-new 3-series vehicle, which will be available in all 50 states, has yet to be announced.
A transition to hydrogen fuel cell vehicles is entirely doable but requires nearly $200 billion in funding and further technological breakthroughs, National Research Council experts said today in a report requested by Congress.
While stressing the "best-case scenario" nature of their report, the experts concluded that hydrogen could be the key driver of a shift away from fossil fuels and emissions tied to global warming, with other clean technologies and biofuels helping in that transition.
"The benefits of hydrogen would be less in the early years but have a dominant effect" in the longer run, panel chairman Mike Ramage, a retired ExxonMobil executive, said in a conference call with reporters. "Hydrogen is a pathway to a sustainable energy future."
The best-case scenario assumes the automotive industry invests $145 billion and the federal government spends $50 billion over the next 15 years to drive down the costs of hydrogen production and vehicles that run on hydrogen.
"The number is big, but in perspective" it is doable, Ramage said, noting that the federal ethanol subsidy is at a pace to cost $160 billion over that same period. "We need durable, substantial and sustainable government help to make this happen, just as there is for ethanol."
BMW's MINI plant on the outskirts of Oxford, England, has now built more 1 million cars for export. Only last year the plant reported building its 1 millionth MINI.
More than 80 percent of the fuel-efficient little cars are shipped out of Britain these days, the automaker reported today.
The U.S., a key MINI market, saw sales up 33.6 percent to 26,400 units in the first half of 2008 over the first six months of 2007, boosted by the new Clubman version and the sudden unpopularity of gas-gulping cars and trucks.
Worldwide sales for the first half of the year rose 17.9 percent over the first six months of 2007, the company said, and one of every five models sold now is the Clubman wagon version. The rest are MINI Coopers.
Oliver Zipse, who manages the Oxford plant, said that less than 60 percent of MINIs were exported when series production started in July 2001.
The plant employs 4,700 on three shifts, building up to 800 cars a day, seven days a week. Another 2,100 work in a pressing plant in Swindon and an engine plant near Birmingham.
Since this article was first posted, a reader questioned whether MINI ought to be treated as a "green" automaker, or just a company that makes small cars.
It's a valid question, because none of the MINIs get fantastic mileage. Not, say, the way my 1986 Honda CRX HF did (45 city, 48/49 highway). I never should have sold that car! The horror, the horror. But I digress.
The EPA's fuel-economy estimates for the 2009 MINI Coopers and Clubmans aren't out yet, but here are the agency's figures for the 2009 MINIs. In our opinion, the mpg figures are just high enough for MINI to be treated as a "green" automaker.
2008 MINI Clubman 28 city, 37 highway (manual) 2008 MINI Clubman 26 city, 34 highway (automatic) 2008 MINI Clubman S 26, city 34 highway (manual) 2008 MINI Clubman S 23, city 32 highway (automatic) 2008 MINI Cooper 28 city, 37 highway (manual) 2008 MINI Cooper 26 city, 34 highway (automatic) 2008 MINI Cooper Convertible 23 city, 32 highway (manual) 2008 MINI Cooper Convertible S 22, city 30 highway (automatic) 2008 MINI Cooper S 26 city, 34 highway (manual) 2008 MINI Cooper S 23 city, 32 highway (automatic) 2008 MINI Cooper S Convertible 21 city, 29 highway (manual) 2008 MINI Cooper S Convertible 19 city, 29 highway (automatic)
What's the EPA's combined mileage for these models? Trick question: The EPA started releasing combined fuel-efficiency figures in the 2009 model year.
But aggressive driving habits will generally result in a combined figure that's closer to the city number than the highway number. Drivers who exercise fuel-saving practices, service their vehicles regularly and keep their tires properly inflated can expected a combined figure closer to the highway figure.
An editor for Edmunds' Inside Line test drove a 2008 MINI Clubman Convertible S with an automatic transmission (EPA rated at 23/32 mpg city/highway) and averaged 25 mpg. Given how he enjoyed "point-and-shoot through the tight turns," he wasn't exactly hypermiling.
That's our sensational headline for 2008, but there's more than a smidgen of truth in it.
Last year Ann Arbor, Michigan-based Ecology Center released the first-ever consumer guide to toxic chemicals in cars and child car seats -- and what they reported was sickening.
The odor you inhale when you slide into a new car? It might very well be bromine, chlorine, lead, other harmful chemicals or a witches' brew of them. They've been linked to birth defects, impaired learning, liver toxicity, premature births and, no doubt, cancer.
If you think the government protects you against such things, think again. Some of the vehicles on the road today are veritable toxic dumps on wheels. And many drivers are exposed to these chemicals through inhalation and contact with dust every day.
In case you missed last year's report, Ecology Center found the most toxic vehicles were the Nissan Versa, Chevy Aveo, Scion xB 5dr and the Kia Rio. The least toxic vehicles were the Chevy Cobalt, Chrysler PT Cruiser, Honda Odyssey and the Volvo V50.
Next Tuesday -- July 22 -- Ecology Center will release its second annual consumer guide to toxic chemicals in cars and child car seats, and if you're thinking of buying a new car anytime soon, you'll want to check it out. The guide will be posted at www.healthycar.org a little after midnight on the 22nd.
From the Is-he-out-of-his-mind? folder comes this zinger from Rupert Stadler, Audi's chief executive officer:
"Americans still want big cars, but with increasing fuel-efficiency," he told the Handelsblatt newspaper on Friday, apparently oblivious to the popularity of small cars in America these days.
Therefore, Stadler said, Audi has no plans to launch its planned hybrid compact car A1, which would be based on Audi's fuel-efficient Metroproject Quattro (pictured here). The A1 is expected to rival BMW's Mini Cooper, which is enormously popular in United States.
Instead of exporting the A1 to the U.S. or building it there, Audi will concentrate on introducing new generations of its A4 and Q5 models to Americans, he said.
The Metroproject Quattro's hybrid powertrain consists of a 1.4-liter TFSI gasoline direct-injection engine rated at 150 horsepower and driving the front wheels, teamed with a 41-hp electric motor in the rear. An S-tronic dual-clutch gearbox is mated to the drivetrain.
Choosing a fuel-efficient automobile was a whole lot simpler 30 years ago, the last time the U.S. was in the throes of a gasoline price crisis. It was often as simple as buying a small vehicle with a manual transmission.
Today, with gas prices soaring to new record highs almost weekly, finding fuel economy means navigating an almost bewildering selection of vehicles. Even enormous SUVs can qualify if they come equipped with gasoline-electric hybrid drive systems.
Behind this tremendous hike in choices -- to a fairly significant extent, experts say -- has been a concomitant increase in the variety of transmissions.
Whereas in the 1970s there were only four- and five-speed manual transmissions and three- and four-speed automatic transmissions, now there are six-speed manual, six-, seven- and eight-speed automatic, six- and seven-speed "dual-clutch" automatic-manual, and continuously variable transmissions.
The result: more efficient engine operation and higher fuel economy in every car, whether it's a high-performance Porsche Carrera or a modest Volkswagen Jetta.
But there are important differences among these sophisticated transmissions, including in how much they contribute to better fuel efficiency. Knowing those differences may help you the next time you're in the market for a new car.
BMW plans to export nearly 500 electric versions of its popular Mini Cooper to California, which has some of the toughest tailpipe-emissions standards in the world, Automotive News Europe
reported Wednesday, citing company sources.
The electric Minis are being built at the Mini factory in Oxford, England, without engines, gearboxes or fuel tanks, then shipped to Munich, Germany, where they are being fitted with electric powertrains.
BMW sources told ANE, a subscription news service, that 490 of the Minis will be leased to selected customers in California and 10 will be used as showcars.
The electric Minis have been painted silver and have yellow roofs, the sources said.
BMW engineers working on the electric Minis are part of a new division called "Project i" established by the automaker to develop low-emissions city cars.
The electric Minis will help BMW to meet new California regulations that will require automakers selling vehicles in the state to offer zero-emissions vehicles.
MILAN
, Italy -- Fiat and BMW will cooperate to develop a new platform for small, fuel-efficient cars, Automotive News Europe
reported today, citing supplier sources.
The platform will underpin the next Fiat Grande Punto and BMW's third-generation Mini Cooper. Both cars are due early in the next decade.
The two companies are also considering developing a new family of gasoline and diesel engines, ANE reported.
Fiat Group CEO Sergio Marchionne said today that the carmaker will announce a cooperation agreement with another automaker Wednesday.
"Most likely it will be in the car business," Marchionne said during the press introduction of the 500 Abarth model in Balocco. He did not provide more details, but supplier sources told ANE that Fiat and BMW will cooperate on a new small-car platform.
Fiat already has industrial alliances with other carmakers, including PSA/Peugeot-Citroen, Suzuki and Tata. And BMW cooperates in Europe with PSA on engine production and the company has a joint venture in China with Brilliance.
Automakers increasingly are cooperating with competitors to reduce investments costs for new models.
A lobbying group for 10 major automakers including Detroit's Big Three, Toyota and Daimler urged federal regulators today to dramatically water down its proposal to hike fuel efficiency standards or run the risk of costing 82,000 autoworkers their jobs and the U.S. economy tens of billions of dollars.
In a thousand-page document filed today by the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, the automakers condemned the April 22 proposal by the U.S. Transportation Department that would boost fuel economy requirements to a fleetwide average of 31.6 miles per gallon by the 2015 model year.
That average includes 35.7 mpg for passenger cars and 28.6 mpg for light trucks. The nation's new passenger cars currently are required to meet a fleet average of 27.5 mpg, while the light-truck fleet - generally encompassing port utility vehicles, pickup trucks and vans - must hit a target average of 22.5 mpg.
"This goes beyond what is technologically feasible and economically practical," the automakers said. "It would require manufacturers to expend resources at a pace that is excessive given the fact that the auto industry is already under economic stress."
BMW's X6 gets critic's nod as one of silliest packages on the market.
As do most automotive evaluators, we here at Edmunds are criticized from time to time for having an import bias.
Well, if we ever did, Auto Observer sage Bill Visnic is putting things right today with a funny – and insightful – critique of a number of vehicles, foreign and domestic, that were given the green-light back when gas was cheap and the economy wasn't lying in a hospital bed on life support.
Sure, his piece on automotive DOAs skewers Ford, General Motors and Chrysler, but it doesn't do any favors for the likes of Honda, Toyota, Nissan, BMW and Volkswagen, either...
While the percentage of BMW Group – BMW and MINI USA combined – vehicles sold in the United States last month rose just 3.1 percent over May 2007, sales of its MINI Cooper cars shot up a staggering 52.8 percent for the same period.
Consumers last month snatched up 6,312 of the best BMWs available for under $20,000 – as Edmunds.com's Editor in Chief Karl Brauer described the 2008 MINI Cooper last December – compared to 4,130 MINI Coopers the preceding May.
The year-over-year growth set an all-time record for the fuel-efficient vehicle, which achieves 32/40 miles per gallon city/highway for the base model.
MINI USA also reported sales of 21,189 cars for the first five months of 2008, an increase of 36 percent over the 15,585 vehicles sold in the same period a year ago...
The Fiat 500 has sold very well in Europe since its launch last July.
Fiat Group's chief executive has expressed a strong desire to bring the updated version of the Cinquecento to the United States.
Sergio Marchionne said he is convinced the compact, commonly known as the 500, would be as much of a hit in the U.S. as it has been in Europe since its launch last July.
"It could probably carry the market," he said at an automotive congress in Turin, Italy, last week.
It's turning into a banner year for hybrid and other green car news.
After all the Honda hoopla this morning, word leaks out that Toyota will debut the next-generation Prius, expected to be longer, lower and more powerful, but not radically different-looking, at the 2009 Detroit Auto Show with a sales launch slated for later in the year.
If that's not enough, Toyota's luxury marque, Lexus, is believed to be considering two new hybrids of its own, one of them a premium-priced version of that new Prius, the other a midsize crossover utility vehicle.
If a seven-man contingent representing the biggest automakers thought they could talk California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger into terminating his campaign to force them to meet California's stringent fuel-efficiency standards, they were sadly mistaken.
Following a private, 45-minute meeting Thursday with executives from Toyota, General Motors, Ford, Chrysler and BMW, the governor has released a statement that reads, in part:
“... I made it clear to the automakers that California will not back down in the fight to protect our own environment by regulating pollution that causes global warming...
Hybrid version of BMW's X6 will hit U.S. roads as an '09 model.
BMW says a hybrid version of its X6 "activity vehicle" will, indeed, hit the U.S. market in 2009, initially available only with the company's twin-turbo, 407-horsepower, 4.4-liter V8 coupled to the dual-mode electric drive system co-developed with General Motors and the former DaimlerChrysler.
It's the automotive equivalent of strapping a hydrogen bomb to a nuclear bomb for extra oomph.
In that configuration the hefty X6 won't be the poster child for fuel economy, but it will use less gas than the conventional model.
BMW hasn't disclosed mileage estimates for the hybrid, but says it should be about 20 percent better than the 19 mpg combined city/highway rating for the conventional version. That would put it close to 23 mpg for drivers who can keep the accelerator pedal off the floor.
Looks like we're heading into either a stay-at-home summer, or a real pricey one, fuel-wise.
Gas prices hit a new national high of $3.339 a gallon at the pump today, according to the AAA, up 58 cents, or 21 percent, in the last year.
And that's the national average. In some states, pump prices are considerably higher.
California, for instance, is averaging $3.709 per gallon for unleaded regular – the highest statewide average in the country.
That's for unleaded regular.
If you are unlucky enough to be driving something that requires premium, the national average hit $3.679 per gallon Monday while the nation's high – in California again, rose to $4.103.
Fuel-cell Highlander successfully logged 2,300 miles on Alcan Highway, but even if Toyota built retail version, there's little hydrogen fuel available.
By John O'Dell, Senior Editor
SACRAMENTO, Calif. – The conference is about early commercialization of hydrogen fueling and fuel-cell products and services, but the buzzwords still are "research" and "study," not "build" and "sell."
Granted, the National Hydrogen Association conference has just begun and there are, literally, scores of papers being delivered. Some do talk about things with real market potential – things like Plug Power's hydrogen fuel-cell electric fork lift and Air Products' on-site hydrogen fuel stations for commercial and government fleets. But most still deal with what could be, after a lot more research and development and testing gets done.
A hydrogen economy that relieves our dependency on foreign oil may be in our future, but it hasn't yet arrived.
SACRAMENTO, Calif. --Those sly devils at BMW waited until today to drop the other shoe.
Turns out the Hydrogen 7 that cleaned up in a recent Argonne National Laboratory emissions test wasn't one of the bi-fuel, gasoline-or-hydrogen internal combusion models the automaker has been testing. It was a new mono-fuel model, built to run only on liquid hydrogen.
BMW officially debuted the car -- which looks just like the bi-fuel models -- at the National Hyrogen Association's annual conference here in California's capital city.
The big differences are that the bi-fuel models have gas tanks as well as hydrogen tanks, and engines that are tuned to run well on gasoline, meaning that performance and fuel economy drops when they are driven under the influence of hydrogen.
Researchers at Argonnne National Laboratory have put BMW's hydrogen-burning V12 engine to the test and found that it is, indeed, as clean as the automaker has been claiming.
The hydrogen internal combustion engine, mounted in a test fleet of about 100 7-Series sedans, is being placed with a variety of celebtrities, politicans, opinion-leaders and other high-visibility types around the U.S. and Europe this year to help raise awareness of BMW's alternative fuel strategy.
The company, which has been developing the engine for years, has always maintained that, except for miniscule amounts of carbon and NOx, created by the heating of engine oil used for lubricating pistons and other moving parts, the internal combustion engine is as clean as a hydrogen fuel cell, emitting only water vapor from the cars' tailpipes...
MONTE CARLO, Monaco --The BMW Hydrogen 7 sedan is loaded with luxury touches and powered by a state-of-the-art emissions-free engine. Unfortunately, it also requires its own tanker truck when it comes time for a fill-up.
But Prince Albert II of Monaco didn’t seem overly concerned about trivial matters like finding the closest hydrogen fueling station – there isn't one, hence the tanker -- when BMW handed him the keys to a Hydrogen 7-Series at this week’s EVER Monaco ecological car show.
EVs from Monaco's own Venturi will be on display at annual eco-car event .
By Nick Kurczewski, Contributor
MONTE CARLO, Monaco – A convention hall filled with electric, hydrogen, biofuel and hybrid-powered vehicles is a strange site in any town, much less the world’s most famous principality and one of James Bond’s favorite holiday hideaways.
A haven for the rich and powerful -- where champagne glasses are never empty, every parking lot is overflowing with Ferraris and Aston Martins and Formula 1 takes over the town once a year -- Monte Carlo is the most unlikely setting in which to find a show dedicated to green-car technology.
The EVER Monaco ecological car show, here from Thursday through Sunday, is dedicated to all forms of transport powered by fuels offering environmental benefits. Now in its third year, the annual Ecological Vehicles and Renewable Energies (EVER) exhibition is a showcase for vehicles powered by alternative fuels or technology.
We’ll be attending the show, and making our way through the Grimaldi Forum to see what progress is being made and what technology looks promising – not to mention what looks far-fetched and totally unfeasible.
As Europe cracks down on carbon dioxide emissions from automobiles, automakers are ratcheting up R&D efforts aimed at putting more fuel-efficient vehicles into their fleets.
The latest news comes form BMW, which already is deep into development of hydrogen-burning internal combustion engines for its larger cars.
The Munich-based luxury-performance car maker says it has launched an independent unit to begin developing a small city car (shades of Smart).
While the Prius deserves much of the praise it gets – for fuel-efficiency, advanced technology, even (in some quarters) for styling – we've always believed it foolish to look at Toyota's high-volume hybrid as the best thing out there since sliced bread.
Among other things, there's always been a big discrepancy between the officially recognized fuel-efficiency and what real people were reporting in real-world driving situations.
Before the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) changed its method for computing mileage, the EPA rating for the Prius with an automatic transmission was 60 miles per gallon in the city and 51 mpg on the highway. But most drivers reported real mileage down in the mid 40s (and yes, there are exceptions and yes, we know some of you do get 60 mpg by driving with maximum fuel economy as your chief goal).
For 2008, under the new, more realistic test, the Prius is EPA-rated at 48 mpg city and 45 mpg highway.
But over on the Continent, according to London's Sunday Times, the Prius still gets that 60 mpg rating -- more, in fact: "The official fuel consumption figure for the Prius – supplied by Toyota itself – is 65.7 mpg in mixed motoring," the newspaper reported in a piece this past weekend comparing fuel-efficiency for the Prius and the diesel-powered BMW 520d.
BMW, whose growth in the U.S. will force it to add greener cars to its fleet after 2012, says it is likely to offer a battery-powered electric vehicle.
Chief Executive Norbert Reithofer told a German auto magazine that it is no longer a question of whether BMW will introduce some sort of eco-friendly vehicle in the U.S., but only of whether the company will produce it alone or seek a development partner, according to a report in Automotive News.
After 2012, BMW will be considered a major carmaker in the U.S...
Daimler's new generation lithium-ion battery pack -- the one that will power the German automaker's upcoming 2009 Mercedes-Benz S400 mild hybrid -- apparently will be shared by development partner BMW and sold to other interested car companies as well.
The battery pack, which Daimler has described as a "breakthrough" that resolves potential overheating and durability problems that can occur with lithium-ion batteries used in automotive applications, is being supplied by German auto parts maker Continental, assembled from battery cells made by a joint venture of Wisconsin-based Johnson Controls and French battery maker Saft.
German automotive magazine Automobilwoche reports that Continental's agreement with Daimler allows it to market similar battery assemblies to other automakers.
Continental is a potential suplier of batteries for the Chevrolet Volt extended-range electric car, scheduled to go into production by the end of 2010.
THIS....Chevrolet Volt typifies battery-electric cars GM's Lutz wants to promote.
Or THIS.....Honda FCX Clarity uses hydrogen fuel-cell electric drive system.
By Scott Doggett, Contributor
The schizophrenic nature of auto industry in an increasingly green market was perhaps never more evident than this past week, as major carmakers split on the future of fuel-cell vehicles.
Larry Burns, vice president of research and development for GM, kicked things off Monday on a positive note for fuel-cell fans, talking up the importance of company's Project Driveway. That's GM's just-initiated 30-month test program involving 100 Chevrolet Equinox Hydrogen Fuel-Cell Electric Vehicles being driven by consumers in Los Angeles, New York City and Washington, D.C.
Ready for Prime Time
"We just coauthored a paper with Shell that makes a compelling case that the hydrogen infrastructure is real, it's viable, it can be done affordably and safely," Burns told reporters covering an alternative energy conference in New York.
"So the next step here as we learn from these hundred Equinox Fuel Cells will be getting into the thousands. We see that happening within the 2011-2012 timeframe. And then once we get to thousands we need to get to hundreds of thousands and millions. We think that within the next decade that is within our grasp."
So far, so good.
But only hours later, GM Vice Chairman Bob Lutz was reading from a different page.
Fuel for BMW Hydrogen cars is scarce and likely to remain so, company says.
In yet another blow to those who hope to see hydrogen become the world's preferred automotive fuel sooner rather than later, BMW – long a hydrogen proponent – now says it doesn't see much chance of widespread commercialization of the fuel over the next 15 to 20 years.
While it will still keep experimenting with liquid-hydrogen fueled internal combustion engines, BMW now is working on an electric car as well, the German automaker's clean technologies director, Jochen Schmalholz, told Australian journalists this week.
Fisker Automotive's exotic plug-in hybrid is one of the show's green offerings.
It's Sunday, kickoff day for the press preview of the North American International Auto Show and we're here in Detroit, struggling to get an overcoat on before heading out to chip the ice off the windshield and cursing the wife for her cheerful telephone reminder that it's supposed to be 80-degrees at home today.
Used to be that heading for this show supercharged the brain's anticipatory centers, but this year it seems a bit ho-hum.
There' still good stuff, especially on the green car front, but several industry insiders have suggested in recent weeks as we pondered the show schedule together that the newly rejuvenated Los Angeles Auto Show, which now takes place in November instead of just days before Detroit, has stolen some of the thunder.
Or maybe it's the economy – the U.S. auto industry hasn't been all that healthy of late.
Whatever the reason, while there's enough here this year to make it worthwhile attending, there's not enough to get the salivary glands working overtime.
On the green front, much of what we'll be seeing is concept, not stuff that will hit the road this year.
We are expecting some announcements from Toyota about its hybrid and fuel economy strategies, and from the American Le Mans Racing series about further adoption of green technologies and fuels for racing. General Motors is expected to have something to say about its drive to make ethanol a bigger part of the U.S. fuel supply base.
NEW DELHI -- The 9th New Delhi Auto Expo has seen many auto manufacturers talk about emissions and the cleanliness of their vehicles. It has also marked the arrival of hulking sport-utility vehicles and fearsomely quick sports cars into the Indian market.
As Greenpeace protested outside, and journalists fought to take photos of the $2,500 Tata Nano car-for-everyone, a message of clean emissions and environmental awareness got lost here at the Pragati Maidan exhibition halls.
Tata heaped praise upon itself, not only for unveiling what is now the world's cheapest car, but for ensuring that it achieves 50 miles per gallon and meets Euro III emissions standards.
Those fuel economy figures look pretty good, though it’s probably what you should expect when buying a car powered by a 32 horsepower two-cylinder engine.
Fuel-cell car programs such as Honda's FCX need hydrogen to succeed.
In a blow to proponents of hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles, a trio of agencies that were to receive funding from California to build hydrogen fuel stations have dropped the projects.
The San Jose Mercury News reports
today that the agencies dropping plans for hydrogen fuel stations cited concerns that hydrogen for transportation isn't going to be a viable technology in the near term.
The moves, coupled with the closure of three stations that had already been up and running -- including the facility that served the California Fuel Cell Partnership – has raised concerns in some quarters about the future of fuel-cell test programs in the U.S.
Mercedes-Benz wants to lease more of its F-Cell cars in the U.S.
"We are quite serious about commercializing our fuel-cell vehicles," said William Craven, general manager for regulatory affairs for Mercedes-Benz of North America.
"But we have to look at where the fuel infrastructure is growing. And right now that's not in California, it's in Europe, and Japan.
Egads! First there were only the econobox models: Honda's two-seat Insight and the first-generation Toyota Prius. Now there are more than half-a-dozen hybrid sedans and SUVs and more coming.
Even the luxury market is becoming crowded, giving dual meaning to the term "green car."
Toyota's Lexus brand kicked off the luxe hybrid segment with its Lexus RX 400h crossover SUV...
Mercedes-Benz is counting on its new clean diesel engines to help boost sales in a U.S. market suddenly consumed by fuel economy concerns.
But the German luxury carmaker could get another big benefit from diesel sales here: the increased mileage diesel cars and trucks deliver could save it millions of dollars a year in the fines it regularly pays for exceeding the federal CAFE (corporate average fuel economy) standard.
For 2006, the most recent figures available, Mercedes – through its then-parent DaimlerChrysler -- paid a record $30.3 million in CAFE fines, according to data posted recently by the National Highway Traffic Safety Agency.
As we reported previously, the record for the highest annual fine had been held by BWW of North America, which paid $27.9 million in 2001 (breaking its own record of $27.3 million set in 2000).
BWM says powerful cars such as its M5 won't be endangered by 35 MPG rule.
By Robert E. Calem, Contributor
Pundits are already forecasting a dearth of performance cars in the wake of the new CAFE standard, but a spokesman for at least one maker of muscle cars– BMW – says his company isn't worried about its prospects.
Questioned recently about how the German automaker plans to make its U.S.-bound vehicles less thirsty, David Buchko, diesel strategy launch manager at BMW of North America in Montvale, New Jersey, noted plans to debut diesel versions of some of BMW's vehicles here next year.
"In spite of the challenges for diesel," he said, the technology offers fuel economy benefits of 25 to 30 percent and an attendant reduction in CO2 emissions. "Those play a big role, we think."
BMW and Mercedes-Benz are neck and neck in paying fines for violating U.S. fuel economy standards. Each of the German luxury carmakers has paid more than $200 million in fines since 1983.
There’s CAFE, the corporate average fuel economy requirement that most major automakers try to meet each year, and then there are CAFE fines.
CAFE works at least a little—the National Academy of Sciences found that it cut oil consumption in 2002 by 2.8 million barrels a day and suggests that overall savings can be measured in billions of barrels. But the fines, which have not been raised in a decade, don’t seem to be having much impact in the fuel economy drive, especially on German carmakers.
In 2005, the last year for which the data is available, BMW, DaimlerChrysler—mostly its Mercedes-Benz unit -- Volkswagen, Porsche, Ferrari, Maserati and Spyker all paid CAFE fines — the total was $25.2 million. DaimlerChrysler, at $16.9 million, BMW, at $3 million, and VW, at $1.1 million, accounted for 90 percent.
Although there's plenty of development work on alternative fuels and power plants going on in U.S. automakers’ R&D labs, the industry is consumed these days with fixing its collective financial woes and there's not much noise being made about advancing green technology. Not in the U.S., anyhow.
We likely won't hear too much about what's close to being market ready until the carmakers and the UAW complete their ongoing master contract negotiations and possibly not until the hype around January's Detroit auto show begins.
But Asian and European car companies, including European subsidiaries of both Ford and GM, are stepping in to fill the environmental void, with a spate of clean diesels and gas-electric hybrids in the works. A lot of green goodies will be shown off at the 2007 Frankfurt Auto Show, which begins a two-day press preview on Tuesday.
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Speaking at a global auto engineers gathering, Thomas Weber, research chief at Daimler, and Klaus Draeger (right), BMW 's head of development, called for universal common standards that would enable carmakers to avoid duplicating R&D efforts.
Ri
MILAN
