Green Car Advisor

General Motors

August 27, 2008

Flint Offers GM Millions in Tax Breaks for Locating Volt Engine Plant There

TheBlock400.jpgFlint, Michigan -- the city made famous by a Michael Moore documentary about the devastating financial and emotional hits the city suffered as General Motors laid off thousands of workers there while reaping record profits -- has agreed to give GM millions of dollars in tax incentives if the automaker builds an engine plant for the Chevrolet Volt in the poverty-sticken community.

GM asked for the tax breaks to help support its $359 million investment in a new plant where workers will build 1.4-liter turbo engines for the Volt plug-in hybrid, as well as GM's new compact car, the Chevy Cruze. The proposed 500,000-square-foot facility, which would be built near Flint Engine South and Flint Truck, would retain about 300 jobs.

The automaker plans to begin production of the Volt in late 2010.

GM's request for incentives, approved Monday by the Flint City Council, stirred unease among some residents in GM's birthplace, where thousands of jobs have been eliminated over the years.

"A lot of people still feel ... General Motors owes us more than just a couple hundred jobs," Councilman Jim Ananich said the other day, according to an article in The Detroit News. "But as competitive as the market is and the trouble General Motors is having, we have to help them with whatever we can do to keep them competitive."

The city extended an existing abatement of 100 percent of the personal property taxes until 2033 and granted GM a 50-percent, 15-year abatement of real property taxes.

The City Council also approved a GM redevelopment plan for the proposed engine plant that makes GM eligible for state tax credits. The automaker is further seeking billions of dollars in low-interest loans from Congress to develop fuel-efficient vehicles such as the Volt, and GM is lobbying Congress for a $7,000 federal tax rebate for Volt buyers.

The Census Bureau reported Tuesday that a whopping 35.5 percent of Flint residents live in poverty, with more than one in every three Flint residents out of work.

Scott Doggett, Contributor

 
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August 25, 2008

First Look: How To Fill A Hydrogen Fuel-Cell Car

By John O'Dell, Senior Editor

If the though of driving around with tanks of hydrogen pressurized to 5,000 pounds per square inch makes you nervous, consider this: Fire fighters routinely enter burning buildings with 4,500 psi air tanks strapped to their backs.

equinoxfcevFUELING 015.jpgWith those words of assurance, GM hydrogen specialist Alex Karos led us out to the fuel-cell Equinox for our first refueling lesson.

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GM's Alex Karos, center, explains working of hydrogen fuel nozzle while Edmunds editors Chris Walton (left) and Brian Moody (back to camera) look on.

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Yup, I've driven and blogged about the Chevrolet Equniox fuel-cell electric vehicle several times in the past year, even wrote our first-drive review of it for Inside Line. But I'd never actually pumped any of its hydrogen fuel.

Well, General Motors finally has a few Equinoxes (Equinoxii? Equinii?) in its long-term media fleet and has loaned one to the crew at Edmunds for the next week.

So you'll be reading a lot more about it in up coming reviews from staffers for both Edmunds.com and Edmunds Inside Line. We here at Green Car Advisor will provide links to the pieces as they appear so you'll not miss 'em.

Still A Gas

But while you're waiting, we though we'd try to give you a feel for a fueling process that could someday replace topping off the tank with a gas other than gasoline.

Right now it's a bit more difficult - requiring a greater degree of dexterity than pulling into your local service station for a tank of regular unleaded.

We did, actually, pull into a local service station, a Shell station on the corner of Santa Monica Boulevard and Federal Way in West Los Angeles. Shell recently installed a hydrogen pump there as part of program, backed by the feds, to help get people used to the idea of hydrogen as a fuel for passenger cars.

There are two big islands at the station, one with a bunch of gas pumps, the other with a gas pump and the new one labeled "Shell Hydrogen."

There were 10 of us from Edmunds gathered there the other morning, all aiming to drive the Equinox while we have it and all required to go through the brief fueling lesson so we could fill it up ourselves while out there on the road.

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Hydrogen Car Tour's Promoters Hope Finish Line Is Just the Start

FuelCellBenz.jpgAs 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.

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Daimler's A-Class mercedes-Benz fuel cell car on display at Road Tour finale.

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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.

General Motors, Honda, Toyota and Nissan were among automakers showing off their hydrogen fuel-cell cars by featuring them in the tour, which began in Portland, Maine, on Aug. 11 and ended Saturday at the California Science Center in Los Angeles.The tour was backed by the U.S. Energy and Transportation departments, the National Hydrogen Association and the California Fuel Cell Partnership.

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. 

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Big Three Seek $50 Billion in Low-Cost Federal Loans for Green-Car Development

Capitol-Hill-400.jpgDetroit's Big Three automakers have begun lobbying Congress hard for up to $50 billion in low-cost loans they say they'd put toward development and production of fuel-efficient vehicles.

Congress authorized $25 billion in low-interest loans in last year's energy bill, but the auto industry's allies on Capitol Hill (right) thus far have been unable to get that amount funded.

The automakers say the loans would provide low-interest credit for up to 30 percent of the cost of retooling facilities to build hybrids, electric cars and other "green" vehicles.

Word of the stepped-up lobbying effort came only days after GM announced it will invest $500 million in the U.S. to build the Chevrolet Cruze, an all-new fuel-efficient global compact car.

The three American carmakers are under pressure to produce gas-stingy automobiles or lose more market share to foreign companies.

The energy bill authorized $25 billion in direct loans to the Big Three specifically to help them meet new federal fuel-economy standards.

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August 21, 2008

General Motors to Spend $500 Million to Launch Fuel Efficient Cruze in U.S.

CruzeNew750.jpgBy Scott Doggett, Contributor

General Motors announced late today that the company will invest more than $500 million in the United States to build the Chevrolet Cruze, an all-new fuel-efficient global compact car with a highway mileage target "in the forties."

Of the $500 million, America's largest automaker will spend approximately $350 million to prepare its Lordstown, Ohio, plant to build the Cruze (right) with production starting in the first half of 2010, GM spokesman Tom Wilkinson told Green Car Advisor.

Most of the $350 million will be used to consolidate the plant's two body shops into one, Tom Mock, communications manager for the plant, told us.

The rest of the investment will go into the plant's general assembly area, which will have added space when the body shops are consolidated. Mock said GM is determining what content it will put in that area to further improve efficiency.

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General Motors Releases First Photos of Chevy's All-New Fuel-Efficient Cruze

Cruze1-750.jpgBy Scott Doggett, Contributor

General Motors today released the first photographs of Chevrolet's all-new Cruze with word that the fuel-efficient compact sedan will make its world premiere at the Paris Motor Show in October.

The vehicle, which will eventually replace the Cobalt in Chevy's lineup, will go on sale in Europe next March and in North America approximately a year later.

There's no word yet on what the Cruze will cost, but we expect the base model to retail for well under $20,000. There was also no word on the Cruze's fuel economy in the statement General Motors, Chevrolet's parent company, released today.

However, we spoke with Chevy spokeswoman Nancy Libby about the vehicle's mileage and this is what she said:

"We don't have any mileage estimates at this time. We're still two years away from launch. The one thing I can say is we expect a significant improvement from today's 2009 Cobalt XFE. We expect it to be segment-leading fuel economy when it's introduced."

Cruze2-750.jpg Cruze3-750.jpg

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August 20, 2008

Bosch and Samsung Cleared to Launch Lithium-Ion Battery Joint Venture

BosSam.jpgThe race to develop advanced lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles took an expected turn today, with German parts supplier Bosch and Korean electronics giant Samsung announcing they have received all regulatory approvals to launch a joint venture to develop the batteries.

The joint venture will be headquartered in Korea and bear the name SB LiMotive Co. Bosch and Samsung each own 50 percent of the new company.

The company's objective, Bosch and Samsung said in a statement, is to "series-manufacture highly efficient lithium-ion batteries customized to automotive requirements and to market them worldwide from 2011."

Samsung has extensive experience developing lithium-ion batteries for a broad range of non-automotive applications, including notebook computers, power tools and mobile handsets.

Bosch will contribute the experience it has gained in recent few years with its "Project House Hybrid," which focused on power electronics, battery management, electrical engines and transmission systems.

The development of new, advanced lithium-ion batteries is widely regarded as the last big obstacle separating a world in which the vast majority of vehicles are gasoline powered and a world predominated by gas-electric hybrids and pure electric vehicles.

SB LiMotive enters an increasingly competitive market. Among the companies that are working on advanced lithium-ion batteries are Mitsubishi, Honda, Sanyo, LG Chem, Compact Power, A123 Systems, Continental, General Motors, and Johnson Controls-Saft.

Scott Doggett, Contributor 

 
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GM Chairman Says Chevy Volt Plug-In Hybrid To Be Priced 'Mid- to High-Thirties'

Wagoner380.jpgIf you've been following the price rumors swirling around the Chevy Volt, you've heard guestimates ranging from $25,000 to $50,000.

This week, General Motors Chairman and CEO Rick Wagoner told talk-show host Charlie Rose that the plug-in gas-electric hybrid will likely sell for about $35,000 to $39,000.

Starting a little more than 32 minutes into the interview with Rose, Wagoner says:

"We initially hoped we could get it for a very, very good price, let's say below $30,000. It's going to be more expensive than that for the first couple of years. Haven't finalized it ... but it'll be in the mid- to high-thirties is my best guess."

Later on, Wagoner said that "for something like the Volt, we'd be looking for a significant subsidy" from the government on the demand side, meaning a tax credit for initial Volt buyers.

If by "significant" Wagoner is referring to the $7,000 tax credit GM has been lobbying Congress for, initial buyers who live in states without a sales tax might be able to get a Volt for less than $30,000.

But whether the base price for the Volt will fall in the mid- to high-thirties remains to be seen.

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Ford Escape Hybrid Among Small SUVs to Earn Top Safety Rating

Crash-1-750.jpgBy Scott Doggett, Contributor

Many people if not most who buy a small or midsize sport utility vehicle do so because they believe it offers greater personal protection than a car. And for that extra measure of protection, they are willing to sacrifice fuel economy.

Today, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety announced that the 2009 Ford Escape Hybrid earned top ratings in recent crash-test evaluations, bringing to three the number of hybrid SUVs getting superior mileage without compromising safety.

The other hybrid SUVs earning top-safety-pick honors from the respected institute are the midsize 2008 Saturn Vue Hybrid and the 2008 Toyota Highlander Hybrid, which the institute had previously evaluated.

Crash-2-750.jpgBut the big winner announced today by the institute was the 2009 Volkswagen Tiguan, which outperformed the competition in recent front, side and rear crash test evaluations of eight small SUV models.

The 2009 Escape, including the hybrid version, 2008 Mitsubishi Outlander and 2008 Nissan Rogue joined the Tiguan in earning top ratings in all three of the institute's evaluations. All four models come equipped with electronic stability control and side airbags, which the institute considered very important.

The institute ratings of good, acceptable, marginal or poor are based on results of front and side crash tests, plus evaluations of seat/head restraints for protection against whiplash injury in rear crashes.

The 2008 Chevrolet Equinox, 2008 Jeep Patriot, 2008 Suzuki Grand Vitara and 2-door 2008 Jeep Wrangler all earned the second-lowest rating of marginal.
  Crash-3-750.jpg Crash-5-750.jpg

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August 19, 2008

GM Provides A Few More Details About Chevy Volt Lithium-Ion Battery



VoltFrontCorner750.jpgWe hope GM doesn't release the Chevy Volt to dealers as slowly as it is dribbling out information about it.

The latest teaser, from GM battery guru Denise Gray, is that the lithium-ion battery pack for the extended range electric car (also called a plug-in hybrid, and both terms are correct) will weigh-in at about 400  pounds, have fewer than 300 cells and pack 16 kilowatt hours of energy.

Gray, director of hybrid energy systems for General Motors Corp., divulged the info during last weeks Management Briefing Seminars sessions in Traverse City, Mich.

She said the T-shaped pack will take six or seven hours to fully charge and is being designed so it can fit into a number of different compact models that GM offers worldwide.

In other Chevrolet Volt news, GM says that tweaks to the car's aerodynamics (it was a all angles and sharp edges in its concept phase, looking quick but delivering the aerodynamics of a refrigerator box) have added almost 7 miles to the distance it can travel on battery power alone.

The company has promised a car that can deliver 40 miles of all-electric driving before the on-board internal combustion generator kicks on.

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August 18, 2008

Website Helps Motorists Become Fuel Efficient -- and Automakers Appear Green

Ecodriving750.jpgBy Scott Doggett, Contributor

The nerve of some people.

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.

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August 15, 2008

Feds, Automakers Renew Vow To Make Hydrogen the Fuel of the Future

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.

  CleanLAX400.jpgThe happy group renewed its vows during a hydrogen technology showcase Thursday in Washington.

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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.

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"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.

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Usually Dry Industry Conference Featured Some Green Zingers, Insights


By Bill Visnic, Senior Editor

TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. -- Despite being a conference that's always expounding some variation on the theme of how the notoriously hidebound auto industry must "change," the Center for Automotive Research's Management Briefing Seminar often is about everything but change.

mbsLogo_rgb2.gifThe annual confab is always held, with religious conviction, in this shamelessly old-school Michigan resort town. I think I stepped on one of Alfred Sloan's cigar butts the other morning on the way into the graying resort hotel that could feature in an episode of TV's '50s-oriented "Mad Men."

Despite the assertions of newfound hipness and corporate enlightenment, keep your head down, as I do, and you'll still gaze upon plenty of tasseled loafers and boat shoes. And that's from the radicals who show up at this supposedly casual gig sans necktie, at least.

But give 'em credit for inviting some environmentalists to the party - at least on Tuesday, the figurative wee hours of this week-long management backslapper before the CEOs dropped in. The result was some pretty good jousting and, in the course of it all, thought-provoking discourse.

Here's a selection favorite factoids, quotes and notes from Traverse City:

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August 14, 2008

GM Releases Pics of Production Volt; 33,000 Raise Hands as Possible Volt Buyers

VoltFrontCorner750.jpgUPDATES WITH DESIGN CHANGES

By Scott Doggett, Contributor

In an apparent move designed to maintain public interest in the Chevrolet Volt, General Motors today released two -- and only two -- photos of the production-ready plug-in hybrid electric vehicle.

Until now, the public has been seeing photos of the Volt concept that debuted at the Detroit auto show last year. But with the photos of the production-ready front corner (right) and rear, we're getting glimpses of the car as it will appear in dealers' showrooms.

The photos indicate that the General has been smoothing out the concept's angular exterior in an attempt to make the production vehicle more aerodynamical while simultaneously adhering to its original design.

VoltRearTrunk750.jpgWe're pleased GM decided to keep headlights and fog lights that emit cool-blue light. The color bespeaks the electric heart of the Volt, a car GM says will be able to go the first 40 miles after a charge on battery power alone.

The next 400 miles before a recharge is needed require gasoline to power an onboard generator that supplies electricity to the Volt's electric motor.

The rear shot (left) gives us our first look at the Volt's production-ready badge. Below are photos of the concept's front corner and rear for comparison purposes.

VoltConcept-FrontCorner400.jpg ChevyVolt-ConceptRear400.jpg

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August 13, 2008

Reclaiming Blue Skies, Using New Materials Shape Young Auto Designers' Visions


4__Q3T1378.jpg
Design intern Evan Mai is reflected in mirror at GM Design Dome as he puts final touches on Azadi concept, a passenger car his team designed for India's crowded city streets.

By Dale Buss, Contributor


Warren, Mich. -- If the future of General Motors is reflected in the ambitions and attitudes of its summer design interns, the company will be a savvy player supplying culturally relevant, environmentally innocuous vehicles in each of the world's fastest-growing markets.

Those prospects were on panoramic display Tuesday as the interns and the Chevrolet concepts the designed ringed the inside of the Design Dome here at GM's Technical Center.

Creative vehicle ideas ranged from the ".Ru," a car aimed at Russia's teeming urban avenues, to the "He," a family car for upwardly mobile Chinese.

In between were the "Aux," a rugged concept meant for the Russian outback; the "Jian," meant for students and twenty-somethings in China; and the "Azadi," whose designer proposes a fold-out back seat to pack in passengers on India's crowded streets.

In their projects, the interns had to deal with issues just starting to arise for today's designers: How to use exotic lightweight materials, what cars without bulky internal combustion engines and transmissions might look like, and how to design around the big, cylindrical fuel tanks vehicles using compressed hydrogen gas would need for their fuel storage.

2__Q3T1549.jpgWhat nearly all of the designs - aimed for developing countries in the year 2020 -- had in common was an assumption that roads and cities in such markets will get ever-more crowded, putting a premium on small frames and flexible interior spaces.
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Ryan DeYoung, who studies 3-D animation at Ringling College of Art and Design in Florida, with model of Azadi concept.
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The concepts also shared some version of a "green" powertrain: GM's electric and fuel-cell propulsion system known as E-Flex - the same  system being used in the Chevrolet Volt, the plug-in electric car  due in 2010.

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Auto Industry Big Shots Insist: One National Tailpipe Standard

CARlogo.jpgBy Bill Visnic, Senior Editor

The annual Center for Automotive Research Management Briefing Seminars confab in Traverse City, MI, put together a feisty session Tuesday called "Energy, Efficiency and Climate -- What Role Auto?" And while the session resulted in some prickly give-and-take between auto-industry and environmental representatives, there was essentially agreement on one point: California needs to give up its crusade to regulate greenhouse-gas emissions.

Mike Stanton, president and CEO of the Association of International Automobile Manufacturers, which represents almost all domestic and import automakers doing business in the U.S. and a longtime auto-industry rep in Washington, DC, said simply, "It's a little ridiculous," to have federal emissions standards, competing state emissions regulations, and the potential for even more conflict with California's CO2-regulating proposal.

He said the 14 manufacturers represented by the AIAM want "one national standard" for emissions regulation.

But he also said political winds appear to be blowing against their wishes. Both presidential candidates support granting California's waiver to regulate greenhouse-gas emissions.

"Neither candidate (Democratic Sen. Barack Obama and Republican Sen. John McCain) has been terribly supportive of us in the past," Stanton said.  Either presents challenges to the AIAM's hope for sanity in the emissions-regulation structure, he added.

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Honda Awaiting New "Super" Lithium-Ion Battery for Next-Generation Hybrids


WKA2002020653340_pv.jpgHonda's Integrated Motor Assist mild hybrid system (right) would get a boost from new high-power lithium-ion batteries the company could start using for 2010 models.


By Bill Visnic, Senior Editor

TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. -- Honda Motor Co. is preparing for an all-new, advanced lithium-ion battery that will allow its engineers to extend Honda's Integrated Motor Assist hybrid-electric technology to larger vehicles, a senior company executive told Green Car Advisor during an annual auto-industry conference frequented by heavy-hitters from carmakers' management ranks.

Honda has in the past been non-committal about lithium-ion, but that posture apparently is changing. And Honda recently was linked in lithium-ion talk with Japanese electronics giant and battery developer Sanyo Electric Co.

John German, American Honda's manager of environmental and energy analysis, said the coming lithium-ion battery formula -- the developer of which he wouldn't name -- does not enjoy extra capacity compared with known lithium-ion characteristics. Instead, the new chemistry is targeted at allowing the batteries to charge much more quickly.

This, in turn, will allow for an increased amount of battery capacity that can be assigned to actually powering the motor. And more power means the IMA system can be employed for larger, heavier vehicles.

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August 12, 2008

Ethanol-85 Producers, Auto Manufacturers Stalled in Flex-Fuel Waiting Game

E85400.jpgWhile automakers wait for more 85 percent ethanol blend gasoline pumps to be installed at gas stations, the ethanol industry is waiting for automakers to produce more "flex-fuel" vehicles that can safely burn the E85 blend, in what has resulted in a widespread waiting game.

"E85 needs more infrastructure," Rick Gunther, Midwest fleet and commercial operations manager for General Motors, told the subscription news service Greenwire. "I tell retailers, 'We're the chicken, you're the egg.' "

Detroit's Big Three automakers are waiting for Japanese companies Honda and Toyota to be more active in the flex-fuel market to stimulate demand for more pumps, but so far their response has been slow. Toyota plans to introduce a flex-fuel version of its Tundra in 2009.

Pump manufacturers told Greenwire they are waiting for Underwriters Laboratories certification of safety and efficiency on the new blender pump, which would offer more options for ethanol blends -- beyond the 10 percent or 85 percent currently available.

And everyone is waiting for U.S. EPA to decide whether it's safe to use a 20 percent blend of ethanol in car engines. The 10-percent blend is now the maximum for regular engines, although EPA has approved E85 for flex-fuel vehicles.

Ethanol proponents say E20 and maybe even E30 are safe for regular car engines, although automakers disagree.

 
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Researchers Work to Convert Vehicle Exhaust Into Fuel-Saving Power

Generator400.jpgRight, a GM thermoelectric generator.

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.

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GM to Offer Fuel-Efficient Versions of Its Largest and Thirstiest 2009 Pickups, SUVs

2009GMCYukXFE750.jpgRight, the 2009 GMC Yukon XFE. Below, the 2009 Chevy Tahoe XFE.

By Scott Doggett, Contributor

General Motors announced today that it will produce for the 2009 model year special fuel economy models of four of its largest, thirstiest trucks, the Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra pickups and the Chevy Tahoe and GMC Yukon SUVs.

Grouped under the moniker "XFE" for Xtra-fuel-efficient, the trucks will return 15 miles per gallon in the city and 21 on the highway. That represents a single mile-per-gallon improvement for both city and highway, compared to non-XFE versions with the same 5.3-liter V8 engine.

To put that in terms your wallet can understand, assuming 15,000 miles of travel each year (55 percent city and 45 percent highway) and an average fuel cost of $3.96 per gallon for regular unleaded gasoline, the XFE models will cost $3,493 in fuel per year versus $3,713 for the non-XFE model. The annual savings: $220.

2009ChevTahoXFE750.jpgGiven that the capabilities of the XFE and non-XFE vehicles are about the same -- except that the towing capacity of the XFE Silverado and Sierra pickups actually increases to 7,000 pounds from 6,600 pounds -- the XFE versions will offer better value if their prices aren't much higher than those of the non-XFE versions. Unfortunately, GM isn't releasing prices for the XFE vehicles now.

But keeping it simple, if the cost of gasoline stays around $4 a gallon, and if you put 15,000 miles on a vehicle a year, you'll need to keep the truck one year for every $220 more you have to spend to get the XFE version just to break even. If, for example, the XFE version costs $1,100 more than the non-XFE version, you would need to drive the vehicle for five years -- or 75,000 miles, to look at it another way -- just to be on par with the cost of the not-so-Xtra-special truck.

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August 11, 2008

Business Is Brisk at Nation's First Rental Car Company That Loans Only Hybrids

eqocar900.jpgWith established rent-a-car companies reporting that they are having trouble meeting customer demand for fuel-efficient vehicles, a Southern California company has begun renting nothing but hybrid vehicles.

Business has been brisk at Eqocar in Burbank since it opened its doors three months ago, General Manager Nick Hamed told Green Car Advisor today. Hamed said Eqocar, which rents only hybrid vehicles, is in talks to open four more rental-car centers, all in California.

Eventually, the company would like to expand nationwide, Hamed said.

Eqocar has a fleet of 45 hybrids, which include the Toyota Prius, Camry and Highlander hybrids,  Ford Escape Hybrid, Lexus LS600h L, GMC Yukon and Chevrolet Tahoe hybrids, and the Nissan Altima hybrid. Daily rates range from $59 for the Prius to $650 for the LS600h L.

There are plans to add the extended-range plug-in electric Chevrolet Volt, hybrid versions of the Smart Fortwo, Chrysler Aspen, Cadillac Escalade, and Porsche Cayenne and Panamera, as well as the Tesla and Fisker plug-in sports cars and the bubbled-faced three-wheel Aptera to the rental fleet, Hamed said.

The Aptera is reminiscent of vehicles appearing in The Jetsons, a futuristic cartoon series produced during 1962 and '63.

Scott Doggett, Contributor

 
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Hydrogen Road Tour Begins Today: Good Luck Finding Fuel


2009HondaFCXClarity750.jpgHonda'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 ra