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.
Toshiba expects to sign up about five car companies as customers for its new lithium-ion battery for electric vehicles, the head of the business told the London-based Financial Times said in an interview published Sunday.
Shoshi Kawatsu, general manager of the Super Charge Battery (or SCiB) division, also said that Toshiba was preparing for the possible manufacturing of batteries in the U.S. and Europe and would make a decision on whether to go ahead in 2011, depending on market growth and the needs of its customers.
Toshiba joined the race to mass produce lithium-ion batteries for zero-emissions electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids last year, announcing then that the Japanese electronics giant aimed to make 3 million lithium-ion battery cells a month starting in 2010.
Battery packs for hybrid cars can contain hundreds of cells. In the fall of last year, the company was making 150,000 cells a month, mostly for electric bicycles; a current production figure was not immediately available.
Kawatsu's comments highlight Toshiba's confidence in its battery technology and the growing number of new entrants fighting for a share of the potentially huge market in lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles.
"No confidence, no investment," Kawatsu told the Financial Times. Toshiba is spending $279 million to build a second SCiB factory as it pushes into the market with the goal of reaching $2.2 billion in sales by 2015.
Volkswagen underscored its commitment to electric vehicles today by announcing creation of a new "electric traction" unit and naming Karl-Thomas Neumann, former head of the giant parts supplier Continental AG, as chief of the new operating group.
---------- VW says it will launch retail version of E-Up! small EV in 2013. ----------
Neumann, who served as head of electronics for VW before leaving for a post at Continental in 2004 will report directly to Volkswagen Chief Executive Martin Winterkorn, who said of the new VW electric traction group that electric drive systems are "crucial technology for the Volkswagen Group and offers enormous potential" for growth and profit.
The company is part of a growing movement by French and German automakers to embrace electric vehicles in the face of growing political concerns about oil dependency and the climate impact of carbon dioxide emissions. Fossil fuel burned in cars and trucks contributes an estimated 12-14 percent of global CO2 and other so-called greenhouse gases.
SEAT, the Spanish car maker owned by Volkswagen, is discussing a major nationwide electric car program building off VW's developing EV technology and working with one of Spain's largest construction companies for infrastructure support.
The plan, outlined in a Dow Jones report, says builder Actividades de Construccion y Servicios would install a battery charging infrastructure while SEAT would electrify various models using VW technology unveiled earlier this year on the E-Up! concept.
All that's needed, apparently, is around 8 billion euro, (or $ 11.8 billion U.S.) and the support of Spain's Industry Ministry.
The idea of linking development of electric cars with development of an EV charging infrastructure seems to be foreign to the U.S, where each piece of the equation seems to be running at different speeds and on different timetables.
Audi's A3 TDI diesel and Mercury's Milan Hybrid are two of the contenders in LA Auto Show's green car face-off.
It will be diesel vs. hybrid and luxe models vs.standards in Green Car of the Year judging for December's 2009 Los Angeles International Auto Show. The five finalists in the annual competition, announced today, are the Toyota Prius (left), Honda Insight (below, right) and Mercury Milan hybrids on the gas-electric side and the Audi A3 TDI and Volkswagen Golf TDI (below, left) on the diesel side.
Judges picked the VW Jetta TDI last year, so if either the Golf or A3 win it will be two-in a-row for the fuel that most Americans still equate with big-rigs and giant bulldozers. There could be sentiment of the small luxury-performance car, which would help the Audi, but the engine in both the A3 and the Golf is the same that won it for the Jetta TDI in 2008.
Our handicapper at Inside Line's Straightline blog seems to be betting on the redesigned 2010 Prius, reasoning that the Milan Hybrid doesn't stand much of a chance because its twin, the Ford Fusion Hybrid, was nominated but didn't win last year, and that the judges will be loathe to salute diesel for a second consecutive year.
That leaves the Honda Insight and Toyota Prius, and the Pruis is the greener of the two by dint of its greater fuel economy.
The 2010 Golf TDI, which will feature the 2.0-liter 140-horsepower four-cylinder turbo-diesel engine already selling out in the Jetta TDI, will carry an MSRP of $22,690 with a six-speed manual transmission. Fuel economy with this pairing is 30/41 miles per gallon city/highway.
For an additional $1,100, you can get the same vehicle with the six-speed DSG transmission. With it, fuel economy nudges up to 30/42 MPG.
If your 2010 Golf must have four doors and a manual transmission, Volkswagen offers a six-speed manual on the four-door TDI.
Acceleration is comparable for both models. Golf TDIs make the 0-60 mph sprint in 8.6 seconds, or four-tenths of a second slower than the pricier Jetta TDI.
Standard equipment on all Golfs include a trip computer, eight-way manual-adjustment front sport seats, dual-exhaust tips, heated exterior mirrors and an auxiliary input jack. The Golf TDI adds a leather steering wheel, 6 months of Sirius, a touch-screen sound system, fog lights, 17-inch alloy wheels (above the standard 15-inch steel ones on the five-cylinder Golf), a sport suspension that lowers the car, and an armrest.
Bluetooth is a $199 option, though curiously, a chart in Volkswagen's press release says it is "forced on all TDI's [sic] by Corporate." Xenon headlights are $700 and a navigation system with a 6.5-inch screen and 30-gigabyte hard drive $1,750, and can be ordered only on the Golf TDI. The same is true for the 300W Dynaudio premium sound system.
In an obvious move to shore up its access to state-of-the-art advanced batteries for electric vehicles, Volkswagen is setting up a joint venture with Varta Microbattery to develop EV power packs, Europe's biggest carmaker said today.
Volkswagen already collaborates with Japan's Toshiba and Sanyo as well as with China's BYD on battery technology.
The announcement comes less than a month after VW presented a prototype of the e-Up! plug-in electric vehicle at the Frankfurt Motor Show with the intention of launching the vehicle in Europe in 2013.
Only days later, VW said it was also planning on introducing a slightly larger electric vehicle in the U.S. The company, which was slow to jump on the EV bandwagon, was quickly forming pacts with battery-makers and announcing bold plans for EV production.
In a statement issued today, VW said the project with Varta aims to undertake research and development of highly advanced and yet cost competitive lithium-ion batteries.
The four-year project still requires approval from German authorities.
One week after Volkswagen made a splash at the Frankfurt Motor Show with the world debut of its E-Up! electric vehicle (pictured), the German automaker has announced that it will likely sell a larger version of the cute compact in the U.S.
"The reason we are working on an electric vehicle is the American market," Ulrich Hackenberg, board member in charge of product development at Volkswagen AG, said today.
Hackenberg said a production version of the plug-in battery-electric zero-emissions E-Up! will go on sale in Europe in 2013. He said U.S. sales would start later.
The E-Up! is based on VW's new modular small-car family, scheduled to debut in 2011. The four-seat E-Up!, which measures 125 inches long (or 19 inches longer than the tiny Smart ForTwo), has a range of up to 80 miles on lithium-ion battery power.
For the United States, Hackenberg said, he envisions a front-drive model about 146 inches long (the 2009 MINI Cooper is 145.6 inches long). Electric versions of the Smart ForTwo and MINI Cooper are planned for the U.S.
VW will launch its first hybrid vehicle next year -- a version of the Touareg SUV. Hackenberg said the Touareg hybrid will debut at the 2010 Detroit auto show in January.
To date, very few details have been released regarding this vehicle.
Environmental car data released by a new automotive Website today shows that the latest 2010 range of new cars available in the U.S. is 6.6 percent greener than the 2009 model-year range.
The data supplied by WhatGreenCar also demonstrate that the shift to green is gaining pace. To date, this year's 6.6 percent reduction is more than three times last year's improvement of 2.1 percent.
Comparing model year 2009 cars with the latest model year 2010 line-up, 10 volume automakers are now offering a new model range above the average improvement of 6.6 percent.
The top 10 manufacturers achieving this are: Chevrolet (20.3 percent improvement), General Motors (15.3 percent), Mercedes-Benz (13.6 percent), Lexus (13.2 percent), Mercury (11.6 percent), Kia (11.0 percent), Ford (10.4 percent), Acura (8.0 percent), Volkswagen (8.0 percent) and Suzuki (7.7 percent).
The tables below are self-explanatory, and can be enlarged by clicking on them.
Volkswagen AG this week rolled an electric car it calls the E-Up! onto the world stage, and told onlookers that the never-before-seen plug-in EV will likely enter production in 2013.
---------- Above and below: Volkswagen's E-Up! battery-electric vehicle debuts in Frankfurt. ----------
Furthermore, the German carmaker said it expects the zero-emissions compact car to approach production level on par with it other compact cars by 2020.
The company said the front-wheel-drive vehicle's lithium-ion battery will have 18 kilowatt hours of energy capacity enabling a driving distance of around 130 kilometers, or about 80 miles, depending on driving style.
"One of the basic milestones on this timeline is the mass-produced electric car," Chief Executive Martin Winterkorn said in a statement.
He said only in high volumes and on all continents could one truly speak of the beginning of the electric age in automobiles and a perceptible reduction of their environmental impact.
"The concept car now being presented in Frankfurt very realistically shows how we envision such a Volkswagen with pure electric drive --- technically, visually and with regard to a practical size," Winterkorn said.
With the premature appearance of some photos of the current L1 Concept in the German media over the weekend, Volkswagen today distributed information and multiple images of the ultra-high-mileage carbon-fiber two-seat diesel runabout ahead of its scheduled debut at the Frankfurt Auto Show.
The German automaker announced that the L1 Concept is powered by a new two-cylinder 0.8-liter turbocharged direct-injection engine -- the smallest diesel engine intended for production applications ever built by Volkswagen.
That engine is mated to a 10-kilowatt/14 horsepower electric motor and a 7-speed direct-shift gearbox (or DSG, an electronically controlled multiple-shaft dual-clutch manual gearbox without a conventional clutch pedal) -- all situated at the back of the car. Together, the three components create the "most fuel-efficient road-legal car hybrid drive in the world," according to Volkswagen.
The L1 -- which takes its name from 1 liter of diesel will provide 100 kilometers of driving, although in reality 1.38 liters are required to go that distance -- is operated in two different modes depending on the load conditions.
In the standard "ECO mode," the TDI engine develops a power of 20 kilowatts/27 horsepower at 4,000 revolutions per minute. In sport mode, the car's power rises to 29 kilowatts/39 hp at 4,000 rpm. The TDI's maximum torque is 73.7 pound-feet at 1,900 rpm. A stop-start system automatically shuts down the engine when vehicle has stopped and restarts when the accelerator or "E-pedal" is pressed.
A Little History
This isn't the first L1 VW has come up with. Seven years ago, Dr. Ferdinand Piech, at that time chairman of the board of management at VW Group, drove a prototype L1 from Wolfsburg to Hamburg "that was unlike any other car before it: the Volkswagen 1-Litre car -- the world's first car with fuel consumption of one litre fuel per 100 kilometers," as VW tells it.
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.
2010 VW Golf, Polo and Passat BlueMotion cars. The updated diesel-sippers will debut at the Frankfurt Motor Show.
Volkswagen revealed today that it will debut production versions of its fuel-efficient, diesel-powered Polo, Golf and Passat BlueMotion models at the Frankfurt Motor Show later this month.
The Polo BlueMotion was shown as a concept alongside the debut of the regular Polo editions at the last Geneva Auto Show. VW said the production-version Polo BlueMotion gets a combined fuel economy rating of 71.3 miles per gallon with carbon-dioxide emissions of just 87 grams per kilometer.
To put that CO2 figure in perspective, the Polo's recently developed 1.2-liter, 75-horsepower TDI engine produces the same amount of climate-changing emissions as the diesel Smart ForTwo, and yet the Polo is able to transport five people whereas the ForTwo is limited to two.
The new Polo BlueMotion is expected to arrive in the U.S. next year.
The Golf BlueMotion packs a 1.6-liter, 103-horsepower TDI engine and achieves an EPA-estimated fuel economy 61.9 miles per gallon in combined city and highway driving. It generates only 99 grams per kilometer.
VW says the Golf BlueMotion will appear in European showrooms later this year.
The mid-sized Passat manages 53.4 mpg combined; greenhouse-gas emissions are 114 grams per kilometers.
VW says the TDI engines in all three models are recalibrated compared to the conventional models and have a reduced idle speed.
Further minimizing the idle losses are an automatic start-stop system, low rolling resistance tires and reduced aerodynamic drag due to lower front air dams and rocker panel extensions.
According to the German Federal Bureau of Statistics, the average German motorist drives a total of 6,600 miles per year. For Polo BlueMotion drivers, this means that they can cruise the entire year on just eight tanks of diesel.
In addition to fuel-sipping engines, BlueMotion vehicles are equipped with start-stop technology, regenerative braking, low-rolling-resistance tires, lightweight low-drag wheels, and improved aerodynamics.
Bill Visnic's musings make sense, and if the Cayenne - in all versions, green and black - does fade away at the end of the present model cycle in 2016 or so, we won't shed tears.
It's a nice SUV, with tons of power and loads of style and accoutrements, but it's not exactly a vehiclel that the world needs. Porsche sells a lot of them, but we can see that with VW holding the purse strings, a Cayenne would offer unnecessary competition to the VW version - the Touareg - and the to Audi Q& from that rmember of the VW stable.
Still, we stand by our positions that:
the Cayenne hybrid, which goes on sale here next spring, is a very nicely done hybrid with impressive fuel economy for such a large vehicle; and
the Cayenne diesel, on sale in Europe and under study for the North American, ought to be sold here - it would be a lower-priced alternative that's almost as fuel-efficient and as fun to drive.
And wouldn't it be interesting if this early word of the potential demise of the Cayenne caused sales to rise, thus prompting VW to rethink the money-making potential of the line and evenutally deciding to keep on trucking with Porsche?
Volkswagen has been producing Polos in Europe since 1975. The German automaker has offered Polos in various body styes over the years and now it says it will soon debut a production-version diesel Polo that gets 71 miles per gallon.
It's not clear from the statement issued by VW earlier today whether that Polo will be the three-door hatchback (pictured) or the five-door hatchback -- both will be available as BlueMotion (think fuel-efficient) models fitted with 1.2-liter, 75-horsepower diesel engines.
A concept version of the low-emissions Polo BlueMotion appeared at the Geneva auto show in March. VW said today that the vehicle will be available in Europe later this year. It is not expected to appear in American showrooms for at least another year.
In addition to the BlueMotion diesel engine, the Polo will initially be available in two other diesel and three gasoline powertrain choices, and some of which will be available with a fuel-saving seven-speed transmission.
The least expensive of the new group of Polos will start at 12,150 euros, or about $17,800.
Honda Motor Co. plans to develop an electric car to debut in the U.S. market by around 2015 as tighter environmental regulations push demand for zero-emissions vehicles, the Nikkei business journal reported Saturday.
---------- 2015 wouldn't mark the first year a Honda electric vehicle appeared in the U.S. Right, the Honda CUV-4 test EV in California two decades ago. It led to the Honda EV Plus, below, shown at a line-off ceremony in Japan in 1996. ----------
A spokesperson for the company, Japan's No. 2 automaker, said it was developing an electric vehicle but had not decided when to launch it.
The company would not comment on a Nikkei report, published without attribution to any sources, that a prototype of the car would be unveiled at the Tokyo Motor Show in October.
The vehicle is expected to be about the size of a minicar, the Nikkei said.
Nissan Motor Co., Japan's third biggest automaker, unveiled its electric car "Leaf" earlier this month with plans to begin selling it in the United States, Japan and Europe towards the end of 2010.
Other major automakers such as Toyota and Volkswagen have also announced plans to launch electric cars in the next few years.
Tesla Motors, a small California electric-vehicle maker, has sold more than 700 highway-capable EVs since it began producing them last year.
The fuel economy rule of thumb used to be that a full hybrid like the Toyota Prius was great for city driving but not so much better than other cars on the highway; that smaller cars were more fuel efficient than larger cars, and that diesels kicked butt in mileage contests.
Edmunds.com's crack(ed) team of testers set out last month to see if that's all still true with the new crop of cars and came to some surprising conclusions in what is becoming our annual Fuel Sipper Smackdown.
Over two days and 700-plus miles of driving, from Southern California to and around Las Vegas and then back, the team put the 2010 Ford Fusion hybrid, 2010 Honda Insight, 2009 Mini, 2010 Toyota Prius and 2009 Volkswagen Jetta TDI through a series of driving conditions, tracked fuel costs and computer CO2 output.
You can read the results here, and watch the video, above, for a 5-minute summary, but we'll give you the boil-down now:
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.
----------
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.
Mexican President Felipe Calderon announced this week that Volkswagen will invest more than $1 billion in its factory in the state of Puebla, with more than $400 million of the investment going toward the launch of a new compact sedan in 2010.
The news comes on the heels of a July 15 announcement by VW that it had decided to construct a $1 billion plant in Chattanooga, Tennessee, where the automaker plans to build a newly designed mid-sized sedan beginning in 2011.
That's a $2 billion commitment in less than two weeks at a time when most automakers are wracking their collective brains trying to cut costs.
VW spokeswoman Consuelo Minutti told Reuters that production of the new compact sedan at the Puebla factory will start in March or April of next year, but for security reasons she would say nothing more about the compact sedan.
That said, the Mexico plant already produces the Jetta and New Beetle, primarily for U.S. consumption. It's a good bet that the unnamed successor to the U.S.-market Passat will be build at the new Tennessee plant.
But as for the new small car at the Puebla plant, where the popular Polo (pictured) and Up! are currently being produced primarily for the European market, it's anybody's guess which Ford VW might be added to production.
However, Ford VW has previously announced its intentions to bring Polo to America, and earlier this month CEO Martin Winterkorn said a range of electric passenger cars would reach the market by 2010.
One of them could be an electric Up! that would cost only about $2,700 more than the conventional model of the city car, according to our sources. Now that would be cool!
Volkswagen CEO Says Electric Cars are the Future of Personal Transportation
VW is preparing a battery-electric version of its Up! city car (right)
, to be launched in 2013 and plans to have a range of electric passenger cars in the market by 2010, says chief executive Martin Winterkorn.
His remarks at a German automotive meeting, including his prediction that electric vehicles will define the future of personal mobility, were reported by ADP News.
The report says Winterkorn promised that the electric Up! would cost only about $2,700 more than the conventional model of the city car and would be capable of making the trip from Munich to Hamburg -a distance of 480 miles.
Winterkorn didn't offer an explanation of how VW expects to more than double the range of electric cars being tested today (the Tesla Roadster, the only production EV in the market, boasts a 240 mile range in ideal conditions).
He did caution, however, that EVs need "electricity filling stations" to be successful.
Winterkorn said he expects Volkswagen to capture 1 percent to 1.5 percent of the global market for EVs in 2020.
Separately, he said in a speech in Germany today that China has taken the lead in the electrochemical technologies used in electric vehicle battery development and hat its capabilities are being underestimated.
Winterkorn also suggested that EVs need a clean source of energy and that Germany should rethink its opposition to nuclear powerplants.
Less than a week after Reuters reported
that Suzuki Motor Corp. was in talks with Volkswagen about building ultra-small cars for the German automaker, the news agency reported today that Suzuki CEO Osamu Suzuki had denied having spoken with anyone at VW about anything recently.
Reuters reported last week that a source familiar with the matter had said that Volkswagen was exploring a deal to cooperate with Suzuki to boost VW's presence in the ultra-small-cars market.
At about the same time, a German magazine reported that VW could secure such a deal by taking a 10 percent stake in Suzuki.
But then on Saturday, Osamu Suzuki denied all of it.
"So far there's been absolutely no contact (with Volkswagen)," he was quoted as telling the Chunichi Shimbun daily.
"Lately, we've been the victim of a lot of rumors (of equity tie-ups and cooperation deals)," the newspaper quoted him as saying.
A Suzuki spokesman said he could not confirm the CEO's comments.
A Reuters report out of Tokyo this morning quotes an unidentified source as says that Volkswagen is exploring a cooperation deal with its Japanese rival to boost the German carmaker's presence in ultra-small cars.
Cooperation with Suzuki, which dominates Japan's 660cc minivehicle market along with Toyota unit Daihatsu Motor Co., could yield a new model for Volkswagen, the source said.
Volkswagen is looking to secure a cooperation deal by taking a 10 percent stake in Suzuki, reported manager magazin, a German magazine. But some investors were wary.
"If they are really going to make cars together, bringing together production facilities and linking their logistics, this could help both, but a capital tie-up by itself will not stimulate demand," Kazuyuki Terao, director at investment fund RCM Japan, told Reuters.
"Suzuki's profits are coming mainly from India and Japan. Europe doesn't have a big impact," he said.
Suzuki's 54 percent Indian unit Maruti Suzuki is that country's biggest carmaker thanks in part to its best-selling Alto mini car (pictured).
"It's not a negative, as there is a limit to doing things on one's own in an auto market like this," Naoki Fujiwara, a fund manager at Shinkin Asset Management, told Reuters. "But I would have to take a look at what they actually do."
A spokesman for Suzuki could not comment, saying he had not heard anything on a potential tie-up, while Volkswagen declined to comment.
Mitsuru Kurokawa, an analyst at IHS Global Insight, told Reuters today that collaborating with Volkswagen "could help Suzuki pick up its pace in the hybrid and electric vehicle field as those segments look set to grow faster than expected now.
"Meanwhile, Volkswagen could gain a partner in Asia that it always wanted and develop smaller cars as consumers downshift more and more from bigger cars."
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.
When Volkswagen came out with its "twincharger" 121-horsepower 1.4-liter engine a few years back, its goal was to combine the low-end power boost provided by a mechanically driven compressor (supercharging) with the higher-end increase provided by an exhaust turbocharger (turbocharging).
That would, they hoped as the engine was being developed, result in a clean-burning, fuel-efficient and yet fairly high-performance engine. The system (pictured; click on it to enlarge) would force more air into the cylinder, enabling more combustion and delivering more power.
The higher consumption of fuel would, they hoped, be more than offset by the overall decrease in fuel consumption that results from using a smaller engine.
And they were right. The 1.4-liter engine delivers torque corresponding to a 2.3-liter engine, but with 20 percent less fuel consumption and fewer emissions.
Today, VW secured overall honors at the 11th annual International Engine of the Year Award ceremony took place at Engine Expo 2009 in Stuttgart. It was the first time the company had won the accolade.
The winning engine, which beat both Toyota's and Honda's new electric-hybrid powerplants, was selected by 65 automotive writers from 32 countries across four continents.
The engine is offered across much of the VW model range, including the Golf, Scirocco and Eos, and is used to good effect by Seat in the Ibiza Cupra.
Dean Slavnich, editor of Engine Technology International and co-chairman of the International Engine of the Year Awards, described the engine as "a masterstroke of downsizing technology and a real engineering showcase. I have no doubt that this engine will become the template for a whole new generation of high efficiency, small capacity engines in the years to come."
Motor vehicle sales in Germany rose a whopping 40 percent in May, spurred by government scrappage incentives, but automotive shares fell, with investors unconvinced that the measures were generating a sustainable turnaround in demand.
Germany's KBA motor vehicles agency said May car registrations rose to 384,578 units, up 39.7 percent from the same month last year.
In February the Berlin government launched a subsidy that pays motorists $3,310 to scrap cars at least nine years old if they buy a new model from any automaker in exchange.
The program - aimed at getting fuel-inefficient vehicles off the road, spurring Germany's economy and reducing air pollution - runs through the end of the year. The U.S. is considering a similar cash-for-clunkers plan.
Shares in VW slipped 4.1 percent Wednesday, despite the fact that it clearly benefitted from the program; VW's new vehicle registrations for May rose 60 percent in Germany.
"People know it's steroids, it's not real," Morgan Stanley analyst Adam Jonas told Reuters. "It's pleasure upfront with the pain coming next year."
The incentive scheme proved so popular that the government agreed to boost it to $7 billion from the initial $2.1 billion, but Jonas said demand would drop off once the incentive scheme runs out.
In the absence of strong incentives, unit volume in Germany in May 2010 could be down as much as 30 percent year on year, he said.
Sales of hybrid cars and trucks outperformed the market in May, giving lie to the belief, popular among mainstream industry analysts and pundits, that Americans are only interested in the gas-electric vehicles when fuel prices are stratospheric.
---------- 2009 Prius was top hybrid with best sales in 7 months. ----------
In a month when sales of non-hybrid vehicles rose 12.9 percent from the prior month, hybrid sales were up 18.2 percent. Incentives were applied liberally to hybrids and conventional vehicles alike during May, reducing the likelihood that cash-back offers or cheap interest rates unfairly boosted hybrid sales.
And while sales of both hybrids and conventional vehicles fell far short of matching year-earlier tallies, hybrid sales were off only 26.7 percent from May, 20008, compared to a 33.5 percent decline for non-hybrids.
At the same time, conventional small car sales fell short of overall market performance, indicating that shoppers had more than just fuel economy on their minds. The hybrid market may be benefiting from increased concern that fuel prices, which have been below $3 a gallon for nearly a year after approaching the $4-per-gallon mark last summer, are on the rise again and may be heading for new highs.
In all, dealers sold 25,693 hybrids last month, up from 21,735 in April but down from 35,042 in May 2008.
With the exception of Toyota's Camry hybrid, the top-selling Prius - which continues to dominate the U.S. hybrid market - and Honda's Civic hybrid, sales of individual models are low enough that it doesn't take much to cause a large jump in percent of increase or decline.
That said, Ford's new Fusion sedan hybrid scored an impressive 75 percent gain from April while sales of the Ford Escape SUV hybrid were up 62.2 percent for the same period.
California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger joined the 2009 Hydrogen Road Tour today at Stop 6 of a 9-day, 28-stop, 1,700-mile road trip, telling a group of reporters at the site of the state's first integrated (H2 and gasoline) station that California remains committed to a future where hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles replace gassy rides regardless of what Washington does.
Speaking at a Shell station in West Los Angeles, Schwarzenegger reminded reporters that the California Air Resources Board, which sets vehicle-emissions standards for the state, recently passed a low-carbon fuel standard - the world's first such standard.
It will, he said, ensure that the cleanest fuels, including hydrogen, will always have a strong market in California.
"And the reason why this is so important is that on the federal level, they [politicians] make decisions based on where the oil price is. That means that sometimes the federal government, when the oil price goes up, they go in the direction of renewable energy and alternate fuels. And when the oil price goes down, they abandon those policies," the "Governator" said, his back to a row of hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles made by Daimler, Honda, Toyota, KIA, Volkswagen and Nissan.
"Well we don't do that here in California. We only march in one direction and that is forward. And we're not going to slow down. In 2010, we will have seven new hydrogen refueling stations in California and we will invest another $40 million over the next two years in hydrogen stations."
The governor reminded the automotive press that 20 percent of the new vehicles sold in the United States are sold in California, which is home to 25 million cars and trucks. (Those vehicles, not incidentally, consume 50 million gallons of gasoline and diesel a day and produce 40 percent of the state's greenhouse gases.)
As a result of California's vehicle market share, and that fact that Washington often follows the state's lead regarding tailpipe-emissions regulations, automakers can count on there being a large market for hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles and companies considering investments in an H2-refueling infrastructure can rest assured there will be vehicles requiring the fuel, he said.
Volkswagen AG will consider forming a partnership with China's BYD Auto in the area of hybrids and zero-emissions all-electric vehicles powered by lithium-ion batteries, Europe's largest carmaker said on Monday.
The announcement comes exactly one month after we reported that BYD and VW confirmed that they will cooperate on the development of lithium iron phosphate batteries.
Volkswagen is the first major industrial partner for BYD, a battery specialist and the fledgling maker of the F6DM plug-in hybrid. Last September, BYD sold a 10 percent stake to Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway for $230 million.
"Particularly for the Chinese market, potential partners such as BYD could support us in quickly expanding our activities," Ulrich Hackenberg, head of research and development at the VW brand, said in a statement.
In addition to Volkswagen, BYD is also talking to Ford Motor Co. and another European automaker about similar arrangements, The Wall Street Journal reported today (subscription required), citing people familiar with the VW-BYD negotiations.
The status of those negotiations, however, was not immediately clear. "We are always in discussions with many suppliers as a standard course of our business, but we have nothing to share at this time," Whitney Small, a Ford spokeswoman in Bangkok, told the Journal.
VW has brought 16 Chinese-market Passat Lingyu fuel cell sedans to U.S. for intensive testing.
By John O'Dell, Senior Editor
While the rest of the world was listening to President Obama outline his industry-supported plan to require that passenger cars and light trucks sold in the U.S. achieve average fuel economy of 35.5 miles per gallon and a 30 percent reduction in CO2 emissions by 2016, I was putting around an industrial section of California's capital in a car that gets the equivalent of about twice that, with no CO2 from the tailpipe.
It was one of Volkswagen's previous-generation Chinese-market Passat Lingyu sedans, outfitted with a fuel-cell electric drive that gets its juice by converting hydrogen and oxygen to electricity in an on-board electro-chemical power plant called a fuel cell stack.
The German automaker, mostly noted in green car circles for its clean diesel (turbo direct injection, or TDI) technology, has brought 16 of the hydrogen-electric cars to the California Fuel Cell Partnership facility in West Sacramento for a bout of prolonged testing.
Down, Not Dead
That VW is doing the testing is heartening. The company is one of a handful of major automakers insisting that fuel cell development must continue even though the Obama administration's energy budget proposal has let the air out of the hydrogen balloon by slashing program funding 60% and diverting most of the $100 million thus saved to battery electric vehicle programs.
(Energy Secretary Stephen Chu, you might recall, justified the hydrogen program cuts by pronouncing that fuel cells aren't going to be viable mass market automotive technology within the next 15 to 20 years and that government funding needs to go to programs that could come on line more rapidly.)
I asked several VW representatives why, other than to keep flying the fuel- cell electric vehicle (FCEV) flag, they'd scheduled Tuesday's event as there seemed to be no newsworthy reason for it - the cars aren't new, their fuel cell systems are a generation behind those being tested by the company in Germany and there were no other VW announcements during the day.
"Because," I was told, "the cars are here" and VW wanted to make sure the handful of U.S. journalists who cover green car technology knew about them and about the fuel cell partnership - which is celebrating its 10th anniversary next week - and its continuing commitment to hydrogen technology.
Obstacles Abound
That's all well and good - we're fans even though we know that in order for FCEVs to be viable, fuel cell stack durability has to be improved; costs must be halved and then halved again; the hydrogen to make them work will have to be made with clean electricity, which we don't have much of yet; and a tremendously expensive national effort will be required to install a fueling infrastructure to keep the vehicles rolling.
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.
One week has nearly passed since Energy Secretary Stephen Chu proposed slashing more than $100 million from Uncle Sam's hydrogen research and development program, and all of us should still be mystified and bothered by his proposal.
In other words, Chu's litmus test for funding a technology that might avoid or at least delay the catastrophic effects of global warming is that the technology must be developed within, say, the lifetime of an old house cat.
If Health Secretary Kathleen Sebelius applied the same rationale to drug research, she'd propose slashing federal funding for cancer, AIDS and influenza research, because cures for them are probably 20-plus years out. But tossing in the towel on those problems would be nutty, wouldn't it.
And just think where we'd be today if the Wright brothers, Ladislo Biro, Stephen Poplawski, Willis Carrier, Percy Spencer, and the banjo-playing, 3M engineer Richard Drew decided not to invent anything because it'll take too much time. We might never know airplanes, ball-point pens, kitchen blenders, air-conditioning, microwave ovens and, God forbid, Scotch tape.
Other things that took years to invent include: the telephone, the light bulb, the cotton gin, the sewing machine, the personal computer, television, the camera and, lest we forget, the automobile.
Shucks, a whole lot of things that shape the lives we lead today took a long time to develop.
(Note: Updated 5 p.m. 5/7/09 to include link to Hydrogen and Fuel Cell groups' joint statement.)
By John O'Dell, Senior Editor
In a huge blow to backers of fuel-cell electric vehicles, the nation's top energy official said today he sees little promise of the technology becoming a significant player in the nation's transportation system within the next two decades.
---------- Honda's FCX Clarity, now being tested in Southern California, uses a hydrogen fuel cell to provide electric power. ----------
As a result, Energy Secretary Stephen Chu is proposing that more than $100 million be cut from the Energy Department hydrogen program in the 2010 budget the administration is submitting to Congress.
The proposed budget slashes hydrogen fuel cell spending by 59 percent to just $68 million and focuses on programs for stationary power generation rather than for transportation.
"We asked ourselves, 'Is it likely in the next 10 or 15, 20 years that we will covert to a hydrogen car economy?' The answer, we felt, was 'no,'" Chu said in a briefing today.
The National Hydrogen Association and the U.S. Fuel Cell Coalition quickly issued a joint statement criticizing the program cuts.
Today's diesel-powered automobiles aren't your father's diesel-powered automobiles.
That's one of the core messages Volkswagen Group of America Inc. hopes to deliver in a new (and sufficiently quirky, given the company's advertising heritage) marking effort that includes a website where light-footed VW owners are boasting about extreme mileage accomplishments.
The pro-diesel push comes at the same time as a new "Meet the Volkswagens" ad campaign that pairs Max, the restored black VW Beetle that speaks with a German accent, with "Bus," an immaculately restored white and red 1968 Microbus (whose voice is supplied by actor Thomas Haden Church).
VW has a simple message in each instance: its autos are fuel-efficient, green and safe vehicles that won't break the household budget. And, to ensure that the message has a chance of being heard, VW plans to keep its 2009 advertising budget at the same level it was in 2008.
That is a serious commitment given that VW reportedly raised last year's spend by 45.7 percent over the 2007 level. The Nielsen Company reports that the overall automotive sector cut overall 2008 advertising spending by 15.5 percent to just over $10 billion.
VW's U.S. marketing chief, Tim Ellis, told USAToday that "When we invest in marketing, things happen. We think it's important to stick to our roots and stick to our value message. We're getting a higher percentage of the dwindling marketplace. And when this crazy situation comes straight side up again, we'll be positioned to increase our share even further."
VW isn't escaping the auto industry carnage. The Herndon, Va.-based company saw April sales tumble by 16.1 percent to 16,289 vehicles. Full year sales for 2008 declined by 3.2 percent to 223,128.
The automobile industry's global slump underscores the bold nature of VW's American gambit. Last year it announced plans for a $1 billion production plant in Chattanooga, Tenn. that will produce 150,000 vehicles annually - 30 percent of which will be powered by VW's TDI (turbo direct injection) engines.
On top of that, VW has boldly set a U.S. sales goal of one million vehicles by 2018.
To reach its lofty sales goal VW knows that it must persuade Americans (the emphasis is on younger consumers) that diesels aren't the clunky, smoky and noisy engines of yesteryear.
China's BYD Auto and Volkswagen have confirmed that they will cooperate on the development of lithium iron phosphate batteries. That's according to Gasgoo.com, which based its account on a recent story in the Beijing News.
"BYD is willing to cooperate with foreign automakers on iron battery development," BYD sales manager Wang Jianjun reportedly told the newspaper, which added that BYD is "in talks with a number of foreign companies on supplying them with battery products."
Iron-phosphate is one of several battery technologies that the automobile industry is developing. The technology offers a relatively low-cost alternative to other types of lithium-ion batteries.
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.
Volkswagen
and Toshiba Corp.
said they've signed an agreement to cooperate in development of battery systems and electric drive units and power electronics for the electric cars and trucks.
The automaker also has a battery development deal with Sanyo.
In announcing the Toshiba pact, VW Chief Executive Martin Winterkorn said his company believes cooperative development deals will hasten production of a safe, emission-free and affordable passenger vehicle.
Toshiba recently announced that it has developed a fast-charging EV battery
, the SCiB, or Super Charge ion Battery, that eliminates much of the heat build-up problem associated with lithium-ion battery chemistry.
Because they are lighter, smaller and more power-dense than nickel-metal hydride batteries now used in hybrids, lithium batteries are seen by many as the best bet for future plug-in hybrids and battery-electric cars.
GM Gets Three Models on 'Greenest' List and Tops 'Meanest' Ranking With Hummer H2
By John O'Dell, Senior Editor
In an anticlimactic repeat, Honda's natural-gas burning Civic GX topped the annual "greenest vehicles" of the year listing being published this morning by the non-profit American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy.
It is the 12th year the Washington-based environmental and economic lobbying group has published its Green Book Online, which ranks passenger cars and light trucks for overall environmental impact.
Although the list for the 2009 model year contained no big surprises, it was marked by the reappearance of General Motors Corp., with trio of small cars among the dozen "greenest" vehicles in the market - the Chevrolet Cobalt compact and its Pontiac G5 twin placed eighth overall and the Chevrolet Aveo subcompact finished10th.
The GM cars, which were rated highly for their fuel economy, knocked Ford's Focus off the "greenest" list after its appearance there last year as the only domestic car in the top twelve.
The Ford didn't get a lower score - but the average scores in the top 12 were higher this year than last.
Evolution, Not Revolution
Generally, the 2009 list was marked by continued improvements in the fuel economy and reduced greenhouse gas emissions of scores of vehicles rather than by stellar performances from just one or two models.
Manufacturers are fine-tuning their engines and transmissions, improving materials, and adding emission control technologies, said ACEEE transportation program director Therese Langer.
Volkswagen says it's planning to launch a high-performance, all-wheel-drive hybrid version of its Touareg SUV in 2010, which the automaker claims can achieve 26 miles per gallon in combined city/highway driving.
We certainly hope this is the case. You might recall that VW announced plans to introduce a Touareg hybrid in 2008 that would feature a 50-horsepower electric engine in conjunction with a 3.6-liter V8 engine producing 280 horsepower. Never happened.
VW says the Touareg BlueMotion Hybrid planned for 2010 will feature the new 333-horsepower supercharged 3.0-liter TSI V6 from the recently-announced Audi S4. A 38-kilowatt electric motor will be sandwiched between the engine and an all-new 8-speed automatic transmission.
The V6 TSI - a highly advanced gasoline direct injection engine boosted by a mechanically-driven supercharger - on the Touareg hybrid would generate a maximum 440 pound-feet of torque, matching the torque of the standard V8-fitted Touareg.
However, when the nickel metal hydride battery is fully charged, the total output from the powertrain jumps to 374 horsepower and 550 pound-feet of torque, permitting the Touareg to reach 62 miles per hour from a standstill in a claimed 6.8 seconds and to tow up to 7,100 pounds.
In other words, VW is claiming it will offer a Touareg hybrid that's every bit as powerful as the gas-only version (pictured), but 17 percent more fuel efficient. Assuming the price of the vehicle isn't outrageous, VW has to be pleased with itself.
The better mileage can be attributed to a start-stop system, regenerative braking and VW's so-called E-motor technology, which allows the hybrid version of the vehicle to be operated on the electric motor alone at speeds up to 31 mph, reducing fuel consumption in city driving.
When powered solely by the electric motor, the V6 is off and disconnected from the transmission by a disengagement clutch.
Also, as soon as the driver removes his foot from the gas pedal, a clutch disengages the V6 from the transmission. This eliminates mechanical drag losses, which in turn makes the Touareg coast significantly better, improving fuel efficiency.
Volkswagen, which has been selling its Polo subcompact in Europe since 1975, has decided to bring the supermini fuel-sipping car in the United States.
---------- A 2009 VW Polo gets the star treatment. ----------
VW development chief Ulrich Hackenberg says the automaker wants to take advantage of American buyers' increasing enthusiasm for smaller fuel-efficient cars.
"Oil prices will rise again and that will drive small-car sales up further," he said in an interview at the Detroit auto show last week.
Hackenberg said the U.S.-bound Polos may be produced in VW's assembly plant in Puebla, Mexico, where the original Beetle was made until a few years ago, to avoid an unfavorable Euro-dollar exchange rate. He did not say when U.S. sales of the Polo might start.
The Wolfsburg, Germany, company will debut its fifth-generation Polo -- the 2010 model -- at the Geneva auto show in March. Pricing and fuel economy have not been divulged.
The most fuel-efficient of the current, fourth-generation Polo variants sold in Europe get about 60 miles per gallon. The low-emissions version or versions sold in America would likely get between 40 and 60 mpg.
The decision to sell the Polo in the U.S. will give VW an entrant in the increasingly competitive subcompact market that exists there.
Currently, VW's smallest car in the U.S. is the Rabbit (or Golf, as the model is known elsewhere), which starts at $15,900. Its 2.5-liter five-cylinder engine puts out 170 horsepower, which is wonderful, but achieves only 24 miles per gallon in combined city-highway driving.
VW also sells a Jetta compact, which starts at $17,300. It and the Rabbit thus far have not competed favorably in the high-volume, affordable-car segment dominated by the 2009 Honda Civic, which starts at $15,200, and the 2009 Toyota Corolla, which starts at $16,700.
Stepping down a notch in size and price are the 2009 Toyota Yaris, starting at $12,200, and the Honda Fit, starting at $14,700. These -- or rather their 2010 successors, assuming the U.S.-bound Polo is a 2010 model -- would likely be the Polo's direct competition, as would Ford's new Fiesta global car.
The news release Volkswagen handed out as it unveiled its Concept BlueSport sports car in Detroit today said it all: "Volkswagen is starting the new year by presenting an automotive dream -- an affordable, uncommonly economical and highly agile mid-engine roadster."
The key word being "dream," because if the turbocharged clean-diesel roadster really does accelerate from zero to 60 miles per hour in 6.2 seconds, gets 42 miles per gallon combined, has a top speed of 140 miles an hour and is affordably priced -- all of which it claims -- Porsche would probably view it as a rival to its Boxster.
And with Porsche recently taking control of Volkswagen Group -- parent company of nine automakers, including VW -- all Porsche would have do to keep the BlueSport out of dealers' showrooms is vote it down at a Volkswagen Group board of directors meeting.
On the other hand, Porsche doesn't make a diesel Boxster and hasn't announced plans to come out with one.
A 6-speed dual clutch transmission -- the most economical and agile transmission system -- transfers the BlueSport's 350 pound-feet of torque to the rear wheels. It is shifted either automatically or via shift paddles on the steering wheel.
Making a positive impact on the car's range, fuel economy and emissions is the concept's start-stop system. When the car stops at a traffic light, for example, it automatically shuts off its engine. As soon as the light turns green, just tapping on the gas pedal is enough "to start the engine lightning fast."
It would appear that Daimler not only views electrification of the automobile as the key to sustainable mobility, but it also views the shift from gasoline- and diesel-powered cars and trucks to electric vehicles as an opportunity for the Stuttgart automaker to compete head on with major automotive parts suppliers.
In an interview today with the German newspaper Handelsblatt, Chief Executive Thomas Weber (pictured) said Daimler -- parent company of Mercedes-Benz and Smart -- intends to compete directly with German automotive parts supplier Robert Bosch and other companies in selling high-performance lithium-ion batteries to third parties.
Weber's comments follow the joint announcement last month by Daimler and German chemical, energy and real estate company Evonik Industries that the two companies had partnered to develop lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles and hybrids, with the first publicized target for the new batteries being the Mercedes-Benz S400 BlueHybrid due out this year.
Daimler and Evonik made that announcement less than a week after Mercedes-Benz disclosed plans to unveil a trio of BlueZero electric-drive concept vehicles at the 2009 Detroit Auto Show, which starts next Monday, and Daimler's announcement to expand its test program of electric-drive Smart Fortwos from London and Berlin to the Italian cities of Rome, Milan and Pisa.
According to industry forecasts, the market size for high-performance lithium-ion batteries will exceed $13 billion within the next decade. Clearly, Daimler and Evonik Industries want a chunk of that market, as do Toyota, Volkswagen and Renault-Nissan, all of which have recently partnered with battery-makers.
The carmaker on Monday began production - for the European market only, it says - of a diesel version of its Cayenne SUV (right).
Porsche's first diesel will be outfitted with the same 3.0-liter, 240 horsepower V6 TDI engine that Audi and Volkswagen are using for their upcoming diesel SUVs, the VW Touareg (the Cayenne's cousin) and Audi Q7.
Porsche has said that it expects its diesel Cayenne to achieve about 25 miles per gallon in overall fuel economy, a substantial improvement over the base gasoline model's federal EPA rating of just 16 mpg overall.
No word yet on when, or whether, Porsche might decide to ship its diesel SUV stateside.
Citing the ongoing economic meltdown, several automakers have canceled diesel plans for the U.S. recently (Honda most notably) because the engines and required emissions controls make them cost thousands more than their gas counterparts.
While we're waiting for word on the diesel Cayenne's future in the U.S., we're also still waiting for the hybrid Cayenne that Porsche promised us way back in 2005. Initially it was to have been a 2009 model but it now has been pushed back to 2010.
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.
German automotive giant Daimler of Stuttgart and chemical, energy and real estate company Evonik Industries of Essen have partnered to develop advanced lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles and hybrids, with the first publicized target for the new batteries being the Mercedes-Benz S400 BlueHybrid due out next year.
The German companies made the announcement Monday -- less than a week after Mercedes-Benz, a division of Daimler, disclosed plans to unveil a trio of BlueZero electric-drive concept vehicles at next month's 2009 Detroit Auto Show. Presumably the new batteries will make their way into whatever production models arise from the concepts.
Daimler officials have often stated that electrification of the automobile is the key to sustainable mobility. To that end, Daimler engineers have registered more than 600 patents associated with battery-powered vehicles over the past three decades, of which 230 were in the field of lithium-ion technology.
For its part, Evonik Industries has invested $110 million in battery technology in recent years. The outcome, according to Evonik Industries and Daimler: "Production-ready high-technology battery cells that are superior to competitor products in several key areas."
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.
Volkswagen's first extreme-conditions test of a fuel-cell vehicle was held in the dead of winter on a high mountain pass in southern Switzerland famous for catastrophic auto accidents caused by brake failures and for small-plane crashes resulting from unscheduled contact with alps.
The chilling test was conducted seven short years ago.
Last weekend, the wagen volks of Wolfsburg allowed a gaggle of auto writers to put two fuel-cell electric vehicles through an extreme-conditions test at latitude 34(degrees)04N, longitude 118(degrees)25W. A place called Beverly. Hills, that is. Swimming pools, movie stars.
In perfect bikini weather, the writers test drove the FCHVs there during brunch--a four-hour span when moms and nannies in sport utility vehicles rule the roads. One of the vehicles was a Touran HyMotion minivan (above), the other a Passat Lingyu sedan (see jump).
A fuel cell SUV--the Tiguan HyMotion--was to undergo testing as well but was a no-show. At least for now it escaped close scrutiny while rolling on Sunset Boulevard, where fender-benders are as common as tummy tucks, but alas the Touran HyMotion and Passat Lingyu did not.
Green Car Journal today honored Volkswagen's all-new 2009 Jetta TDI diesel-powered sedan with the magazine's Green Car of the Year Award, which was presented at the Los Angeles Auto Show.
The vehicle, which starts at $21,990 for the four-door sedan and $23,590 for the SportWagen, meets the low-emissions requirement for sale in all 50 United States and is EPA rated at 30 miles per gallon in the city and 41 mpg on the highway.
Volkswagen, which had claimed the Jetta TDI got 60 mpg, contested the government rating and hired third-party tester Automotive Marketing Consultants Inc. to conduct their own tests. AMCI's results: 38 mpg city and 44 mpg.
AMCI's results did not approach 60 mpg, but they do represent a 24-percent improvement over the EPA's figures.
Edmunds.com's Inside Line, which is conducting 12-month, 20,000-mile long-term test on the sedan, has reported getting only 31 mpg combined to date, but it should be noted that IL drivers aren't known for being light on their feet.
The BMW 335d, Ford Fusion Hybrid, Saturn Vue 2 Mode Hybrid and Smart ForTwo rounded out the top-5 contenders for the green-car award.
Vehicles using all types of technologies, fuels and powerplants are eligible for the honor. To qualify for consideration as a nominee, a vehicle must exhibit characteristics that substantially raise the bar in environmental performance and be in production by January 1 of the award year.
Additionally, a potential nominee must be driven by Green Car Journal staff. That requirement and others prevented some strong contenders--including the Tesla Roadster and MINI E electric vehicles--from being considered for the award.
UPDATE: EXPLAINS HOW CAR ACHIEVES 311 HP AND HIGH MILEAGE.
Volkswagen today unveiled a sleek high-performance, yet fuel-efficient concept sedan at the 2008 SEMA Show in Las Vegas.
The Super CC, created by the VW Design Center in California with the aid of APR, Recaro, H&R and Brembo, is as striking to look at as it is mechanically impressive. The glossy gray-pearl exterior paint is highlighted by black chrome exterior accents a machined aluminum spoiler.
The black treatment continues inside with high-gloss piano black accents offset by matte black graphics. Black leather Recaro seats and matching floor mats are highlighted with white piping.
The Super CC packs a 2.0-liter TSI engine upgraded with an APR stage-3 turbocharger system with three performance levels.
In Full Power mode the sedan puts out 311 horsepower and 313 pound-feet of torque. GT mode offers 252 horsepower and 268 pound-feet of torque. Eco mode provides 222 horsepower and 236 pound-feet of torque.
The Super CC in Eco mode gets a claimed 27 miles per gallon in town and 33 mpg on the highway. The production Passat 2.0T CC automatic, upon which the concept was built, gets 19 mpg in the city and 28 mpg on the highway.
The Super CC is able to achieve high performance and high mileage because of an unusually large turbocharger, which increases the amount of forced air entering the engine, and because of a set of algorithms programmed into the car's computer that allow the vehicle to operate extremely efficiently in Eco mode, VW spokesman Jim Gill said today.
The Super CC sits on custom designed 20-inch wheels and high performance 245/30 R20 Yokahama tires with an H&R street coil over sport suspension kit. The concept is equipped with 14-inch Brembo brakes with four-piston aluminum alloy brake calipers and two-piece floating cross-drilled discs.
Also included is an APR stainless-steel performance exhaust system. Click on "Continue reading" to see more photos of the Super CC.
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:
Daimler AG announced today that on Friday it will launch car2go, a pilot vehicle-on-demand program consisting of a 50-car fleet of Smart ForTwos that initially will be limited Daimler employees but eventually offered to the general public.
Convenience will be key to the program, which will commence in the southern German city of Ulm, where car2go will be tested in real-life conditions, Daimler said in a statement.
Following a one-off registration process, the Smarts can be hired spontaneously wherever a customer finds a free Smart, or pre-booked and used for as long as desired, at a cost of 19 cents a minute.
If all goes according to plan, available vehicles could be located quickly and easily via the Internet or a telephone.
The concept aims to ensure that a reliable vehicle is available at any time, "just a few minutes walk away."
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.
Contrary to popular perception, Toyota's dazzling growth over the past decade has been led by light trucks, not the fuel-efficient small cars and hybrids that are so associated with its brand.
Sales of Toyota's large vehicles -- SUVs, crossovers, pickups and luxury Lexus sedans -- have more than doubled during the past 10 years, reminds Guido Reinking (right), editor of Automobilwoche, in a short commentary published by Automotive News Europe today (subscription required).
That is why the current automotive crisis is hitting Toyota harder than many other manufacturers. Its profit is projected to decline by as much as 40 percent this fiscal year, which would yield a margin of barely 6 percent. That would put it on Volkswagen's level.
There is little doubt that Toyota will remain the global sales leader for some years to come. But there is danger in that success. Becoming No. 1 demands different qualities than staying No. 1. Can the company do both?
In that sense, it may be fortunate for Toyota that Volkswagen has vowed to overtake it, Reinking wrote. That's because Toyota, without meaningful competition, may have stopped striving for perfection.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency today issued its 2009 fuel economy guide
, with Smart cars and Volkswagen diesels now appearing on the government's top-10 list of most fuel-efficient vehicles available in America.
The Toyota Prius once again retains its position atop the list, with fuel-economy ratings of 48 miles per gallon in the city and 45 on the highway.
The additions to the top 10 list this year are the Smart ForTwo convertible and coupe and the Volkswagen Jetta diesels.
The Smarts, which arrived in the U.S. in January, were too late to make the 2008 guide. This year the Smart models hold down the No. 5 spot with ratings of 33 mpg city and 41 mpg highway.
The Jetta diesels were too heavy on emissions to enter the U.S. market last year, but they are in this year with improved emissions controls.
The Jetta diesel sedan and wagon with manual transmissions are in seventh place with ratings of 30 mpg city and 41 mpg highway. The sedan and wagon with automatic transmissions are in eighth place with ratings of 29 city and 40 highway.
Without further ado, here is the top 10 list for 2009:
Volkswagen is weighing whether or not to export a small, fuel-efficient car to the U.S. to take on the Honda Civic and Toyota Corolla.
Stefan Jacoby, president of Volkswagen's U.S. operations, said Tuesday that VW's Passat sedan (starting at $28,300) and Jetta compact (starting at $17,300) are too pricey to compete in the high-volume affordable-car segment (the 2009 Civic starts at $15,200 and the 2009 Corolla at $16,700).
As a result, Volkswagen is considering bringing a subcompact to the American market, he said.
"We could imagine having a car like the Polo in the United States," Jacoby said, referring to the model that is a smaller version of the VW Rabbit hatchback. He said VW would likely make a decision within a year.
VW's U.S. sales peaked in 1970 at 570,000 vehicles, when it was offering the original Beetle. By 1993, its share of the market had dwindled to 49,000 vehicles, mainly due to competition from Japanese automakers.
The company sold 37,182 Passats and 98,951 Jettas in the United States last year.
Volkswagen reportedly is running a 20-strong test fleet of plug-in Golf/Rabbit hybrids in and around Berlin with the expectation of bringing the model to market in 2011.
The current test models are using diesel engines to extend the vehicles' 30-mile electric range, Motor Trend reports, but the production versions are likely to get gasoline engines to keep costs down in the face of increasingly pricey diesel-emissions regulations.
Unlike the extended-range Chevrolet Volt gas-electric hybrid, which employs an electric powertrain and a gasoline generator that only energizes the battery pack, the VW's wheels will receive power directly from both the gasoline engine and the electric motor.
In a clever bit of engineering, that feat will be accomplished without a conventional gearbox, which will offset some of the weight of the motor and the 12 kilowatt-hour Sanyo lithium-ion battery pack.
The gearbox is limited to a single-gear ratio equivalent to the top gear in a conventional car. The electric motor is needed to supply low-end torque to get the car rolling to about 30 miles per hour, at which point the combustion engine will automatically clutch in and fire up. According to Motor Trend
, the electric assist then quickly fades but can be tapped for a power boost.
Other compelling features include 40 horsepower of regeneration braking and an "e-mode" button that can be pressed to keep the gas engine still. The latter feature would be useful in areas where access is limited to zero-emissions vehicles.
The system controller is linked to the vehicle's navigation system so it can calculate when best to use up the available battery charge (for example, if the system knows an urban area is ahead, it will run longer on the gasoline engine).
The controller can also ensure that the car arrives at its destination with depleted batteries, ready to take on cheap electricity rather than expensive gasoline.
Eco-driving enthusiasts John and Helen Taylor set a Guinness World Record this month for lowest fuel consumption while visiting the 48 contiguous United States by averaging 58.82 miles per gallon during their 20-day road trip in a stock 2009 Volkswagen Jetta TDI.
The couple smashed the previous record drive of 51.58 mpg -- and did so driving a diesel vehicle with a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency rating of 30 mpg in the city and 41 mpg on the highway.
The Taylors attribute their vastly superior fuel economy to driving instructions that can be found on the "Taylors' Tips" page of their Website.
Shell provided the 11.04 tanks of Shell Ultra Low Sulfur Diesel the couple burned during their 9,419-mile journey and VW lent them the Jetta. The couple averaged 853 miles per tank.
If you think 58.82 mpg is impressive, you might like to know that the Taylors averaged 90.75 mpg while setting a world record earlier this year for lowest fuel consumption on the coastal road route of Australia. They achieved that mileage in a Peugeot 308 HDi Diesel.
VW will launch its Up! ultra compact in Europe before the rest of the world gets a taste of the little car that made such a big hit as a concept at the 2007 Frankfurt Auto Show.
That's what VW Group's production chief, Joachem Heizmann told the subscription-only trade journal Automotive News Europe
in a recent interview.
The Up! will make its initial bow in Europe in 2011, with other global markets to follow. The German automaker ultimately hopes to sell 500,000 of the city cars annually, in a variety of models.
Volkswagen's plan is to make both upscale and basic models, perhaps in several styles. To go along with the original 3-door hatchback concept it has shown a mini-minivan-like model called the Space Up! (above)
as both a gasoline-burner and a fuel-cell electric hybrid model.
One big change from the concept shown at the Frankfurt show is that VW reportedly has changed the production models from rear-drive to front-drive platforms.
European analysts for Boston-based Global Insight economic and market consulting have found that distressing, commenting in a recent newsletter that "many observers" believe a front-wheel drive Up! "will merely compete with the other homogeneous contenders in the sector, rather than setting itself apart."
The production car also may well be badged as a Lupo instead of Up!
VW hasn't said yet whether U.S. consumers looking for small, fuel-efficient people movers will get to include the Up! on their consideration lists, although there has been talk of using the underlying platform for the next-generation Beetle, also due in 2011.
We'd likely get the larger minivan platform, as befitting our more generous proportions, VW insiders have said.
Hmmm.
We've no room to criticize, but with American heft entering the discussion a lot when talking about the market here for downsized city cars with rally great fuel economy (figures like 60-80 mpg have been tossed around for the Up!), it's interesting to note that researchers at the University of Illinois found in a 2006 study
that on average, Americans were 24 pounds heavier in 2002 than in 1960 and that each extra pound of body weight had increased national fuel consumption by 39 million gallons of gasoline a year.
Portland, Or. - Usually when a carmaker invites a bunch of journalists to a seminar, they get wined and dined and stuffed with all sorts of fun facts about how well the company's doing and what great new products it is working on.
Toyota turned things upside down this week with a day-long session it called the Toyota Sustainable Mobility Seminar.
We were wined and dined, but only after listening to a parade of top scientists and researchers tell us, in unsparing detail, how the planet is running out of oil and water; how the biofuels we look to as potential replacements for oil aren't worth the power and water it takes to make 'em, and how we now are consuming 40 percent more resources each year than the planet can sustain.
It was not, as you can tell, a particularly spirit-lifting session.
Bill Reinert, Toyota's North American advanced technology vehicles manager, took to the podium after the morning's sessions, held out his left wrist and, with a downward slashing motion of his right hand told us that after hearing all that had just been said he wanted us to know that the proper way to slit it was vertically, not horizontally.
Highlights - or low lights - included:
From Scripps Institute (San Diego) hydrologist Tim Barnett the cheery news that there's a 50 percent probability that the American West, where much of the next few decades' population growth will be centered, is likely to run out of water in the next 20-40 years.
Thanks largely to the rapid and sudden shift to smaller, more fuel-efficient vehicles in the U.S. - a shift driven by soaring fuel prices - industrywide fuel economy for new cars and trucks sold this year is expected to top 20.8 miles per gallon, the federal Environmental Protection Agency said today.
The new "real-word" figure from the EPA marks the fourth consecutive year fuel economy has risen since a gradual 16-year decline that began with the rise of the full-size truck and SUV markets in 1988 and ended in 2004 as Asian automakers began rapidly increasing their share of the U.S. market with vehicles that were markedly more efficient than domestic models.
In a preliminary report
released today, the EPA said it is estimating the average adjusted fuel economy for the light vehicle - or passenger - fleet this year will be at least 20.8 mpg, up 0.7% or two-tenths of a gallon, from last year.
That's still 1.2 miles per gallon, or 5.4 percent, below the all-time high of 22 mpg set in 1987.
For cars alone, the preliminary average is 24.1 miles per gallon, while the truck average is 18.1 mpg.
The agency said, though, that it expects final figures, to be released late this year, to show even higher averages for cars, trucks and the combined total.
Some blogs are reporting today that the U.S. government is now offering tax incentives for five diesel models, three from Mercedes-Benz and two from Volkswagen.
We brought you that information weeks ago, when it had just come out of the oven, so to speak.
But in case you missed it, here it is again, in a wrap-up of all the fuel-efficient vehicles that are now eligible for U.S. tax credits.
Just click on the charts below for easily readable charts of what's available.
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.
Volkswagen today unveiled a concept of its next-generation Golf, equipped with a BlueMotion diesel engine capable of achieving a combined 74 miles per gallon in European fuel-economy trials.
The U.S. EPA's fuel-economy estimate would be quite a bit lower -- about 62 mpg -- but that's still much better than, say, the mid- to high-40s of the fuel-sipping Toyota Prius hybrid.
The car is powered by a 1.6-liter TDI common-rail diesel engine developing 103 horsepower and 184 pound-feet of torque at 2,000 rpm. It can reportedly reach 62 mph from rest in a respectable 11.3 seconds before going on to a top speed of 117 mph.
The BlueMotion label represents the most efficient model in each of Volkswagen's passenger car ranges. As with all other BlueMotion models, this one has been tweaked aerodynamically, fitted with low-rolling resistance tires and mechanically optimized for fuel efficiency.
The production version is scheduled to go on sale in Europe in mid-2009. Unfortunately, due to the weakness of the dollar, Americans won't likely see it in showrooms at all and will have to make do with the standard Golf TDI with the 110-horsepower engine that VW says returns 52 mpg.
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.
Volkswagen, always a player in the small car and fuel economy sweepstakes, intends to launch a new compact sedan in 2010, using a just-announced expansion of its Puebla, Mexico, plant for production.
The plant's capacity will grow to 550,000 vehicles a year from the present 450,000, VW's chief executive officer, Otto Lindner, told the industry journal Automotive News
.
The new car will be a global model, he said.
Lindner, whose company has just launched sales of the 50-state legal 2009 Jetta TDI diesel model here, didn't offer any clues as to powertrain offerings in the new compact
VW, which also is building a new facility in Chattanooga, Tenn., for production of a mid-sized sedan, is looking to increase its share of the U.S. market but needs to boost North American production in order to avoid the exchange-rate losses it experiences from importing cars from Europe.
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.
But 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.
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.
In June we reported
that officials at Mercedes-Benz USA were hoping that their upcoming diesel-powered '09 models -- the ML 320 BlueTEC, GL 320 BlueTEC and R 320 BlueTEC -- will enable buyers to claim the same federal tax credit as is currently available to individuals who buy certain hybrid-electric vehicles.
The German automaker got its wish this week, when the Internal Revenue Service agreed with Mercedes' assertion that the new 50-state-legal, diesel-engine Benzes should be in the same category as hybrids that qualify for the federal Alternative Motor Vehicle Credit, because the diesels are every bit as "clean" as hybrids.
The decision comes two weeks after the EPA granted a $1,300 tax credit to the first 60,000 buyers of the 2009 Jetta TDI sedan and SportWagen, which like the BlueTEC vehicles, are diesel powered.
The three BlueTEC models are expected to go on sale beginning this October. The amount of the tax credit will vary with model, from $900 for the ML to $1,800 for the GL, due to the process the Internal Revenue Service uses to determine how much fuel will be saved by the vehicle.
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.
Volkswagen had planned to release official photos of the sixth-generation Golf on Wednesday in advance of the fuel-efficient car's debut at the Paris auto show in October, but at least two European Web sites leaked the photos today.
The images, which first appeared on Belgium's autogids.be and The Netherlands' autoblog.nl, show the 2009 model borrowed front styling features from the Scirocco but otherwise seems little changed from that of the current model.
What the photos don't show is what's under the hood of the Golf -- or Rabbit, as its badged for American consumers -- and that would be a motor that's more fuel-efficient than its predecessor's.
There will be a wide range of four-cylinder gas and diesel engine choices for the new Golf -- at least in Europe -- including a new 1.6-liter TSI engine developing 200 horsepower and a turbocharged 260-horsepower 2.0-liter engine reserved for the new GTI.
VW also is working on a diesel plug-in hybrid variant and expects to introduce new stop-start technology as well. Exactly which engines will be available on this side of the Atlantic has yet to be determined, or at least made public. Manual, automatic and DSG gearboxes will be available.
Both three and five-door bodystyles will be available, as will a convertible
Despite reports to the contrary, Volkswagen of America continues to certify the new Golf/Rabbit for sale in the United States.
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.
Ford Motor Co. started taking large steps
away from gas guzzlers and toward a fuel-efficient lineup earlier this month, but the efforts came too late to prevent Volkswagen from overtaking it for the No. 3 spot among automakers by global sales volume.
The change reflects sales figures the two automakers recently provided for the first half of this year. If sales trends hold true through the remainder of this year, the new world order among automotive giants will be Toyota in the No. 1 position, followed by General Motors, Volkswagen and Ford, respectively.
Toyota led GM at the half by about 278,000 vehicles, while VW saw a global sales increase of 7.2 percent to 3.31 million vehicles and Ford watched its sales fall 11 percent to 3.09 million vehicles.
Ford, which has been exceedingly slow to respond to the growing demand for fuel-efficient vehicles, ceded the No. 2 spot to Toyota in 2003.
Exacerbating the situation for Ford is the recent sale of Jaguar and Land Rover to Tata Motors. The two brands no longer contribute to Ford's overall sales tally. But with sales of the British luxury brands under 300,000 vehicles a year, they would not have contributed enough to enable Ford to retain its position among automakers.
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.
Well, the car qualifies, but it's the buyers who'll get it -- a $1,300 federal income tax credit.
That's what comes with the first 60,000 of the 2009 Jetta TDIs that Volkswagen dealers sell.
The credit, from the same pot 'o funds that the hybrid credit comes from, is designed to help ease the pocketbook pain of buying greener cars with advanced or alternative -- and thus pricier -- powertrains and fuel systems.
The 50-state-legal '09 Jetta TDI, which hits dealer showrooms in late August (most dealers are limited to a single demonstration model right now), is priced $2,000 higher
than the standard gasoline model, so the credit will lower the diesel premium to just $700.
The diesel Jetta has recently been rated for fuel efficiency
by the Environmental Protection Agency at 30 mpg in the city and 41 mpg on the highway -- in a test that the government acknowledges wasn't designed to properly rate diesels and tends to understate actual mileage. A test commissioned by VW showed better numbers of 38 miles per gallon in the city and 44 on the highway.
Using the lower EPA fuel economy numbers, it looks as if TDI owners will be able to save enough on fuel to pay off the price difference in a reasonable amount of time.
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.
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.
It's another concept car that no Average Joe will ever have an opportunity to own, right?
Wrong.
After making the rounds as a two-seater concept six years ago, Volkswagen's One-Liter Car was squirreled away, its maker waiting for the price of carbon fiber to come down enough to take the car to market.
The One-Liter Car concept vehicle -- so named because that's how much fuel it needs to go 100 kilometers (62 miles) -- sports a carbon fiber body that company executives figured would be too pricey to mass produce until at least 2012.
But the cost of the material has plummeted in recent years, and with the demand for fuel-efficient small cars never higher, VW has approved a plan to build 1,000 of the 660-pound microcars in 2010.
According to CanadianDriver, exceptional aerodynamics are key to the car's low fuel consumption. To keep the frontal area small, the engineers went with a bullet-shaped body and tandem seats.
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."
Except for single demonstrator models in most dealerships, Volkswagen's 50-state legal diesel, the 2009 Jetta TDI, won't be in showrooms until August.
But early reports are that those demonstrators already are generating sales and enthusiasm fromVW and diesel fans.
In a blog posting late last week, salesman Jay Pichardo at Greenbriar Volkswagen in Chesapeake, Va., said that within 24 hours of its arrival at his dealership, the Jetta TDI demo car had been taken out for 13 test drives that had generated deposits from 10 would-be buyers.
The tester logged 120 miles during the drives and averaged 49 miles per gallon fuel economy, well above the 34 mpg that the EPA has estimated (although a more accurate representation of real-world mileage for gasoline-fueled cars and trucks, the new EPA ratings methodology penalizes diesels and hybrids)...
Volkswagen Group has started testing a new electric hybrid system and expects to launch the first cars fitted with it by 2010, VW CEO Martin Winterkorn said today.
Speaking during a presentation of the first Golf model fitted with such an engine (above), Winterkorn said the system, called "TwinDrive", has an electric motor that can also be powered by gasoline for long-distance travel.
He said the technology allows cars to run in electric-only mode for a distance of up to 31 miles.
Winterkorn's comments came the same week that Audi CEO Rupert Stadler said that Audi, which is owned by Volkswagen Group, might launch a plug-in version of its upcoming A1 minicar...
So often automotive advancements are stymied by chicken-and-egg problems, perhaps the most often heard these days being, "We'll build more fuel-cell cars if you build a hydrogen infrastructure" and it's twin brother, "We'll build a hydrogen infrastructure if you build more fuel-cell cars."
A Dutch consortium of companies has decided one such problem can be avoided by investing in electric-car production and electric recharging stations simultaneously.
Operating under the banner of Electric Cars Europe, the companies have pooled $200 million with the objective of using it to accelerate the implementation of electric cars in the Netherlands. Specifically, they want 26 percent of the vehicles in the Netherlands to be electrically powered by 2025.
It's a lofty goal. There will be about 7 million vehicles on Dutch roads by 2025. The consortium wants 1.8 million of them to be EVs.
Did Audi's "Metroproject" concept foreshadow plug-in hybrid version of the A1?
Less than a month after announcing a lithium-ion battery development pact wirth Sanyo Electric., Audi CEO Rupert Stadler has said that "depending on demand," Audi might launch a plug-in version of its upcoming A1 minicar, or put a plug-n hybrid in its A4 lineup, which includes the Q5 small SUV and the A5 coupe.
Speculation, and that's all there is right now, is that the Audi plug-ins, if they are forthcoming, still are years away and likely destined, at least initially, for the European market. Audi has not announced any plan for bringing the A1 to the U.S, in hybrid or any other form.
Stadler's comments were reported by Britain's Financial Times newspaper.
Audi showed a concept plug-in A1hybrid, which it said would use lithium-ion batteries, at the Tokyo Auto Show last October...
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...
Volkswagen of America announced today that prices of the much-anticipated 2009 Jetta TDI will start at $21,990 and its 2009 Jetta SportWagen TDI (above) at $23,590.
The turbo-diesel models meet the emissions requirements of all 50 United States, as Green Car Advisorreported last month, and they remain on track to appear in showrooms starting August.
But the news the automaker had really hoped to report it simply wasn't able to. That news would be that the new models would get something near the 60 miles per gallon highway fuel economy Volkswagen had been boasting earlier this year...
True to its word, Honda Motor Co. began production of its long-awaited FCX Clarity fuel-cell electric sedan this evening (Monday morning in Japan) and said that it would begin putting the strikingly sculpted vehicles into the hands of carefully selected customers early next month.
The first of the cars, which produce electricity from hydrogen gas and oxygen and emit only water vapor from their tailpipes, will go to Hollywood producer ("Little Miss Sunshine") Ron Yerxa, who traveled to Japan to attend the ceremony at Honda's new fuel-cell vehicle assembly facility at its advanced R&D campus in Tochigi, about 100 miles north of Tokyo.
Honda introduced the production model of the garnet-red car at the 2007 Los Angeles International Auto Show in November and said at the time that it would launch a three-year Clarity leasing program this summer.
Yerxa and other lessees – there will be about 200 in Southern California and Japan by the end of 2011 – will pay $600 a month and will be required to provide considerable feed-back to Honda about their experiences with the vehicle.
Closer But No Cigar
"This is an important day in the history of fuel-cell vehicle technology and a monumental step closer to the day when fuel cell cars will be part of the mainstream," John Mendel, executive vice president of American Honda, said in a statement.
"Our customers and dealers share in our vision for a cleaner and more sustainable transportation future, and share in our challenge to embrace a new generation of automotive technology that we think will carry the auto industry and its customers into the future."
While fuel cell cars represent the auto industry's best effort so far to free the motor vehicle from its dependence on oil and to avoid some of the perceived pitfalls of using rechargeable batteries to store power for electric cars, the technology is not without problems.
Sanyo Electric Co. plans to start mass-producing lithium-ion batteries used in automobiles by the end of next year, throwing its hat into the ring in the promising next-generation automobile battery business.
The Osaka-based company also said Wednesday it has agreed to jointly develop the new lithium-ion batteries in conjunction with the Volkswagen Group for use in the German automaker's Audi-brand vehicles.
Sanyo intends to open a factory to make the batteries in 2010 and Volkswagen plans to introduce a car with them the same year, according to a Bloomberg report. The first car to get the batteries will be an Audi AG, Reuters reported.
"Our focus in future will be directed more strongly at making electrically powered automobiles alongside ones driven by more efficient combustion engines," Volkswagen Group CEO Martin Winterkorn said in a statement.
The federal EPA rates the new turbo-diesel 2009 Jetta TDI at 30 miles per gallon in the city and 41 mpg on the highway, for a combined rating of just 34 mpg.
The automaker had been boasting of 60 mpg highway fuel economy for the new 50-state clean diesel Jetta, which goes on sale in late August.
That's a 40 percent difference.
The new Jetta's city-cycle numbers are part of the problem, as previous diesel Jettas regularly score city mileage ratings of 33 to 35 miles per gallon under the EPA's revised fuel economy test. (Many of them up through 2002 were rated at 40 to 42 mpg in the city under the pre-2008 EPA test, which was junked amid complaints that it didn't reflect real-world driving conditions.)
One reason for the uninspiring EPA ratings is that the '09 Jetta's 2.0-liter engine is the largest displacement ever, and the car is a good 200 pounds heavier than previus model, all of which saps fuel economy.
Nonetheless, VW is concerned and already has prepared a rebuttal for those who would suggest that the new diesel Jetta EPA mileage rating is a disappointment, fuel-economywise. (It is a disappointment, but VW isn't going to admit that.)
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.
Volkswagen's Jetta BlueTDI was developed specifically for North America.
Just weeks after shelving plans for a production version of its 69-mpg Golf TDI Hybrid concept, Volkswagen says that a diesel-powered Jetta capable of 60 mpg on the highway is coming.
At the International Vienna Motor Symposium, which started today, Volkswagen announced that it will introduce the production version of BlueTDI – the automaker's next-generation turbo diesel engine – and that it will initially be available in the U.S. version of the Jetta before being used in other models globally...
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.
By Scott Doggett, Contributor Volkswagen's U.S. sales will reverse a downward trend and soar more than triple to one million vehicles annually over the next 10 years, if all goes according to plan.
That would be the plan outlined by Stefan Jacoby, chief executive of Volkswagen Group of America, on Friday at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C.
Aggressive marketing and growing demand for clean diesels would drive the sales, he said.
One million vehicles sold annually by 2018 would be an impressive increase from 2007, when the company sold 235,000 VWs and 94,000 Audis. It also would reverse a downward trend; in 2002, the company sold 338,000 Volkswagen brand cars in the United States.
VW Is stuffing a diesel-electric hybrid system into its Golf
-- the Rabbit here.
When the world's auto companies (most of 'em, anyhow) gather in Geneva next week to strut their stuff, much of the focus will be on fuel efficiency and carbon dioxide reduction.
The two go hand in glove, as CO2
-- the principal greenhouse gas associated with global warming -- is released when gasoline, diesel and other hydrocarbon-based fuels are burned. The less fuel a vehicle consumes per mile traveled, the lower its carbon dioxide emissions (unless it is driven more because fuel costs drop due to better mileage, but that's a topic for another time).
So expect lots of diesels, with and without turbochargers, lots of ultra efficient small gasoline engines, usually turbocharged, and even a natural gas engine or two to be featured in the cars that will be unveiled.
Edmunds Inside Line
has prepared an exhaustive look at the cars being featured at the Geneva auto show, and Edmunds AutoObserver
offers a look at the show and CO2
issues.
Geneva also will offer a few hybrids, including one that has the Internet burning up: VW has confirmed that it will show what it calls a diesel-hybrid "study." We'd call it a concept and a number of European auto blogs including Britain's Channel4.com
are calling it a done deal, sure to go into production soon. (Sorry, VW wasn't offering any pictures today, so we're just showing the standard Golf.)
The excitement is all about mileage. Loaded into the latest version of the VW Golf (that's a Rabbit in the U.S.), the power train is good for U.S. fuel economy of 69.9 miles per gallon – take that, Toyota.
Compressed intake air (blue) and exhaust gases (red) that drive turbo.
Ford finally gets into the green game in a big way with a turbocharged, direct injection gasoline engine, to be unveiled next week at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit.
More than 2.5 million Ford, Mercury and Lincoln vehicles will get the new (for Ford) four- and six-cylinder engines from launch in 2009 through 2013, Ford Global Product Chief Derrick Kuzak told reporters during an embargoed briefing on the technology last month.
The move is significant because with more than 16 million new cars and trucks sold each year in the U.S, it is going to take rapid and widespread application of fuel-saving and low-emission technologies to make a significant dent in the nation's oil dependency and air quality problems.
Ford says its version of direct injection technology, which it calls EcoBoost, will enable cars and trucks that use it to deliver up to 20 percent better fuel economy with 15 percent fewer carbon-dioxide emissions than versions equipped with standard fuel-injected engines of similar output.
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).
Production version of Honda FCX concept (above) will be unveiled at the LA Show
Although environmental transportation isn't a central theme of this year's Los Angeles auto show, there's still a touch of green to be found among the displays at the LA Convention Center.
Green used to be a big thing for the West Coast's premier auto show, but that was before environmental issues became part of just about every auto show on the calendar.
From Detroit to Tokyo, these days they all have a green component, ranging from the unveiling of concepts that explore things like plug-in hybrid electric vehicles and the hydrogen future to the introduction of production models that give us the newest in gas-electric hybrids and alternative fuels such as diesel and ethanol.
In LA this year, events will include an announcement Thursday morning of the Green Car of the Year award winner. Nominees for the award, sponsored by the Green Car Journal magazine, all are hybrids this year, and three are from General Motors: The Chevrolet Malibu sedan, Saturn Aura sedan and Tahoe SUV hybrids. The other finalists are the Mazda Tribute SUV hybrid and the Nissan Altima sedan hybrid.
As the 2007 show prepares to open its doors this week, for a two-day media preview Wednesday and Thursday and to the general public Friday evening for a 10-day run, here's a look at what to expect.
Volkswagen of America has embarked on a four-month, nationwide mobile marketing campaign to persuade consumers that its new diesel-powered cars and SUVs are not the noisy, smoky, poison-spewing vehicles people remember from the 1970s.
The "Dieselution Tour," housed in an expandable semi-trailer packed with exhibits and interactive displays, is headed to events where large crowds gather, including environmental and alternative fuel festivals and the 2008 Super Bowl.
VW's new diesels – a 2009 Jetta TDI and a 2009 3.0-liter V6 TDI Touareg – are coming along as well.
As if on cue, the cars of the future queue up and drive past Vijay Vaitheeswaran.
A shiny new Nissan Altima hybrid powered by both gasoline and electricity zips by silently. A slick European-spec Audi A6 sedan purrs by, burning clean diesel.
Then comes a Prius hybrid with a short power cord where you'd expect to find a tailpipe, signifying its aftermarket conversion to a 100-plus mpg plug-in. There's even a Hyundai Tucson fuel-cell electric SUV carrying three tanks full of hydrogen, enough to travel about 150 miles.
Volkswagen's John Tillman and HyMotion Fuel Cell Vehicle
Hydrogen-powered fuel-cell electric vehicles still seem more science fiction than fact to most of us, but there's been no letup by automakers in their efforts to bring the technology closer to retail reality.
A Volkswagen Touran mini-minivan running around California these days represents the state of the art, and VW is promising even better things by next spring.
The Touran, a European VW body style not available in the U.S., was rechristened as the "HyMotion" for the fuel-cell version, which features numerous components designed and built in-house by VW.
"We're starting to get away from the wholesale purchase of off-the-shelf systems from other vendors," said John Tillman, head of VW's alternative powertrain programs in the U.S.
A weekend devoted to worship of fuel-swilling, carbon-spewing muscle cars wouldn't seem the ideal place to preach the gospel of clean transportation, but the California Fuel Cell Partnership pitched its tent just inside the entry gates to the Coronado Speed Festival this past weekend -- and got a lot of action.
Almost 1,500 people attending the two-day festival on Coronado Island in San Diego Bay dropped by the partnership's stand to take a drive in one of the eight fuel-cell electric vehicles on hand.
“It’s actually a smart thing to do,” Hyundai spokesman Kevin Oates said of the decision to force-feed fuel cells to the speed crowd. “It lets us reach out to the trend-setters. These are people who are dedicated auto enthusiasts, and they can influence the industry,” he said of festival-goers.
“They’re auto enthusiasts,” he said, “so they’re enthusiastic about their muscle cars and racecars, but they’re also very open to the idea of the fuel cell as a door to the future of the auto.”
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.
There's lots of buzz on the Internet about Volkswagen's development chief Ulrich Hackenberg telling Germany's Automobilewoche magazine that the company plans to build hybrid versions of every model .
That may be the case for VW’s European divisions, but there’s only one hybrid VW model in the works for the U.S, spokesman Steve Keyes says.
He wouldn’t fall for our invitation to identify it, saying only that it is likely to be an unnamed new midsize car that’s now under development.
Funny, because we’ve been hearing about two others: a Jetta hybrid, word of which has been leaking out of VW headquarters in Wolfsburg, and a Touareg SUV hybrid—fairly easy to do as Porsche already has developed a hybrid version of it’s Cayenne SUV, which was co-developed with VW and shares its platform with the Touareg.
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