Legislation Green Car Advisor Blog on Edmunds' Inside Line

November 5, 2009

Clunker Program Allowed Some Truck Trades for Less Efficient Vehicles

But Language Permitting Such Trades Was In the Legislation Almost From the Start

The feds have published a detailed list of trade-ins and purchases under the summer's Cash for Clunkers program and some media have picked up on an item we cautioned about before the program became law.

It allowed owners of some older pickups and vans to trade them in for new trucks with lower fuel economy.

We don't know the details of every one of the 150 or so "worse gas mileage' trades that were made (according to an Associated Press analysis), and some may have been approved in error or even through outright fraud, but they really shouldn't have taken anyone by surprise.

Way back in May, the House Energy and Commerce Committee began considering the "Car Allowance Rebate System" or CARS bill with language that clearly approved of those "worse mileage" trades.

It specified that owners of pre-2002 work trucks could trade them in and get a $3,500 voucher for new trucks in the same or lighter weight classes, with no requirement for improved fuel economy.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (3); John O'Dell November 5, 2009, 3:00 AM
Categories:: Fuel Economy, Legislation, Opinion
Technorati Tags:: Cash for Clunkers

October 30, 2009

Energy Budget is Now Law, Includes $814 Million Funding for Green Vehicles, Fuels

In the biggest federal boost for green car development in decades, the 2010 energy budget bill just signed into law by President Obama includes $814 million in funding for various alternative fuel and vehicle programs.

One provision, $283 million for fuel cells and hydrogen fuel, restored more than $100 million that in funds for automotive-specific programs that Energy Secretary Steven Chu initially proposed cutting from the budget.

Chu said at the time he didn't see fuel-cell electric cars as commercially viable in the next 15-20 years.

Automakers and fuel cell developers quickly rallied to persuade Congress that Chu hadn't see the whole picture and promised to have commercial quality fuel cell cars - which use hydrogen for energy production - in the market by 2015.

Other green aspects of the bill include $311 million to help fund various vehicle electrification and advanced internal combustion engine projects and $220 million for advanced biofuel development.

As expected, the bill was cheered by trade groups representing the fuel cell, biofuels and electric drive industries.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); John O'Dell October 30, 2009, 11:08 AM
Categories:: Biofuels, Fuel Cell, Hydrogen, Legislation, Plug-ins and Electric
Technorati Tags:: 2010 Energy Budget

October 28, 2009

Debate on Fuel Economy and Greenhouse Gas Emissions Regulation Rages On

Automakers, Green Groups Debate Standards, California's Role at Los Angeles Hearing

By Danny King, Contributor

California's efforts to continue imposing more stringent greenhouse gas standards than federal rules require continued coming under fire from industry groups Tuesday as the Environmental Protection Agency held the last of three hearings on implementing proposed national standards for average passenger vehicle fuel economy.

Ford, Toyota, the Association of International Automobile Manufacturers and the Sierra Club were among the groups whose representatives offered a wide range of opinions during the day-long meeting in Los Angeles.

Federal officials are trying to determine how best to reach gas mileage and tailpipe-emissions standards within the next seven years that are about 30% more stringent than they are now.

California, which has authority to set its own standards, is in agreement with the federal proposals through 2016 but already has started working on tougher state standards for 2017 and beyond - a move that automakers oppose, claiming that separate state and federal rules will impose severe economic hardships on an already beleaguered industry.

Looking Forward

So while Tuesday's hearing ostensibly was about present regulations, many in the audience were more concerned with what happens eight years from now.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (1); John O'Dell October 28, 2009, 6:00 AM
Categories:: Emissions, Ford, Fuel Economy, Honda, Legislation, Toyota
Technorati Tags:: CAFE Standards

October 2, 2009

GAO Calls for Wider Environmental Reviews, Lower Federal Ethanol Subsidy

Congress should require U.S. EPA to consider more widely the environmental effects of biofuels production when deciding which fuels are eligible under the federal biofuels use mandate, according to congressional investigators.

The suggestion is one part of a wide-ranging Government Accountability Office report released today on increased biofuels production. A 2007 law requires the amount of biofuels in the nation's transportation fuels mix to reach 36 billion gallons by 2022.

"For the environment, many experts believe that increased biofuels production could impair water quality -- by increasing fertilizer runoff and soil erosion -- and also reduce water availability, degrade air and soil quality, and adversely affect wildlife habitat," the report states.

"However, the extent of these effects is uncertain and could be mitigated by such factors as improved crop yields, feedstock selection, use of conservation techniques, and improvements in biorefinery processing," it adds. Future increases in use of cellulosic feedstocks -- such as grasses and crop wastes -- can reduce harmful effects, GAO notes.

The 2007 law that boosted the renewable fuels standard requires biofuels to have lower lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions, by varying degrees, than fossil fuels.

But GAO says Congress should weigh amending that law by requiring EPA to more widely assess the environmental effects of increased production. And EPA should use this wider review to determine which fuels qualify under the standard.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); Scott Doggett October 2, 2009, 1:57 PM
Categories:: Alternative Fuels, Biofuels, Emissions, Energy Companies, Ethanol, Legislation
Technorati Tags:: Alternate Fuel

Congress Considering Allocating Energy Department Funds for Green 3-Wheelers

Aptera Motors, Elio Motors and other companies developing fuel-efficient three-wheeled vehicles got a boost from Congress this week in their quest for federal funding.

Legislation to make three-wheeled vehicles eligible for Energy Department loans passed a conference committee of House and Senate leaders Wednesday and then got approval from the full House on Thursday.

It is part of an energy spending bill likely to go before the Senate by next week for final congressional passage, a Senate aide said.

"Obsolete bureaucratic definitions should not create roadblocks and stifle innovation," said Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., who co-sponsored the legislation.

If the Senate passes the bill, it would have to be signed by President Barack Obama to become law.

General Motors Co. has been critical of the bill.

The Department of Energy's Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing Incentive Program is intended for large automakers that make many cars and that have the potential for large gasoline savings, the company has said.

GM spokesman Greg Martin declined comment on the latest development.

GM has applied for three department loans totaling more than $10 billion.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (5); Scott Doggett October 2, 2009, 1:47 PM
Categories:: Aptera, Elio, Emissions, Fuel Economy, Hybrid, Legislation, Plug-ins and Electric
Technorati Tags:: 3-Wheel

October 1, 2009

eTec Signs $99.8 Million DOE Contract, Provides Scope of Work, Launches Website

Arizona-based Electric Transportation Engineering Corp. today signed a $99.8 million contract with the U.S. Department of Energy to join Nissan in the biggest deployment of electric vehicles -- and creation of the largest charging infrastructure -- ever undertaken.

That eTec was earmarked to receive the contract is not news; we reported that in August. But along with news of the signing today, eTec provided further details regarding how it intends to use the money.

In a statement, eTec said the final scope of work will include the deployment of 10,950 Level 2 (220-volt) chargers, 260 Level 3 (440-volt) fast-chargers and 4,700 Nissan LEAF zero-emissions electric vehicles in five states: Arizona, California, Oregon, Tennessee and Washington.

In conjunction with the contract signing, The EV Project (as eTec and Nissan call it) officially commenced today. ETec marked the commencement of the project with creation of the project's official Website.

The Website is designed to provide general information about The EV Project and it provides information about how to purchase a Nissan LEAF and how to apply for a free charger at a home or work.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); Scott Doggett October 1, 2009, 12:37 PM
Categories:: Batteries, Emissions, Legislation, Nissan, Plug-ins and Electric
Technorati Tags:: Chargers

September 30, 2009

Top Electric Vehicle Executive at General Motors Leaves to Start EV Consulting Firm

Bob Kruse, who recently led a team that played a key role in the development of the Chevrolet Volt and who crafted the automaker's long-term electric-vehicle strategy, has resigned effective today.

Kruse, executive director of global vehicle engineering for hybrids, electric vehicles and batteries since early last year, left to focus on an EV consulting company he founded last month.

He will provide automotive and vehicle electrification expertise for companies looking to seize a piece of more than $1.3 billion in federal grants available to Michigan and Detroit's major automakers.

"My departure from General Motors has nothing to do with my view of the future success for the Volt," Kruse said. "I've left on very good terms. I have a lot of respect for the leadership of General Motors."

GM spokesman Rob Peterson told Green Car Advisor that Kruse's resignation, coming only 13 months before the Volt's scheduled production launch, "won't have any impact" on the gasoline-electric hybrid sedan.

"There's never a good time to lose good people, but there's a deep bench with the Volt and that team was working together before Bob joined and they will continue to march on," he said.

Kruse's resignation comes at a crucial time for GM, which is banking on the Volt extended-range electric vehicle to help it meet stringent new government fuel-economy rules and to change the public's perception of the company as being an electric-car killer and a proponent of gas-guzzlers.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); Scott Doggett September 30, 2009, 11:48 AM
Categories:: Batteries, Chevrolet, Emissions, Fuel Economy, General Motors, Hybrid, Legislation, Plug-ins and Electric
Technorati Tags:: Bob Kruse

September 24, 2009

GM Fuel Cell System With Gen-5 Fuel Cell Stack Could be Commercialized in 2015

The second-generation hydrogen fuel cell system (pictured) in development by General Motors Co. is half the size, 220 pounds lighter and uses less than half the precious metal of the current generation in the Chevrolet Equinox Fuel Cell electric vehicle.

And, the production-intent fuel cell powertrain can be packaged under the hood in about the same space as a four-cylinder engine, GM announced in a statement today. It contains GM's fifth-generation fuel cell stack, which the company said could be commercialized in 2015.

Hydrogen-powered fuel cells are a few years away from widespread commercial use because of the need for additional investment and partnership, along with expanded availability of hydrogen fueling stations.

In a statement, Charles Freese, executive director of GM's fuel-cell program, said GM has invested more than $1.5 billion in fuel-cell technology and is committed to continuing to invest, but "we no longer can go it alone... We will require government and industry partnerships to install a hydrogen infrastructure."

Through Project Driveway, a demonstration fleet of more than 100 hydrogen-powered fuel cell electric Chevrolet Equinox crossovers has amassed more than 1 million miles of every-day driving by ordinary citizens, celebrities and others since late 2007.

In recent weeks, a consortium of the German government and leading industrial companies has announced plans to build up to 1,000 hydrogen fueling stations by 2015, about the time several automakers expect to have hydrogen fuel cell vehicles for sale. Earlier, a group of 13 oil and gas companies in Japan announced similar plans.

"Failure to act will insure the U.S. cannot meet its long-term fuel efficiency and greenhouse gas reduction objectives," Freese said. "We know what needs to be done. Now is the time to get started."

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (4); Scott Doggett September 24, 2009, 4:38 PM
Categories:: Chevrolet, Emissions, Fuel Cell, Fuel Economy, General Motors, Hydrogen, Legislation
Technorati Tags:: Charles Freese

Electric Vehicle Makers Try to Temper Expectations Ahead of California Rule

California took the pulse of the zero-emissions vehicle industry this week and found plug-in electric vehicle manufacturers worried about charging infrastructure and public expectations.

The California Air Resources Board is hearing from fuel cell and EV manufacturers in preparation for releasing regulations for its Zero-Emissions Vehicle Program. Targets for 2015 and thereafter are due out by Nov. 10, with final targets due by early next year.

In its fifth major revision of the program since 1990, it voted last year to reduce the 2014 sales target from 25,000 to 7,500 vehicles.

A philosophical difference emerged between conventional car manufacturers and electric-only car companies.

Nissan, which is shooting for a 100-mile range for its Leaf EV, is playing down its perks. When asked to compare gasoline-powered and EV batteries, a company executive said not to expect comparable performance.

"Since the battery's not part of the emissions, it's not required to last 10 years and 150,000 miles," said Brian Verprauskus, senior manager of corporate planning for Nissan North America. "The issue's going to be the degradation. If the customer is OK with reduced range after 10 years, it'll definitely last that long, but after 10 years, we think there'll be more advanced batteries and the customer's going to want to swap it out with a next-generation battery."

Tesla Motors, on the other hand, is emphasizing the ways EVs differ from conventional cars. "We're trying to market cars based on the new attributes of EVs themselves," said J.B. Straubel, Tesla's chief technical officer. "It's an offensive technology shift. We can offer some new competitive advantages to customers."

EV manufacturers said the installation of charging infrastructure remained the biggest bottleneck to widespread implementation. BMW, which ran into charging issues with its MINI E pilot program, said the industry needed to agree on a standard for in-home charging infrastructure.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); Scott Doggett September 24, 2009, 10:39 AM
Categories:: BMW, Batteries, Emissions, Fuel Economy, Hybrid, Hydrogen, Legislation, MINI, Nissan, Plug-ins and Electric, Tesla
Technorati Tags:: BMW

September 22, 2009

To Outfox the Chicken Tax, Ford Strips Its Fuel-Efficient Transit Connect Vans

We recently reported that Ford Motor Co. was seeing brisk sales of its 2010 Transit Connect compact vans, and today we discover the fuel-efficient Turkish vehicles must first undergo a strange ritual before they are sent to showrooms.

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Right, a Ford Transit Connect "wagon."
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At least, we think it strange that some of the perfectly fine seats and windows of every Transit Connect that enters the U.S. must be ripped out before the vehicles can be sold or Ford would be in violation of a law that arose during a trade spat 46 years ago.

The "chicken law" takes its name from the high tariffs Europe put on imported chickens during the early 1960 in response to rising U.S. sales of poultry to West Germany.

President Johnson retaliated by targeting German-made Volkswagens with a tax on imports of foreign-made trucks and commercial vans.

As the story in today's Wall Street Journal (subscription required) goes, Europe still has a tariff on imports of U.S. chicken and the U.S. still hits delivery vans imported from overseas with a 25 percent tariff.

American companies have to pay, too, which puts Ford in the weird position of circumventing U.S. trade rules that for years have protected U.S. automakers' market for trucks.

You can read all about Ford's wiggle room, or by using knowing this clue and allowing your imagination to run wild: Just how do customs officials define a "delivery van"?

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (1); Scott Doggett September 22, 2009, 3:11 PM
Categories:: Courts, Ford, Fuel Economy, Legislation
Technorati Tags:: Courts

Fuel-Cell Electric Cars Are Farther Along Than Most People Realize, Industry Says

alifornia Air Resources Board logo.jpg

Automakers addressing California air-quality regulators in Sacramento this week said work on hydrogen fuel-cell electric vehicles (FCEVs) is progressing faster than most people predicted.

Craig Louie, of Canada's Automotive Fuel Cell Cooperation Corp., said cost was still an issue but that vehicles should hit showrooms in "2015ish, not 2020," as a majority of people in the automotive industry have been predicting.

Performance benchmarks are hovering around U.S. Energy Department targets for most metrics, including energy efficiency, power density and start-up and shut-down energy, Louie said. High costs still persist, though.

"If the goal is $30 per kilowatt-hour and everyone's in the $70, $80, $90 range, the goal is really to get the cost down and become competitive with incumbent technologies like advanced diesel powertrain," he said.

Louie made the remarks before the California Air Resources Board (CARB) as it prepares to release proposed regulations for its zero-emissions vehicle program for 2015 and beyond, with final regulations due by early next year.

Hydrogen FCEVs use an on-board fuel cell stack to convert hydrogen and oxygen to electricity that powers an electric drive system. The only emissions FCEVs give off is a small amount of water and heat.

In its fifth major revision of the program since 1990, CARB voted last year to reduce the 2014 sales target from 25,000 to 7,500 vehicles.

Monday in Sacramento, CARB officials heard from fuel cell manufacturers, trade groups and car companies on the state of technology and barriers to commercialization.

Several manufacturers cited the bipolar plates that conduct electricity away from the cells as a kink in the process. Another component ripe for improvement is the hydrogen storage tank, which is currently made of stainless steel and impregnated with fibers for durability, a time-consuming process.

But just because fuel-cell systems are still too expensive doesn't mean federal and private investors should pull the plug, said Jack Gatzuras, business development manager at UTC Power. Indeed, as a zero-emissions fuel source, it must be pursued, he said.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); Scott Doggett September 22, 2009, 12:58 PM
Categories:: Emissions, Energy Companies, Fuel Cell, Fuel Economy, Hydrogen, Legislation
Technorati Tags:: California Air Resources Board

Study: Clunkers Programs Should Use Fuel Economy, Not Age for GHG Reductions

From the isn't-it-obvious file: A university study has concluded that a cash-for-clunkers program ought to use fuel economy rather than vehicle age in determining a car or truck's eligibility for the scrappage program if its goal is reduced greenhouse-gas emissions.

Well, duh. Your Green Car Advisor has said that on a number of occasions, including a posting way back in June.

But the study conducted by the University of California at Davis, which is home to a highly respected electric-vehicle research program, contains findings that will surprise many well-informed people.

For instance, the study concluded that because the greenhouse-gas emissions associated with vehicle manufacturing, materials production, and scrapping equal roughly 10 to 15 percent of a vehicle's lifecycle emissions, any program that seeks to reduce GHG emissions through scrappage should seek to save more GHG emissions than this amount.

The study also found that the majority of cash-for-clunkers programs -- there have been many worldwide over the past 30 years -- last on the order of months rather than years, attempting to quickly and efficiently remove a set of target vehicles. For example, the recently ended U.S. program was originally scheduled to end after four months or after $1 billion funding was spent, whichever came first.

The short timeline prompted vehicle owners to act so quickly that the funding was spent after four days. However, the study's authors concluded, a long-term scrappage program may be more suitable to GHG reductions because with such a program policymakers could "send a clear, long-term signal" to automakers to produce more fuel-efficient vehicles.

The study recommends that policymakers, when proposing a clunkers program, consider 4- to 6-year vehicle product planning, design and introduction cycles where major retooling of
automobile plants is needed.

"Such longer-term programs could actually induce technology changes," the study found.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); Scott Doggett September 22, 2009, 10:50 AM
Categories:: Emissions, Fuel Economy, Legislation
Technorati Tags:: Cash for Clunkers

September 18, 2009

Study: U.S. Subsidies for Fossil Fuels Are More Than Twice Those for Renewables

The vast majority of U.S. federal subsidies for fossil fuels and renewable energy from 2002-2008 supported fossil energy sources that emit high levels of greenhouse gases when used as fuel, according to research released today by the Environmental Law Institute in partnership with the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars.

Applying a conservative approach, the respected organizations found that the U.S. government provided substantially larger subsidies to fossil fuels than to renewable fuels.

Subsidies to fossil fuels -- a mature, developed industry that has enjoyed government support for many years -- totaled approximately $72 billion over the study period, representing a direct cost to taxpayers.

Over the same period, subsidies for renewable fuels -- a relatively young and developing industry -- totaled $29 billion, the study found. What's more, of the $29 billion, more than half -- $16.8 billion -- went toward corn-based ethanol, the climate effects of which are hotly disputed.

The study also found that most of the largest subsidies to fossil fuels were written into the U.S. Tax Code as permanent provisions. By comparison, many subsidies for renewables were time-limited initiatives implemented through energy bills, with expiration dates that limit their usefulness to the renewables industry.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); Scott Doggett September 18, 2009, 1:32 PM
Categories:: Alternative Fuels, Emissions, Energy Companies, Ethanol, Legislation, Oil, Plug-ins and Electric, Solar, Tax Incentives
Technorati Tags:: Climate Change

September 17, 2009

House Passes $2.90 Billion Bill for Advanced Technology Vehicle Research

Targeting more federal money to support the auto industry, the House on Wednesday approved an expansion of government-led research into making cars and trucks more fuel-efficient.

The House plan would allow the Energy Department to spend up to $200 million more each year on research and development for advanced-technology vehicles and auto parts.

Lawmakers' aides said the additional $200 million would boost government-supported research in this area to around $550 million if Congress, as expected, funds the request later this year.

The measure passed on a 312-114 vote, attracting dozens of Republican votes, even though some GOP lawmakers questioned its cost.

Wednesday's House action represented the latest move by Congress and the Obama administration to aid the auto industry. The White House stepped in with billions of dollars to rescue General Motors and Chrysler and led the companies through bankruptcy, and Congress approved $25 billion last year to help the industry retool assembly plants to meet tougher fuel economy standards.

Congress also created a $3 billion Cash for Clunkers program of incentives that successfully spurred new car sales over the summer.

Fuel-efficient technology is in great demand because of higher gasoline prices and the expectation of tightening auto regulations. Administration officials on Tuesday released plans to raise the gas mileage standards to 35.5 miles per gallon by 2016 and link greenhouse-gas emissions and fuel-economy requirements.

Democratic Representative Gary Peters of Michigan, who sponsored the green vehicle technology bill, said "there is no doubt that in the years ahead more Americans will be driving hybrids, plug-in hybrids, battery electric vehicles, and cars and trucks powered by hydrogen fuel cells."

"The only question is whether these new technologies will be researched, developed and manufactured here in the United States, creating American jobs, or whether this technology will be built overseas," Peters said.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); Scott Doggett September 17, 2009, 1:37 PM
Categories:: Batteries, Chrysler, Emissions, Fuel Economy, General Motors, Hybrid, Hydrogen, Legislation, Plug-ins and Electric, Tesla
Technorati Tags:: Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing

September 15, 2009

Frankfurt Auto Show: O'Donnell: BMW Will Fit U.S. Cars With 4-Cylinder Engines

BMW-USA-Chair-Jim-O'Donnell.jpg BMW plans to offer four-cylinder gasoline engines in the United States in an effort to meet stricter fuel economy rules, a company executive said today.

Introduction of the powerplants, equipped with the automaker's next-generation twin turbochargers, "is the goal and we will do it," Jim O'Donnell (pictured), chairman and CEO of BMW of North America, said on the sidelines of the Frankfurt Motor Show, subscription-based Automotive News reported.

O'Donnell said the engines will allow the automaker to reach U.S. fuel-economy targets before 2015. Under federal guidelines proposed today, automakers will have to improve the fuel economy of their fleets by 5 percent annually before a national standard of 35.5 mpg takes effect in the 2016 model year.

BMW will add a four-cylinder variant for its next 3 series in the United States by spring 2012, O'Donnell said. The automaker already equips its European 3 series with four-cylinder gasoline and diesel engines.

BMW also is considering adding four-cylinder gasoline engines to its X1 and X3 crossovers and 1-series model in the United States.

In Europe, the X1 will be available with a four-cylinder, twin-turbo diesel engine when it launches this fall. The X3 and 1 series also are offered with four-cylinder gasoline and diesel engines in Europe.

"We see potentially a significant market that could get to 100,000 four-cylinder engines" in the United States, O'Donnell said.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); Scott Doggett September 15, 2009, 2:41 PM
Categories:: Auto Shows, BMW, Diesel, Emissions, Fuel Economy, Legislation
Technorati Tags:: BMW

Obama Administration Unveils New Fuel Economy Rules for Cars and Trucks

The Obama administration today released its proposed regulations to require higher efficiency standards for cars and trucks and decrease greenhouse-gas emissions, following up on the president's initial announcement of this in May.

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Right, President Obama meeting with UAW workers at a GM plant in Ohio today.
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The plan calls for a new average fuel efficiency standard of 35.5 miles per gallon by 2016 for new vehicles, which EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson said would reduce oil consumption by an estimated 1.8 billion barrels and save consumers more than $3,000 in fuel costs.

"The program we're proposing today would bring our nation a step closer to a future where the vehicles we drive actually help us to solve our energy and environmental challenges," Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood said at the White House today.

President Obama said at a General Motors plant in Ohio today that the plan "creates an even playing field" for the automobile industry, which he said "faced uncertain and conflicting fuel economy standards."

"It's an action that is long overdue," he said in Lordstown, Ohio. "It will give our auto companies clarity and stability and predictability."

The National Resources Defense Council applauded the proposed regulations, calling it "unprecedented" and a "historic proposal moves America further down the road to cleaner, more fuel-efficient vehicles."

Jack Gillis, representing the Consumer Federation of America, a non-profit association of more than 280 pro-consumer groups, said in a statement that the new rules "are not only a victory for the consumer; they are also a win for the overall economy, national security, and the environment."

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (1); Scott Doggett September 15, 2009, 10:36 AM
Categories:: Emissions, Fuel Economy, Legislation
Technorati Tags:: Emissions

September 14, 2009

Aptera Loan Application Fuels Debate Over Whether Electric 3-Wheeler Is a Car

The maker of the all-electric three-wheeled vehicle called the 2e (right), which is slated to enter production in coming weeks, wants Washington will view the vehicle as an automobile for the purposes of federal funding.

However, Aptera also wants the federal government to continue to classify the 2e as a motorcycle for the purposes of crash testing. That's because the government does not require motorcycles to pass vigorous crash tests as it does vehicles classified as automobiles.

The 3-year-old closely held company located in Vista, California, wants to borrow $75 million from a Department of Energy program created by Congress in 2007 to speed development of fuel-efficient cars.

But the DOE ruled last year that the plug-in electric 2e didn't qualify under the $25 billion loan program. A three-wheeled vehicle doesn't meet the definition of an automobile under federal law as being "any 4-wheeled vehicle," according to a letter to Aptera last December from Lachlan Seward, the loan program's director.

"We were dismayed," Paul Wilbur, Aptera's chief executive, told The Wall Street Journal in an article published today. Wilbur said the absence of a fourth wheel was critical to maximizing the vehicle's aerodynamics.

Aptera's backers include some big-money donors to the Democratic Party, and its quest for help has received a boost from a group of mostly California lawmakers who want to help a home-state enterprise. Allies of Detroit's big automakers are lined up against them.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); Scott Doggett September 14, 2009, 12:02 PM
Categories:: Aptera, Emissions, Fuel Economy, Legislation, Plug-ins and Electric
Technorati Tags:: Aptera 2e

'Clunkers' Improved Overall Fuel Economy in U.S. Less Than 1 MPG, Study Finds

Researchers at the University of Michigan say the American cash-for-clunkers program improved the average fuel economy of all vehicles purchased in the U.S. by 0.6 miles per gallon in July and 0.7 mpg in August of this year.

As you'll recall, from July 27 through August 24, the government-sponsored a vehicle-scrappage program officially called the Car Allowance Rebate System and informally referred to as the cash-for-clunkers program gave buyers a rebate when they traded in a vehicle while purchasing a new one.

Generally, the trade-in vehicles must have had fuel economy of 18 mpg or less and be less than 25 years old. The rebate was either $3,500 or $4,500, depending on the difference between the fuel economy of the new and the trade-in vehicles.

Overall, about 690,000 vehicles were purchased (and traded in) under the program, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation. This compares to a total of about 2,260,000 vehicles sold in July and August 2009.

To estimate the benefits of the program on the overall fuel economy of the light-duty vehicles purchased, Michael Sivak and Brandon Schoettle of the University of Michigan's Transportation Research Institute calculated the expected fuel economy of purchased new vehicles without the program.

To do this, they used the relationships between economic indicators and the fuel economy of purchased vehicles that they obtained during research they did earlier research. In that study, the fuel economy of purchased new vehicles in a given month was reasonably well predicted by knowing the corresponding unemployment rate and the price of gasoline.

In the just-concluded study, they used the same approach to predict the fuel economy for July and August of 2009 without the program, and compared this baseline prediction with actual fuel economy observed for the same months. A step-by-step account of their work, complete with tables and charts, can be viewed at a University of Michigan Website.

Neither of the study's authors discussed whether the slight improvement in average fuel economy that resulted from the clunkers program justified its cost to American taxpayers.

However, another study concluded the program was a very expensive way to reduce carbon-dioxide emissions. Sivak and Schoettle's work seems to support the earlier study.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (1); Scott Doggett September 14, 2009, 1:10 AM
Categories:: Emissions, Fuel Economy, Legislation, Tax Incentives
Technorati Tags:: Brandon Schoettle

September 8, 2009

Chu Says He'll Stop Push to Cut Hydrogen-Car Funding, Will Work With Lawmakers

Energy Secretary Steven Chu will no longer seek to kill Energy Department research and development of hydrogen-powered cars, a bid Congress has rebuffed, and instead will work with lawmakers to ensure the money is "invested wisely," he said today.

The fiscal 2010 spending bills approved in the House and Senate would continue funding for the programs. "Given the reality of that, I think it would be foolish if I next year said, 'No, I'm still going to insist.' They are going to stick it back again," Chu told the subscription service E&E News.

He spoke after addressing students at Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Alexandria, Virginia. "We will do the best we can to make sure the funds are invested wisely," Chu said.

DOE's fiscal 2010 budget request chopped $100 million of funding from hydrogen research and steered it away from vehicles. Chu, in rolling out the proposal, said vehicles face a number of barriers around storage, infrastructure and other issues. The plan would continue support for stationary fuel-cell applications.

"We asked ourselves, 'Is it likely in the next 10 or 15, 20 years that we will convert to a hydrogen car economy?' The answer, we felt, was 'no,'" Chu said in May, and instead emphasized other technologies to curb oil use like biofuels and electric vehicles.

But Chu today said there is also common ground with the lawmakers. "I still think -- in fact, many of the people who restored the funding agree with me -- that the first applications will be in stationary fuel cells," he said, according to E&E News.

"So we will do that, but then, if you want to have it [hydrogen] in automobiles, there is a hydrogen storage problem, there is a hydrogen production problem, as well as a fuel cell problem," he added.

"Fuel cells is actually the more mature, and so we will try to do our best to say, 'OK, if the goal is to try and get them into vehicles, let's design a program to actually try and do that as best we can,' rather than saying, 'I disagree with them.'"

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); Scott Doggett September 8, 2009, 3:28 PM
Categories:: Emissions, Fuel Cell, Fuel Economy, Hydrogen, Legislation
Technorati Tags:: Chu

August 31, 2009

Calif. Gives eTec $8 Million for Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure for San Diego

Arizona-based Electric Transportation Engineering Corp. today announced receipt of $8 million from the government of California to aid in development of an electric-vehicle charging infrastructure for San Diego.

The same company earlier this month landed a $99.8 million grant from the Obama administration to join Nissan in the biggest deployment of EVs - and creation of the largest charging infrastructure - ever undertaken.

The $8 million from the California Energy Commission is among the roughly $15 million in funds the agency is in the process of awarding to EV projects that received federal funds from the U.S. Department of Energy on Aug. 5.

With the two grants and others it expects to get from regional project participants, eTec has pledged to install about 2,550 charging stations in each of five selected markets: the states of Tennessee and Oregon, the cities of San Diego and Seattle, and the Phoenix/Tucson region.

Those approximately 12,750 charging stations will be used to recharge up to 1,000 LEAF EVs that Nissan will provide for each of the five markets, for a total contribution of up to 5,000 EVs.

Whether the zero-emissions vehicles will be donated, leased or sold by the automaker has not been determined, according to a Nissan source familiar with the collaboration.

In a statement released today, eTec said its project will collect and analyze data characterizing vehicle use and charging patterns in diverse topographies and climate conditions; evaluate the effectiveness of charge infrastructure; and conduct trials of various revenue systems for public charge infrastructure.

By testing and analyzing electric vehicle usage and charging patterns in a simulated mature charging environment, eTec hopes the project will foster the expansion of the EV infrastructure and widespread EV use throughout the country.

ETec is a subsidiary of ECOtality, a Scottsdale, Arizona, company that has been involved in every major electric vehicle initiative in North America since the 1990's. ETec is known for its Minit-Charger line of battery fast-charge systems for on-road EVs.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); Scott Doggett August 31, 2009, 10:05 AM
Categories:: Alternative Fuels, Batteries, Emissions, Legislation, Nissan, Plug-ins and Electric
Technorati Tags:: California Energy Commission

August 26, 2009

Air Line Pilots Association Seeks Ban on Lithium-ion Battery Shipments on Jetliners

By Scott Doggett, Contributor

An airline pilots union is calling for a government ban on shipments of lithium batteries aboard passenger and all-cargo planes after a series of fires in recent years involving aircraft.

This development might have an adverse affect on electric vehicles and most hybrid vehicles because lithium batteries are widely regarded as the best type to propel the vehicles.

At the very least, reports of a link between lithium batteries and fires aboard aircraft won't help public perception that such batteries are safe.

In statement released Tuesday, the Air Line Pilots Association said that federal regulators have been slow to act on the issue and that "the evidence of a clear and present danger is mounting."

The ban would not apply to devices containing batteries brought aboard by passengers, but as you can read in the adjacent boxed text, there has been at least one instance of a passenger reporting that his laptop computer was emitting smoke.

Since March of last year, six fires have been reported on board passenger and cargo jets linked to lithium-based batteries, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. None of the incidents resulted in deaths or serious injuries.

In a recent letter sent to Cynthia Douglass, acting deputy administrator of the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, Captain John Prater, head of the pilots' union, pointed to three recent incidents as proof positive of the urgent need to prohibit lithium-battery shipments.

During just the past two months, fire, smoke, or evidence of fire associated with battery shipments has occurred aboard three separate U.S. airliners, he wrote in the letter.

The incidents, which took place in Minneapolis/Saint Paul, Minnesota, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, and Honolulu, Hawaii, were similar to a 2006 battery fire aboard a DC-8 in Philadelphia, he wrote.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (2); Scott Doggett August 26, 2009, 11:53 AM
Categories:: Batteries, Hybrid, Legislation, Plug-ins and Electric, Tesla, Toyota
Technorati Tags:: Air Line Pilots Association

August 21, 2009

Though They've Reached the End of the Road, In a Way Life Goes on for Clunkers

There's nothing pleasant about the end of the road for a Clunker.

It idles one minute, unleashes a death rattle the next, then slips away as a lethal dose of liquid glass hardens engine arteries till they seize.

The lifeless vehicle is then auctioned off to the highest bidder - a person whose role mimics that of the wretch who buys fresh corpses to sell piecemeal to sickly people needing healthy organs.

The actual harvesting is done by specialists, surgeons if you will, whose job is to leave no transplantable part on the operating table, so to speak.

What remains of the auto body after harvesting then undergoes a Soylent Green-like process: The body is processed so that other bodies may live.

Enough with the analogy. For more on what is happening to all the Clunkers, read this story in today's Washington Post.

Here's another scrap-metal story we hope you like:

After the Vietnam War, some Vietnamese merchants located unexploded bombs dropped from U.S. planes, removed their detonators and explosives, and sold what remained of the bombs to Japanese steel mills, which in turn melted down the bombs and provided raw steel to Japanese automakers and parts suppliers.

As a result, it's probable that there are former U.S. Air Force pilots driving around in Toyotas and Hondas containing steel from bombs they dropped on 'Nam during the Johnson and Nixon administrations.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); Scott Doggett August 21, 2009, 1:07 AM
Categories:: Emissions, Legislation, Tax Incentives
Technorati Tags:: Car Allowance Rebate System

August 20, 2009

Cash-for-Clunkers Funding to End Monday Night, Transportation Department Says

The Obama administration plans to cut off dealer funding for the cash-for-clunkers program on Monday night after finding that the $3 billion fund is nearing depletion, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said.

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CARS' original timeframe had the program ending November 1.
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"This program has been a lifeline to the automobile industry," LaHood said in a statement today.

The Transportation Department said today that dealers had applied for $1.9 billion in rebates for voucher payments made to customers.

Government surveys have also sought to determine how large a stockpile of transactions remain unclaimed by dealers.

In a related development, President Obama said today that there have not been "extraordinary delays" in the processing of dealers' cash-for-clunkers claims and that the government has to be scrupulous in reviewing them to avoid fraud.

"This is actually a high-class problem to have -- that we're selling too many cars too quickly, and there's some backlog in the application process," Obama said in a radio interview released by the White House.

Many dealers have complained that they're not getting paid on claims filed as far back as July 27, when the program formally began.

Some have said they're owed government rebates that stretch into the millions of dollars for payments to customers, and that the delays are causing cash-flow problems.

Meanwhile, General Motors Co. announced that will help cash-strapped dealers waiting for clunker rebates by advancing them a 30-day interest-free loan in the amount of rebates that are being processed.

GM said it is providing the money so dealerships will have the liquidity to run their businesses and continue to deliver vehicles to GM customers.

"Our sales performance in the past two months has exceeded our internal forecast by over 60,000 vehicles, largely driven by the CARS stimulus program," Mark LaNeve, GM vice president of U.S. sales, said in a statement.

"We want to do all we can to provide customers with timely new-vehicle deliveries and dealers the liquidity they need to run their businesses," he added.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); Scott Doggett August 20, 2009, 1:42 PM
Categories:: Emissions, General Motors, Legislation, Tax Incentives
Technorati Tags:: Car Allowance Rebate System

August 19, 2009

Massachusetts Moves to Ban All Biofuels Not Made From Waste Feedstocks

The state of Massachusetts announced today that it intends to ban all biofuels not made using waste feedstocks from qualifying under the state's Clean Energy Biofuels Act of 2008.

The state said that the biofuels mandate will begin July 1 of next year and that mandated volumes would be waived in the first year but that "early action credits" will be provided for all gallons of qualified advanced biofuels, which will be applied to second-year mandate obligations.

And, the state said that its Department of Energy Resources, or DOER, will announce by the end of next year whether the second-year biofuels mandate will be set at the 2 percent or 3 percent level.

But in a surprise move, DOER said that it "will only accept applications for biofuels derived from waste feedstocks," and only then if they yield a 50 percent greenhouse-gas reduction threshold.

Under the proposed regulation, Massachusetts will ban the use of all non-waste feedstocks, which include algae, cyanobacteria, jatropha, miscanthus and switchgrass, or oils produced on a harvestable basis by microorganisms, such as employed by Joule Biotechnologies.

Curt Felix, chief executive of Wellfleet, Massachusetts-based biofuels company Plankton Power, said the DOER ruling guts the state's biofuels act and directly opposes the intention of the state's legislature and its governor.

"DOER has made impermissible all but waste restaurant oil as a biofuel feedstock in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts for compliance with the law," he said. "The ruling means that algae fuels and other 'non-waste' feedstocks that clearly meet the legal requirements of the biofuels law will not be allowed to be sold as qualifying product."

That's the way we see it, too.

Moreover, DOER's ruling that the emissions from renewable fuels have to be 50 percent cleaner than petroleum's creates an enormously high threshold that would likely disqualify many good biofuels.

And the 50-percent ruling is completely unrealistic. As Felix put it, "Why not require that next year petroleum has to lower its carbon emissions by 50 percent?"

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); Scott Doggett August 19, 2009, 12:24 PM
Categories:: Alternative Fuels, Biofuels, Emissions, Legislation
Technorati Tags:: Alt Fuel

August 17, 2009

Summer of Algae Continues With Major Developments in Calif., New Mexico & U.K.

As the summer of algae continues, start-up Aquentium has announced a 475-acre project in New Mexico, Waxman-Markey climate bill co-sponsor Edward Markey has declared the legislation will generate $1 trillion in private-sector investment, and British Petroleum has plunked down $10 million in green-diesel R&D.

In New Mexico, Aquentium announced today that it has secured 475 acres in New Mexico for the development of an algae bio-fuel production facility. The company is developing green crude, and noted the potential of brackish or salt-water to host algae without disclosing the strains that it will focus on.

In Alameda, California, while touring the Aurora Biofuels laboratory, House Energy Independence and Global Warming Chairman Ed Markey described Aurora's technology as "very exciting," adding that "with a little bit of luck, we'll pass this legislation later this year and create a marketplace for technologies like this."

Unsatisfied with that remark, Markey also predicted: "Our legislation will unleash more than a trillion dollars' worth of private-sector investment." It's wishful thinking, to be sure, but wouldn't it be nice.

And in the United Kingdom, British Petroleum and Martek have agreed to use Martek's core algae technologies as a platform for the production of diesel from microbes.

According to reliable sources, BP will invest $10 million in the research and development of Martek's technologies and will own all intellectual property that results from the R&D. BP's interest in the research being strictly "green" diesel.

For its part, Martek will have an exclusive license to apply the technology in the fields of nutrition, cosmetics, and pharmaceuticals.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); Scott Doggett August 17, 2009, 11:53 AM
Categories:: Alternative Fuels, Biofuels, Legislation
Technorati Tags:: Alt Fuel

August 14, 2009

'Clunkers' Program Is Exorbitant Way to Cut Carbon Emissions, Economist Says

A respected economist says the federal government's cash-for-clunkers program is paying at least 10 times the "sticker price" to reduce emissions of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide.

While carbon credits are projected to sell in the U.S. for about $28 per ton (today's price in Europe was $20), even the best-case calculation of the cost of the clunkers rebate is $237 per ton, according to University of California transportation economist Christopher Knittel.

When burned, a gallon of gasoline creates roughly 20 pounds of carbon dioxide. Knittel combined that known value with an average rebate of $4,200 and a range of assumptions about the fuel economy of the new vehicles purchased and how long the clunkers would have been on the road if not for the program.

He even assumed drivers didn't change their habits, although some analysts have suggested that the owners of new vehicles will drive more than they would have with their old cars.

In the end, Knittel concluded that the lowest cost to remove one ton of carbon from the environment was $237.

"More likely scenarios produced a cost of more than $500 per ton, even when we accounted for reductions in pollutants other than greenhouse gases," he said in a statement issued Thursday. "That suggests the cash-for-clunkers program is an expensive way to reduce carbon."

Knittel did not analyze the program's other key objectives: stimulating the economy and providing relief for automobile manufacturers.

Knittel is an associate professor and chancellor's fellow in the UC Davis Department of Economics, a faculty associate at the UC Davis Institute of Transportation Studies, and the policy and business strategy leader of the Sustainable Transportation Energy Pathways Program at UC Davis.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); Scott Doggett August 14, 2009, 9:50 AM
Categories:: Emissions, Fuel Economy, Legislation, Tax Incentives
Technorati Tags:: Car Allowance Rebate System

August 5, 2009

Grant Will Support Largest EV Deployment and Charging Infrastructure Ever

Perhaps the most notable of the stories within a story stemming from today's $2.4 billion grants announcement is the $99.8 million the Obama administration awarded to a little-known company that, together with Nissan, has pledged the biggest deployment of electric vehicles - and creation of the largest charging infrastructure - ever undertaken.

With the grant and matching funds provided by regional project participants, Phoenix-based Electric Transportation Engineering Corp., or eTec, has pledged to install about 2,500 charging stations in each of five selected markets: the states of Tennessee and Oregon, the cities of San Diego and Seattle, and the Phoenix/Tucson region.

Those approximately 12,500 charging stations will be used to recharge up to 1,000 LEAF EVs (pictured) that Nissan will provide for each of the five markets, for a total contribution of up to 5,000 EVs. Whether the zero-emissions vehicles will be donated, leased or sold by the automaker has not been determined, according to a Nissan source familiar with the collaboration.

The project will: collect and analyze data from vehicle use in diverse topographies and climate conditions; evaluate the effectiveness of the charging infrastructure; and, conduct trials of various revenue systems for the infrastructure.

As for eTec, it's a subsidiary of ECOtality, a Scottsdale, Arizona, company that has been involved in every major electric vehicle initiative in North America since the 1990's. ETec is known for its Minit-Charger line of battery fast-charge systems for on-road EVs.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); Scott Doggett August 5, 2009, 1:39 PM
Categories:: Batteries, Emissions, Legislation, Nissan, Plug-ins and Electric
Technorati Tags:: Charging Stations

Detroit 3, Battery Makers Get Largest Cut of $2.4 Billion in EV Development Grants

Recovery.gov.jpg

President Obama announced the winners today of $2.4 billion in stimulus grants aimed at spurring the development of electric vehicles and the advanced batteries they need - with Detroit's Big Three securing more than $400 million for plug-in projects.

The cash was divvied up among 48 projects in 25 states, with General Motors Corp., Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler Group LLC together grabbing some of the biggest grants. Still, the Big Three's tally was less than the combined haul of battery makers Johnson Controls Inc. and A123 Systems Inc., who together took home nearly $550 million.

"If we want to reduce our dependence on oil, put Americans back to work and reassert our manufacturing sector as one of the greatest in the world, we must produce the advanced, efficient vehicles of the future," Obama said at an event in Elkhart, Indiana, the hard-hit town he visited six months ago to drum up support for the $787 billion economic stimulus package.

The announcement comes as the administration continues its push to convince the public that the stimulus package has been a success, despite poor employment figures and other economic data showing a less than robust economic revival. As part of the grant rollout, Vice President Joe Biden was scheduled to speak in Michigan and Energy Secretary Steven Chu in Charlotte, N.C., later today.

The $2.4 billion is divided into three separate programs aimed at enticing U.S. manufacturers to produce more plug-in hybrid electric vehicles and the components and infrastructure that will support them. The first $1.5 billion is to help companies produce highly efficient batteries for plug-in hybrids and all-electric cars and trucks; $500 million is for the production of other necessary components, such as electric motors; and the final $400 million is for demonstration projects that evaluate electric infrastructure concepts.

Unlike the separate $25 billion Energy Department loan program aimed at helping retool U.S. manufacturing plants to produce more fuel-efficient vehicles, the stimulus grants do not need to be repaid. The winners do, however, have to match the federal cash with their own investments, mostly on a one-to-one basis.

GM received the largest haul of the major carmakers, receiving three separate grants totaling $241.4 million, most of which was earmarked for the high-volume production of battery packs for the company's plug-in Chevy Volt and for the deployment of a 600 strong demonstration fleet.

Ford received two separate grants, totaling $92.7 million, a third of which will go toward a commercialization project with 15 electric utility companies. Chrysler received one grant for $70 million to develop and deploy 220 advanced plug-in pickups and minivans.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); Scott Doggett August 5, 2009, 10:12 AM
Categories:: Batteries, Chrysler, Emissions, Ford, Fuel Economy, General Motors, Hybrid, Legislation, Plug-ins and Electric
Technorati Tags:: A123 Systems

Obama Administration to Award $2.4 Billion Today to Advance EV Development

The Obama administration today will award $2.4 billion in grants to 48 projects that promote advanced battery and electric vehicle manufacturing, according to administration officials.

The grants are designed to boost U.S. manufacturing jobs in an industry that has so far seen the leading technology come from Japan and elsewhere in the Far East.

"Today, almost all of these technologies are overseas," said Matt Rogers, a senior adviser at the Energy Department. "These are really about creating manufacturing capabilities in the United States."

The Electric Drive Vehicle Battery and Component Manufacturing Initiative was funded by the $787 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The funds are to advance and lower the cost of technologies, such as lithium-ion batteries, necessary to commercialize electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles.

President Obama has pledged to have 1 million plug-in hybrids on U.S. roads by 2015.

Only one in every five applications won funding, representing about a third of the total dollar amounts sought, said Rogers. While one-fifth of the funds went to small businesses, a number of major auto manufacturers will also benefit.

Twenty-five states will see money from the pool, with the most going to Michigan, followed by Indiana. Eleven and seven projects, respectively, will be funded in these two states, where unemployment has soared as the auto industry licks its wounds.

Information about specific project winners, dollar amounts and jobs created will be released today, Rogers said. One of the applicants is a struggling Chrysler LLC, which plans to develop
a plug-in hybrid version of its Dodge Ram pickup truck.

The money is divided into three pools: $1.5 billion will go toward expanding battery and battery component production, as well as recycling capabilities; $500 million will be for manufacturing electric drive and power electronic components; and $400 million will help purchase and test thousands of plug-in hybrid and all-electric vehicles, install vehicle charging infrastructure, and provide education and work force training.

The administration plans to roll out the funds as part of today's full-court press highlighting the economic recovery.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (1); Scott Doggett August 5, 2009, 8:44 AM
Categories:: Batteries, Chrysler, Emissions, Fuel Economy, Legislation, Plug-ins and Electric
Technorati Tags:: Battery

August 4, 2009

Cash-for-Clunkers' Effect on Air Pollution? Barely a Blip, Climate Experts Say

Compared to overall carbon-dioxide emissions in the U.S., the pollution savings from the absurdly popular and taxpayer-funded cash-for-clunkers program do not noticeably move the fuel gauge, climate experts told The Associated Press in an article published today.

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The horror, the horror: Despite all of the hoopla, C4C does little to effect climate change.

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The experts told the news service that the program - which was conceived to stimulate the economy, jump-start the auto industry and a curb the amount of automotive greenhouse gases entering the Earth's atmosphere - is not a good way to attack climate change.

"As a carbon-dioxide policy, this is a terribly wasteful thing to do," said Henry Jacoby, a professor of management and co-director of the Joint Program on the Science and Policy of Global Change at MIT. "The amount of carbon you are saving per federal expenditure is very, very small."

Officials expect a quarter-million gas guzzlers will be junked under the original $1 billion setaside by Congress - money that is now all but exhausted.

Calculations by The AP, using Department of Transportation figures, show that replacing those fuel hogs will reduce carbon-dioxide emissions by just under 700,000 tons a year. While that may sound impressive, it's nothing compared to what the U.S. spewed last year: nearly 6.4 billion tons (and that was down from previous years).

That means on average, every hour, America emits 728,000 tons of carbon dioxide. The total savings per year from cash for clunkers translates to about 57 minutes of America's output of the chief greenhouse gas.

Likewise, America will be using nearly 72 million fewer gallons of gasoline a year because of the program, based on the first quarter-million vehicles replaced. U.S. drivers go through that amount of gas every 4 1/2 hours, according to the Department of Energy.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (3); Scott Doggett August 4, 2009, 6:20 PM
Categories:: Emissions, Fuel Economy, Legislation
Technorati Tags:: Car Allowance Rebate System

Biden Reportedly to Announce Recipients of $2 Billion in Stimulus Battery Grants

Joseph Biden.jpg

Vice President Joe Biden (pictured) will announce the first round of $2 billion in federal battery research grants during a speech in Detroit Wednesday, according to a report in today's edition of The Detroit News.

As part of the $787 billion stimulus package approved in February, Congress agreed to include $2 billion in battery research grants.

Development of advanced batteries remains the last big technological hurdle preventing mass production of affordable, highway-capable electric vehicles.

Unlike the $25 billion advanced vehicle-retooling program, the grants for battery research do not have to be repaid.

Ed DeSeve, the president's special advisor on the stimulus program, said on July 21 that an announcement on the first round of battery grants would happen shortly. But he declined to say which automakers, suppliers or battery companies might be receiving the grants.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (1); Scott Doggett August 4, 2009, 2:12 PM
Categories:: Batteries, Legislation, Plug-ins and Electric
Technorati Tags:: Battery Grants

DOE to Award More Than $41 Million to Biofuel, Fusion and Smart Grid R&D

Energy Secretary Steven Chu (pictured) announced today that more than $327 million in new funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act will go toward scientific research, including more than $41 million to biofuel, fusion and smart-grid research and development.

The biofuels research could directly influence America's dependence on oil by shifting motorists' need for a petroleum-based fuel to a fuel that doesn't produce greenhouse gases and contribute to climate change.

The smart-grid and fusion research could indirect benefit "green" cars by providing a clean source of electricity for electric and hybrid-electric vehicles (most electricity produced in America today is generated by burning coal).

The complete list of award recipients includes:

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, in Berkeley, California: $11 million for fusion energy research; $4 million for new instrumentation at the DOE Joint BioEnergy Institute; and $875,000 for mathematical analysis related to the development of smart-grid technology.

Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, in Princeton, New Jersey: $8.8 million for a variety of initiatives in fusion energy research and $5 million for infrastructure improvements at the laboratory.

Oak Ridge National Laboratory, in Oak Ridge, Tennessee: $5.4 million for equipment at the DOE BioEnergy Science Center; and, $180,000 for fusion energy research.

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, in Richland, Washington: $867,000 for mathematical analysis related to the development of a smart grid.

Argonne National Laboratory, in Argonne, Illinois: $5.6 million for improvements at the Advanced Photon Source.

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, in Livermore, California: $810,000 for fusion energy research.

Sandia National Laboratories, in Sandia, New Mexico, and Sandia, California: $688,000 for mathematical analysis related to the development of a smart grid; and $75,000 for fusion energy research.

In March, Chu announced $1.2 billion in DOE Office of Science Recovery Act projects. In July, he announced a new Office of Science Early Career Research Program to be funded with $85 million in Recovery Act funds.

With this third and final round of projects, the Obama administration has now approved projects covering the full $1.6 billion that the DOE Office of Science received from Congress under the Recovery Act.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); Scott Doggett August 4, 2009, 1:39 PM
Categories:: Alternative Fuels, Biofuels, Emissions, Fuel Economy, Hybrid, Legislation, Plug-ins and Electric
Technorati Tags:: Biofuels Research

Sales of Engine Killer Brisk as Dealers Comply With Cash-for-Clunkers Requirement

Ever since the federal government flagged it as the agent of death for old cars turned in under its cash-for-clunkers program, the chemical sodium silicate has seen a huge upswing in demand as eager mechanics have begun "killing" motors across the country.

To receive federal funds, auto dealers must make certain the engines of cars turned in do not return to the road. To do so, a sodium silicate solution is poured into the engine, replacing its oil.

Soon after the engine is turned on, the chemical - consisting largely of common ingredients like salt and sand - causes the motor to seize up within minutes.

Across the country, auto mechanics are vying for the chance to kill car engines, according to a report in today's Wall Street Journal (subscription required).

At Jim Clark Motors in Lawrence, Kansas, the dealer has timed how long the chemical takes to seize an engine. It took just two minutes for a 2002 Ford Windstar to die, and just a few seconds more to kill a 1999 Jeep. However, a 1988 Dodge van lasted for more than six minutes.

"Sometimes those old engines, they're the hardest to kill," said Loris Brubeck Jr., the dealership's president.

Manufacturers have plenty of sodium silicate available, but the government failed to warn chemical distributors of the approaching demand, said John See, the owner of ChemistryStore.com near Columbia, S.C.

"It's like the government decided to put every old car in America in mothballs without giving any heads up to mothball" suppliers, he told the Journal.

Typically, See's business sells 150 gallons of sodium silicate a year. Once he saw the federal mandate for the chemical, however, he bought a prominent ad spot on Google and the orders have rolled in. Last week, his firm sold 4,600 gallons of sodium silicate, he said.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (3); Scott Doggett August 4, 2009, 12:14 PM
Categories:: Emissions, Fuel Economy, Legislation
Technorati Tags:: Car Allowance Rebate System

August 3, 2009

DOT Secretary: Unless Senate Approves Extra $2 Billion, Clunkers Program Will End

U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said the Cash for Clunkers program that's become the most visible of the Obama administration's economic-stimulus efforts would come to an end possibly as early as this week unless the U.S. Senate approves $2 billion in additional funding for the program.

"If we don't get the $2 billion from the Senate...we would have to suspend the program next week," LaHood (pictured) said in an interview with C-SPAN's "Newsmakers" show on Sunday.

The 10-day-old program has helped reduced inventories of unsold vehicles at many dealerships to their lowest levels in years, giving Ford, Chrysler and General Motors much-needed cash injections.

Senate Democratic leaders said today that they hoped to bring a $2 billion extension to the Senate floor this week as the program's original $1 billion in funding runs low.

But the additional funding is no slam dunk. At least one senator wants to see evidence the program is reducing automotive emissions -- that and boosting the economy are two of its goals.

And some senators have said they are opposed to extending the program unless it is changed to compel consumers to buy more fuel-efficient cars than is currently required. Those senators include Republican Susan Collins of Maine and Democrat Dianne Feinstein of California.

LaHood expressed support for the program just as it is, but he made clear that if the Senate doesn't approve the funding extension, the administration won't rescue the program.

The program offers government vouchers toward a new car to consumers who surrender for scrapping an older vehicle rated at 18 miles per gallon or less. To get a $3,500 voucher, the new car must be at least 4 mpg more efficient; a 10-mpg improvement is required for a $4,500 voucher.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); Scott Doggett August 3, 2009, 10:08 AM
Categories:: Chrysler, Emissions, Ford, Fuel Economy, General Motors, Legislation, Tax Incentives
Technorati Tags:: Cash fort Clunkers

July 31, 2009

House Approves $2 Billion 'Clunker' Extension, but Trouble Looms in the Senate

Freeway-traffic-&-smog.jpg The U.S. House of Representatives, by a vote of 316-109, today approved a $2 billion extension of the "Cash-for-Clunkers" automobile sales incentive program.

The Democratic proposal would run through September 30, 2010, and tap funds from an Energy Department loan guarantee program included in the economic stimulus package enacted in February.

An initial $1 billion in funding approved this summer to boost stagnant industry sales has already been exhausted, officials said.

Consumers stormed dealers over the past month to take advantage of federally backed rebates of up to $4,500 on trade ins of gas guzzlers for more fuel efficient vehicles.

Unofficial government and industry estimates show that close to 250,000 vehicles were sold under the program.

The Senate is expected to vote on the House bill next week.

Already a key senator, Energy Committee Chairman Jeff Bingaman, said he opposes using Energy Department funds for the auto program.

Another senator, auto industry ally Debbie Stabenow, said pushing the measure out of Congress would potentially take a lot of work compared to the extraordinarily swift action in the House.

The White House supports new funding for the program on grounds the initiative so far has provided a viable, national economic stimulus amid recession.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); Scott Doggett July 31, 2009, 11:36 AM
Categories:: Emissions, Fuel Economy, Legislation, Tax Incentives
Technorati Tags:: Car Allowance Rebate System

White House Officials, Lawmakers Study Ways to Keep 'Clunkers' Program Alive

White House officials and lawmakers were studying late Thursday how to keep alive the government's cash-for-clunkers incentive program because of concerns the program's $1 billion budget may have been exhausted after just one week, The Wall Street Journal reported today (subscription required).

Obama administration officials warned congressional leaders Thursday it planned to suspend the program at midnight. But the White House released a statement late Thursday saying that completed deals would be honored and the program is still under review.

A White House official said, "We are working tonight to assess the situation facing what is obviously an incredibly popular program. Auto dealers and consumers should have confidence that all valid [cash-for-clunker] transactions that have taken place to-date will be honored."

Lawmakers are discussing with White House officials where to find funding - including possibly tapping the government's Troubled Asset Relief Program, or TARP, a congressional aide said.

The clunkers program, which offers rebates of up to $4,500 to consumers who trade in old vehicles and buy new, more fuel-efficient models, began July 24 and sparked a surge in car sales.

Congress had expected the $1 billion set aside for the rebates to last several months and set up the program to expire Nov. 1.

The speed with which it took off now puts it among the most successful stimulus packages to come out of Washington since the start of the recession. The boom in car sales will give a much-needed bump not just to automakers and dealers but also local government coffers that collect taxes on car transactions.

But the program's unexpected success also will put Congress and the Obama administration in a bind. With deficits soaring, lawmakers are increasingly reluctant to spend additional billions they don't have.

On the other hand, they are sure to face a consumer and industry backlash if they end a popular program midstream, especially as dealerships across the country are in the middle of a huge advertising campaign to tout the program.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); Scott Doggett July 31, 2009, 2:19 AM
Categories:: Emissions, Fuel Economy, Legislation, Tax Incentives
Technorati Tags:: Car Allowance Rebate System

July 30, 2009

Government to Suspend Popular Cash for Clunkers Program at Midnight Tonight

Slated to last three months, it may have burned through its $1 billion budget in just one week.

By Scott Doggett, Contributor

The government plans to suspend its popular "cash for clunkers" program at midnight tonight - a full two months early and only one week into it - amid concerns the program could quickly use up the $1 billion in rebates alloted for new car purchases if it hasn't already.

U.S. Transportation Department representatives called lawmakers' offices earlier today to alert them to the decision to suspend the program at midnight, a congressional source said.

The Car Allowance Rebate System (CARS) program offers owners of old cars and trucks $3,500 or $4,500 toward a new, more fuel-efficient vehicle. It is intended to boost auto sales and put safer, cleaner and more fuel-efficient vehicles on the nation's roadways.

The program, which Congress approved last month, kicked off last Friday and was heavily publicized by car companies and auto dealers.

As of tonight, the CARS Website showed that of the $1 billion allocated to the program, an estimated $779 million remained in the kitty. The remaining $221 million represented transactions that dealers had submitted for government reimbursement.

But dealers have raised concerns about large backlogs in the processing of the deals in the government system. Those concerns reportedly triggered the program's suspension.

According to an Associated Press story, a survey of 2,000 dealers by the National Automobile Dealers Association found about 25,000 deals had not yet approved by the government, or nearly 13 trades per store.

With about 23,000 dealers taking part in the program, auto dealers may already have surpassed the 250,000 vehicle sales funded by the $1 billion program.

So, is the program over already? Yes, if there indeed is no money in the till - or unless Congress decides to put more money in it.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (2); Scott Doggett July 30, 2009, 7:03 PM
Categories:: Emissions, Fuel Economy, Legislation, Surveys, Tax Incentives
Technorati Tags:: Car Allowance Rebate System

DOT to Honor Some Cash-for-Clunker Deals Based on Old EPA Numbers

CARS logo - 220.JPG

Car and truck buyers who participated in the cash-for-clunkers program before its official July 24 launch date will not lose their government rebates even if the EPA's recently updated fuel-mileage figures have made them ineligible.

Rae Tyson, speaking for the U.S. Department of Transportation, told our sister blog AutoObserver.com that deals consummated before July 24 will qualify, but deals made after that date will not.

On the other hand, Tyson said, vehicles that became eligible because of the updated EPA figures will get the rebates if the transactions were made after July 24.

As a result, about 100 models changed status - about half went from qualified to disqualified as clunkers, and the other half became eligible as clunkers.

"This is only a partial victory for consumers," said Kevin Smith, Edmunds.com editorial director. "We are disappointed that consumers that purchased vehicles over the weekend before the EPA acknowledged the mileage changes will not have their transactions honored."

Edmunds.com, parent of AutoObserver.com and GreenCarAdvisor.com, brought the glitch to the government's and public's attention after visitors to the car-shopping Web site and its various forums and message boards raised it.

Some consumers reported to Edmunds.com that their vehicles qualified as a clunker on Thursday, but when they double-checked or were at the dealership, they discovered they no longer were eligible.

The Car Allowance Rebate System (CARS, or more commonly "Cash for Clunkers") is a $1 billion government program that helps consumers buy or lease a more environmentally-friendly vehicle from a participating dealer when they trade in a less fuel-efficient car or truck.

The program is designed to energize the economy, boost auto sales and put safer, cleaner and more fuel-efficient vehicles on the nation's roadways. The program ends on November 1 of this year.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); Scott Doggett July 30, 2009, 3:38 PM
Categories:: Legislation
Technorati Tags:: Car Allowance Rebate System

July 29, 2009

Concession on U.S. Fuel Rules To Spare BMW, Mercedes but Harm GM and Ford

German luxury automakers including BMW and Mercedes-Benz are close to benefiting from a U.S. concession that will allow them and a few other foreign makers to keep selling cars that emit more greenhouse gases than those made by mass-market rivals such as Ford, General Motors and Toyota.

So reports the Wall Street Journal today in an article (subscription required) that points out better than most how recent U.S. legislation benefits foreign automakers and harms domestic ones.

Under a provision of a plan to curb greenhouse-gas emissions, the Obama administration has proposed to set less stringent standards for carmakers that sell fewer than 400,000 vehicles a year in the U.S. That target defines the major German brands as well as a few smaller Asian manufacturers such as Suzuki Motor Corp. and Mitsubishi Motors Corp.

The easier targets are expected to apply to a limited portion of a carmaker's sales volume, and last for about four years -- unless the government grants an extension.

In effect, the "German provision" would make it easier for Mercedes to keep selling cars like its $147,000, 12-cylinder S600 sedan (pictured), rated at 13 miles per gallon, while GM or Toyota would be required to meet tougher mileage standards with smaller, more efficient cars, the Journal notes.

The rules are expected to be formally proposed later this year by the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Transportation to enforce the administration's mandate that makers boost the average fuel efficiency of their fleets to 35.5 miles mpg by 2016.

A spokesman for GM -- now majority-owned by the federal government -- said the Obama administration's proposal "creates fewer concerns" than California's policy because it is expected to exempt only a quarter of each qualifying auto maker's fleet, rather than all vehicles sold by those companies. It also would be in effect for only four years, compared with seven under the California program.

Other industry experts and some former government policymakers take a more critical view of the administration's plan.

David Cole, chairman of the Center for Automotive Research at the University of Michigan, said the provision would hand "a distinct competitive advantage" to German and other exempted companies that compete with the major U.S. and Japanese brands in the U.S.

Daniel Becker, director of the Washington-based Safe Climate Campaign, which advocates tougher regulation of automotive fuel economy and greenhouse-gas emissions, said BMW and Mercedes "should be required to meet the same standards as General Motors and Ford."

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (3); Scott Doggett July 29, 2009, 12:58 PM
Categories:: BMW, Daimler, Emissions, Ford, Fuel Economy, General Motors, Legislation, Mercedes-Benz
Technorati Tags:: BMW

July 27, 2009

When a Guzzler's Not a Guzzler: EPA Changes Ratings, Tosses Some Clunkers Out

The EPA has "refreshed" its combined mileage ratings and the result is that some gas guzzlers that qualified as trade-ins under the new federal cash for clunkers program last week don't qualify this week.

The rules for the CARS program state that to be eligible for the $3,500 or $4,500 credit, a vehicle being traded-in under the program - which really ought to be called cash for guzzlers even if it isn't as alliterative - must be rated at 18 mpg or less in the EPA's combined city-highway mileage ratings.

But the agency updated its list late last week - we're still trying to find out why - and now some cars that had an 18 mpg rating and were eligible trade-ins are rated at 19 mpg or more and are no longer the guzzlers they once were - so sayeth the EPA.

More details are available on our sister site, Edmunds AutoObserver.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); John O'Dell July 27, 2009, 12:02 PM
Categories:: Legislation
Technorati Tags:: CARS

July 23, 2009

Starting Today Chrysler to Double U.S. Government's Cash-for-Clunkers Incentive

Chrysler Group LLC said Wednesday that it is offering $4,500 in cash toward the purchase of one of its new vehicles as it seeks to match a government incentive for people to trade in their old gas guzzlers.

The automaker said it will offer cash or zero percent financing for six years on most of its 2009 Chrysler, Dodge or Jeep models. The incentive begins today and lasts through Aug. 31.

Chrysler emerged from bankruptcy protection last month under new ownership and is now working to lure back car shoppers in a depressed market.

Chrysler sales were down 46 percent for the first six months of the year, while industrywide sales for the same period were down 35 percent.

The automaker is clearly using the financial incentive to lure prospective buyers into its showrooms, but unfortunately once there the prospects won't have the opportunity to buy any of the electric vehicles Chrysler has been showing in recent years.

However, Chrysler has promised that it will introduce a plug-in electric vehicle next year. It's shown several concepts, including a battery-electric Dodge two-seater based on a Lotus platform and a trio of "extended range" hybrid-electrics - two Jeeps and a Chrysler Town and Country minivan - that use electric motors, lithium-ion battery packs and small gasoline engine/generators in a set-up similar to that being pioneered by General Motors Corp. in the Chevrolet Volt due out late next year.

Most industry watchers, including us, are betting on the recently named Dodge Circuit sports car (right ) - a potential rival to the Tesla Roadster - to be first out of the chute.

Chrysler said in a statement Wednesday that buyers are eligible for the new incentive even if they are not trading in a vehicle under the government's cash-for-clunkers legislation.

That program's final rules will be announced Friday. It offers tax credits to car shoppers who trade in their old, fuel-inefficient vehicles for a cleaner new vehicle.

Not all vehicles qualify under the legislation, however. Car shoppers get a voucher worth $3,500 if they trade in a vehicle getting 18 miles per gallon or less for one getting at least 22 mpg. The voucher grows to $4,500 if the new car's mileage is 10 mpg higher than the old vehicle.

Owners of sport utility vehicles, pickup trucks or minivans getting 18 mpg or less could receive a voucher for $3,500 if their new truck or SUV got at least 2 mpg higher than their old vehicle. The voucher would increase to $4,500 if the mileage of the new truck or SUV was at least 5 mpg higher than the older vehicle.

That means some consumers could, in theory, get up to $9,000 off a new Chrysler vehicle if they trade in and buy the right combination of vehicles. According to our parent company, Edmunds.com, 16 Chrysler vehicles are fuel efficient enough to qualify a shopper for a tax rebate under cash for clunkers, so long as the trade-in vehicle qualifies as well.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); Scott Doggett July 23, 2009, 2:01 AM
Categories:: Chrysler, Dodge, Emissions, Fuel Economy, Jeep, Legislation
Technorati Tags:: Cash for Clunkers

July 22, 2009

Ford Puts Pedal to the Metal on Green-Car Features During 2010 MY Presentation

Above, a slide in a Ford presentation Tuesday spells out the new importance the automaker gives green cars.

By Scott Doggett, Contributor

In its bid to survive myriad threats in a volatile automotive industry, Ford Motor Co. is pulling out all the stops.

Perhaps that has never been more evident than it was Tuesday, when the century-old automaker hosted a 2010 model-year news conference and driving event at its sprawling Dearborn Development Center.

Led by Derrick Kuzak (left ), Ford's global product development chief, and Barb Samardzich (below ), head of Ford's global powertrain R&D efforts, the event offered a deep look into the verdant future of Detroit's healthiest automaker less than a month after it unveiled plans to spend $14 billion on advanced-technology vehicles.

The company's recently released EcoBoost engine forms the core of Ford's survival strategy, they said. The engine uses gasoline turbocharged direct-injection technology for, the company claims, up to 20 percent better fuel economy and 15 percent fewer greenhouse-gas emissions than like-sized regularly aspirated engines of similar horsepower.

EcoBoost V6 engines will debut in the 2010 model-year Ford Flex, Taurus SHO, Lincoln MKS and MKT; as we reported, the company provided details Tuesday regarding a four-cylinder version slated to appear in Fords starting next calendar year.

By 2012, Kuzak and Samardzich said, the company will produce a combined 750,000 EcoBoost V6 and I4 engines annually in the U.S. and 1.3 million globally.

The executives also said Ford will offer EcoBoost engines in 90 percent of its vehicles by 2013. It's clear from the figures that EcoBoost engines won't be an option, but rather will constitute the stock engines found in most of Ford's lineup less than five years from now.

And Hybrids!

But there's more to the green 2010 MY offerings from Ford than vehicles fitted with EcoBoost engines. Ford is also offering two new hybrids: the Ford Fusion Hybrid ($27,270 base) and the Mercury Milan Hybrid ($27,500 base), both of which impressed us with their acceleration and handling Tuesday on the development center's high-speed track.

Both hybrids average an EPA-rated 41 miles per gallon in the city - that's 8 mpg more than the 2010 Toyota Camry Hybrid, which starts at $26,150 - making them the most fuel-efficient midsize sedans currently available in America.

Speaking of Toyota: For the first time in the 28-year history of the Global Quality Research System, a study conducted quarterly by the independent RDA Group of Bloomfield, Michigan, Ford, Lincoln and Mercury vehicles recently obtained customer-satisfaction levels on par with the Japanese car maker's.

That's important, because it's one of a spate of recent internal and external studies that show a positive trend in the percentage of consumers with favorable opinions about Ford and growing numbers of consumers who are willing to consider purchasing a Ford product, thanks in no small part to improved fuel economy.

Avoided Bankruptcy

Of course, it also helps that Ford didn't just emerge from bankruptcy, as did Chrysler and General Motors. Those companies now have to win back consumer confidence, while Ford - though driving to improve its ratings - is starting form a much higher level.

The studies also show that vehicles such as the Fusion Hybrid (left, at Ford's Dearborn Development Center on Tuesday ) are bringing new customers to Ford: 54 percent of the hybrid's buyers thus far did not previously own Fords and 66 percent of those buyers are coming out of foreign vehicles, company spokesmen said.

That's crucial as Ford tries to win back some of the market share it's lost to Japanese and European automakers in recent years.

On that chord, it's worth noting that before he assumed his current position as Ford's head of global car development, Kuzak ran the automaker's European small-car operation for five years. People within and outside Ford who are familiar with Kuzak's European efforts say the man knows what Ford needs to do to compete with fuel-efficient subcompacts produced by Old World automakers.

That knowledge includes designing vehicles that not only get excellent mileage, but that are also a blast to drive. Quickness and major fun factor are characteristics Kuzak is constantly stressing to Ford engineers, they say.

EcoBoost Just a Start

But there's more to Ford's fuel-efficiency efforts than EcoBoost.

When you factor in the incremental fuel-saving gains Ford's made with electric power-assist steering (which reduces the load on the engine since a belt-driven power steering pump is no longer required), aerodynamic modifications, six-speed transmissions, reductions in electric-system loads via electric air-conditioners, minute transmission tweaks that reduce friction - and a host of other mileage-enhancers - the fuel-economy benefits of vehicles the automaker has in the works for the short term approach 40 percent.

"We are absolutely committed to delivering new products with the best fuel economy in every segment in which we compete," Samardzich said.

We look forward to posting more Ford green-car news from Tuesday's event later today.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (1); Scott Doggett July 22, 2009, 1:58 AM
Categories:: Emissions, Ford, Fuel Economy, General Motors, Hybrid, Legislation, Toyota
Technorati Tags:: 2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid

July 21, 2009

Natural Gas Vehicle Research Measure Wins Overwhelming House Approval

Natural gas vehicles got a boost today as the House of Representatives voted 393-35 to reauthorize the Department of energy's natural gas vehicle research program and to provide $150 million in funding over the next five years.

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This Toyota Camry natural gas-electric hybrid concept might become real and sights like this Southern California CNG pump more prevalent if DOE research is approved in Senate and proposed tax incentives become law.

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The measure, H.R. 1622, focuses on development of engines for all classes of natural gas vehicles, according to a report from the subscription only Energy & Environment News service.

But it also contains funding for improving the nation's spotty natural gas refueling infrastructure, to study use of natural gas engines in hybrids and for improvements to present storage technologies.

Natural gas appears to be one of the few issues with strong bipartisan support in the lower chamber, as the lopsided vote shows.

It also appears to have support in the Senate where Majority Leader Harry Reid, a Nevada Democrat, recently said he may seek time on the floor to stump for passage of a bill to extend and perhaps increase tax incentives and other support for natural gas vehicles

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); John O'Dell July 21, 2009, 4:47 PM
Categories:: Legislation, Natural Gas, Tax Incentives
Technorati Tags:: H.R. 1622

July 15, 2009

Charities Lament Clunkers Program, Say It Will Curb Much Needed Donations

Starting this month, the U.S. government will give American motorists $3,500 for scrapping gas guzzlers if they buy new cars that go at least four miles farther on a gallon of gas, or $4,500 if the new vehicle gets 10 miles more per gallon.

The goals of the Car Allowance Rebate System that Congress signed into law June 24 are to stimulate the U.S. economy and to get particularly bad air pollutors off American roads. But a report by National Public Radio indicates that some charities will be victimized by the program, as will the low-income people they try to help.

That's because most donated cars aren't given away to people who can use them, but rather charities sell the vehicles and use the proceeds to help the poor. With fewer cars being donated as a result of the $1 billion "cash for clunkers" program, the fewer dollars the charities will have in their coffers to do good deeds.

Meanwhile, Reuters is reporting that economists view the program as unlikely to contribute much beyond a brief boost to economic growth in the current quarter. They cite the program's short duration (it ends November 1) and various eligibility rules among its shortcomings as a source of economic stimulus.

"It's a very small number of people that this plan will end up helping," Wachovia senior economist Mark Vitner told the news service.

The economists say the program may simply bring demand forward from later quarters as people who may otherwise have waited longer to take advantage of the program. And economists say even the near-term impact may disappoint, because the plan may not make much financial sense for many consumers.

"When you look at the qualifications, your vehicle has to be worth less then $4,500 for it to make economic sense," said Rebecca Lindland, director of the autos group at IHS Global Insight.

People with cars valued in that range typically own them free and clear and are not likely to be able to afford anything newer, Lindland told Reuters. A new car would mean new debt, and such purchasers probably would buy a used car.

"There are not a lot of people adding debt right now," she said. "Our forecasts haven't changed because we don't think this program is going to be successful."

On a related topic, Edmunds.com has tackled the question, "Does Charity Car Donation Still Make Sense Under Tougher IRS Rules?" The answer will likely surprise you.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); Scott Doggett July 15, 2009, 9:37 AM
Categories:: Emissions, Fuel Economy, Legislation, Tax Incentives
Technorati Tags:: Car Allowance Rebate System

July 9, 2009

Senate Takes Up Climate Bill in September, Will Have Big Impact on Autos

Bill Was Passed by House, but Senate Okay Isn't Certain; Reid Sets December Deadline

We're still trying to get a solid understanding of how the proposed climate and energy bill will affect the cars we drive - now and in the future.

So we offer up a quiet "thank you" to Sen. Barbara Boxer, the California Democrat who chairs the Environment and Public Works Committee and just said she'll hold off hearings until after the August recess.

That gives us a little more time to digest the bill (and opponents and proponents more time to argue about it).

To Obama By December

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), said today that he wants to place the measure on President Obama's desk before the big U.N. climate talks set for Copenhagen in December - a location sure to give the climate warming non-believers lots to shout about as they stand in the center of Denmark's capital city and throw snowballs).

There's some doubt as to whether the Senate can muster the 60 votes needed to pass the bill - Republicans are pretty much united in their opposition and more than a few Democrats in the Democrat-controlled upper chamber are iffy.

Most Congress watchers figure that if a bill does come out of the Senate, it will be considerably watered down from the House version, necessitating a potentially heated joint committee session to iron out differences and make compromises.

What We Know

Incentives

Right now, the House version has lots of goodies for green car boosters, including a doubling of the federal loan program to help car makers revamp old factories to build a new generation of advanced technology vehicles (plug-in hybrids, battery electric, natural gas and more).The House wants to make a total of $50 billion in loans available.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); John O'Dell July 9, 2009, 6:09 PM
Categories:: Biofuels, Emissions, Hybrid, Legislation, Natural Gas, Plug-ins and Electric, Tax Incentives
Technorati Tags:: Advanced Technology Vehicles

Natural Gas Bills in Congress Benefit Consumers As Well as Fuel's Biggest Backer

There's a natural gas car in Edmunds' long-term fleet and I drive it most of the time, and like it, so I ought to be banging the drums for a pair of bills promoting natural gas vehicles and filling stations that are pending in Congress this session.

But I'm a bit cautious: the bills' big backer is T. Boone Pickens, the Texas oilman who has turned his talents and substantial fortune to promoting - and investing heavily in - natural gas.

The latest, introduced just this week in the Senate, pretty much echos the language of the first, H.R. 1835, introduced in the House is April and now awaiting action in the Subcommittee on Energy and Environment.

Several sections of the bills would give hefty tax credits to manufacturers and purchasers of natural gas vehicles, but several others would provide huge tax credits to companies that build natural-gas stations - up to $100,000 per installation.

Guess what. Pickens is co-founder and a significant owner of Clean Energy Corp., the country's biggest builder and operator of natural gas filling stations.

I guess somebody benefits from most any legislation passed in Congress, but I'd be happier if Pickens had sat this one out and let a less-financially involved organization, perhaps one of the green groups, do the heavy lifting.

Instead, T. Boone stood next to Sen. Robert Menendez, a New Jersey Democrat who is co-sponsoring the bill, at the press conference when Menendez announced that the Senate measure had been introduced.

Despite all that, I still like the bill, which also would double the tax credits for purchasers of natural gas vehicles and extend the incentives for 10 years - through 2019.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); John O'Dell July 9, 2009, 2:04 PM
Categories:: Legislation, Natural Gas, Tax Incentives
Technorati Tags:: Natural Gas Incentives

July 1, 2009

Cash-for-Clunkers Program Officially Starts 'Around July 23'

President Obama signed into law on June 24 a program the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is calling the Car Allowance Rebate System, or CARS (cute, eh?). This is a government program that helps a motorist purchase a new and more fuel efficient vehicle when he or she trades in a less fuel efficient vehicle.

According to the CARS Website, "while the CARS Act makes transactions on and after July 1 potentially eligible for credits under the program, interested dealers and consumers may want to wait until all of the detailed issues that must be addressed in the implementing regulations are resolved and the final rule is issued. Issuance will occur around July 23."

See the Frequently Asked Questions portion of the official site for more details. What appears below are the nuts and bolts of the program to help the completely uninformed get up to speed.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); Scott Doggett July 1, 2009, 12:52 AM
Categories:: Emissions, Fuel Economy, Legislation, Tax Incentives
Technorati Tags:: CARS

June 30, 2009

EPA Grants California Waiver It Needs To Regulate Tailpipe Emissions in the State

UPDATE: Adds details, comments from state officials.

By Scott Doggett, Contributor

The Obama administration announced today that it will give California the waiver it needs to begin regulating greenhouse-gas emissions from cars and trucks, ending the state's seven-year battle to enforce its own stringent tailpipe standards.

The decision comes a little more than a month after President Obama unveiled a suite of new national auto standards that weds federal fuel-economy standards with California's proposed emissions standards, making today's announcement anticlimactic.

Still, those federal standards will not take effect until model-year 2012, meaning the waiver will allow California and other states that choose to enforce their own emissions standards to begin with this year's models.

"This waiver is consistent with the Clean Air Act as it's been used for the last 40 years and supports the prerogatives of the 13 states and the District of Columbia who have opted to follow California's lead," EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson said in a statement. "More importantly, this decision reinforces the historic agreement on nationwide emissions standards developed by a broad coalition of industry, government and environmental stakeholders earlier this year."

Under the Clean Air Act, California is the only state that can enforce its own standards -- but only with an EPA waiver. Now that California has been granted the waiver, other states will be allowed to enforce the same tailpipe standard. Thirteen other states and the District of Columbia have already moved to adopt the California's standards, and a handful of others have indicated they may follow.

"The waiver affirms California 's authority to set the standards for the cleanest cars in the nation and recognizes the ability of forward-thinking states to continue to adopt them," CARB Chairwoman Mary Nichols said in a statement. "Now we can begin to work with the manufacturers to make a new generation of cars that deliver all the comfort and power we have come to expect but with improved efficiency and far fewer greenhouse gas emissions."

The waiver gives California -- and states that choose to adopt California's standards -- permission to enforce its standards through 2009, 2010 and 2011; or three years earlier than the federal standards take effect.

Additionally, California is working on an extension beyond 2016 right now, CARB spokesman Stanley Young told Green Car Advisor. He said CARB officials are in communication with Obama administration officials regarding national fuel-economy standards, "but we're working independently in California as a kind of laboratory of innovation."

In other words, California's air-quality regulators are going to do what they feel is best for the state regardless of what the U.S. EPA does. Young said he's hopeful national regulators will follow California's lead.

"This is just the first step in a much longer journey to produce cleaner cars," he said.

California adopted the tailpipe standards in 2002 and had been fighting for a waiver since 2005. Under then-President George W. Bush, EPA denied the state's request, but Obama ordered a review of the decision soon after taking office.

The auto industry had challenged California's attempt to regulate tailpipe emissions, arguing it would create a "regulatory patchwork" that would depress overall sales and put some dealers at a competitive disadvantage. Car makers and dealers argued that because consumers buy vehicles in different quantities in different states, automakers' fleetwide greenhouse-gas averages would vary by state, forcing manufacturers to manipulate the amount of each model they make available in each state.

The litigation was unsuccessful in federal courts, and the industry agreed to drop their legal challenges as part of the compromise that led to the new federal auto standards.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (2); Scott Doggett June 30, 2009, 11:11 AM
Categories:: Courts, Emissions, Fuel Economy, Legislation
Technorati Tags:: CAFE Standards

June 26, 2009

Cash For Clunkers Website Up, Even Though Program Rules Aren't

The feds have opened a Web site to explain how Cash for Clunkers works, although the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which is responsible for administering it, hasn't written the rules yet.

While waiting for NHTSA, which has 30 days from last week's passage of the bill to get the proposed rules written, the site has a sign-up for people interested in keeping updated on that progress, along with an FAQ section; a link to the CARS logo - 220.JPG government's fuel economy ratings so you can figure out if your old car, and the car you want to buy, both qualify; and the actual language of the law - in case you are an insomniac seeking something to help you get to sleep at night.

Oh, and because government has never met an acronym it didn't like, cash for clunkers is now officially the Car Allowance Rebate System, or CARS.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); John O'Dell June 26, 2009, 10:27 AM
Categories:: Legislation
Technorati Tags:: Cash For Clunkers

GAO: PHEVs Potentially Beneficial, but Costs Can Hinder Federal Fleet Integration

The U.S. government has set a goal - via Executive Order 13423 , signed by President Bush in 2007 - for federal agencies to use plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, or PHEVs, as they become available at a reasonable cost.

In response to a request from several key U.S. representatives, the federal Government Accountability Office examined the potential benefits of PHEVs, factors affecting the availability of plug-ins, and challenges to incorporating plug-ins into the federal fleet.

The GAO, in a report released this week, found that increasing the use of plug-ins could result in environmental and other benefits, but also that realizing these benefits depends on several factors.

Although plug-ins could significantly reduce oil consumption and greenhouse-gas emissions, the electricity used for charging the batteries would need to be generated from lower-emission fuels such as nuclear and renewable energy rather than fossil fuels - coal and natural gas - for PHEVs to reach their full potential.

Nothing there we've not reported time and again. Same can be said for the GAO's conclusion that for plug-ins to be cost effective relative to gasoline-powered vehicles, the price of batteries must come down significantly and gasoline prices must be high relative to electricity.

Indeed, the GAO study didn't veer much from common knowledge until it turned to the topic of the future makeup of the federal fleet. To incorporate plug-ins into the federal fleet, the GAO concluded, agencies will face challenges related to cost, availability, planning, and federal requirements.

Plug-ins are expected to have high upfront costs when they are first introduced, the study concluded, and agencies vary in the extent to which they use life-cycle costing when evaluating which vehicle to purchase.

Agencies also may find that plug-ins are not available to them, especially when the vehicles are initially introduced, because the number available to the government may be limited.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); Scott Doggett June 26, 2009, 3:04 AM
Categories:: Batteries, Emissions, Fuel Economy, Legislation, Plug-ins and Electric
Technorati Tags:: Congress

June 24, 2009

House Dems OK Nixing Land Use Impact in EPA's Biofuel Assessment Plan

It's clear that President Obama, who hails from a corn-growing state, is a big ethanol supporter - he's said so in a number of speeches, beginning back when he was running for the job.

Now it appears that the ethanol lobby also has a lot of support in Congress.

Bowing to pressure from the industry and from House members from big corn- and soy-growing states, House Democrats have approved a plan to shelve, for at least the next five years, the EPA's controversial decision to consider the indirect land use implications of biofuels production in computing their carbon footprint.

The proposal, which would be added to the energy and climate bill now being marked up in the House, comes as Democrats seek to mollify farmers and biofuels producers who claim the so-called land use assessment policy would unfairly penalizes them because it isn't applied to other types of fuels. They also have argued that the methodologies for assessing the carbon impact of land use changes haven't yet been proven accurate.

Proponents of the so-called land use assessment procedure maintain that demand for corn-based ethanol and soy-based biodiesel can result in land covered by forests and grasslands - land that soaks up carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases - being plowed under to make room for biofuel crops that need fertilizers and insecticides that help create more greenhouse gases.

Assigning carbon impact assessments to the various alternative fuels is part of the way the EPA judges whether a fuel is one of the renewable fuels whose use is mandated by the 2007 federal energy bill. If the carbon footprint is too high, a fuel is excluded from the renewables classification.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); John O'Dell June 24, 2009, 5:22 PM
Categories:: Biofuels, Emissions, Legislation
Technorati Tags:: Biodiesel

GM Reportedly Persuing Chrysler for Repayment of 2-Mode Hybrid R&D Costs

General Motors is reportedly seeking from Chrysler full payment of development and production costs related to the two-mode hybrid powertrain that the two automakers co-developed with other partners.

PickupTrucks.com reports that GM has filed court documents saying that Chrysler has promised $173,477 to settle $531,275 in costs associated with the development and manufacture of the Chrysler Aspen (pictured) and Dodge Durango Two-Mode Hybrid SUVs.

You might recall that both of the vehicles were killed after only two months of production.

Calls by Green Car Advisor to Julie Gibson, the GM spokeswoman authorized to discuss the matter, were not immediately returned.

Under Chapter 11, Chrysler's assets and liabilities were assigned to two entities: Old Chrysler and New Chrysler. Italian automaker Fiat, which recently merged with New Chrysler after that portion of the company emerged from bankruptcy, has not assumed the two-mode hybrid contract, leaving it with Old Chrysler.

According to a report by TheDetroitBureau.com, the court documents also state that New Chrysler has assigned all production-related contracts to Old Chrysler.

The Website reported that a source outside Chrysler said that Chrysler is hoping to renegotiate many of its pre-bankruptcy production contracts so they can be signed by New Chrysler under more favorable terms. The two-mode hybrid deal reportedly is one of those.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (1); Scott Doggett June 24, 2009, 10:12 AM
Categories:: Chrysler, Courts, Dodge, Fuel Economy, General Motors, Hybrid, Legislation
Technorati Tags:: Chrysler Bankruptcy

June 23, 2009

NHTSA Seeks Federal Tire Rating System That Includes Fuel Economy Index

Borrowing an idea from California's air-quality regulators , federal authorities today proposed creation of a label (pictured ) that would, for the first time, include information about a tire's impact on fuel economy and global warming.

Under the U.S. Transportation Department proposal, tire manufacturers would be required to affix such labels to replacement tires sold in the United States.

The label is, we think, a good idea. The 240 million passenger cars and light trucks in the U.S. consume about 135 billion gallons of motor fuel annually.

Finding ways to reduce this energy consumption should be a national goal for reasons ranging from ensuring economic and national security to improving local air quality and reducing greenhouse-gas emissions.

As you can see from the proposed label, consumers would also receive information about the tire's performance characteristics as well as their "greeness."

The proposal requires tire manufacturers to label their replacement tires for fuel efficiency (via rolling-resistance tests), safety (via traction tests), and durability (via treadwear-life tests) based on test procedures specified by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

A measurement of traction is intended to indicate a tire's ability to stop on wet pavement. Thus, traction is one metric that corresponds to safety. A treadwear rating measures a tire's wear rate compared with that of control tires. Treadwear life, therefore, corresponds to a measure of durability.

Comparing this new proposed label across potential replacement tires would enable consumers to see how different replacement tires can affect the fuel economy they are getting from their vehicle.

The label would also allow consumers to see the tradeoff they may be facing between fuel efficiency, safety (i.e., traction), and durability (i.e., treadwear life), and how the balance of these factors may differ from tire to tire.

The NHTSA's research has found that while tire construction need not sacrifice traction or treadwear for improved fuel efficiency, maintaining the same traction and treadwear while increasing the fuel efficiency of a given tire often entails higher costs.

So, if a manufacturer seeks to improve the fuel efficiency of a given replacement tire construction while keeping cost constant, there's a good chance that the construction will sacrifice either traction or treadwear.

The Rubber Manufactuers Association, representing eight tire manufacturers, says the new testing needed to rate the tires will incur more than $20 million in industry costs and opposes the labels.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); Scott Doggett June 23, 2009, 4:40 PM
Categories:: Emissions, Fuel Economy, Legislation, Tires
Technorati Tags:: Carbon Dioxide

It's Official: Ford, Nissan and Tesla To Receive First Advanced-Technology Loans

Yesterday we reported that Nissan, Ford and Tesla will be the first auto companies to receive factory retooling loans under the $25 billion federal program to speed production of fuel-efficient vehicles in the U.S.

Today, President Obama and Energy Secretary Steven Chu confirmed that the administration has granted $8 billion in conditional loan commitments to the three automakers for the development of vehicle technologies that, as the president put it, "will create thousands of green jobs while helping reduce the nation's dangerous dependence on foreign oil."

The loan commitments include $5.9 billion for Ford to transform factories across Illinois, Kentucky, Michigan, Missouri and Ohio to produce 13 more fuel-efficient models; $1.6 billion to Nissan to retool its Smyrna, Tennessee, factory to build electric automobiles and an advanced-battery manufacturing facility; and $465 million to Tesla to manufacture electric drivetrains and EVs in California.

The loans represent the first in a series of conditional loan commitments reached as part of the Energy Department's Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing program. Chu said the department plans to make additional loans under this program over the next several months to large and small automakers as well as parts suppliers.

In a statement, Ford said it plans to invest nearly $14 billion in advanced-technology vehicles over the next seven years. "Our partnership with the Department of Energy also will help retool our U.S. plants more quickly to produce fuel-efficient vehicles and help meet the new, rigorous fuel-economy requirements," it said.

In its statement, Nissan said construction at Smyrna was scheduled to begin by the end of this year, with production slated to start in late 2012. It said modifications at the plant include a new battery-production facility and changes in the existing structure for electric-vehicle assembly.

"When fully operational, the vehicle assembly plant will have the capacity to build 150,000 zero-emissions vehicles a year and the new plant will have an annual capacity of 200,000 batteries," it said, adding that Nissan's EV "will comfortably seat five people, drive on any American road or highway, and have an initial range of 100 miles before recharging."

Model S News

And Tesla said it will use $365 million of the $465 million it received for production engineering and assembly of the Model S, an all-electric family sedan that will supposedly carry seven people and travel up to 300 miles per charge.

The Model S has an anticipated base price of $49,900 after a $7,500 U.S. federal tax credit. According to Tesla, it will have lifetime ownership costs equivalent to a conventional car with a sticker price of $35,000, thanks to the lower cost of electricity versus gasoline and a relative lack of service and maintenance.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (1); Scott Doggett June 23, 2009, 10:29 AM
Categories:: Batteries, Emissions, Ford, Fuel Economy, Legislation, Nissan, Plug-ins and Electric, Tax Incentives, Tesla
Technorati Tags:: Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing

June 18, 2009

$1 Billion Clunkers Program Clears Senate, Bill Now Goes to White House

Okay, cash for clunkers, the pale green version, has passed the Senate and now awaits certain approval in the White House (the president already has said he supports it).

We're not big fans - there was, for a little bit, a greener version that required some sizable increases in fuel economy, but Congress was more interested in stimulating car sales.

Is anyone happy? Automakers, chambers of commerce, car dealers and local tax collectors, for sure.

Here's what Dave McCurdy, chairman of the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, had to say:

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); John O'Dell June 18, 2009, 4:34 PM
Categories:: Fuel Economy, Legislation
Technorati Tags:: Cash For Clunkers

Let Them Make Wind - Power, That Is. Solar, Too.

$30 Bn Loan Fund Proposed to Help Auto Parts Makers Switch to Clean Energy Systems

As the auto industry shrinks, and shrinks, and shrinks some more, thousand of parts makers are finding themselves with dramatically reduced demand for their goods.

If GM, Ford and Chrysler combined are making 5- to 6-million fewer vehicles than in their heydays, that's 20- to 24-million fewer tires and steel and alloy wheels; 10- to 12-million fewer headlamp assemblies, and on and on.

Right now, the drop in demand is making itself felt in layoffs, shutdowns and bankruptcies in the auto parts supply industry - one of the largest segments of the nation's manufacturing sector.

But manufacturers can retool and rethink and move away from the old economy's shrinking auto supplies business and into the new economy says Sen. Sherrod Brown, an Ohio Democrat whose state has been hard-hit by the carnage in the auto industry,

He's sponsoring a bill, introduced this week, to provide a revolving $30 billion federal loan fund to help parts makers and other small- and mid-sized manufacturers make the transition into the clean energy sector.

We think that's appropriate. They prospered for decades making bits and pieces for the cars and trucks that helped get us into the energy and air pollution messes we're in, so why not let them move into making bits and pieces for wind turbines, solar energy systems and other clean and green energy stuff?

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); John O'Dell June 18, 2009, 12:24 PM
Categories:: Legislation
Technorati Tags:: Clean Energy

June 15, 2009

California Regulators Consider Creating a Rating System for Fuel-Efficient Tires

An agency is looking into rating the rolling resistance of passenger and light-truck tires available for sale in California so that the state's motorists would know the fuel efficiency of tires when in the market for them.

A draft proposal of the California Energy Commission's Fuel Efficient Tire program was presented June 10 at a workshop attended by tire-manufacturer representatives.

The CEC proposed a rating system for passenger and light-truck tires in which all tires of the same size and load index be ranked against each other from lowest to highest rolling resistance force (or RRF), whereby those tires with the lowest RRF would be the most efficent.

The CEC proposal suggets that the 15 percent of tires with the best RRF be designated a "fuel-efficient tire." Manufacturers would need to test all of their consumer tires using the identical ISO 28580 test protocol, the CEC proposed.

The commission wants the rating system to be consumer friendly and easy to use, but it stressed that complete tire data should also be available for anyone interested in in-depth research.

A rolling-resistance-rating system will foster market competition, the CEC concluded, resulting in more fuel-efficient tires being available for purchase.

A spokesman for the Rubber Manufactuers Association, representing eight tire manufacturers, reported that the tire companies feel the new testing needed to rate the tires will incur more than $20 million in industry costs and require the hiring of additional staff for testing as well as data managment.

Naturally, the RMA wants a "self-certification" system in place wherein the companies would watch what each other does and challenge ratings they feel are incorrect.

And borrowing from a play book useed by automakers as related to tailpipe emission, the RMA spokesman pointed out that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is developing a federal-level tire rolling resistance regulation, thus, he said, the "California-only rule may not be prudent."

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (8); Scott Doggett June 15, 2009, 3:03 PM
Categories:: Emissions, Fuel Economy, Legislation, Tires
Technorati Tags:: California Energy Commission

June 4, 2009

Cash for Clunkers Legislation Stalls; Let's Try A Slightly Different Approach

As Delays Weaken Plan's Sales-Boosting Impact, Refocus on Environmental Benefit

Dear Congress,

It looks like the latest attempt to push a "cash for clunkers' bill through your hallowed halls with something resembling speed has instead been stuck in one of those legislative and procedural traffic jams that so often bedevil your best efforts to help run the nation.

Because you can't agree on whether this part of the ongoing auto industry bailout ought to be mostly economic or mostly environmental, or whether it ought to be at all, you seem unable to push anything through.

Hey, don't fret. Nero gets excoriated for fiddling while Rome burned, but his inactivity had a positive result - a massive urban renewal project.

Your sluggishness on the clunkers issue might have a similarly upbeat result, too,

If Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernacke is right, the recession will be ending by the time you can get a measure passed, Congress, and car sales won't need the boost the program is supposed to supply.

So might we here at Edmunds Green Car Advisor suggest that its time to plan ahead - something, we know, that is hard for you to do - and change your focus from pushing sheet metal to using our tax dollars to help remove gross polluters and inefficient gas guzzlers from the roads.

That, you may remember, was the original intent of the first "clunkers" bill - the one that would have required people who agreed to scrap old, fuel-swilling vehicles in exchange for a $1,500-$4,500 voucher to put toward the purchase of a new model to use it to buy a vehicle with fuel efficiency exceeding the federal CAFE rating for its class by 25 percent.

That bill was quickly changed, as the economy rotted and car sales across the nation dried up, endangering the livelihood of all those auto dealers who pump money into your members' re-election campaigns.

Instead of focusing on the environmental benefits, the identical House and Senate measures you now seem to favor, Congress, are aimed at encouraging lots of new car sales. While they do require an improvement in fuel economy in most instances, but not as much as did that that original bill.

But now that you can't seem to get things moving even on that kind of cash-for-clunkers legislation, why not take a harder look at the counter-proposal that Sens. Diane Feinstein, Susan Collins and Charles Schumer have jointly proposed.

It's not as effective, from an environmental standpoint, as the original bill, but it does set the fuel efficiency bar higher than the compromise measures you're now considering.

Adn while it might not result in as many new cars being sold, the passage of time is making that a moot issue anyhow.

Indeed, analysts at IHS Global Insight now say that you've dragged this out so long that even if passed this week the sales-boosting clunkers measure isn't going to help move more than 300,000 to 500,000 new cars off of dealers' lots, a far cry from the 1-2 million sales originally envisioned.

So drop the sales model into the round file and go for the environmental model, Congress.

It would be an impetus for sales of cars and trucks with higher fuel-efficiency, and that's a goal that you can be proud of regardless of the state of the economy.

I know its not fashionable to think you can do good, Congress (and, to be honest, you haven't done much in recent years to change people's thinking), but we think you still can.

Sincerely,
A. Dreamer

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (3); John O'Dell June 4, 2009, 10:44 AM
Categories:: Fuel Economy, Legislation, Tax Incentives
Technorati Tags:: Cash For Clunkers

Authorities, Trucking Companies Clash Over Big-Rig Emissions Rules at Calif. Ports

Cancer-Risk-LA-&-LB-ports.jpg By Scott Doggett, Contributor

Cancer is caused by hereditary and environmental factors. Little can be done about the former. But quite a lot can be done about the latter - and the American Trucking Association doesn't want to hear another word about it.

Just when the political climate seemed right for air-quality regulators and others to protect the millions of people who live downwind of America's seaports, the self-proclaimed "advocacy organization for the U.S. trucking industry" stepped forward and crushed that presumption with lawsuits.

At the heart of the conflict are old big rigs that haul goods from the seaports inland, spewing thousands of tons of carcinogenic diesel particulates annually as they go.

But the greatest concentration of their microscopic toxic emissions exists at the ports, where the trucks congregate, engines running, awaiting turns to load up and move out to destinations throughout California and beyond.

That their emissions contribute to abnormally high numbers of asthma, bronchitis and cancer victims in and around the ports is irrefutable. Studies have shown that like an atomic bomb detonated in a populated area, the casualty count is greatest at ground zero and decreases with distance from it.

For this reason, the state's air-quality regulators, port authorities, environmental groups and others have sought to reduce the amount of lethal emissions leaving tractor-trailers at the state's various seaports.

They had initial success last year with the neighboring ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, where for a time they were initially able to require trucking firms to use new cleaner-burning diesel trucks or trucks fueled with natural gas.

Authorities say the two ports spew more soot and smog than half a million cars, an oil refinery and a power plant combined. Port trucks produce 30 percent to 40 percent of that pollution, with the rest produced by ships and locomotives at the ports.

Then thanks to the truckers' advocacy group, lawyers entered the fray and cried foul. Ultimately, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in the ATA's favor, calling the ports' requirement unconstitutional on the grounds that it interfered in interstate commerce.

The ATA claimed the ports' requirement placed a tremendous financial burden on trucking firms. Doesn't matter that the ports - the nation's busiest - offered to help with a $20,000-per-truck incentive for trucking operations that bought clean rigs.

Despite the ports' defeat in court, the Port of Oakland this week tried to pass an air-quality plan aimed at cleaning up one of the dirtiest industrial areas in the country.

The port's commissioners voted 3-2 for a truck management rule that would ban many old haulers and require others to retrofits to reduce diesel pollution. The tally was a vote shy of the four needed to clear the proposal.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (1); Scott Doggett June 4, 2009, 1:20 AM
Categories:: Courts, Diesel, Emissions, Legislation, Natural Gas
Technorati Tags:: American Trucking Association

June 3, 2009

Scrappage Bonus Said to Boost German Motor Vehicle Sales by 40 Percent in May

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.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); Scott Doggett June 3, 2009, 1:14 PM
Categories:: Emissions, Fuel Economy, Legislation, Tax Incentives, Volkswagen
Technorati Tags:: Fuel Consumption

Chemical Giant BASF to Commercialize Argonne's Lithium-ion Battery Technology

BASF-&-Argonne-logos.jpg The U.S. Department of Energy's Argonne National Laboratory and BASF, the world's largest chemical company, have signed a worldwide licensing agreement to mass produce and market Argonne's patented composite cathode materials to manufacturers of advanced lithium-ion batteries.

BASF will conduct further lithium-ion battery material application development in its current Beachwood, Ohio, facility, the laboratory said in a statement released today. Contingent upon winning a DOE grant under the Recovery Act, BASF plans to build one of North America's largest cathode material production facilities in Elyria, Ohio.

The patented cathode materials are part of a large and diverse suite of lithium-ion battery inventions and patents developed at Argonne with funding from the Energy Department's Vehicle Technologies Program.

Argonne said the further development and commercialization of the cathode materials will result in advanced batteries that are higher-performing, longer-lasting and safer when compared to the existing technology that has dominated the market for nearly two decades.

That's a big deal because it brings us one step closer to affordable zero-emissions, all-electric cars; the high price of batteries for vehicle propulsion is now keeping EVs out of reach of most people.

Indeed, BASF spokesman Joseph Breunig said the company's goal "is to make lithium-ion battery use realistic, affordable and widely available. Partnerships like this are exactly the type of public-private investment commitment that will create a more sustainable environment, help move the economy forward, and create new jobs."

The partnership has the potential to bring the U.S. much closer to reaching President Obama's goal of having one million plug-in hybrid electric vehicles on the road by 2015.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); Scott Doggett June 3, 2009, 10:48 AM
Categories:: Batteries, Emissions, Hybrid, Legislation, Plug-ins and Electric
Technorati Tags:: Argonne National Laboratory

June 2, 2009

Valence Applies for Federal Grant to Construct Advanced Battery Production Facility

Valence Technology, an Austin-based manufacturer and supplier of lithium iron magnesium phosphate batteries, has submitted a grant application to the Department of Energy seeking $225 million under the Electric Drive Vehicle Battery and Component Manufacturing Initiative.

The initiative supports the construction of facilities to make advanced battery technology components for electric vehicles. The company's proposed facility would manufacture lithium phosphate cathode material, high-capacity advanced cells and battery packs for electric-drive vehicles and other applications.

Funds totalling $2 billion for grants under this initiative have been appropriated under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, which aims to stimulate the economy and create new American jobs by specifically utilizing renewable energy technologies that will shift the nation to a low-carbon economy.

Valence's application came one day after Boston-Power Inc., a Massachusetts-based laptop battery manufacturer, announced it had developed a new lightweight, high-performance lithium-ion battery for plug-in hybrids and electric cars and sought funds from the same money pool to help produce the batteries.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); Scott Doggett June 2, 2009, 11:56 AM
Categories:: Batteries, Legislation, Plug-ins and Electric
Technorati Tags:: Battery

June 1, 2009

Concessions to UAW Restrict GM's Ability to Import Its Foreign-Made Green Cars

UPDATE: Lawmakers lobby for small-car plant.

One of the reasons General Motors hasn't competed more effectively against foreign automakers in recent years is the difference that exists in their labor costs.

Members of the United Auto Workers union have tended to be much better compensated for their work, which has resulted in higher per-vehicle prices for GM (as well as Chrysler and Ford).

As a result, the White House wanted some concessions from the UAW before giving GM financial aid.

But now the UAW has received a concession from the Obama administration that might well hurt the General's ability to sell small, fuel-efficient vehicles that it's already making.

UAW President Ron Gettelfinger (pictured) boasted on PBS's "NewsHour" last week that "we, quite frankly, put pressure on the White House, the [auto] task force, the corporation" to bar small-car imports from overseas.

GM is also selling its Opel operation in Europe as part of this restructuring, and The Washington Post reports that one of Treasury's sale conditions is that Opel's new owners must stay out of the U.S., and even out of China, where GM's business is strong.

Gettelfinger boasted in the "NewsHour" interview that with the concession "we got the corporation to agree that they would build a small-car platform in this country."

What he failed to see is that the benefits for GM are illusory, because the import limits mean the company will have to spend even more to retool its domestic plants to make the little green cars that President Obama and Congress are demanding.

On Monday, lawmakers started lobbying GM to locate its new small-car plant in their districts.

The company said last week it will retool an idled UAW-GM facility to make as many as 160,000 small and compact vehicles a year.

GM has narrowed its choices to Orion, Michigan,; Spring Hill, Tennessee., and Janesville, Wisconsin, GM spokesman Greg Martin said.

Scott Doggett, Contributor

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (2); Scott Doggett June 1, 2009, 12:25 PM
Categories:: Fuel Economy, General Motors, Legislation
Technorati Tags:: Fuel Economy

May 28, 2009

Study: Oil Prices Will Return to $110/Barrel in 2015, Possibly Hit $200/Barrel in 2030

Yesterday's-Gas-Price.jpg Most Americans likely expect the price of gasoline to one day reach the record highs we saw last summer. The question is not so much will the price soar again, but rather when will it.

According to the Energy Information Administration's 2009 outlook report released today, oil prices will return to $110 per barrel in 2015 and could go up to $200 per barrel in 2030, depending on supply

You'll recall that the nationwide price for a gallon of regular unleaded topped $4 when the barrel price of oil reached $147. But with taxes on gasoline expected to rise, the per-gallon price of gasoline will likely be significantly higher than $4 when the barrel price of oil revisits $147.

World energy consumption - the driving force behind higher gasoline prices - is forecast to increase by 44 percent from 2006 to 2030, the report says, with almost two-thirds of that coming from developing countries and fossil fuels that continue to dominate energy supply.

Developing countries are projected to increase demand by 73 percent by 2030 in the outlook's base reference case - EIA's analysis under current laws and policies - whereas developed countries will grow by 15 percent, the report says.

Liquids, including biofuels, will reportedly continue to be the primary energy source in the world's transportation sector unless there are "significant technological advances" and despite several policy changes.

Unconventional resources such as oil sands and biofuels will become increasingly competitive, accounting for about 13 percent of the world's liquid supply by 2030, according to the report.

The U.S. in particular will see an increase in biofuels, mostly in advanced cellulosic rather than corn-based ethanol, acting Administrator Howard Gruenspecht said at the report's release event in Washington.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (2); Scott Doggett May 28, 2009, 9:21 AM
Categories:: Alternative Fuels, Biofuels, China, Diesel, Energy Companies, Legislation, Natural Gas, Oil
Technorati Tags:: Biofuels

May 27, 2009

Schwarzenegger: Calif. Committed to H2 Future Regardless of Washington Politics

AS-May-27,-2009.jpg By Scott Doggett, Contributor

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.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (2); Scott Doggett May 27, 2009, 2:13 PM
Categories:: Alternative Fuels, Biofuels, Daimler, Diesel, Emissions, Energy Companies, Fuel Cell, General Motors, Honda, Hydrogen, Kia, Legislation, Nissan, Plug-ins and Electric, Toyota, Volkswagen
Technorati Tags:: Biofuels

May 26, 2009

Carmakers Spurn Flex-Fuel Bill, Say Every Buck Needed for Advanced Technologies

By Scott Doggett, Contributor

The Detroit 3 and eight other major automakers adamantly oppose a bill in Congress that would force them to produce more flex-fuel vehicles, and their opposition has merit.

At a time when lawmakers and the White House are pressuring America's carmakers to produce vehicles that are fuel efficient and competitively priced, Democratic Rep. Henry Waxman of California has introduced legislation that would create an "open fuel standard" requiring automakers to produce more cars and trucks capable of running on high blends of alternative fuels, assuming the fuels and infrastructure supporting them are available.

Democratic Representative Eliot Engel of New York says that's not enough. He's said that he might introduce legislation that would require half of new U.S. cars and trucks to be flex-fuel capable starting in 2012, with the mandate jumping to 80 percent by 2015 - regardless of fuel availability.

To count as flex-fuel capable, internal combustion engines would need to be able to run on blends of E85 (a fuel mixture containing 85 percent ethanol by volume) or M85 (a methanol fuel mixture), and diesel vehicles would need to be able to operate on biodiesel.

The Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, a trade group representing the automakers, contends that adding flex-fuel technology will increase the price of each vehicle by at least $100 to $300.

A high-volume engine such as the one pictured here can be converted to flex-fuel capability for $300 or less, the alliance says. But Alliance President Dave McCurdy noted in a letter to members of Congress last week that a mandate would increase costs dramatically because the technology cannot be applied easily to some powerplants.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); Scott Doggett May 26, 2009, 1:59 AM
Categories:: Alternative Fuels, Biofuels, Emissions, Ethanol, Flex-Fuel, Fuel Economy, Legislation, Methanol
Technorati Tags:: Alternative Fuels

May 22, 2009

Legislators in Corn States Want to "Think Local, Ignore Global"

All politics is local, which explains why Republican and Democratic legislators in corn states are joining forces to oppose some parts of a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency proposal to measure the "life-cycle emissions" created by the production of a fuel's feedstock (say, corn).

It stands to reason that the EPA must get a better handle on the overall environmental impact of the complex string of related but hard-to-measure events that come into play as more crops are grown for fuel feedstocks. That means studying such things as the increased acreage needed to grow feedstock crops, associated well drilling, mining, transporting and refining the biofuel and how it performs when burned to power vehicles.

It also is reasonable for regulators to get a better understanding of "indirect land use change" (ILUC) that can occur as corn, soy and other crops are cultivated for use as biofuel feedstocks rather than being directed into the traditional food chain.

Environmentalists say the increased use of traditional food crops as biofuels feedstocks can prompt other farmers to plant replacement crops. Too often, environmentalists contend, that new acreage is carved out of native forests and grasslands that now help soak up carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases.

EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson has said that the National Renewable Fuel Standards proposed earlier this month - including the ILUC proposal - are still subject to peer review and change.

But ethanol industry representatives don't want to wait for the EPA rules. On Thursday, several ethanol industry told members of the House Agriculture Committee that Congress should restrict what the EPA can do when it comes to the ILUC rule.

Brian Jennings, executive vice president of the American Coalition for Ethanol told committee members that the proposed ILUC rule was based on "a controversial and untested theory," and that "ideology is getting ahead of science" as the EPA and the California Air Resources Board craft their low-carbon fuels initiatives.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); Greg Johnson May 22, 2009, 12:14 PM
Categories:: Alternative Fuels, Biofuels, Emissions, Legislation
Technorati Tags:: Biofuels

Hydrogen Boosters Plan 1,700-mile Road Trip To Showcase Their Technology

It's proving to be a long and winding road to the hydrogen economy.

But the California Air Resources Board, the California Fuel Cell Partnership, the National Hydrogen Association and the U.S. Fuel Cell Council are betting that the 2009 Hydrogen Road Tour, which will stop in 28 cities in the U.S. and Canada, will give motorists an opportunity to see how hydrogen fits into the transportation future.

The 1,700-mile road trip will begin on May 26 in Chula Vista, Calif. and end on June 3 in Vancouver, B.C. The tour will showcase a number of hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles from General Motors Corp., Volkswagen Group of America, Daimler and other manufacturers. Though some of the planned events are by invitation, most are open to the public, and some lucky folks will be invited to test drive hydrogen-powered vehicles.

"Fuel cell technology is on the verge of becoming a practical alternative to burning gasoline," said CARB Chairman Mary D. Nichols. "This year's road tour demonstrates how far the industry has come and how near we are to putting these cars in the public's hands."

Given recent budget cuts proposed by the U.S. Department of Energy, the hydrogen sector could use an upbeat road trip to clear its collective head.

On May 7, DoE Secretary Steven Chu proposed that more than $100 million be cut from his department's hydrogen program. The proposed cut in the 2010 federal budget would slash hydrogen fuel cell spending by 59 percent to just $68 million and shift research to stationary power generation from transportation.

Why? "We asked ourselves, 'Is it likely in the next 10 or 15, 20 years that we will convert to a hydrogen car economy?' The answer, we felt, was 'no,'" Chu said in a briefing.

Chu's action marked a dramatic reversal from 2002 when former DoE Secretary Spencer Abraham boasted that "At the Department of Energy, we're not just talking about the hydrogen economy. We're working to make it a reality."

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); Greg Johnson May 22, 2009, 9:03 AM
Categories:: Alternative Fuels, General Motors, Hydrogen, Hyundai, Legislation, Mass Transit, Mercedes-Benz, Transportation Alternatives
Technorati Tags:: Battery Electric Vehicles

Senate Members Offer 'Clunkers' Measure They Say is Greener than House Version

Unhappy with a compromise "cash for clunkers" measure hashed out by the House of Representatives, a group of key U.S. senators has introduced an alternative they say would substantially increase the environmental benefits of the program.

Sen. Diane Feinstein, the California Democrat who co-authored the counter-proposal, said the Senate version represents a 32 percent improvement in fuel economy gains and greenhouse gas reduction over the House bill, which has been attached to climate change legislation now moving though Congress.

Critics of the House measure also have said that it doesn't offer enough incentive to persuade many people to take the plunge and buy a new car, truck or SUV in the midst of the worst economic recession since the Great Depression. That criticism would apply to the Senate measure as well, as it doesn't increase the incentive.

The Senate counter-proposal would permit consumers to obtain cash vouchers for the purchase of new vehicles if they trade-in cars or trucks that have EPA fuel economy ratings of no more than 17 miles per gallon.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); John O'Dell May 22, 2009, 2:45 AM
Categories:: Fuel Economy, Legislation
Technorati Tags:: Cash For Clunkers

May 21, 2009

California Air Board Chief Says Auto Emissions Regulations Must Be Tougher

CARB Already Working on Greenhouse Gas Emissions Rules for 2017 and Beyond

Whoa. Just when we thought it was safe to close the filing cabinet marked "California Greenhouse Gas Effort" now that the feds are going to adopt the controversial 30 percent reduction of automotive GHG as a national standard, word comes that the Golden State's air regulators aren't going to take even a short break.

Instead, the California Air Resources Board is starting to work "immediately" on "even more stringent standards" to take effect in the state after 2016, CARB's hardworking chairman, Mary Nichols, told a Reuters reporter the other day.

Nichols was instrumental in pushing the feds to use California's proposed statewide regulation of greenhouse gases from auto emissions as the basis for the just-announced federal rule that will increase average passenger vehicle fuel economy by 30 percent, with a corresponding reduction in carbon emissions, by 2016.

The decision by President Obama to seize on California's effort eliminates the need for the federal government to grant the state a special waiver to go it alone - a waiver Nichols' board has been fighting for since 2007.

No Letting Up

But the state air board doesn't see this week's events as victory. "It doesn't signal any kind of flagging interest on the part of California in being part of a transformation of the auto fleet to something much more efficient than what it is today," Nichols told Reuters.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); John O'Dell May 21, 2009, 1:47 PM
Categories:: Emissions, Fuel Economy, Legislation
Technorati Tags:: California Air Resoeces Board

Letterman Doesn't Pull Many Punches in "Late Show" Interview With GM's Bob Lutz

Lutz&Letterman.jpg If you tuned into Late Show With David Letterman last night you saw the 62-year-old talk show host do a good impersonation of Sam Donaldson, the longtime reporter for ABC News famous for asking hard-hitting questions.

Letterman's subject: None other than Bob Lutz, the 77-year-old vice chairman of General Motors Corp. The interview came three weeks after Letterman had Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk on the show and the two shared considerable laughter at GM's expense.

In perfect Donaldson style, Letterman didn't pull many punches, asking "Maximum" Bob pointed questions such as why GM seems incapable of building a battery-electric car like Tesla's Roadster and why don't U.S. automakers do the patriotic thing and make more fuel-efficient vehicles so we're less dependent on foreign oil. Letterman all but said American troops are dying in Iraq over oil.

Lutz responded with his usual song-and-dance, variously blaming the U.S. government for stupid regulations, and successive administrations for making bad policy -- such as keeping the cost of gasoline in America low and yet expecting Detroit to produce fuel-efficient vehicles when little demand exists for them.

But perhaps sensing that Letterman wasn't about to let him off the ropes, Lutz said something he's not wont to say unless pushed:

"Let's face it. During the '70s, '80s and up through the early '90s, the U.S. car companies built some really bad cars. And a lot of people still have that memory from their family -- 'My dad said don't ever buy an American car because they're all crap.' -- and of course that was true at one point but it's no longer true."

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (13); Scott Doggett May 21, 2009, 4:05 AM
Categories:: Batteries, Chevrolet, Fuel Economy, General Motors, Hybrid, Legislation, Plug-ins and Electric, Tesla
Technorati Tags:: CAFE Standards

May 20, 2009

House Climate Bill Would Double DOE Loan Program to Help Automakers Go Green

The House energy and climate bill would double a $25 billion Department of Energy loan program designed to help automakers produce more fuel-efficient cars and trucks.

The provision increasing the DOE pot to $50 billion was tucked into this week's substitute bill after being absent from both House Energy and Commerce Chairman Henry Waxman's original March draft and Friday's revision.

The substitute, released Monday, was quickly followed by news that President Obama would dramatically ramp up the speed at which carmakers will need to achieve better fleetwide fuel economy.

The DOE program was established in the 2007 Energy Bill to provide loans to automakers and parts suppliers to retool their U.S. plants for making advanced technology vehicles to meet new corporate average fuel economy, or CAFE, standards.

But Congress did not provide funding to back the loans until late last year as Washington scrambled to throw a lifeline to the battered auto industry, and DOE has yet to provide the first batch of loans.

The Energy Department cash is separate from billions of dollars already given by the government to General Motors Corp. and Chrysler LLC to help keep the two carmakers operating while they undergo sweeping restructuring, downsizing and, in Chrysler's case, bankruptcy.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); Scott Doggett May 20, 2009, 3:10 PM
Categories:: Alternative Fuels, Chrysler, Emissions, Fuel Economy, General Motors, Legislation, Plug-ins and Electric
Technorati Tags:: Chrysler LLC

House Agriculture Chair: Leave Ethanol Alone, or I'll Block Climate Change Bill

The Website AgricultureOnline is reporting that House Ag Committee Chair Collin Peterson is angry that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has proposed a framework for assessing the greenhouse-gas footprint of ethanol.

The Minnesota Democrat (left) has vowed to use his clout to crush the historic Waxman-Markey climate-change bill - unless Congress passes a bill that would revoke the EPA's proposed rules.

Last Thursday, the committee introduced a bill that prevents the EPA from holding U.S. ethanol and biodiesel responsible for deforestation of tropical jungles. The EPA has thrown so-called indirect land use into its first estimates of the carbon footprint of fuels.

That would make corn ethanol from new plants and much of the nation's soy-based biodiesel no longer eligible for federal mandates that require oil companies to use biofuels. The mandates, called the Renewable Fuel Standard in the 2007 Energy Bill, require the nation to use 36 billion gallons of biofuels by 2022.

The next day, Peterson told AgricultureOnline that he will work to defeat any climate-change legislation on the floor of the House of Representatives until his "Renewable Fuel Standard Improvement Act" becomes law. And he has let the House leadership know how he feels.

"I've told them I want this passed. I want it signed by the president before I'll support anything else," he told the Website Friday.

The Democrat has threatened to aid Republicans in shooting down Waxman-Markey, and said he thinks he might have enough votes to defeat the bill when the full House votes on it.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (2); Scott Doggett May 20, 2009, 2:48 PM
Categories:: Biofuels, Emissions, Ethanol, Legislation, Surveys
Technorati Tags:: Bioethanol

May 19, 2009

'Cash for Clunkers' Measure Attached to House Climate Bill

The House Energy and Commerce Committee today followed through on plans to add a "cash for clunkers" amendment to its climate bill that would give consumers thousands of dollars toward buying or leasing new fuel-efficient vehicles when they trade in older, gas-guzzling autos.

The bipartisan vote was 50-4.

"By adopting this amendment, we can preserve jobs and protect the environment at the same time," said Democratic Rep. Betty Sutton of Ohio, the lead sponsor, who offered the plan along with Democratic Reps. John Dingell of Michigan, Bart Stupak of Michigan and Bruce Braley of Iowa.

The new Transportation Department program would lead to the retiring of an estimated 1 million vehicles, Sutton said. It applies to cars and some trucks. New passenger vehicles that replace the less efficient cars must get at least 22 miles per gallon.

The size of the vouchers available would increase as the efficiency difference between the old and new vehicles grows. For passenger cars, for instance, it starts at $3,500 when the new vehicle's efficiency is at least 4 mpg greater, increasing to $4,500 if it is at least 10 mpg higher.

The program, pushed by auto-state lawmakers, is seen as a way to help the struggling industry while curbing gasoline use. The amendment authorizes $4 billion in funding for the program.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); Scott Doggett May 19, 2009, 2:26 PM
Categories:: Emissions, Fuel Economy, Legislation
Technorati Tags:: Emissions

Obama Proposes Bold Dual Standards for Automotive Fuel Economy and Emissions

By Scott Doggett, Contributor

President Obama today proposed new national standards that would accelerate increases in automotive fuel economy and impose the first-ever national greenhouse-gas emissions standards on cars and trucks.

"In the past, an agreement such as this would have been considered impossible," Obama said in a Rose Garden speech. "That is why this announcement is so important, for it represents not only a change in policy in Washington, but the harbinger of a change in the way business is done in Washington."

The proposed rules would respect the legal authority the Supreme Court has granted the Environmental Protection Agency to regulate greenhouse-gas emissions with the Department of Transportation's right to regulate fuel economy under the corporate average fuel economy program, while still preserving California's right to regulate air pollution under the Clean Air Act.

The proposed rulemaking would be a joint effort between the EPA and the Transportation Department and would mandate a 5 percent annual increase in fuel economy for model years 2012 through 2016. It would push the corporate average fuel economy, or CAFE, standard to a fleetwide average of 35.5 miles per gallon by 2016, four years ahead of the schedule Congress laid out in the 2007 Energy Law.

The new program would add about $600 to the price of producing a vehicle compared with the current law passed in 2007. White House officials said the fuel savings resulting from the new program would more than cover the $600 expense.

The president's plan would not specifically grant California the waiver it needs to enforce its own standards, but it would appear to make the EPA's forthcoming decision on the issue moot because both the state and Obama are seeking a 35.5 mpg fleetwide average by 2016.

The White House said that if the EPA does ultimately grant the waiver later, California has agreed to defer to the national standard through 2016 - and that if the waiver request is rejected, the proposal will move forward regardless.

In addition, the rulemaking would limit the amount of greenhouse-gas emissions from passenger cars and light trucks, the first-ever such standard for the vehicles. A draft of the rule has not yet been released, but a White House spokesperson said the limit would be set at 250 grams per mile per vehicle in 2016.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (1); Scott Doggett May 19, 2009, 11:19 AM
Categories:: Emissions, Fuel Economy, Legislation
Technorati Tags:: Automotive Emissions Greenhouse Gas Standards

May 18, 2009

Is CAFE Needed? Consider Prodding the Public Rather Than Pushing Automakers

Fuel$.jpg

As federal regulators, automakers, enviros and state air quality officials get set to sit down together to work up a national plan for reducing greenhouse gases by improving fuel-efficiency, there's going to be a lot of talk about the federal CAFE -- corporate average fuel economy -- standard and the mileage vehicles will have to get to meet the goals.

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We'll pay for fuel economy one way or another. Let's pick the best way.

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We've lived with CAFE for decades now and while we agree that it has helped push automakers into improving vehicle fuel economy, it also is easy to see that it hasn't helped enough.

That's because some automakers find it cheaper to pay the annual fines for not achieving their CAFE numbers than to spend the money it would take to do it. Others insist that building cars to meet CAFE would ruin what they stand for -- high performance, heavyweight luxury and the like -- and destroy their ability to market their vehicles here.

The plan that the feds and the automakers will now start kicking around seems to be based on California's controversial effort to achieve a 30 percent reduction in automotive greenhouse gas emissions, and it often is rendered in journalistic shorthand to say that it will require passenger cars to hit an average of 42 miles per gallon and trucks to achieve 26.2 miles per gallon by 2016.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (2); John O'Dell May 18, 2009, 10:14 PM
Categories:: Emissions, Fuel Economy, Legislation, Opinion
Technorati Tags:: CAFE

Are Automakers Finally Seeing the Light? Will Government and Greens See it Too?

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.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); John O'Dell May 18, 2009, 6:00 PM
Categories:: Alternative Fuels, BMW, Chrysler, Emissions, Ford, Fuel Economy, General Motors, Honda, Hyundai, Kia, Land Rover, Legislation, Mazda, Mercedes-Benz, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Opinion, Plug-ins and Electric, Porsche, Renault, Subaru, Suzuki, Toyota, Volkswagen
Technorati Tags:: National CAFE Plan

WSJ: Obama Administration Ready To Combine Calif. and U.S. Vehicle Fuel Rules

The Obama administration is poised to unveil on Tuesday a new auto fuel-efficiency policy that would resolve a major dispute between California and the U.S. government over emissions, according to a report in today's Wall Street Journal (subscription required).

The proposal to run from 2012-2016 would maintain a single national standard for fuel economy and give automakers flexibility for meeting it, the Journal reported.

The effort would harmonize California's drive to curb greenhouse gasses by reducing tailpipe emissions with the federal approach for determining miles-per-gallon targets based on vehicle size and other attributes, the sources said.

The Journal, citing people familiar with the plan, said the strategy calls for raising the overall fuel economy of cars and trucks to 35 miles per gallon by 2016, four years faster than the current schedule.

In March, the government said fuel-economy standards for all U.S. light vehicles will rise 8 percent to an average of 27.3 mpg for the 2011 model year and will cost the industry $1.46 billion to make the change.

Under that timetable, cars will be required to travel an industry average of 30.2 miles on each gallon of fuel, up from 27.5 mpg, and light-truck standards will increase by 1 mpg, to 24.1 mpg, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said. The combined fleet average will rise by 2 mpg.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (2); Scott Doggett May 18, 2009, 12:25 PM
Categories:: Fuel Economy, Legislation
Technorati Tags:: CAFE Standards

Twin Cities Work With Ford on EV Project; Solar-Powered Stations Considered

Nonprofit groups and government officials in Minneapolis and St. Paul are working with Ford Motor Co. and Xcel Energy to bring electric cars to the area, the Detroit News reported today .

This is latest in a string of welcome green developments for the troubled automaker. Earlier this month we reported that Ford said it will spend $550 million to transform its Michigan Assembly Plant into a lean, green and flexible manufacturing facility that will build the company's new, gasoline-powered global Ford Focus and a battery-electric version of that vehicle.

Ford is hoping to get federal stimulus money for the Minnesota project, which could be one of 34 projects to receive the money.

As part of the proposal, local governments would field a fleet of 66 electric or hybrid cars in Minneapolis and St. Paul by the end of next year. Xcel Energy would set up special stations where the cars could charge up. That could include two solar-powered stations.

If it's approved, officials hope the project would help Minneapolis and St. Paul cut down on gas use and demonstrate a new energy-saving system to the public.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); Scott Doggett May 18, 2009, 11:58 AM
Categories:: Energy Companies, Ford, Legislation, Plug-ins and Electric
Technorati Tags:: Ford Electric Vehicles

Energy Secretary's Proposal to Cut Hydrogen Fuel Cell R&D Is A Turn for the Worse

By Scott Doggett, Contributor

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.

Chu's rationale for cutting hydrogen funding by 59 percent to just $68 million: It's unlikely that the technology will become significant player during the next two decades.

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.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (6); Scott Doggett May 18, 2009, 12:01 AM
Categories:: Alternative Fuels, Batteries, Emissions, Fuel Economy, General Motors, Honda, Hydrogen, Legislation, Plug-ins and Electric, Toyota, Volkswagen
Technorati Tags:: Battery Electric Vehicles

May 11, 2009

Honda, Toyota and GM Pledge To Continue Hydrogen Fuel Cell R&D

Talk about a disconnect.

When the Obama Administration unveiled its proposed 2010 budget last week, Energy Secretary Stephen Chu had penciled in a proposal to cut more than $100 million from Uncle Sam's hydrogen research and development program.

Chu's rationale for cutting hydrogen funding by 59 percent to just $68 million? It's unlikely that the technology will become significant player during the next two decades.

In contrast, the California Fuel Cell Partnership in February predicted that 4,300 fuel-cell electric vehicles could be traveling California roads by 2014, and that the the hydrogen-powered fleet could grow to about 50,000 vehicles by 2017 as more manufacturers introduce their zero emission vehicles.

What's more, the partnership believes that, by 2017, Californians will be able to fuel their Honda FCX Clarity and other fuel cell vehicles at between 50 and 100 hydrogen refueling stations around the state.

'"Fuel cell vehicles and hydrogen stations are at the cusp of transition into the early commercial market," according to the organization's report that is titled "Hydrogen Fuel Cell Vehicle and Station Deployment Plan: A Strategy for Meeting the Challenge Ahead."

So it's not surprising that the CaFCP, which counts auto manufacturers (including Toyota Motor Corp., Honda Motor Co. and General Motors Corp.), energy companies (Shell and Chevron), fuel cell technology companies (Proton Energy Systems) and government agencies (including the DoE, which is a dues-paying member!) on Friday called for Chu to reconsider the proposed budget cut.

"Hydrogen fuel cell vehicles have progressed to the point where some automakers are ready to begin early commercialization," said CaFCP Executive Director Catherine Dunwoody. "Stopping federal investment at this point is like a coach pulling back an Olympic athlete who has trained for years, just as the trials begin. We can't wait for the next round. We're ready to go."

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (1); Greg Johnson May 11, 2009, 3:13 PM
Categories:: Alternative Fuels, Emissions, Fuel Cell, General Motors, Honda, Hydrogen, Legislation, Plug-ins and Electric, Toyota, Transportation Alternatives
Technorati Tags:: Fuel Cell

May 7, 2009

Uneasy Riders Say Proposed California Clean Air Rule Is Unfair to Motorcyclists

California legislators are considering a bill that would require owners of an estimated 493,000 motorcycles to line up with owners of cars and trucks to undergo smog checks.

Proponents of SB 435 - including the California Air Resources Board, the American Lung Association and the Natural Resources Defense Council - maintain that owners of two-wheelers have been getting a free ride when it comes to the estimated 5.16 tons of pollutants emitted daily by their vehicles.

Motorcycles account for 3.6 percent of the state's registered highway vehicles and less than one percent of total vehicle miles driven in California. But the Senate Transportation and Housing Committee maintains that the pollution produced by motorcycles "is about 14 times that which is produced by cars."

The proposed solution: Biennial smog checks starting in 2012 for motorcycles manufactured during or after the 2000 model year. Not surprisingly, the bill has drawn stiff opposition from motorcycle owners since being introduced in February.

No word yet on whether the legislation will be passed - or whether motorcycle-riding Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger would sign it.

We're of a mixed mind about SB 435. Motorcycles are relatively high emitters compared to modern cars, but their cumulative emissions are still very low. Similarly, the number of miles traveled by two-wheelers is but a tiny fraction of what motorists accumulate in cars and trucks - particularly big trucks.

California also has the toughest motorcycle emissions rules in the country (which the state says many motorcycle riders are skirting by tinkering with the emissions controls). But even with a motorcycle enthusiast as governor, bikers don't enjoy the political clout of, say, commercial truckers.

So while it makes more sense to toughen up emissions regulations governing, say, big rigs or stationary sources of pollution, motorcycles arguably are an easier target from a political perspective.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (2); Greg Johnson May 7, 2009, 2:00 AM
Categories:: Emissions, Fuel Economy, Legislation, Motorcycles, Transportation Alternatives
Technorati Tags:: California Air Resources Board

May 5, 2009

Cash For Clunkers Legislation Clears Major Hurdle in Washington, D.C.

President Obama and House Democrats today reached an agreement on cash for clunkers legislation that would pay consumers as much as $4,500 to scrap their old cars and trucks and replace them with greener, more fuel-efficient vehicles. The proposal that still must be approved by the full Congress calls for a year-long program that could cover about one million vehicles.

We've not yet seen the details, but Uncle Sam seems to have struck a good deal for the environment, consumers and the automobile industry. Negotiators seem to have avoided the real possibility of turning the legislation into a disruptive program that would have required owners to cash out their old cars and trucks, or require the complete demolition of clunkers.

That kind of legislation would have been unfair to collectors, enthusiasts and low-income car owners who don't want to part with their aging vehicles. Mandating the complete demolition of older vehicles would have resulted in seat frames and other perfectly good car parts being kept from the resale market.

Similar programs have been introduced by state air quality regulators in California and elsewhere, to varying degrees of success. So we're hopeful that Washington, D.C. will end up getting this program right.

As for the anticipated economic stimulus?

"It's not the best long-term business solution, but it will help spur new car sales and it has some good environmental benefits," said Jesse Toprak, Edmunds.com's senior industry analyst. "We've looked previously at both House versions and don't see much difference in impact, so the compromise should mean a minimum of half a million new sales during the rest of 2009," he said, adding that some more optimistic forecasts have put that number as high as one million new sales.

"A similar program in Germany did see a gain of a million sales, so that's possible here," Toprak said. "It all depends on how responsive customers are. There's a lot of pent-up demand for new vehicles."

The program that is based upon H.R. 1550 (introduced by U.S. Rep. Betty Sutton of Ohio) and H.R. 520 (introduced by U.S. Rep. Jay Insee of Washington) will be divided into four parts. Here is the plan as described by the House Committee on Energy and Commerce:

Passenger Cars: Old vehicles must get less than 18 miles per gallon. New cars must get at least 22 mpg to qualify for vouchers. If the new car's mileage is at least four mpg higher than the old vehicle's mileage, the voucher will be worth $3,500. If the mileage is at least 10 mpg better, the voucher's value will jump to $4,500.

Light-Duty Trucks: Old vehicles must get less than 18 mpg. New light trucks or SUVs with mileage of at least 18 mpg are eligible for vouchers. If the new truck or SUV's mileage is at least two mpg higher than the old truck, the voucher will be worth $3,500. The voucher will be worth $4,500 if the new truck or SUV gets at least five mpg higher than the old truck.

Large Light-Duty Trucks: New pick-up trucks and vans weighing between 6,000 and 8,500 pounds with mileage of at least 15 mpg are eligible for vouchers. If the mileage of the new truck is at least one mpg higher than the old truck, the voucher will be worth $3,500. If the new truck's mileage is at least two mpg higher than the old truck, the voucher will be worth $4,500.

Work Trucks: Consumers can trade in pre-2002 work trucks (defined as pick-up trucks or cargo vans weighing from 8,500 to 10,000 pounds) and receive a voucher worth $3,500 for a new work truck in the same or smaller weight class. The committee noted that "there are no EPA mileage measures for these trucks; however, because newer models are cleaner than older models, the age requirement ensures that the trade will improve environmental quality." Consumers can also "trade down" and receive a $3,500 voucher for trading in an older work truck and purchasing a smaller, light-duty truck weighing from 6,000 to 8,500 pounds.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (11); Greg Johnson May 5, 2009, 4:42 PM
Categories:: Emissions, Fuel Economy, Legislation, Tax Incentives
Technorati Tags:: Cash for Clunkers