Tag Archive
Controversy over higher fuel standards.
Late last week the White House asked Congress for the power to raise the fuel standards for passenger cars. They already have this ability concerning trucks and SUVs. They want to raise the minimum average miles per gallon the auto makers will have to meet with their cars.
They are trying to help calm people’s fears and complaints over the rising gas prices. However, not everyone thinks this is a good move.
Mineta said a simple increase in standards under the current Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) system "would increase fatalities on America’s highways, raise health care costs and reduce employment. As a result, the administration would oppose any increase in passenger car CAFE standards without corresponding reform."
Those sound like some serious charges. Other opponents note how this would not have any immediate effects anyway. The auto makers will have a few years to comply with any changes.
This may be true but we definitely need to plan for the future.
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Honda�s new subcompact car.
A week ago I talked about the rise in subcompact cars. It seems like every major manufacturer has a new small car coming out, and one of the most anticipated models is the new Honda Fit. It sounds odd, but honda forsees fit doing fine with youngsters who want to help the enviroment and save on gas money.
Honda started a massive advertising campaign on its new models behalf earlier this week. Estimates suggest they will spend between $20 and $50 million in advertising for the Fit this year. The ads will target young first time buyers labeled as “metro-funky.” Does anyone really want to be fitted with that label?
The Fit is targeted, according to RPA, Honda’s long time advertising agency, at consumers with a non-conformist mindset. The words used were “metro-funky” a demographic/psychographic term I don’t recall being used before, but do understand.
It’s the new generation of first new car buyers – they’re well beyond the “grown-up with TV” generation designation. These are today’s real media mavens – some call them media monsters. It’s a hugely savvy, expressive, independent market with lots of RTS, or ready-to-spend cash and plastic.
As well as these hip, non-conformist youngsters, Honda is hoping to draw in the older crowd. The thinking is that retiring boomers will want something small and inexpensive.
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A look at several alternative fuel sources
I read a great article about alternative fuel sources. I caution you that it is a bit long. The article details six alternatives to petroleum. And, as we all know, there are many reasons for us to curb our appetites for petroleum.
These alternatives vary widely from each other and each presents different strengths and weaknesses. Each fuel source was briefly explained with pros and cons being pointed out. After that each was given a graded outlook.
Biodiesel and Hydrogen were both given “good” outlooks, but hydrogen carried the disclaimer that it would be a while until it was actually useful. Hydrogen has a lot of promise and many car companies are spending lots of money to research it. Biodiesel, however, is already starting to make an impact on the ground shipping industry with companies such as, Fedex, UPS, and DHL.
The next two we have heard about a lot more. Ethanol and its E85 blend were given a “hopeful” outlook and electricity (including hybrids) were given a “mixed” outlook. The availability of ethanol and the need for better and cheaper batteries are some of the problems these two face.
Methanol and its M85 blend where deemed “cloudy” and natural gas was labeled “limited.” Methanol has been overpowered by its cousin ethanol and natural gas is still an unrenewable resource.
Petroleum might be a hard habit to kick but we’ve got many options on the way. As time progresses, these outlooks may change greatly; it only takes a breakthrough in one area for the entire paradigm of alternative fuels to change. Who knows, maybe a new source will one day make all these alternatives obsolete.
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A new engine design to compete with all those hybrids.
Yesterday, I talked about a very fuel efficient vehicle that was not a hybrid. Today its not a car. It’s an engine; well, an engine design. The whole process doesn’t sound too complicated, but I’ll let the experts explain it to you.
Whether or not you wanted the full explanation, it boils down to this; the new design will produce a smaller more efficient engine through the use of adding ethanol to the gas at certain points (Ethanol Boosting System or EBS). The smaller engine will also make the car lighter.
The designers claim that this engine will be able to match today’s hybrid systems and will be cheaper. Now that’s a word we all love to hear. However, this technology is still 5 years or so away from mainstream and could face a few hurdles. For example, the driver would have to keep a smaller separate tank filled with ethanol, however, there are problems that come along with this design:
The challenges EBS is likely to encounter he says, have more to do with logistics — two fuel tanks in a vehicle can be hard to implement, and there’s the challenge of making sure ethanol is available at the corner gas station. Also, the engine will need a system that ensures it isn’t damaged if the driver forgets to fill the ethanol tank.
The new engine should be 30 percent more efficient than conventional engines, based on a computer model the researchers say accurately reproduces the behavior of internal-combustion gasoline engines.
I’m just glad to see all these new innovations. I don’t mind diverse answers as long as everyone is working on the problem.
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A look at an impressive new entry in the battle for better fuel economy.
Recently, I’ve posted several topics about auto news relating to the gas crunch and vehicles with good fuel economy. Today, however, I was very excited when I saw the Loremo. Not only does it get 157 miles per gallon but it just looks great.
The Loremo is produced by a six year old German car company name Loremo AG. Despite its gas mileage the Loremo is not a hybrid and still has good performance.
The base model Loremo LS is powered by a 2 cylinder 20 hp turbo diesel engine that will reach a speed of 100 mph and the GT model will reach up to 135 mph with a 0 to 60 mph acceleration of 9 seconds.
Wow! That sounds great but how did they do it? Well, the car is extremely light weight and aerodynamic. And even with its light weight, the Loremo still meets safety standards because of their patented “linear cell structure” method.
This sounds like a very ground breaking and interesting car but, sadly, at this time it looks like it will only be for sale in Europe
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Ford endured a first quarter loss and more may be coming.
Just yesterday gas was going for $2.85 a gallon in the city where I live. And I’m not talking about the premium stuff. We all know that it will continue to climb as summer approaches. Right now there is talk of $4.00 a gallon in the near future!
This is definitely not good for our wallets. It is also not good news for Ford. The automaker just posted a $1.19 billion first quarter loss. The company has a lot of problems right now, but the one that directly correlates with the high gas prices is the fact that they have been heavily dependent on their SUVs for years. Ford’s SUVs, along with its F-series trucks, have been bailing out the companies weak car sales for years now.
Ford’s CEO, Bill Ford Jr. seems to be ready to turn the company around inspite of gas prices:
"Three months in, we are in the very early stages of this strategy to transform the way we do business, down to its very core," said chairman and CEO Bill Ford Jr.
However, as gas goes higher they may see declining SUV sales as motorists turn to smaller vehicles with better fuel economies. Their F-series trucks will also have to face some new competition as GM and Toyota take aim at them with their new truck offerings.
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A look at Toyota’s impact in the U.S.
I recently saw a billboard which read, “Want to support Japan? Then buy Toyota and Honda.” I’m sure whoever is responsible for the ad (probably someone affiliated with one or all of the big three North American automakers) is very patriotic. However, in today’s world of increased globalization, this may not necessarily be the case anymore.
Toyota hopes to help make that clear with some new advertisements of its own. Their new ad campaign will promote how Toyota is good for America. These ads will detail how much money they have invested in their U.S. plants and how many Americans they employ. They are also planning to expand even more in the States while GM and Ford face cutbacks.
There will probably be some people who are upset at these ads and will never believe a foreign company could be good for America. However, if you take Toyota’s (and any other foreign companies) sales as any indication, most people buy whatever car they want.
And shouldn’t they? This is America. The land of freedom and capitalism. Let the people choose, and may the best product win.
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Recent news about auto parts suppliers.
Here in America, our cars and trucks are a very important part of our everyday lives. Most of us could not function without them. Many of you know that if one little part goes wrong, it could put the whole vehicle out of commission. And there are a lot of parts.
The auto makers, such as Ford, GM, Toyota, etc., who make our cars, do so with parts they receive from their suppliers. And many of these suppliers are experiencing tough times right now. Some, including Delphi Corp., have had to file for bankruptcy. This definitely can put a kink in the auto makers plans. However, the auto makers themselves might be partly to blame.
One of the reasons many auto parts suppliers are facing difficulties is because auto makers have been demanding lower prices. This would hurt by itself, but the suppliers have had to face rising costs for the materials used to make their parts.
How has this affected the auto makers? Two, specifically, have made news in this department of late.
Toyota has been working hard to secure its relationship to its suppliers by working more closely with them. They hope this will help bring costs down for the parts makers and keep their supply chain moving properly.
Meanwhile, Ford has made news advocating some bankruptcy reform for the parts suppliers. Naturally they would be worried because when their suppliers file for bankruptcy the supply chain is rudely interrupted.
This just goes to show that when one part fails the whole chain is in trouble.
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GM is revamping its Saturn brand.
When GM unveiled the Saturn brand in the 90’s, it was marketed as “a different kind of car company.” Although that slogan was dropped a few years ago, Saturn will once again be a different kind of company. This time it will be because GM is finally revamping its image and lineup.
Saturn grew quickly in the early 90’s as a semi-independent branch of GM. The idea was for them to compete with smaller foreign cars. However the brand has long since passed its prime. As Brett Clanton of the Detroit News put it,
its sales peaked a dozen years ago and its entire lineup was outsold by the Honda Accord last year.
With GM’s financial problems well known, it seriously had to evaluate the Saturn brand and decide if it was worth keeping. They decided to make the necessary changes and hopefully move the brand forward. Maybe Saturn won’t go the way of Oldsmobile. GM tried a similar re-invention of the Oldsmobile brand in the late 90’s but then phased out the brand ending in 2004. (Side note: I currently drive a 98 Oldsmobile Intrigue which was one of the “new” Oldsmobiles)
The New look of Saturn will be much more European and upscale. Check out their website at Saturn.com to see four of the new models. The SKY Red Line looks especially spiffy.
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Are auto makers using hybrids to hide behind?
“What’s in a name?” Yes, I just quoted Shakespeare in an auto blog. But seriously, what kind of meaning does the word hybrid bring with it. Several years ago many environmentalists saw hybrids as salvation for the auto industry. But now, many of these same people are weary that the big auto manufacturers have hijacked the word hybrid and fooled a lot of people.
Bradley Berman has written a fantastic article on this subject; in it he quotes Jason Mark who is the director of the Clean Vehicles Program for the Union of Concerned Scientists.
"We think that hybrid technology ought to be reserved for the environmental and consumer benefits [it] can deliver," says UCS’s Jason Mark. "Every quasi-hybrid under the sun is being labeled as a hybrid for public relations benefits." Mark thinks that hybrid technology should be put to better uses than turning a 16-mpg vehicle into an 18-mpg vehicle. "The point is not to turn extreme gas-guzzlers into moderate gas guzzlers."
Mr. Mark is not the only one upset. Many environmental groups focused on the auto industry have taken offense at how the big auto makers use the hybrid label loosely. They are also enraged at how the auto makers turn around and lobby against policies and laws that would require them to lower the emissions of their vehicles. Many of these groups choose to target a specific auto manufacturer but they are united on the case against the Pavley Law.
The Pavley Law, which would be a California law but would effect the auto industry in a wider sense, has met stiff opposition in the form of auto companies. Even Toyota, makers of the prius I mentioned the other day, is among those trying to block the law. This is the kind of actions that has these environmental groups stirred up like a disturbed fire ant bed.
As Mr. Berman put it,
Now the only way for a car company to be considered environmentally friendly is to remove its name from the lawsuit
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