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RETECH 2009: hydrogen proponent Sandy Thomas says fuel cells beat the pants off of battery-powered cars

Tue, 03 Mar 2009 18:53:00 +0000

At the American Council on Renewable Energy’s RETECH conference and expo last week, I was able to listen to a few presentations on renewables and transportation. It’s always interesting to hear about the auto industry from people on the outside, and the RETECH presentations lived up to expectations. I’ll be writing about a few of them this week. The most full-throated defense of hydrogen vehicles I heard was issued by Sandy Thomas, president of H 2 Gen Innovations , during the “Hydrogen, Fuel Cells & Advanced Engines” panel. H 2 Gen is mostly interested in stationary hydrogen production stations, but Thomas believes that hydrogen is the one right propulsion system for vehicles, since nothing else will meet America’s greenhouse gas emissions, energy independence, and clean air targets. He had the presentation to prove that H2 cars beat battery vehicles, too, and was willing to share his slides with AutoblogGreen readers. You can Car Blog Greenthem all in the gallery below (there’s a reason we try to post items like this at the end of the day, when we think you’ll have time to indulge a bit). I’ve also written up some more of what Thomas said after the jump. Gallery: RETECH 2009: Hydrogen presentation from Sandy Thomas Continue reading RETECH 2009: hydrogen proponent Sandy Thomas says fuel cells beat the pants off of battery-powered cars Auto Blog: Hydrogen , AutoblogGreen Exclusive , Green Daily RETECH 2009: hydrogen proponent Sandy Thomas says fuel cells beat the pants off of battery-powered cars originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Tue, 03 Mar 2009 19:53:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds .Car Blog Green | Car Blog Green | Car Blog Green

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RETECH 2009: hydrogen proponent Sandy Thomas says fuel cells beat the pants off of battery-powered cars

Next gen GM hybrid pickups to get 50% better towing, Voltec possible

Thu, 26 Feb 2009 07:52:00 +0000

click for a high res gallery of GM’s hybrid pickups General Motors is currently in the midst of launching its hybrid full-size pickup trucks and our man Jeremy is in San Antonio this week to try them out. One thing about the auto industry is that as soon as you get one product out the door, you’re already working on the next generation. Such is the case with GM’s two-mode hybrids which are due for a second generation in about 4 years. Mike Levine over at PickupTrucks.com has been talking to GM about where they are going for the next generation models. While the trucks launching right now have pretty decent towing power at 6,100 lbs for the RWD version (5,900 for the 4WD), big truck buyers want more. GM’s truck vehicle line executive, Gary White, told Mike that the next-gen models would have 50 percent better towing power in addition to greater efficiency. Perhaps more interesting is where GM is going with the hybrid architecture itself. While a next generation two-mode system will definitely be developed, White told Levine that something like the Volt’s Voltec (formerly E-flex ) system is on the table for the trucks. The trucks certainly have room between the frame rails for plenty of batteries, and electric motors that provide enough torque for 9,000 lbs of towing capacity are pretty straightforward. Such a system would also eliminate the limiting factor with the current two-mode, which is the planetary gear-sets. However, a truck would need a very large range extender to maintain that towing capacity beyond the plug-in battery range when the vehicle gets into charge sustaining mode. It’s certainly an interesting idea. We’ll be watching to see what happens. Gallery: 2009 GM hybrid pickups Photos Copyright (C)2008 Sam Abuelsamid / Weblogs, Inc. [Source: PickupTrucks .com] Auto Blog: Hybrid , Chevrolet , GM , GMC Next gen GM hybrid pickups to get 50% better towing, Voltec possible originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Thu, 26 Feb 2009 08:52:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Car Blog Green | Car Blog Green | Car Blog Green | Car Blog Green

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Next gen GM hybrid pickups to get 50% better towing, Voltec possible

Consumer Reports teams up with the Automotive X Prize for MPGe, safety tests

Wed, 18 Feb 2009 18:08:00 +0000

The Automotive X Prize will get help with the safety and education portions of its competition from Consumer Reports. Consumer Reports will be the competition’s “Official Active Safety Testing Partner.” We spoke with the Auto X Prize’s senior director , Cristin Lindsay, during the Detroit Auto Show, and she said that safety is paramount, both for the drivers and people who come out to watch. Having a trusted name like Consumer Reports helping to conduct pre-race safety inspections and active safety performance tests should convince outsiders that these sometimes unusual body shapes are indeed fit for use. Another bit of news is that Consumer Reports will use MPGe (miles per gallon energy equivalent) when it tests plug-in and alternative fuel vehicles in the future. The press release does not explicitly say Consumer Reports will use the X Prize’s criteria, but the X Prize’s Carrie Fox told us that, “The plan, and it’s still a plan, is for them to use the MPGe standard we’ve come up with.” You can Car Blog Greenan excerpt from the current official rules describing the MPGe calculations after the jump or Car Blog Greenthe whole ruleset in PDF . [Source: Auto X Prize ] Continue reading Consumer Reports teams up with the Automotive X Prize for MPGe, safety tests Auto Blog: MPG , Automotive X-Prize Consumer Reports teams up with the Automotive X Prize for MPGe, safety tests originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Wed, 18 Feb 2009 19:08:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Car Blog Green | Car Blog Green | Car Blog Green | Car Blog Green

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Consumer Reports teams up with the Automotive X Prize for MPGe, safety tests

GM racing manager proud to be building a greener Corvette

Sat, 07 Feb 2009 12:30:00 +0000

Auto Blog: Ethanol , Chevrolet , Lightweight , Racing Click the GT1 Corvette C6R for a high res gallery from the 2008 Detroit Sports Car Challenge Last year, at the same press conference where American Le Mans Series CEO Scott Atherton announced the Green Challenge , Chevrolet general manager Ed Peper announced that the C6R Corvettes would be running on cellulosic ethanol in the GT1 class. After a year of tearing up the tracks powered by non-food-sourced biofuel, GM Road Racing Group Manager Steve Wesoloski is proud of the team’s accomplishments. He also welcomes Michelin on board as the title sponsor of the Green Challenge for 2009 . Ethanol obviously remains a controversial fuel, but Wesoloski said, “It’s going to be a long time before the auto industry finds the one magic solution. In the meantime we’re all looking for answers. This [cellulosic E85] is one. We’re saying you don’t have to be afraid of ethanol.” Lessons learned converting the race car to E85 are being shared with the production side at GM. Now, with a GT2 car under development for its debut later this year, the team is working on weight reduction by using the aluminum chassis of the production Z06 and ZR1 models. Hopefully, some of those weight reduction lessons will also make their way to production GM cars. Gallery: Detroit Sports Car Challenge 08 Photos Copyright (C)2008 Sam Abuelsamid / Weblogs, Inc. [Source: American Le Mans Series ] GM racing manager proud to be building a greener Corvette originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Sat, 07 Feb 2009 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Car Blog Green|Car Blog Green|Car Blog Green|Car Blog Green

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Mercedes-Benz to enter U.S. CNG market with a natural gas B-Class?

Wed, 04 Feb 2009 11:37:00 +0000

Auto Blog: Mercedes Benz , Natural Gas , USA Click above for high-res gallery of the BiFuel B170 Compressed natural gas may not be given the publicity it deserves. After all, it burns cleaner than other fossil fuels, it can be collected from landfills and waste facilities and it’s abundant in North America. Regardless, CNG doesn’t seem to get much support from the government as an alternative to gasoline or diesel; certainly much less so than hybrids or fully electric vehicles. This lack of government help for the fuel makes it much less attractive to consumers than other alternatives. Mercedes-Benz is still interested in testing the American CNG waters, though, and the German automaker is proving it’s serious by bringing a natural gas-powered version of its B-Class compact MPV – the BiFuel B170 NGT -to the Auto Show that’s currently taking place in Washington D.C. A CNG-powered B-Class is already available in Europe (and South America), where natural gas, sometimes referred to as autogas, is a more popular choice than it is in the United States. Gallery: Mercedes BiFuel B-Class B170 [Source: Automotive News - Sub. Req.] Mercedes-Benz to enter U.S. CNG market with a natural gas B-Class? originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Wed, 04 Feb 2009 12:37:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Car Blog Green|Car Blog Green|Car Blog Green|Car Blog Green

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Mercedes-Benz to enter U.S. CNG market with a natural gas B-Class?

Washington 2009: Colin Powell likes the Fisker Karma

Wed, 04 Feb 2009 10:50:00 +0000

Auto Blog: EV/Plug-in , Hybrid , AutoblogGreen Exclusive , Green Daily , Washington DC Auto Show , Fisker Click above for a high res gallery of Powell’s Fisker visit There was a bit of a hub-bub around the Fisker Automotive booth yesterday afternoon thanks to the surprise appearance of one Colin Powell. The former four-star general, Secretary of State and WMD fearmonger spent a lot of time with both the Karma and the Karma S , getting a lot of one-on-one time learning about the vehicles from Henrik Fisker. A lot of well-known government officials visit the Washington Auto Show, but the Fisker booth model I talked with was geeked as anything about Powell’s appearance, asking me to send her the photos I was taking of the visit, even thought there were dozens of people snapping away with their own cameras. Even Powell pulled out his own camera to take his own pictures of the cars. The best part: Powell wore a name tag, just like the rest of us. Gallery: Colin Powell checks out the Fisker Karma Our travel and lodging for this media event was provided by the Auto Alliance. Washington 2009: Colin Powell likes the Fisker Karma originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Wed, 04 Feb 2009 11:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds .Car Blog Green|Car Blog Green|Car Blog Green

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Washington 2009: Colin Powell likes the Fisker Karma

In Detroit, Hell Actually Has Frozen Over

Fri, 30 Jan 2009 14:14:51 +0000

What a new world we live in these days: a black president (hurray!), the worst economy since the Depression (oh, dear), and now…even Detroit is changing its wanton ways. Here are five pieces of ironclad evidence that Hell has now well and truly frozen over in southeastern Michigan. 1. Detroit car critic actually LIKES a hybrid! Toyota Camry Hybrid. See for yourself: Detroit News auto critic Scott Burgess, who never met a three-ton truck or big honkin’ SUV he didn’t like, actually fell for the 2009 Toyota Camry Hybrid . He doesn’t just like it—he LUVS it . What’s next, a Smart ForTwo ? 2. Hour-long waits to drive green cars at the Auto Show. Basement of Detroit’s Cobo Center, transformed into EcoXperience. As we mentioned in our Detroit Auto Show preview , the vacant basement of Cobo Hall was transformed into the EcoXperience, a 1/8-mile test track winding through waterfalls, flowers, and trees that filled the 70,000-square-foot area. Hometown crowds waited up to an hour to drive hybrid, electric, and fuel-cell cars at low speeds, with factory reps or trained drivers alongside. The only snag was the sharp, dank odor of mulch that rose onto the show floor from every basement stairwell, like a garden center with dead A/C. read more

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UK government wants £2.5 billion auto loans used for green projects

Thu, 29 Jan 2009 15:23:00 +0000

Auto Blog: Legislation and Policy , UK The UK government has promised a series of loans to automakers and suppliers in Britain that’s supposed to help them navigate the tough economic conditions that the industry now finds itself in. According to Lord Mandelson, Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform, “The actions we and the automotive industry will now be taking together will help the industry build the bridge to a greener future for the auto sector.” How so? That’s a good question, and one that doesn’t yet seem to have a conclusive answer quite yet. Loans could be used by automakers to add eco-friendly updates to aging plants or for research and development costs into new technologies. Suppliers could use the money to create new parts that automakers would use to increase efficiency. According to the Financial Times , though, it’s not likely that any companies that are looking for a piece of the loans will have a hard time finding green programs to justify the government’s investment. [Source: Financial Times ] UK government wants £2.5 billion auto loans used for green projects originally appeared on Autoblog Green on Thu, 29 Jan 2009 16:23:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Car Blog Green|Car Blog Green|Car Blog Green|Car Blog Green

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Detroit 2009: E85-powered Mustang, the HP2g, gearing up for the Auto X Prize

Fri, 23 Jan 2009 19:01:00 +0000

Auto Blog: Ethanol , Green Culture , AutoblogGreen Exclusive , Detroit Auto Show , Green Daily , Automotive X-Prize Click above for high-res gallery Down in the basement (the smelly, smelly basement ) of Cobo Hall at the Detroit Auto Show, we found Doug Pelmear and Jennifer Rodgers. They were sitting next to a car we didn’t expect to see at the show, a 1987 Mustang. Why was the car there? Because Pelmear is still promoting his claim to get 110 mpge with the car and will be participating in the Progressive Automotive X Prize. This Mustang is called the HP2g , and Pelmear told us that he and his team are gearing up for the business plan portion of the X Prize, specifically how they’d sell 10,000 units a year. The 110 mpge claim is also a bit difficult to nail down. Nowhere on the HP2g website or in the materials provided to us at the show is the number fullly explained; just that “Mileage performance verification by cross country road test in October/November, 2008.” The best we can figure, as we noted when we wrote about this car before , is that Pelmear is only talking about the petroleum portion of the E85 fuel, and is somehow counting the ethanol as free energy. That may work for the headlines, but it won’t win the AXP, which looks at all the energy that goes into the car. Still, Pelmear made it clear that he intends to win the popularity portion of the competition with his iconic ride. Good luck with that. If you’re in Detroit, the Mustang and all the other vehicles we talked about will be on display through the weekend. The show closes Sunday. Gallery: Detroit 2009: E85 Mustang Continue reading Detroit 2009: E85-powered Mustang, the HP2g, gearing up for the Auto X Prize Detroit 2009: E85-powered Mustang, the HP2g, gearing up for the Auto X Prize originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Fri, 23 Jan 2009 20:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Car Blog Green|Car Blog Green|Car Blog Green|Car Blog Green

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Dodge reportedly delays light duty diesel for Ram

Thu, 22 Jan 2009 15:52:00 +0000

Auto Blog: Diesel , Dodge Just about a month ago, Chrysler’s Frank Klegon confirmed that the light duty diesel engine for the Dodge Ram was moving towards production in 2010. Now, some reports are suggesting that the 5.0L V8 from Cummins may be delayed until 2011. With the current state of affairs in the auto industry and the recent announcement that Fiat and Chrysler were entering a strategic global alliance , we’d imagine that pretty much all of the Pentastar brand’s plans have been shaken up a bit, including this one. A little over a year ago, the future of smaller-displacement oil-burners for consumer-grade pickups was very bright, with Ford, GM and Dodge all announcing new diesel engines for their full-size trucks. Toyota and Nissan were also rumored to be matching their competitors. Since then, Ford has officially pulled the plug on its program and most of the others remain in doubt. Still, we are hoping that Dodge and GM pull through with their small diesels, which would make perfect complements to the hybrid drivetrains that are also forthcoming. [Source: PickupTrucks.com ] Dodge reportedly delays light duty diesel for Ram originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Thu, 22 Jan 2009 16:52:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Car Blog Green|Car Blog Green|Car Blog Green|Car Blog Green

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Dodge reportedly delays light duty diesel for Ram