UPS deploys 300 CNG trucks in four states, now has 800 worldwide
UPS has announced the deployment of 300 new CNG-powered trucks in North America. The trucks have been deployed over the past month to Denver (43 units); Atlanta (46); Oklahoma City (100), and four cities in California: Sacramento (21), San Ramon (63), Los Angeles (9) and Ontario (18). This gives UPS a total of 800 vehicles across the company’s worldwide fleet that burn natural gas out of a total of 1,819 UPS vehicles that use alternative fuels. The alt-energy sources include CNG, liquefied natural gas, propane, electric and hybrid electric vehicles in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Germany (pictured), France, Brazil, Chile, Korea and the United Kingdom. These 300 vans were not converted vehicles but designed to be CNG-capable from the start. [Source: NGV ] Auto Blog: Natural Gas , USA UPS deploys 300 CNG trucks in four states, now has 800 worldwide originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Thu, 05 Mar 2009 07:50:00 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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UPS deploys 300 CNG trucks in four states, now has 800 worldwide
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Leave a commentCanada wants North American fuel efficiency standard
Canada’s Environment Minister Jim Prentice believes that there should be a single fuel efficiency standard for all countries in North America. He says, “At this point in the United States, it would appear as though they are headed toward a 35 mile a gallon standard by 2020 and that would start to come into effect in the 2011 model year. We’ve essentially been prepared to go in that same direction.” That 35 mpg standard is good enough for Canada if it’s good enough for the United States, right? It makes sense for automakers that sell their products across all of North America, especially to the U.S. domestic manufacturers that build hundreds of thousands of cars in Canada and Mexico each year. It’s not perfect, though, as California is moving to create its own fuel economy standards under the guise of greenhouse gas emissions regulations. “The first thing that has to happen, however, is that the United States has to land with their own domestic policy. It’s by no means clear how this will emerge from Congress over the course of the next year,” Prentice said. [Source: Reuters | Image: AlexCovarrubias C.C. 2.5] Auto Blog: MPG , Legislation and Policy , Green Daily , North America , USA Canada wants North American fuel efficiency standard originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Wed, 04 Mar 2009 16:44:00 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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Canada wants North American fuel efficiency standard
Posted in Auto Green | a-friend-via, america, green-daily, image, mahindrasaturn, mexico, north, north-america, northamerica, post, saturndealerships, united, united-states, usa, worked-on-the | Leave a comment100,000 Apteras in 5 years?
It appears that a sizable chunk of the 32.7 million electric vehicles predicted to be roaming the streets in that report we told you about will be built by Aptera . 100,000 of them to be exact. That is, if the company’s ambitious goals are reached. In their latest newsletter , the number was slipped in alongside mention of 1,500 jobs they plan on creating in that same time span. With a pool of customers over 4,000 deep, months before the first one hits the road, and a 4-wheeled sedan on the way as well, these targets may seem a little high-reaching but doable. This latest dispatch is more content rich than those in the past and contains links to some of the press attention they’ve gotten since their high-profile TED appearance . It also reveals an expanded web presence. Yes, the flightless ones are now Twittering away about everything Aptera and even fielding some questions. Look back over their past tweets and find links to pics of their appearance at the Desert Classic Concours d’Elegance or learn what one of these birds looks like in colors other than white. Enjoy. Gallery: Aptera 2e at TED [Source: Aptera ] Auto Blog: EV/Plug-in , Aptera , USA 100,000 Apteras in 5 years? originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Wed, 04 Mar 2009 15:54:00 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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Posted in Auto Green | a-friend-via, green-daily, mahindrasaturn, north, press, saturndealerships, united, usa | Leave a commentNaysayers alert: cost of diesel drops below premium gas
At least one barrier to diesel ownership may be falling by the wayside now that the average price for a gallon of diesel fuel has dropped below that of premium gasoline in the United States. According to the Energy Information Administration of the U.S. government, the average price of diesel fuel in this country on February 16th was $2.18. By way of comparison, the average gallon of premium gas: $2.19. Of course, even that isn’t an apples-to-apples comparison because a gallon of diesel fuel contains more potential energy than a gallon of gasoline. Add in the fact that internal combustion engines running on diesel fuel are more efficient than their gas-powered counterparts, and diesel starts making even more sense. Still, it’s not all rosy for diesel engines in America. There are many ways to measure emissions, and in some cases, diesels aren’t so clean. Specifically, oil-burners exhaust higher levels of nitrogen oxides and sulfur oxides along with particulate matter (soot) in the form of unburned carbon compounds. All of these issues can be mitigated somewhat, but that costs money. Still, diesel (including biodiesel) is an alternative that is looking more and more practical as time marches on. [Source: Energy Information Administration via The Car Connection ] Auto Blog: Diesel , Green Daily , USA Naysayers alert: cost of diesel drops below premium gas originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Fri, 20 Feb 2009 16:18:00 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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Naysayers alert: cost of diesel drops below premium gas
Posted in Auto Green, Biodiesel | Biodiesel, daily, diesel, diesel-fuel, dieselfuel, dieselprices, nitrogen-oxides, the-average, united | Leave a commentVIDEO: New charging post juices old electric GMC van
Click above and scroll down to watch the video While perhaps not as spectacular as San Francisco getting a fancy Smartlet charging station in front of City Hall , the addition of two charging posts at Truckee Meadows Community College in Northern Nevada are a welcome addition to the nations slowly-growing charging infrastructure. The posts, which use a traditional parking meter interface and ask for only 10 cents an hour, are getting put to good use, as we learned from a bit of video by the local NBC affiliate, KRNV. As interesting as the posts were, the station found one of the vehicles regularly using them was just as interesting: a 1991 GMC Van. Around the time GM was refining the Impact prototype that would go on to become the EV1 , some GMC vans were built with an electric drivetrain for the Department of Defense, according to the vehicle’s owner (Southern California Edison got some too). Able to go 70 miles on a charge, the vehicle requires little maintenance and its driver seems very happy with his old EV ride. If you are thinking that you’d like a van like this yourself, you may be in luck. A nice looking 1989 copy is listed on the EV Album by someone who says, “I’m considering selling this, contact me with offer.” If that doesn’t pan out and you’re good with a wrench, there’s another in need of extreme TLC on eBay for the next few days. Video after the jump. [Source: YouTube / eBay / EV Album ] Continue reading VIDEO: New charging post juices old electric GMC van Auto Blog: EV/Plug-in , GMC , Green Daily , USA VIDEO: New charging post juices old electric GMC van originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Fri, 20 Feb 2009 15:37:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds .Car Blog Green | Car Blog Green | Car Blog Green
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Posted in Auto Green | charging, chargingstation, daily, department, diesel, electricgmcvan, local, nitrogen-oxides, the-average, time, united, vehicle, video | Leave a commentBetter Late than Oily: America will have to wait for diesel MINI
Auto Blog: Diesel , MINI Click above for a hi-res gallery of the MINI Cooper D in the ABG Garage While the new electric MINI E is proving even more popular than expected and the Cooper D continues to sell big across the pond, MINI has been contemplating bringing the diesel hatch Stateside. However, the current diesel in the Cooper D, which AutoblogGreen drove last summer, isn’t deemed clean enough for U.S. emissions regulations. While previous reports suggested a modified version of the current Cooper D could make the trip across the Atlantic to the land of heavily-taxed diesel fuel, company spokesmen now say it could have to wait until a next-generation clean-burning diesel can be developed for the MINI. Although the artificially high price of diesel in the United States has prevented oil-burning vehicles from taking the lead here, MINI points out that the price difference between the premium gasoline their vehicles require and ordinary diesel is actually quite a bit more manageable. Add to that equation the 60 miles per gallon a diesel MINI being tested by Bosch here in the good old U S of A gets and a diesel Cooper is making more sense by the minute. Gallery: ABG Garage: 2008 MINI Cooper D [Source: USA Today via Kicking Tires ] Better Late than Oily: America will have to wait for diesel MINI originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Tue, 10 Feb 2009 18:23:00 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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Better Late than Oily: America will have to wait for diesel MINI
Posted in Auto Green | a-will-have, across-the-pond, cooper, current, dieselmini, kicking-tires, mini, price, taking-the-lead, united, united-states | Leave a comment2008 Petroleum demand sinks to 2003 levels
Auto Blog: Etc. For the last several years, as the economies of countries like India, China and Brazil have boomed, projections of worldwide energy demand have indicated an increase of 70 percent over the next two decades. That demand curve hit a big speed bump in the United States in 2008 as prices for oil spiked, and were then followed by the global economy tanking in the second half of the year. Demand for petroleum products in particular had the biggest drop since 1980, falling six percent to just 19.4 million barrels a day. That’s the lowest demand in this country since 2003. Domestic oil production also hit its lowest level since 1946, as Gulf of Mexico supplies were disrupted by hurricanes and Alaskan production declined as well. Imports of both crude oil and finished products like gasoline also dropped by 2.2 and 10.6 percent respectively. This downward trend is likely to continue for at least the next year or two as global trade declines. Once the economy recovers, the upward trend will probably resume – at least for the next decade when alternatives (should) really start to take hold. [Source: American Petroleum Institute ] 2008 Petroleum demand sinks to 2003 levels originally appeared on Autoblog Green on Sun, 01 Feb 2009 14:58:00 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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2008 Petroleum demand sinks to 2003 levels
Posted in Auto Green | 2008-as-prices, a-big-speed, brazil, country, economies, entry, green, least-the-next, mexico, probably-resume, united, united-states, us petroleum demand | Leave a commentDenso to create plastic parts from castor oil
Auto Blog: Etc. Many people likely think of castor oil as a medicinal product, and, according to the Food and Drive Administration, it is in fact effective as an over-the-counter laxative. Yum! Auto parts supplier Denso has found another use for the oil that comes from the castor bean: construction of certain plastic components. Specifically, the first castor oil plastic product to roll out of Denso’s Japanese labs is as a radiator tank. We suspect that Toyota is the first automaker that will feature the tanks, considering the long relationship the two companies have enjoyed over the years. Not only is the castor oil resin more environmentally friendly, it’s actually more resistant to corrosion from road salt (common in much of the United States where the new tanks will be sent). The new biomaterial will be used in the future as an alternative to plastics that are derived from petroleum such as polypropylene, polyamide and polybutylene terephthalate. [Source: Automotive News - sub. req'd] Denso to create plastic parts from castor oil originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Tue, 27 Jan 2009 10:18:00 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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Top 20 efficient European gasoline-powered compact sedans
Auto Blog: Etc. , Europe/EU , Germany What?!? A list of European cars that does not include diesels? Crazy? Of course not. Although gasoline vehicles in Europe suffer from tough diesel competition, automakers still build them and are able to find plenty of buyers. While sales of compact sedans have taken a hit in recent years – replaced by sales of compact minivans and sport utes as the kings of family hauling – there’s nothing like a classic sedan to enjoy your on the Autobahn or autoroute (hopefully sans péage ). For your perusal, we found a list of available cars that are as efficient as possible. Check it out after the jump. [Source: Auto-News ] Continue reading Top 20 efficient European gasoline-powered compact sedans Top 20 efficient European gasoline-powered compact sedans originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Tue, 27 Jan 2009 09:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds .Car Blog Green|Car Blog Green|Car Blog Green
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Posted in Auto Green | a-5-door-hatch, after-the-jump, castor oil plastic, entry, european, fiatpanda, first, gasolinesedan, japanese, sedan, top20, united, united-states | Leave a commentAsk and you shall receive: Fiat 500 to U.S. in 2010?
Auto Blog: Fiat , USA Click above for a high-res gallery of the Fiat 500 Could it be? Is the United States going to get access to the spunky Fiat 500 that we’ve been so anxiously waiting for ? Sounds like a distinct possibility, at least according to Motor Trend , which claims to have it on good authority that the Italian automaker is eying a potential sale date in 2010 for its little city car. Before that can take place, the 500′s cute-as-a-button front end needs a slight redesign in order to meet with the approval of the Feds for safety purposes. Hopefully, the change would be subtle. Unfortunately for Canadians, they’re likely going to miss out due to the cost of modifying the 500 to meet Canadian crash test requirements. The rumor continues that the Fiat 500 would share space in U.S. Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep showrooms, offering an already established distribution chain, which is exactly what the Italian automaker has been missing. Fiat’s 100-horsepower 1.4 16-valve four cylinder powerplant is reportedly the engine that’s being considered for American shores. A turbocharged Abarth couldn’t be too far behind, could it? Gallery: Fiat 500 outdoors [Source: Motor Trend ] Ask and you shall receive: Fiat 500 to U.S. in 2010? originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Thu, 22 Jan 2009 14:29:00 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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Ask and you shall receive: Fiat 500 to U.S. in 2010?
Posted in Auto Green | a-friend-via, entry, EV Plug in, fiat, fiat 500, fiat 500 abarth, fiat500unitedstates, fiat500usa, italian, motor-trend, price increases, tesla-model-s, united | Leave a commentGet Approved!
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