Category Archives: fuel economy or emissions

Tesla Motors Delivers First Model S EVs at $100,000

Tesla Motors delivered its first electric Model S sedan over the weekend at its factory in Fremont, California. The financially challenged company – it has never earned a profit – says it will build 5,000 electric vehicles by the end of 2012, followed by 20,000 cars in 2013. Tesla claims it has already received more than 10,000 reservations worldwide for Model S. Continue reading

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Diesel to Comprise More than 12% of Global Sales by 2018

A new report claims that rising fuel prices and stronger fuel economy regulations will increase demand for diesel vehicles in markets around the world. Sales of diesel vehicles will increase from 9.1 million in 2012 to 12.1 million annually by 2018, with diesels representing 12.4% of all light vehicle sales by the end of that period. Continue reading

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New 2013 Ford Escape Enters Production in Louisville Plant

The upgraded plant is in theory capable of making up to six different vehicles at the same time, thus it is Ford’s most flexible U.S. plant. Louisville is also one of 11 Ford facilities in the U.S. that is participating in the Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing Loan Program – in Ford’s case almost $6 billion total – initiated by Congress under the Obama administration, which also put $80 billion into other auto bailouts, including the forced and politically contentious bankruptcies of Chrysler and GM. Continue reading

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Honda Fit EV Rated by the EPA at 118 MPGe, the Highest Ever

The Fit EV’s 20-kWh lithium-ion battery provides the capacity to earn an EPA combined city/highway estimated driving range of 82-miles, meaning the Fit EV on paper and in press releases surpasses the EPA efficiency and range ratings of the Ford Focus Electric (105 MPGe, 76-mile range), Nissan Leaf (99 MPGe, 73-mile range), and Mitsubishi i-MiEV (112 MPGe, 62-mile range). Honda recently settled a class action lawsuit that said in effect that it had overrated the mileage on the Civic hybrid. Continue reading

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Ford C-Max Hybrid Priced $1,000 Less than Prius V

Ford Motor Company said today that the 2013 Ford C-Max compact hybrid utility vehicle will be available this fall with a base price of $25,995 – more than $1,000 lower than the Toyota Prius v’s base price. Whether this makes any sales difference in the marketplace against the formidable Prius lineup remains to be seen. Continue reading

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Study Claims E15 Ethanol Gas Will Damage New Car Engines

At the heart of the controversy are the costs of installing E15 pumps at gas stations, which already are selling fuel with E10, as well as warranty costs at automakers, where typically powertrains are now covered for 100,000 miles. The problem for automakers and consumers comes from a regulation that applies to existing vehicles on the road, instead of a phase-in for future vehicles. While automakers are now building some vehicles that can safely run of blends containing up to 85% ethanol, CRC said the decision to move to E15 was “premature and irresponsible,” since millions of existing auto engines cannot. Continue reading

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Mercedes Predictive Cruise Control Uses GPS to Save Fuel

As the first GPS-based cruise control system, what the German truck making giant calls Predictive Powertrain Control intervenes to control speed, braking, and can now also regulate the transmission where it perform a single or double downshift of gears ahead of time when fitting. Continue reading

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EPA Drops Gas Station Vapor Recovery Regulation

In an election year where all federal agencies are incorporating political talking points from the ruling party into their releases, EPA claimed this final rule is part of the Obama Administration’s initiative to ensure that regulations protect public health and the environment without being unnecessarily burdensome to American businesses. Significantly, no health or environmental effect data were provided in the EPA release. Continue reading

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Toyota to Boost 4-Cylinder Engine Capacity in Kentucky

The additional capacity will result in only 80 new jobs since engine plants are highly automated, and require few skilled workers to monitor the computerized processes that do much of the work. Continue reading

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SAE 2012 World Congress Opens in Detroit Tomorrow

Engineers who are developing the next generation of vehicle technologies, will make sober assessments of where they actually are in increasing fuel economy, decreasing emissions and combating global warming, as opposed to the sometimes farcical claims in gushing press releases from politicians and automaker p.r. departments. Continue reading

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Earth Day Milestones – History of Auto Air Pollution Regs

As we celebrate Earth Day here’s a list of important dates in the fight against automotive or so-called mobile source air pollution. In 1970, Congress passes the first major Clean Air Act, requiring a 90% reduction in emissions from new automobiles by 1975. Congress also establishes the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), giving it broad responsibility for regulating motor vehicle pollution. Continue reading

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EPA Releases 2010 U.S. Greenhouse Gas Inventory

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency released today the 17th annual U.S. greenhouse gas inventory. The final report shows overall emissions in 2010 increased by 3.2% from the previous year because the economy expanded slightly. In addition, a factor was an … Continue reading

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U.S. Fuel Consumption Drops in Q1 as High Prices Hurt

Total U.S. liquid fuels consumption fell by an estimated 850,000 bbl/d (4.5%) in the first quarter of 2012 from the same period last year, the Energy Information Agency announced this afternoon. However, hard-pressed consumers did not see that drop in demand reflected in the price of fuel since the energy markets do not always follow academic economic theory.
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Gasoline Prices not Shifting Buyers to Small Cars

With U.S. gasoline prices up more than 25 cents compared to a year ago to a national average of $3.94 a gallon, a new survey claims that SUVs remain the first choice among potential buyers as their vehicle replacement choice. Continue reading

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Ford Fusion Start-Stop System is Optional at $295

The Fusion and the smaller Focus are aimed right at the heart of the passenger car market long dominated by the Japanese Three – Toyota, Nissan and Honda – whose compact and mid-size models – Camry, Corolla, Accord, Civic, Altima -historically provide a lower cost of ownership. Recently Hyundai has made large inroads in the same so-called D- and C-car segments by under pricing major competitors by $1,000 or more. Continue reading

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