IBxAnders, Author at Electric Vehicle Forums - Page 5 of 21

Chevrolet is harnessing the power of the sun to install solar-powered electric charging stations for its Volts at dealerships in North America. The Green Zone initiative will generate electricity equivalent to 12 full vehicle charges per day and excess electricity created will help supplement the dealership’s power needs.

Will your next vehicle get much better gas mileage than your current one? Ask most car shoppers and it’s a priority.

A new mandate formally announced this morning arguably makes it even more likely you’ll find one with significantly higher mpg. The Obama administration and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency have come to an agreement with 13 major automakers—as well as the state of California and its Air Resources Board, and the United Auto Workers (UAW)—about fuel economy. The new standard, which will eventually require a 54.5-mpg fleet average (roughly 163 grams of CO2 per mile), will effectively double the average fuel economy of U.S. vehicles by 2025.

Backed by automakers, and a big move against oil dependence

President Obama cited the rising burden of gasoline costs at a time when budgets are tight, and called the new rules “the single most important step we’ve ever taken in reducing out nation’s dependence on foreign oil.” He also argued strongly for taking oil and gas subsidies and funneling the funds toward clean-energy research and “a more balanced approach.”

According to the Administration, the new rules, which were reached without the need for legislation, will save U.S. families $1.7 trillion in fuel costs and by 2025 save an average of $8,000 per vehicle. And they’re estimated to help save 12 billion barrels of oil and save 2.2 million barrels of oil a day by the time they’re fully implemented.

There are massive greenhouse-gas reductions, too; the new rules will cut more than six million metric tons of CO2 by 2025—more than the U.S. emitted in total this past year.

The new regulations build their trajectory from existing rules that apply to model years 2012 through 2016, raising fuel efficiency to a 35.5-mpg fleet average by then—increasing the required fleet average by 3.5 percent each year for five years, then five percent per year after that.

Getting automakers and the State of California involved will also help ease worries about that state trying to enact its own more stringent regulations about fuel economy and CO2.

To achieve the gains, it’s likely that we won’t see automakers relying broadly on any single technological developments or powertrain types; rather they’ll be applying a portfolio of strategies like hybrids, plug-ins, pure electric vehicles, and range-extended electric vehicles.

There’s a mid-term evaluation built into the program, in which agencies will be able to evaluate how well the national framework is working—and how well automakers are keeping up. Some environmental groups are already calling foul that this could be a launch point for automakers to stall the incremental improvements, as happened in the 1980s and 1990s.

But can Americans afford higher vehicle prices?

While the new rules might save thousands in fuel costs over the life of the vehicle, they introduce one significant concern, however, and that’s new vehicle prices. The Center for Automotive Research (CAR) has estimated that it’ll cost an average of $6,700 per vehicle, though that includes the higher cost of electric vehicles. Other estimates place the cost in the range of $1,500 to $2,500 per vehicle, with much of that cost going to the lighter materials and more advanced technologies required.

“If car and truck buyers cannot or are not willing to pay for these new vehicles, there will be little to no environmental benefit, serious ramifications for American workers, and a negative impact on the economy,” said the National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA), which noted that it is still analyzing how the standard will affect the market.

According to an official White House press release, the 13 automakers represent together more than 90 percent of the vehicles sold in the U.S.

And while a number of automakers released statements supporting the new regulations, several German automakers said otherwise. “The proposal encourages manufacturers and customers to shift toward larger, less efficient vehicles, defeating the goal of reduced greenhouse gas emissions,” said Volkswagen Group of America communications chief Tony Cervone, who also remarked that the new rules have no consideration for the impact of clean diesels.

Some other analysts and experts pointed to gains in fuel-efficiency and questioned whether diesels are a better way to accomplish these gains. Diesel car sales are definitely up, several automakers have recently announced plans to offer new diesel models (such as in the 2013 Chevrolet Cruze as well as some 2013 Mazda models. And J.D. Power forecasts that diesels will make up 7.4 percent of the vehicle market by 2017.

After the U.S. cleaned up its passenger-car diesel fuel (by greatly reducing sulfur content) several years ago, many insiders expected the market for diesels to open up rapidly. It hasn’t, and some automakers (like Honda and Subaru) have actually reversed plans to put diesels in the mix.

CAFE bell curve yet to be announced

While the EPA has set a trajectory for fuel economy, it hasn’t yet set the specifics of how the fleet-average numbers will be calculated. To help level the playing ground for full-line manufacturers who still might want to offer bigger vehicles, pickups, and sports cars, current incentives give automakers a significant boost from vehicles that run on ethanol blends. With those incentives almost certainly going to the wayside, new incentives are expected for more efficient air conditioners, electric vehicles, and perhaps hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles. Automakers would also be allowed to bank CAFE credits that they’ve earned under the 2010 through 2016 regulations all the way through model-year 2021.

The other issue is that the new regulations are likely to equate even less to real-world fuel efficiency than they do now. An analysis from the Union of Concerned Scientists suggests that we might be paddling backwards in allowing so many credits and incentives—and in counting electric vehicles, like the Nissan Leaf, the way we do. Their calculations find that by 2025, the true average on-the-road fuel economy (when they anticipared a 62-mpg CAFE) would only be about 39 mpg—making the promised 54.5-mpg feel a little bit like vaporware.

[WhiteHouse.gov, Washington Post, CNN Money]

This story originally appeared at The Car Connecti

The BMW Group showcased its visions of future mobility in the shape of the BMW i3 Concept and BMW i8 Concept studies. Unveiled for the first time, these concept vehicles provide a glimpse of the first electrically powered production cars from the new BMW i sub-brand, due to be launched as the BMW i3 in […] More »

When two industry leaders shake hands, you know the outcome of the agreement is going to be pretty spectacular. So, when Azure Dynamics – which develops and produces hybrid electric and electric components and powertrain systems for commercial vehicles – and Ford shook on it, the result was that Azure would integrate its proprietary plug-in […] More »

Content courtesy of CarsDirect Toyota’s exciting new Prius Plug-In will be hitting dealership floors soon, and a few more concrete official details have come in by way of a report from Bloomberg News. The Plug-In ditches the standard Toyota Prius’s small nickel-metal hydride battery pack for a beefier, heavier lithium-ion unit, giving the ability to […] More »

The all-new 2012 Scion iQ minicar, for which we’ve just posted full driving impressions over at The Car Connection, starts at around $16K and earns an EPA-rated 36 mpg city, 37 highway, and a combined figure of 37 mpg.

But with so many vehicles now on the market that can get 40 mpg on the highway or more—the Hyundai Elantra, Hyundai Accent, Chevrolet Cruze, and Ford Fiesta are just a few—many American shoppers will simply look over those figures and then move on to another, larger model. Why not opt for a larger vehicle if you can, if it costs about the same and gets almost the same mileage?

It’s a good, very American question, and while we only saw a few cursory thumbs-up for the iQ in a drive that took us through some of the more hurried sections of San Francisco, when we drove a 2011 Smart Fortwo just a few weeks ago we were repeatedly met with comments and amazement that this 6′-6″ driver could fit so well and comfortably—then met with with equal surprise and disappointment when we told them the three-cylinder ForTwo‘s mileage (33 city, 41 highway, 36 combined).

If you get a car that small, it must get 60 or 70 mpg, they reasoned.

That’s simply not the case. But while that 36-mpg city rating seems pretty impressive to us, we agree that the iQ loses its fuel-stingy luster at higher speeds.

From our test-drive observations, here are some remarks on why the iQ is thirstier on the highway than you might think:

A relatively short top gear. The iQ has a fuel-efficient continuously variable automatic transmission (CVT) that isn’t nearly as much fun as a manual gearbox would be, but it helps maximize fuel economy, especially around town, by bringing down revs whenever you don’t need the power. But iQ feels geared for lower Japanese motorway speeds, not a 75- or 80-mph California or Michigan expressway cruise. Even at around 70 mph in the iQ, we saw revs close to the 4,000-rpm mark. And just bringing down revs helps a lot; for instance, in the all-new, larger 2012 Versa, Nissan (in addition to some engine improvements) added a new planetary-gear assembly (engaged through a torque converter) to enable a taller top gear. Based on our drive last week, it works for higher gas mileage (38 mpg highway is claimed there, too), but with a taller top gear, CVT responsiveness could actually take a turn for the worse.

Just as much surface area to push. While the iQ is only 120.1 inches long (yep, just ten feet), it’s taller (59.1 inches) than the Corolla about as wide (66.1 in.) as the Yaris. Compared to the likes of the Fortwo, it’s a difference we can feel, with far more elbow room between driver and passenger, but you pay for it aerodynamically as you’re pushing just as much surface area through the air as in a much bigger, heavier vehicle. And while the iQ’s coefficient of drag is a respectable 0.31, its tall profile and lack of length actually conspire to introduce more drag-inducing turbulence in back at higher speeds.

Sticky rubber. The iQ doesn’t opt for fuel-saving low-rolling-resistance tires; instead it’s shod with good all-weather Goodyear Assurance tires that give the iQ a confident feel around town, as well as enough grip to make the most of the well-tuned chassis and the iQ’s 2,100 curb weight out on curvy roads. If Scion decided to adopt a greener tire choice, they could probably recoup a mile or two per gallon.

For those who love the iQ package but can’t quite reason past the mileage, there’s a new electric version in the works. At a drive event for the gasoline iQ, officials could only verify that development and testing of the iQ EV is moving ahead as the company’s first in-house EV—and we expect some to be available next year for test fleets but not general public consumption.

We have a feeling the Scion iQ going to be a tough sell for Americans, outside of a few select places like Manhattan or Boston, where space is scarce and having a vehicle that fits into a very compact spot would be advantageous. But as we conclude in our drive, with just a short stint behind the wheel you’ll probably find that the iQ is a lot more charming than many other econocar choices.

See the full first drive report on the 2012 Scion iQ over at The Car Connection, and stay tuned for updates on the electric iQ.

+++++++++++

Follow GreenCarReports on Facebook and Twitter.

This story originally appeared at Green Car Repor

Content Courtesy of Pricing Insider Technology leader CNET.com is also known for some pretty good insight into the auto industry. Using official EPA mpg numbers as a starting point, CNET’s Wayne Cunningham recently pitted the top fuel-efficient cars against each other in a battle for eco car supremacy. Continue past the jump to read the […] More »