e-Trade

Filed under: EV/Plug-in, Lotus, Zap

The Malaysian government has given the green light to national car maker Proton to begin “in-depth validation and testing” of electric cars. The announcement came after the Cabinet Committee on Inflation received a briefing on the role e-cars can have in reducing the consumption of petrol and diesel. Prime minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, who seemed to be completely behind the idea, expressed hope that commercialization of the project could begin in a years time. As part of the announcement, the politician went for a ride in an electric Lotus Elise converted and supplied by Dutch company, Electric Cars Europe (ECE). Interestingly, Detroit Electric was named, along with PRO Dis-T, as one of the companies that Proton would be working with to “fine-tune” the car. In a somewhat convoluted web of alliances, Detroit Electric is a joint venture between Chinese firm, Youngman Automotive Group and ZAP! which is headed by Albert Lam, formerly of Lotus, which is owned by Proton. Youngman currently rebadges the Proton GEN2 as the Europestar RCR for the Chinese market. Also, Electric Cars Europe, as we recently informed you, has plans to bring ZAP/Detroit Electric vehicles, including the famous Alias, to the European market. It wasn’t stated which model Proton would be initially using for the project but the ECE website shows the Savvy (pictured above) as one of the models it has targeted for production in 2009. We await further announcements to make the room stop spinning.

[Source: The New Straits Times / PaulTan.org]

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: EV/Plug-in, Green Culture, Hybrid, Legislation and Policy, Green Daily, USA

According to James Ray, Acting Administrator of the Federal Highway Administration, the current system of deriving money for the upkeep of the nations roadways is “unpredictable and unsustainable.” He adds, “Without a doubt, our federal approach to transportation is broken, and no amount of tweaking, adjusting or adding new layers on top will make things better.” This view is understandable in the wake of record high gas prices, which are causing consumers to drive less and therefore produce less revenue from the gas tax. Ray has some suggestions to alleviate some of the problem, including paying a fee based on mileage driven, an increase in alternative transportation methods and incentives to drive during off-peak hours.

Hybrids, electric cars and other fuel-saving technology will further cause a dent in the FHA’s pocketbook. In any case, Ray does not plan to increase the gas tax. In fact, the gas tax could be dropped completely in favor of a completely new system, one “more agile and responsive than the current gas tax.” We’ll keep our ears to the ground.

[Source: The Detroit News / Photo: splorp - Licensed under CC 2.0]

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: MPG, Porsche

From track to road and back to track again. That is the path for gasoline direct fuel injection. In the late 90s Audi added direct injection to its R8 Le Mans prototype in order to get more power while consuming less fuel. In racing reducing fuel consumption is important because it allows cars to run farther between pit stops spending more time on the track. Direct injection eventually migrated into most of Audi’s production engines along with those from parent company Volkswagen. After adding direct injection to the Cayenne GTS and 2009 911, Porsche is now migrating that same technology back to its own race program. The Porsche RS Spyders debuted a new direct injected version of the 3.4L V8 two weeks ago at Mid-Ohio and won the LMP2 class. The output of the DI engine went from 476 hp to 503 hp while fuel consumption dropped. Porsche is not saying how much it went down, but they are evidently still developing the system and optimizing it. For example the engines now run extremely lean under light loads greatly reducing consumption in a manner that would not be possible with a port fuel injection system. In coming years we will be seeing virtually all gas engines migrating to direct injection.

[Source: Porsche]

Continue reading Porsche ALMS race engine to go direct injection

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: MPG, Cadillac

With everyone else working on downsized engines to deal with rising (in spite of the current respite) fuel costs, one brand who hasn’t said anything is Cadillac. One model in the lineup that would be ripe for the treatment is the CTS. For all the praise the model has earned since its debut last year, one problem it has is mass, as in too much of it. GM has already indicated that they are open to the possibility of using the 2.0L direct injected turbo four cylinder from the Solstice GXP in the Camaro, and the CTS would be another prime candidate. The four cylinder has as much power and more torque than the base 3.6L V6 in the CTS. The four cylinder would be more efficient and probably weigh less than the V6 to boot. Whether this combination ever appears will depend on whether American consumers start to show a desire for smaller engines in premium cars. At the dedication of GM’s new powertrain engineering center last week EVP Tom Stephens told AutoObserver that the company is watching the market and will respond with appropriate engines from its lineup.

[Source: AutoObserver, Image (C)2008 John Neff]

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: Biodiesel, Etc., Ethanol, EV/Plug-in, Transportation Alternatives, Legislation and Policy, On Two Wheels, Green Daily, European Union

Spain’s Minister of Industry and Energy, Miguel Sebastián, has introduced a set of measures to save energy, most of which affect cars and the way they’re driven. These are expected to save 43 to 47 million barrels from being imported into Spain by 2011, not only for economic reasons but also because the country is becoming one of Europe’s most polluting. Regarding transport, the measures are as follows:

• Stimulating the introduction and production of electric vehicles (he’s surely heard Mr. Brown).
• The administration will only be able to purchase energy-efficient vehicles.
• All public vehicles to use 20-percent biofuel by 2009.
• Instead of a global requirement for biofuel blending, the total amount of biofuel to be used in 2010 is set be 5.83 percent.
• A plan to renew cars older than 15 years.
• Reduce speeds around cities by 20 percent. This is has been tested in Barcelona (and Rotterdam) for a while, and it’s been discussed for the U. S as well.
• A massive advertising campaign on fuel-efficient driving, including fuel-saving questions for drivers’ license tests.
• Investment in “sustainable urban mobility.”
• Stimulating the use of bicycles in urban and suburban environments.
• Conditioning the nation’s subsides on mass transit according to environmental parameters. For instance, no private companies in charge of bus lines will get money if they use old vehicles.
• All commuter train, subway and light railway lines to have complete cell phone coverage.
• Having all mass transit working on weekends and weekend nights
• Creating exclusive HOV lanes for public transport on highways.
• Creating and modifying bus lines adapted to commuting needs, so workers do not rely on private cars to go to work.
• Allowing the use of defense air reserved areas for commercial airplanes to reduce route distance.

So far it seems like a long wish list. What I’m not sure about is how effective they will become. What do you think?

[Source: 20 minutos]

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments