We Obsessively Cover the Green Scene…

Are you a U.S. automaker? Do you want a billion dollars? Have we got a deal for you! Just build 60,000 cars that get 100 miles per gallon and the government will send a truckload of cash to your office doors (or, perhaps, mail a check).

H.R. 3872 – the Excellence in Energy Efficiency Act of 2012 – was just introduced by Representative Dan Lungren (R) of California's 3rd Congressional District. If passed, the legislation would have the Secretary of Energy "establish a program to award a prize in the amount of $1,000,000,000 to the first automobile manufacturer incorporated in the United States to manufacture and sell in the United States 60,000 mid-sized sedan automobiles which operate on gasoline and can travel 100 miles per gallon."

That's right, no cheating with subcompacts toys or fancy all-electrics, it's for adult-sized gasoline burners only, baby! It's unclear whether plug-in hybrids such as the Chevy Volt or upcoming Ford Fusion Energi might be eligible, but we doubt it since OpenCongress says the subtitle is "To provide a prize to the first manufacturer of highly-efficient mid-sized automobiles powered by gasoline" and the Volt already comes in at 93 MPGe.

While established automakers couldn't be lured in by the measly $1 million offered by the Progressive X-Prize, we're sure they'd be more than happy to accept a check with the big B on it. The question this proposed law begs, though, is would they make an extra effort to achieve this sort of sky-high efficiency goal under other circumstances?

What impact will the "over-compliance" rule – some would say loophole – in the California Air Resources Board's recent changes to the Zero-Emission Vehicle (ZEV) Mandate have? The short and obvious answer is that only time will tell, but one can make the case both that it's a good thing and that it's a bad thing. Odd, but true.

Before we get too far into this, a primer on the ZEV Mandate changes and what the over-compliance rule actually is is important. The basic idea is that CARB wants to reduce the amount of CO2 and other pollutants in the air that come from transportation. Zero-emission vehicles – whether they be plug-in or hydrogen powered – will do this, so CARB decided that at least 15.4 percent of all the cars sold by a major automaker in California needs to be either an EV, a plug-in hybrid or a hydrogen fuel cell vehcile by 2025. To go along with this new rule, some automakers asked for – and got – an over-compliance rule that will "allow manufacturers who systematically over comply with the proposed LEV III GHG fleet standard to offset a portion of their ZEV requirement in 2018 through 2021 model years only."

Some argue that the over-compliance rule will lead to a smaller environmental benefit from ZEVs because, quite simply, there will be fewer ZEVs on the roads than there would be without the rule. This is true. It's also true, as others will argue, that what matters most is lowering the amount of nasty pollutants and emissions from the air, so who cares if this happens because there is a true ZEV driving around or a much-improved (read: cleaner) gas-powered car that emits fewer greenhouse gases than today's vehicles?

We didn't want to try and answer that question. But we did think it made sense to try and capture the landscape of the recent battle over the rule, and so we asked some of the involved automakers and other concerned parties for their opinions. We put together a list of responses after the jump.

Perhaps the the "c" in the Prius C stands for ka-ching. According to reports, Toyota in Japan received 10 times its monthly sales target in pre-orders for the compact version of its Prius hybrid within the first five days of the model's debut, leading to what's likely to be a shortage and long wait times for the car.

HybridCars.com, citing the Japanese publication Nikkei, says the Japanese automaker received about 120,000 orders for the Aqua between December 26 and 31, adding that Toyota had targeted sales of about 12,000 units a month. Toyota had already received about 60,000 orders prior to the launch of the model, which will be called the Prius C when it debuts in the U.S. later this year, and had estimated a four-month wait time between order and delivery. Toyota's current production capacity is limited to 30,000 Prius C units a month.

The glut of pre-orders is likely to create yet another supply shortage situation for Toyota, whose production of the Prius and other models was hampered by the earthquake and tsunami that struck Japan last March. This led, in part, to Toyota's U.S. Prius sales falling 3.2 percent last year, though last month's sales were up 8.7 percent from a year earlier.

The Prius C, whose fuel economy is estimated at about 50 miles per gallon, is scheduled to start sales in the U.S. in March and will be priced at just under $19,000. Toyota also started recently started selling the Prius V wagon – which is also incredibly popular so far – and will debut a plug-in hybrid version of the Prius this year.

Toyota has boosted the miles-per-gallon-equivalent (MPGe) ratings for the Prius Plug-in hybrid-electric that it plans to debut in the U.S. next month. The Japanese automaker now estimates that the car will get 95 MPGe in its all-electric mode, up from its prior estimate of 87 MPGe, according to Toyota Division Group Vice President Bob Carter and cited by multiple media outlets.

Once the plug-in goes through its 15-mile all-electric range, the car will get 50 miles per gallon from its hybrid-electric powertrain, up from Toyota's prior estimate of 49 MPG.

By comparison, the most fuel-efficient car sold in the U.S. is the Mitsubishi i battery-electric vehicle, which gets an EPA-rated 112 MPGe. The Nissan Leaf battery-electric gets 99 MPGe while the Chevrolet Volt extended-range plug-in is rated at 60 MPGe.

Toyota initially estimated fuel-economy figures north of 100 MPGe when unveiling the car at the Frankfurt Motor Show last September. AutoblogGreen reviewed the car here.

Italian automaker Fiat SpA missed a chance to benefit from growing global interest in electric-drive vehicles by giving up on some of its advanced-powertrain development efforts in favor of trying to develop more fuel-efficient internal combustion engines. That's the feeling of Corrado Clini, a member of Italy's Ministry of the Environment, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Clini said that Fiat's hybrid-electric Multipla, which was developed in the 1990s but has long been shelved, "was more sophisticated than the Toyota Prius," and that Fiat's Magneti Marelli division was not being sufficiently utilized in the development of electric-drive components, the Journal reported.

Fiat's electric-vehicle efforts have been limited to development work on an battery-electric powered Fiat 500. While this car was never released, a specially converted 500 EV was notoriously owned by deceased Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi. Fiat's sister company Chrysler displayed a battery-powered 500 at the 2010 Detroit Auto Show, and has said that a production model may be ready for the 2013 model year.

Fiat-Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne once estimated that his company will lose $10,000 on each Fiat 500 EV sold. He also conceded in an interview with Automotive News last fall that Chrysler will need to make hybrid vehicles in order to meet progressively more stringent greenhouse-gas emissions standards in the U.S.

It's been a couple years since we first saw the Boulder Electric Vehicle prototype in action but now comes word that the company has delivered its very first production vehicle. The initial DV-500 (as it is affectionately called) has been sold to Denver-area Precision Plumbing,Heating & Cooling who have made a commitment to buy 20 of the all-electrics at a very reasonable-sounding $70,000 apiece.

In addition to obvious changes in appearance, its performance also differs slightly from the original. The production version boasts an 80-kWh battery pack made up of China-sourced lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO4) cells that weigh in at 1,300 lbs and are said to be good for 120 miles of range. Power comes from an 80-kW AC motor that gives the 7,000-lb truck a 70 mile-per-hour top speed. Charging can take up to eight hours.

Precision Plumbing's Tom Robichaud says that despite the higher up-front costs, he expects to save $6,000 to $8,000 per vehicle per year in lower operating costs and anticipates the trucks to be good for 300,000 miles. Currently, he says, the Sprinter vans he uses now are replaced after 100,000 miles. In anticipation of the electric fleet, the company has also installed a solar array at its facilities.

Boulder Electric Vehicle reportedly has five production lines set up and is busy building the vehicles for Precision and other customers. The company also has plans for a bigger truck that doubles the 500 cubic foot capacity of the DV-500. Hit the jump for a couple clips featuring Mr. Robichaud and his new promotionally wrapped plumbing van.

One of the differences between the Washington Auto Show and car shows in other cities is the almost overwhelming appearance of politicians and government officials. Whether they come to learn or to lecture (or both), these folks create a well-worn trail from the Hill to the Walter E. Washington Convention Center every January.

One such official who spoke at the show last week was David Sandalow, assistant secretary for policy and international affairs at the Department Of Energy. His main point? That "this [auto industry] revival wasn't destined to happen," and only happened because of the "difficult" and vital choices that the Obama Administration made to save the auto industry, choices that are now paying off with jobs and an improving economy. From here on out, he said, we have to keep things humming by supporting innovative technology that makes our cars cleaner and better.

Sandalow, who also wrote "Freedom From Oil," said he was amazed at how fast technology has evolved in the last 15 years, the lifetime of his teenage daughter. "It's an incredibly exciting time," he said. "Technological innovation is sweeping the globe."

To that end, the DOE is supporting a lot of different research avenues, including light weighting, fuel cells, plug-in cars and biofuels. "Advanced batteries is a particularly important area that we're investing in," he said, citing the Batteries for Advanced Transportation Technologies Program at Berkeley National Lab as one strong example.

As a plug-in car driver himself, Sandalow said that, "One of the advantages of electric vehicles is that we have a widespread electricity infrastructure." Of course, building out a Level 2 network will require "some investment," he said, adding that the research shows that most people will charge their vehicles where they currently they park their vehicles: at home at night.

On this point, he told a story about a panel discussion on clean car technology that he saw a few years ago. Two auto execs (he declined to name them) were discussing the potential of introducing plug-in vehicles to the U.S. market. One of the execs said that plug-in cars aren't worth it because only half of U.S. drivers park where they can plug in at night. The other one said his company was very excited to introduce plug-ins here because half the people can charge up at night. Apocryphal or not, that right there tells you all you need to know about people who lead and people who follow.

Time for some good news/bad news (maybe) from Fisker Automotive.

First, the good news. The company announced today that it will soon be selling the luxury plug-in hybrid in Canada, starting with retail locations in Toronto, Calgary and Vancouver. Fisker is working with the big Canadian auto dealer the Dilawri Group as well as Fields Automotive Group to sell the PHEV in Canada. More stores should be coming, since Fisker said in a statement that it will "expand its presence in Canada as it ramps up Karma production."

Speaking of that production, here's the possible bad news. In Auto News is reporting (but doesn't actually source) that Fisker is dropping the number of Karmas it expects to sell in 2012 down to 10,000. Way back when, (i.e., November 2011) the company was still confident it would make 15,000 Karmas in 2012. But then sales were delayed – and we know that production is not the same as sales – so there's reason to be skeptical that lofty sales targets for the $100,000+ Karma will be met. We've contacted Fisker for a comment on this possible decrease, but have not yet heard back. If they respond, we'll let you know.

UPDATE: Roger Ormisher, Fisker's senior director of global corporate communications & PR, wrote to AutoblogGreen:

There has been so much confusion over our sales targets in the media (15,000 was the figure for full global production and sales of all 3 Karma derivatives – sedan, Surf Wagon and Sunset convertible) that we have now moved away from quoting projections.

This is a new car from a new brand in a unique market segment. Therefore, we are not making any predictions on sales figures. We are a new car company, learning as we go and opening up new markets consistently – and one thing that we have learned is that making annual sales projections when you bring a car such as the Karma to the market is unhelpful!

Volkswagen has released details on its upcoming 2013 Beetle TDI before the vehicle gets an official unveil at the 2012 Chicago Auto Show. The oil-burning Beetle will bow with the same turbocharged 2.0-liter diesel engine found in the Jetta TDI and Passat TDI, and Volkswagen projects the engine should help it net 39 miles per gallon highway and 29 mpg city.

Those numbers aren't quite as lofty as we'd expect, especially given how well our long-term Jetta TDI has performed with the same engine under the hood. While we're still waiting on Environmental Protection Agency numbers, our guess is real-world drivers will see significantly better performance out of the latest diesel Bug, which marks its return after being absent since 2006.

With 140 horsepower and 236 pound-feet of torque, the Beetle TDI shouldn't be a slouch to drive, either. Buyers may choose either a six-speed manual or dual-clutch gearbox. Otherwise, the Beetle TDI remains aesthetically similar to its gasoline counterparts. Expect to see it hit the market in mid-2012 as a 2013 model. In the meantime, stay tuned for our Chicago Auto Show coverage and hit the jump for the full press release.

Saying automotive journalists like diesel sedans is like arguing the color pink is going to do well with the 5-year-old-girl demographic this quarter. You're not going to find too many dissenting voices. So, it should be no surprise that we love ourselves some BMW 335d. With plenty of power and impressive fuel economy, the outgoing diesel is a mechanical wonder child. And yet, thanks to the new F30-generation BMW 328i, with its 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine produces 240 horsepower and 260 pound-feet of torque, there's some competition for the title of most fuel efficient 3 Series.

Admittedly, the 328i's numbers are a far cry from the 265 ponies and 425 lb-ft of torque cranked out by the diesel-fueled 3.0-liter inline six in the 335d. Even so, the 2012 328i is considerably lighter and more aerodynamic. It also boasts a next-generation transmission, which helps the car get to 60 mph one tenth of a second quicker than the old 335d. That's surprising, but not nearly as surprising as the fact that the 328i manages 1 mpg better than the diesel in the combined cycle. According to the EPA's just-released figures, the 328i nets 24 miles per gallon in the city and an impressive 36 mpg on the highway. The 335i? 23 mpg city and 36 highway.

We'll give you a moment to pick up your jaw from the floor. Now all BMW needs to do, as Automobile points out, is drop a diesel four-cylinder behind the headlights of the 3 Series to go after even bigger green credentials. Fingers crossed.

Infiniti has named its plug-in hybrid electric concept car headed for the Geneva Motor Show in March the EMERG-E. The company says the vehicle will be a sports car with a range-extending 1.2-liter gasoline internal combustion engine. The powerplant will be mounted mid-ship for superior weight distribution, and the Japanese automaker promises the concept will offer impressive performance. It may or may not also run on rainbows.

Infiniti has released very few details beyond saying pure-electric range will be "respectable." The vehicle also promises zero-emission driving in most urban settings, so there's a good chance the concept will show off some advanced charging tech as well. The automaker is intent on making us wait until the vehicle's full unveil in Geneva before it drops any more clues, though a few more teaser images have surfaced to whet our appetite. Check them out in the gallery below.

Just when you thought you'd seen all the Super Bowl ads there were to see, Chevrolet jumps in with a whole new spot for the Chevrolet Volt. The supposed savior of General Motors has been struggling to make sales headway for a number of reasons. GM managed to move a paltry 603 units in January. With some dealers refusing their allocations, the automaker is keen on putting the spurs to Volt sales. The Super Bowl ad features a host of very curious aliens attempting to comprehend the science behind the propulsion system in the Chevrolet Volt.

It would seem GM believes buyers are being scared off from the Volt because they simply don't understand the mechanics behind the plug-in hybrid. Anything is possible and, if that's the case, the new commercial should help clear up any mysteries surrounding the vehicle. Hit the jump to see E.T. in action for yourself.

Spy photographers have picked up yet another batch of photos of the BMW i3. This time, the pint-sized Bimmer was spotted during some winter testing in Norway. When we last saw the awkward-looking hatchback, it was whirring about under the power of 600cc two-cylinder range-extending engine back in November. This looks to be the same i3 REx, complete with its "Hybrid Test Vehicle" stickers slathered on both doors. That means the model you see here likely boasts a range of significantly longer than the 100 miles quoted for the pure EV. How much longer? That's a question BMW isn't likely to answer until the production model debuts.

From what we've heard, the BMW i3 is slated hit the market in 2013 with the i3 REx surfacing sometime shortly thereafter. We'll be interested to see whether the production model rides on the same super-skinny tires as the test ride pictured above. Click through our attached image gallery for a host of snowy i3 photos.

This is why some people didn't want to settle with Honda. Heather Peters, who took Honda to small claims court in Torrance, CA recently over claims of the Civic Hybrid's fuel economy, has been awarded $9,867.19 in damages. That's almost the maximum allowed in small claims court ($10,000) and is a decision that might have a big impact on future class-action litigation.

A refresher on the situation: In 2007, John True sued Honda because, he said, the automaker made misleading claims about the fuel economy of the Civic Hybrid. In 2009, after it became a class-action lawsuit, Honda settled with Civic hybrid drivers, giving them either up to $1,000 off the purchase of a new Honda or a $100 check. This didn't sit right with Peters, so she sued.

The court commissioner ruled that Honda "negligently misled" Peters with claims that Civic Hybrid could get 50 miles per gallon, the LA Times writes. In a statement, Peters said:

I am absolutely thrilled at the reports that I won, even though I won't see the actual judgment until it comes in the mail. It's a victory for Civic Hybrid owners everywhere! Sometimes big justice comes in small packages.

Honda says it plans to appeal, and this may all just be the beginning. Peters is encouraging other Civic Hybrid owners who are disappointed in their real-world mileage to file suits against the automaker in small claims courts across the country.