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Would a hydrogen economy be good or bad for the water supply in the U.S.?

by Sebastian Blanco (RSS feed) on Nov 23rd, 2009 at 7:48PM

Honda FCX Clarity - Click above for high-res image gallery

Trying to predict the numbers that will define the hydrogen economy are anybody's guess. And guess people will, because it leads to great headlines like, "Will Hydrogen Power Suck the Lakes Dry?" What are some of those numbers? The Hydrogen Association says that it would take 110 billion gallons of water a year to power all 230 million light duty vehicles in the U.S. using hydrogen fuel cells (although, to base your estimate on having all vehicles run on H₂ is pretty bold). 110 billion gallons would be better than the 300 billion gallons of water it takes to make the gasoline that the U.S. uses in a year, but we're not sure if this number takes into account all of the incidental water that would be needed to make the hydrogen. (On a related note, does anyone have a good source for how much water it takes to mine lithium or make batteries?) For comparison, the U.S. uses about 4,800 billion gallons of water each year for "domestic personal water use." So, what's your guess?

[Source: Reuters]

Feeling better? Vehicle miles traveled grow 2.5 percent

by Sebastian Blanco (RSS feed) on Nov 23rd, 2009 at 7:04PM

The estimated number of miles that all vehicles in the U.S. traveled (the VMT) grew by 2.5 percent in September 2009, the highest year-on-year monthly VMT uptick for 2009. The lowest number was negative 3.1%, recorded in January. Overall, for 2009, the number is up by +0.3% (6.7 billion vehicle miles). These numbers are based on the monthly Traffic Volume Trends report from the U.S. Federal Highway Administration. Usually, the number climbs every year, but Americans drover a lot less in 2008, when gas prices shot up. Perhaps the recent VMT increase is signaling a slight boost in confidence, if Jim Motavalli's theory that the reason VMT continued to drop after gas prices went back down was because people are worried about the high cost of everything is correct.

[Source: US Federal Highway Administration via Green Car Congress]
Photo by exfordy. Licensed under Creative Commons license 2.0.

Lancia to create the new Ypsilon on the Fiat 500 Giardinera platform

by Xavier Navarro (RSS feed) on Nov 23rd, 2009 at 6:06PM

One of Lancia's achievements with the Y10, later called Ypsilon, was creating the urban chic supermini well before the new Minis or Smarts were on the road. Although not the most successful car in the segment, the Ypsilon has been a Lancia staple since its introduction in 1996. Since the current version is starting to look outdated, the Italian marque is planning to launch an updated based on the future Fiat 500 Giardinera, aka station wagon, that will use an enlarged platform from the current Fiat 500 / Ford Ka. This is a remarkable change, since the current Ypsilon is based on the Fiat Punto model. Expect all the engines installed in the Fiat 500 to appear under the Ypsilon's hood, including the upcoming 0.9 liter Multiair.

[Source: Auto Week]

Mitsubishi brings i-MiEV to Vancouver, might bring gas-powered version to U.S.

by Sebastian Blanco (RSS feed) on Nov 23rd, 2009 at 5:01PM

For all the work that Mitsubishi has done selling the i-MiEV as an electric vehicle around the world – Japan, New Zealand, the UK, Europe, etc. – the car is actually a modified version of the i, a tiny kei car offered in Japan and Europe. The jellybean shape could make it to the U.S. market with not only the all-electric powertrain as an option, but also a gasoline-powered version. Just as it does in Europe, the non-ev i would compete with the Smart Fortwo in the U.S., but considering the nosediving sales of the Fortwo in the States, we're not sure if the business case is there for this shift. If the i does come to the U.S., the 600 cc engine would likely be upgraded to a 1.0-liter three-cylinder powerplant, John Koenig, executive vice president for operations at Mitsubishi Motors North America, told Automotive News (subs req'd).

Meanwhile, the i-MiEV's electric intro tour continues with the introduction of a unit into BC Hydro's fleet in Vancouver, BC. Details after the jump.

[Source: Automotive News (subs req'd), City of Vancouver]

Porsche announces lithium ion starter battery

by Sam Abuelsamid (RSS feed) on Nov 23rd, 2009 at 3:54PM

Lithium ion batteries are all the rage these days with so many manufacturers planning to use them for hybrid and battery electric vehicles. Porsche today announced that it will be the first automaker to offer a lithium ion starter battery for conventional vehicles. The new battery will be available as an option for the 911 GT3, 911 GT3 RS and Boxster Spyder. The main reason for using this type of battery is weight reduction, since the 13 pound lithium unit cuts 22 pounds off the mass of the standard lead acid battery. The lithium battery has the same foot print as the lead battery but is 2.8 inches lower.

As always with a Porsche, options don't come cheap. The 18 Ah lithium ion battery will cost €1,904 in Germany including the 19% value-added-tax. Interestingly, when ordered, the car comes with the standard battery as well as the lithium ion. That's because in cold temperatures (below freezing), the lead battery has to be put back in the car, because the lithium performance drops off too much. Since drivers are unlikely to be driving quite as fast when it's that cold having, the heavier battery in place shouldn't be too much of a problem. For those that need to squeeze the absolute maximum performance out of their Porsche, the factory is always happy to help you find ways to spend your money.

[Source: Porsche]

Southern Taiwanese island of Liuqiu going gasoline-car free

by Sebastian Blanco (RSS feed) on Nov 23rd, 2009 at 2:47PM

Who's going car free? The 2012 Olympics in London, a town in Germany, and some people on one day a year. A tiny island off the coast of Taiwan has decided to join the car-free club, at least to shed the gas guzzling kind.

The tropical island of Liuqiu will spend a lot of money – between $9.3 to $15.5 billion – over the next three years to phase out gas cars and replace them with electric vehicles. The plan covers buses, cars and scooters and is intended to make the tourist destination remain a place where divers and snorkelers want to visit. Perhaps the local government can turn to the quirky electric vehicle developed by the Intelligent Mobility Technology division of the Taiwan Automotive Research Consortium (TARC) for some of those new vehicles. If the plan comes to fruition, it might be expanded to other parts of Taiwan.

[Source: Reuters]
Photo by mckaysavage. Licensed under Creative Commons license 2.0.

Rendered Speculation: Vauxhall Ampera goes "Outback" for CUV

by Sam Abuelsamid (RSS feed) on Nov 23rd, 2009 at 1:49PM

When new Opel/Vauxhall CEO Nick Reilly visited the company's Ellesmere Port factory in the UK last week, he dropped a hint that there would be more than one version of the upcoming Opel/Vauxhall Ampera. That's not really any great surprise as GM has already said that there would be other vehicles beyond the Volt/Ampera that use the Voltec powertrain.

AutoExpress picked up the hint and, after talking to its sources, has concluded that there would be some sort of crossover or MPV based on the Ampera. Based on that, they worked up this rendering of an Ampera with the high riding "Outback" treatment that would compete with the popular Nissan Qashqai. Giving such a treatment to the Ampera/Volt body style would negate much of the benefit of all of the aerodynamic work applied to the body, so we're a bit skeptical of this direction.

Since the Volt is derived from the Delta II platform, we suspect that one of the other body styles is a more likely candidate, for example the new Orlando or a variant of the Astra.

[Source: AutoExpress]

Chevy Volt to address America's school children in nationwide show-and-tell

by Domenick Yoney (RSS feed) on Nov 23rd, 2009 at 1:04PM

2011 Chevy Volt - Click above for high-res image gallery

On November 30th, hundreds of middle school students and teachers will assemble at the Harvard-Westlake School in Los Angeles, along with untold thousands of their electronically-linked peers, to take part in a giant show-and-tell webcast featuring that upcoming electric car with the built-in range extender, the 2011 Chevy Volt. While none of the students are likely to buy a Volt (or any car, for that matter) when it becomes available next year, "Today's middle school students are tomorrow's leaders," according to GM, and so they feel it is important to educate the kids about the increasing role electricity will play in personal transportation.

The assembly, which is in support of the host school's Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) program, will listen and watch a presentation covering the basics of electricity and how it will transform the way we drive before taking part in a question and answer period. The appearance is only one of many that the Volt will be making while it's in town for the Los Angeles Auto Show. Official press release after the break.

Gallery: 2011 Chevy Volt

[Source: General Motors]

Prediction: In 2015, fuel cell vehicles "will be cheaper than a Rolls-Royce"

by Sebastian Blanco (RSS feed) on Nov 23rd, 2009 at 11:56AM

_{2009 Honda FCX Clarity - Click above for high-res image gallery}

A lot of automakers are targeting 2015 as the year to introduce fuel cell vehicles to the market, GM, Toyota and Honda foremost among them. This is fine and all, but there are still some serious questions about the cost of hydrogen fuel cell systems to figure out between now and then. A quote buried deep in a new UPI Asia article on Japanese leadership in FCVs gives us one researcher's prediction: "By the time FCVs are commercially available in 2015 they will be cheaper than a Rolls-Royce [$550,000], but it will be difficult to price them down to the level of a Corolla [$22,000]."

That's the view of Kenichiro Ota, a professor at Yokohama National University, and it flies in the face of what automakers like GM are claiming. Everyone seems to be coming into agreement that the cars are technologically solid – the distance they can go on a kg of H₂ is increasing, for example – but that cost issue isn't going away.

[Source: UPI Asia]

Honda tops 2009 corporate fuel economy charts, Chrysler trails

by Sam Abuelsamid (RSS feed) on Nov 23rd, 2009 at 11:02AM

2010 Honda Insight - Click above for high-res image gallery

The Environmental Protection Agency is currently in the process of compiling the the fleet average fuel economy numbers for model year 2009, which recently concluded, and it looks like Honda will be on top yet again. The final numbers are still some months away as the data is collected on exactly how many cars were sold and in what configurations. Based on early numbers, Honda's fleet average comes out to 23.6 mpg with Hyundai-Kia close behind at 23.4 mpg. Both of those companies are down slightly from 2008 when they averaged 23.9 and 23.7 mpg, respectively. Of course, last year Honda sold huge quantities of Civics and Fits when gas went to $4 / gallon. This year, those sales – along with everything else – are down, bringing the average mpg number down.

The three Detroit brand automakers brought up the rear with Ford, GM and Chrysler at 20.5, 19.9 and 18.7 mpg, respectively. All three of those manufacturers had a higher proportion of truck sales than cars but even their car numbers are lower because they sell more large cars than their foreign counterparts. As the new small cars from GM and Ford come to market in the next 12-18 months, this should change their position significantly. Chrysler will have to wait a bit longer for Fiat-based cars to hit the U.S. market before their numbers improve. You can find the full 2009 report here.

Gallery: 2010 Honda Insight

[Source: EPA]

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#	Blogger	Posts	Cmts
1	Sebastian Blanco	110	10
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