Popsci: If you've got diamonds and xenon, you might soon have a super battery originally appeared on Autoblog Green on Fri, 09 Jul 2010 09:05:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Last month we told you that Mercedes-Benz plans to add the S350 Bluetec to their 2011 line-up. Now that we've seen some specs we're more excited than ever.

With combined fuel consumption down 11 percent to 35 miles per gallon and (if we did the math right) CO2 emissions around ten ounces per mile, the new S350 BlueTec certainly holds its own with the green luxury competition and with its sister the S400 Hybrid. But it's still a Mercedes through and through and the V6 diesel power plant is churning out 258 horsepower (up 10 percent) and a more-than-adequate 457 lb-ft of torque (up 15%).

With impressive power like that, it really makes you wonder what kind of miles per gallon Mercedes could get out of this engine if it aimed for max efficiency instead of the more balanced approach. Acceleration from 0-60 ticks off in 7.1 seconds - not lightning fast, but probably fast enough. Top speed is electronically limited at 155 miles per hour.

Pricing hasn't been announced, but speculation is that it will cost you around $95,000 to take one home.

Mercedes-Benz S350 Bluetec: Stronger. Faster. More efficient than before. originally appeared on Autoblog Green on Wed, 07 Jul 2010 09:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Slate: Worst part of oil spill could be return of Big Ethanol originally appeared on Autoblog Green on Wed, 07 Jul 2010 07:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

All the actions and few tid bits of information all lead to one inescapable conclusion. The well pipes below the sea floor are broken and leaking. ... What does this mean? It means they will never cap the gusher after the wellhead. They cannot...the more they try and restrict the oil gushing out the [blow out preventer]?...the more it will transfer to the leaks below.

The Oil Drum presents one vision of the oilpocalypse in the Gulf originally appeared on Autoblog Green on Fri, 18 Jun 2010 11:53:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Electric buggy to ascend Pike's Peak on orange-oil-infused tires

Electric buggy to ascend Pike's Peak on orange-oil-infused tires originally appeared on Autoblog Green on Wed, 16 Jun 2010 18:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

We applaud the U.S. Conference of Mayors for uniting behind the important concept that natural gas helps clean the air and is an abundant American resource that can shift our reliance to domestically produced energy. The mayors' emphasis on natural gas should serve as a model for federal and state policymakers.

U.S. Mayors want more natural gas for city fleets originally appeared on Autoblog Green on Wed, 16 Jun 2010 08:56:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Four cylinders are for chumps - 100 miles-per-gallon in a Geo Metro originally appeared on Autoblog Green on Tue, 15 Jun 2010 11:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Our new Capstone Drive Solution offering should open a lot of opportunities for electric drive systems where our ultra-low emissions and high efficiency have an advantage over more traditional prime movers.

There has been strong growth in electric drive systems for vehicles, and national and state governments are supporting technologies that can deliver higher performance at lower cost. Capstone is now in a good position to pursue the incentives and funding for these types of applications.

Continue reading Capstone, CalMotors to offer full-line of hybrid electric microturbine systems

Capstone, CalMotors to offer full-line of hybrid electric microturbine systems originally appeared on Autoblog Green on Tue, 15 Jun 2010 10:18:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

What are 3rd and 4th generation biofuels and when are they coming? originally appeared on Autoblog Green on Mon, 14 Jun 2010 19:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Video: Slime mold could make U.S. roads more efficient

Video: Slime mold could make U.S. roads more efficient originally appeared on Autoblog Green on Thu, 10 Jun 2010 15:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Edmunds: long-term, real-world MPG update shows you can get just 26 mpg in a Prius originally appeared on Autoblog Green on Thu, 10 Jun 2010 11:06:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

First, a disclaimer. We understand that sulfur (or sulphur for you Brits) isn't the only less-than-desirable thing in or about petroleum diesel. There's nitrogen oxide (NOx), particulate matter (soot) and carbon dioxide, to name a few other pollutants. And, of course, petroleum diesel does come from petroleum in the first place. And petroleum, no matter how clean it gets, is why that large body of water off our southern coast is starting to resemble the parking lot of a Jiffy Lube after a rain storm.

Still, one of diesel's nastiest ingredients, and one that, once removed, allows manufacturers to install better "clean diesel" particulate filters, is sulfur - and diesel used to have a lot of sulfur. Off-road diesel (used by farm vehicles, construction equipment and the occasional tax-dodging rancher) used to be limited to 3400 parts-per-million. But then came Low-Sulfur Diesel (LSD) which limited sulfur content to 500 ppm. And then, starting in late 2006, Ultra-Low-Sulfur Diesel (ULSD), which limited sulfur to just 15ppm, became the new standard for on-road diesel. As of this week, 100 percent of diesel fuel refined in the U.S. for on-road use and at least 80 percent of the diesel fuel refined in the U.S. for off-road use has to be ULSD.

Allen Shaeffer, executive director of the Diesel Technology Forum, said meeting the 80 percent mandate was an environmental milestone:

Today is another milestone for clean diesel and clean air, as our nation's farm tractors and construction machines will now have access to cleaner ultra-low sulfur diesel fuel. Two-thirds of all farm and construction equipment rely on diesel engines due to their unique combination of power, fuel efficiency, economical ownership and operation and legendary reliability and durability.

We still miss biodiesel, but it's nice to know the alternative to the alternative is getting a bit easier to swallow, on-road and off.

[Source: Green Car Congress | Image: jurvetson - C.C. 2.0]

Love it or hate it, petroleum diesel keeps getting un-dirtier originally appeared on Autoblog Green on Thu, 03 Jun 2010 11:53:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Since the tax incentive's inception six years ago, the biodiesel industry has created tens of thousands of green jobs, added $4.1 billion to the nation's GDP and generated $828 million in tax revenue for federal, state and local governments. However, since the incentive has lapsed the industry has shed thousands of jobs, shuttered plants and is struggling to survive. Timely reinstatement of biodiesel tax incentive will undoubtedly reverse this troubling trend and allow the industry to create over 12,000 new jobs in this year alone.

Continue reading House passes biodiesel tax credit, bill moves on to Senate

House passes biodiesel tax credit, bill moves on to Senate originally appeared on Autoblog Green on Wed, 02 Jun 2010 18:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Video: Ken Block and his Ford Fiesta want your help for Gymkhana 3

Video: Ken Block and his Ford Fiesta want your help for Gymkhana 3 originally appeared on Autoblog Green on Wed, 02 Jun 2010 14:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Report: new VW Jetta TDI delayed till 2011 originally appeared on Autoblog Green on Thu, 27 May 2010 14:06:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

We fully understand why the new government wants to validate spending decisions which were made in the recent past. But we believe that these expenditures which are going to be supporting the UK motor industry are consistent with the government's priorities and represent value for money.

Report: UK may cancel electric vehicle tax break to save money originally appeared on Autoblog Green on Wed, 26 May 2010 18:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading IBM wants to control your car at stoplights - 1984, here we come

IBM wants to control your car at stoplights - 1984, here we come originally appeared on Autoblog Green on Wed, 26 May 2010 14:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

For those of us who use/produce/sell/are fond of biodiesel, 2010 has been frustrating to say the least. The $1 per gallon biodiesel tax credit expired in late December 2009, and it wasn't too long after that local biodiesel pumps across the country started drying up. Reinstatement of the tax credit has been dangled in front of the biodiesel industry time and time and time again in the 145 days since it expired. So we're not holding our breath that today could be the day, despite assurances from a top member of the house.

"We will have enough votes," said House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) on Tuesday, in response to the House's plans to vote on $190 billion in new spending, a very small part of which goes to reinstate the credit. The bill, which is really more of a jobs bill, is called the American Jobs and Closing Tax Loopholes Act. Itl includes $1 billion for summer jobs for teens whose jobless rate is probably the nation's worst at 25.4 percent and $47 billion to extend unemployment insurance to nearly two full years. According to John Davis of Domestic Fuel, 23,000 biodiesel-related jobs have been lost or are in peril since the credit expired in December. So perhaps it's fitting that a jobs bill could be the thing to bring the credit back.

Hoyer is hopeful that Republicans will join and give their support for the spending, however many Republicans have been very critical of the amount of spending done by the Obama administration. Of course, many Republicans come from agricultural states where biodiesel is quite popular.

[Source: Talk Radio News Service | Image: jeffschwartz - C.C. 2.0]

House vote on biodiesel tax credit could come today originally appeared on Autoblog Green on Wed, 26 May 2010 14:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Got hair? Donate your locks to make oil booms

Got hair? Donate your locks to make oil booms originally appeared on Autoblog Green on Tue, 25 May 2010 11:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Despite proponents like T. Boone Pickens pushing for compressed natural gas (CNG) vehicles on America roads, the simple fact is, outside of states like California and Florida, a CNG-powered vehicle just isn't practical. Or is it?

As part of her Master's Degree thesis, Castlen Kennedy, a student at the University of Texas in Austin, is driving a CNG-powered Chevy Tahoe from Texas to Boston, MA in the hopes of spreading the word about CNG and meeting some of the people who are already involved with natural gas. She's calling it, "The Green American Road Trip." As of yesterday, Kennedy was halfway there.

Kennedy isn't some dreadlocked college student out to save the world. Oh, no, when she talks about natural gas she's speaking as someone who's been an industry insider for years. She attends UT, but she also works part time at Apache Corporation, an independent oil and natural gas producer headquartered in Houston. Before that, she worked at the Office of Fossil Energy at the United States Department of Energy as a Senior Policy Advisor on oil and natural gas issues. Before that she worked at Enron.

So far, the trip's been a big success. Castlen called ahead to all the stations at which she planned to refuel to make sure they were open to the public and the planning seems to have paid off. The trip hasn't been without its hiccups and empty-tank scares but hey, when you're an alternative fuel pioneer, you run the risk of being stranded now and again. Just ask any of our readers who run their rides on stuff other than pump gas. Check out the website for blog entries and videos from the last several days. If that's not reason enough for you to visit, you can also register to win a free Apple iPad.

[Source: Green American Road Trip]

Green American Road Trip rides form Austin to Boston on CNG originally appeared on Autoblog Green on Tue, 25 May 2010 09:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.