Posted by admin on October 30, 2008 under Auto News | 
Lowest prices in a year
The national average for a gallon of gas is now $2.92 according to new reports, and prices could be primed for even bigger declines.
Despite OPEC cuts, the price of oil continues to trend downward. And, if the US remains mired in a recession for an extended period of time, oil prices could drop below $40.00 per barrel according to some analysts. (AP)
Posted by admin on October 29, 2008 under Auto News |
It’s often said there is no silver bullet for replacing oil dependence in the United States. It is no wonder, because no petroleum alternatives have as much energy density as gasoline. To put it another way, the other choices contain less energy for a given space than petroleum.
This results in significant compromises for most alternative fuels. For instance, natural gas and hydrogen require large in-car storage tanks that can rob cargo space. A small tank equals a short cruising range between fill-ups. Batteries take even more space yet provide an even shorter range. To compound the problem, batteries take hours to recharge.
A frequently discussed alternative is E85 (85 percent ethanol). This renewable fuel can be created domestically and emits less smog-causing pollutants than gasoline, but it provides fewer miles per gallon and is hard to find outside the Midwest. (Learn more about the pros and cons of alternative fuels.)
Although it’s still made from petroleum-and emits many pollutants-diesel fuel stands out from the other mentioned fuels, as it is the one alternative that packs more energy density than gasoline. This is part of the reason diesel engines are more fuel efficient. Now if only diesel fuel was cheaper than gasoline…
So engineering vehicles to run on gasoline alternatives leads to inevitable compromises, such as price, range, and utility. The real question remains: What compromises would consumers accept?
Looming oil challenges
Oil production from non-OPEC countries has already reached its peak and begun to fall, according to Peter Wells, a longtime oil industry consultant and former British Petroleum exploration manager. Wells spoke at the Toyota Sustainable Mobility Seminar last week. Even new discoveries and drilling are unlikely to make up for the drop in production from existing wells, he says.
Increasing oil production from tar sands and oil shale requires enormous amounts of energy, meaning the return on extracting these resources will be relatively small. Producing them also takes vast supplies of water, while aquifers and rivers in the U.S. are already oversubscribed.
Some people are likely to accept different sacrifices, whether it’s range, cost, or driving less. Yet automakers continuously report that most customers aren’t willing to sacrifice anything their cars can currently do. This mirrors feedback collected from the Consumer Reports National Research Center. In our recent gas prices survey, nearly 80 percent of car shoppers reported wanting better fuel economy, yet 69 percent want a same-sized or larger vehicle.
So for the sake of discussion, here’s a question: If you had to cut your oil consumption in half next year, in the name of energy independence, staying out of the poor house, or another reason, what would you be willing to do or sacrifice?
Learn more about how others are reacting to today’s gas prices in our recent Auto Pulse survey.
Posted by admin on October 28, 2008 under Auto News |
Fight foreign oil dependency and invest in electrification
Not long ago I suggested new tax credits for non-plug-in hybrid vehicles, but with higher fuel economy standards. Since it’s going to take decades before everyone is driving a plug-in, if ever, America needs other fuel efficient choices in the interim, especially cheaper solutions.
But, instead of raising the fuel economy requirements for a new hybrid tax credit, how about tax credits for natural gas hybrids, including plug-in hybrids?
Elevate the battle against foreign oil dependency, and invest in the electrification of the automobile. Isn’t it time for tax credits for natural gas hybrid vehicles?
Posted by admin on October 24, 2008 under Auto News |
Concept cars give automotive designers a chance to let their imaginations run wild, often with outlandish results. But even by that measure, BMW has come up with something as strange as it is innovative – a shape-shifting car covered with fabric.
Instead of steel, aluminum or even carbon fiber, the GINA Light Visionary Model has a body of seamless fabric stretched over a movable metal frame that allows the driver to change its shape at will. The car – which actually runs 
and drives – is a styling design headed straight for the BMW Museum in Munich and so it will never see production, but building a practical car wasn’t the point.
Chris Bangle, head of design for BMW, says GINA allowed his team to “challenge existing principles and conventional processes.”
“It is in the nature of such visions that they do not necessarily claim to be suitable for series production,” 
company officials said in unveiling the car Tuesday. “Rather, they are intended to steer creativity and research into new directions.”
Giving Bangle and his team that latitude to design so radical a car “helps to tap into formerly inconceivable, innovative potential” to push the boundaries of appearance and materials as well as functions and the manufacturing process, BMW says.
Bangle and is team actually built GINA – which stands for “Geometry and functions In ‘N’ Adaptions” – six years ago, 
but BMW kept it under, er, wraps until Tuesday. It’s built on the Z8 chassis and has a 4.4-liter V8 and six-speed automatic transmission. BMW says the fabric skin – polyurethane-coated Lycra – is resilient, durable and water resistant. It’s stretched over an aluminum frame controlled by electric and hydraulic actuators that allow the owner to change the body shape. Want a big spoiler on the back? Wider fenders? No problem. “The drastic reinterpretation of familiar functionality and structure means that drivers have a completely new experience when they handle their car,” BMW says.
GINA has just four panels – the front hood, two sides and the rear deck. Th
e doors open in jack-knife fashion and are completely smooth when closed; access to the engine is through a slit in the hood. BMW says the shape of the body can be changed without slackening or damaging the fabric. The fabric is opaque translucent so the taillights shine through, and small motors pull the fabric back to reveal the headlights.
The interior is equally innovative. The steering wheel and gauges swing into place and the headrest rises from the seat once the driver is seated, making it easier to get in and out of the car.
BMW says GINA is built on a space frame that provides all the safety
of a conventional car, but we suspect people – not to mention BMW’s lawyers and government regulators – wouldn’t embrace fabric bodies. Still, the company says GINA could influence the design of future Beemers.
Photos and video by BMW.
Posted by admin on October 22, 2008 under Auto News |
The crew from CAR laid out what the future holds for Mercedes’ two-door offerings and now its tapped Larson to render what the forthcoming E-class coupe will look like ahead of its debut at the Geneva Motor Show next year.
Taking cues from the Fascination concept unveiled in Paris, the sporty E-class features a pair of drawn and halved headlamps that nix the oval units fitted to Mercs in the last decade, along with a pair of highly stylized rear fenders sporting a two-tiered blister that flows into the reworked rear end.
Engine choices will range from 184 hp four-cylinders (E200k) to an E63 AMG variant putting down 481 hp, while a 525 hp Black Series version will be offered further down the line. Seven-speed automatics will proliferate throughout the range, along with direct injection on all gasoline-powered models.
Having learned from past mistakes, Mercedes-Benz will throttle back some of its high-tech features, nixing the brake-by-wire system, along with the air suspension and active body control. But all won’t be lost. When the convertible version arrives six months after the coupe, Mercedes will offer it with a heated fabric roof to keep occupants warm in the winter, while infra-red night vision, hard-drive navigation and front seats that tilt and slide to ease ingress and egress will keep Mercedes’ owners in their element.
The 2009 E-class coupe (code-named C206) should arrive in June, while the drop-top variant (A206) will follow later next year.
[Source: CAR]
Posted by admin on October 17, 2008 under Auto News |
A frequently voiced concern about hybrids centers around the high cost of replacement batteries, which have ranged up to about $3,000. Now some relief may be on the way. Toyota announced last month that it has reduced the price of replacement batteries for the current (2002-2009) Prius by $686, to $2,299. Batteries for the first-generation Prius dropped $397 to $2,588.
That still seems like a lot of money. But overall, we have found hybrids to be very reliable and relatively inexpensive to own. Automakers are required to warranty batteries for 8 years and 80,000 miles nationwide or 10 years and 150,000 miles in states that follow California emissions regulations. Relatively few hybrids have exceeded that mileage yet.
Given the length of the battery warranty, even if a hybrid owner does have to replace the battery pack after 80,000 or 150,000 miles, the cost is comparable to the cost of a transmission, which would likely have failed in other cars before that point. And hybrids have fewer other issues, which more makes up for any added battery cost.
Toyota says it has been able reduce costs in part by building its own batteries through its joint venture with Panasonic, through Panasonic EV Battery Corp., thereby reducing the impact from the battery middleman. And the company says it expects battery price drops to continue.
The nickel-metal hydride batteries in the all of the current hybrid vehicles are also recyclable which may help with price reductions.
Cheaper batteries are good news for more than owners of hybrids today. Electric cars, and hybrids that plug in for extra power are the most promising near-term alternative to oil consumption. And those cars will require bigger and better batteries to meet consumer demands for performance and range.
The next generation of advanced batteries are called lithium-ion batteries, like the one we had installed in the plug-in Prius we are testing. Lithium Ion batteries are smaller and lighter for the same energy storage capacity and so lend themselves better to full electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles. However, they cost even more than nickel-metal hydride batteries. And expensive lithium-ion batteries are the biggest stumbling block to building more electric cars. So the race is on to lower the price of batteries across the board.
Toyota will start building lithium-ion batteries in 2009 and mass-producing them in 2010, the company says. But Toyota’s National Manager of Advance Technology Vehicles Bill Reinert says the company is already looking beyond lithium ion for future energy storage.
Posted by admin on October 3, 2008 under Windshield Repair Kits |
If you’ve been a driver for any length of time, you’ve inevitably been in this situation: You’re driving down the highway, and a rock from the car or truck in front of you kicks up and hits your windshield, leaving a tiny crack. Chances are, you grumble in disgust as you think about when you’re going to find the time to have the windshield replaced. And if you don’t have glass coverage, you probably figure that crack will just have to stay until you can come up with the money to replace it. But what you may not realize in this scenario is that your windshield does not have to be replaced at all.
Car glass repair has become quite popular, and for good reason; it’s safe, affordable, and actually so simple that most drivers can fix cracks or chips in their windshields themselves with a car glass repair kit.
First let’s clarify something about chips and cracks on windshields. Most of the time, small cracks and chips under a foot long do not require complete replacement of the car glass. In fact, repairs are usually preferred, because the rigid tests on the bonds of windshields in brand new cars are not performed on replacement windshields. Using a car glass repair kit, therefore, allows you to retain the bond of the windshield’s factory seal.
Replacing an entire windshield can be expensive; most start at $300 and go up from there. But a do-it- yourself car glass repair kit is often less than a third of that price. There are quite a variety of kits available that are quite simple to use, with repairs taking up very little time.
Don’t let that chip or crack go on for too long-
It is advisable to repair any damage to your car glass as soon as possible-even the same day, if you can. Ignoring a crack or chip in your windshield is not advised, for several reasons:
- Ignoring a small crack could result in the crack growing until it is too large for repair, and you will have to pay for a complete replacement.
- Small cracks could compromise the integrity of the windshield, causing it to spread completely at the slightest bump.
- Chips and cracks can impede on the driver’s ability to see correctly.
- Dirt and grime can seep into your vehicle through a crack or chip.
Posted by admin on October 2, 2008 under Auto News |
Ready to make your own gas alternative? These products can give you a start—but energy independence won’t come cheaply.
Ethanol
The EFuel100 MicroFueler home-brews ethanol by fermenting a mix of table sugar and nutrient-treated yeast in the system’s 250-gal. tank. The resulting fuel, which is 99.9 percent ethanol, can either be stored in the unit or pumped into a gas tank through the 50-ft. hose. It takes 10 to 14 pounds of sugar to produce 1 gal. of ethanol, so the cost of fuel is only as cheap as the feedstock. Available in late 2008.
Production: Up to 35 gal. per week
Price: $9995
Compatibility: Flex-fuel vehicles; conventional cars if mixed with 90 percent gasoline
Biodiesel
Powered by a 120-volt outlet, the FuelMeister II mixes used vegetable oil with lye and methanol to produce biodiesel. The process takes about 7 hours from start to finish—but only 1 hour involves hands-on work, such as connecting hoses, pumping methanol and testing the final product. The fuel meets ASTM biodiesel standards and, unlike straight vegetable oil, can be burned in regular diesel engines.
Production: 40 gal. in 5 hours
Price: $2995
Compatibility: Any diesel-powered vehicle
Electricity
The modular Envision Solar Lifeport can support up to 32 polycrystalline 200-watt photovoltaic panels, which can produce up to 6.4 kilowatts of electricity. The panels are wired to an inverter, and then through your home’s electric meter. With this configuration the panels will power your home, but DIYers can mod the Lifeport into a solar-powered carport by running electricity back to an outlet in the 23 x 23–ft. structure.
Production: Up to 6.4 kw
Price: $45,199 for a 4.8-kw-rated kit
Compatibility: Plug-in hybrids and pure EVs
Hydrogen
A mix of natural gas, air and water is catalyzed in the Honda Home Hydrogen Fueling Station reformer, creating a gas that is 40 to 50 percent hydrogen. A membrane filters out pure hydrogen gas, which is then compressed for fuel. There’s no storage tank, so your car slow-fills from the pump at night; it takes about 6 hours to reach max capacity—171 liters at 5000 psi. The catch: Hydrogen from gas isn’t emissions-free, and Honda says consumers still have a several-year wait.
Production: 50 standard liters per minute
Price: Not yet available
Compatibility: Hydrogen cars
(Source : popular mechanics)
