Buying a Car That Uses Flex Fuels

Fortunately, it is not difficult to acquire a vehicle that uses biodiesel and flex fuels. Typically, all you will need to do is examine the VIN number. Most manufacturers will append an FX at the end of the VIN to designate a flex fuel engine. That said, if you are not sure, it is best to ask the car dealer.

In some cases, you may also be able to order a flex fuel engine for a new car. While this may be a bit more expensive, you may consider it worth your while. Among other things, this may make it easier to obtain a bank loan. You may also find that you can get a tax rebate for purchasing a vehicle with this kind of engine.

Advantages

While you won't see much in the way of improved gas mileage with a flex fuel engine, it does have some other benefits. In particular, as ethanol and other plant based fuels take the place of petroleum products, you may not need to replace your vehicle in order to compensate. Unfortunately, now is the worst time possible to purchase a new car with an engine that uses only regular gasoline, or a low percentage ethanol blend. That said, you may still want to hold off on buying a flex fuel vehicle and see if a hydrogen based engines will become more available in the next year or two.

Disadvantages

As may be expected, newly emerging engine and fuel technologies make it difficult to determine which car is best for long term value. Among other things, even if you do not plan on keeping your car for 10 years, you may still need to think about trade in, or residual value. The last thing you will want to do is purchase a new vehicle that will become obsolete in the next four years.

With the exception of hydrogen fuels, it is likely that a flex fuel engine will be able to utilize most of the newer fuels. At the same time, it is important to keep your eye on other emerging technologies. This includes studying the hybrid market, as well as electric cars and vehicles with hydrogen engines.

In some cases, you may conclude that it is better to simply buy a second hand car, and hold off on the purchase of a new vehicle for the next two years. Aside from giving you an opportunity to study new transportation technologies, you will save an enormous amount of money on car insurance and car loan interest rates. During this interval, you may even find that public transportation and other technologies make it easier for you to achieve your goals without the need for an automobile.

Hydraulic Biodiesel Hybrid To Debut At Denver Auto Show

The three-door vehicle is powered by a 240-hp biodiesel hydraulic drive train and also features cameras in place of side view mirrors to increase efficiency and decrease drag. The LH4 has no conventional transmission, which makes the car lighter and more fuel-efficient. The company also says that the vehicle recaptures 100 percent of the energy lost when braking.

Lightning Hybrids is working on the development of a three-wheeled vehicle that uses the same drive train, and will create a retrofit kit that makes the drivetrain available to other vehicles. Once in production, the vehicle will sell for between $39,000 and $59,000. The cars and retrofit kits are expected to be available in mid-2010.

Photo Credit: Lightning Hybrids

PSA Peugeot Citroën Will Make Mini Cars

Daimler plans to produce an all-electric version of the SmartForTwo and Volkswagen will produce the Audi Up!, an all-electric mini car with a top speed of about 80 miles per hour and a range of about 60 miles. Renault has a small electric vehicle in development for sale in 2011. Toyota has also announced the development of a short-range all-electric vehicle for the 2012 model year.

The development of small electric vehicles is in response to both perceived consumer demand and the technological realities of current battery capabilities. EV batteries perform better in smaller vehicles. It's not surprising that most of the smaller EVs are initially destined for the European market, where consumers are more likely to make short trips and less likely to want larger vehicles. The companies have not yet indicated whether any of these vehicles will be available for sale to the North American market.

Small EVs or city cars may have a passenger capacity of only two or three adults, but are likely to be less expensive than gas-electric or diesel-electric hybrids. Whether electric cars will be cleaner than hybrids remains to be seen, since power-plant emissions must be taken into consideration when determining the carbon footprint of a PHEV. However, all-electric vehicles that have a gasoline generator on board used only for battery recharging will produce lower carbon emissions than gas-electric hybrids.

Photo Credit: Mitsubishi Motor Sales Of America

Toyota Puts Hybrid Development Into High Gear

Most electrical power plants in the United States are fired by coal, natural gas or petroleum, all of which release carbon dioxide into the air. Coal, the most common power plant fuel, releases the most CO2 into the atmosphere as it is burned to make electricity. Natural gas, less commonly used in power plants, is cleaner by a scant 50 percent.

In a head-to-head comparison, an all-electric vehicle such as a Tesla Roadster that charges off of house current might actually be responsible for more CO2 emissions than a Prius or Insight would when the emissions from a coal-fired power plant are taken into consideration. Hybrid cars also emit less CO2 than most highly efficient gasoline-only vehicles and those powered by diesel or "clean diesel" engines.

So do EVs and PHEVs make sense? If you're switching to one from a larger, older or less efficient vehicle, a PHEV or EV can indeed reduce your carbon footprint. The story raises an issue, however, that has been discussed before. The overall impact of large-scale migration to PHEVs, EVs and HEVs won't reduce carbon emissions significantly unless the fossil-fueled power plants are modernized at the same time. Conversion of the plants to natural gas can reduce carbon emission, but the cost of a natural gas-fired plant will substantially increase consumer cost and will reduce the rate at which consumers convert to vehicles with electric drive trains.

One potential alternative is a hydrogen-powered vehicle. BMW has tested its hydrogen FCV at Argonne National Laboratories, and those tests show that the vehicle actually emits air that is slightly cleaner than the air it takes in. Unfortunately, the vehicle won't be mass-produced anytime in the near future because the supporting infrastructure is not yet available.

The moral of the story? If you're buying an alternative-fuel vehicle for environmental reasons, make sure that you're really helping Mother Nature, and not just shifting the problem to someone else's exhaust pipe.

Source: International Business Times

Photo: Courtesy of Toyota

Pneumatic Hybrid Eliminates Need For Batteries, Motors

While the designs still have major drawbacks – compressed air has a relatively low energy density, and the pneumatic engines are not very efficient – the new design uses automated controls to improve the overall fuel economy of the engine. With the new hybrid design, regenerative braking doesn't play as large a role in recapturing wasted energy, though it is still incorporated into the system. The design does use pneumatics to improve the efficiency of the gasoline engine.

The design calls for a very small gasoline engine – 750-ml – which is used to provide power to the vehicle at cruising speed. Compressed air used for acceleration in a process called supercharging. Supercharging burns more fuel than normal during the acceleration phase and according to the designer, is free from the lag drivers typically experience with a turbocharger. The system also features a stop-start mechanism that cuts the gasoline engine when the vehicle is idling.

Guzzella will show his design at the Society For Automotive Engineer's Congress in April 2009. Most of his efficiency figures come from computer modeling, and he will continue to tweak the model to achieve greater efficiencies. He has built a basic, functional prototype of the system as well. One of the major advantages of Guzzella's design is that it does not require major modifications to a conventional gasoline-powered drive train. While it's not precisely a drop-in substitution, the design does lend itself easily to conversion.

Source: Technology Review
Photo Credit: Lucas Pettinati, via Flickr

Following that, the industry says, companies should turn to development of biofuels, and EV development should wait until those options have been completely explored. Based on the overall bottom-line of a conventional vehicle, the industry executives say that consumers will get a better deal by buying cars that are more efficient and cleaner-burning than they will by switching to an electric vehicle.

This debate makes Texas a state divided. On one hand, Texas is home to many local oil producers that would clearly suffer if oil consumption decreased. On the other hand, it also wants to be at the forefront of the alternative energy movement. Last week, Texas governor Rick Perry said that he would support a state tax credit of $5,000 for buyers of plug-in electric vehicles in certain Texas cities that have run afoul of the EPA's air quality regulations. Those tax credits could combine with federal tax credits on PHEVs that would slice another $7,500 off of the price tag.

The big concern in Texas (and other states) is that a large-scale switch to PHEVs would substantially increase the demand for electricity from the grid. Most electrical power plants are coal-fired, which means that gains made at the tailpipe in terms of emissions are offset by the added emissions from coal-fired electricity plants. Analysis shows that in this scenario, the CO2 reductions would be modest at best.

Texas also has a fledgling wind-power industry, but has no practical transmission system to take the converted power to the grid. Perry's plan would put the state's dollars into building a transmission system that could allow the state to make effective use of alternative energy generation, and potentially extend the emissions gains made by PHEVs.

In the short term, multiple alternative energy sources should be developed and considered. Competitive technologies often produce the best possible outcomes because they spur the development of newer, cleaner and more efficient methods of achieving the same end. The bottom-line cost of a new technology is only an immediate or intermediate concern. Once a technology is deemed reliable, and can be mass-produced or supported in sufficient quantity to meet demand, the issue of increased costs may drop out altogether.

Obama's Stimulus Plan Contains Plenty For PHEV Fans

PHEV conversions will now be eligible for a tax credit of up to 10% of the conversion cost, with a maximum credit of $4,000, provided that the conversions are "qualified."

Eligible vehicles will be defined as those with leased battery systems. Two- and three-wheeled vehicles will also be eligible for credits, as will some "neighborhood electric vehicles." The new credits are likely to take effect immediately.

The Post Office is looking to get into the act, too. In an Op-Ed piece in the New York Times, Postal Regulator Commissioner Ruth Goldway is advocating that some federal stimulus dollars be directed to the Post Office to assist in the conversion of at least some of the Office's 219,000-vehicle fleet to EVs. According to the piece, converting 65% of the fleet to electric vehicles could produce a savings of 68 million gallons of fuel annually.

The Post Office fleet seems like a natural conversion opportunity, and is still a full-fledged branch of the US federal government, but has not received any general assistance from the federal budget in years. Federal assistance with converting the Post Office's fleet, therefore, isn't a given. With a savings of 68 million gallons of fuel each year, and a (presumably) 65% reduction in carbon emissions, conversion of the USPS delivery fleet seems like a potential winner for everyone.

Photo Credit: Denise O'Brien

Wal-Mart Adds Hybrids, Alternative Fuel Vehicles To Trucking Fleet

The hybrids under consideration include a full-propulsion, dual-mode diesel-electric hybrid, believed to be the first of its kind. The hybrid drive train was developed by Arvin Meritor and is being tested in the Detroit area. The company has also acquired five Peterbilt heavy-duty diesel-electric hybrid trucks with Eaton Corporation propulsion systems. These trucks will operate in Dallas, Houston, Apple Valley, Atlanta and the Washington/Baltimore areas. Eaton Corporation has also developed a hydraulic hybrid vehicle using EPA-patented technologies for UPS.

In addition to the hybrid vehicles, Wal-Mart is also testing fifteen trucks in the company's Buckeye, AZ distribution center that operate exclusively on reclaimed grease fuel. The trucks use reclaimed brown cooking grease from the food establishments within Wal-Mart stores. Other trucks at the same distribution center will be converted to run on an 80/20 biodiesel mixture that includes yellow waste grease.

Finally, the company is also testing four vehicles that operate on liquid natural gas. These vehicles will remain on the company's Southern California distribution center property and are part of a partnership with the Mojave Air Quality Management District. Wal-Mart's sustainable trucking program is actively engaged in trying to reduce fuel consumption and carbon emissions.

According to the company, Wal-Mart's truck fleet improved its fuel economy by one-quarter between 2003 and 2008, and is working to double the fuel efficiency of its fleet by 2015.

Photo Credit: Code Poet, via Flickr

US Must Cut CO2 Emissions By 800 Percent

Currently, automobiles deposit about 160 grams of carbon into the atmosphere every mile. To achieve the US greenhouse gas emission goal, vehicles can produce no more than 20 grams of carbon per mile. The study was authored by Greg Keoleian of the University of Michigan's School of Natural Resources and will appear in the Feb 1 issue of Environmental Sciences and Technology.

According to Keoleian, achieving those targets won't be easy and will take a number of strategies to accomplish. Simply improving fuel efficiency isn't enough, although cleaner, more efficient vehicles are part of the equation. In addition, Keoleian says that low-carbon fuel formulations and a reduction in the number of miles driven each year must also factor into the plan.

According to computer models developed at UM, a single-strategy approach is destined to fail. To achieve carbon emission goals by improving fuel economy alone would mean that vehicles in 2050 must achieve an average fuel economy of 136 miles per gallon. Reducing carbon emissions to acceptable levels strictly through the use of low-carbon ethanol would mean an almost exclusive use of the ethanol fuel formulation. Reducing overall miles traveled would require a cut of more than 50 % in the overall number of miles traveled each year.

Keleoian says that none of the single-strategy approaches are viable. Instead, the US must adopt an aggressive, multi-pronged approach to carbon emission reductions that includes the development of renewable, nonfossil-based fuels, and a sharp reduction in the number of miles traveled each year. Keleoian says that switching to electric and hybrid electric vehicles may not be enough. In many areas, power is generated by coal-fired plants. While a PHEV does reduce the tailpipe CO2 emissions, the net emissions reduction is much smaller if the electricity to charge the vehicle was generated at a coal-fired plant. Keleoian says that the country must look at solar, wind and nuclear energy sources to make the needed reductions in atmospheric greenhouse gases.

Keleoian's study can be found at http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/es801032b.

Photo Credit: http://www.camarasfotograficas.es

Texas May Give $5,000 PHEV Tax Credit

The announcement was part of the governor's State-of-the-State address and would apply to residents of the Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, Galveston, Beaumont, Port Arthur and El Paso areas. The move is an effort to stem criticism of the state's air quality measures by the EPA and to head off further federal government regulation in Texas' "non-attainment" zones - those areas of the state that do not meet the EPA's Clean Air standards.

The $5,000 credit would put Texas on the front end of states offering PHEV credits, but more than 40 states now offer some type of tax incentive for purchasers of hybrid-electric vehicles. The governor also proposes using PHEV batteries to store wind energy produced in Texas. Texas generates more wind energy than any other state in the union but lacks storage and transmission infrastructure needed to make it a highly viable energy source.

The federal government is offering tax credits to purchasers of certain hybrid vehicles, depending upon the maker's hybrid vehicle sales to date. Congress passed legislation to authorize the so-called "Volt" tax break - a minimum $7,500 tax incentive for purchasers of hybrid electric vehicles. The size of the tax credit depends upon the power output of the vehicle's battery pack. Currently, the break is available only to purchasers of the first 250,000 PHEVs sold, but that cap may change under the new administration's stimulus package. Likewise, breaks may be extended to purchasers of all-electric vehicles.

Right now, PHEVs are not in mass production, meaning that few people would actually be able to take advantage of the credit, but within the next two model years, several PHEVs will be offered by major car manufacturers including Toyota, GM and newcomer BYD.

The Texas credit isn't a given. The state's part-time legislature must still take up the issue before its current session ends in late May.