Fastest Cars: Ecology

Showing posts with label Ecology. Show all posts

Japan Opens New 1.6 Mile-Long “Dinosaur Bridge” to Reduce Tokyo’s Traffic Jams

Tokyo was one of the cities bidding for the 2016 Summer Olympics. It eventually lost to Rio de Janeiro, yet the infrastructure that was created in order to boost its chances of hosting the Games is proving worth the investment.

One such example is the four-lane, 1.6-mile (2.6 km) Tokyo Gate Bridge. Nicknamed "Dinosaur Bridge" due to its unusual shape, it will open this weekend to vehicles after a decade of construction.

According to Bloomberg News, the so-called Dino Bridge cost 113 billion yen (US$1.45 billion), but the Japanese government expects it to yield 19 billion yen (US$246 million) annually, carrying 32,000 vehicles each day between the capital and a man-made island where a new container terminal is being built.

While President Obama’s initiative for a significant reduction in vehicles’ fuel consumption and CO2 emissions may sound very ambitious to some, a new study by the University of Michigan Transport Research Institute shows that car manufacturers have managed to improve their new cars’ fuel economy by 3 mpg in the last four years.

If this doesn’t sound a lot, then consider that according to the study, the average fuel economy of all 2012MY light vehicles available on the U.S. market is 21.5 mpg US (10.9lt/100km). That's a far cry from the 54.5 mpg US (4.3lt/100km) target set for 2025, but still an impressive 14 percent up or +3.0mpg from 2008MY’s average of 18.9 mpg US (12.5lt/100km).

On Tuesday, January 31, U.S. President Barack Obama’s schedule included a visit to the 2012 Washington Auto Show. The White House informed automakers on a two days’ notice to bring their most fuel-efficient models to the show.

Naturally, they obliged. For example, Honda flew in the FCX Clarity from California, Kia brought the Optima hybrid and Mercedes-Benz a fuel-cell car. Carmakers also brought along their top brass to discuss green technologies with the President.

As Bloomberg reports, the problem is that Obama, who had half an hour in his disposal, ignored foreign manufacturers.

Instead, he spent most of his time with domestic brands, posing for the press with the Dodge Dart, the Chevrolet Malibu, the Ford C-MAX Energi, the Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 and the Chevrolet Corvette ZR-1 (not pretty fuel efficient those two, by the way…).

The state of California has been at the forefront of the nation’s regulations when it comes to reducing emissions since the 1970s. And now it has taken another step in this direction by approving the Advanced Clean Car program.

It is a set of regulations that aims to reduce emissions and, among other things, requires 15.4 percent of all new vehicles that will be sold by 2025 to be all-electric, plug-in hybrids or powered by fuel cells.

By implementing this program, California regulators wish to reduce passenger vehicles emissions by 34 percent between 2014 and 2015, and overall smog-forming emissions by 75 percent. It’s a goal similar to the federal standards proposed by President Obama.

Toyota is participating in the Berlin Police force's efforts to go green by providing an initial batch of three Prius hybrids for its "Initiative 120" program that calls for the use of alternative fuel and low CO2 emission cars.

In the first phase of "Initiative 120", the Berlin police will use a total of eleven vehicles that also include two examples of each of these models: the Opel Ampera extended range EV, the Renault Fluence sedan Z.E and Kangoo Van Z.E., and the Mitsubishi i-MiEV hatchback.

Bio-ethanol E85 (up to 85% ethanol and 15% gasoline) conversions are nothing new in the auto industry but you don't see it happening everyday on brand new supercars of the likes of the Ferrari FF, which is why this project caught our attention.

According to the reports, the conversion to allow the Ferrari's V12 engine to run on E85 fuel comes from Norwegian firm Customized.no and it costs just €1,500 or nearly US$2,000.

On regular fuel, the 6.3-liter lump delivers 660PS (651bhp) emitting 360 gr/km of CO2 emissions and accelerating the FF from zero to 100km/h (62mph) in 3.7 seconds.

Thinking “green” is the latest mantra repeated over and over again by all car manufacturers. The most usual way of displaying their environmentally conscious approach is to advertise their vehicles' low CO2 emissions.

Volkswagen, while still selling and developing greener cars, is also implementing a new “Think Blue. Factory.” initiative that aims to make its product plants more environmentally friendly.

The U.S. government has pushed automakers hard on the issue of reducing their fleets average fuel consumption and CO2 emissions – and even though it made some concessions, it eventually won their support.

What’s surprising is the fact that during a time that many plug-in hybrid or pure electrical vehicles are ready to enter the North American market, the government has decided to let the tax credit for installing home as well as commercial charging equipment expire on Sunday, January 1, 2012.

The third Daihatsu concept model that made it to this year's edition of the Tokyo Motor Show is the PICO, a futuristic proposal for a diminutive two-seater EV commuter positioned between small cars and motorcycles.

At 2,400mm long, 1,000mm wide and 1,530mm tall with a wheelbase of 1,830mm, the Daihatsu concept is much smaller than the Smart Fortwo, yet it has space for two passengers sitting in tandem-style.

Toyota's conceptual products at the 2011 Tokyo Motor Show are a bit more than crowd pleasers as both the FT-EV III mini and the FCV-R study pictured here, are slated to enter production.

The FCV-R is a next-generation fuel-cell concept model fueled by hydrogen that Toyota says is planned for launch in 2015.

According to the Japanese automaker, the fuel-cell unit is located beneath the specially designed body thus saving space with the concept being able to accommodate up to four passengers and their luggage.

The next generation fuel cell stack consists of a 70 MPa high-pressure hydrogen tank, which said to provide a driving range of approximately 700 km or about 435 miles.

The state of California has more than 1,400 miles of High Occupancy Vehicle, or HOV, lanes. Initially, only vehicles with two or more occupants could use them, in order to minimize congestion. However, as low-emission vehicles became more common, the Golden State recently changed the regulations, allowing them to use the HOV lanes in order to widen their appeal to buyers.

"HOV lane access is a coveted perk in California,” said Chris Perry, vice president of Global Chevrolet Marketing. Despite being an extended-range hybrid, the Volt didn’t qualify for one of the 40,000 HOV stickers that are only available California Enhanced, Advanced Technology – Partial Zero Emissions Vehicles."

Sales of the Volt have been picking up lately with GM’s extended-range EV outselling one of its main rivals, the Nissan Leaf, for the very first time in October. Famous car nut Jay Leno, though, is an early adopter and he got his own Volt in December of 2010.

The host of “The Tonight Show” says he has covered more than 10,000 miles without ever visiting a gas station. Yes, you read that correctly: Leno is still driving on the same tank of fuel his Volt had 11 months ago.

Seat has introduced two new eco-friendly prototype models, the Altea XL Electric Ecomotive, which is an all-electric zero-emission version of its mid-size MPV, and the Leon TwinDrive Ecomotive, a plug-in hybrid variant of its C-segment hatchback.

A test fleet of the two models, which are still in prototype form, will be made available to Catalonia and Madrid government institutions in order to gather valuable information about real-world usage of the cars before moving on to mass production versions

Daihatsu's Tokyo Motor Show lineup of tiny concept models is growing with the addition of the FC Sho Case study seen in these pictures.

The Japanese company says it's an extremely compact and eco-friendly proposal that employs a next-generation unit equipped with liquid fuel cells that contain no precious metals.

[2007 Toyota Hybrid X Concept pictured above]

There’s no doubt that Toyota, with its Prius, is the carmaker that made hybrid cars an everyday word in our vocabulary. Granted, other companies like Honda with its first, odd-looking Insight, offered their own models, but it was the best-selling Prius that made hybrid cars popular to the masses.

As emission regulations become tougher though, even Toyota is looking for ways to offer even “greener” cars. All-electric vehicles like the Nissan Leaf are one option. But Toyota wants to go the extra mile and launch a new fuel cell model in Europe by 2015.

The first examples of Audi's A1 e-tron gasoline-electric hybrid project car hit the streets of Munich today as the German company in cooperation with E.ON and the public utility Stadtwerke Munchen and Technise Universitat Muncher initiated the trial program.

Audi has provided a fleet of 20 extended-range A1 e-tron electric vehicles, while E.ON and SWM have installed charging infrastructure both within the city limits and in surrounding areas.

According to the data collected from the European Federation for Transport and Environment for its annual analysis, the European car manufacturer that has managed the greatest reduction in average CO2 emissions across its range in 2010 is Volvo.

The study shows that last year, Europe’s eight biggest automakers reduced their average CO2 emissions by 2 to 6 percent. Volvo, on the other hand, managed a 9 percent reduction topping the relative charts thanks to models such as the 99 g/km V50 DRIVe and the 119 g/km V70 DRIVe.

NY-Class is a not-for-profit organization on a mission to replace the Big Apple’s venerable (though some say inhumane) carriage-horse industry with clean, electric-drive “show cars”.

These “21st Century Horseless Carriage” may look like something from the turn of the twentieth century, but behind the white walls and running boards sit five modern lithium-ion battery packs good for 8 to 10 hours travel time on a 2 to 3 hour charge.

NY-Class – an acronym for New Yorkers for Clean, Livable And Safe Streets – commissioned the Fort Lauderdale, FL based Creative Workshop to produce a two-foot-long model of their proposal. The lime-green miniature is said to have cost US$12,500 (€9,335), which is an achievement in itself.

In an eco-marathon, you normally expect the winner to be a hybrid, a diesel or some other super-frugal -and usually underpowered- car. Well, in the Fleet World MPG Marathon the champion had no less than 431-horses kicking and screaming to be unleashed under its bonnet.

You read that correctly: the LS3 6.2-liter V8-powered VXR8 - essentially a Holden HSV rebadged as a Vauxhall for the UK market- won the two-day, 350-mile economy trial.

How did this happen? There's a simple explanation: this award wasn't given to the most fuel efficient vehicle in absolute numbers, but to the one that recorded the highest percent improvement over the official fuel consumption figures.

The stricter fuel consumption standards that the Obama administration planned to introduce this week will be delayed, according to a report from Reuters. The government pushed hard to gain the automakers’ approval, and after making some concessions, it achieved its goal.

However, the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) and the Transportation Department that were expected to announce the new CAFE regulations for model years 2017-2025 by the end of the week are not yet ready. Therefore, the announcement will be delayed by a month, or possibly even more.

Japan Opens New 1.6 Mile-Long “Dinosaur Bridge” to Reduce Tokyo’s Traffic Jams

Study Shows that New U.S. Market Vehicle's Fuel Economy Improved by 14 Percent from 2008-2012MY

Non-U.S. Automakers Displeased After President Obama Snubs Them at Washington Auto Show

California wants 1.4 Million Zero-Emission Vehicles by 2025; Manufacturers Agree, Dealers Object

Toyota Prius Joins Berlin's Eco Fleet of Police Cars

Norwegian Firm Converts Ferrari FF into a Bio-Ethanol Supercar

Volkswagen Pushes for Greener Plants by 2018

Government Lets Tax Breaks Expire Just when EVs and Plug-in Hybrids Are Increasing in Numbers

Tokyo Motor Show: Tiny Daihatsu Pico EV Concept [Updated]

New Toyota FCV-R Fuel-Cell Concept Heading for Production in 2015 [Updated]

Chevy’s Low Emissions Package Gives 2012 Volt Access to California’s HOV Lanes

Jay Leno and Other Volt Owners Drive 10,000 Miles without Using a Drop of Gas

Seat Unveils New Pure Electric and Plug-in Hybrid Prototypes

Drive it, Don't Wear it: Daihatsu FC Sho Case Fuel Cell Concept

Toyota Plans to Sell a €100,000 Fuel Cell Car in Europe by 2015

Audi Launches A1 e-tron Trial Program in Munich

Volvo Takes Pride in Reducing its CO2 Emissions the Most Among European Manufacturers

Organization wants NYC's Central Park Carriage -Horse Operators to Trade in Mr. Ed for Mr. EV

Vauxhall's VXR8 Sport Saloon Wins MPG Marathon Award, No Really

Obama Administration Pushes Back Announcement on 54.5 mpg CAFE Regulations

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