Archive for the 'Gas mileage' Category
October 16th, 2009 by DaveAdmin
The California Air Resources Board announced that vehicles with soft plastic windows, such as those in the Jeep Wrangler, will be exempt from new regulations that require thermal-control windows. The regulations, to be phased in starting in model year 2012, are designed to reduce vehicle emissions by cutting the load on air conditioners.
Due to inversion layers which keep pollution close to its source in large parts of the state, California has had much stricter pollution rules than the Federal government in order to comply with clean-air regulations and reduce pollution-related illness.
The California Air Resources Board said that the “Cool Cars” regulation would only apply to “rigid windows” and not the “flexible glazing” on vehicles such as the Wrangler (which was mentioned by name.) Avoiding a loophole, they also noted that rigid plastic windows would need to comply with the standards, which are to be finalized by the end of October 2009.
GEM electric vehicles also have soft plastic windows; they do not have air conditioning.
The rules are expected to require windows that block 45% of the sun’s thermal energy (60% by 2016) on new vehicles weighing under 10,000 pounds. The windows may interfere with handheld cell phone and navigation systems, which drivers are discouraged from using (but which passengers may use). The board said that they would not interfere with electronic toll systems such as EZPass, based on tests, and that garage door openers would still work if used through a “deletion window.”
Toyota said the regulation would be expensive for them, since their GPS antennas are mounted inside the vehicle, and would need to be moved to the roof.
Depending on the price of fuel, the cost of the regulation would take 5-12 years to recoup in gas mileage, according to the state.
September 9th, 2009 by Bill Cawthon
The long-awaited proposal to require fuel efficiency standards of 35.5 miles per gallon could give certain automakers an advantage. The proposal, which could be presented as early as this week, is said to include a loophole based on a provision in the California standards which give impose less-stringent emissions requirements on automakers with fewer than 400,000 annual sales in the U.S. market.
In spite of complaints from Chrysler, Ford and General Motors, Jody Freeman, a White climate advisor, said the provision was part of a deal reached last May and will be part of the final regulation. The deal, which included the major car makers, combined California and federal standards to provide a single, national standard. Compliance with such a standard would be less for automakers, who previously were looking at one federal standard and standards for California and the other states that had adopted its requirements.
The exemption will provide the most benefits for luxury carmakers like Aston Martin, BMW, Mercedes and Porche. Under the old fuel economy standards, car makers could avoid compliance by paying hefty fines and then passing the fines along to customers. Under the Clean Air Act, which covers emissions, compliance is mandatory and fines cannot be substituted for meeting the required standards. However, automakers can use things like improvements in air-conditioning, power steering and other parasitic systems to comply with the emissions standards, reducing the necessary fuel efficiency standard that must be met.
Other companies eligible for the relaxed standards include Mazda, Mitsubishi, Subaru and Suzuki. Kia may qualify depending on whether or not its sales are lumped with those of parent company Hyundai. Sales of the Hyundai brand were over 400,000 units in 2008.
The exempted brands, even if Kia is included, accounted for just 13.84 percent of all light vehicle sales in the U.S. market in 2008. The vast majority of sales are concentrated in just seven car companies: GM, Ford, Chrysler, Toyota, Honda, Nissan and Hyundai.
July 28th, 2009 by Bill Cawthon
The Wall Street Journal is reporting the Commodity Futures Trading Commission will say speculators played a major role in the skyrocketing oil prices that roiled the American economy last year. Between January 1 and July 1, crude oil futures in New York jumped 52 percent to a record $147.27 before nose-diving 77 percent to a low of $32.40 a barrel on Dec. 19.
The huge jump in oil prices drove the national average cost of a gallon of regular unleaded to over $4.00 last summer and gutted demand for the light trucks that were the life’s blood of the Detroit automakers. Chrysler, which depended on light trucks for 75 percent of its sales, took a serious hit that was one of the contributing factors in its eventual bankruptcy.
Based on an interview with Commissioner Bart Chilton, the report due out next month will reverse earlier findings that blamed supply and demand for the rapid rise in oil prices. According to Chilton, the earlier analysis was based on “deeply flawed data.”
Citing Chilton, the WSJ says the new report contains more thorough analysis of investors and reveals cases in which single traders held massive market positions. The previous report was issued when Henry Paulson was Secretary of the Treasury. Paulson was the former CEO of Goldman Sachs which has made large sums of money from an exemption from trading limits.
The previous CFTC report gathered information from swaps dealers about derivative contracts sold off exchanges. Chilton dissented from the earlier finding saying the data collected was incomplete.
The commission will start to hold public hearings today to determine whether limits need to be set on speculative investments in oil, gold, corn and other commodities in an attempt to rein in broad price swings that create problem for producers and consumers. Goldman Sachs will be one of the companies arguing against new rules and limits.
July 15th, 2009 by Bill Cawthon
Pontiac may be going away, but its Australian-built G8 sedan will likely live on as a large Chevy. According to sources, the G8 would reappear as the Chevrolet Caprice and the high-performance G8 GXP, with its 415-horsepower V8, would be marketed both as a premium sporty model described by one source as a “five-passenger Corvette” as well as a pursuit vehicle for law enforcement agencies where it could challenge the Dodge Charger. The Charger easily outperforms GM’s current Impala police package but Chrysler would have to look at the SRT8 version of the Charger to keep pace with the GXP.
A GM spokesman said discussion of the G8’s future is speculation at this time but the G8 is already sold as a Chevrolet in certain foreign markets and as a Buick in China.
The major roadblock to continuation of the G8 in the U.S. market is the new CAFE standards that all automakers must achieve. Because of its relatively poor mileage, the G8 would have to be sold in very small numbers to minimize its impact on overall GM fleet efficiency.
July 7th, 2009 by DaveAdmin
Chrysler has introduced iDFSO, Interactive Decel Fuel Shut-Off, software that cuts fuel to the engine while decelerating, to increase gas mileage. The amount of fuel shutoff is increased with certain engine speeds. This system increases both city and highway gas mileage, and lights a Fuel Saver indicator light when active.
The system is being phased in on 2009 model year cars and will be on numerous 2010 vehicles. For 2009:
- CVT and manual Caliber, Compass, and Patriot Limited
- Wrangler (with manual transmission only)
- Charger and 300 (5-speed automatic)
- Challenger (manual and 5-speed automatic)
- Nitro 4×4 (4.0 / automatic)
For 2010, the system will be added to:
oh20 noted: the fuel saver indicator light will be added to the minivans, LX cars, Journey, Nitro 4×4, all Jeep 4×4s (except Patriot/Compass), and Ram 1500, with select engines, for the 2010 model year. It will advise people when they have reached the economy target zone and fuel-saver mode target range.
May 26th, 2009 by DaveAdmin
According to the Scoop, Chrysler has submitted three proposals for $448-million in grants to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), to rapidly bring electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid-electric vehicles to market. The proposals fall under the DOE’s Electric Drive Vehicle Battery and Component Manufacturing Initiative, and its Transportation Electrification Initiative. The programs represent a 50/50 cost-share.
John Bozzella, Senior Vice President—External Affairs and Public Policy, Chrysler LLC, proclaimed, “Without U.S. innovation and production capacity, we will simply trade batteries for oil in the pursuit of transportation energy.” China has been actively seeking and developing sources of lithium, which is unevenly distributed with large supplies discovered in Asia, South America, and North America.
The $365-million submission for the Transportation Electrification Initiative would to establish a nationwide demonstration fleet of more than 365 test-fleet vehicles, using 100 minivans and 100 Rams across a range of climates and customer types. Partnerships with utilities, governments, and companies have already been established. The remainder of the 365 vehicles would be minivans used by the Post Office in delivering mail in four regions; agreements with utilities have already been established for charging.
Another grant for up to $83 million would establish a new technology and manufacturing center in Michigan, to house development, testing and electric-drive component manufacturing, along with final assembly of electric vehicles. The complex would be functional by 2010 and produce more than 20,000 units per year.
May 20th, 2009 by Bill Cawthon
Chrysler welcomes the President’s announcement of a framework for a single national approach for fuel economy and greenhouse gas standards. We thank the Administration for their leadership.
Today’s announcement begins an important process of harmonizing state and federal fuel economy programs. Chrysler has long been an advocate for a national approach to fuel economy as the most effective way to help the nation achieve energy security and environmental sustainability. With regulatory clarity and certainty, Chrysler and its alliance partner, Fiat, will now be able to concentrate their resources on developing a nationwide fleet of clean, fuel-efficient vehicles that will help support its revitalization and benefit American consumers.
These fuel-efficient vehicles will feature both improvements to conventional technology and technology that is entirely new. For example, Chrysler will soon introduce an all-new, high-volume V-6 engine that will deliver up to 8 percent improved fuel economy across the company’s current vehicle lineup. Chrysler’s alliance with Fiat will initially deliver consumers a world-class small engine and overall powertrain technology that will rapidly bring to market even more fuel-efficient, environmentally friendly small cars.
Chrysler’s entirely new technology will be found in vehicles developed by ENVI, an organization within Chrysler that is focused on electric vehicles as its primary clean-vehicle technology. Chrysler’s product plan includes the introduction of several production electric vehicle models by 2013.
We look forward to working with the Obama administration and others as this process moves forward toward an outcome that is economically and environmentally sustainable.
