Gas 2.0

GM Planning Rear-Wheel Drive Hybrids
First Ever Andros Electric Trophy Race Series Has A Winner!
A Conservative Case For Public Transportation
Ford Unveils Electric and Natural Gas Versions of Popular Transit Van

Posted: 09 Feb 2010 03:43 PM PST

General Motors is gaining traction these days. Their new and upcoming lineup of cars looks strong, they’ve shed a lot of dead weight, and they still have lots of low-interest loans backed by the gov’ment. Plus, with its number one competitor, Toyota, recalling millions of cars, GM looks even better.

Looking into the future a few years, there is even more to look forward from the General. Chief among them; a rear-wheel drive Cadillac hybrid that will supposedly share the same platform as the next-generation Camaro.

GM has already announced that it plans on building its electric motors in-house, and taking its two-mode hybrid system from trucks and implanting it into cars. They showed off the XTS hybrid concept at the Detroit Auto Show as well, and that car is due out sometime in the next year or two.

Rear-wheel drive may not make sense for a lot of people. That’s just fine. For those of us with a more performance-tuned mind, rear-wheel drive equates to fun. Fun is exactly what hybrid cars are lacking right now. The new Cadillac will be dubbed the ATS and is slated to fight the BMW 3-series cars. Making their first hybrid a Cadillac will help with sales, since hybrid buyers are used to paying a premium anyway. It also means they can actually make money off of them.

The other half of this news that gets me all giddy is that Motor Trend recently reported that the Camaro will downsize and likely move to the Alpha platform, the same one being used by the Cadillac ATS. Now I want to be very clear here; I think the Camaro, and all muscle cars for that matter, should always have a V8 engine as an option. Nothing can compare to the deep, guttural growl of a well-tuned V8 engine.

But, that doesn’t mean I’d be opposed to a V8 hybrid. Just because I want to go fast, doesn’t mean I want to spend all my money on gas. A Camaro hybrid is looking more and more like a possibility. Hey GM, at least give us the option!

Source: Motor Authority | Motor Trend | Image: GM

First Ever Andros Electric Trophy Race Series Has A Winner!

Posted: 09 Feb 2010 03:38 PM PST

Electric cars and the cold generally do not go well together because of the whole depleted range thing. That is, unless, you’re racing.

This past December the Andros Electric Trophy racing series began. Featuring eight AC 03 Evo2 electric cars built specifically for this series, the race challenged drivers to take their electric rides around seven different icy, snowy courses. The winner was Nicolas Prost, son of four-time F1 champion Alain Prost. No surprise there!

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This is one of the coolest racing series I never heard of. All the vehicles are built to the same specs, featuring a 90 kw (122 horsepower) single electric engine. The cars (we’ll call them Evo2 for short) have enough electric juice in them to run full-tilt in less than ideal conditions competing on courses in the Swiss Alps and across Europe.

Prost managed to stay at the front of the pack throughout the seven-race season and finished with 250 points. That was 23 points more than his nearest competitor.

Surprisingly, the Evo2 managed to round the track just a few seconds behind their petrol-powered counterparts. And maybe it is just me, but these Evo2s look pretty awesome for electric cars. If you take the time to watch the video, you’ll see just how tight the competition was, and how close these guys come to wiping out on every turn. It may not be the fastest race in the world, but it still looks like a blast.

Somebody needs to do this here in America. ASAP.

Source: AutoblogGreen | Trophee Andros

A Conservative Case For Public Transportation

Posted: 09 Feb 2010 03:24 PM PST

I’m probably more conservative than many of our dear readers. If you’re still reading, good! Because I’m not the only conservative who can see that we need a much better public transportation system.

The Infrastructurist recently interviewed Bill Lind, author of Moving Minds: Conservatives and Public Transportation. As you might have guessed, Mr. Lind is a conservative. But he also believes that a strong public transportation system will help Americans become more productive. As Mr. Lind puts it in his interview, “…conservatives do not enjoy being stuck in traffic any more than liberals.”

[Editor's note: We strive to make gas 2.0 a forum where ideas are evaluated regardless of ideology. And really, we can place all the labels we want on things, but in the end it's a varying shade of gray that separates individuals instead of the "with us" or "against us" mentality that has become so popular].

Mr. Lind’s point is simple. Traffic is a time waster, and wasted time is wasted money. He also says that the government has only two legitimate functions in a conservative train of thought; provide for the national defense, and provide an adequate infrastructure. While we’ve got the whole world’s best army part taken care of, our infrastructure is certainly lacking. But Lind argues that many conservatives still use the public transportation that exists today, despite having access to expensive cars. Why? Because they hate wasting time. They don’t ride public transportation because they have to (as opposed to those who can’t afford a car), but because they want to be productive on their way to or from work. Or at the very least, they want to be able to do something other than drive.

And that is the most interesting point in the interview. How many people, given the option, would prefer to take public transportation over driving themselves? I love cars, but if I could hop a train to Hartford, get my drink on, and then get back home without stepping foot in a car, I absolutely would. But as of right now, that option does not exist for me or my farm town.

As far as high-speed trains go, Mr. Lind is not a fan. He says that all the countries that have high-speed trains already had an existing, dense network of commuter trains. America doesn’t have that yet. Depending on where you are located, the nearest train station could be twenty miles away or even further. So until we get to the point that almost everyone has access to commuter trains, he thinks high-speed trains should be on the back burner because A) they cost too much and B) they serve fewer people than lots of “light rail” options, as he calls it. Mr. Lind wants streetcars to make a comeback, which would do double duty of providing jobs and infrastructure at a time when we need both.

Check out the Infrastructurist for yourself and decide if Mr. Lind makes a good case. And try not to hate me too much. I’m a Libertarian, I swear!

Source: The Infrastructurist | Image: Mjobling

Ford Unveils Electric and Natural Gas Versions of Popular Transit Van

Posted: 08 Feb 2010 10:05 PM PST

Just ahead of their official launch at the 2010 Chicago Auto Show, Ford has released more details on the upcoming all-electric and natural gas versions of their popular commercial fleet and utility van, the Transit Connect.

Since its U.S. introduction at the 2008 Chicago Auto Show, the Transit Connect has garnered significant praise from the media for its fuel efficiency and versatility. In fact, just last month the Transit won the 2010 North American Truck of the Year honors at the Detroit Auto Show.

In an effort to maintain the positive momentum, Ford is adding some significant revisions to the Transit Connect lineup for the 2011 model year by adding an all-electric version as well as a compressed natural gas (CNG) and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) capable Taxi version.

Transit Connect Electric

The Transit Connect Electric is targeted at commercial and fleet customers with a set daily route or who drive predictable distances and have a central location for daily recharging. Ford has been working with Detroit-based Azure Dynamics to fit the Transit with Azure's Force Drive battery electric powertrain and a Johnson Controls-Saft lithium-ion battery stack. Ford is targeting a range of about 80 miles for the Transit EV on a full charge of its 28 kWh battery. The battery can be recharged in 6-8 hours on a 240V outlet or longer on a 120V outlet. The vehicle has a top speed of 75 mph, making it fully highway legal.

The electric Transit is the first product in Ford's upcoming electric vehicle line up and is set to go into production in late 2010. The Transit EV will be followed by an electric Focus in 2011 and an as-yet-unannounced plug-in hybrid in 2012.

Transit Connect Taxi

New for the 2011 model year, Ford is also introducing a Taxi version of the transit connect with an engine prep package that will allow owners/operators to convert the vehicle to run on CNG or LPG. According to Ford, a conversion to CNG will reduce emissions by 30-40% and will result in significantly lower cost of operation due to the low cost of CNG in the U.S. as well as reduced wear and tear on the engine. Also, almost 90% of all CNG sold in the U.S. is derived from domestic sources, so there’s the added benefit of stopping that flow of money to organizations that don’t have our best interests in mind.

The Transit Connect Taxi will go into production in early 2011.

Source: Ford | Image Credits: Ford