Monday, December 6, 2010

Gas 2.0

Gas 2.0

Fiat and Chrysler Going Natural Gas Over Electric, Hybrid

Posted: 06 Dec 2010 04:18 PM PST

Despite the recent glut of EV's, not everybody is convinced electric cars are the way future. Fiat and by extension, Chrysler, are two such companies. They think natural gas is a better alternative.

Electric cars still haven't overcome limited range, public skepticism, or an untested infrastructure. While electric cars can be used for light duty commercial applications, contractors and delivery drivers might have to do a lot more driving than most electric cars offer. Fiat currently sells the most natural-gas vehicles in Europe and hopes to start selling them in America too. Fiat spun-off the Ram brand from Dodge, giving them a truck-only segment with which to focus on the commercial market. See where they are going with this?

Right now Fiat makes two natural gas vans, the Fiat Doblò and Ducato BiPower, the later of which is a large van. The current Sprinter vans are based on an aging Mercedes Benz body and need to soon be replaced. A big natural gas van would slot well in the Ram lineup and wouldn’t cost as much as a hybrid.

Fiat claims it costs an extra $3,000 to run conventional engine on natural gas, versus over $8,000 to convert it to a hybrid system. Natural gas costs about a $1.00 less per-gallon, and there are tax credits available towards the purchase of such vehicles (though those credits might soon expire). For commercial owners, the lower cost of entry and lower cost of fuel could be a deciding factor versus buying a comparable hybrid vehicle. Then again there are just 1,300 natural gas refueling stations. Not the kind of saturation they are looking for.

The U.S. has a lot of natural gas reserves, and it does burn cleaner than other fossil fuels. I'd rather run a vehicle on American propane than Venezuelan oil. Fiat isn't completely ignoring hybrid and electric vehicles, but they could fall behind if their gambit doesn't pay off. Or they could end up dominating the commercial market.

Source: Bloomberg

Chris DeMorro is a writer and gearhead who loves all things automotive, from hybrids to Hemis. You can follow his slow descent into madness at Sublime Burnout.

Chinese Commercial Train Breaks 300 MPH

Posted: 06 Dec 2010 12:04 PM PST

The Chinese high-speed rail system is a serious feat of engineering accomplishment. Not only is it the biggest network of high-speed rail tracks, but a recent test run by a commercial train set a new speed record of 302 mph.

Yes there are other, faster trains, and this was just a test run on the new Beijing-to-Shanghai lines. However, this is supposed to be an unmodified, commercial train. China recently laid claim to another HSR record of 268 mph, but this new train breaks soared past that to 302 mph. That’s fast my friends, and very few land-based vehicles have managed such speeds. Called “Harmony,” this train probably won't go 302 mph all the time, but just being capable of it is an achievement. At that speed, the 824 mile trip between two cities takes just five hours.

China's high-speed rail network is about 4,000 miles right now. By 2020, they plan to more than double that to about 8,100 miles. I'm not trying to hate on my own country, but realistically, by that time, we'll be lucky to have 500 miles of high-speed rail lines. The Chinese investment in high-speed rail dwarfs our own, though it isn't exactly cheap.

At this rate, it'll only be a few years before they break 400 mph. America needs to step its game up.

Source: Xinhua (yay Google Chrome translate)

Chris DeMorro is a writer and gearhead who loves all things automotive, from hybrids to Hemis. You can follow his slow descent into madness at Sublime Burnout.

Are You Ready For the Road Train?

Posted: 06 Dec 2010 09:25 AM PST

The European Union’s “SAfe Road TRains for the Environment” (SARTRE) initiative kicked off last year, promising to ease traffic congestion and improve fuel economy while making highway travel safer and more convenient … by taking drivers out of the equation.

SARTRE’s utopian vision has drivers commuting to work while reading a book, catching up on work emails, or (more likely) updating their Facebook page while their car is controlled by a wireless connection to a proposed “lead” vehicle, which SARTRE envisions as a semi truck, bus, or other professionally-driven vehicle (presumable one large enough to carry and power said wireless equipment).

Despite all the potential advantages and the novel solution (which requires minimal infrastructure to implement), it all sounds pretty scary to me, and when I first read about SARTRE it didn’t seem like they’d get much support.

How wrong I was!

After just one year of developing the concept and countless simulator runs, SARTRE – with official backing from both the EU, Ricardo, Volvo, and others – plans to begin real-world testing before the end of this year (so, in the next 3 weeks).  Development and testing is set to continue through 2012, with up to 5 cars “in the train”.

You can learn more about the proposed SARTRE system by enlarging the infographic (above), or watching the Volvo-provided/produced video, here.  Enjoy!

Source:  EU SARTRE, via Wired/Autopia.

Video: Watch the Nissan Leaf and Chevy Volt Get Built

Posted: 06 Dec 2010 07:41 AM PST

While traditional cars have been manufactured for over a hundred years, electric vehicles present a different set of challenges. Hit the jump and watch these videos of the Nissan Leaf and Chevy Volt being built if you don't believe me.

As we all already know, the Nissan Leaf lacks many of the components that make a car, a car. There is no engine per se, but an electric motor. There is no fuel tank either. But there are a lot of wires, computers and a huge battery that takes up a big chunk of the car. Interestingly enough, the Leaf is made on the same assembly line as the Versa, the gas-powered equivalent to the Leaf which shares the same chassis.

While the Nissan Leaf video is about 5 minutes long and heavy on the computers and whatnot, the Chevy Volt video jumps right into manufacturing. Here you will see sparks fly, There is no narration either, just pure manufacturing bliss. Like the Leaf, the Volt shares an assembly line with other models, in this case the Cadillac DTS and Buick Lucerne.

Both videos and cars are distinctly different, and yet GM and Nissan are almost paralleling each other's marketing. Which video kept your guys attention longer?

Source: GM | Nissan

Chris DeMorro is a writer and gearhead who loves all things automotive, from hybrids to Hemis. You can follow his slow descent into madness at Sublime Burnout.
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