Thursday, December 30, 2010

Gas 2.0

Gas 2.0

U.K. Electric Land Speed Team Aiming to Break Own Record

Posted: 30 Dec 2010 03:57 PM PST

In 2000, Don Wales set the U.K. electric vehicle land speed record at 139 mph. Ten years later, he has decided to set out and beat his still-standing record and try to match that of his grandfather at 175 mph.

Back in 1925, Sir Malcolm Campbell was a land speed racer who drove Durracq's, a defunct French automaker. Campbell named his car Bluebird, after seeing a play by Maurice Maeterlinck of the same name. He went on to set the land speed record at Pendine Sands in the UK, clocking in the flying mile and kilometer at about 174 mph. Campbell was also the first man to drive a car 300 mph. Both his son and grandson followed in his footsteps, setting land speed records of their own.

His grandson, Don Wales, set the electric land speed record in the U.K. in his own Bluebird at 139 mph. With the renewed interest in electric cars, Wales feels like his record could be vulnerable to an upstart team. So rather than wait for somebody else to break it, he's going to break it himself, and try to match his grandfather's record speed to boot. Wales currently holds the world steam-powered land speed record at 148 mph, but an American team called the Buckeye Bullet holds the electric land speed record at 321.8 mph. In 2012, Wales wants to go 500 mph in an electric vehicle.

A new generation of hot rodders are coming together under the flag of green fuels. I like it. I want to see some more land speed records and more sustainable racing series. While the electric Bludbird is a one-of-a-kind vehicle, production-based electric car races could be just what the customer ordered. As the old adage once went, race on Sunday, sell on Monday.

Source: Electric Car News

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.

Video: Nissan Transporting Leaf in New Eco-Ship

Posted: 30 Dec 2010 11:57 AM PST

The all-electric Nissan Leaf makes no emissions; the huge container ships transporting them around the world are a whole other story. So Nissan introduced its "Eco-Ship," with a more aerodynamic prow that could save up to 800 tons of fuel.

"The City of St. Petersberg" will go into service shipping the Leaf across Europe. Europe has some of the busiest shipping lanes in the world. All of these of the container ships used to move all this cargo are not only pushing against the water, but the wind as well. The sharp prows and tall navigation bridges are not exactly aerodynamic. Making it even a little bit sleek can save a lot of fuel.

So Nissan came up with this spherical design, which cuts wind resistance by 50%, which they estimates could save 800 tons of fuel over the course of a year, which equates to 2,500 tons of CO2. The 21,000 ton freighter can ship about 2,000 cars per-trip between Northern Europe and Russia from Nissan's factories in the U.K. and Spain. It is being deployed in the North Sea because the area is known for its high winds. Nissan thinks the boats aerodynamics will be of more use here.

I'm glad to see Nissan really running with the green ideas and applying them to other facets of their business. They're shoring up a lot of green karma with the Leaf, and I really think in the long run they're going to be running a leaner business by spending less on fuel. If this ship does what Nissan says it does, it could be a revolutionary change to the shipping business. Imagine applying these features on a ship traveling between continents. I bet that would make all the bean counters giddy.

Source: NDTV

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.

Automakers Looking to Trim Down Truck Weight

Posted: 30 Dec 2010 09:18 AM PST

Pickup trucks have traditionally been the best selling vehicles in America while routinely returning the worst fuel mileage. In order to improve mpg's in the face of high fuel economy standards, Detroit is going on a diet.

Reuters reports that since 2000, truck weight has gone up by around 22%, while fuel economy has improved by just 2%. The Fed's want trucks to meet new CAFE standards with fleet wide average fuel economy of 34.1 mpg by 2016; just in time for the next design cycle. Right now, the best fuel economy you can get out of any truck is a 2011 F-150 with the 3.7 liter V6 engine, which delivers 16/23 mpg numbers, while Ford’s 5.0 V8 truck engine gets a 15/21 rating (and about 100 more horsepower and lb-ft of torque). Ford’s also got its EcoBoost V6, which should also get around 23 mpg while delivering the power of a bigger V8.

That’s still a long way off from 30 mpg, but to reach that magic 34.1 automakers just have to sell more fuel efficient vehicles by volume to hit the new CAFE standard. So even if the trucks don’t meet their own standard of 30 mpg’s, it is ok, as long as they sell enough 40 mpg passenger cars to make up the difference and bring their overall economy up to 34.1 mpg. However, considering that Ford, GM, and Dodge, sell more trucks than any other vehicle in their lineup, they’ve still got their work cut out for them. They really only have one option.

Lose weight. Lot's of weight. Unfortunately, consumers have become quite picky when it comes to new car purchase; they want a lot of bells and whistles, safety, power, and now they want fuel economy too. It’d be hard to backtrack and start taking cars back to the stone age of automobiles. Ford is pushing smaller-displacement engines in full-size trucks, but you can only get so many mpg's out of a vehicle that weighs 5,000 pounds.

So Ford and GM are both experimenting with magnesium frames and aluminum body panels, which could shed between 500 and 800 pounds off of the truck. With modern engines and six-speed transmissions that are suddenly all the rage, these trucks could break into the 30 mpg range (on the highway at least). But these lighter metals are more expensive, and that cost will be passed on to buyers. How much more it will cost is anybody's guess, but losing weight is just the first step. Detroit is still trying to make a golf ball out of a brick. Aerodynamics are going to be key to reaching those upper mpg's.

As a truck fan, I'm absolutely elated at the idea of a 30 mpg truck, and business owners who rely on work trucks should be too…depending on how much extra these lightweight trucks cost. The question Detroit has got to ask is, much more wouldare consumers willing to pay for a 30 mpg truck?

Source: Reuters

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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