New posts from Gas 2.0!

Video: The Finnish-Built, Wood Burning El Camino
Sergio Marchionne Confirms Diesel V6 for Jeep Grand Cherokee
Canada vs. Electric Cars, Round 3

Video: The Finnish-Built, Wood Burning El Camino

Posted: 15 Apr 2011 02:15 PM PDT

Truth is stranger than fiction, or so the saying goes. And I could not make this story up if I tried. A Finnish politician has converted his American-built El Camino to run on woodgas. How's that for awesome?

Juhas Sipilä's 1987 El Camino, affectionately dubbed "El Kamina" (The Stove), features a very steampunk-like woodgas generator taking up about half of the truckbed. El Kamina's 400 Chevy engine can take the 4,400 pound truck about 125 miles on 175 pounds of biomass, or about 1.4 pounds of biomass-per-mile. The truck itself can carry enough fuel for around 800 total miles of travel. Juhas, a parliamentary candidate, genuinely seems to believe that homegrown biofuels can reduce his country's dependence on oil, and it is nice to see a politician (even if it's a Finnish one) put his money where his mouth is. Juhas is in good company too, as there is a whole society for woodgas-converted vehicles in Finland. Whether or not that helps him get elected remains to be seen, but it probably won’t hurt.

I've covered woodgas before, and even had the chance to meet one of these biofuel pioneers in the flesh before. Wood gas generators are nothing new; they've in fact been around since the second World War, and the premise is symbol. Two separate, very high-heat reactions "gasify" wood or other biomass into a syngas that can be used to run a gasoline engine. Woodgas, when done right, can provide a cleaner and better burn than gas or diesel engines. Of course, as you can see from these pictures, a woodgas system takes up a sizable chunk of the El Kamina's rear bed, and it isn't what I would call a "sleek" vehicle.

But is it cool? Hell yes, and sometimes being cool counts for more than being practical. Besides, as long as he’s got a few tree branches or rotten fruit around, he’ll never be out of fuel. Hard to beat that!

Source: Jalopnik

Chris DeMorro is a writer and gearhead who loves all things automotive, from hybrids to HEMIs. You can read about his slow descent into madness at Sublime Burnout or follow his non-nonsensical ramblings on Twitter @harshcougar.

Sergio Marchionne Confirms Diesel V6 for Jeep Grand Cherokee

Posted: 15 Apr 2011 11:36 AM PDT

The proverbial cat is out of the bag, as Autoblog reports it heard straight from the mouth of Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne that by 2013, the new Jeep Grand Cherokee will get the European 3.0 liter turbodiesel V6.

The European Grand Cherokee is already slated to get this oil-burning powerplant, what with its 241 horsepower, 406 ft-lbs of torque, and nearly 20% improvement in fuel efficiency. However, American automakers have been slow to offer diesel engines as an option on domestic vehicles, and while there have been a handful of diesel Jeeps in the past, there was very little marketing behind them.

With $4.00 a gallon gas just about here though, the 28 mpg (Euro standard) diesel-powered Cherokee will be a big boon for SUV owners. In addition to better gas mileage, more torque, and a 7,000 lb tow rating, a diesel-powered Grand Cherokee will pump out 20% less CO emissions. It's win-win-win, though what kind of cost premium is (or isn't?) placed on the diesel powerplant could have huge ramifications for its acceptance. Right now though, I am just stoked that Chrysler is actually making a move towards diesels while the rest of the American auto industry seems reluctant to move away from gasoline.

So does this mean we’ll get a diesel Wrangler as well? I can only hope.

Source: Autoblog

Canada vs. Electric Cars, Round 3

Posted: 15 Apr 2011 09:30 AM PDT

The Canadian province of Quebec has announced plans to offer government rebates of up to $8000 (Canadian) on high-capacity electric vehicles in a bid to place 300,000 plug-in electric vehicles on Quebec’s roads by 2020. With up to $50 million in funding already set aside for the program, the province hopes that – by doing so – they’ll be able to cut overall carbon emissions to the tune of 900,000 tons annually.

Currently, Quebec’s petroleum use breakdown looks like this …

… and, since more than 90% of Quebec’s electricity comes from hydro power, this isn’t a case of simply diverting fossil fuel use from gasoline being burned in cars to Albertan tar sand oil being burned at the power station, either. As such, a large-scale switch to EVs and plug-in vehicles would (arguably) have a bigger positive impact in Quebec than it would in areas that rely on coal.

After all the negativity surrounding Canada’s tumultuous relationship with EVs in recent months, it’s good to see EVs gain some ground.

Source: Quebec “Running on Green Power” Action Plan, via Treehugger.