Gas 2.0 |
- Public Electric Car Charging Stations May Go Largely Unused
- Largest Container Ship Operator Pledges To Cut CO2 Emissions by 20%
- Transonic Claims 75% Increase In Internal-Combustion Engine Fuel Efficiency
- Audi Planning Electric “e-tron” Version of All-New A2
- Car Buyers Want Green Cars To Be Better In Every Way
- Brazil’s 10 Millionth Ethanol Flex-Fuel Vehicle Hits the Road
| Public Electric Car Charging Stations May Go Largely Unused Posted: 08 Mar 2010 02:57 PM PST “Range anxiety” — the worry that your EV will run out juice before you get to where your going — is a term that has been bandied about a lot recently… almost annoyingly so. From a common sense standpoint, it seems only logical that range anxiety is a real phenomenon. But since we we have so few EVs on the roads right now, the fact of the matter is that range anxiety is, at this point, a made up concept based on what we can logically expect. And it’s this expectation that is spurring a huge amount of both private and public investment in nationwide charging networks for EVs — the assumption being that the only way EVs will ever become mass-accepted is to eliminate range anxiety. But will those public charging stations that we’re dumping money into go unused because we have an expectation for a phenomenon that turns out to not really be an issue?       |
| Largest Container Ship Operator Pledges To Cut CO2 Emissions by 20% Posted: 08 Mar 2010 01:51 PM PST Container ships straddle a fine line between ultra-efficient and ultra-polluters. They can carry thousands of 20-ft containers across thousands of miles of ocean in relatively short time, but they also burn sulfur-laden heavy oil fuels. Each ship can emit over 150,000 tons of CO2 every year, 5,000 tons of sulfur, and other harmful particulates attributed to death and disease along heavily populated coastlines. A.P. Moller Maersk AS operates the world’s largest container ship fleet. For the first time in 106 years, they lost money due to the economic downturn. How much money? $1.3 billion. Ouch. But they’ve also pledged to reduce their CO2 output by 20% by 2017. How nice would that be?     |
| Transonic Claims 75% Increase In Internal-Combustion Engine Fuel Efficiency Posted: 08 Mar 2010 01:48 PM PST So far as we know, oil is a finite resource. But it is still the most widely used fuel for transportation right now, and likely will be for the near future. It could be twenty-five years or more before alternative fuel vehicles make up a majority of the new car market. So until then, we are stuck with petrol engines. But that doesn’t mean they won’t get better. A California-based company called Transonic claims that its fuel injection system increases fuel efficiency by 75% while cutting emissions in half. No electric motors, no gimmicks… just a supercritical injection process. Which is what, exactly?     |
| Audi Planning Electric “e-tron” Version of All-New A2 Posted: 08 Mar 2010 01:26 PM PST Audi is continuing its aggressive push into the electric car marketspace by bringing its “e-tron” moniker to yet another model: the A2. What’s that you say, there’s an Audi A2? Well, yes, when it was originally produced in the early 2000’s the A2 (pictured above) was essentially a European market flop. It was an oddly styled, underperforming mini-minivan that made extensive use of aluminum to save weight. But it was also a very fuel efficient vehicle: the 3-liter diesel version got nearly 80 miles per gallon (US) on the European cycle — making it the first vehicle to break the 3 liters per 100 kilometer mark. And now Audi seems to think that the A2 was a flop because it was ahead of its time and they’re planning on bringing it back for the 2014 model year. Given the success of vehicles like the Mazda5 and the onslaught of what are essentially mini-minivans, perhaps Audi is right. Let’s just hope they make it look better this time around.     |
| Car Buyers Want Green Cars To Be Better In Every Way Posted: 08 Mar 2010 11:59 AM PST Fuel efficiency has increasingly become an important factor over the past few years when it comes to buying a new car. But it isn’t the only factor that matters as evidenced by a 7.5% decline in hybrid car sales in 2009 compared to 2008 when summer gas prices soared to $4/gallon. According to a new report by Accenture, American consumers are demanding more from their green cars than just good gas mileage; they want their green cars to wow them with electronics while delivering a superior driving experience. Are you listening Detroit?     |
| Brazil’s 10 Millionth Ethanol Flex-Fuel Vehicle Hits the Road Posted: 08 Mar 2010 11:52 AM PST In the world of alternative fuels, Brazilians are lucky. They have some of the best land and climate in the world with which to grow sugarcane–which they have proven is an excellent feedstock for first generation ethanol production. Not only is it incredibly easy to convert the cane sugar into ethanol through fermentation, they can power much of their ethanol production by burning the material leftover after harvesting and crushing the sugarcane to extract the sweet liquid. Years ago the Brazilian government realized the potential in this system and started encouraging a major shift to a transportation sector capable of running mostly on ethanol. And now the fruits of their labor are being borne out: The 10 millionth ethanol flex-fuel capable vehicle has been delivered in Brazil.     |
| You are subscribed to email updates from Gas 2.0 To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
| Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610 | |
No comments:
Post a Comment