Focus On . . .CARS & TRUCKS
Environmentally Friendly Vehicle Websites
Recommended by the Editors of EcoISP.com
In the United States, each new year begins with shows where automobile manufacturers introduce their latest and greatest vehicles. This year hybrid gasoline-electric models and fuel cell powered cars drew lots of attention at both the Los Angeles Auto Show from January 4 through 12 and the North American International Auto Show from January 11 through January 20 in Detroit.
Environmentally friendly vehicles have seen a 54 fold increase in popularity in the past five years, according to analysis of vehicle registrations by R.L. Polk & Co. provider of automotive information solution services to corporations worldwide since 1870. From January through October 2002, seven electric and gas-electric hybrid vehicles accounted for nearly 35,000 registrations, compared to just 650 new registrations in 1997. Gas-electric hybrids accounted for nearly 83 percent of the 2002 registrations.
2003 Toyota Prius (Photo courtesy Toyota)
Nearly 30 percent of all environmentally friendly vehicles are from California Designated Marketing Areas, where fuel costs that amount to nearly 20 cents per gallon more than the national average and stricter environmental regulations have sparked growth in environmentally friendly vehicles. Three of the top five green vehicle markets - Los Angeles, San Francisco and Sacramento - are in California. The other two are Washington, DC, and New York City.
The Toyota Prius and Honda Civic, both gas-electric hybrid vehicles, are the most popular environmentally friendly vehicles, representing 78 percent of the total green vehicle registrations. The Prius accounted for some 17,500 registrations, while the Civic reached nearly 10,000.
Hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) combine the internal combustion engine of a conventional vehicle with the battery and electric motor of an electric vehicle, resulting in twice the fuel economy of conventional vehicles. The practical benefits of HEVs include improved fuel economy and lower emissions than conventional vehicles for uses from personal transportation to commercial hauling. Find out more about how HEVs work, where to buy them and how to benefit from tax incentives that go with them, log on to the U.S. Energy Department's Hybrid Electric Vehicle Program site.
General Motors, which announced plans to put one million hybrid-electric vehicles on the road by the end of the decade, unveiled its Hy-Wire hydrogen fuel cell car to North America at the Detroit Auto Show. Previously seen at the Paris Auto Show in September 2002, the Hy-Wire has no internal combustion engine, no instrument panel, no brake or accelerator pedals. Read an article about the Hy-Wire at the Wired News website.
The X-drive, which allows steering, braking and other vehicle systems to be controlled electronically rather than mechanically, provides greater freedom for the driver. Drivers brake and accelerate with either the right or left hand. The driver accelerates by gently twisting either the right or left handgrip, and brakes by squeezing the brake actuator also located on the handgrips. The handgrips glide up and down for steering, somewhat different than today's vehicles where the steering wheel revolves around a steering column.
The Hy-Wire is powered by hydrogen, a field covered by the "Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Letter." Combined with oxygen from the air to create electricity, hydrogen runs the motor that moves the wheels, emitting only air and water vapor. Because hydrogen is the most abundant fuel, it can be refined from renewable energy sources, such as the sun, wind, water and biomass, as well as from traditional energy sources such as oil and natural gas.
The Hy-Wire fuel cell stack, which produces a continuously available power of 94 kilowatts, is installed in the back of the chassis. Put simply, fuel cell operation consists of oxygen and hydrogen in, pure water out. This removes pollutants such as nitrogen oxides (NOx) and greenhouse gases from the equation.
Hy-Wire so profoundly changes the automotive industry that GM has more than 30 patents in progress covering business models, technologies and manufacturing processes related to the concept and more inventions are being added all the time.
Quote: "It's clear fuel cells have much more promise than any other propulsion option, especially if renewable energy is used in the production of hydrogen as a suitable infrastructure becomes available. That is why we intend to do everything we can to produce a fuel cell car that is both affordable for the customer and economically viable for us by the end of this decade." - GM Vice President Larry Burns, responsible for research and development and planning.
General Motors' new Hy-Wire (Photo courtesy GM)
Fuel cell cars, powered by hydrogen, offer a way to limit greenhouse gas emissions linked to global warming, according to a study by GM, energy companies and an independent research organization released in May 2002.
Fuel cells will change how we live our everyday lives. They will power our vehicles, homes and office buildings more efficiently and with significantly less impact on the environment than fossil fuels. Fuel cell technology could end energy shortages and reduce U.S. reliance on imported oil.
Ballard Power Systems of Burnaby, British Columbia is recognized as the world leader in proton exchange membrane fuel cell technology. An electrochemical device, the fuel cell, converts the energy of a chemical reaction directly into electricity. By combining hydrogen fuel with oxygen from air, electricity is formed, without combustion of any form. Water and heat are the only by-products when hydrogen is used as the fuel source.
Fuel cells were invented in 1839 by English physicist Sir William Grove, and were first used in practical applications in the 1960s to provide electricity on spacecraft in the Gemini and Apollo space programs. To learn about the different types of fuel cells and how they work, click here.
Find out more about fuel cell development at the California Fuel Cell Partnership, a unique collaborative of auto manufacturers, energy companies, fuel cell technology companies, and government agencies. The California Fuel Cell Partnership expects to place up to 60 fuel cell vehicles on the road by the end of 2003. Its West Sacramento headquarters features a hydrogen fueling station. The station is used to fill vehicles with gaseous hydrogen. The hydrogen is stored cryogenically at a temperature of -423 degrees F (-253 degrees C). This system is safely used in over 1,000 industrial installations across the United States, although this is one of the first designed and utilized to fill fuel cell vehicles.
Because hydrogen is the most abundant fuel, it can be refined from renewable energy sources, such as the sun, wind, water and biomass, as well as from traditional energy sources such as oil and natural gas.
The greatest challenge to fuel cell commercialization is infrastructure - how to manufacture the hydrogen fuel, transport it to the customer and store it onboard the vehicle. While automotive companies are developing fuel cell vehicles, they cannot develop the necessary supporting infrastructure on their own. The challenge falls on the shoulders of energy companies and government.
Quote: "A good company delivers excellent products and services; a great one does all that and strives to make the world a better place." - Bill Ford, Ford Motor Company Chairman
Ford Motor Company is striving to lead the automotive pack when it comes to environmentally friendly vehicles. The company's environmental initiatives cover plants built to ensure waste reduction, fuel efficiency and recycling of vehicles at the end of their useful lives.
Ford's TH!NK electric vehicles provid transportation without producing harmful emissions.
In October 2002, a Ford fuel cell powered car set a national record for fuel cell endurance. Read about the test and view the car by clicking here.
Ford's newly introduced Model U (Photo courtesy Ford)
Ford's Model U introduced at the Detroit Auto Show integrates renewable, recyclable materials in its construction and is very low in emissions. The Model U uses a hydrogen powered, supercharged, intercooled 2.3 liter four cylinder internal combustion engine mated to a hybrid electric transmission. In addition to super clean emissions, fuel economy is estimated at 45 miles per gallon.
The push to introduce environmentally friendly cars extends to suppliers of the big automakers. Quantum Fuel Systems Technologies Worldwide of Irvine, California, supplied its gaseous fuel injector for Ford's hybrid Model U. "Quantum's injector is designed specifically to work with cleaner burning, dry gaseous fuels such as hydrogen, natural gas and propane," said Alan Niedzwiecki, president and CEO of Quantum. "We coupled proven electromagnetic technology with an innovative fuel metering design to yield an automotive type fuel injector that provides precise fuel control and long life at a low cost.
The 2003 Ford Focus PZEV, a partial zero emissions vehicle, was introduced at the preview of vehicles at the Los Angeles Auto Show. The efficient engine meets California's stringent partial zero emissions standard without requiring sacrifices of fun or economy on the part of its owners, Ford says.
Specific emissions actions include close placement of the catalytic converters to the exhaust manifold to allow them to reach operating temperatures more quickly, and electrically controlled exhaust gas recirculation that recycles inert gas into the combustion chamber to reduce NOx emissions and improved fuel economy, although Ford does not specify the number of miles per gallon attained by the car.
The Focus PZEV is powered by a new 2.3 liter inline four cylinder engine generating 148 horsepower. This PZEV powertrain will become the standard engine powering all California, New York, Vermont and Massachusetts Focus models beginning later in the first quarter, Ford said.
The company plans to debut more environmentally friendly products shortly, such as a Ford Escape hybrid-electric vehicle scheduled to roll out later this year.
DaimlerChrysler F-Cell car (Photo courtesy DaimlerChrysler)
DaimlerChrysler is making inroads on the fuel cell market. Eight years after the launch of the NECAR 1 concept study, DaimlerChrysler is now presenting the first fuel cell vehicles which will be deployed in fleets and tested by customers in Europe, the United States, Japan and Singapore. This will involve 30 Citaro city buses which will be supplied to transport undertakings in 10 major European cities from 2003, as well as 60 Mercedes-Benz A-Class F-Cell models. These cars will be operated and tested by customers within the framework of cooperative ventures in Europe, the USA, Japan and Singapore from 2003. With this step, DaimlerChrysler leaves the concept vehicle stage and moves towards marketability of fuel cell powered vehicles.
Over 450 automotive savvy professional women at the North American International Auto Show Women in Automotive Journalism announced their picks for Top Vehicle and Top Automotive Feature of the Year.
BMW's Mini Cooper (Photo courtesy BMW)
Using performance, safety, interior functionality and comfort as key criteria, they handed top honors to BMW's Mini Cooper for Best Vehicle and the Honda Civic hybrid propulsion system for Best Automotive Feature. The 2003 WAJ Awards mark the first time a large group of women automotive journalists have come together to speak with one voice to honor what they see as "the cream of the crop of new automotive offerings."
The U.S. Army is greening its fighting capacity with a hybrid truck designed to make it easier to fight and hide on the front lines. The Army owns nearly 250,000 trucks, which makes it one of the largest fleets in the nation. Three of top four fuel users in the battlefield are trucks.
At the Detroit Auto Show, General Motors Corp. and the Army revealed a diesel hybrid military pickup truck equipped with a fuel cell auxiliary power unit that could become the model for the Army's new fleet of 30,000 light tactical vehicles by the end of the decade.
The five kilowatt regenerative fuel cell auxiliary power unit with its metal hydride hydrogen storage system is a key component of General Motors Corp.'s diesel hybrid military truck for the U.S. Army. It will improve Army fuel consumption by 20 percent over conventional diesels, reduce emissions. and provide troops with clean, reliable electrical power. With fuel transportation costs reaching up to $400 a gallon, taxpayer savings could amount to millions of dollars.
The fuel cell auxiliary power unit would replace the loud engine and battery based stationary generators the Army now uses for field power, thus enhancing the Army's "silent watch" capability, or the ability to operate undetected by the enemy. Fuel cells are much quieter than engine generators and do not give off as much heat, making them less likely to be picked up by enemy heat sensors. The fuel cell familiarizes the military with the next generation of commercially developed fuel cell technology.
Fleets can play an important role in introducing more fuel efficient vehicles into the U.S. passenger vehicle stock but need some encouragement to do so, according to a new study by the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy. "Greener Fleets: Fuel Economy Progress and Prospects" finds that few fleets have attempted to maximize the fuel economy of their vehicles to date.
The Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards mandate the fuel efficency automakers must build into their products. The passenger car standard, currently at 27.5 mpg, has not been increased since the 1986 model year. The light truck standard is set annually. Congressional efforts are aimed at increasing the standard to around 40 mpg. Find out more about how the CAFE standards operate by visiting The Bureau of National Affairs site on this issue which includes links to Congressional reports, Environmental Protection Agency pages on fuel economy for cars and light trucks, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and a wide range of nongovernmental organizations both for and against tightening the CAFE standards.
Find out more about electric vehicles at the Electric Vehicle Association of the Americas, now called the Electric Drive Transportation Association.
The National Renewable Energy Laboratory focuses on vehicles in its Center for Transportation Technologies and Systems where a team of engineers, scientists, and information specialists is developing advanced vehicle and fuel technologies and moving them from the research and development arena to the marketplace. Fuel cells, next generation natural gas vehicles, and the Clean Cities program are just a few of the work projects at the Center.
The American Trucking Association, the industry association for big rigs, maintains a GreenTruck website produced in cooperation with the Transportation Environmental Resource Center. Find out more about clean diesel fuel at the Green Diesel Technology website.
Find out more about electric vehicles of all types by visiting the website of EVWorld a publication that covers developments around the world.
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