Gas 2.0

When you think about the fuel-efficient vehicles we’ll need as we descend the other side of Hubberts Peak you think of an electric car, right? You just don’t think of a hybrid diesel electric Semi Truck, do you?

Well, luckily, somebody is thinking about this fuel-efficient Semi, because we will still need to transport stuff even as the oil age slowly comes to an end.

Kioko Muthui has designed a humungous concept vehicle that would operate as a Series Range extended EV - a bit like the Volt - but instead of gas to run the onboard ICE, using a tiny amount of diesel.

Like the series hybrid Volt, this internal combustion engine is used only to generate electricity to run the truck as an EV, never to power the vehicle. Read the rest of this entry »

Despite the latest advancements in automotive hybrid and flex-fuel technologies, motorcycles and scooters remain one of the most efficient ways for energy-conscious commuters to get around town.  Unfortunately, there haven’t been any real “alt fuel” options open to motorcyclists.  As such, despite the incredible efficiency of some 2-wheelers (my own Honda Ruckus gets over 100 mpg), motorcycles remain petroleum-dependent gas addicts.  They may be sippers - rather than guzzlers - but still.

Enter Europe’s EVA, manufacturers of the Track T800CDI diesel motorcycle - a bike so full of exotic features and new technology that I’m almost at a loss for words … almost.

Specs and pictures of this amazing machine available after the jump.

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Last week we covered news about Volkswagen’s new BlueMotion brand of fuel-efficient vehicles — but that’s not the only “green” news coming out of Wolfsburg these days: VW subsidiary Škoda just released word that its highly anticipated GreenLine sedans are now available for purchase throughout Europe.

Škoda is trying to carve a niche for itself with large sedans that are green and luxurious — starting with the company’s flagship SuperB sedan. Škoda first showed the VW Passat-based sedan at last year’s Geneva Motor Show.  Like the Passat, the Škoda makes use of a 1.9 liter turbo direct-injection clean diesel that delivers 105 hp and over 180 lb-ft of torque at low rpm, making for quick acceleration off the line and serious biofuel capability.

Find out more — and read Škoda’s official press release — after the jump.

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Wal-Mart Testing Diesel-Hybrid Commercial Fleet, Powered By Reclaimed Grease Fuel From Wal-Mart and Sam’s Club Stores.

Wal-Mart Stores, Inc announced plans to test two different hybrid Class-8 trucks and three different types of alternative fuels in an effort to double their fleet’s fuel-efficiency. Read the rest of this entry »

At the 2009 Detroit Auto Show, Audi announced that their Clean Diesel A3 TDI would be available in US by early 2010.

The Audi A3 is by far one of Europe’s cleanest and most fuel-efficient cars, and Audi is hoping the car will kick some major Prius butt. Pitching the car as a hybrid-fighter, Audi is pairing it off against both the Prius and the Honda Insight. Read the rest of this entry »

At the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, Volkswagen showed off its latest roadster — the BlueSport Concept. The BlueSport features a 177 hp diesel engine with rail injection and a downstream NO_x storage catalytic converter, all in a 6-speed DSG dual clutch transmission. Read the rest of this entry »

Editor’s note: Robert Moffitt is one of the newest additions to the Gas 2.0 writing team. Welcome aboard Robert!

Last week, temperatures in my home state of Minnesota stayed below zero for nearly four consecutive days. Extreme cold is not particularly unusual in the Land of 10,000 Lakes, but it’s not much fun to commute to work or school with air temperatures at -20ºF. As I bundled up and drove to work in the middle of the cold snap, I heard a radio news story that one large suburban school system had closed, saying their school buses couldn’t run “because the biodiesel had turned to gel.”

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The UK’s Daily Mail recently posted this great John Lawson-penned cutaway drawing of the upcoming Cadillac One, the heavily armored limousine that President Barack Obama will be cruising home in immediately after his inauguration.

Explore Cadillac One inside and out (to varying degrees of precision) after the jump.

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BMW has launched its greenest car yet! The 116d is 2.0-liter, four-cylinder diesel engine delivering 115hp and has a fuel consumption of 54 mpg. It is BMW’s most fuel-efficient and least polluting car yet, and only available in Europe. Read the rest of this entry »

Considering the fact that diesel cars have been nearly non-existent in the US for the last decade, the Green Car Journal’s choice of the 2009 Volkswagen Jetta TDI as the Green Car of the Year comes as a bit of a surprise — especially because its competition included two hybrids, and a Smart fortwo.

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Much of the attention surrounding the upcoming 2008 LA Auto Show (Nov. 21-30) has been directed at cars like the 2010 Ford Mustang and the 2009 Nissan 370Z. Yet, while glitzy, fast, and heart-poundingly desirable, these types of cars already seem like relics of a different era — a weird and surreal window on the past. To celebrate them feels mostly cheap and material, and does a disservice to the reality of our current world.

Given announcements last Friday that the American auto industry is on the brink of extinction, it seems to me that the more important cars at the show are the ones that, if they’re smart, the American auto industry will quickly turn to as the future of transportation. In honor of these sentiments, it’s only fitting for Gas 2.0 to do a preview of the cars and technologies you care about, and leave the relics to the pros.

I’ll be covering the LA Auto Show during press days on November 19-20, so stay tuned to Gas 2.0 for live coverage. Until then, check out the small taste of what’s to come below.

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Just yesterday I wrote about what I dubbed as “perhaps the ultimate city car,” the 59 MPG Toyota iQ 4-seater. I also bemoaned Toyota for releasing it in Europe but not in the US.

>>> more on the Toyota/Scion iQ

Well, turns out Toyota is bringing the iQ to the US under the Scion badge. Motor Trend, without citing sources, is claiming that the Scion-branded iQ will be shown to the public at the upcoming LA Auto Show next month.

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Perhaps the ultimate city car for the childless, the Toyota iQ includes all of the safety, comfort, and convenience you’d expect from a larger car, but packaged in the world’s smallest 59 mpg 4-seater.

Before the details fanatics among us get all hot and bothered, the 59 mpg (4.0 liters/100 km) rating refers to the diesel iQ’s combined city/highway fuel economy expressed in U.S. miles but as measured by European standards (base directive 80/1268/EEC, latest amendment 2004/3/EC).

With lower carbon dioxide emissions than the Prius — around 159 grams of CO2 emitted per mile by the 1.0 liter gas engine and 166 g/mile for the diesel version — not only does the iQ deliver on fuel economy, but its straight-up conventional engine is a pollution winner too. Read the rest of this entry »

High-performance diesel engines, BluePerformance, and a hybrid oh my!  BMW is set to roll out the green at the Paris Auto show this year.  As the European Union tightens its emissions restrictions, everyone is expected to do their share to help clean up.

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Earlier this week, Volkswagen unveiled its Golf Mark VI BlueMotion concept car, which looks set to raise the bar on the fuel efficiency and emissions performance of ‘mainstream’ cars. At just 99g/km, the new hatchback emits exactly the same amount of CO2 as the much smaller Polo BlueMotion. It also undercuts current main rival, the Ford Focus ECOnetic by 16g/km.

A new hyper-efficient 1.6 TDI diesel engine also means that the latest offering boasts fuel economy of 74.3mpg (combined), an improvement of around 20% on the Mark V, while still enabling acceleration from 0-60 mph in 11.2 seconds, apparently due to improved aerodynamics and a new ’sporty’ gearbox.

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