Gas 2.0

Researchers from the University of Florida are reporting this week on a discovery that could have wide-ranging implications for everything from cancer treatment to cars. By shining very weak lasers — no more intense than those found in laser pointers — at nanoparticles known as “functionalized fullerenes,” the researchers have been able to cause those fullerenes to ignite with much lower energy input than traditional ignition techniques.

When mixed with gasoline, the researchers envision that the fullerenes would allow the gasoline to be ignited with low energy lasers in an engine instead of with the normal spark plugs. Not only would this lower the amount of energy needed to ignite the fuel, it would also cause the fuel to be more completely combusted, thus increasing the fuel economy and lowering emissions. Read the rest of this entry »

The Ford Crown Victoria Police Interceptor has become synonymous in this country with law enforcement. Based on the ancient Panther platform, departments across the country loved the Crown Vic for its price, frame-on-body construction, and all around toughness. Fuel economy? Not so much.

Last Friday Ford introduced a new Police Interceptor, based on the 2010 Taurus D3 platform. In addition to improved safety and a better looking car, Ford promised the new Police Interceptor would have more horsepower and better fuel economy than the outgoing Crown Victoria.

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Hummer is another one of General Motor’s zombie brands that will likely soon cease to exist (if no last minute buyer steps up). The builder of gas-guzzling SUV’s was thought to have been saved when Chinese construction company Sichuan Tengzhong, but the Chinese government squashed the deal. GM was preparing to wind down the brand, even as it entertained two other potential buyers.

But Hummer still has a little bit of life left in it, apparently. A large fleet order was placed for 849 Hummer H3 and H3T pickups. That is enough to put the Shreveport, Louisiana plant back to work for an extra month.

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I love me a fast Ford.

The 2011 Mustang GT gets a new 5.0 liter, 412 horsepower V8 engine, 25 mpg, and a plethora of other improvements. It is a real Camaro killer.

But if I’m going to be honest, it is the 305 horsepower V6 Mustang that has caught my eye. Not only does it share the GT’s sharper, improved looks, but Ford had estimated the V6 engine would return 30 mpg on the highway. Well the official certification results are in, and the Mustang gets 31 mpg highway, making it the first car with over 300 horsepower to get over 30 mpg.

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It is finally starting to feel like spring around my parts. Warm weather means a lot of things; the beach, going topless in my Wrangler, and cringing every time I pull up to a gas pump. Gas has been fluctuating in recent weeks, but here in Connecticut it is only a few cents away from $3 a gallon. I wouldn’t be surprised to see it hit $3.50 in some places. Sounds expensive, but it wasn’t too long ago some of us were paying almost $4 a gallon or more. Remember that?

Now researchers at the Harvard Belfer Center for Science and International Studies report that, in order to meet the Obama Administration’s goals for cutting greenhouse gas emissions, gasoline would have to cost $7 a gallon. I’d have to sell my Jeep and buy a scooter at those prices. And I hate scooters.

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Ford has made many improvements in bettering its fleet average fuel mileage in recent years. But lest we forget, it was the Ford Explorer that helped create the SUV craze. And it wasn’t long ago you could buy the monstrous Excursion from any nearby dealership, a road behemouth more suitable to Lord Humongous than suburban soccer moms.

Consumer Reports recently did its annual round of real-world gas mileage numbers. The 2010 Ford F-250 Lariat ranked as the vehicle with the worst tested gas mileage, getting on average just 10 mpg.

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Has the Hummer brand become too toxic to sell? After months of negotiations between General Motors and Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machinery Co. Ltd, a Chinese company, it appears as though the deal has fallen through. Speculation points at the Chinese government regulators unwillingness to grant approval to the deal.

While GM has said it is considering two previous offers on the brand, it also said it was getting ready to wind the brand down. This news comes around the same time the military announced that it winding down its Humvee fleet and preparing for a modern replacement.

Is this really the end of the Hummer era? Or will GM and its suitors find salvation for Hummer like it did for the spunky Saab brand?

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This summer the popular Fiat 500 subcompact will have a new, tiny engine option… and it will be the smallest displacement gasoline engine available in any car in Europe—a 900cc, turbocharged 2-cylinder with 85 horsepower. By taking the current trend of engine downsizing, and then spitting on its tired carcass as it passes it on the first lap, Fiat is hoping to take fuel economy and CO2 emissions to new levels.

But—as is often muttered by Americans in the know after these sort of announcements—the engine will likely only be available in Europe, even with rumors of the 500 eventually making it to U.S. shores. I like to think of the vehicle fuel efficiency Europe-US divide like that “in bed” game we’ve all played with fortune cookies; but instead of adding “in bed” to the end of the sentence add “only in Europe.”

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I remain on the fence regarding the Chrysler-Fiat merger. On the one hand, Chrysler needed saving and Fiat was willing to lend a hand (though no cash). On the other hand, Fiat’s reputation for reliability both here and abroad remains shaky at best. Fiat also shed over a billion dollars in 2009, and says it won’t make it back into the black without the help of another Cash for Clunkers program. Of course, Fiat still managed to outsell any of Europe’s other big car makers, and actually saw its market share increase by almost 9%. See why I am on the fence?

But then there is the Fiat 500. While I may not care for small cars… there is something about the 500 that makes me want to give it a chance. It is cute and fuel efficient, but it also has the mean Abarth edition that looks like it could be a lot of  fun. And according to Ralph Giles, design chief of Chrysler, the Fiat 500 could go on sale earlier than expected, coming to US showrooms by the end of this year. What about the Abarth edition, Ralph?

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At the 2010 Chicago Auto Show today Ford revealed its 2011 Edge crossover. In addition to a facelift and some new interior technology, Ford’s next iteration of the popular Edge will get one green tweak that is beginning to spread across all of Ford’s lineup: an EcoBoost engine.

Ford only just started its rollout of EcoBoost engine technology last year on four vehicles—the Ford Taurus SHO, Ford Flex, Lincoln MKS, and Lincoln MKT—but that was just the beginning. The company has set its sights on making EcoBoost available in 90% of its vehicles by 2013.

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Last week I talked about how fast is fast enough, and that one of the easiest ways to save fuel was by simply going slower. Well rejoice! Apparently all of America heeded my advice, and American drivers, on average, drive below the posted speed limit.

Ok, obviously this has nothing to do with me. According to Tele Atlas, the mapping unit of GPS maker TomTom, anonymously collected data from millions of GPS devices shows that most Americans are driving under the speed limit. So why don’t I get that feeling when I am on the highway?

According to an Autocar UK story, Tele Atlas says that no state tops 70 mph as an average highway speed. The fastest highway in the country is the stretch of I-15 between Utah and Nevada, with average speeds of 77.67 mph, even though the speed limit is 80 mph. This baffles me. I-15 is a road that pretty much runs through mostly desert. Why wouldn’t you go the speed limit? Read the rest of this entry »

I love going fast, and I make no apologies for it.

Ok that’s a lie. Sometimes, I feel guilty about going fast, guzzling gas, drooling over 5 mile per gallon muscle cars. I know the world is in a bad way, mostly because of cars. Yet I still love them, especially fast ones, because in my opinion life is too short for a 0-60 mph time of 7 seconds or more.

Still though, the easiest way to increase fuel efficiency is to make everyone go a lot slower. Instead of pursuing billions of dollars in new technologies, if everyone would just let off the accelerator, we would save a lot of gas every year. One such way would be to (again) lower the interstate speed limit 55 mph. Yet that didn’t work too well the first time around. What if we went even further, what if new cars were capped at 200 horsepower, and had a top speed of only 60 mph?

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The compact pickup truck segment of the auto market has been in a weird place lately. It wasn’t so long ago that it seemed like every manufacturer was fighting over who had the most youthful, appealing, “cool” small pickup. Since the early 2000’s though, competition in the segment has dropped and stumbled, leaving only two real competitors for the small truck king; the very dated Ford Ranger, and the current sales king, the Toyota Tacoma.

Rumors have been swirling about the Ranger’s demise for years now, and perhaps Toyota smells blood. The Japanese brand is said to be considering a small pickup truck for its floundering Scion brand.

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I’m going to answer my own question and say both.

It’s true. According to Kelley Blue Book’s list of most searched cars, perennial favorites the Honda Civic and Accord topped the list. The Prius came in at #8, within spitting distance of the Camaro which came in at #12. In fact, if you look at the different lists from websites across the web, muscle cars are pretty consistently high on the search lists, as are hybrids and fuel efficient models like the Smart ForTwo.

So can America have its cake and eat it too?

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There were surprisingly few unveils at this year’s North American International Auto Show in Detroit, and even fewer thrills. The AWD turbocharged Buick GS concept and electric Fiat 500 not withstanding though, perhaps the best looking car to come out of Detroit is the 2012 Ford Focus.

Based on the Blue Oval’s “One Ford” global platform sharing idea, the 2012 Focus will share over 80% of its components with European models. Even better, an electric model of the Focus should hit showrooms sometime in 2011.

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