Gas 2.0

The Chevy Volt is costing GM a pretty penny to produce, and GM execs like Bob Lutz think the company will continue to lose money on hybrids for years to come. But one way of offsetting those costs is to delegate the Voltec technology across brands to other markets. We already know GM is planning on making the Cadillac Converj. And now GM has just unveiled another voltec platform-based concept for its Euro-brand, Opel, ahead of the Geneva Auto Show.

Called the Opel Flextreme GT/E, it is a very muscular looking sedan with a sleek drag coefficient. The GT/E seats four and incorporates some rather surprising performance enhancers, like a rear spoiler that deploys at high speed to keep drag down.

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Most of us remember the original Honda Insight as that tiny, quirky car that got 70 mpg long before phrases like “peak oil” and “smart grids” had really entered our collective vocabulary. At the time it was introduced, major debates on climate change hadn’t even started. In that sense, the original Insight was far ahead of its time… so much so that you could say it missed the target by about 8 years. And after Toyota introduced the Prius, Honda was relegated to playing the hybrid bit part.

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If you’re like me, you were more than a little disappointed in Honda’s CR-Z hybrid coupe. The sharp looking hybrid two-seater, a spiritual successor to the CRX of the late 80’s/early 90’s, lacked both sportiness and the fuel efficiency of its predecessor. With just 122 horsepower on tap, a 3,900 pound curb weight, and MPG ratings 31 city/37 highway, it was a major let down for lots of people.

But Honda seems to be listening. AutoExpress is reporting that Honda is working with in-house tuning company Mugen to produce a sportier, more powerful CR-Z Type-R. But will fuel economy suffer?

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Waaaay back in the yesteryear of 2008, AMP (Advanced Mechanical Products) announced that they would begin performing electric car conversions on the GM Kappa cars. A lot has changed in the past year and a half.  The Kappa cars, the Saturn Sky and Pontiac Solstice, are as dead as their respective brands. But AMP is still proceeding with its conversion plans, and has signed “a letter of intent for a potential long‐term electric motor supply agreement” with Remy International.

So does that mean we can have our electric Kappa cars soon?

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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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Snail mail is getting a big push from Congress to go electric and I’m not talking about e-mail. The United States Postal Service (USPS) wants to electrify its fleet and Zap motors might just to do the trick. This week, the California-based company announced they are engineering an all-electric truck prototype for the mail delivery service.

Full details are still unclear but U.S. Congresswoman Lynn Woolsey will tour the Zap EV facility next week “to learn more about how this federal program is creating local jobs.” The truck will not be the Xebra pictured above but a “conversion of a gasoline postal truck to run on electricity.” Read the rest of this entry »

This morning I wrote a piece about how GM is lamenting the lack of E85 fueling stations in the United States. But the other interesting tidbit of information in there was a simple statement by GM’s Tony Posawat that the generator in the upcoming Chevy Volt extended range electric vehicle would not support E85 (85% ethanol/15% gasoline) initially.

This came as a shock to me, especially considering that of all the car makers, GM has invested the most time and resources to make a huge portion of their vehicles flex-fuel E85 capable. It was also quite a strange statement because as recently as last October GM was proudly touting the fact that their Flint, MI, assembly plant would be building the Volt’s “flex-fuel 1.4 liter” engine.

I couldn’t accept the announcement at face value, so I decided to contact not one, not two, but three GM representatives to hear for myself that GM would not support E85 in the Volt initially.

As it turns out, it’s true. And I’m bummed.

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According to reports, three mid-level engineers for Tesla Motors have died in a fiery plane crash over Palo Alto, CA, this morning. Although names have not officially been released yet, witnesses say that the plane was owned by Doug Bourn, a senior electrical engineer for Tesla. Apparently the plane crashed right in to a residential neighborhood on top of a daycare facility. No other injuries have been reported, although some houses have been damaged.

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At the Renewable Fuels Association conference in Florida, GM’s Vice Chairman for Global Product Development, Tom Stephens, said that GM is investing significant amounts of money into making their vehicles compatible with high blends of ethanol in the U.S. market, but that the large majority of those vehicles won’t be able to take advantage of their flex-fuel capability because the ethanol fueling infrastructure in the U.S. is drastically lagging.

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Love him or hate him, you’ve got to admire Bob Lutz’s ability to speak his mind, consequences be damned. And, as GM’s Vice Chairman and Volt front man, he’s somebody the world tends to pay attention to.

The same guy who once called global warming a crock of crap has now remarked that the hybrid car market is unlikely to ever comprise more than 10% of the U.S. market. Furthermore, Lutz seems to think that General Motors will always lose money on hybrids, driving up the costs of its other cars. If you ask me, that seems like a bit of a paradox.

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While I was grumbling about the dearth of green automobiles and related green happenings at last week’s Chicago Auto Show, Ford—who stole the show with the most exciting green car announcements including a natural gas Transit Connect Taxi and a 30 MPG Ford Edge—provided me with an opportunity to be one of the first of the media to drive the upcoming Transit Connect Electric.

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It’s been a whirlwind of a three month tour for the upcoming Nissan LEAF electric car. After kicking things off last November in Los Angeles, the LEAF and its accompanying drivable test mule made 63 stops in 24 cities, finally ending up at an appearance in New York City last week.

Nissan says the tour covered 10,000 miles and gave more than 100,000 people the ability to see and learn about the car–and electric vehicles in general.

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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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Some automakers can’t make up their minds. Or maybe they just like confusing the public. Such is the case with Porsche, which has been playing a back-and-forth game with the whole hybrid 911 idea. First they dangle it out in front of the public, hinting that maybe they are making a hybrid and spy photographers grabbed pictures of what seemed to be a hybrid Porsche 911 last summer.

Then Porsche CEO Micheal Macht comes out and says no, Porsche will not make hybrid versions of the 911 or Boxster.

Now Porsche says they have a flywheel-electric-hybrid 911 GT3 race car to show off at the 2010 Geneva car show. Oh Porsche, how you toy with our heartstrings.

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Last month we came across the Trexa, an old idea with some new life breathed into it. The old idea was to use a self-contained “skateboard” as a vehicle chassis which included all the components necessary for propulsion. The skateboard could then use interchangeable bodies, or customers could design their own. It takes the idea of car ownership to a whole new level.

But what about the price? Surely something so savvy, eco-friendly, and customizable would cost a pretty penny. Well Trexa seems to be bucking conventions, because the whole self-contained skateboard can supposedly be had for $15,999.

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