The fuel efficient Chevrolet Impala achieves better than 7L/100km highway fuel consumption and features advanced technology such as Active Fuel Management.

(NC)-According to a recent Stats Can report, the average Canadian spends more than an hour a day – or 12 full days a year – trekking to and from work. With these longer commute times, fluctuating gasoline prices and concerns about the environment; consumers and governments are looking for new automotive technologies that reduce emissions and save fuel.

While hybrids have received the majority of attention, many drivers may be surprised to know that improvements to regular gasoline engines are actually saving more fuel overall than the savings produced by small hybrid cars.

Cylinder deactivation technology, for example, is one of the largest contributors to total greenhouse gas reductions in Canada. This technology works by seamlessly shutting down half of the engine’s cylinders when they are not needed, such as highway driving.

General Motors’ application of this technology called Active Fuel Management (AFM), offers up to a 12 per cent or better fuel consumption improvement.

“GM Canada offers more green choices for consumers than any other manufacturer,” says David Paterson, vice president, corporate and environmental affairs for General Motors of Canada. “Technologies such as Active Fuel Management (AFM) have the potential to dramatically reduce fuel consumption and are available to drivers for no additional cost. Consider this – in the first half of 2007, more fuel was saved by the application of AFM on new GM vehicles in Canada (and therefore more greenhouse gas was reduced) than was saved by new hybrid vehicles sold by any competitor in the same time period.”

With drivers now focusing on saving fuel as well as helping to save the environment, the affordable technologies on the market today will enable Canadians to go green without going broke.

For more information visit www.gmcanada.com.

Credit: www.newscanada.com

The US presidential campaign has always been a matter of spectacular grandeur!

The candidates rushing in their vote-seeking frenzy in large convoys from one corner of the continent to another– used to create quite a formidable picture! But it rarely occurred to us how much resources were wasted on these nation wide campaigns involving the fleets of hundreds of gas-guzzling SUVS and vans.

But this year we get to see little twist in the story; this year the candidates and other high profile politicians are increasingly being spotted moving in their hybrid vehicles.

Some of them like Democrat aspirant John Edwards even make it a point to let his voters know that he and his family have switched to a hybrid vehicle for family uses after using an ordinary SUV for years. He also promised to make his campaign ‘carbon neutral” as far as possible.

Well, Edwards is not the only one White House aspirant making use of hybrid vehicle as the tramp card for his success in the presidential race! Democrat Senator Barack Obama also makes his environmental concerns clear to the public when he says, that “My campaign leases a flex-fuel vehicle,”

This year’s most sensational candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton is however not far behind her democrat colleagues; the former First Lady was reported to request the ‘Secret Service’ to drive her around in a fleet of cars that includes Ford hybrid models.

However, it was Democratic candidate Bill Richardson, the New Mexico governor and former U.S. energy secretary, who made the most out of it. Back in 2005, he bought a Hybrid Escape to set an example before the world. Later he again switched to flex-fuel Chevy Tahoe LTZ on the ground that his 6 ft 2 inches frame does not fit into the compact Escape.

When Democrats are riding green on the hybrid vehicles, the republicans also seem to get the cue; the presidential aspirant from the Republican camp, Mitt Romney has chosen the Ford Escape as the backdrop for declaring his political ambitions.

Until a few years ago, it was the large gang of Hollywood stars that consciously chose to make public display of their affection towards the hybrid cars! Their intention was to motivate the public for adopting greener cars!

This time it is the turn of US politicians to use the hybrid vehicles as their weapon to convey their concerns about environment. There is no doubt that environmental issues are going to play a big role in deciding the fate of the 2008 presidential election. Increasing oil price and increasing US reliance on foreign oil source, green house effect and global warming—-the politicians never seemed to be bitten so hard by the environmental bug as they are now.

Call it a political gimmick or the politicians’ vision about national interest…the fact remains that driving a hybrid vehicle can cut global warming pollution by about one-third compared to the driving of a non-hybrid model! So politicians jetting around in hybrid cars make a pretty picture and send even prettier signal about environment friendliness. So the politicians’ increasing use of hybrid vehicles in their political campaigning should be welcomed with an open mind—just like NRDC spokeswoman Julia Bovey welcomed Edwards’ announcement, saying, “Anyone running for president who claims they’re going to be able to lead this country out of the energy and climate crisis needs to show they can do it in their campaign.”

“We have enough energy resources and green technology in the United States to enable us to stop relying on foreign dictators to supply us with fuel,”—- The USA finds her new advocate for alternative fuel generation in Brian Schweitzer, Democratic governor of Montana. His disagreement with President Bush on the point of war of Iraq is not under the scope of this site, but what interests us is his emphasis on building up of a more powerful USA on the basis of green technology.

The oil rich Middle East had much to do with the international power equation; but the scenario should change now and the USA has to do many things to initiate the process….feels Montana’s Democratic governor Schweitzer. “Along with a smart strategy in Iraq, our energy independence can make us stronger and safer.” affirms Schweitzer.

Presently the nation consumes up 6.5 billion barrels of oil annually. Only 2.5 billion barrels are produced at home; the rest comes from “some of the world’s worst dictators.”

The governor puts forward a simple three-prong strategy for achieving this energy-independence:

• Save 1 billion barrels through conservation
• Produce another 1 billion barrels of biofuels
• Get 2 more billion barrels by turning coal into liquid fuel

He stresses on various alternative fuel sources. He turned out to be great supporter of biodiesel, also pointed to the importance of producing more ethanol. Another option is wind power and it’s a fact that since the governorship of Schweitzer wind power electric generation has significantly increased in Montana.

The Governor seems to sincerely believe that all these efforts of generating green fuel can only take the USA to a greener and safer future. He believes, the green technology will throw open the doors for thousands of new jobs in the country. If pursued with sincerity, the alternative fuel sources will help the nation earn her much needed energy independence within ten years. Most importantly, with a reliance on greener and cleaner fuels, country will never require to send her children to the battle fields thousands of miles away from home. With an end to the war, there will be cut on defense budget too.

Even if you do not subscribe to political views of Schweitzer, you can’t possibly ignore its humane side! After all we all should try our bits to leave a greener, cleaner and most importantly safer world for the generations to come.

 

Since its first appearance in the North American International Auto show last year, the Ford Edge has invoked a great deal of interest among the hybrid enthusiasts! Since then more than 930,000 consumers have visited the Edge web site at www.fordvehicles.com/edge. The launching of Edge had been touted by the company as the single most important event for the year, 2006. Even before it hit the showrooms across the country, this new hybrid car has become a sort of celebrity! So moods are generally upbeat when “Ford joins US ‘green’ car trend”(BBC NEWS).

In its century-old history, the Ford remained the undisputed leader of the auto industry. But the rise of Asian rival brands with the emphasis on use of lesser fuel and cleaner fuel prompted the Ford to take the green isle. The company’s business acumen was duly rewarded as the new Ford Edge won the title of “Urban Truck of the Year” in this year’s Detroit auto show. It symbolized the emergence of a new leader in the crossover segment of automobile industry. And now that Ford finally unveils a test vehicle it becomes the latest to join the league of cars running on the green alternative fuels…reports BBC.

At the backdrop of Bush’s 2007 State of the Union address, where the President is expected to appeal to the nation to cut back its energy expenditure, the unveiling could not have a better timing. For the Ford, this launch is a part of their image repairing procedure—switching from the mould of the manufacturers of gas-guzzling cars to the advocate of greener fuel, safer environment.

The Ford Edge has been designed on the hybrid models that draw its power from the combination of compressed hydrogen and a battery pack that can be plugged into an electric socket. However full commercialization of the model is still a matter of distant future, as the production of hydrogen fuel cells still cost millions of dollars and there are still a few technical hurdles to be overcome.

The volume of traffic the Edge website generated in the months since its appearances in various Auto shows across the nation, sparks hope among the auto experts about the bright future of this new green car in the league. With the launch of Ford Edge, the number of the competitors in the crossover car segment increased by one; now is the time to watch how fierce the competition is going to be.

Blame it on the surge in the fuel prices or the increased consciousness among the consumers about environmental pollution caused by auto emissions…the last year saw an unprecedented fall in the performance of the three US automobile giants, Ford, General Motors (GM) and Chrysler.

Consider these stats:

Total sales of Ford fell by 8%, GM’s  8.7% and Chrysler’s 5%. On a contrasting note the Japanese duo the Toyota and Honda turned out to be the winners with 12.9% and 3.5% annual rise in their sales respectively.

In order to maintain the rate of profitability, both Ford and GM resorted to huge restructuring: in an unprecedented move, GM sold off a majority stake in its GMAC finance unit to counter  its financial losses. In addition to that GM plans to cut 30,000 jobs and close several factories by 2008, while Ford plans to cut around 38,000 jobs.

In an contrasting move, Toyota however announced plans to establish six more factories around the world by the end of the 2010.

In the world auto market, Ford has recently been defeated by Toyota. The 2007 is also expected to belong to Toyota as the crown of leading automaker of the world is expected to go down to Toyota from GM. Toyota and other Asian car companies are also expected to grab increased  share of the pie in US domestic market… industry experts predict.

Although GM has emphasized on the improvements of battery technology, industry experts are not actually convinced that GM could do much to give a close competition to the hybrid giants like Honda and Toyota.

Toyota is already making profits by selling its hybrid cars; the profits on its Prius hybrid are believed to fall between 3 percent and 5 percent. For the models like the Lexus RX 400h, margins are expected to be even higher.

But Toyota is not content with its success so far; Toyota undergoes a constant upgradation…in late 2008 or early 2009, it is expected to unveil the third-generation hybrid system using the Li-ion batteries instead of the current nickel metal hydride cells. The new hybrids will be smaller and also cheaper by half the current price. Fuel efficiency is also expected to improve by 20 percent to 30 percent.

Honda is not much far behind…in gas-electric hybrids segment, a new subcompact model is on the way to make appearance as early as 2009. The plug-in hybrids of its own are also on the anvil.

The key factor for the coming years is going to be the breakthrough in the Li-ion battery technology. However, the American auto giants are also lobbying for getting governmental subsidies for battery researches. Even then it is the Japanese hybrid leaders that are predicted to start the first commercialized production of li-ion batteries for their hybrid cars.

So it can be safely predicted that it is the Japanese auto leaders that are going to dominate the hybrid market in the coming years.

“With America now importing 60% of the oil we use and a national bill for this habit that came to $250 billion last year, there is simply no time to waste. With worldwide demand growing rapidly, and with concern about the environmental impact of greenhouse gases rising, the deployment of clean, reliable sources of energy is clearly in our national interest.” – Secretary of Energy Samuel W. Bodman

So it was in complete lieu with the comment of Bodman when U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced a disbursement of a princely sum of $17 million with an aim to improve automobile efficiency and reduce the nations dependence on imported oil.  The announcements was made at the Washington Auto Show, by assistant secretary, Alexander Karsner before the senior executives from General Motors, Ford and DaimlerChrysler.

The total fund will be broken into two separate segments: $14 million will go to support the researches relating to plug-in hybrid electric vehicle technology. The rest $3 million is intended to encourage researches in the fields of E-85 engine performance.

Karsner emphasized on the development of commercially viable fuel-efficient cars…not just the concept cars. According to Karsner, this can be achieved by improving battery technology and engine efficiency….・

Here is a summary of the DOE plan:

The first and foremost aim of DOE is to encourage efficient and marketable researches relating to plug-in hybrid electric vehicles and E85-blended fuel. The FreedomCAR and Vehicle Technologies Programs of DOE are supposed to take the lead role in these efforts of DOE towards energy independence.

The second aim is to achieve a breakthrough in battery technology so that it becomes possible for the plug-in hybrid vehicles to deliver a performance as efficient as the 40 miles of electric range to facilitate usual roundtrip daily commutes.

On a practical note, a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle test bed at DOE Argonne National Laboratory has been created to allow scientists carry on with their experiments with advanced hybrid vehicles.

The concluding part of the fund comprises $3 million. This money is to be expended on the researches on the improvement of the fuel economy of E85 engines and reduction of vehicle emissions. E85, which is a gasoline-ethanol blend of motor fuel contains 85% ethanol and can be used in flex-fuel vehicles. Because of its enormous oxygen content, the E85 fuel burns out more completely, thus providing a cleaner fuel option than conventional gasoline.

It also welcomes the projects aimed at development of flex-fuel vehicles depending on the favorable properties of ethanol gasoline blends.

The hole in the ozone layer!!

The global warming!!

The dramatic changes in the climate!!

Diminishing energy storage!!

But that does not mean  you should  start to look for lands on the moon right away; this is the time for getting started on the path of damage repair and prevention of further damages of environment.

And among many eco-friendly measures, the increased use of public transport is likely to play a major role in future. Just look at the public transport system of the countries like UK and Japan….despite being two of the most wealthy societies of the world they hugely depend on the various forms of public transport system with the main focus on underground transport.

In contrast, USA has so far taken little efforts at curbing the fuel consumption by the individual automobile owners. The absence of a properly developed public transport system and heavy reliance on personal vehicle have accounted for  USA’s excessive reliance on the imported oils and  the consequences are known to all today.

Canada, the other rich North American country apparently seems to learn from USA’s experience and they seem to rather follow the European models rather than their American cousin. The country is on her way to introduce a green public transportation system based on hydrogen powered buses.

An important pilot program has started in Ottawa, Canada from 7th December of the last year that involves the test running of three shuttle buses in the Parliament Hill. The buses are powered by Ford’s advanced hydrogen internal combustion engine (HICE). The program is aimed at judging the real life viability of the buses.These shuttle buses are  being used to carry the parliamentarian fleet to and from several  buildings in the precinct. By replacing the traditional gasoline powered buses, these hydrogen powered shuttle buses are expected to cut off greenhouse emissions to near-zero levels.

The whole program involves a pre-commercial evaluation of Ford’s HICE technology and involves a fleet of total twenty buses to be tested on the roads of the USA as well. The outcome is very crucial as it will help the Ford company to assess the commercial viability of such hydrogen powered buses.

The hydrogen fuel injectors used in the these Ford HICE E450s have been provided by Quantum Fuel Systems Technologies Worldwide, Inc. who along with Ford is quite optimistic about the future important role of hydrogen technology  as an alternative to petroleum usage and harmful auto emissions.

Did you know that it is actualy possible to drive greener if you stay conscious about your driving habits? Well, the truth of the matter is: you can get some extra mileage if you bring some changes in your driving habits.Just think how wonderful it would be was there a constant monitoring system in your car to warn you about your driving erros and cheer you up for your each driving accomplishments!

Well, it is possible to have this kind of monitor in your car…thanks to Nissan that developed the cARWING technology that is soon to hit the Japan roads to help the drivers there to improve on their eco-driving skills.

Well, the Japanese car giant Nissan knew this all along: small driving mistakes lead to gross enegy wastage in the long run. Hence this electronic innovation from Nissan—the cARWING— that helps you to drive correctly and drive green. It is going to play the role of a kind of  e-guide that monitors your driving behaviour, indicates to the areas of driving where you went wrong and makes you drive the proper way to gain the maximum mileage from your car.

These are all parts of Nissan’s “Green Program 2010.” The CARWINGS system incorporates web-enabled technology which is designed to collect various driving data from customers’ vehicles. After being processed, they are presented to the customer through an user-friendly interface in form of value-added information  relevant for the improvement in eco-driving skills.

The system can be bought optionally with factory-installed DVD navigation systems. The system works on a day to day basis.

Nissan takes active efforts for curbing the CO2 emissions as a part of their  previously announced the “Nissan Green Program 2010″. CARWINGS service is another attempt at building up of public awareness about how flawed driving affect fuel efficiency and ultimately the environment.

The Asian automobile giant definitely deserves a big applause for these eco-friendly efforts. But the sad part is: CARWINGS  telematics service  is currently available only in Japan. We sincerely hope that the technology soon crosses borders to be available to the drivers of the rest of the world.

We often grudgingly call them the gas guzzling monsters!!

But we can not do away with them alltogether.

Yes, I am talking about the heavy duty trucks. Road transportation is one of the most crucial part of any thriving economy and the most important component of road transport are the heavy duty trucks powered on diesel and contributing to a lion’s share of green house gases.

 

While you can not ban them off the road completely you can surely take measures to cut off their emissions and that is what the Environmental Protection Agency standards resolved  to do. In order to meet the EPA standard, the new truck models of 2007 are to be equipped with particulate matter filters that will result into a 90% cleaner vehicles with a significant cut on nitrogen oxide emissions than the previous generation models.

 

The cynicals have however doubted the efficacy of such an ambitious standard. But they were proved wrong when the The Diesel Technology Forum  announced just a few days ago that all major heavy-duty truck and engine manufacturers have conformed to this  new standard for emissions cuts and received the certificate from the EPA for full production.

 

With the EPA certification now being mandatory, truck manufacturers will be able to produce cleanest diesel engines so far and that marks a milestone in the achievement for a cleaner environment. As the new trucks following EPA standard are replaced with their previous generation gas-guzzlers the total emissions of smog-forming gases are expected to be reduced by 2.6 million tons each year. In addition to that  soot emissions will also be scaled down to 110,000 tons annually.

 

Let’s check with the manufacturers that have passed the most rigorous standardization criteria; the names of EPA certified manufacturers include Caterpillar, Cummins, Detroit Diesel Corp., International, Mack and Volvo. This certification implies that all these above mentioned manufacturers  abide by all the EPA stipulated emission standards regarded as the most stringent in the whole world.

 

To be doubly assured check out what Allen Schaeffer, the Diesel Technology Forum executive director has to say: “America’s long-haul truckers can be confident in the reliability and durability of these engines,” …The technology on these trucks has been engineered through millions of miles of testing, which has shown the performance, fuel economy and durability required to not only meet but exceed customer expectations.”

 

So next time you roam around  in the super market looking for the new arrivals in the shelves, you can rest assured that all the goods have been transported along the green route. However, experts are of the opinion that the benefits of EPA standard can not be optimized unless the government adopts some incentive based initiatives to slowly banish the old models from the road.

We are moving with giant strides toward the post-petroleum era. In this age of gross energy shortage when the dynamics of oil prices seem to control the barometer of global economy and politics and the destiny of human kind in general, the issue of energy conservation holds special significance. And the issue becomes even more serious as you consider it in the backdrop of the conditions of several developing countries.

Consider the case of India—the world’s largest democracy, a future economic superpower, a world IT hub and outsourcing giant—is also one of the most polluted countries in the world, where most of the air pollution is caused by vehicular emissions.

However, this emerging Asian superpower seems to be hell-bent on improving her image on the environmental arena as she lures the foreign investors. The Petroleum and Natural Gas Ministry seems to find the solution in the building up of mass awareness and organizes Oil and Gas Conservation Fortnight to be continued till 31st of January.

An innovative feature of the fortnight long program is the participation of the school children. In all the big cities including the country’s cyber capital, Bangalore, special programs have been drawn to educate the school children in conservation and sensible usage of petroleum products. Initiatives were taken by the Petroleum Conservation Research Association officials to make children take pledges for conservation of non-renewable energy resources.

The Indian President in the recent past stressed on the importance of alternative fuel sources and he invited the nation to plant jatropha curcas plants to tap the energy source of biodiesel.

The Science and Technology Minister Kapil Sibal echoed the president while delivering his speech in the Petrotech conference in New Delhi. He stressed on the exploration of Biomass, jatropha, gas hydrates and various other sources of energy to cope with the future fossil-based energy shortage. He also acknowledged the utility of electric vehicle as a cost-effective solution to the air pollution created by the traditional vehicles.

In the battle against environmental degradation, the Indian high school children are being encouraged to set up their eco-clubs. Grants from foreign countries like Norway are being utilized to fund these awareness programs.

India seems to take a green route towards development. Being the home of world’s largest youth population, the country seems to adopt just the perfect strategy…inculcating the sense of responsibility in the sensible souls; after all the future of the world belongs to them and they should know how to make it beautiful.