Last year, Lexus became the first automaker to introduce a production eight-speed automatic transmission in the latest LS460. Recently, German transmission manufacturer ZF announced a new eight-speed of its own which is claimed to provide a 14-percent boost in fuel efficiency compared to a five-speed. It looks like Audi and BMW will likely be the first to directly challenge Lexus when they start using the ZF. Audi may be first out of the gate in 2009, with eight-speed installations in the A8, Q7 and the expected A7 coupe. BMW will probably follow a year later with the X6 and the next-generation 7 series getting the extra gears. Mercedes-Benz already has a seven-speed that it builds on its own. Mercedes' powertrain chief admits that an extra gear could be added to the unit but that the incremental improvement would be limited. As more gears are added, the weight and complexity of the system increases and the improvements become smaller and smaller. Seven and eight-speed transmissions will likely remain the maximum for the foreseeable future and six-speeds will probably take the bulk of volume in mainstream segments.
With Gasoline prices at record high levels, more drivers than ever are trying to unload their SUVs and get into vehicles that don't consume as much fuel. Some are moving to smaller more efficient cars, while others are hopping on public transit. Still others are opting for pedal power. Barry Dahl of Bismark ND seems to have picked a most opportune time to open his new bike shop. He sold more than fifty bikes in his first month in business. Bike shops all over the country are having record sales this year and even those who aren't buying new ones are getting their older bikes fixed up. Shops that have seen declining repair business for over a decade are seeing a big up-tick in business this spring. For those of you haven't ridden your bike to work yet this Friday may be a good time to start. The League of American Bicyclists is promoting Bike-to-Work Day on May 16. Depending on where you live, this may be the time to start. Fortunately here in the Ann Arbor area, we have lots of bike lanes and, for people who work in the downtown area, there are places to lock up your bike. Try it, you might like it.
Ford has been talking for months now about reducing the size and weight of its vehicles as one means to reducing fuel consumption. One of the keys to cranking up the average fuel economy of its fleet will obviously have to be the highest-volume vehicle they build, the F-Series pickup trucks. With the compact Ranger languishing without updates for what seems like decades, Ford has apparently decided to build a new, smaller pickup derived from the next generation of it's F-Series platform.
Our buddy Mike Levine at PickupTrucks.com has been interrogating his sources and come up with what he believes are the plans for a new F-100 pickup. The new F-150 is debuting from Ford this year and the next iteration will arrive in 2012. The F-100 should actually predate that one by a year, arriving in 2011. The 2009 F-150 already makes extensive use high-strength steel and that is expected to expand dramatically, allowing the use of thinner-gauge steels without sacrificing structural integrity. The F-100 will also be physically smaller than the F-150.
Under the hood, the F-100 will also smaller engines like the 3.5L EcoBoost V-6 being the primary engine, with the 4.6L V-8 likely to be biggest engine if it's used at all. The upcoming 4.4L V-8 diesel is also a possibility.
There's a lot of discussion of late blaming the increased use of food crops for biofuel production for the rapid increase in food prices around the world. Unfortunately that's only a small part of the equation. The reality is that a bigger part of problem is the increase in fuel prices. After all, a lot oil has to be used to cultivate, fertilize, harvest and deliver food crops. With oil topping $120/barrel this week, the trucking industry is working on ways to reduce costs for operators. The American Trucking Association has come up with a six point plan that could cut fuel consumption by 86 billion gallons and CO2 emissions by 900 million tons over the next decade. Most of the points are pretty obvious such as setting truck speed governors to 68mph to reduce speeds, reduce idling fuel economy standards for trucks and highway infrastructure improvements to reduce congestion. One particular suggestion that could prove controversial is labeled as using more productive truck combinations. This one is all about using fewer larger trucks instead of more smaller trucks. Unfortunately this one goes against the infrastructure improvements. Heavier trucks put a lot more strain on roads and wear them out faster. There is also a major safety concern with larger trucks. On the whole, though, the rest of these proposals should be implemented.
Creating big things is generally the province of visionaries. All too often, big visions go hand in hand with big egos. Big egos are generally like electrons. Anyone who has studied sub-atomic particles knows that similarly charged particles repel each other. You can force them into the same space for a period of time but eventually they push each other apart. Such is often the case with startup companies.
Let's start with a little background. When Tesla Motors was first getting launched a few years back, as part of their initial investment in the company, the first two dozen or so people involved agreed to buy what became known as Founders Series cars. Initially, company founder Martin Eberhard who had the vision that became the Tesla Roadster intended to keep the first production unit for himself. When Paypal founder and seriously rich guy Elon Musk got involved as a major investor in Tesla Motors the situation changed. As Eberhard tells the tale (and I have no reason to doubt him on this) since Musk was putting up the bulk of the cash, he asked to get the first Roadster. After some back and forth Eberhard ultimately relented and took car #2. According to Martin: During the entire time I was at Tesla, staff discussions about the early production cars rarely referred to the first two cars as "P1" and "P2." They were simply called "Elon's car" and "Martin's car." Everyone at Tesla knew this, and everyone knew how important these cars and their production sequence meant to both of us.
Click above for high-res gallery of the Hyundai i800
While Hyundai offers a front wheel drive minivan in the U.S. market called the Entourage, it's only available with the Korean manufacturer's 3.8L gas V-6. It gets an EPA overall rating of 18mpg, which is competitive in its segment here in North America but no great shakes overall. Overseas, Hyundai has just released a new eight-seat rear wheel drive full-sized van called the i800. The i800 gets motivation from a 2.5L four cylinder diesel engine with common rail injection. The diesel generates 170hp and 289lb-ft of torque which won't get any enthusiasts excited in this application (what enthusiast would get excited about a van like this, anyway?) but should be more than adequate for the purpose. This could make a great car pool vehicle especially if you translate the 28mpg it achieves into a per person basis with eight passengers aboard. Hyundai is known to be developing a diesel V-6 for the US market but so far there is no indication that the four cylinder will come here. Details after the jump.
The current GMT920 full-size SUVs from General Motors are very likely to be the last of their kind from the Detroit automaker. Even though new fuel economy standards give the big trucks a break based on their footprint, radical changes are likely for the next-generation models. A fully-equipped Tahoe is well over 5,500lbs and a big part of reducing fuel consumption in the next few years will be weight reduction. One step in that direction will be a shift from the body on frame designs these vehicles have used since their inception over to a uni-body structure. Ford already declared that the next-generation Explorer will be a uni-body and GM has their Lambda platform crossovers which are nearly as large as the GMT920s. Sales of the Tahoe are already down 10.5 percent this year and that trend is likely to accelerate. The next-generation models that are due to debut around 2012 will almost certainly make the jump to a smaller, lighter platform. In fact, a distinct possibility might be an SUV derived from the Zeta platform like the Denali XT pickup concept that was shown at the Chicago Auto Show this year. Without the pickup bed and with a slightly taller roof, this design could likely shave nearly 1,000lbs off the current SUVs. Regardless of the design direction that GM follows, the maxi-sized SUVs and pickups will likely never reach the sales heights they once did, meaning that GM is planning to scale back production capacity. The current 1.7 million annual capacity will probably drop to somewhere around 1 million. GM recently announced plans to cancel one shift at each of four truck assembly plants. Going forward, that production will likely be consolidated to fewer plants.
One of the launching points for Shai Agassi's Project Better Place is in Israel and it looks like the first tangible progress might be demonstrated this weekend. The CEO of PBP is planning to drive a prototype electric car that is being developed at around noon on Sunday at the Fairgrounds and Conference Center in Tel Aviv Israel. Agassi will apparently provide an update on the status of the project to develop both electric cars and a charging infrastructure. Israel is just one of a number of countries to express interest in the program. According to Israeli President Shimon Peres, the hope is to have electric vehicles on the road in Israel by 2010. If any readers happen to be in Tel Aviv on Sunday and catch this send us a report.
UQM Technologies has announced a new 125kW permanent magnet electric motor system. The motor system is developed specifically designed for automotive applications. The 125kW rating is the peak power output while continuous power output is 60kW. The 11 inch diameter motor has a peak torque production of 221lb-ft with a continuous 118lb-ft rating. UQM developed the motor for use in subcompact cars with electric drive. The packaging has been optimized for those cars that can't fit the UQM's existing 150kW motor while still providing good performance. The new motor only weighs 90lbs. UQM was originally tapped to be the motor supplier Phoenix Motor Cars SUT and SUV. In the second half of 2007, Phoenix decided to re-engineer their vehicles and switched from a rear to front wheel drive configuration with a different motor supplier. So far we're not aware of any manufacturers that have selected UQM for a production EV application.
Upcoming fuel economy regulations in the U.S. and carbon dioxide emissions limits in Europe appear set to take a bite out of the next generation Saab 9-3. The current 9-3 is derived from GM's Epsilon platform and the new 9-3 was due to come off the Epsilon II that underpins the new Opel Insignia, but a change may be in the works. GM has reportedly canceled the Epsilon II-based 9-3 in favor of a model built off the Global Compact Car platform that will be the basis of the next Astra/Cobalt and, of course, the Volt. If the new plan, proceeds that would give Saab two cars off the new chassis with the smaller 9-1 being the other. New structural construction technology in the new architecture will apparently help maximize interior space in the smaller car.
Another of the honorees in this year's International Engine of the Year competition is BMW's latest diesel engine. The dual turbo 2.0L four cylinder that debuted in the 123d this year was selected by the 65 member jury as the Best New Engine for 2008. This new engine provides exceptional power for a 2.0L diesel and excellent fuel economy. The 123d is rated at 204hp while achieving 45mpg on the EU driving cycle and emitting only 138g/km of CO2. The engine uses a pair of turbochargers of different sizes to provide quick low end response and plenty of top end power. Features like an aluminum block have helped cut 38lbs from the weight of the engine compared to BMW's older four cylinder diesel. The performance and emissions of this engine are also enhanced by a third-generation common rail fuel injection system and particulate filter.
For the eighth time in the last five years, the powertrain of the Toyota Prius has been recognized by jury of the International Engine of the Year competition as one of the best. This time around Engine Technology International magazine replaced the previous best fuel economy category with Best Green Engine. The change was done to recognize the desired for both reduced fuel consumption and emissions. The Prius engine and hybrid transmission combo achieves tank-to-wheel efficiency of 34 percent compared to 14-15 percent for most internal combustion engines. The Prius has also been rated at 104g/km of CO2 on the European driving cycle. The 76hp 1.5L four cylinder combines with a 67hp electric motor/generator to achieve these results. The points spread from the 65 member jury of automotive journalists from 32 countries was actually pretty close for the top two spots with the Prius getting a narrow victory over BMW's single turbo 2.0L diesel with start/stop capability.
There has long been an interesting paradox in the realm of cars. For some peculiar reason, people who buy really expensive cars are willing to make more compromises to the foibles of the car and cut them more slack. How else to explain grief that owners of Italian exotics withstood for decades in terms of reliability, ergonomics and build quality. Buyers of mainstream cars that often have far fewer problems as a percentage of the number of vehicles built have a fit at every little thing that goes wrong. That same paradox exists today. The Tesla Roadster by virtue of its price and performance falls into entry level of exotic cars. Despite numerous delays in getting the car into production, and obvious compromised in terms of its functionality, most people have been willing to cut the car and the company a lot of slack, myself included. In my case my experience in the auto industry allows me to understand the difficulty of the task Tesla had. I never actually expected them to meet their aggressive timing targets and I've written on numerous occasions about the potential problems they might have. Nonetheless most people believed in the company.
General Motors on the other hand faces an entirely different standard with the Volt. In spite having a much more complex vehicle to develop with a much greater level of functionality and a shorter time frame than Tesla, GM seems to be being held to a higher standard than Tesla. At the slightest hint of time slips or cost increases, so many people jump on GM thinking that the car will never happen. Admittedly, we have yet to see a running prototype of the Volt (although they do apparently now exist) but that doesn't mean the company isn't fully committed to making the car happen. GM's task of creating a car that will be an affordable mainstream sedan for four passengers that meets modern standards will strangely mean that customers actually expect it to work all of the time. That's a situation that the much more expensive Tesla won't face to nearly the same degree.
The city of London is moving ahead with both a carrot and stick approach when it comes to encouraging drivers to use more environmentally friendly vehicles. The infamous Congestion Charge clearly falls into the stick category. On the carrot side, the city has been experimenting for some time with public charging stations for electric vehicle operators. Ten new Juice Points have switched on around Westminster. The charging stations are set up in pairs at various locations. The first two trial units attracted 80 people to sign up. The city council hopes to have 200 users by the end of 2008. Drivers can plug in their vehicles for up to four hours at a time although most have been using two hours or less so far. The next task is to get Juice Points installed into the 48 parking garages in the city. The city would also like to get a battery exchange program going, but that probably isn't feasible since replacing high voltage batteries is not a trivial task and they aren't compatible between different cars.
For several years, Ford has been working to reduce waste, energy use and emissions generated by its manufacturing facilities around the world. Its latest step has been to join to the Climate Registry, a non-profit group that is developing standards for reporting greenhouse gas emissions. The idea is that emissions reporting is useless unless everyone uses the same criteria to determine and record the output. Most of the U.S. states, Canadian provinces and Mexican states have adopted these standards. Companies reporting their emissions can use the same methodology in all the regions that have adopted the TCR regime. To be a member of TCR, Ford (and all other member companies and agencies) will have to measure, independently audit and publicly report greenhouse gas emissions.
