As part of the Technology Strategy Board's (TSB) ongoing efforts of promoting and supporting research into environmentally friendly automotive technology, the group has given funding to Ricardo, Jaguar and Land Rover for quite a few separate projects. Five of the projects are outlined here:
Ricardo, along with the University of Brighton, DENSO Sales UK Ltd and Jaguar, has received funds to continue work on its innovative 2/4SIGHT engine, which is capable of running on either the 2 stroke cycle or the 4 stroke cycle.
The Range Extended Electric Vehicle is led by Land Rover. A large SUV chassis will be used with the goal of delivering 120 to 130 g/km CO2 and a zero emissions range of at least 12 miles.
A flywheel-based hybrid drive system will be tested, led by Jaguar and including Flybrid Systems, Ford Motor Company, Prodrive, Ricardo UK Ltd, Torotrak plc, and Xtrac Ltd. Formula 1 racing is also testing these flywheel-based hybrid systems.
The Limo-Green project is the fourth bit of technology and looks to incorporate the aluminum structure of the current Jaguar sedan range along with an electric motor, battery pack and generator.
Recycled aluminum will be looked at to see if it is feasible to use post-consumer scrap to form the basis of a lightweight, mass-producible vehicle.
These five projects are part of a group of sixteen total investments which will receive a total of £90 million in funding from the TSB. We've pasted two complete press releases after the break detailing each of the proposed projects that are mentioned above.
Yesterday's big news that Land Rover and Jaguar were sold to Tata Motors give us a chance to talk Land Rover in terms of CO2 emissions. Jaguar we'll just ignore for now, because Land Rover is a much more interesting case. We've ooohed and aaahed at the nice LRX concept, which would emit just 120 grams of CO2 per kilometer should it ever make it out of the Auto Show circuit, but in general Land Rover isn't exactly a clean car company. Automotive News Europe (subs req'd) found that Land Rover's sales are up dramatically in the last few years and the company is apparently "solidly profitable" (Jaguar's in trouble here). ANE said that Land Rover's CO2 emissions across the board need to be dropped and a brand reinvention to feature "fun, fashionable SUVs with a social conscience, rather than big gas-guzzling V-8 models that attract criticism from environmental campaigners" would be the right move. I see Tata as getting a bit schizophrenic here: big SUVs, the world's cheapest carand Jaguars? Still, if AutoWeek is correct, then the LRX will play a big role in the future of this new automotive hydra. That'd be sweet.
Gallery: Detroit 2008: Land Rover LRX concept live reveal
We can understand why Lord Jones, Britain's trade minister, would want to be driven around in his Jaguar as opposed to a Toyota Prius. First of all, while we really do like the Prius, a luxury car it is not. Secondly, and more importantly (or so he claims) is that he should be seen in a British car. An argument could surely be made that at least one British automaker should offer at least one environmentally friendly car for Jones to choose, but where is this car? At least the Jag that he's likely to use is powered by a small 2.0 liter diesel engine. Still, all MP's in Britain are supposed to be driving hybrids and an exemption for Lord Jones because the Prius isn't British enough sounds pretty lame to us. CO2 doesn't care about borders.
Jaguar is set to start a new era under new ownership next year. To celebrate they'll unwrap an all-new XJ sedan in mid-2009, a vehicle that is expected to have the brand's first hybrid power-train. The current XJ already weighs in at a surprisingly sprightly 3,726 lbs thanks to it's aluminum structure. The new car will keep an updated version of the aluminum structure to carry the new XF inspired body work. Motivating the fancy new duds will be the latest addition to the power-train lineup. Jaguar will debut its hybrid power-train in the new flagship model. A bank of ultra-capacitors will be used for electrical energy storage in combination with an electric motor backing up the 3.0L V-6. The new XJ should appear in concept form late in 2008 with production in mid-2009.
Perhaps my response to a statement released last week by Autocar is misinformed because there is some misinterpretation going on between my American English reading of British English words. The key is whether or not "minority group" carries with it the same connotations in the UK as it does in America. I read this line in Autocar editor Chas Hallett's statement - "Why do we need a scheme which is so expensive to administer that it has to pick on a minority group" - and thought how silly it was for him to use those words to describe people who drive the most expensive vehicles, those that are also fairly unkind to the environment. You can see what your response is by checking out the statement in full after the jump.
In any case, Hallett's point is that the proposed £25 congestion charge will not really do anything except raise £250 million for Transport for London, the "integrated body responsible for the Capital's transport system." By unfairly charging vehicles in the Band G category (those that emit more than 225 gm/k of CO2), Hallett says, the charge does nothing but punish a driver who causes "almost no harm to congestion or pollution, and helps preserve British jobs." The jobs issue is because so many vehicles by Bentley, Rolls-Royce, Aston Martin, Jaguar and Land Rover are in Band G.
I understand that someone who works at Autocar isn't going to be keen on anything that, in effect, criticizes the classic UK automakers. Still, just because someone makes a car in your backyard doesn't mean they can have that vehicle emit anything they want. Some things - the air we breathe, for example - are more important than a particular vehicle or automaker. It's not like it's a secret that there are plenty of powertrain options these companies could look into so their vehicles fit into one of the less expensive Bands (see this example).
As Ford continues to work on the dissolution of their Premier Automotive Group, the coming new European Union carbon dioxide emissions rules could be playing an unwelcome factor. As with fuel economy rules here in the United States, the emissions limits would likely be averaged over the entire fleet of vehicles produced by a carmaker. For Mercedes their big high power AMG models would be offset by the 88g/km Smart ForTwo diesel. That's also probably a big part of why Porsche has bought a controlling stake in Volkswagen over the past year.
It looks like many of the potential bidders for Ford's two remaining British brands, Jaguar and Land Rover, are in the private equity business and won't necessarily have other car brands in their portfolio. The new rules could put a damper on the types of vehicles they build and limit the possible value of the brands. One possibility is that Ford could maintain a minority stake in both companies which may allow them to count their emissions along with the rest of the Ford fleet.
Unlike the heir to the British throne Prince Charles, new Prime Minister Gordon Brown has opted for gas-thirsty V-8 Jaguar XJ as his official car. While the Prince has switched to using diesel-powered Land Rovers and Jaguars, Brown's XJ hits the highest rank of UK emissions standards with CO2 output of 269g/km.
British shopping site GoCarbonFree.com has now given four carbon credits to the Prime Minister's office to offset the emissions of the Jaguar. Brown himself appears to be a typical politician when it comes to making promises. Last year he announced plans to exchange his Vauxhaull Omega for Prius, a commitment that was never fulfilled. Instead once Brown moved into 10 Downing St. he went straight from the Omega to the Jaguar.
[Source: www.gocarbonfree.com, thanks to Jez for the tip]
Jaguar has long offered diesel engines in the European market where oil burners are popular thanks to the high fuel prices. They briefly offered an XJ with a BMW diesel in the US market in the early 1980s before falling gas prices made the bottom drop out of the diesel market. The current 2.7L V-6 that was jointly developed by Ford and PSA is used in the S-Type and XJ but hasn't been offered in the XK because it didn't have enough power to be suitable for the application.
It appears that will soon change as BMW has just launched the 635d in Europe and Jaguar wants a direct competitor. Ford will upgrading the diesel V-6 to 3.0L and about 250hp for installation into the XK coupe/convertible and the new XF sedan that's debuting in Frankfurt. If the new CAFE regulations go into effect we'll hopefully see this engine over here as well, especially in the XF.
Given the high price of gas in the UK (around 1 pound a liter, which translates into roughly $7.50 US a gallon) and the different tax bands which depend on CO2 emissions, UK car buyers are aquiring cars that get greater mileage. The sales figures from last year showed 60.7 percent of new cars fell within the cleanest bands A-D (under 165 g/km) compared with just 43.1 percent in 2000. British customers are not only choosing cleaner models because of the cost of gas, but also because of ecological concerns. Premium brands (such as Jaguar) are also manufacturing cleaner engines, which are claimed to reduce the global CO2 emissions from new cars. A recent poll showed that 13 percent of Britons rated low emissions as a determinant factors to balance when purchasing a new car.
Among the known British marques, Mini has reduced CO2 emissions 16 percent (and getting a 19 percent better mileage) with the latest iteration of the model. Rover Freelander2 gasoline engines improved a 10 percent on fuel consumption and emissions over the model it replaced, while a new range of fuel-efficient diesel models has helped Jaguar cut average tailpipe CO2 by 31.5 per cent since 1997.
What is it with fruits and fuel today? Across the pond, a cider farmer in the UK, one Henry Hobson, converted his Jaguar XJ6 a while back to move off of the methane he produces from the decomposing fruit in his orchard. A perfect solution for him, but this alternative fuel is not practical for most people.
Hobson's 3-litre XJ6 saloon gets about 28 mpg on methane (it used to get 30 on petrol). On his apple farm, he's got 10,000 trees from which he uses about 400 tons of pressed apples (about half his crop) to make methane a year. Not everything goes into the Jag, some goes to make hot water and electricity for the homes on his property. His Jag sees about 25,000 miles year, and he saves over £2,200 in fuel costs by using methane.
The initial investment in Hobson's methane system was around £25,000, but his car, farm and house are "now almost energy self-sufficient." Very cool.
Actually, this isn't exactly "fresh" news today. While it came to our attention thanks to this Top Gear story, the Mirror UK did the original reporting back in February.
The local police in Belmar, New Jersey have switched from using gas-powered scooters to patrol the beach area to GEM neighborhood electric vehicles. The scooters were apparently consuming up to fifty gallons a week of gasoline which has now been superseded by plugging in the GEMs each night. Apparently even the mayor of Belmar has bought a GEM to supplement his Jaguar and the local kids think the 25mph door-less GEM is far cooler than the Jag.
If you follow the automotive and fashion model worlds, one name that you'll find in both arenas is Laura Bailey. A few years back she was the "face" of the Jaguar X. Her latest auto adventure is something a little better for the environment.
To mark today as World Environment Day, Bailey is helping to launch ibuyeco, a green car insurance program in the UK. The concept is to have people pay a little extra on their insurance premiums to offset the carbon they emit while they have the policy. Ibuyeco says their policies are "competitively priced" and the small offset charge is based on what kind of vehicle they drive and how many miles they put on a year. The CarbonNeutral Company is the offset provider.
Lewis Booth, Executive Vice President of Ford of Europe and Premier Automotive Group, gave a speech at the New Powertrain Technologies Conference in Amsterdam on March 28th covering many aspects of carbon emissions, global warming, environmental policy and the automotive industry's part to play in all of it. Booth made the point that the automotive industry accounts for around ten percent of carbon emissions but receives more media attention than this fraction would seem to justify. In the future he sees a transparent, cross-region and cross-sector carbon trading program as evening up the balance but realises that this is a while away yet.
Reducing carbon emissions is difficult for the automotive industry when customer pressure to build larger vehicles and legislative rules to include more safety equipment effectively hamper carbon reduction efforts. Booth's answer is for affordable, "volume solutions that can be rapidly adopted" to drive "environmental motoring into the mainstream".
Looking to the future, Booth offered several examples of technology being introduced into advanced petrol engines such as direct high pressure injection; efficient turbo charging; advanced valve actuation; and stop-start technology, with re-start effected through fuel injection. These technologies should improve fuel efficiency and reduce carbon emissions by 20 percent in next generation petrol engines. CO2 savings will be compounded by the use of advanced, second-generation biofuels which can be used in the existing car fleet without special modification. To make this happen though, the fuel industry will need to work harder to offer such low-carbon fuels.
On the topic of hybrids and fuel-cells, Booth re-iterated Ford's commitment to both technologies but warned that battery technology has to improve further and the hydrogen economy is still a while away.
Analysis: The speech is definitely worth a read and clearly shows that Ford has bets down across the full range of next-generation technologies. Two that I was not aware of were the Powershift System advanced transmission which provides 10 percent better fuel economy than an automatic and the all-aluminium construction of the Jaguar XJ and XK.
Complete transcript of Lewis Booth's speech after the jump.
The United Kingdom's Environmental Transport Association (ETA) annual awards have named the Honda Civic Hybrid Britain's greenest car for the second straight year. Finishing ahead of the Vauxhall Corsa 13.CTDi and Toyota Yaris 1.4 Diesel, the Civic won out for its superior combination of engine size, fuel consumption, noise pollution and safety impact on pedestrians.
The award for Greenest Off-Roader went to the Toyota RAV4 diesel and the Greenest Luxury Car award went to the Jaguar XJ 2.7 diesel. The wrong end of the list was dominated by luxury brands including Lamborghini, Ferrari and Aston Martin, proving that making a car really fast still requires a lot of petrol.
Top ten green cars:
Honda Civic Hybrid
Vauxhall Corsa 1.3 CDTi
Toyota Yaris 1.4 D-4D Manual
Renault Modus 1.2 16V VVT
Daihatsu Sirion M300
Citroen C1 1.1
Toyota Aygo 1.0 Manual
Peugeot 107 Manual
Daihatsu Charade Manual
Fiat Panda 1.3
Top ten worst cars:
Lamborghini Diablo Roadster
Lamborghini Murcielago Roadster
Ferrari Supermerica
Ferrari Scagliatti
Bentley Azure
Bentley Arnage RL
Aston Martin Vanquish
Aston Martin DB9 Manual
Bentley Continental Flying Spur
Ferrari F430 Spider
Analysis: Small, light vehicles get great fuel economy and are unlikely to mow down pedestrians while large, fast sports cars are made to go even faster by using bigger engines that suck more fuel. That's why the Tesla Roadster is such a revelation - a fast, sporty vehicle that runs on electricity and has zero emissions. By the looks of this list, it will have the other sports cars beaten hands down for environmental performance for a while yet.
Take a list of 2,500 new cars, filter out the chaff that only the middle class can would drive and suck on the tailpipes of the left-over luxury vehicles. The one that leaves your lungs the cleanest wins the award. This year, the winner is the Jaguar XJ 2.7 Diesel.
Without a doubt, this is how the writers for the Environmental Transport Association's 2007 Car Buyers Guide selected the "greenest luxury car on Britain's roads" for 2007. While the press release (after the jump) claims the Association used a "a star-based ranking system that gives consumers an overview of any vehicle's performance against the following categories; power, carbon dioxide emissions, fuel consumption, noise and safety," I think you and I both know that that takes too long. And who doesn't have a few interns waiting around to something productive? Right?
However the XJ 2.7 Diesel was selected, let's remember it did travel 1000.2 miles on a single tank of fuel last year, getting 53.5mpg and emitting 139g/km of CO2 on the trip.
As part of the Technology Strategy Board's (TSB) ongoing efforts of promoting and supporting research into environmentally friendly automotive technology, the group has given funding to Ricardo, Jaguar and Land Rover for quite a few separate projects. Five of the projects are outlined here:
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