If you check any European car ad, you will see in tiny letters at the bottom the car's consumption and CO2 production figures. This information is a mandatory requirement in Spain. But, according to Ecologistas en Acción and the Unión de Consumidores de España (UCE), an environmental organization and a consumer union from Spain respectively, these figures are not accurate and could be misleading.
Spain taxes the purchase of cars depending on CO2 production figures, therefore it's a consumer's right to know previously what these figures are. UCE found out that 11 automakers didn't have accurate information or their ads were plainly misleading, like saying a car is under 119 g/km when it's just one model and the ad focus on the sport version that produces more than 200 g/km. Also, these figures tend to be hidden with small print. They also accuse automakers of trivializing these figures because all cars pollute even when polluting less.
Don't think it's just one automaker: Hyundai, Nissan, Seat, Volkswagen, Peugeot, Honda, Citroën, Opel, Dacia and Mercedes-Benz were accused of these practices.
French magazine Autoplus has published pictures of what the new subcompact van from Citroën might look like. Currently, Citroën offers three people-movers: the large, eight-passenger C8, the Xsara Picasso and the recent C4 Picasso (in both short- and long-wheelbase versions).
Citroën is adding a new member to the minivan family which should measure in at under 4 meters. The new model, due in late 2009, is going to be built on the Citroën C3/Peugeot 207/Citroën Nemo platform. It will share components with the quite-unsuccessful Peugeot 1007 (pictured above) and will compete directly with the Renault Modus. Expect the whole array of PSA's HDI engines to power the model.
PSA Peugeot Citroën, already Europe's leader in low CO2 emissions, is planning on introducing a new line of small-bore three cylinder engines. It seems that the French automaker is keen on keeping their eco-friendly reputation, as this information comes shortly after we heard that PSA plans to make its Stop & Start system standard across its line. Their one liter three cylinders are expected to offer from seventy to one-hundred horsepower. PSA's "aim is to offer the market vehicles with CO2 emissions below 100g/km with no additional technology." We would imagine that this line of engines, especially when equipped with stop/start technology, will be quite the fuel misers. Currently, there's no word on what vehicles these engines are slated to be installed in.
To make their ambitious goals a reality, PSA is setting up two manufacturing sites to build the engines. The first operational facility will open in 2011 and have a capacity of 600,000 engines per year.
Based on a Peugeot Partner Origin van, the H2Origin zero emissions urban delivery technical demonstrator (that's a mouthful!) has just been unveiled by Intelligent Energy and PSA Peugeot Citroën. The delivery van is powered by electricity and gains additional juice by way of a 10kWh hydrogen fuel cell system from IE. Together, the batteries and fuel cell can offer up a range of 300 kilometers (over 180 miles). In order to accommodate refueling needs, the empty compressed hydrogen tanks can be exchanged with fresh tanks. Without the fuel cell, range would be cut by two-thirds. Full press release after the break.
Tomorrow usually just means tomorrow... as in the next day that you wake up. Sometimes, though, the word tomorrow takes on a slightly different meaning, as it does for the 2008 Peugeot Design Competition. Think of a time in the not-too-distant future. What does the city look like? How do people move around? If you're thinking of something that looks similar to today, maybe you're not quite right for this particular contest. According to Peugeot, a company with a history of quirky designs, judges will be looking for "a concept car to be designed for use in the centre of the great urban cities of the future, while embracing the key values of the 21st century and at the same time, bearing all of Peugeot's recognized styling clues. Submitted entries must integrate all the four dimensions specific to this design competition: environmental friendliness, social harmony, interactive mobility and economic efficiency."
Today's urban settings hardly look like what Peugeot describes, so we're looking forward to seeing what young designers have in store for the future. FYI: 2007's winner is pictured above. Full press release after the jump.
Since it's 2006 debut, the Audi R10 TDI has raced exclusively in the American Le Mans Series except for the annual June trek to France for the big all-day race. This past weekend a pair of R10s campaigned by the Joest team made their first run in the European Le Mans series with a second place finish in season opener at Barcelona. The Audis were again competing against the pair of Peugeot 908 HDi coupes which won the European championship last year. The Audi of Dindo Capello and Allan McNish finished second to the Peugeot of Nicolas Minassian and Marc Gené. The second Audi and Peugeot finished 5th and 6th respectively. The Barcelona race, like most of the European races, was more of an endurance run with a length of 1,000km compared to the 2-3 hour sprints that make up most of the American series. Audi is planning to run both the full European and American seasons this year with Joest handling the duties overseas while Champion Racing campaigns the cars in the ALMS. Unfortunately, it appears that we won't be seeing the Peugeots stateside again this year. Hopefully they will at least come over to participate in the Petite Le Mans at Road Atlanta in the fall.
The British economy is struggling a bit right now thanks to the same sudden realization that a lot of people got unaffordable mortgages in recent years, just like we are experiencing here in the U.S. Combining that with the same rising fuel prices that everyone else is suffering and the latest changes to the emissions-based London Congestion tax, demand for small low emissions cars is on the rise. Diesel-heavy Peugeot appears to be a beneficiary of that market shift in the UK right now. Their smallest model, the 107, which is rated at just 109g/km of CO2 saw a sales jump of sixteen percent in the first quarter of this year. Having a CO2 rating of less than 120g/km allows drivers of the 107 to drive into central London without having to pay a congestion charge. While that benefits drivers financially and certainly reduces CO2 emissions relative to what it might be without any charge, if everyone shifts to these types of cars it won't actually do much to reduce congestion. Peugeot's diesel-powered vans also performed well in the marketplace with a jump of 4.1 percent.
Peugeot may well be the first team to run a hybrid vehicle at Le Mans and it looks like it will be a diesel, too. New Peugeot CEO recently told the French paper L'Equipe that a diesel-hybrid prototype is currently under development and that it may make some trial runs as soon as this June at Le Mans. Collin also said the car would begin racing in 2009. Peugeot Sport team manager Serge Saulnier, however, is being a little more cautious, acknowledging that a diesel hybrid is in the works. However, Saulnier would not confirm when the car would appear in public. Peugeot has already shown several diesel hybrid concepts based on production 307s and 308s and has acknowledged that they are planning to introduce such a powertrain in the next few years. Toyota may also be making a return to Le Mans as soon as 2010 possibly with a gas-electric hybrid. Let's just hope they bring some of these cars over to the American Le Mans Series and really spice things up.
The 308, one of the toughest competitors in the European compact hatchback market, is getting some improvements that increase efficiency and reduce fuel consumption.
First of all, the Peugeot 308 will be fitted to a new 6-speed manual transmission which allows lower rpm at cruising speed and increases mileage. If you add Michelin's Fuel Saver tires to this transmission mated to the highly praised 110 HP 1.6 HDi, the 308 gets about 52 mpg U. S. and produces 129 g/km CO2. However, there's also a second transmission option: a 6-speed Electronic Gearbox Control which removes the need for a clutch pedal and changes speeds in 0.4 seconds. This also creates greater fuel efficiency, which means that, when mated to the 90 HP version of the 1.6 HDi, the mileage stays at 52 mpg, but CO2 emissions go down to 120 g/km. And, last but not least, there's a third transmission that Peugeot is installing in the 308: a 6-speed automatic with tiptronic-like controls for the most powerful diesel available, the 136 HP 2.0-liter HDi. Finally, a new base-entry low-polluting gasoline engine model has been added to the line up: a 1.4 liter VTi good for 95 HP.
Currently, Peugeot is selling up to 7 versions of the 308 which produce 120 g/km CO2. All PSA models are guaranteed to work with biodiesel mixtures up to 30 percent (B30).
The National Farmers Union in Britain has just taken delivery of a new Peugeot 308 that is being fueled by B30. The biodiesel being used in the Peugeot is produced from locally-grown canola and used cooking oil. Jonathan Scurlock, the NFU chief renewable energy adviser will be using the 308 as he drives around the country on official business. The fuel is being supplied by Harvest Energy and is produced entirely from local sources in England. The company is trying to demonstrate the sustainability of locally-grown crops for biofuel production. While the net energy benefit of canola biodiesel is debatable, it does have some definite advantages such as no sulfur which provide cleaner emissions than petroleum diesel.
Like Newteon, PSA Peugeot Citroen is eyeing the EV contract for La Poste. PSA is teaming up with Monaco-based Venturi Automobiles to produce battery-powered vans based on the Citroën Berlingo First and Peugeot Partner Origin for the French Post office. The partnership will produce a small batch of vans for a six month test program. Venturi has been developing high dollar electric sports cars and less expensive oddball buggies. For this project, Venturi will contribute a new compact electric powertrain that allows the motor, battery and electronics to be mounted underhood and give the delivery vans a 60-mile range. After the trial ends La Poste, will select a vendor to produce 500 electric mail vans.
After PSA's announcement of taking things easy on diesel hybrids, it's at least good to know that they have decided to make the Start & Stop system available for the whole range of models. Nowadays, only certain versions of the Citroën C2 and C3 can be ordered with the Stop & Start system, a nifty fuel saver that shuts down the engine at traffic lights or when stuck in a traffic jam. This accounts for a 10 to 15 percent reduction in fuel consumption and CO2 production figures.
PSA has just announced that they will make the system available for their complete lineup and - even better - it will be made standard. Their target is to install the system in a million vehicles by 2011 and 1.6 million by 2012.
[Source: Autoplus (thanks to my buddy Dominique for the tip)]
The American Le Mans Series kicks off its 2008 season next weekend with the 56th running of the 12 Hours of Sebring in central Florida. The ALMS has long had the most diverse field of race cars of any major series in North America and this year it's getting even more so as the series makes a push for greener racing. This is the only series that has cars running on three different fuels; gasoline, ethanol and diesel all play a major part. In the LMP1 class, Audi is kicking off its third year running the diesel-powered R10 TDI. They'll get competition this time from Peugeot, which is bringing one of their 908 HDi prototypes to race in the U.S. for the first time.
In the production-derived GT1 ranks, the Corvette C6Rs will tackle an Aston Martin DBR9 with all of them using cellulosic E85 fuel. The same fuel will also power an LMP1 Lola entered by Intersport racing. The rest of the field for now will continue using the E10 ethanol/gasoline blend that was used in 2007. As the season progresses and going into 2009, other teams are likely to make the switch to E85 and possibly even diesel. Although Honda representatives were non-committal at the Detroit Auto Show, it appears that they are looking hard at diesel power especially as they are about to introduce a diesel-powered Acura TSX in the U.S. next year. ALMS officials are also encouraging other alternative powertrains, such as hybrids, and they are open to looking at all options. When the 2008 draws to a close at the Petite Le Mans race at Road Atlanta this fall, ALMS will also introduce their first Green Challenge that will measure a variety of sustainability efforts by teams in addition to their on-track performance and fuel efficiency. ALMS officials are working hard to encourage innovation and diversity in the field that can help advance powertrain and fuel technology. For those of us who enjoy motorsports it's by far the most interesting and exciting series to watch and I for one will be among the happy spectators this year.
When you hear about a "3-liter car," what do you think of? For this story, think not of a car with a 3-liter engine but one that uses 3.13 liters of fuel per 100 km. That's 75 miles per gallon (U.S.) we're talking about a simple Peugeot 308.
John and Helen Taylor traveled 14,580 km in Australia (9,100 miles) using a Peugeot 308 with a standard 1.6 HDI 110 HP diesel engine. The Taylor's 308 was a standard model, just like the ones you can buy it from the showroom (at least in Europe and Australia), including Michelin Energy XM1+ tires. They used 453.94 liters of Shell diesel for the trip, which broke a previous record (with a 307) of 3.49 l/100 km (67 mpg U.S.). The CO2 figures (which Peugeot states include the supply chain) were a mere 90.3 g/km.
This makes it almost unnecessary to wait for the hybrid! But, please, Peugeot mate this powertrain to a hybrid system and treat the exhaust gases.
While it has looked like Peugeot would be the first company to market a mainstream passenger vehicle with a diesel hybrid powertrain, it now looks like it won't come as quickly as previously thought. PSA (parent company of Peugeot and Citroen) has been developing a diesel hybrid system in cooperation with suppliers Bosch, Continental, Valeo and Thyssen-Krupp. The system was originally supposed to debut in the compact Peugeot 308 in 2010. The cost of developing the system was to have been partially subsidized by the French government. With the European Commission putting the screws to that plan, PSA and its partners will move forward without the handout. As a result, the company has decided that in order to recover those development costs, they need to apply the system on a more expensive model first, which of course means the volumes will be lower. The change in plans also means the new powertrain won't appear until at least 2011. At the current rate, Peugeot may still be first to market, unless Mahindra's plans for a diesel hybrid version of their pickup come to fruition in 2010.
If you check any European car ad, you will see in tiny letters at the bottom the car's consumption and CO2 production figures. This information is a mandatory requirement in Spain. But, according to Ecologistas en Acción and the Unión de Consumidores de España (UCE), an environmental organization and a consumer union from Spain respectively, these figures are not accurate and could be misleading. 
PSA Peugeot Citroën, already 
After PSA's 
