Recent Comments:
Lotus throws its weight behind methanol {Autoblog Green}
Jun 24th 2008 11:40AM I'd like to know what they're smoking where they think it's easier to convert an engine to run on methanol than it is to convert it for ethanol. All I've read says that ethanol is less corrosive. Ethanol is also more energy-dense than methanol (if you thought you got crappy mileage in an E85 car, you'll get even worse in a methanol one). The toxicity is a problem too.
The $4/gallon noose tightens: credit cards not welcome at some gas stations {Autoblog Green}
Jun 19th 2008 9:27AM Ironically, I started paying by card because fuel prices had been rising several years ago, and there had been an increase in the number of drive-offs. In response, some stations in my area had gone to "pre-pay or credit card only" setups. I will *not* pre-pay, so I've been using my card all the time since then.
But yeah, it's a lot more troublesome now to pay with cash. My old car had a fairly small tank, so I think the most I ever paid for fueling it was about $30 (though I'd only paid around $20 for most of the time I had it). My current car has a bigger tank and fuel has gotten much more expensive, so now I'm paying $50-60 each time. It's not a problem to lose one bill from your wallet, but considering that I usually only take $100 from the ATM at a time, losing 3/5 of my cash in one shot is not so fun, and I imagine most people are worse off than I am.
Nissan's diesel Maxima may be manual only {Autoblog}
Jun 16th 2008 3:07PM I certainly think this will be a hindrance, but not to the extent some folks do. I know that a Maxima is not a VW Jetta, but remember that the diesels VW has sold in the U.S. have tended to be a much less lopsided mix between automatic and manual. I'm not sure if it's a 50/50 mix, but it's certainly closer to that than the 20:1 ratio across the U.S. market at large.
Concerned about CO2? In the UK, just buy a diesel {Autoblog Green}
Jun 12th 2008 11:26AM I certainly like what diesels can do, but I have to agree that the mileage they're reporting on those hybrids is very questionable. Over at greenhybrid.com's mileage database, the typical Prius gets 48 mpg (US). They also track the standard deviation, which is only about +/- 2.5 mpg. The story is pretty similar with the Civic. Granted, there may be a slight inherent bias with those drivers, but it seems to mesh fairly closely with what I've seen elsewhere.
Also, it doesn't look like these guys factored in that diesel has roughly 15% more carbon per gallon (I guess I've seen a range of 12-18%, depending on the amount of kerosene mixed in, etc.). You'd have to adjust the diesel cars downward to determine the gasoline-equivalent CO2 output.
Oddly, they seemed to get a more realistic estimate with that Lexus...
Sigh. Pontiac G3 may be headed for U.S. {Autoblog}
Jun 2nd 2008 3:36PM Of course, the Aveo is no longer the most-efficient car in GM's stable -- that title now goes to the Chevy Cobalt XFE (and I wonder if an XFE version of the Pontiac G5 will be coming). Well, it's manual-only for the transmission, but it shows what remapping the ECU, adding low-rolling-resistance tires, and other small tweaks can do.
Now if the Aveo was properly engineered, I'm sure it could beat the Cobalt XFE in fuel economy. We'll see if that happens or not...
Th!nk to build cars in North America + Video {Autoblog Green}
May 30th 2008 5:07PM Speaking of Ford, they'll be abandoning the Twin Cities assembly plant in Minnesota pretty soon. I know a lot of folks would like to see some sort of alternative vehicle manufacturing happen there.
Officially Official: EPA rates 2009 Jetta TDI at 30/41mpg {Autoblog Green}
May 21st 2008 4:44PM Note that the window sticker for the 2006 Jetta TDI said 36/41/38 city/hwy/comb for the manual and 35/42/38 for the automatic.
Right now, if you look up the '06 model on fueleconomy.gov, their "adjusted" versions of those numbers are 30/37/33 manual and 30/38/33 automatic.
In that case, the numbers for the '08 are an improvement (though an improvement against a guess rather than a more thoroughly derived set of numbers).
I've actually been thinking that the fueleconomy.gov numbers for diesels may be specified in gasoline-equivalent gallons. At the pump, I'm sure most people will be seeing something 15% higher.
Best Buy's Geek Squad getting smart-er? {Autoblog Green}
May 20th 2008 3:17PM I think the chick-car-ishness of the smart is roughly equivalent to the Beetle, so it's not an issue for Geek Squad.
Does diesel have a future? {Autoblog Green}
May 14th 2008 12:10PM Eh? £1.25/liter diesel is still cheaper per mile than £1.10/liter gasoline. Well, if you get a 40 mpg gas car and compare it to a 40 mpg diesel, the gas car will be cheaper -- but the gas car would need to be smaller and more lightweight than the diesel to get the same mpg rating.
Really, you're normally looking at a gas car that gets 27 mpg next to a diesel that gets 40. The diesel will be cheaper to fuel and will have a longer range. Whether the initial cost or the maintenance costs balance out is a question, but they're much harder to estimate up front.
IIHS releases official results on the smart fortwo {Autoblog}
May 14th 2008 11:21AM Mmmkay psarhjinian... Here are the NHTSA ratings:
2008 Smart:
Front collision - Driver: 4 stars
Front collision - Passenger: 3 stars
Side collision - Driver: 5 stars
Side collision - Passenger: not tested
Rollover - 3 stars
2008 Cobalt Coupe (2 door):
Front collision - Driver: 4 stars
Front collision - Passenger: 5 stars
Side collision - Driver: 4 stars
Side collision - Passenger: 4 stars
Rollover - 4 stars
2008 Cobalt Sedan (4 door):
Front collision - Driver: 4 stars
Front collision - Passenger: 5 stars
Side collision - Driver: 3 stars
Side collision - Passenger: 5 stars
Rollover - 4 stars
