Mazda has declared that by the middle of the decade they will have replaced their entire powertrain lineup and cut fuel consumption by 30 percent. On the powertrain side, engines will be upgraded across the board including a new direct injected wankel rotary. In 2009, a new Smart Idle Stop system will debut that restarts the engine using the direct injection system instead of the starter. Fuel will be sprayed directly into the cylinder and ignited to get the pistons moving. New gas engines will get direct injection and Mazda will add new clean diesels to the lineup worldwide as well as continuing to develop hydrogen-fueled engines.

Ford's Japanese affiliate intends to continue down the path begun with last years new Mazda2 and the new 6 this year by reducing the weight of new models. The trend of recent decades to higher powered engines has led to a cascading effect of increased mass to support the power. Mazda intends to reverse the process. From 2011, Mazda wants to cut at least 220lbs from new models.

[Source: Mazda]

Click the new Maxima for a high-res gallery of 60+ photos

According to Yo Usaba, senior veep of powertrains for Nissan, the upcoming clean diesel engine for the next Nissan Maxima may be paired only with a manual transmission. Although the stick would likely be the most efficient transmission choice, it doesn't seem all that appropriate for the American market, where automatic transmissions are the rule. It seems that Nissan is concerned with turbo-lag, which is the lull before the turbocharger kicks in and delivers the power. For this reason, the new diesel X-Trail for the Japanese market will come only in a shift-it-yourself flavor.

Apparently, diesels have the same poor reputation in Japan as in the U.S. and many Japanese drivers are stick-shift neophytes. Since this information hasn't kept Nissan from launching its first diesel in its home market with a manual transmission as its sole option, many are concluding that the same could be true in the states. We hope not, as sales would surely be negatively impacted by such a decision. A CVT would likely be a decent choice for this application, and Nissan has proven rather adept at making its seamless transmissions sell in America. We hope that it can make that combination work.

[Source: Automotive News - sub. req'd]

Back in January BMW made the big announcement that it would finally introduce modern clean diesel engines to the U.S. market. At the time the Bavarian manufacturer told us that the new 335d and X5 xDrive35d would be launched by later in 2008 without getting any more specific than that. A blog specializing in news about the blue and white propeller brand is reporting that the new models will debut in mid-October. We decided to give BMW a call this afternoon and talked to spokesperson Charlene King. She reiterated the company has not made any new announcements about availability and re-confirmed that the diesels would debut this fall.

Having said that, last month Mercedes emphasized that they would be the first to offer Tier 2 Bin5 compliant diesels in the U.S. market when they launch BlueTec SUVs this fall. Neither company has actually provided an on-sale date, but there is no doubt that BMW will be racing to beat their arch-rivals to the showroom. Regardless of which company actually gets there first, both are likely to lose out to Volkswagen which has said they will begin selling the new Jetta TDI in September.

[Source: BMW, BMWBlog.com]

In case you haven't noticed, Volkswagen of American has a new spokesbug in their commercials. A couple of weeks ago, the German brand started running a series of ads featuring a black fifties era Beetle as the host of a talk show with the likes of Heidi Klum and German pop idol David Hasselhof as guests. The latest edition features the Bug in a debate with Napster creator Shawn Fanning about the relative merits of free music and clean diesel. Fanning makes it clear that since clean diesel is legal (in all fifty states) it is definitely cooler than free music. The Beetle seems unconvinced. We're waiting patiently for our crack at one of the Jetta TDIs that are due to start arriving stateside in June so we can make our own judgment. The real question may of course be, why can't we have both? While you ponder that check out the video after the jump.

The video above is an interview done in May with Walter Copan, chief technology officer of Clean Diesel Technologies (ticker: CDTI), by thestreet.com. Autobloggreen is not a stock tip or investing website but we wanted to show you what the stock market thinks about green, automotive companies. In the above video, Walter is asked if clean diesel will catch on in America and can the technology take on hybrids. Walter thinks clean diesels have potential because the technology has developed and new cars are being released.

Below the fold is a video done in a May episode of Forbes on Fox with Jeff Siegel and includes two interesting ethanol stocks. The first company is SunOpta (ticker: STKL), which is actually a food company but Jeff says they have plans to go into cellulosic ethanol and even want to built a plant. The second company is Pacific Ethanol (ticker: PEIX) which Jeff says is embracing regional production and are building ethanol plants in California. Bill Gates is about to sell his 21 percent stake in Pacific Ethanol.

Nobel peace prize Al Gore is getting in on sustainable investing, so don't be surprised to see a few more articles from AutoblogGreen with stock tickers.

Related:

• Stock analysts say we could be in an "ethanol bubble"
• Motley Fool sez AltairNano stock "missed the mark"

[Source: YouTube, Google Video]

This is the strangest and most wonderful thing I have read today. The EPA and Scholastic released a special edition of the popular children's book series the Magic School bus, called "The Magic School Bus Gets Cleaned Up." EPA Deputy Administrator Marcus Peacock recently read the book to school children in Cunningham Park Elementary School library in Vienna, Virginia. The students then went on Scholastic's traveling Magic School Bus, which includes interactive science experiments and a "new diesel particulate filter installed, courtesy of Caterpillar Inc." (pictures of the real Magic School Bus and particulate filter below the fold).

If that was not strange enough, the event also promotes the Clean School Bus USA program, which has cleaned up 2 million buses. "President Bush and EPA are making that black puff of diesel smoke from school buses something children only learn about in history class" said EPA Deputy Administrator Marcus Peacock. Leslye Schaefer. Scholastic Media Senior Vice President says, "Scholastic is thrilled to join the EPA in its effort to educate children and their families about clean air – and to make The Magic School Bus more environmentally friendly at the same time."

You can order the book for free by phone or e-mail from the EPA but supplies are limited because it's so popular! "Individuals, schools, and libraries may order up to 20 copies. Non-profit organizations working on diesel emissions issues and outreach may order up to 500. Other organizations, including for-profit companies, may order up to 100. Larger requests will be considered on a case-by-case basis." Even I want one! The idea that the EPA actually retrofitted a fictional, illustrated, cartoon school bus with pollution controls is just too funny.

I wonder if the EPA will get Ralph from the The Mouse and the Motorcycle an Enertia?

Related:

• "Daddy, read me a story" - the Doe's EV children's book

[Source: EPA]

New Zealand has bold plans for greening its automobile transportation. In the "Energy Strategy to 2050" report, presented by New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark, there are calls for major changes such as:

• 5 percent of cars to be plug-ins by 2020, rising to 60 percent by 2040.
• 25 percent of cars to be fuel cells by 2050.
• 25 percent of vehicle fuels to come from renewable sources by 2020, rising to 80 percent by 2050.
• 80 percent of New Zealand's government vehicle fleet able to run on 10 percent biofuels or electric power by 2015.
• Fuel economy increased 25 percent by 2025.

These measures will halve transport green house gases emissions by 2040, and mean that New Zealand could be the first country to widely use biofuels, clean diesel and electric powered cars. They still can't beat the Vatican's claim, though.

[Source: MSNBC]

Below the fold is an hour-long video of a Google talk by Reed Benet, a bio-fuels-focused Ph.D. student at the University of California Davis Institute of Transportation Studies. Much of the second half of the talk has the audience asking, where is my diesel-hybrid and why are there no diesel-hybrids? As you may know from my article on VW, I don't think clean diesel is that great. Others think otherwise.

IMHO, a diesel hybrid would get amazing mileage but it could also be a marketing oxymoron. About 33 minutes into the talk Reed says there is really no invention that puts diesel engines "in compliance" with gasoline ones. Carbon is not the only problem with fuels, just like fuel efficiency is not everything. Diesel engines are a lot cleaner than they used to be, but diesel vehicles are not perfect.

Related:

• Senate hearing on diesel truck pollution Wednesday

[Source: YouTube]

We recently wrote about the VW's DIESELUTION tour. I took the video above of the Dieselution tour's stop at AltWheels Boston 2007. IMHO, VW should have called the tour Dissolution. Don't get me wrong. I like VW. I think they are great brand and really could have surfed the green revolution wave. I am glad they are planning on making "a" hybrid soon but VW's focus on re-branding diesel as clean diesel seems a pointless, uphill battle to me.

Take their display at AltWheels. The semi truck they use in the display was idling. The VW semi could have been idling the entire show, for all I know. I am guessing they were using it to power the video displays inside. They could have been getting ready to leave however. The video is dark because it was the last booth I checked out. Why would anyone go to beautiful Boston Hall plaza, an outdoor plaza, only to go into the back of idling truck to watch videos on monitors trying to convince you diesel is really clean now?

The compact segment is the most competitive in the European market. Cars measuring around 4 meters are the top-sellers on this side of the pond. They usually offer good room for the price, and they also offer cargo space once the back seats are folded. This segment is dominated by local models, such as the VW Golf (the leader to beat) and the Ford Focus, to name two models which are familiar to our US readers. The engines of choice are usually diesels and although low-sulfur diesel has been sold in Europe for a long time, they still pollute with particulates which cause smog. Particulate filters just aren't widespread yet and are currently installed only in premium models, very much like the implementation of cathalysts in gasoline cars, which started in the '90s.

However, this is not only a matter of European automakers. Japanese and Korean manufacturers are also in this race to get their chunk of the European market. And as a sample, here's the new Toyota Auris. The European compact Toyotas are a set of three models: the Corolla sedan, the Auris hatchback and the Verso MPV. One of Toyota's latest innovations has been the D-CAT (Diesel Clean Advanced Technology) range of diesel engines which appeared in 2005 in the Euro-Accord Avensis models.Toyota's particulate filter captures combustion debris in a reservoir and when it's full, the particulates burn completely - This means that at a certain moment, a Toyota leaves a grey cloud of smoke but leaves no particulates. Of course, the system is more complex and it includes special piezoelectric injectors, gas recirculation when the engine is cold and other features which makes these engines less polluting.

You might wonder what the performance of these engines are: 2.2 liters, and two different power outputs: 177 HP and 400 Nm of torque (about 295 ft.lb), and 125 HP and 300 Nm (230 ft.lb). Although it's the Auris we're showing here today, the D-CAT range of engines are currently installed in these three compact models mentioned and the RAV-4.

[Source: Toyota]
[Edited: Of course, Toyota's middle car is the Avensis in Europe, not the Accord!. Thanks to Joseph for pointing this out]

Click on the image for a gallery of high-res images of the clean diesel Mercedes-Benz E320 Bluetec.

Petrol is expensive in Europe and has been for a long time which goes a long way to explaining the popularity of fuel-efficient diesel passenger vehicles on the other side of the pond. Diesels account for over half of all vehicle sales in Europe compared to less than five percent in the U.S., or Australia for that matter. Diesel technology has progressed greatly though since the 1970's when many U.S. states banned them from the roads. And they're about to return.

These days modern, clean diesel engines include precise fuel injection, advanced engine management and particulate filters to reduce emissions. But even so, a big stumbling block to their re-introduction to the U.S. market has been the poor quality of the diesel fuel sold state-side. With the recent introduction of ultra low sulphur diesel though, those days are at an end and a wave of new clean diesel models will be coming to market during the 2007, 2008 and 2009 release seasons.

Hybrids have so far led the market in fuel-efficient new models but the premium for hybrid technology currently stands at around $4,000 over a conventional vehicle compared with just $2,000 for a diesel variant. And the 20 - 40 percent better fuel economy that diesels' enjoy over regular petrol vehicles could have a huge impact if they're embraced en-masse. The EPA has estimated a saving of 1.4 million barrels of oil per day in the U.S. if a third of the passenger vehicles on the road were oil burners - virtually the same amount being imported daily from Saudi Arabia.

Analysis: Expect consumer mind-share to shift slowly to encompass diesels as competition for hybrids, but by 2010 I think we'll see more diesel options available to consumers than hybrid options.

Related:

• Mercedes wants 10% of their US sales to be diesels by 2010
• The finalists for 2007 World Green Car are from BMW, Mercedes and VW
• Geneva Motor Show: Cadillac unveils powerful new V6 clean diesel engine

[Source: Matt Vella / Business Week]

Construction crews and people towing fifth wheel trailers have long admired the Cummins diesel engines in the Dodge Ram pickups. They offered enormous quantities of torque and relatively decent fuel economy considering the performance they offered. Now Chrysler has announced that they'll have an all-new Cummins diesel available in their light duty trucks starting 2009. The engines will use clean diesel technology and be fifty state legal. Compared to gas engines they get thirty percent better fuel economy and twenty percent less carbon dioxide emissions.

[Source: Automotive News - subscription required]

Recently Honda announced plans to create new ultra clean diesel engines for their vehicles to meet all the latest emission standards. Their design would differ from the Mercedes BlueTec technology because the new catalytic converter would produce ammonia on board to use for treating the nitrogen oxide. This would be a zero maintenance design that requires no periodic replenishment of the urea supply. Initial indications were that a 2.2L four cylinder diesel would be built for use in various passenger car models starting in 2009. In an interview with Automotive News CEO Takeo Fukui revealed that Honda will also be building a V-6 diesel for their bigger vehicles like the Ridgeline pickup, the Odyssey van and the Pilot and MDX SUVs. The new V-6 diesels will also meet all the new diesel emission standards for cutting particulate and nitrogen oxide emissions.

[Source: Automotive News - subscription required]

Susan Barrows of the Harrisburg University of Science and Technology explains the technology behind a proposed $725 million plant in Pennsylvania to covert waste coal into clean diesel fuel.

In her essay, Barrows says contaminants in coal such as mercury and sulfur must be contained and removed to avoid poisoning the chemical catalysts needed to complete the Fisher-Tropsch conversion. Sulfur oxides are usually emitted when burning coal to produce electricity, which leads to acid rain. She also says the carbon dioxide can be captured and sold to the food and beverage industry.

Wrapping up her comments, Barrows says that as a green scientist she is in favor of the plant as long as this carbon dioxide capture technology is maintained. She believes the project is a good way to reduce tons of waste coal and produce 5,000 barrels of "ultra-clean" diesel fuel per day.

[Source: Patriot-News]