At a Powertrain technology event in Europe, General Motors has announced a pair of new small displacement turbocharged engines. The 1.4L turbo is gasoline fueled and will be used globally in cars like the Opel/Saturn Astra starting in 2010. Depending on the application, the engines will generate 120-140hp and use eight percent less fuel than a comparable output 1.8L normally aspirated engine. The turbocharger is integrated into the exhaust manifold and both the intake and exhaust valve timing can be fully varied. We drove an Astra with a prototype of this engine last summer and it felt stronger than the production 1.8L model thanks to better low end torque.

The other new engine is a 1.6L unit that will only be offered in Europe. A 1.6L turbo engine fueled with compressed natural gas will be added to the Opel Zafira lineup. This engine gets a similar manifold integrated turbocharger to the 1.4L engine. The intake manifold has dual fuel rails for gasoline and CNG and has an output of 150hp with 25 percent lower CO₂ emissions than a comparable gas engine.

[Source: General Motors]

Fiat is reportedly planning on introducing a natural gas-fueled version of its Palio compact in the Indian market in 2009. Compressed natural gas is a popular fuel in India, especially for buses. There are also experiments ongoing with using Hythane, a blend of 10 percent hydrogen gas along with the natural gas. The Palio hatchback is already available with both gas and diesel engines in India. Fiat is planning several vehicle introductions in the coming months in India including the tiny 500 and locally-produced versions of the Grande Punto and Linea. The 500s will be imported from the plant in Poland that produces them for the European market.

[Source: MyIris.com, thanks to Justin for the tip]

Well let's start with the technical stuff before we laugh about the styling.... I'm sorry, I can't wait. It looks like the 2008 Car of the Year for GayWheels.com. Did you ever see the Ambiguously Gay Duo? They put their car into production! Okay, that'll do me for the moment. The American Roadster is powered by a compressed natural gas (CNG) engine that achieves 70 mpg. That's all I've got - no horsepower or performance figures, but at least we know at first glance it's rear-drive. Burning CNG, which, if you can get your hands on it, is significantly cheaper than gas, at 70 mpg sounds pretty sweet.

But look at it. If you thought the '59 Firebird II concept was phallic, you were wrong. Well, you were right, but this thing has got it beat. And they're actually planning in producing it - in mass quantities. In their current factory, they can only expect to be able to build 100/month, but at their new 200,000 sq. ft. factory they're acquiring, they expect to construct 240,000/month! I'm sorry, I just don't think they can sell that many. Don't get me wrong, I appreciate the forward thinking and battering-ram style to getting a product to market, but did it have to look like a... like that?

More color commentary after the jump.

Gallery: American Roadster

[Source: Eco-Fueler]

Above is another video from my trip to AltWheels Boston 2007. The video is a look at the Phill home refueling station, topping off a Honda Civic GNG (Compressed Natural Gas) car. Natural gas cars are actually the cleanest cars you can buy today, even cleaner than hybrids, but they just don't get the credit they deserve. The reason for the lack of recognition for CNG is they have major problems: natural gas is not available everywhere, for example, and CNG cars cost an extra $7,000 (that's without tax rebates) compared with a normal gas car. If the gas prices keep going up and battery technology promises never pan out though, CNG cars just might have to play a bigger role than many expect.

Related:

• IRS approves Honda hybrid and natural gas vehicles for tax credits
• LA Auto Show: Honda Civic GX quick test drive
• Consumer Reports weighs in on Honda's CNG-powered Civic
• Honda starts selling natural gas Civic in New York state
• Civic GX that runs on natural gas available this fall

Several years ago, the Indian supreme court mandated that all public vehicles in Delhi, should be converted to run on compressed natural gas (CNG) as means to fight the rising pollution levels. In turn all of the government operated buses, motorized rickshaws, taxis and other vehicles as well as many private vehicles have been converted to CNG. There are now hundreds of CNG filling stations in the capital city. The city of Delhi now has the largest CNG fleet in the world.

The next step is to add hydrogen into the mix. Early in 2007 a station will begin offering Hythane (hydrogen + methane, the main component of natural gas). Initially they will be using a mix of 10 percent hydrogen/90 percent CNG as well as offering straight hydrogen for experimental vehicles that can operate on it. The hydrogen blend will reduce NOx and particulate emissions by about 50 percent. All the CNG equipped vehicles are able to operate on the 10 percent hydrogen mix without further modification. Higher percentage mixes require some additional modification, and vehicles equipped to handle up to 30 percent hydrogen will start entering service in 2007. The hydrogen is four times the cost of CNG but has three times the specific energy, so the improved mileage should mitigate most of the cost.

[Source: Hindustan Times, tip from Manu Sharma ]

General Motors over the weekend launched the Indian version of the Chevrolet Optra that runs on compressed natural gas. The Optra CNG will cost Rs. 8.10 lakh and owners of standard Optras 1.6 can get a CNG conversion kit installed for Rs 49,000 and their warranties will be retained, according to The Hindu. Convertins an Optra to CNG technically makes it a bi-fuel vehicle, since the car can still run on petrol. Nonetheless, GM will begin selling the Optra CNG in markets where CNG fuel is readily available. This includes the cities of Delhi, Mumbai and Gujarat. Running on CNG will reduce operating costs by 70 percent and the Optra will be able to travel about 150 kilometers between refills, says Web India 123.

[Source: The Hindu, Web India 123]

The environmental regulators in Abu Dhabi, one of the most modern cities in the world, want government-owned vehicles and taxis to run on natural gas. According to a report published in Al Dhabi and reported on gulfnews.com, the vehicles will be converted to run on CNG by 2012. All government diesel vehicles will be converted to run on Ultra Low Sulfphur Fuel with at least Euro III emission limits.

Already the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company has installed a CNG filling station. Abu Dhabi, located on the Persian Gulf, is the largest of the seven Emirates.

[Source: gulfnews.com]

Today we delved a bit deeper into the relationship a group of nuns has with their Honda Civic GX compressed natural gas cars, and it's good timing since Honda just announced the price of the 2006 Civic GX: $24,440. There are up to $5,000 worth of tax credit associated with buying this car, four grand for the vehicle and a thousand for the home-fueling apparatus.

The 2006 Civic GX is a 5-speed automatic with all of Honda's standard safety features and has about 10 percent more power than the previous model. Honda says the GX is the only vehicle certified by the EPA to meet the Federal Tier 2-Bin 2 and the Inherently Low Emission Vehicle (ILEV) zero evaporative emission certification standards.

[Source: The Auto Channel]

Ray Holan is an accomplished auto mechanic, biofuel advocate, author of the book Sliding Home: A Complete Guide to Driving Your Diesel on Straight Vegetable Oil and regular feature contributor to AutoblogGreen.



The 47-acre grounds of the Congregation of St. Joseph of Cleveland, Ohio would put the most environmentally conscious neighborhood to shame. Oh, sure, there's the usual recycling activities of composting kitchen waste, collecting aluminum cans, glass, plastic, and paper. But it doesn't stop there. How about organic gardening, a "Styrofoam-free" campus, cloth napkins instead of paper, recycling bins in the retreat center for visitors and using a "green" cleaning company even though it's more expensive than traditional services? When religious women make a joint commitment to sustainability, you won't find the word "half-way" in their dictionary.

There was so much environmental consciousness and energy efficiency at play on the campus, I almost forgot to focus on the real object of my visit: their fleet of 12 Honda Civic GX's powered by compressed natural gas (CNG).

Follow the jump to continue the article...

UPDATE: Added author's byline.

Following up on my post this morning and last week about hybrid taxis in NYC and SF, reader Mehdi Hassan posted a comment about compressed natural gas (CNG) taxis in Bangladesh, where he lives. The "taxis" look somewhat different, as the standard taxi in Dhaka (Bangladesh's capitol) is a three-wheeled trike similar to Bangkok's tuktuks, but the gasoline versions were blamed for much of the pollution in the city. In 2001, a local company started to introduce a fleet of taxis that run on CNG. After initial issues with CNG refueling network and a ban on the two-stroke engines that powered the standard taxis, there are now tens of thousands of CNG taxis in Dhaka.

Pollution is a serious issue in Dhaka, as the World Health Organization estimates at least 15,000 people die in Bangladesh each year because of air pollution. If would be worse, but the main form of transportation in Dhaka is non-motorized cycle rickshaw, of which there are at least 320,000.

[Hat tip to Mehdi Hassan, Note: The photo is from India, not Blagladesh, but does show a CNG Tuktuk]

The Ford Escape hybrid taxis that are rolling through the streets of San Francisco I mentioned last week are getting good reviews from apparently everyone, according to The Auto Channel: drivers, cab company owners and riders. Drivers are saving about $20 to $30 a shift on gas and getting bigger tips from their riders as a thank you for doing something for the environment, and even the air conditioning costs are less than in sedan taxis. The taxis, which are just about reaching or passing the 100,000 mile mark, are getting a closer look as a serious contender to the long-time reliable sedans now that they've been in service for a while. In New York City, the hybrid fleet is too fresh on the streets for owners to gush about, but with the results from San Francisco, it seems likely that this sort of good news will keep rolling in, and hybrid taxis are in the future for Las Vegas and Chicago. In SF, the goal is to have half the taxis in the city be hybrid or run on compressed natural gas by 2008.

[Source: The Auto Channel]

If you’re looking for a readable yet detailed look at the scientific data of green automobile technology, Popular Mechanics is the place to go today. Their cover story called “The Truth About Biofuels” in engaging and straightforward and highly recommended.
The set-up for the piece is a look at popular biofuels, including ethanol, methanol and compressed natural gas. The pros and cons of each fuel are detailed (did you know biodiesel and regular diesel have almost the same BTU content?), and there’s an outlook for how each fuel may play a role in the future. Also, reading the article gives you the sense that the lawmakers are ahead of the curve on biofuels, since a lot of ethanol is currently added to gasoline to meet state or EPA emission limits. [Source: Popular Mechanics via Joel A]