Photo by Laffy4k. Licensed under Creative Commons license 2.0.

There's already a lot of calculation needed to figure out how efficient a vehicle is. Here in the U.S., the government tries to help by publishing official MPG numbers of the various models offered for sale. But these numbers just muddy things up, say two management professors - Richard Larrick and Jack Soll - over at Duke University. Thinking in terms of miles per gallon doesn't give people a good understanding of a vehicle's real efficiency when compared to other vehicles.

In Europe, for example, mileage figures are given in liters per kilometers. There are online calculators we can use to figure out what the MPG equivalents are, but the Duke profs think we should be moving to a gallons per mile model here in the U.S. That way, people might begin to see that trading a 14mpg SUV for a 21mpg hybrid version, for example, saves more fuel than trading in a 35mpg sedan for a 50mpg Prius. Right now, very few consumers realize this when they're out debating which car to buy. Sure, a Prius burns less fuel than a SUV hybrid over the same distance, no question, but there's something to be said for the seemingly mediocre fuel economy improvements made in the low-mpg segments. From the pres release pasted after the jump:

• Most people ranked an improvement from 34 to 50 mpg as saving more gas over 10,000 miles than an improvement from 18 to 28 mpg, even though the latter saves twice as much gas. (Going from 34 to 50 mpg saves 94 gallons; but from 18 to 28 mpg saves 198 gallons).

This is something we've pointed out on AutoblogGreen before, but we're glad to have some research on public (mis-)understanding of the numbers to refer back to in the future. The main point is that we need to prioritize getting the most inefficient vehicles off the road, not trying to get everyone into a hyper-efficient hybrid. You can listen to a three-minute interview with Richard Larrick on NPR.

Mercedes F700 concept

Mercedes is not slacking when it comes to building concepts and releasing cleaner vehicles. But, in a fairly standard automotive move these days, while the engineers are working, the executives are complaining about patchworks. Speaking in Switzerland, Daimler CEO Dieter Zetsche said that the variety of environmental regulations around the world are a big challenge to his company and all automakers. Automotive News (subs req'd) cites the EU's goal of having new vehicles meet a 120 g/km limit of CO₂ while the U.S. is focusing its laws on fuel economy. Zetsche described the situation this way: "Our engineers sometimes feel as if they are forced to play European soccer on an American baseball diamond by Japanese sumo wrestling rules." Zetsche singled out moving targets and different attribute qualifications as problems areas. "We're not fighting against environmental regulations. Our ultimate goal is emission-free driving. It's just that this 'patchwork quilt' of regulations doesn't necessarily support us in getting there," he said. Of course, Zetsche's argument would be a lot more convincing if global automakers didn't already sell different vehicles in different markets. They've been working within a patchwork for decades, sometimes one of their own design.

[Source: Automotive News, (subs req'd)]

Fresh off her approval of the White House's push for high CAFE standards by 2015, U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) has written a letter (available after the jump) to Republican leader John Boehner over gas prices. The letter is a response to the GOP's challenge on Tuesday that Pelosi should release her plan to lower gas prices. As part of their challenge, the GOP said they
"respectfully request that you reveal this 'commonsense plan' so we can begin work on responsible solutions to help ease this strain."

Pelosi's basic message in the letter is to say that the "New Direction Congress" (is that what we have now?) is working on ways to promote American energy independence through moves that promote renewable fuels. She lists four bills that address fuel and energy issues, and doesn't forget to mention that the majority of Republicans were against two of them. Isn't it great how they can argue while we're paying through the nose?

U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) has been involved with the ins and outs of the CAFE standards for a long while. This week, following the NHTSA's call for a 31.6 mpg average (35.7 for cars and 28.6 for light trucks) by 2015, Pelosi had some kind word for the President and the NHTSA. So, first the automakers say they're OK with these stricter numbers and now Pelosi lauds Bush? What's going on here? You can try to figure it out for yourself by reading Pelosi's statement in full after the jump, but for a flavor of what she said, check out the opening bit that says, "The Bush Administration should be commended..."

Of course, Pelosi later says that the Administration continues to block progress on climate change legislation by fighting California's efforts to install its own rules. Whew, that's more like it. Thought for a moment there we weren't going to have a bumpy ride to 35 by 2020.

Photo by psd. Licensed under Creative Commons license 2.0.

At the SAE Congress this week, the director of the EPA's Office of Transportation and Air Quality, Margo Oge, said that in order to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 50 percent compared to 2000 levels (something the Detroit News called a proposal that is "widely backed" in the scientific community), a new CAFE standard of 75 mpg would need to be implemented. And you thought you heard a howl when the 35 mpg by 2020 limit was imposed late last year. How could cars reach that goal? Oge suggests improvements in both engines and fuels. Glad that was figured out.

While 75 mpg is a fanciful fight we'll leave for another day, this line jumped out at me in the Detroit News piece: "Oge said the auto industry should be able to meet the 35 mpg standard by 2018 with the same size fleet, with cost-effective technology improvements, based on an internal EPA study." By 2018? Cool. Where's the pressure to move the CAFE law's implementation up two years?

[Source: Detroit News]

We all know that the Democratic Representative from the Automakers Michigan, John Dingell, is a foe of state-based regulations over the auto industry. Back in February, he tried to revive an excised portion of the energy bill that would have made federal CO₂ limits take precedence over state rules. In an editorial in Automotive News (subs req'd), Edward Lapham writes that it's Dingell who will be of very few lawmakers who "get" why America needs a national fuel economy law instead of allowing states to set their own rules. The three major presidential candidates, Lapham writes, don't get it and neither do many other in Congress. Lapham even equates states setting their own fuel economy rules "would be akin to letting them print their own money." For Lapham and Dingell, the protracted wait between federal increases in the CAFE standard must have looked pretty good. If all the power sits in Washington, then you can slow laws down there and be all set. I mean, if the feds retain control, then Dave McCurdy might be able to stay home more.

[Source: Edward Lapham / Automotive News (subs req'd)]

Can a small device double or triple your car's gas mileage? ABC News/Good Morning America did a report (see video below the fold) on high gas prices and they found an inventor who claims his Mileage Master can perform that feat. As I detailed in the Mythbusters article on fuel economy devices, some of those amazing fuel saving technologies you hear about are in fact real but are based on known technology. The Mileage Master, by Fred Crane, from descriptions in the report, sounds like regular old cylinder deactivation.

Cylinder Deactivation is something car companies are using right now to increase mpg numbers. Retrofit kits for older cars are also available. However, the cost of retrofitting an older car with cylinder deactivation may not pay for the savings in fuel. Did Crane get improvements from 20 to 42 even 60 miles per gallon? I don't doubt he saw improvements but I think there would have to be a lot of deactivation going on to get significant improvement in fuel economy, plus, turning off cylinders means losing power.

The reporter should have asked Crane about the impact on the car's horsepower, 0-60 time, etc. when using the device. Also, does using the Mileage Master void your warranty? Can you even use this device in modern cars?

The ABC report also talks with a guy running his car on used vegetable oil and Wright electric car but they don't get into too much detail about the problems, like taxes you have to pay on used oil.

[Source: ABC News]

Late 2008, Mercedes Benz will clean up its diesel GL, ML, R class SUVs with Bluetec, making them 50-state legal. MotorWeek kicked the tires on the GL320 CDI (see video below the fold) and they seemed to like it. The diesel version of the GL ($54,225) will be $2,500 cheaper (yes, cheaper) than the gas version of the GL450 and will get thirty percent better mileage (18 city, 24 highway). The video review also says the GL is a 3 litre V6, has 215 horse power, 389 lb-ft torque and 7,500 towing capacity. 2008 is the coming out year of clean diesels in America and this is the best entry we have seen so far. There are no compromises with the diesel GL on price or power, so it should be a good barometer of diesel's acceptance in the US.


[Source: MotorWeek]

How much would you pay to bump up your car's miles per gallon rating up by 25 percent? Back in 1974, Car and Driver discovered that just $11 (about $50 when adjusted for inflation) was enough to make a Ford Pinto achieve this increase. The changes, discovered and posted by our friends at Ecomodder, didn't touch the engine and included removing fan blades, installing a front air dam and partially blocking the grill, were cheap and effective. Not all can be performed on today's vehicles, but it just goes to show that even an economy car can be made more so by someone with the skills and a few bucks at hand.

[Source: Ecomodder / thanks to Darin]

Even veteran hypermilers will probably find something worth remembering in this list of 100 ways to increase a vehicle's miles per gallon. Sure, the list starts with the basic, heard-em-before ways to get more distance out of the fuel in the tank of the car you already drive, but how many of you have considered an "ice vest" instead of air conditioning?

If you're just getting into the hypermiling game, EcoTrekker's 100 items (made up of tips, links to other articles to read, and online resources) should provide you with plenty to practice as you drive. Some of my faves are #9 (finding the route with the least amount of traffic and stop signs, even if it's slightly longer) and #77 (ridge riding to avoid puddles). Oh, and #53. :) Missteps in the list include #73 (the Lexus GS hybrid should not be on anyone's list of best cars to hypermile in) and #12 (only works if you already drive a hybrids).

[Source: EcoTrekker / Amy Q]

Unhappy with your plugless Prius? Zap thinks it has an answer for you.

The king of green car press releases has issued another announcement, this time talking about the availability of a Toyota Prius and Highlander plug-in conversion kit. In collaboration with Hybrid Plus, Zap's kit will convert hybrid Priuses and Highlanders into what tests predict will be 120 MPGe (city) and 90 MPGe (highway) vehicles. Depending on the vehicle, the kits cost between $24,000 and $36,000, and Zap says turnaround time is about four weeks. The press release doesn't get into great details, but it sounds like you need to bring your Prius/Highlander to Boulder to have Hybrid Plus do the work. You might also be able to go to a local Zap dealer to have the work done (UPDATE: Zap says that Zap dealers will be able to do the conversions).

While electric car dealerships seen a little more business in the last few years, as a recent New York Times article points out, it's still hard to get by selling nothing but electric cars. Many EV dealers already sell other types of vehicles and, as Hybrids Plus CEO Carl Lawrence says, electric car companies and hybrid conversion companies collaborating is "natural."


[Source: Zap]

CNN asked Rolls Royce boss Ian Robertson about the company's green efforts today. At the Geneva Motor Show, Robertson said the environment is on top of the agenda at Rolls, and gave as an example that Rolls has created "the most environmentally friendly car plant anywhere in the world." Ian also talked about the use of aluminum frames in the company's cars and then said something I found very surprising. Ian claimed the Phantom is "by far the class leader in the segment in terms of CO₂ and the best MPG." Wah? The 9-12 MPG Phantom is a leader in the mid-sized class of cars? Ian must mean another class of cars such as the "super luxury segment" he mentions in the interview.

[Source: CNN]

We have a new chapter to add to the EPA vs. state regulations soap opera. EPA Administrator Stephen L. Johnson has finally given a reason why the EPA is anti-state rules. Basically, Johnson says the EPS does not see enough proof of increased climate change in California compared to the rest of the nation to justify separate rules. Still, he admits that EPA's authorization of separate pollution rules in the '60s and '70s were justified because air quality was considerably worse in California than in the rest of the U.S. You can read more of Johnson's statement after the jump

Reactions have been, to say the least, intense. For instance, California Atty. Gen. Jerry Brown dismissed Johnson's arguments as "obfuscating, sabotaging . . . specious, ill-founded. . . . We're going to fight him until he's sent packing by the next president." Environmentalists said that 18 states have either adopted the California rules or announced their intentions to do so, and the resulting curbs on greenhouse gas emissions would have beneficial effects across the nation (and the world). S. William Becker, executive director of the National Assn. of Clean Air Agencies said the EPA position was "a shameful attack on states' rights."

Related:

• CAFE what? California law could require 40-plus miles per gallon by 2020
• Automakers' Rep. John Dingell renews attempt to block state CO₂ regs
• Florida joins California in lawsuit against the EPA over new emissions rules
• EPA says no to California greenhouse gas rules waiver

Last year, Cal Poly (ok, ok, California Polytechnic State University at San Luis Obispo) won the Shell Eco-Marathon Americas with an astounding 1,902.7 mpg score. For 2008, 34 teams will compete at the California Speedway event in April. Last week, Shell-Pennzoil driver Kevin Harvick was at the speedway with some of those winning Cal Poly students to talk about defending their title. The picture above shows Harvick and the students checking out last year's winning vehicle. We don't have too long to wait to see who - if anyone - will beat last year's record. The 2008 Eco-Marathon takes place April 10-13.

UPDATE: Harvick's name was misspelled in an earlier version of this post. Thanks to jzj.

[Source: Shell]

How much car do you really need?

In a posting comparing the GMC Yukon Denali with the GMC Acadia, Karl Brauer says, "The emphasis on 'really' comes from a phenomenon I think we're all aware of -- perceived versus actual vehicle needs." Brauer goes on to suggest making a self-examination of sorts to find out if you truly require the added capability of a larger, more powerful SUV over something a bit more rational, like one of the "crossover" vehicles flooding the market these days. In fact, Brauer suggests that a typical sedan or wagon would likely work fine for 95 percent of most people's daily needs and the money saved when purchasing this type of vehicle would allow the purchaser freedom to rent the larger vehicle they may need the other 5 percent or so of the time. Most of us probably realize that Brauer is right... the question, then, is do we care?

[Source: Edmunds]