AutoblogGreen

One of the VIPs that Audi invited to be present at the launch of the Mileage Marathon in New York on Monday was Sylvia Williams. Williams is the general manager of business development for future fuels at Shell. The main topic of interest in New York was GTL fuel. GTL is a synthetic liquid diesel fuel made from natural gas. The catalytic process used is similar to that used by companies such as Coskata that are producing cellulosic ethanol from a syngas generated from biomass. The #8 A4 that my friend Lou Ann Hammond drove from New York to Chicago started off the trip with a full tank of GTL. Unlike conventional petroleum diesel - and to a lesser extent biodiesel - GTL is completely clear, colorless and odorless. Since it contains no aromatic compounds it burns cleaner and actually produces dramatically less soot and fewer NOx emissions as well. Currently, GTL isn't available in North America but Shell sells a 10 percent GTL blend in Europe as a premium diesel under the V-Power brand because it also helps engine performance. One big advantage of GTL is that it can be used and distributed without any infrastructure or engine changes. It is however, more expensive than petroleum diesel. Check out Lou Ann's video interview after the jump.


[Source: Carlist.com]

As we roll into Dallas to conclude day 5 of the "Great American Road Trip," it is clear beyond a shadow of a doubt that modern diesel engines are very efficient while still providing excellent performance. However, the dominant back drop hanging over the plates of ribs at BB King's Blues Club Thursday night was the continuing collapse of the financial markets. As those of us sitting around the table pondered the survival of the industry that we all write about, the cars and SUVs we were driving faded to the background. Unlike some of the more exotic alternatives out there, the TDI technology used by Audi is available now with more coming to the U.S. market in the coming months.

The question is will anyone be able to buy it or any of the future powertrains? Very few people buy new cars with cash. The industry relies on being able extend credit to drivers. The key element of what is happening this week is that financial institutions have become unwilling to loan money to anyone. After loaning way too much over the last decade to people who couldn't afford to pay it back, there is now nothing going out. That creates a great deal of uncertainty in product planning. Audi made the decision to launch their new diesels in the Q7 long before this ever started and it's unclear what their future path will be. The A4, Q5 and A3 have all been talked about as potential future U.S. diesel products, but without knowing where auto sales in general are going it's hard to choose a direction. With Toyota already having canceled its planned diesel for the Tundra and rumors of other product cancellations on the horizon, the only thing we know for sure is that we know nothing.

Our travel and lodging for this media event was provided by the manufacturer.

The teams on this ongoing Audi Mileage Marathon aren't the only ones trying to maximize their fuel efficiency right now. Over in Britain this week they held the third annual MPG Marathon. Compared to our trans-continental trek, the British event was a sprint at a mere 411 miles. However, that event was open to all comers and is run more in the fashion of the hyper-miling rallies often held in the U.S. The goal is for each driver to top the rated mileage number of their car by the biggest possible margin. Puegeot entered four cars in the event, including a 107 and a trio of 308s. Among the 39 competitors, 15 topped 58.3 mpg (U.S.) with eight of those going over 66.6 mpg (U.S.) including all four of the Peugeots. The top Peugeot 308 HDi 90 managed 69.15 mpg (U.S.) beating its official rating by 32.45 percent. The Peugeot press release is after the jump.

[Source: Peugeot]

There wasn't too much transportation-related green displays at the WIRED NextFest going on in Chicago this month, but it's hard to miss the ones that are present. While the back of the tent is taken over by Toyota's plug-in Prius and 1/x, right in the middle of the floor is the ridiculously stretched out Imagine PS Roadster from HumanCar. We've heard about this vehicle since 2006, and it's still in pretty basic form. The bright orange chassis and the rowing-powered powerplant (which will be combined with an electric motor in the final version) sat next to each other and you can see both in the photo gallery below. What struck me was just how low and long this vehicle is. I still can't quite imagine how you steer the car, especially at low speeds, as the "BodySteer™" technology isn't something I get quite yet. Perhaps I will if we can take the Imagine out for a spin sometime next year - it's due in Spring 2009.

The current credit crisis could be playing further havoc with Chrysler's future powertrain product plans. In the first half of 2007, Chrysler announced investment plans to build two new engine plants and a transmission plant for 2010 model cars. The transmission facility was to be a joint venture with Getrag to build fuel saving dual clutch transmissions. Chrysler already offers German-built Getrag DCTs in the European specification Journey and Sebring. Unfortunately Getrag's apparent inability to raise $300 million in debt financing that it committed to in the deal with Chrysler has led to a lawsuit from the automaker. Chrysler apparently wants damages for any delays to the program that might be caused by Getrag's financing problems. The privately-held carmaker also wants Getrag to cover the costs of switching to another transmission supplier if that becomes necessary.

Apparently, Getrag was hoping to get the money through loans guaranteed by the German government. The Germans however, wanted Chrysler to put money in escrow to guarantee repayment. So far, construction at the plant site is continuing but it's unclear how long that will go on.

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

At first glance, a Corvette may seem like an odd choice for a vehicle to enter into an event aimed at fuel economy. At second glance, and when one realizes that the Corvette in question is the Z06, which happens to be powered by a 7.0-liter V8 engine that offers up over 500-horsepower, the choice looks positively insane. Perhaps it isn't. Any car can be driven in an economical fashion, even one powered by an extremely large-displacement eight cylinder engine. It helps that the 'Vette has a six speed manual transmission and makes plenty of stump-pulling torque right off idle, so its driver can shift quickly at very low RPMs. When properly driven, the Z06 is actually capable of delivering rather good mileage. In fact, the Z06 won the annual Fleetworld/ALD Automotive MPG Marathon in the U.K. by averaging 30.96 mpg over the trip's two-day, 411-mile route. That mark represents an improvement of 61.26-percent over the Z06's official European combined mileage figures and is a new record for the MPG Marathon. Maybe the V8's got some legs left after all.


[Source: GM]

Coming to the UK in January, Toyota's fortwo challenger (should we call it the for3+1?) will be priced at £9,495 (1.0 VVT-i manual version) and going up from there. Options include £700 leather seats and £950 satellite navigation. The 1.0 VVT-i manual version gets about 55 mpg U.S. and will have road-tax-avoiding CO₂ emissions of just 99 grams, Toyota expects. Toyota will take your order now, and anyone who orders before March 1 of next year will get a free metallic paint upgrade.

The iQ comes in two trim levels: the iQ and the iQ2. Both versions have a lot of safety features, including that rear window airbag. The short descriptions of the differences from Toyota's official announcement (pasted after the break) are as follows:

• iQ: 15-inch alloys, heated electrically adjustable door mirrors, air conditioning and six speaker audio system with auxiliary socket
• iQ2: high-gloss alloys, front fog lamps, automatic headlights and rain sensing wipers, smart entry and start system and climate control

[Source: Toyota]

Australia's Holden, a unit from General Motors, has announced a new badge for all vehicles that it equips with some sort of alternative fuel or gas-saving technology: ecoline. Holden faces a bit of an uphill climb when it comes to environmentally-friendly technology, as the marque is best known for its large, rear-wheel drive, V8-powered coupes, sedans and utes. This new ecoline badge is meant to soften that image somewhat. Unfortunately, the ecoline badge won't mean much until 2012 or so when hybrids and diesels are expected to be offered by Holden in Australia. Until then, the most fuel efficient models that will get the badge will be equipped with V8 engines, though they will get Active Fuel Management, which cuts the number of cylinders that fire when maximum power isn't needed. This type of technology is effective and has been available in the U.S. from GM for a while, but it doesn't seem like quite enough to earn a special badge. Perhaps that should have waited for the hybrids and diesels.

[Source: Fullboost]

Toyota's entry-level and hip Scion brand needs a bit of a pick-me-up, as the marque's sales are down even in the face of high fuel prices here in the United States. Scion could end up getting that new product it so desperately needs in the form of Toyota's radical new iQ. According to Motor Trend, the new iQ will make its debut in production form as a Scion at the upcoming LA Auto Show, and your humble scribes will be in attendance. If true, the new iQ will give Scion an edgy new product to do battle with the likes of the smart fortwo.

Toyota's iQ features a novel new 3+1 seating arrangement, which allows three normal-sized adults plus one extra spot behind the driver for small kids or an adult in emergencies. Its closest competitor in size, the fortwo, seats only two adults. We'll see if this rumor, which would be very good news for Scion, turns out to be true when we get to LA.


[Source: Motor Trend]

Quash the electric Cayman rumor. Ruf Automobiles has a long history of taking already fast sports cars from Porsche and making them extraordinarily fast. That typically happens by means of adding more displacement, more boost, more fuel etc. Now, founder Alois Ruf is taking inspiration from the hydroelectric power station in his home town to create a battery-powered 911. The traditional 911 flat-6 engine has been dispensed with in favor of a 204 hp electric motor that generates 479 lb-ft of torque. Ruf worked with Camarillo, CA CALMOTORS on the motor and battery integration for this first concept. Energy storage is handled by lithium iron phosphate batteries supplied by Axeon. The combined capacity of the 96 cell system is 50.7 kWh and the charge time is 10 hours. That's enough to give an estimated range of 150-200 miles although it's not clear what kind of driving style it would take to achieve that. That 1,200 lb battery pack means the 4,200 lb eRuf concept weighs about 1,000 lbs more than a regular 911. The instant torque of the electric motor means the electric Porsche should be able to accelerate to 60 mph in under seven seconds. That's neither regular 911 nor Tesla territory, but Ruf will surely find ways to cut the mass. No word from Ruf on when or if it will ever offer this car to customers but if someone comes along with an inordinate amount of disposable cash, Ruf will probably replicate this car.


[Source: Ruf]