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Faulty fuel tank support straps in new H3T latest setback for GM

Just when you thought things couldn’t get any worse for General Motors, they did. The financially beleaguered automaker announced a recall of 1,738 of its new Hummer H3Ts on Friday, after the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said a weak support strap could cause the H3T’s gas tank to fall off, “Increasing the risk of crash.”

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The new hybrid truck, using a high-capacity battery and improved motor, will be 2.5 times more fuel efficient than conventional models. In fact, the new hybrid truck even doubles the fuel economy compared to Hino’s current hybrid truck models (pictured above). Hino introduced its first light-duty hybrid trucks in 2003 and medium-duty hybrid trucks in 2004.

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[Creative Commons photo by Tobias Pro User]

Pollution from motor vehicles is responsible for 72% of nitrogen oxides and 52% of reactive hydrocarbons (principal components of smog). Cars and trucks are not the only culprits - road construction causes greenhouse gas emissions both during and after the work is done. A Sightline Institute analysis (pdf) found that building 10 miles of new four-lane highway construction is the equivalent of putting 46,700 Hummers on the road, once you account for factors like materials, maintenance, congestion, and new traffic.

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FedEx has ordered 10 purpose-built zero tailpipe emissions cargo vans from UK-based electric vehicle manufacturer Modec. The new electric trucks are specifically built for the duty cycles required in stop-start city driving, can go 70 miles on one charge, and can haul up to 2 tonnes (2.2 US tons) of cargo.

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University of Nevada, Reno researchers discovered that used coffee grounds can be successfully converted into biodiesel for powering cars and trucks. The fuel even smells like coffee! Not only does this new process have the potential to keep all of those coffee grounds out of the trash, researchers Mano Misra, Susanta Mohapatra, and Narasimharao Kondamudi say that coffee-based biofuel is more stable, due to coffee’s high antioxidant content.

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The US auto industry’s woes are well known — we’ve covered them here at Gas 2.0 many times — but are these companies deserving of taxpayer money for a government bailout, or should they be left to deal with a mess that they mostly created?

This is the question that will be debated live on NPR.org today at 3 PM EDT (19:00 Greenwich Mean Time).

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UPS will field two hydraulic hybrids in Minneapolis, MN, in early 2009 and an additional five hydraulic hybrid trucks will be deployed later in 2009 and early 2010. Although this sounds like a tiny fleet, keep in mind that this is the largest scale commercial test of hydraulic hybrids ever conducted.

The UPS hybrid hydraulic truck is a standard-looking 24,000 pound package car, with an EPA-patented diesel series hydraulic hybrid drive attached to the rear axle.

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According to a sweeping report released by the Center for American Progress and authored by researchers from the UMass Department of Economics, if the US government were to invest $100 billion dollars over two years in six key areas of green and sustainable development — including advanced biofuels — the result would be the creation of 2 million high-paying jobs across nearly all sectors of employment.

This represents four times the amount of jobs that would be created if that same $100 billion were invested in the oil industry for things like more offshore drilling. It also represents significantly more jobs of much higher diversity, pay, and longevity than were created by the $100 billion spent last April so that all us ‘mericans could all get our $600 tax rebates.

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Okay. Let me get this one out of the way: gas hasn’t been all bad. In fact, gas has allowed us to accomplish some pretty amazing things. To be clear, when I say “gas,” I’m using the term as an easy way to loosely refer to all liquid fuel products made from buried and fossilized hydrocarbon deposits.

Ooooh… I can hear the flamers’ keys clicking away furiously already. But, before you type that horribly thought out gunslinging response, hear me out.

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Enova Systems and IC Corporation have delivered a plug-in hybrid diesel electric bus to Denali National Park for use in carting visitors around the pristine wilderness.

The bus (similar to the one pictured above) has a GVWR of 27,500 pounds, carries up to 38 passengers and uses up to 70% less fuel than a similarly equipped conventional bus — so if the bus got 10 mpg with a conventional engine, it could get 30 mpg using Enova’s hybrid system.

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The 16 MPG  F-150 is one of the most ubiquitous vehicles on the road today. What if you could convert them all to get 41 MPG?

The Illinois Institute of Technology’s masters program has spun-off a start-up with big plans for our aging fleet of big trucks. The company, called Hybrid Electric Vehicle Technology (HEVT), has built a bolt-on module that will convert a standard F-150 into a 41 MPG plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV).

HEVT demo’d their first prototype at the Plug-In 2008 conference in San Jose earlier in the month. The suddenly attractive F-150 PHEV (which is not the 1994 model depicted above) gets 15 miles of emissions-free driving on electricity before it switches over to gas/electric hybrid mode, where it will continue to get an impressive 41 MPG for a typical day’s worth of driving.

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Gas Prices are Killing Large Cars and Trucks

Ford Motor Company announced today it will be scrambling to realign its North American Manufacturing operation with the realities of consumer needs today.

With gas prices above $4 / gallon, most Americans are shying away from giant gas-guzzling vehicles in favor of smaller fuel efficient models. Starting in December, Ford said it will accelerate production of new fuel efficiency technology, double their hybrid production and lineup, and downsize vehicles across the board. By 2010, Ford says 2/3 of its spending will be on small cars and crossovers, and it will pull six small European models to the US by 2012.

“While we have no intention of giving up our longtime truck leadership, we are creating a new Ford in North America on a foundation of small, fuel-efficient cars and crossovers that will set new standards for quality, fuel economy, product features and refinement,” said Mark Fields, Ford president of The Americas.

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]]> http://gas2.org/2008/07/24/like-gm-ford-decides-theyd-better-start-producing-smaller-more-fuel-efficient-cars/feed/ http://gas2.org/2008/07/11/teamsters-president-hoffa-says-no-to-larger-trucks-on-americas-highways/ http://gas2.org/2008/07/11/teamsters-president-hoffa-says-no-to-larger-trucks-on-americas-highways/#comments Fri, 11 Jul 2008 19:36:31 +0000 Max Lindberg http://gas2.org/2008/07/11/teamsters-president-hoffa-says-no-to-larger-trucks-on-americas-highways/ What If They Were Heavier, and Longer?

Had enough of the “big rigs” on the highway?  Well, Congress is looking at new weight and size limits, and Teamster President James Hoffa says “no” to bigger trucks.

In a House subcomittee hearing July 9, Hoffa is quoted as saying:

“Bigger trucks are more dangerous trucks.  Lifting truck weight and size limits would turn big rigs into time bombs.”

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]]> http://gas2.org/2008/07/11/teamsters-president-hoffa-says-no-to-larger-trucks-on-americas-highways/feed/ http://gas2.org/2008/06/25/are-automakers-to-blame-for-consumer-car-buying-trends-auto-alliance-weighs-in/ http://gas2.org/2008/06/25/are-automakers-to-blame-for-consumer-car-buying-trends-auto-alliance-weighs-in/#comments Wed, 25 Jun 2008 19:28:46 +0000 Clayton B. Cornell http://gas2.org/2008/06/25/are-automakers-to-blame-for-consumer-car-buying-trends-auto-alliance-weighs-in/

Editors Note: This guest post was contributed by Charley Territo, spokesperson for the Alliance of Auto Manufacturers, in an effort encourage better dialogue between the auto industry and the environmental movement. Charley also contributed a guest post on Grist on May 20. I asked him to weigh in on a question I’ve had for a long time: How can automakers like GM complain that consumers only want to buy big cars when they spend hundreds of thousands advertising brands like Hummer? Here is his response. Feel free to weigh in with your own comments below.

For years it’s been assumed that, using their superior marketing skills, automakers have the ability to trick consumers into buying SUVs and pickup trucks…when, in reality, the consumers really only
wanted to buy compact cars.  While that’s probably quite flattering to the marketing departments, it doesn’t have the important benefit of actually being correct.

Current events are now allowing people to see more clearly the greater force at work driving consumer demand: Gas prices.

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]]> http://gas2.org/2008/06/25/are-automakers-to-blame-for-consumer-car-buying-trends-auto-alliance-weighs-in/feed/ http://gas2.org/2008/06/19/honda-deploys-fleet-of-auto-max-railcars-to-ship-cars-and-trucks-to-market/ http://gas2.org/2008/06/19/honda-deploys-fleet-of-auto-max-railcars-to-ship-cars-and-trucks-to-market/#comments Thu, 19 Jun 2008 10:55:27 +0000 Max Lindberg http://gas2.org/2008/06/19/honda-deploys-fleet-of-auto-max-railcars-to-ship-cars-and-trucks-to-market/

In order to cut fuel consumption and CO2 emissions in the delivery of new automobiles, Honda has launched a 400-car fleet of new Auto-Max railcars to carry its products from factory to city.  Currently, Honda transports 82 percent of its Honda and Acura cars by rail, more than another other automaker.

The new, multi-level rail cars hold up to 22 vehicles, both cars and trucks, to reduce unused space.  Honda says conventional rail cars hold only 10 trucks.

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]]> http://gas2.org/2008/06/19/honda-deploys-fleet-of-auto-max-railcars-to-ship-cars-and-trucks-to-market/feed/ http://gas2.org/2008/06/09/think-electric-cars-are-expensive-try-fords-f-250-full-sized-truck/ http://gas2.org/2008/06/09/think-electric-cars-are-expensive-try-fords-f-250-full-sized-truck/#comments Mon, 09 Jun 2008 17:36:05 +0000 Clayton B. Cornell http://gas2.org/2008/06/09/think-electric-cars-are-expensive-try-fords-f-250-full-sized-truck/

Think paying $100,000 for an electric car is obscene? How about $100K for an F-250?

As much was we covet electric cars like the Tesla Roadster, most of us balk at the $100,000 sticker price. But with gas prices at or above $4 / gallon, the cost difference isn’t as dramatic as you might imagine.

The NYTimes reported last week that if you account for total ownership of a full-sized truck, including insurance, interest, repairs, taxes, and gasoline, a big vehicle like Ford’s F-250 will now set you back $100,000 in the first five years of ownership. Five years is the average amount of time an owner keeps one of these trucks.

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]]> http://gas2.org/2008/06/09/think-electric-cars-are-expensive-try-fords-f-250-full-sized-truck/feed/ http://gas2.org/2008/06/09/turbine-engine-no-pistons-no-lube-30-better-fuel-economy/ http://gas2.org/2008/06/09/turbine-engine-no-pistons-no-lube-30-better-fuel-economy/#comments Mon, 09 Jun 2008 16:58:03 +0000 Nick Chambers http://gas2.org/2008/06/09/turbine-engine-no-pistons-no-lube-30-better-fuel-economy/ There are more than 5,000,000 heavy duty trucks running up and down US highways each day. Every one of those trucks gets an average of 7 mpg, carries upwards of 200-300 gallons of diesel, and spews out potentially harmful emissions.

Like it or not, we depend on them to bring us our food, fuel, and products for everyday living. It’s a connection that most of us often forget about, only remembering it long enough to curse them as they slow us down on the highway.

It’s also an industry that has recently been hit hard by soaring fuel prices, and now, with the average price of diesel in the US at $4.70/gallon and climbing, it’s sure to get worse.

Needless to say, there’s a rising cacophony of voices within the trucking industry clamoring for relief. Most of this noise currently comes in the form of wanting a break in fuel prices, but really that’s just a temporary fix. Any solution with sticking power would have to offer both economic and environmental benefit — you know, win-win.

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]]> http://gas2.org/2008/06/09/turbine-engine-no-pistons-no-lube-30-better-fuel-economy/feed/ http://planetsave.com/blog/2008/05/22/want-to-reduce-greenhouse-gasses-by-12-million-tons-a-year-ship-by-rail-not-by-truck-on-the-lindberg-report/ http://planetsave.com/blog/2008/05/22/want-to-reduce-greenhouse-gasses-by-12-million-tons-a-year-ship-by-rail-not-by-truck-on-the-lindberg-report/#comments Thu, 22 May 2008 06:36:48 +0000 Max Lindberg http://planetsave.com/blog/2008/05/22/want-to-reduce-greenhouse-gasses-by-12-million-tons-a-year-ship-by-rail-not-by-truck-on-the-lindberg-report/

“Railroads are the most environmentally friendly and energy efficient way to move goods on land.”

Freight trains have evolved over the years, carrying freight in a variety of ways, including taking semi-trailer rigs off the highways and shipping them on flat-cars. If you’re anywhere near a railroad track, you’ll see what are called intermodal trains carrying shipping containers stacked on top of one another, along with trailers and the usual box cars and other forms of equipment.

However, the physical infrastructure in some areas of the country creates a barrier for some railroads who want to stack shipping containers in order to carry more freight.

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]]> http://planetsave.com/blog/2008/05/22/want-to-reduce-greenhouse-gasses-by-12-million-tons-a-year-ship-by-rail-not-by-truck-on-the-lindberg-report/feed/ http://gas2.org/2008/05/22/ship-by-rail-reduce-annual-greenhouse-gas-emissions-by-more-than-12-million-tons/ http://gas2.org/2008/05/22/ship-by-rail-reduce-annual-greenhouse-gas-emissions-by-more-than-12-million-tons/#comments Thu, 22 May 2008 06:32:16 +0000 Max Lindberg http://gas2.org/2008/05/22/ship-by-rail-reduce-annual-greenhouse-gas-emissions-by-more-than-12-million-tons/

“One train can carry the load of more than 280 trucks.”

If you live near a railroad, you see them every day, flat cars with semi-trailers secured to the deck, or shipping containers stacked two-high. They’re moving freight that isn’t clogging our highways and polluting the air with excess hydrocarbons, nitrogen oxide and particulates produced by over-the road trucks.

So says the CSX Railroad, a major carrier of goods in the mid-Atlantic shipping corridor, now positioning itself for $700 million in system improvements. The program is called National Gateway, a project the railroad says will create a more efficient flow of rail traffic between Mid-Atlantic ports and Midwestern markets.

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