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industry news
Australian Motoring Group Calls For Fuel Consumption Standards, Finally Gets Plot Of Road Warrior
Not content to end up in a punky post-apocalyptic world because of an energy shortage, a la the great Australian film The Road Warrior, the Australian version of AAA is requesting the government implement some sort of average fuel limits similar to our CAFE standards. The NRMA thinks the move could save the country 1.4 billion gallons of fuel a year, as well as drop costs for the consumer. Lacking these standards, the Australians have produced vehicles such as the V8-powered FPV Super Pursuit Ute and HSV Tourer. As an alternative they could just stop driving with Koalas in their grilles. More » -
industry news
BMW Thinks CAFE Is Unfair, Wants Special Treatment
Instead of manning up and facing the engineering challenges brought on by the Bush Administration's 2011-2015 CAFE regulations,GMFordChryslerBMW is crying to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration about how the new targets are "not feasible." Instead, the automaker is proposing a special category for manufacturers like themselves, which would allow them to make fleet-wide economy improvements of just 4.5% a year beginning in 2010. Yeah, pretty much a bunch of bellyaching from an automaker who's seen record sales the past few years. Sounds like somebody needs a nap. [Auto News, Sub. Req.] -
i feel gassy
AutoNation CEO Says High Gas Prices Are Good For You, Automakers
Mike Jackson, Chairman and CEO of AutoNation (and thus America's number one car salesman), finally breaks taboo and utters the unthinkable: High gas prices are a good thing. "You have to tell the American people the truth," he says. "Energy costs are going to be higher." Oh Mike, Mike, Mike. Don't you know that the first rule of Car Club is that gas will always be cheap? And if it isn't, then you make it cheap, a-la Chrysler's "Let's Refuel America?" Mr. Jackson'spoignant, thoughtfulwacky rationale after the jump. More » -
news
GM to Achieve Mileage Targets With Logic, Turbos
Instead of throwing all of its cash down the yawning maw of biofuel and hydrogen fuel cells, GM intends to get some quick fuel economy wins the smart way - with lower displacement and turbos. Automotive News (sorry, subscription required) is reporting GM will be following a strategy similar to Ford with its EcoBoost engines, namely using smaller engines in large vehicles, but bolstering them with the magic of exhaust driven compression. There's no speculation on when or in what we would see this strategy start to play out. We're on the torn here; big brutish V8's make us happy and can get decent mileage (see Corvette), but the fevered banshee scream of a turbocharged four banger is pretty rad too. -
industry news
Lutz Desires Pricier Gas, Predicts Costlier, Smaller Cars
MarketWatch has a fairly shaggy interview with GM's "Maximum Bob" Lutz in which he opines on the impending 2020 federal mandate that carmakers achieve 35mpg CAFE standards. First, Lutz says he wants to see gas prices in the U.S. rise, to levels similar to what the rest of the world pays (which would be more than twice as expensive as the $3 per gallon that many Americans are paying now). Then, he argues that the CAFE requirements, as long as gas is still relatively cheap, put GM "at war" with its customers, who want big trucks the company can't get to achieve the 35mpg target. Soooo... let's put two and two together: In Lutz's vision of our motoring future, more expensive gas solves GM's CAFE challenge by curtailing demand for the company's current key product, big trucks. Those customers are replaced by folks who desire smaller vehicles that are significantly more expensive, due to advanced tech. Maybe Lutz was talking off the cuff, but we were struck by these comments. More » -
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detroit auto show
Bob Lutz: CAFE 35 will increase price of GMs $6,000
Speaking at the Detroit Auto Show, Bob Lutz, Vice Chairman of GM, said, "This is going to be a net average of cost of $6,000 per vehicle which will have to be passed onto the consumer. The good news is it won't come all at once, because 35 mpg doesn't kick in all at once." Lutz goes on to claim that the average American will be forced to hold on to their cars longer, also increasing the cost of used vehicles. [Via eGM CarTech]
3:30 PM on Mon Jan 14 2008
By Wes Siler
1,301 views, 110 commentsLatest by WhatevahO_o: I find it quite interesting that all of you have such a high opinion of your own opinions. First off, more »
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industry news
Ford To Add EcoBoost Turbocharging and Direct Injection To 500,000 Vehicles
If you've been wondering what Ford's big plans were for dealing with the new energy bill and higher CAFE standards and guessed hybrids or electric cars &mdash you were wrong. Ford's big plan is to add turbocharging and direct injection to 500,000 vehicles, starting with the 2009 Lincoln MKS. Ford claims this technology will boost performance while also affordably decreasing gasoline usage. According to their numbers, an EcoBoost car can recoup the initial investment in the technology in 30 months, compared to 12 years for a hybrid and 7.5 years for a diesel. The press release detailing this wild technology below the jump. More » -
industry news
Cheney Accused of Conspiring Against California Emissions Law
According to the Guardian, Vice President Dick Cheney masterminded the EPA's recent decision to deny California the ability to impose tough new vehicle emissions limits. Governor Schwarzenegger has described the EPA's ruling as "legally indefensible." More » -
industry news
Chrysler Chief to Congress: We Are Totally Down With New Regulations
Automakers are lining up behind the new Energy Bill that's working its way through congress. They've seen the writing on the wall and, all things considered, got a fairly good deal considering the prevailing sentiment regarding car emissions and foreign oil. Chrysler CEO Robert Nardelli congratulated Congress and pledged that the company would rise to meet the higher CAFE standards. Full statement below: More » -
industry news
Senate Passes Revised Energy Bill, Hybrid Escalades For All!
After much back and forth, including a veto threat and failure to get cloture, the energy bill has finally passed the Senate by a vote of 86-8. To get the votes, Democrats had to compromise on utility reductions and increasing taxes on oil companies. The new bill will require automakers to reach a Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) of 35 mpg by 2020, as well as increase ethanol use to 36 billion gallons a year. More »
cafe
Detroit, 5:59 AM
Fri Dec 5
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