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EPA Says 1 in 4 New Vehicles Meets 2016 Emission Standards Today; 2025 is Another Issue

Apparently, meeting future emission standards shouldn’t prove too hard for auto manufacturers as one would expect. That’s because according to an Environmental Protection Agency official, one-quarter of all new vehicles today already meet federal emission standards that won’t come into effect until 2016.

Jeff Alson, senior policy advisor at the EPA Office of Transportation and Air Quality, said during an event at the agency’s Ann Arbor test facility that nearly 90 new models sold today either meet 2016 emission targets or can meet them simply with air condition improvements and no powertrain changes.

Volkswagen has just presented a new edition of its Up! mini called "Eco", which features a modified version of the regular model's 1.0-liter three-cylinder petrol engine that can run on Compressed Natural Gas, or CNG for short.

CNG is a promising alternative fuel to gasoline that has caught up with many European consumers.

Among the many benefits of this fuel is that it has a higher energy content than petrol or diesel as 1.0 kg of natural gas is equivalent to 1.3 litres of diesel or 1.5 litres of petrol. According to VW, the energy content of 1.0 kg natural gas amounts to 11.69 kW, while the associated quantity of diesel yields 9.86 kWh and of petrol, 8.77 kWh.

Renault is killing two birds with one stone with the creation of what it calls, "the world's largest photovoltaic system in the auto industry", as it will not only serve to produce electricity, but will also protect new vehicles from the elements of nature before they leave plants.

The carmaker is introducing some 40 hectares or 400,000 square meters (equal to 60 football fields) of photovoltaic panels simultaneously at six of its French production sites in Douai, Maubeuge, Flins, Batilly, Sandouville and Cléon, at delivery and shipping centers as well as employee parking areas.

A latest generation BMW 116d EfficientDynamics hatch driven by the team at Green-Car-Guide at the RAC Future Car Challenge 2012 achieved an average fuel economy of 103 mpg UK (equal to 85.8 mpg US and 2.7lt/100km) over the 64-mile Brighton to London route, recording a 39 per cent improvement over the manufacturer's official 74.3mpg UK combined economy figure. Read more »

New Research Could Lead to Smaller, Cheaper and Faster-Charging Lithium Ion Batteries

Lithium-ion batteries may be employed widely in a variety of products, including hybrid and all-electric vehicles, but up until now, engineers have had a limited understanding of how lithium ions “behave”.

Professor Miroslav Krstic and postdoctoral fellow Scott Moura of the University of California, San Diego, claim they have devised new algorithms that enable them to better comprehend what’s going on inside lithium-ion batteries.

With gasoline prices creeping up again to as high as an average of $4.67 a gallon (€1.23 a liter) in California on Tuesday, according to the AAA's Daily Fuel Gauge Report, Honda thought it would be a good idea to launch a new promotion for its natural gas-powered Civic.

The Japanese carmaker said that it will offer customers purchasing a new 2012 Civic Natural Gas Vehicle (NGV) at participating dealers from now until January 2, 2013, a debit card pre-loaded with $3,000 worth of fuel.

As always, there's some small print including that the card can only be used at Clean Energy CNG fueling stations around the country to purchase fuel. There are approximately 150 Clean Energy filling stations in the U.S., 40 of which are located inside California.

According to the most recent Department of Energy, Clean Cities Alternative Fuel Price report on fuel prices, the nation-wide average price of natural gas fuel for vehicles in July was $2.05 per equivalent gasoline gallon.

At the Paris Auto Show, Hyundai announced that it will begin production of the ix35 Fuel Cell crossover (also know as the Tucson) at its Ulsan plant in South Korea. The initial projection is 1,000 units by 2015 and a limited mass production of 10,000 units after that.

The ix35 Fuel Cell features a fuel cell stack that converts hydrogen into electricity, which charges the lithium polymer battery that powers the electric motor. It is a zero-emissions vehicle since the only thing that it emits is water vapor.

All-electric and hybrid car sales so far account for just 3.5 percent of total vehicle sales in the U.S. this year. Not exactly what their makers expected when they launched these models.

At a first glance, the situation is improving for General Motors, as its Volt extended-range hybrid sold a record 2,800 units last month. Year-to-date Volt sales have so far reached 13,000 units, which certainly compares very well to the 7,700 cars that were sold in 2011.

For example, before the discounts, Bunnin Chevrolet in Culver City, California was selling three to five Volts per month. Last month it shifted 36 cars, mostly leases, and sales manager Chad Kelman told The Detroit News that the dealership is having a hard time keeping enough units in stock.

All-electric and hybrid car sales so far account for just 3.5 percent of total vehicle sales in the U.S. this year. Not exactly what their makers expected when they launched these models.

Joining the local introductions and even some world premieres like the Lexus LF-LC II at the 2012 Australian International Motor Show in Sydney this October will be a unique muscle car build from the Land Down Under.

Australia is known for its love of muscle cars and has a long tradition in the category with vehicles such as the classic 1970s Ford Falcon GTHO Phase III, Holden Monaro and Torana V8s, and Valliant Charger R/Ts (Chrysler Group), as well as the contemporary offerings from Holden's HSV and Ford's FPV performance divisions.

Now, an Australian has come up with a green muscle car build – and we're not referring to its beautiful, rich exterior shade.

One of the most important models that will debut at the upcoming Paris Auto Show is the seventh-generation VW Golf, which was unveiled in Berlin last Tuesday, September 4.

Even though the brand-new Golf’s basic version posts an official average fuel consumption of 4.9 lt/100 km (48 mpg US), Greenpeace staged a protest outside the New National Gallery, where the event was taking place.

Fuel saving systems like auto start/stop are becoming increasingly common in all kinds of new models, from minis to supercars. The thing is that these technologies have only recently been widely adopted by car companies. Thus, most vehicles out there are still polluting even when they are standing still.

Transport for London, the local government body that oversees Greater London’s transport system, released a study showing that if all drivers in the center of the city turned off their engines for one minute when stationary instead of letting them idle, CO2 emissions would be reduced by 100 million kg (220 million pounds) each year.

Not to be outshone by the BMW car brand and its upcoming "i" series of pure-electric models, BMW Motorrad, which is the German company's motorcycle division, is also gearing up for the presentation of its first zero emissions model.

Following the original E-Scooter concept at the BMW Motorrad Innovation Day 2011 and the Concept e at last year's Frankfurt Motor Show, BMW has now introduced a near-production prototype of the electric scooter named the C Evolution.

The electric-powered scooter was presented in the U.K. capital today with BMW to allow selected London Olympics visitors to drive the prototypes during the games.

The C Evolution features a hybrid composite structure upon which it fits an electric motor producing a continuous output of 11kW (15hp) and a peak output of 35kW (47hp) allowing for an electronically limited top speed of 120km/h (75mph).

Hyundai is being sued in a Sacramento Superior Court for misleading consumers about the gas mileage of its 2011 and 2012 Elantra compact model.

This is the next chapter of a story that began in December of 2011 when the non-profit organization Consumer Watchdog slammed Hyundai for misleading consumers in ads for the new Elantra.

The lawsuit, which has been filed by Consumer Watchdog and the Washington, DC, law firm, Cuneo Gilbert & LaDuca, LLP, alleges that Hyundai touted "The 40 Mile Per Gallon Elantra" in high-impact television, Internet, and print advertisements, without disclosing that it was referring to highway and not combined fuel economy numbers.

The recent deal signed between the BMW Group and Toyota Motor Corp that includes the joint development of platform architecture and components for a future sports car, has spurred speculation and rumors about the type of model that could come out of the partnership.

The Japanese company's president Akio Toyoda opened up a bag of clues during his speech in Germany by saying that he is "looking forward to a sports car that is environment-friendly and truly excites car fans around the world."

Good news for Honda as its 2013 Fit EV has scored a combined adjusted Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) mile-per-gallon-equivalency rating of 118 MPGe, which the company says is the "highest fuel-efficiency rating ever given by the EPA".

But wait, doesn't the EV part of the new Fit's name stand for 'Electric Vehicle'? Yes, it does, so saying it has the "highest fuel-efficiency" is not entirely true. What Honda has achieved is to create a vehicle with a low consumption rating of 29 kilowatt hours (kWh) per 100 miles.

When is it worth paying extra money for a more fuel-efficient version of the same model? The answer to that question depends on the price of gas, how much more fuel-efficient is said car and how long it will take to recoup the added cost.

Consumer Reports (CR) set out to see if buyers would benefit in the long run by choosing the fuel-economy variants of the Ford Focus, Chevrolet Cruze and Honda Civic. While each of these models returns better mileage than their standard counterparts, they also cost between $500 and $800 more.

The following calculations were based on driving 12,000 miles (~19,300 kilometers) annually with an average gas price of $4 per gallon (€0.85/lt).

Starting with the Ford Focus, CR found that the $495 SFE (Super Fuel Economy) package, which adds flush hubcaps, a rear spoiler, and low rolling resistance tires, provides a 3-mpg improvement in overall and city fuel economy, to 31 and 21mpg, respectively.

Auto Parts

EPA Says 1 in 4 New Vehicles Meets 2016 Emission Standards Today; 2025 is Another Issue

VW gets Fizzy with New Eco Up! that can Run on Natural Gas, Biomethane or Petrol

Renault Creates World's Largest Photovoltaic Network in the Auto Industry to Park its Cars Under

BMW 116d EfficientDynamics Records 103MPG UK – 2.7lt/100km in RAC Challenge

New Research Could Lead to Smaller, Cheaper and Faster-Charging Lithium Ion Batteries

New Research Could Lead to Smaller, Cheaper and Faster-Charging Lithium Ion Batteries

Honda Offers New Civic Natural Gas Vehicle Customers a $3,000 Fuel Card, Is It Worth a Look?

Honda Offers New Civic Natural Gas Vehicle Customers a $3,000 Fuel Card, Is It Worth a Look?

Hyundai ix35 is the First Hydrogen Fuel Cell Vehicle to Enter Series Production

Hyundai ix35 is the First Hydrogen Fuel Cell Vehicle to Enter Series Production

August a Record Month for Chevy Volt Sales Thanks to Big Discounts; But is it Really Good News?

August a Record Month for Chevy Volt Sales Thanks to Big Discounts; But is it Really Good News?

1967 Ford XR Falcon ZERO'D with 600hp V8 Diesel is Even Greener Than it Looks

Greenpeace Attacks the New VW Golf Once Again, Stages Protest During Official Launch

London Urges Drivers to Turn Off their Idling Engines or Face a Fine

BMW Presents New C Evolution Electric Scooter Prototype at London Olympics [w/Video]

Consumer Watchdog Files Lawsuit Against Hyundai for Misleading Consumers with 40mpg Elantra Ads

BMW Rep Says Toyota's Sports Car will Have a Unique Design, Insider Hints at 6-Series-Based Supra

2013 Honda Fit EV Receives Highest Ever EPA Rating for Electric Cars at 118 MPGe

CR Finds that Fuel Efficient Versions of Focus, Cruze and Civic May Not be Worth the Extra Cash

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