Green cars

Electric dreams - and nightmares

James Ruppert — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 14:01:55 GMT

I came across an advert the other day for a G-Wiz. It was a 2007 model with 1700 miles on the clock. That counts as barely run-in - if you ever need to run-in an electric car that is. Either way, 850 miles a year even bouncing around London is on a par with a ponderous commuter cyclist.

It was up for just £4500, which is roughly half the cost new, depending on what extras are added, and even that price was negotiable. What we have here is the realisation that the G-Wiz is a risible mode of transport. The owner might well claim, ‘genuine reason for sale’ but I reckon they can’t wait to get shot of it.

I’ve seen the same happen with some hybrids. At the moment there’s a whole bunch at a West London car supermarket, a triple AAA battery’s throw from the congestion zone, which were all underpriced and not yet sold. I’m slightly tempted to buy a really cheap Prius and run it until something expensive needs doing, but I can’t get away from the fact that I’d still rather have a Golf TD.

Good luck to Tesla with its new showroom that I must pop along to. At least moving the stock around won’t choke the receptionist or spoil those vital sales calls.

I get the feeling, though, that it could be as whisper quiet in there as the motor. A Tesla is no G-Wiz, thank the automotive gods, but cost has to be an issue, as is the future cost of replacing the batteries.

The car trade is rightly suspicious of new tech and despite gormless Gordon and malevolent Mandy being deluded about our potential contribution to alternative power, electric vehicles have some way to go.

Technorati Tags: G-Wiz, Tesla, Gordon Brown, Peter Mandelson, VW Golf

Why aerodynamics are no longer a drag

Ollie Stallwood — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 16:10:00 GMT

Do you remember when drag coefficient was something to shout about with cars? It was around the time when three-spoke aftermarket alloys were popular, if I recall correctly.

After the heady days of the Audi 100 (0.30 Cd) and the Vauxhall Calibra (0.26 Cd) aerodynamics seemed to go out of fashion, seemingly because people realised that if they cranked up the power they could overcome even the worst drag coefficient.

But because of a push towards eco-friendliness attention to slipperiness is now back in fashion, just look at BMW and Mercedes. One of the big selling points of the E-class coupe is that it is the world’s most aerodynamic car, which has a Cd figure of 0.24. There is even talk of a 0.20 Mercedes within the next five years.

2011 BMW M5 breaks cover

BMW estimates that a 10 per cent reduction in drag can reduce fuel consumption by 2.5 per cent and is concentrating on improving airflow underneath the car and around the wheel arches. Flaps and intakes in the bumpers and grille will help to direct air for best effect.

The bonus about all this is best illustrated by the new BMW M5. Along with controlled weight and smaller turbocharged engines improved aerodynamics mean we save fuel and reduce emissions in a car that is more powerful and faster.

With this in mind the days of etching a car’s Cd on to its windows may be back, but hopefully without the three-spoke alloys.

Technorati Tags: Green, aerodynamics, cd, audi, mercedes

Touareg Bluemotion: Green badge engineering

Ollie Stallwood — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 12:05:00 GMT

The definition of an oxymoron is a figure of speech that “produces a self-contradictory effect”. Or, in other words, a Volkswagen Touareg Bluemotion.

I’d be the first to champion VW’s Bluemotion concept, proof that by using existing technology, i.e. diesel engines, instead of futuristic solutions, you can create some of the greenest production cars on the planet.

Take the VW Polo Bluemotion. This is a car that produces 99 g/km of CO2, while the new model is expected to make 80mpg. But this is using the most efficient methods – the most efficient engines, one of the smallest cars – to produce the most efficient results.

See all the latest Volkswagen reviews, news and video

Bluemotion Touareg unveiled

Then apply this to a Touareg and it questions the whole idea of going green. How can we even talk about efficiency when referring to a 3.0-litre 2371kg SUV? If you want something efficient to carry round the family in, buy a Passat Bluemotion.

The only way a Touareg Bluemotion works is if it is compared to itself. It’s the same with the BMW M3, which was cleaner than the former model, but still beltches out 295 g/km of CO2.

Unless you really, really need to go off-road then bothering about cutting emissions in a Touareg seems a bit pointless, and by the way the Bluemotion has been lowered too, so it’s probably not as good at that anymore anyway.

So, hats off to VW for coming up with Bluemotion, but let’s not use it to shift a few more off-roaders.

Technorati Tags: Touareg, Bluemotion, green, eco, efficiency

Electric dreams

Hilton Holloway — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 23:51:00 GMT

Today the Government is having its first cabinet meeting in Scotland since the 1920s.

One of the announcements – to be made at Knockhill circuit in the presence of the Mini E – will be plans for subsidies of between £2000 and £5000 for anybody who purchases either a pure electric car or a plug-in Hybrid.

Although there’s no more news at the moment, these payments are set to kick in by 2011 and are clearly timed to coincide with the arrival of the Vauxhall Ampera (a mildly re-styled Chevrolet Volt) and the planned pure-electric Renault vehicles.

While the Ampera will probably be built at Ellesmere Port, Nissan in Sunderland could make at least one of the Renault models.

The government says it will also allocate £20m to build a series of charging points in various cities around the UK, which will allow 200 ‘real world’ testers to run electric cars in day-to-day conditions.

Part of the reason for the government’s electric enthusiasm is probably the progress being made by London government to embrace electric vehicles.

Energy company EDF is going to build a network of pay-per-charge charging points in the capital (up to 20,000 of them according to Mayor Boris Johnson).

These charging points will, initially, be used by Renault’s three-model electric car range, which will feature heavily at the 2012 London Olympics.

Late 2011 should also see the first few prototypes of the Autocar-inspired New Routemaster bus, which is effectively a plug-in hybrid like the Ampera.

Although Labour probably won’t be in office to see this policy through, I would guess that the Conservatives would also endorse the push for electric vehicles.

I wonder how long it will be before we see zero-emission zones in the centre of UK cities?

JLR's green future

Hilton Holloway — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 00:05:00 GMT

There’s a fascinating, official, insight into the future of Jaguar Land Rover buried in yesterday’s Sunday Times’ Business section.

Of the four ‘green’ projects – all supported by the government’s Technology Strategy Board - most surprising is the ‘Limo Green’ concept.

Based on the new XJ saloon, the LG is – like the Chevrolet Volt - a self-charging electric vehicle. Jaguar says the LG, which is likely to cost £500m, will be launched in 2011.

Rather than having a conventional engine and electric motors (which are both connected to the wheels in a conventional hybrid) the LG is powered primarily by its lithium-ion battery packs, which in turn drive a 170bhp electric motor and two-speed transmission.

The battery packs will be charged by a 47bhp Lotus-designed petrol engine, which runs at a constant speed to keep consumption and emissions to an absolute minimum. The LG can also be plugged into the mains for an overnight recharge.

Apparently the LG’s aluminium monocoque will be further lightened through the use of composites, so that the whole vehicle will come in at 1350kg. Early estimates suggest the LG will be good for 57mpg and 120g/km. However, the car’s exhaust will be close to completely pollutant-free, a crucial advantage for future US sales.

Expect to see an LG concept alongside the dramatic new XJ production saloon this autumn.

Also in the pipeline is the REHEV (Range Extended Electric Vehicle) project, which has already been previewed in the Land_e concept car. This sees an electric motor built into the car’s rear axle (powered by a battery pack), which can drive the car via the rear wheels in pure electric mode as well as working alongside the petrol engine in rough conditions.

This system is being worked on for the three-strong Freelander family (which will eventually include the small LRX and a new seven-seat Freelander spin-off). However, something similar is almost certainly destined for the next-generation T5 platform, which will underpin the Disco 4, Range Rover 4 and Range Rover Sport replacement.

The Sunday Times also confirms Autocar’s story that Jaguar is working on fitting a KERS (Kinetic Energy Recovery System) to future models. This takes the form of a flywheel that recovers and stores energy when the car is slowing. Jaguar says that fitted to a V6 diesel XF, fuel consumption improves by 20 per cent. Expect to see KERS on Jaguar’s cheaper models.

Finally, Jaguar says that it intends to increase the amount of recycled aluminium in its XJ and XK models from 50 to 75 percent by 2011, as part of the REAL (REcycled ALuminium) project. Interestingly the maker says that move will drive down costs to the extent that it can switch to using aluminium for its future entry-level models, which could include the XE roadster and next-gen XF.

Tesla troubles

Chas Hallett — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 09:29:00 GMT

I hope that the electric car maker Tesla manages to get over its financial worries. Because it deserves to do well.
I drove the company's Elise based electric roadster for the first time last week and it was a genuine seminal motoring experience (and at my age you don't get many of them). This thing was mind-blowingly rapid, fun to drive and eerily silent. All adding up to an experience which is currently unique.

Yes the price is silly but it will come down with higher production and cheaper batteries. I don't buy the criticisms of the range either. If it was a family saloon yes. But owners of cars like these go for an afternoon blat and them put them back in the garage. I wonder what the average daily mileage of a Lotus Elise or Caterham is? Not more than 100 miles I suspect.
If the Tesla is the future of sports cars then I'm looking forward to it.

Could the 'electric Mondeo' kill the diesel?

Hilton Holloway — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 17:29:59 GMT

The US ‘Big Three’ car makers are getting a serious kicking at the moment. Much of the criticism is centred on failing to build cars that matched the - mostly Asian - competition.

That, of course, and their notorious reliance on ‘gas-guzzlers’.

However, Ford has just let the press drive its new US-market Fusion Hybrid and the narrative could be about to change.

The Mondeo-sized Fusion (which is actually based on the Mazda 6) gets a mild hybrid set-up, with an electric motor/generator sandwiched into a CVT transmission, which is driven by a 2.5-litre four-cylinder petrol engine.

It's an updated version of the hybrid transmission in the Ford Escape SUV. The nickel-metal-hydride battery pack now weighs 70kg(23 percent less) and other changes will now allow the Fusion to hit 47mph in pure electric mode.

Amazingly, the first results from test drives in LA suggest the Fusion is capable of around 50mpg in UK gallons.

If this is replicated in real life use, switched-on European drivers will be wondering when an ‘Electric Mondeo’ will appear.

That’s because it’s not just about the fuel economy argument. One of the main reasons Toyota developed the hybrid is because it delivered better fuel economy without the tailpipe pollution of a diesel.

In fact, the previous-generation Escape Hybrid met Super Ultra Low Emission Vehicle (SULEV II) and Advanced Technology Partial Zero Emissions Vehicle (AT-PZEV) standards.

Indeed, so strict are Californian’s air pollution standards, diesel-powered cars were effectively banned in 1990 because of their particulate (soot) and nitrogen oxide (NoX) emissions.

Today, diesel cars can only be sold in California if they meet standards so strict that they’re equivalent to Euro 6 limits, which are not due for introduction in Europe until 2014.

This is relevant to us Europeans, because there evidence that the EU will be following California’s lead and clamping down even further on the particulates and NoX emissions, particularly in city centres.

And while diesel engines can be cleaned up with complex NoX traps and urea injections, will it be easier – and cheaper – in the long run to switch to a Fusion-style petrol-hybrid drive train?

Will the electric Mondeo remain a dream, or could it kill the diesel?

A hydrogen future

Hilton Holloway — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 10:02:41 GMT

Yesterday I had a taste of the future of motoring – or at least what GM’s boffins would like to see as the future.

GM is launching a fleet of 10 Fuel Cell powered Chevy Traverse SUVs in Berlin.

Fully real-world crash-tested and good for a range of 320km, the cars will be run in real-world conditions by 10 different sponsors, including the Berlin Hilton Hotel and Allianz.

I got a chance to drive one of the Traverses from central Berlin to a Hydrogen fuelling station near Berlin’s main bus depot.

Driven by a 73kW fuel cell, the Traverse was very impressive. The acceleration is very brisk, the torque seamless, and the lack of mechanical thrashing makes for a very refined drive (even if the car’s chassis isn’t that great).

I also got a chance to witness what might be an everyday chore by 2030: refuelling a hydrogen-powered car.

At what otherwise looked like an ordinary Total fuel station, there are two hydrogen pumps, one which re-fills at 350psi and the other, for the Traverse, re-fills at 700psi.

Just slide in the credit card, key in the PIN and clip the hose onto the tiny valve behind the filler cap. An infrared link between the fuel holster and the car monitors the situation. Filling the tank from empty takes three minutes.

The receipt makes interesting reading. 1.52kg of Hydrogen, sold at a (subsidized) 8 Euros per kilo.

I wondered if I’ll ever find myself holding one of these receipts for real in decades to come.

Technorati Tags: GM,General Motors,Hydrogen,Chevy,Chevrolet,Transverse,Total

From Two Jags to No Jags

Ed Keohane — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 17:33:00 GMT

It wasn't long ago that an aspiring Deputy Prime Minister might have a Jag for work and a spare in the garage. But the tide is turning.

Despite Gordon Brown's promise to swap his government Vauxhall for a hybrid - a Toyota Prius - he understandably balked when push came to shove, and opted for a V8 Jaguar XJ instead.

But the new breed of cabinet minister has definitely taken the petrol-electric route. According to this article in the Guardian, James Purnell, Douglas Alexander, Ed Miliband, Hilary Benn (unsurprisingly for an environment secretary), Hazel Blears and John Denham all drive hybrid Toyotas or Hondas.

It's probably just as well, because the prime ministerial Jag is no ordinary 35mpg XJD, it's a 2.7-tonne armoured XJ. I've never driven one of these, so it's difficult to get any real economy figures, but Richmond-based Carty Associates, which provides a secure limo and driver service, reckon that an armoured XJ will do around 12mpg in town.

Oh yes, and it also has to be driven to the other end of the line for all those publicity-coup train journeys - that's not really saving fuel.

So when you're next getting stressed about reducing your carbon footprint remember that, unless you're commuting in a Bugatti Royale, things could be worse.

Audi runs rings around green lobby

Hilton Holloway — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 12:32:58 GMT

The blink-and-you’ll-miss-it star of the Paris show was undoubtedly the Audi A4 Concept E.

European government is well down the road on demanding that the average CO2 output of a car maker’s range is just 130g/km – with promise of further cuts to come. As a result, some people in the industry wondered whether the day of the large car was over, and whether we would all end up in diesel-powered Ford Focuses.

However, the EU hadn’t figured on the might of the German auto engineer.

By applying a host of detailed fuel-saving measures, Audi has managed to turn its new A4 into a Prius-humbling fuel sipper.

The Concept E’s 105g/km CO2 (58.95mpg) rating has been achieved through some extremely clever lateral thinking. The 2.0-litre TDI engine gets new software, a new cooling system, de-coupling oil and water pumps and even softer valve springs. The stop-start system is backed up by a secondary battery, which powers the A4’s ancillaries when the engine is off.

The rear brakes are electrically actuated and the Concept E gets an aerodynamic underbody. Weight saving measures include a magnesium casing for the gearbox.

But the crowning glory is the Concept E’s heated gearbox oil, which helps reduce frictional losses when the car is first started.

Even better, the EU legislators - who are mostly trying to pick a fight with the EU car industry - have been put firmly on the back foot.

Honda shows some Insight

Richard Bremner — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 10:23:26 GMT

It must be pretty galling for Honda that, despite being the first volume manufacturer to offer a hybrid car with the 1999 Insight, it's Toyota that has reaped the publicity benefit from selling this greener technology, not to mention substantial sales besides.

Honda's mistake was to sell the right hardware in the wrong package. The eccentric Insight two-seater appealed to relatively few, and the Civic hybrid looked far too similar to the standard car to score its owners nods of green approval from their peers.

Evidence that Honda has learned what Toyota discovered - that a hybrid is best sold with bespoke wrapping that announces to the rest of the world that this is a greener machine - has now appeared in the form of another car called Insight, though this time it's a five door, five seater, and with a design all its own.

It’s just one weapon in Honda's hybrid counter-attack, its intention being to sell half a million hybrids, or an eighth of its output of cars, annually by 2010. Other models include the production version of the CR-Z coupe, the spiritual successor to the original Insight, a hybrid Jazz supermini and a new version of the Civic hybrid.

That’s a bold aim, and one that might be that bit more difficult to achieve in the face of the growing realisation among the public that though hybrids have their advantages, they often fail to fulfil the promise of their official fuel consumption figures.

There’s evidence of this in Honda’s plan to include ‘a unique function to assist more fuel-efficient driving – helping driver’s to maximise their real world fuel consumption,’ a tacit admission of the problem with hybrids.

But whatever the challenges, it’s hard not to be impressed by Honda’s commitment to reducing emissions, which encompasses not only these cars but the semi-experimental fuel cell FCX Clarity, to which this new Insight bears more than a passing resemblance. If Honda succeeds, the face of the FCX and the Insight will symbolise a greener drive as effectively as the Prius does.

Hybrid renaissance

Chas Hallett — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 17:03:07 GMT

The new Honda Insight looks like a regular hatchback. Which is exactly what it should resemble. After all, that’s the Toyota Prius’s greatest strength – it’s thoroughly conventional to drive but just that little bit odd-looking, so that the neighbours know that you’re also trying to save the planet.

And Toyota has sold more than a million of them, so it’s no wonder that Honda is aping the formula.

All this is in complete contrast to the original Honda Insight, which looked like it had come from another planet when it landed in 1999.

I spent quite a bit of time driving one back then and it was like nothing else: lightweight, two seats, odd to drive and, of course, it looked like nothing else on the road – complete with its faired-in rear wheels to improve aerodynamics. It drove like nothing else either – thankfully.

It may have been a technological showcase and Honda’s first hybrid but it was pretty nasty to drive, not to mention incredibly expensive.

So maybe the new Honda Insight shows that hybrids have come full circle. It’s a petrol-electric hatch that is a real Focus rival. Not just in size, but in price too (the Prius is closer to £20k after all). It probably won’t be the first either.

Technorati Tags: Toyota Prius,Honda Insight,hybrid,Ford Focus

Is Tesla the car industry’s Google?

Chas Hallett — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 10:01:28 GMT

Just a thought, but what if today’s leading car-makers won’t be the leading car-makers in 20 years time?

Maybe, just maybe, electric cars are the car industry’s internet. Google was founded almost exactly a decade ago, and who’d really heard of it seven years ago?

Small, boutique car companies are starting up all over the place: Tesla, Mindset and Gordon Murray’s project. What they all have in common is that they don’t make traditional cars and they don’t make them in traditional ways. They won’t all stay small and boutique for long. And my money is that Tesla, especially, is going to be huge.

A fledgling car business will never make it big as quickly as a web start-up. But with an industry in flux, and the very real possibility that oil prices will rise further in the next few years, you never know where this might end up.

Like I said, just a thought.

Technorati Tags: Google,Tesla Roadster,Gordon Murray,Tesla,Internet

Mazda’s weight issues

Peter Nunn — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 11:17:54 GMT

Remember the stir Mazda caused when the Mazda 2 came on the scene?

Here was a good-to-drive supermini that was 100 kgs lighter than the car it replaced, turning the trend for cars getting ever bigger and heavier smartly on its head. For that, the 2 was a real breath of fresh air. Still is, come to that.

Now Mazda says it’s going to be extending this ‘Drive Light’ philosophy across all its coming generations of models, news that you might think would win universal acclaim.

Lighter means better economy because there’s less mass to drag around. It means lower C02 and more agile handling. Hard to argue against, you would think.

Yet some sections of the Japanese media believe there’s a price to be paid for that Lotus-style approach of ‘added lightness’. They reckon body rigidity has been compromised by Mazda’s new lightweight mindset. Put simply, the new 2 has been criticised for not being stiff enough.

This theory isn’t supported out by Mazda’s figures, with the current 2 claimed to have 13 per cent better torsional rigidity than the model it replaced. But it’s certainly true that when it comes to other consumer durables, and the camera industry springs to mind, each new generation of products tends not to pack the robustness of its predecessors as costs come under inevitable pressure.

But this is hardly what’s happening with Mazda. With all due respect to my professional colleagues here in Japan, some of whom are famously hardcore when it comes to technology, Hiroshima hasn’t suddenly gone on all flimsy on us. Indeed, the 2 feels as tough as any of its significant Japanese rivals.

But then, as Mazda acts on its commitment to systematically trim the pounds from future models, it is something to watch out for.

Technorati Tags: Mazda2,Lotus,Japan,Drive Light,Mazda

The motorist's real enemy

Julian Rendell — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 14:56:28 GMT

There’s a growing view that ill-judged taxes and charges introduced under a green banner are turning motorists against that basic idea.

Even Greenpeace joined this chorus a while back, criticising proposed new VED taxes.

So what is the Environmental Transport Association up to?

A missive today from a business that makes money out of providing motorists with an ‘environmentally-friendly’ breakdown service has jumped on a bandwagon started up by a local government minister demanding higher parking charges in city centres.

Apparently the ETA is outraged that motorists in London pay an extortionate £6 an hour to park in parts of London. Don’t suppose the ETA has driven in London recently, but it’s not uncommon for motorists to pay closer to £20 an hour in some central London car parks.

Anyway that’s not the ETA’s bugbear. What they’re outraged about is that away from London charges are as low as 40p an hour.

There’s a good reason for that. People in other parts of the country aren’t multi-squillionaires parking in underground car parks in Sloane Square. They are ordinary working people trying to do a bit of shopping or visit attractions in cities and towns all over Britain.

They choose to drive because the planning and economic system has encouraged centralised shopping areas where many people can’t or don't want to live, but have to visit.

Motorists don’t need enemies in local or central government or the anti-car lobby when the ETA is doing the job for them.