Traditional gas is going to be a thing of the past if General Motors has a say in it. And guess what? They do. General Motors has teamed up with Hawaii’s major gas energy provider, The Gas Company (TGC) to provide hydrogen for fuel cell vehicles in that state. Currently, Hawaii utilized imported petroleum for about 90% of their energy according to Charles Freese, executive director of GM Global Fuel Cell Activities, and pilot project with General Motors will hopefully dramatically decrease that number soon.
TGC currently produces hydrogen and synthetic natural gas and flows it along the utility gas stream. This process already in place will allow for a smooth transition into providing local fueling stations with hydrogen for fuel cell vehicles.
“This is the type of enabler that a hydrogen transportation infrastructure needs because it addresses both the source of the hydrogen and a feasible way to deliver it for fuel cell vehicle use,” said Freese. “The Hawaii infrastructure could eventually support tens of thousands of fuel cell vehicles.”
Check out full story and the slide show from the presentation of General Motor’s hydrogen collaboration project with The Gas Company of Hawaii after the jump.
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Toyota has announced that they have been able to cut costs on their fuel cell vehicles by about 50% since the mid 2000s and what this translates into is the first retail hydrogen model with a price tag of only $50,000. The costs were accomplished by limiting the amount of platinum used in the fuel cell vehicles and finding cheaper ways to produce the thin film used in the fuel cells and the carbon-fiber hydrogen fuel tanks.
Hydrogen vehicles have received much criticism due to their expense and this news may bring along some needed support for the advanced technology and, possibly, more funding. Hydrogen vehicles have had bouts of decreased funding due to the criticism and have fallen behind the funding for electric cars in the U.S.
Hit the jump for the full story.
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Some people may make their decisions based on what the stars are doing and although sometimes that may lead to some poor decisions, the current trend adopted by celebrities might make a positive effect on our ecological footprint. That trend is, of course, driving around in some of the hottest fuel-saving, low emissions vehicles available.
The highlight, of course, will be the new BlueTEC models in the Mercedes-Benz R, E, ML and GL-Class ranges. Mercedes insists that more and more celebrities from the worlds of film, TV, and music are making the switch to, not only a hybrid, but a Mercedes hybrid. These exceptional vehicles were the first to meet the US exhaust emission standards in all 50 states and provide a 30% reduction in fuel consumption as compared to the petrol engines by Mercedes. Some of the fabulous names driving these vehicles are Sarah Jessica Parker, Molly Sims, Nicole Scherzinger, and Rosario Dawson.
The new Mercedes S 400 Hybrid is also becoming popular with the likes of “Sherlock Holmes” star Robert Downey Jr. and the always sexy, Gerard Butler. This model combines a lithium-ion high-voltage battery with a petrol engine that has a combined fuel consumption of 7.9 liters per 100 kilometers.
Hit the jump for more hybrid action plus the Mercedes press release.
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Happy Earth Day!
On top of all the cars that automakers are turning out that replace the use of gas by some percentage, automakers are also trying to “green up” the way they make their cars. It’s not always just about the engine when building a car and we couldn’t think of a more appropriate day to highlight Ford’s efforts to use more bio-based materials in their attempt to “go greener”.
Currently, Ford’s vehicles are 85% recyclable by weight and Ford is trying to focus more on using recyclable and reusable materials with the hope that one day Ford’s vehicles can be 100% recyclable. They have been able to get one step closer to this goal by using soy and bio-based materials to produce cushions and seatbacks in 10 of their current models. The Ford Mustang, F-150, Focus, Flex, Escape, Expedition and Econoline as well as Mercury Mariner, Lincoln MKS, and Navigator all feature this earth-friendly material. The brand’s introduction of the 2011 Ford Taurus will now make 11 of these greenies.
"By increasing the use of recycled or renewable content and reducing the use of undesirable materials whenever possible, we’re helping to reduce waste to landfills by millions of pounds – and we’re doing it around the world," said John Viera, Ford’s director of Sustainability and Environmental Policy. "More than ever before, the spirit of ONE Ford that drives our global product strategy also drives our commitment to sustainability."
Hit the jump for the full story and press release.
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The battle of green merges on and by green, for once, we don’t mean cash money. No, the green we are talking about today is that of the environmental kind. Mercedes announced today that the 2010 C-Class sedan- the C 180 CGI BlueEfficiency, and the C 200 CGI BlueEfficiency versions- will be equipped with the ECO start/stop function thus lowering fuel consumption by 10%. CO2 emissions will also take a nosedive being reduced from 127 g/km to 117 g/km. Unfortunately, the Blue Efficiency models provided to the market from Mercedes won’t be seeing North American soil. That may be inconvenient for those seeking to check out these new models, but it is highly convenient for BMW considering the Blue Efficiency, ECO start/stop models directly compete with BMW’s Vision Efficient Dynamics.
Customers will also get a new model, the C 250 CDI 4Matic BlueEfficiency, which combines the powerful and economic four-cylinder diesel engine with four-wheel drive for the first time. The new four-cylinder diesel engine develops a total of 204 hp and a peak torque of 500 Nm. It will be mated to a seven-speed automatic transmission as standard. Also, the new model will be offered with Electronic Stability Program ESP and the traction system 4ETS, which enables controlled braking of spinning wheels and thus increases the drive torque at the wheels offering good traction.
Press release after the jump.
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