Toyota hybrid concept

Just watched the video from the Britsh Motorshow at Whatcar, and they showed a Toyota concept that looks VERY much like the Flextreme concept (except you can see the back will be hatchback, not gullwing). I think this points to the fact that aerodynamics is where the concessions will have to be made to gain fuel economy.

The also showed a Ford Fiesta ECOnetic that is rated in the 76 mpg range. Even with the downconversion from imperial gallons to US, that would be sweet – might want to test that one against the Prius.

Volt and the GM Opel Flextreme

The Chevy Volt has been all the rage stateside. I found a few links about another GM hybrid that may be for Europe only, the Opel Flextreme. I think this concept was unveiled at last year’s Frankfurt auto show (Pop Mech article, Ecogeek), and I don’t have any more current info, so I am not sure what the plans are for this.

Apparently Saturn has announced a (concept) version. I would not be surprised if GM allows this to slip to allocate resources to the Volt. Frankly I think the Opel/Saturn is better looking than the Volt, even if it does look a lot like the Prius. Except maybe for the roof – I am not keen on all that glass. I even like the gullwing doors in the back. And the segway compartment is hokey, but if I could fit my mountain bike in there – SCORE. Details (also a three hour recharge time is claimed) and disclaimer:

Unlike conventional vehicles and gas-electric hybrids, GM’s E-Flex System uses an electric motor, powered by a lithium-ion battery, to propel the Flextreme for up to 34 miles of all-electric and emissions-free range. The onboard engine creates additional electricity to extend the vehicle’s driving range to a total of 444 miles (715 km).

GM has initiated production engineering for the E-Flex System. Production timing depends on continued advancement of key enabling technologies; specifically, the development of lithium-ion batteries for hybrid and electric vehicle applications.

The whatcar blog has a clip in its week 42 video podcast of the Opel around its unveiling. It shows some of the interior and the gullwing doors, and the segway compartment.

As for the Volt, it appears that the unveiling of the production form of the car is being rushed to coincide with the 100 year anniversary of the company in Sep. I think the timeline is still late 2010 for production though. Wonder if they will begin taking deposits (a la Tesla) for them in Sep?

Gas/diesel/hybrid cars compared

Edmunds has a report with video comparing 4 cars in real world driving around Las Vegas. While there may be not clear winner, there is a clear loser – the Ford Focus comes in last on every test. I think it is relatively inexpensive (being around $14k, very near the smart), however, it seems that scoring a good used VW Jetta TDI from this test might be the cheapest overall option.

While the real world smart mileage is decent (40.0 mpg combined for this test), I still think it is not compelling enough (especially since it requires premium gas), unless you always have to park in tight spots.

The prius might have lost the added benefit of carpool lane stickers here in CA, and the tax credit may have been reduced (or gone entirely at this point?), but I still think the added cost over the Ford is worth it. Back of the envelope, and using $4 a gallon gas, it would take approx. 225,000 miles to cover a $9,000 difference in price (I am using $14k vs $23k).

I think the drubbing of the Focus shows how far the US auto makers need to go to re-align with a future of high gas prices.

The road less paved

There was an article in the LA Times recently about the federal highway trust fund. It is projected to take in less revenue this year as the number of highway miles traveled in the US is expected to drop. Upon re-reading the article, I get the feeling this is really misleading:

As motorists cut back on their driving and buy more fuel-efficient cars, the government is taking in less money from the federal gasoline tax.

The result: The principal source of funding for highway projects will soon hit a big financial pothole. The federal highway trust fund could be in the red by $3.2 billion or more next year.

The federal tax on gasoline is $0.184 a gallon. In 2007, the article shows US gasoline consumption of 9.29 million barrels per day (a barrel is 42 gallons). The estimate for 2008 is not spelled out, but the 2009 estimate is 9.25 million barrels per day and looks higher than 2008. So, let’s just estimate that 2008 usage is 100,000 barrels per day less than 2007. That is 4,200,000 gallons per day less, or $772,800 a day less, or approximately $282.3 million for the year. How does that translate into a $3.2 billion shortfall?!?

There is some other reason (perhaps mismanagement??) that is causing this shortfall – it is not due to the drop in gasoline usage. In fact, there should be space for another 10% drop in usage (close to $3 billion less revenue) before the fund really should be hurting, if not for whatever other factors are causing the current shortfall.

There is something else going on here, as the gas tax should only have brought in $26.2 billion last year. So there has to be some other source of funding to the trust fund, as the article states that $40 billion of projects are slated for next year. That makes this article’s conclusion that the drop in revenue from the gas tax is hammering the trust fun VERY misleading.

However, increasing the gas tax $0.016 to $0.20 should help solve this shortfall, adding almost $2.3 billion based on 2007 usage.  I really doubt that any politician would touch that in a political year, though!

A few posters on the oil drum talk about peak asphalt, and I am beginning to believe that too. If construction costs are going up and the money to do road work is disappearing, then the road system of this country is facing a long period of neglect.

Oil on the farm, part two

This article discussed oil use in agriculture in California. It claims:

When you add up all those detours, you’re looking at an industry that Cornell University Professor David Pimentel estimates requires 400 gallons of gas to feed just one of us for a year.

I do not know how that number was arrived at, but if it is accurate, that is pretty large.  More than a gallon a day.  It does seem reasonable when one thinks about the steps items in the grocery store go through from creation of ingredients to arriving on the shelf.  Cutting down on this number will be tough.  Maybe easiest in California, so I think the author is right – we should be starting now.

Oil on the farm

I have read about the rising price of fertilizer and how it is also contributing, along with high diesel prices, to driving up the cost of growing food. This is reducing the benefit of high commodity prices to farmers. This comment is a bit more extreme than things I have seen (article):

Pfeiffer estimated that the U.S. population of about 300 million is roughly a third larger than can be fed with the gradually shrinking oil supply expected over the next half-century.

And I found these comments very interesting:

Still, replacing oil isn’t easy. It’s more dense with energy than most alternatives. Burning one barrel (42 gallons) provides the same energy as 12 farm laborers working every day over a year.

The Stanfields burn the equivalent of about 1,400 gallons a week in their diesel-powered tractors and combines during harvest. With cheap oil, father and son have been able to work the fourth-generation family farm as a twosome. But without diesel, they would need scores of field workers.

As oil prices have risen over this year, I have been thinking about the answer to the question: “What price should a barrel of oil have?”.  The exceptional energy density, ease of storage and (with machinery) ease of use make oil a fabulously valuable commodity.  My take is that $250/bbl is actually still pretty cheap.

Renewable resources maps

Great collection of maps from the CSM.

Aptera electric car

Found a link to this company a couple of days ago. They are going to bring out an electric version this year and a hybrid version next year. Today, Google.org announced they are investing in Aptera.

Economist article on PEMEX reforms

Overall they are not too optimistic that any meaningful change will occur this legislative cycle. Apparently there are three rounds of referendums:

The first will be on July 27th in Mexico City and nine states, with two more rounds to follow on the August 10th and 24th. These votes will have no legal standing but they do have the power to irritate the government.