California started to adopt their own tougher rules compared to the federal government in 2004. The Bush administration through the EPA denied the state government of California to impose the stiffer rules.

The U.S. Congress proposed in 2007 to adjust the standard to 35mpg by 2010. With the expected ramp up of these figures, the auto industry will have to shoulder billions in research, development, and production to comply with the disparate figures.

The new standards of the National government are now in line with the path California is taking. Reduction of emissions by as much as 30% will allow car manufacturers to comply in a more cost effective way. This also helps in avoiding vehicle prices to skyrocket.

The waiver also requires the state to hold back on imposing tougher emissions until through 2017. This side of the deal will result to dropping of several cases filed by automakers against Califonia – green cars work!.

The compliance of the car makers in the tougher rules of the 14 states will not really have a big effect on the market today. Vehicle manufacturers have been releasing units which are below the required emission.

The first round of investments amounting to $12 million comes from Quercus Trust based in California and 21 Ventures LLC headquartered in New York. The funding allows ETVM to engage in multi-year R&D in partnership with some organizations and universities.

ETVM believes that the future of transportation will heavily rely on the development of electric vehicles which are highly efficient, environment friendly, and cost effective. The new generation of range extended EVs can be optimally developed using their lithium ion battery technology and the on board charger using the micro turbines.

The micro-turbine that will be used by ETVM will be using the principles of Rich, Quench, and Lean. The dual mode will allow excellent efficiency by operating at two points.

The micro-turbine will also have advanced designs in terms of its ducts, valves, heat exchangers, and sealings. These features will give the technology more freedom in terms of matching the micro-turbine with vehicle categories in need of different drive cycles.

The company also conducted a study which shows the cost effectiveness of using on board chargers in REEVs. The EVTM development team foresees their P1 prototype turbine by Q2 of 2010.

On the development of the battery, EVTM is in collaboration with the Bar Ilan University to produce a 4.7V LMNO or Lithium Manganese Nickel Oxide cathode. They are exploring the possibilities of coming up with an LMNO/Graphite for a 4.7V battery and a LMNO/LitiO for a cell with 3.2V.

Ford is working with Smith Electric Vehicles to make the US release of the electric car series possible by next year. In the UK, on the other hand, the Ford collaboration is with Tanfield.

Presently, the conventional Ford Transit Connect is built for small business entrepreneurs and owners. First released n Europe in 2003, Transit Connect is a front-wheel-drive commercial vehicle that has a spacious cargo. Ford recently powered up its engine to a 2.0-liter DOHC four-cylinder gasoline. The vehicle also has an automatic four-speed transaxle.

Since its introduction six years ago, the Transit Connect has been sold to at least 600,000 costumers in 58 countries around the globe. It’s initial sticker price begins at $21,475.

What’s in the Battery-electric Transit Connect?

The battery-electric Transit Connect is pegged to set forth new generations of hybrid-electric and plug-in electric vehicles in 2010. The prices of the battery-electric Ford Transit Connect vehicles are projected to be more affordable with more developments in the coming four years.

A new small electric car by Ford will be introduced in 2011, while the hybrid vehicles and the plug in vehicles will be commercial available in North America in 2012 and 2013 respectively. This was announce in Ford’s electric vehicle plan last January.

This mode of personal transportation involves a short-term arrangement of renting a car. It is an urban car rental service wherein the customer who is a registered member can make reservations for a rental car for a period of time, as short as one hour. The customer can pick up the car at the designated place in their vicinity, and can return that car there.

This trend is now slowly increasing in popularity in Japan, specifically in the urban areas, though it is not as widespread as in North America and Europe.

Mazda Car Rental Corp. has been lengthening its horizons on car sharing industry throughout Japan starting July 2006.

Ishikawa Prefecture of Kanazawa City is the first full-blown car sharing system in the provincial operation and was launched last 2006 of November with the partnership of Hokuriku Railway Co., Hokusei Industry CO., the city management and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. In here, pre-registered customers can receive points that could be utilized as fares in the bus. Renting environmentally-friendly cars is preferred, for sure!

The largest group in the car sharing industry, the Ornix Auto Corp., began a novel service last 2007. They focused on car sharing service for dwellers in the condominium. They opened their services at five condominium residence structure and plans to offer it to seven buildings by the end of 2009.

Dual-Clutch technology comprises of two parallel manual transmissions, each one with an independent clutch mechanism. The first one has the irregular gears of 1, 3, and 5, while the other one carries the even gears of 2, 4, and 6. These two mechanisms synchronize with each other for flawless gear shifts and torque delivery.

The PowerShift can successfully reduce the consumption of fuel by 9% when compared to conventional automatic four-speed transmissions. Wet clutch plates are flooded in oil, therefore, this dry clutch technology does away with slightly heavier torque converters and oil pumps, while still providing maximum mechanical performance. It also eliminates hydraulic fluids, and cooling lines. The PowerShift eradicates the external cooler that traditional wet clutch mechanism carries. Therefore, the dry clutch derivative is 30 pounds less than the four-speed automatic transmission packed in the latest Ford Focus.

“A dry clutch is a real sweet spot for lighter vehicle applications,” says Piero Aversa, Manager for Ford Automatic Transmission Engineering. “PowerShift is more efficient, it saves weight, is more durable, more efficient and the unit is sealed for life, requiring no regular maintenance.”

Expected to be a hit in fuel-efficient cars of today, the Dry Clutch version of the PowerShift provides a new technology for Ford to produce vehicles that will be the best in category and especially among the green or fuel efficient automobiles of today.

For more fuel efficiency tips, the web is your friend!

The electric motor is more than 90% more energy efficient than the combustion engines used by vehicles today. The ordinary combustion engine car today outputs 25 to 30% of the energy from its fuel in the tank. The electric propulsion makes vehicles more efficient and friendlier to the environment.

In 2007, only 2.2% of the market comprised hybrid cars. The automotive sector forecasts a 15% coverage by 2015. Major car manufacturers are gearing towards the development of EVs and the market is responding well with these green cars.

Quantum Fuel Systems Technologies Worldwide Inc. is a Tier 1 provider of propulsion systems, alternative fuel cars, energy storage, and equipment supplier.

Quantum has developed an EREV or extended range electric vehicle which makes use of a hybrid plug in system. The Q Drive allows operation of vehicles in pure electric mode. This translates to around 50 miles of coverage in 1 charging. In the US this covers most of the daily trips and may lead to lower emissions in the future.

The Q Drive will be first used in the Fisker Automotive’s Karma. Fisker is a company co-founded by Quantum with auto design genius Henrik Fisker aiming to produce premium American cars. The company is looking at 15000 units of Fisker Karma to be produced starting 2011.

The Fisker Karma has a peak output of 200 kW consistent through out the battery charge. It also combines the EV technology with photovoltaic cells installed on its roof.

This Lithium-Ion battery-powered Johnson Controls RE3 Concept will most likely never see the road as it’s a concept born to die as a concept — but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t deserve a quick entry on Green Car Tips!

Why? Well, it’s pretty, it’s high-tech, and it’s zero-emission!

It is projected that the coffee diesel fuel industry may generate $8 million in profits yearly if a company will use the coffee grounds that will be thrown by branches of Starbucks in the US alone.

The proponents of the study found out that 11% to 20% of the beans are oil basing it on its weight. This serves as the foundation of the production of the biodiesel from other plant products like soy and palm.

Coffee is also the second most traded commodity around the globe and given the volume of waste produced by the industry, there will be a big potential to produce more biodiesel for public consumption. Sixteen million pounds of coffee grounds thrown away each year will be able to boost the production of biodiesel by as much as 340 million gallons.

Starbucks alone throw away around 210 million pounds of used coffee grounds in the United States alone. This waste material can be recycled to make 2.92 million gallons of high quality biodiesel.

One limitation the production of coffee biodiesel may encounter is its higher price compared to other regular diesel products. This can only be solved by utilizing as much as waste materials from other industries to produce the alternative fuel.

Doing the math, one can assume coffee biodiesel to range from $3 to $4.5 per gallon. It will be a very profitable industry. If one will ask, yes, biodiesel from coffee smells like coffee.

More on the subject right here on New Car Fuels!

Hyundai’s first hybrid model is a gasoline-electric version of their Sonata model, and is expected to reach North American shores in 2010. The hybrid model will have lithium-polymer battery technology and use a parallel-hybrid drive system. It will also have a 2.4-liter engine coupled with six-speed automatic transmission which will work with an electric motor of 30 kilowatts.

The HED-5 i-Mode, Hyundai’s crossover model, has enough room and space for six passengers. This model was put on display at Geneva, and has received a go signal for release in the United States. The engine that came with the display model can make 286 hp and get over 30 mpg when driven on the highway. This engine will also be used in the other vehicle models to be released in the US.

In addition to the hybrid and crossover model, Hyundai has also unveiled its Tucson Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle, which has just recently shown to be successful in completing a 4,300-mile cross-country trek. In solidarity with the go-green campaign, Hyundai revealed that it also has plans of participating in a program that would offset the carbon dioxide emissions of the Genesis, the company’s new luxury sedan, by joining others’ efforts in preserving a Brazilian tropical forest.

The “blue” versions of the Elantra and Accent will be launched the next year, both models having recalibrated engines, low-rolling resistance tires, and other fuel-efficient technology.

Most major auto dealers, including Honda are researching and trying to come out with cars that run successfully on alternative fuels. Honda had unveiled its FCX clarity, a car that is powered by a hydrogen fuel cell at the Los Angeles auto show. Those who are familiar with this show know that the latest alternative fuel ideas are often unveiled over there. The Honda FCX clarity is fashioned on a concept vehicle that had been launched by the company in 2005.

Initially a limited number of these cars will be leased out to some privileged drivers of South California. It will be offered for a lease period of three years at $600 per month. This will make it the first fuel cell driven car that will be available to the general public.