Author: gamadmin

Big Picture: Green car award winners to be named soon, plus a review of five significant award contests and what it all seems to mean

Green car of the year awardGreen cars – fuel efficient, plug-in, hybrid, and alternative fuel vehicles – now have enough sales volume and interest to garner annual awards.  I’ve counted five significant award contests being in place, with winners of two significant awards approaching. Here’s a review of finalists and winners so far for this year, and a few thoughts on what it all means…..

Green Car Reports just released five finalists for its Best Car to Buy award, all of them being 2014 models:

  • BMW i3
  • Chevrolet Cruze Diesel
  • Chevrolet Spark EV
  • Honda Accord Hybrid
  • Mazda 3

There have been other nominees and winners named this year, including the influential Green Car of the Year award that will be given out at the LA Auto Show this month. Here is Green Car Journal’s top five:

  • Audi A6 TDI
  • BMW 328d
  • Honda Accord (in four-cylinder, V-6, hybrid and plug-in hybrid versions)
  • Mazda3
  • Toyota Corolla

In April, Kelley Blue Book named its 10 Best Green Cars of 2013, all of them 2013 models and some coming in various versions including battery electric vehicles, hybrid, plug-in hybrid, diesel, and gasoline:

1. Nissan Leaf
2. Tesla Model S
3. Ford Focus
4. Chevrolet Volt
5. Toyota Prius Plug-in
6. Ford C-Max Energi
7. Volkswagen Jetta
8. Honda Fit
9. Toyota Avalon
10. Lincoln MKZ

As for the 2013 World Green Car finalists named earlier this year, the Tesla Model S, Renault Zoe, and Volvo V60 Plug-in Hybrid made the list that was announced at the New York International Auto Show; the Model S won the award. This award is presented by Bridgestone Corp. and looks at tailpipe emissions, fuel consumption, and use of major advanced power plant technology aimed at increasing the vehicle’s environmental responsibility.

Classic car buff magazine, Motor Trend, just named its top five hybrid and diesel cars in its analysis of fuel efficient vehicles:

  1. Volkswagen Jetta TDI
  2. Toyota Prius
  3. Volkswagen Jetta Hybrid
  4. Honda Civic Hybrid
  5. Chevrolet Cruze

Here’s what I get from studying the rankings:

  1. There’s still a wide split over the pragmatic present realities versus the long-term goals of clean transportation. Plug-in electric vehicles are embraced by many, but its influence is still quite marginal. The Chevy Volt took the Green Car of the Year award three years ago, but for all of the cars on the ranking this year for the most influential annual award, plug-ins have very little to do with it. Ron Cogan and the Green Car Journal team, along with its panelists, seem more supportive of highly fuel efficient gasoline and diesel internal combustion engine models.
  2. There are surprises, as well – especially Kelley Blue Book naming the plug-in Nissan Leaf as its No. 1 green car of the year. Battery electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles dominated its list, which is very interesting coming from a company focused on resale values.
  3. Diesel engine passenger cars, especially with turbocharged direct injection engines (TDI), are really taking off in the US. It doesn’t seem to matter that diesel is usually about 50 cents a gallon more expensive than regular gasoline these days. The fuel efficiency is great and driver experience and positive reviews are helping. German automakers have been selling a lot of diesel cars in Europe for many years, and the US market is now starting to open up (which Volkswagen seems to be counting on to earn its No. 1 sales spot in global auto sales). US automakers have started getting into the game, such as General Motors with the Chevrolet Cruze diesel version.
  4. Clean transportation shoppers have a lot of options today – whether you’re talking about fleet managers and purchase agents, government agencies and policy wonks, consumer organizations, environmental groups, or tire-kicking automotive journalists who go to all of the media days at car shows. Every green vehicle category has its hardcore advocates, but once all of the top five widely accepted industry standards are accepted – reduced emissions, fuel efficiency, safety, reliability, and performance – there’s a lot of competition in the market these days.

Aside from the awards, let’s take a look at top stories of the past week….

  • Plug-in vehicle sales were stronger in October than September, but not near the record level seen in August. The Chevy Volt saw 2,022 deliveries, up 14% from September; the Nissan Leaf was right behind it with 2,002 units sold, up 2.5% from September’s 1,953. Ford was thrilled to have its C-Max Energi and Fusion Energi plug-in hybrids collectively beat the Toyota Prius Plug-in Hybrid in sales numbers for the first time.
  • Tesla-Mania!:  The automaker saw its biggest drop in stock value during October – down 17% from its peak of $23.5 billion to $19.4 billion at the end of the month…. Daimler AG would like to do more with Tesla beyond receiving electric motors for is Smart ForTwo EV and the new Mercedes-Benz B-Class EV….. Panasonic Corp. has a contract now with Tesla to supply lithium ion cells for the Model S and Model X battery packs, and that could mean $7 billion in revenue for Panasonic…. Elon Musk’s associates have formed Hyperloop Transportation Technologies, a company seeking investors for the high speed rail network that will get from San Francisco to Los Angeles in just 30 minutes…..  Edmunds.com reported that the Tesla Model S is now the most-registered new car in eight of 25 wealthiest US neighborhoods tracked by zip code.
  • GreenLots is bringing its Sky open access network to the Vancouver area as part of the west coast’s DC fast charger corridor that so far extends through Oregon and Washington and will soon go up into British Columbia and down to California.
  • BYD Co. defended itself in a California court yesterday on charges that it didn’t comply with minimum wage laws for engineers working at its Lancaster, Calif., plant and its Los Angeles office. The Chinese company has a contract to make electric buses for the Los Angeles Country Metropolitan Transportation Authority.
  • Respected junior college training center Rio Honda Community College in California is offering a campus tour on Nov. 14 from 11:00 am until around 1:00 pm PST. Click here to learn more and register for the facility tour at what’s one of the most significant training grounds for future engineers and service technicians in: CNG; LNG; hydrogen fuel systems; hybrid, plug-in hybrid, and battery electric technologies; high-voltage storage and generation technology; and solar and wind energy technology.
  • Via Motors’ plug-in hybrid cargo van, built on the Chevrolet Express platform, passed its crash tests needed to be met before it can go on sale, according to the company. The van gets 35 miles on battery only, with a total range of 400 miles.
  • Ford recalled 2,618 Focus Electric cars due to potential loss of power to its wheels while in motion that’s related to software anomalies. Nearly all of these 2012 to 2014 models were sold in the US, and the automaker says there was one crash and no injuries related to the recall question.
  • Biofuel and oil industry lobbyists are quite busy in Washington as the White House and US Environmental Protection Agency prepare to issue a ruling on ethanol blending rules implementing the federal Renewable Fuel Standard.
  • While this TV ad campaign has been around since the summer, you may have noticed General Motors advertising that the GMC Sierra pickup is in league with the Hoover Dam’s smart grid hydropower. Fuel efficiency and performance are promoted as GM competes for truck sales head-to-head with the Ford F-Series pickups and its EcoBoost-powered engines.

Colors on Parade brings green, cost effective auto paint to dealers and fleets

Cox_Jeff_Colors on ParadeFor dealerships, fleets, and body shops following environmental sustainability strategies, reconditioning vehicles with waterborne paints has become a resource offering cost and time efficiency and compliance with new industry standards. Years ago, the US Environmental Protection Agency adopted a volatile organic compound (VOC) standard, encouraging industries such as automotive to switch over from solvents to a cleaner element, with waterborne paint making the most sense to paint suppliers. Air quality management districts within California adopted stricter standards years later, and similar rules have been adopted recently in Maryland and appear likely to come soon to Virginia.

Jeff Cox, president of Myrtle Beach, S.C.-based Colors on Parade, says that regulatory compliance gets companies to save money using waterborne auto paints and to make the process more efficient than it had been in the past. Colors on Parade serves fleets, car rental companies, dealers, and body shops, by showing up in cargo vans onsite ready to recondition vehicles. The company’s trained and certified technicians repair everything from dents and dings to scratches and interior repairs using proprietary and patented systems, as well as original manufacturer products.

Some of the company’s dealer clients are using clean, waterborne paints as a selling point for marketing to car shoppers interested in green sustainability issues. It’s also become a cost effective strategy for dealer management. Fleets like that it reduces service work downtime and contains costs. “Waterborne is great compared to solvents, and we’re using less paint than body shops,” Cox said. While repairing and reconditioning a vehicle, an auto body shop might be spraying a lot more paint than is needed. Colors on Parade finds that clients are appreciating the environmentally responsible practice along with the cost and time savings.

Colors on Parade recently celebrated its 25 year anniversary; the franchise network is located in 25 states and 52 metro markets and is continuing to grow. The company works closely with its paint supplier, PPG, on following regulatory and industry standards being adopted. Colors on Parade has been active in discussions with PPG and government regulatory agencies to stay informed on adoption of waterborne paints. An informal alliance between 13 states in the Northeast section of the US is getting these states to move toward adopting reduced VOC requirements, with waterborne being the most commonly considered paint solution, Cox said. The state of Virginia looks like it will be adopting a clean paint standard soon.

“When Maryland passed their waterborne paint law, it was obvious to me that Virginia would do the same soon,” said Glenn Buck, owner of a Colors on Parade franchise in Manassas, Va. “There are a lot of good reviews of the product, and so by switching early we can ease ourselves into it, really get to know waterborne paint and how it works. Sooner rather than later we’ll all have to switch over, and by then we’ll be experts.”

Hurricane Sandy anniversary: Concern over climate change and sea level rise

Hurricane Sandy and Fisker KarmaA little over a year ago – Oct. 29, 2012 – Hurricane Sandy struck New Jersey and the New York City metropolitan area in what became the most significant weather disaster since Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans in 2005. Debate flared up about what caused this devastating event and its aftermath – 117 deaths; 200,000 homes damaged and a few hospitals; eight million residents affected by power outages; transportation being stopped; and $68 billion in costs. A lot of cars were destroyed at Port Newark, New Jersey, and it was one of the events that pushed Fisker Automotive far to the edge of staying in existence.

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg knew it was caused by climate change; New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie doesn’t think climate change had anything to do with it. Stakeholders in the automotive and transportation sectors have been discussing the impact of the storm and what needs to be done to prepare for future emergencies.

Here’s the latest analysis on the impact of Hurricane Sandy……

  1. There’s been some disagreement by scientists and oceanographers on whether Hurricane Sandy was actually caused by climate change or if it was started by “perfect storm” conditions converging and flooding the region. As for the future – a recent report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) found low confidence that there will be climate-changed caused increases in tropical storms; other studies by experts that were completed too late to be included in the IPCC report differ on predictions for climate change’s storm impact.
  2. There is agreement by experts that the sea level has been rising and will continue to do so. This increases danger from storm surges; with the growling population around the world close to coastlines, the implications are staggering.
  3. Scientists at Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, N.J., and their colleagues, are taking lessons learned from Hurricane Sandy to improve their coastal-flooding models to better assist evacuation and disaster relief plans. Bulkheads and seawalls will need to be elevated in preparation.
  4. Sandy wasn’t actually a hurricane – its wind speed had fallen below the necessary 74 miles per hour minimum level that’s needed for a tropical storm to become a hurricane. It actually should be referred to as “post-tropical cyclone” Sandy.
  5. While New Jersey and New York got most of the attention and media coverage, the coastal storm covered more than 1,000 miles along the East Coast. It broke 16 records for the highest storm tide ever.
  6. More than a third of the US population – 123 million people – live in coastal counties; this increased nearly 40% from 1970 to 2010; about 3.7 million live within feet of the sea at high tide.
  7. “Climate adaption,” “disaster preparedness,” and “sea level rise” were three search terms found to be connected to media coverage and discussions of Hurricane Sandy.
  8. Mayor Bloomberg has proposed a $20 billion plan designed to toughen the city against floods and storm surges. Much of that money would go to build flood walls, levees, and bulkheads.
  9. While government officials are exploring disaster relief and coastal protection policies, public opinion and media coverage have shown little interest in climate change and rising sea levels as issues that need to be addressed at the national level.
  10. 10. We can expect to see storm preparation and disaster relief as political and economic issues that will become more commonplace in elections, regional planning, and corporate policies. Transportation planning would be part of it.

Retail Automotive Summary – October 2014

Retail Automotive Summary – October 2014

Big Picture: California’s ZEV targets adopted by seven more states, NHTSA not recalling Tesla Model S and now there’s been another crash

ZEV Action PlanGovernment fleet vehicles are expected to play an integral role in California and seven other states requiring 15% of new vehicles sold to be zero-emission vehicles by 2025. Governors from seven states – Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York, Rhode Island, Oregon, and Vermont – met in Sacramento on Thursday with California’s governor to say they’re following California’s rule. The governors agreed to buy more ZEVs for their fleets, and will be taking other important actions that could spur sales. A lot more charging stations will need to be there, and the agreement includes efforts to have building codes simplify installations. Cash incentives and discounted electricity rates for home charging are being considered, and developing shared standards for charging networks and common road signage are part of the agreement. Charging station installations should play a big part in all of this coming together.
The non-binding agreement will likely push sales of battery electric vehicles, plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, and hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles in those states. Automakers have been supportive of the agreement, and say it will be easier to sell them if the initiative applies to eight states and not just California; these eight states make up 23% of US new vehicle sales. If the states meet this ambitious target, it would bring 3.3 million of these vehicles on their roads by 2025.

Tesla Model S not getting recalled by NHTSA for battery pack fire, but what about Mexico fire?
It appears that Tesla Motors is walking away from its post-crash battery fire and won’t be getting recalled by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. On October 1 in Kent, Wash., a lithium-ion battery in a Model S caught fire after the car collided with a large metallic object on the state highway. NHTSA has found no evidence that the fire came from a vehicle defect or from violations of US safety standards. It was day one of the 16-day federal government shutdown, and NHTSA didn’t send an investigator to the scene of the crash. The agency consulted with Tesla and is still “gathering data” on the fire, but it is not going to conduct an investigation process that could lead to recalls. Two other plug-in electric vehicles have gone through NHTSA investigations and recalls due to fires – the Chevrolet Volt and Fisker Karma.
Tesla now has another Model S fire to deal with as reports and video footage have come out on an Oct. 18 crash and fire in Merida, in the Yucatan peninsula of Mexico. According to media reports, the driver was under the influence of alcohol and escaped with no injuries. The driver was speeding into a roundabout and then collided with a tree. It’s too early to tell if the crash pierced into the battery and started the fire.

Truck makers in federal appeals court over EPA compliance
Implementing federal regulations on fuel economy and emissions for commercial trucks has become a legal battle. Truck makers are split over whether one of the major OEMs should be granted the ability to pay penalties instead of complying with the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) standard. Navistar International Corp. paid a penalty to allow its non-conforming engines to go to market. Daimler Trucks North America, Mack Trucks, and Volvo Group North America are challenging EPA rules following its 2001 heavy-duty engine standards for nitrogen oxides (NOx).
The EPA wanted to see 95% of NOx emissions reduced by 2010. That led to a split among truck makers on how to comply – Daimler, Mack, and Volvo have used selective catalytic reduction technology and did meet the standard; Navistar relied on a different technology and failed to comply, hence paying a penalty of $2,000 per engine. The US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit has been hearing the case on the EPA ruling and whether Navistar’s efforts could comply for a Clean Air Act exemption that allowed for the engine to enter the market if the penalty fine was paid. Daimler and other OEMs are claiming the exemption unfairly penalized their successful efforts to comply.

And in other green car news……

  1. Cost of ownership analyst company Vincentric says that hybrids can be pretty darn good for lifecycle ownership cost. In its 2013 Hybrid Analysis, 13 of the 33 hybrid vehicles on the market have lower cost-of-ownership than their gasoline-only counterparts; that’s two more hybrid models than was on the 2012 Vincentric study. However, with the increased number of hybrids on the market, the number of financially cost-effective hybrids out there dropped from 44% to 39%.
  2. Tesla Motors hired Doug Field as vice pres­i­dent of vehi­cle pro­grams. Field was an Apple Inc. exec­u­tive and for­mer Ford engi­neer and will be respon­si­ble for dri­ving devel­op­ment of new vehi­cles for the lux­ury elec­tric vehi­cle car­maker. He was in charge of devel­op­ment of sev­eral Apple prod­ucts such as the lat­est Mac­Book Air, Mac­Book Pro, and iMac.
  3. A bipartisan group of 13 House members asked the regulatory Commodity Futures Trading Commission to investigate the alleged manipulation of the market for ethanol credits. A letter to the commission said price volatility experienced this year in the market used by oil refiners to meet renewable fuel standard may be due to fraud and manipulation. Credit prices shot up to $1.44 in July and have gone back down to the 30-cent range.
  4. EvCarCo, Inc., has secured a license for electric/hybrid vehicle technology. The company says that the technology allows for production of lightweight fully wheel chair accessible electric and hybrid buses and has the capability to be utilized for niche utility vehicles such as garbage trucks and city utility vehicles. EvCarCo says that it is an automotive retailer deploying a coast-to-coast network of eco-friendly dealerships and vehicles.
  5. Things might be changing on the dating circuit. About 2,000 women in the United Kingdom were surveyed recently and the majority found owners of Toyota Prius hybrids and Nissan Leaf electric cars to “conscientious” and “intelligent,” and more likely to be safe drivers. On the other hand, a majority of respondents said that owners of expensive sports are “arrogant” and some of them find them to “self-centered.” As for safety, 38% said that male sports car owners are a “danger on the roads.”
  6. Ford Motor Co. is focusing on “big data” and analytics to increase fuel economy, reduce vehicle emissions, and support other sustainability initiatives, said John Viera, global director of sustainability, at the 2013 Net Impact conference in San Jose, Calif. Ford is using a science-based model that forecasts CO2 emissions that will be generated by the fleet of vehicles on roads worldwide for the next 50 years. That’s helping Ford set aggressive fuel economy targets to help reduce carbon. Ford’s EcoBoost engines play into it, as do Ford hybrid plug-in hybrid, all-electric, flex-fuel, biodiesel, CNG and LPG vehicles. The automaker’s analytics also optimize millions of possible vehicle combinations exploring all possible transportation scenarios. This has resulted in green products such as Ford Auto Start-Stop, which reduces fuel consumption and emissions when the car is idling.

How AltCar Expo has become a workable event model

AltCar Expo logoChristine Dzilvelis, one of the partners who organizes AltCar Expo in Santa Monica, Calif., has a different perspective on what constitutes a successful community event than what I wrote about recently. For example, on Friday afternoon, September 20, during AltCar Expo, a speaker panel on electric vehicle charging stations at multi-family housing units led to action being taken by stakeholders. The intensive three hour discussion led to a planned installation in Santa Monica; key players like Schneider Electric began working out the details.

Dzilvelis said the feedback the organizers are getting is appreciation from local residents and from stakeholders such as automakers on hosting a grass roots, hands-on annual event. People are overwhelmed by all of the new technologies, and AltCar Expo makes it easier for fleets, industry, and the public to experience the vehicles and have their questions answered. “AltCar Expo is not a business to make money,” she said.

What seems to be working best is strong local/regional events. Alternative Clean Transportation (ACT) Expo and Electric Vehicle Symposium (EVS) have been receiving kudos, but other national events like Green Fleet Conference & Expo and Plug-in 2013 are only getting small-to-medium attendance that are very supplier-intensive. ACT Expo is getting better feedback, but there’s still a lot of concern that it’s dominated by CNG vehicles. AltCar Expo, now in its eighth year, gets positive feedback for playing a role in pushing alternative fuel vehicles forward by bringing together leaders in government, fleets, automakers, and infrastructure, along with local residents who are very interested and supportive of having this event each year. This year, they especially loved seeing and driving the Chevrolet Spark EV, Dzilvelis said.

Dzilvelis is part of two other events with similar goals for public education and bringing stakeholders together. The first annual Northern California AltCar conference will be taking place March 14-15, 2014 at the Craneway Pavilion (a former Ford plant) in Richmond, Calif.; it’s sponsored by the Bay Area Air Quality Management District. On March 28-29, 2014, the fifth annual Texas AltCar conference will be held at the Irving Convention Center in Irving, Texas, and is being sponsored by Dallas Fort Worth Clean Cities. (Next year’s AltCar Expo will be taking place Sept. 19-20, 2014.) AltCar Expo organizers are being contacted regularly by stakeholders in cities across the country that want to get their own AltCar conference going. It does seem to be the most realistic event model for bringing the technology and experience to a lot more people.

The latest on hydrogen fuel cell vehicles and infrastructure

hydrogen fuel cell vehiclesTesla CEO Elon Musk got a lot more media coverage for calling fuel cell technologies “bullsh#t”  –except when used in a rocket. Hydrogen fuel cell vehicles don’t come anywhere near the energy density of the lithium-ion battery pack located inside the Tesla Model S, he said.

So what’s the latest on hydrogen fuel cell vehicles?

  1. The infrastructure is very thin – the US Dept. of Energy says there are only 10 hydrogen stations in the US, most all of it in California. California did approve a funding plan that will be bringing 100 hydrogen stations to the state. Europe is ahead of the US on the infrastructure, especially in Italy, Germany, and Belgium.
  2. Hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles are being included in the zero emission vehicle policies adopted by California, Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York, Rhode Island, Oregon, and Vermont.
  3. Hyundai wants to beat competitors by bringing the first of its fuel cell models to US dealer showrooms in early 2014. The volume of these cars will be limited, with total worldwide sales to reach about 1,000 over the next three years, the company said.
  4. Toyota will be putting a fuel cell vehicle into limited production by 2015. Honda says it will be rolling out a replacement to its FCX Clarity fuel cell car. General Motors, which has been testing out its Chevrolet Equinox fuel cell SUV in Project Driveway, will begin production of its own hydrogen vehicle later in this decade. There’s no word yet on what Mercedes will be doing next with its F-Cell, which like the FCX Clarity, has met with very limited sales so far in California.
  5. Fuel cell vehicles are in the midst of ramping up to commercialization, according to Navigant Research. The challenge is reaching sufficient volume to bring down system and plant costs. This is where technology partnerships that we’re starting to see between automakers comes to play. Fuel cell bus deployments are gaining in volume, as are fuel cell scooters and forklifts, which are being carefully monitored by automakers who are rolling out hydrogen fuel cell cars.
  6. Home energy stations, such as one that can generate hydrogen from natural gas, are being tested out by Honda.
  7. The value of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles are being recognized by automakers and advocacy/support groups for a few reasons: you can fill the tank in just a few minutes; they’re zero emission, clean vehicles; hydrogen can be extracted from a number of natural sources; the price for manufacturing these cars is coming down quite a bit; they’re fun to drive, as people participating in Project Driveway or driving a fuel cell vehicle at a car show will tell you.

Tesla-Mania: Eric Cartman cusses out Tesla Model S; Millennials can bring electric scooters to America

Cartman at gunpoint in Model SWhile it has taken awhile for the creative team at “South Park” to slap around the Model S, the plug-in car did get a few moments on screen. Tesla Motors joins the ranks of Scientology and the Toyota Prius in getting lampooned. In an episode inspired by a variation of the George Zimmerman court verdict (called “World War Zimmerman”), extremely angry young man Eric Cartman stops a Model S and its driver at gunpoint. He yells at her: “We’ve got about ten minutes before this entire country is up in flames! If you wanna live, you’d better step on the gas! Oh wait, is this a Tesla? Sh*t! Well press on the prissy pedal! We’re gonna die!”  
In more serious Tesla news….. Tesla was the top seller of zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) credits in California from Oct. 1 2012 to Sept. 30, 2013 (and Toyota led hybrid credit trades). Tesla transferred 1,311.52 ZEV credits during that time, according to a California Air Resources Board filing. The number two company was Suzuki and was far behind Tesla; Suzuki discontinued US auto sales in 2012 but was able to transfer credits accumulated in the past. Companies that acquired ZEV credits to meet their requirements included Chrysler, GM, Honda, Jaguar Land Rover, Subaru, and Volkswagen (though it’s not reported if they acquired their credits through Tesla or another automakers). California requires automakers to sell electric or other non-polluting vehicles in proportion to their market share in the state.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk spent $989,000 at a London auction on a Lotus Esprit used in The Spy Who Loved Me by the James Bond character. Bond drove the car off a pier in the movie as it transformed into a submarine by merely pressing a button. Musk had fun with it, telling the USA Today he loved watching it as a kid in South Africa. He was disappointed to find out you can’t press the button and make it happen, but plans to upgrade it with a Tesla electric powertrain so that it can transform for real.

Millennials can bring electric scooters to America
Check out this video interview Terry Duncan, chief of consumer engagement at Mahindra GenZe, a US startup that has backing from India’s Mahindra. GenZe is rolling out an electric scooter in early 2014 targeted toward Millennials in the US. The product and audience was chosen based on two premises – urbanization is happening in the world’s major cities and transportation is being heavily impacted; Millennials in their late teens to early 30s are the right market to start with, since they’re not buying cars as much as previous generations, are moving to cities, and want functional, practical transportation alternatives. In another video, you’ll hear him discuss the design decisions made on the bike; while these types of vehicles have huge sales numbers in countries like China, they need to be extremely pragmatic and, let’s say, cool, to make it in the US.

Top News of the Week:

  1. A group of Chinese investors based on Hong Kong and led by Richard Li are investing in Fisker Automotive for an unreported amount. This should finish the US Dept. of Energy’s loan to Fisker – most all of the $192 million loan needs to be paid back and the investor deal will probably only meet some of it, which the US government has been ready to accept. A small chunk of the payback will come through former GM vice chairman Bob Lutz. VL Automotive, a small Detroit company that has Lutz’ backing, will be converting 25 unsold Karmas from plug-in hybrid power to Corvette power. VL had to settle a dispute with an Asian investor that had prevented them from accessing codes operating the car’s infotainment system. Lutz says these converted Karmas will come out in 2014 for something close to $200,000.
  2. Clean­Fuel USA has installed 85 retail propane auto­gas fuel­ing sta­tions across 13 states. This was funded by a $12 mil­lion grant from the US Depart­ment of Energy’s Amer­i­can Recov­ery and Rein­vest­ment Act. Texas State Tech­ni­cal Col­lege – TSTC – served as the lead grantee. The major­ity of the 85 sta­tions are located near heav­ily traf­ficked road­ways, exist­ing fuel­ing sta­tions, major air­ports and home improve­ment stores, Clean­Fuel said.
  3. Don’t believe in climate change? What about lung cancer? The International Agency for Research on Cancer, based in Lyon, France, has released a study that formally declares air pollution is causing lung cancer. The research arm of the World Health Organization focused on diesel cars and trucks in operation around the world as a major source of the problem.
  4. ChargePoint is offering a lease-to-purchase program for businesses and cities to install its charging system. The systems usually cost between $6,000 to $12,000 to buy and can cost about $3 to $6 a day over five-to-seven years to pay off under the finance program.
  5. GM will be offering a bi-fuel version of the Chevrolet Impala that will be able to travel up to 500 miles on gasoline and natural gas.
  6. General Electric Co. is converting heavy-duty trucking fleets from diesel to natural gas. GE has partnered with Clean Energy Fuels Corp. and truck fleet operators can apply for loans and leases through GE Capital to make the conversions.
  7. Plug-ins missed the Green Car of the Year award nominee list. The winner will be announced next month at the LA Auto Show form the following list: Audi A6 TDI, BMW 328d, Honda Accord (though the plug-in hybrid was included with the hybrid and ICE versions of the Accord), Mazda3, and Toyota Corolla.
  8. Experts speaking at the annual ITS World Congress in Tokyo expressed concerns over issues that do tend to come up with self-driving cars – technical challenges, lack of industry standards, vague and minimal regulations, implementation costs, and liability issues. Toyota is being a little more optimistic, expecting that elderly drivers could likely make up a strong market segment for self-driving cars.
  9. A study by UK-based Kantar Media says that the BMW i3 saw huge media gains in the third quarter after its debut last month at the Frankfurt auto show. It was No. 2 in online news coverage from No. 60 during the second quarter. It came in 8th place in both Tweets and blog mentions during the third quarter versus being in low 100s rankings for both segments in the previous quarter.

CTDI’s Mark Shasteen on how remanufacturing is playing a key role in automotive sustainability

Shasteen_Mark_CTDILMC Automotive’s 2013 forecast for total US light-duty vehicle sales is at 15.2 million units. The analyst firm’s estimate for global sales this year is 83.5 million light vehicles, up 2.8% from 81.2 million in 2012.  (Editor’s note: there’s somewhere around 200,000 new Class 4-7 commercial vehicles also sold annually in the US.) While eventually the massive Millennial generation (about 18 to 33 years old) is expected to buy less new cars, there are a lot of metals moving through vehicle production plants, along with plastic, fabric, glass, and other materials. Many people are concerned that the US and other markets with high-volume auto sales will be crossing a point of no return. What will happen to all the old light-duty passenger vehicles stored in landfills, junkyards, and your neighbor’s driveway?

There is a management discipline in automotive manufacturing and aftermarket designed upon “remanufacturing” vehicle parts and components – to reduce costs, reuse parts and components, and to assist OEMs and Tier One suppliers meet their sustainability targets. Some of this practice comes from the US Environmental Protection Agency’s Comprehensive Procurement Guideline and its 2004 update adding Rebuilt Vehicular Parts. A few years ago, the Motor & Equipment Manufacturers Association (MEMA) launched an affiliate, the Motor & Equipment Remanufacturers Association (MERA). The EPA guidelines played a part in defining what goes into remanufactured vehicle parts and components – which can include repair, refurbishing, and recycling.

Mark Shasteen served as an inaugural board member on MERA; he brings his 30 years of experience in the auto industry, including Delphi Corp., the Packard Electric Division of GM, and just recently, he became vice president of CTDI’s automotive business segment. CTDI, based in West Chester, Penn., is focused on vehicle electronics remanufacturing and logistics, and recently launched Reman 8.0, a one-stop solution for vehicle manufacturers and suppliers. Customers leverage CTDI’s 38 years of technical expertise in microelectronics and mechatronics, test engineering, and industry leading remanufacturing capabilities that comes from industries beyond automotive.

For anyone who’s bought a new car in recent years, it’s nearly astonishing to read the owner’s manual and find out about all of the electronics systems built into the dashboard and under the hood. CTDI works with automakers, dealer networks, service departments, and retail service chains to streamline the repair process and contain costs. A Tier One supplier might have a 15 year service agreement with an OEM for a car that stopped being manufactured 10 years ago. CTDI and other remanufacturing companies play a crucial role in keeping these vehicle operational; that’s getting trickier in the US market where the average age of vehicles on the streets is now 11 years old.

There are 20-to-30 electronics control modules built into new vehicles and the complexity is getting deeper with each new model year, Shasteen said. Connectivity with devices, telematics and navigation, lighting, cruise control, temperature control, radio systems, and a long list of autonomous features that will soon become integrated into driverless cars – the list gets very long.

Reman 8.0 is offering turnkey solutions including engineering, testing, logistics, and IT systems. When working with its clients, CTDI is able to salvage and remanufacture more than 90% of the vehicle’s electronics parts and components, Shasteen said. Commercial vehicle manufacturers and suppliers are also showing interest in remanufacturing, and may become CTDI clients, too. “It’s cost effective, green, and viable,” he said.

40 years after OPEC oil embargo – and the problem hasn’t been solved yet

OPEC oil embargoOctober 17th saw the 40th anniversary of the oil embargo by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) – a six month embargo that cut the supply of oil to the US and skyrocketed gasoline prices. The days of 25 cents per gallon gasoline were over and the coming years would see desperate attempts to solve the problem. The 1973 embargo started right after the Yom Kippur war was launched, and was spurred by US support for Israel; the second gasoline crisis in 1979, again driving up pump prices and forcing drivers to wait in long lines to fill their tanks, was triggered by another Middle East crisis – the takeover of the US embassy in Iran.

For Keith Crain, editor-in-chief of Automotive News, it was the end of innocence – when automakers had been competing to provide the biggest and best cars to drivers and mileage didn’t really matter at all. The OPEC oil embargo changed all of that; General Motors president Ed Cole vowed to raise the automakers corporate average fuel economy (CAFE) by 50% from 12 mpg to 18 mpg within a decade. The US Congress thought it was very good idea and raised the bar even higher – CAFE was to be 27.5 mpg by the 1985 model year, though that did not happen. For Peter Ward, then with the California Energy Commission, the 1973 oil embargo was the watershed, defining moment illustrating the power of the oil cartel on global economics and clarifying the necessity for alternative fuels.

There were other watershed moments taking place after the initial OPEC embargo….

  • “Non-OPEC” oil field drilling started to break dependence on OPEC supply, led by drilling in the North Sea and Alaska.
  • The Keystone XL pipeline fight had a predecessor with Alaska’s Prudhoe Bay oil field. It had been stopped by environmentalists in the late 1960s, but Congress approved the pipeline that would eventually add up two million barrels a day to the US supply.
  • Alternatives to oil took off – nuclear power and coal became important in electric power stations. Solar energy saw a startup phase that didn’t take hold until very recently.
  • Import cars stated being taken seriously in the Detroit 3-dominated US market. Japanese small cars provided the fuel economy, and owners started expecting their cars to be more reliable and long lasting from their experience with these cars.
  • In 2008, the US (and the rest of the world) once again experienced the power of oil on the economy. Oil and transportation fuel prices skyrocketed in August 2008; within a month, the Lehman Brothers debacle spurred the Great Recession, and the dramatic oil price increase from the previous month was thought to be instrumental in the recession’s tipping point being passed in September.

As then-president George W. Bush said a few years ago during his State of the Union address, “We’re addicted to oil.” Recovery from oil addiction is being played out now in the federal fuel economy standards; growth in plug-in, hybrid and alternative fuel vehicle launches; development of the alternative fuel and charging infrastructure; California’s (and states following California’s guidelines) zero emission vehicle targets; and demand for green, alternative fuel vehicles from consumers, fleets, municipalities and government agencies, and transportation companies. There’s a still a long ways to go, but oil supply disruption and skyrocketing pump prices continue to be a very motivating force.