Archive for December, 2010

2010 Contradictions: Big Trucks and Electric Cars

EVs are in, but fuel economy is out

Time to electrify pickup trucks?

Who were the biggest losers and winners in 2010? That’s a question that MotorTrend recently addressed and the results aren’t just a bit contradictory, they are kind of alarming.

Despite rising gas prices and the real world launches of a number of plug-in vehicles, fuel economy was out in 2010. Read more…

$5.00 gas scare: Another shot off the bow

Not a revolution until mainstreamed.

National security threats are good for business – the business of war

A few years before the gas spike of 2008 there was a growing movement in the blogosphere that warned of higher gas prices and the potential for significant gas spikes. Of course that warning wasn’t just sounded off on blogs like this one. Even the Pentagon noticed the potential and called foreign oil dependence one of the greatest threats to US national security. Thus, when gas prices did spike many sort of felt like, ‘we told you so.’

But the latest threat of another major gas spike seems quite different this time around. Read more…

Rare earths: Higher hybrid and EV prices inevitable

Rare earth guzzling also has costs.

Even if rare earth shortages can be averted, higher prices loom

Today, China owns about 90 percent of the rare earth market, not because 90 percent of the world’s rare earth supplies are found in China, but because it is far cheaper to mine and refine rare earths in China.

However, with Chinese exports set to decline by at least 35 percent this year, rare earth shortages might be unavoidable, and some experts warn that a supply crunch could begin as early as next year. Read more…

Hydrogen significantly cheaper than diesel?

Vision_Tyrano_fuel_cell_electric

At what scale?

A friend of mine drives a semi-truck for a living here in Southern California. Yet, he’s not sure about his future in the trucking industry because of future emission’s requirements, particularly since he owns his truck and upgrades to natural gas, for instance, are quite expensive.

Nonetheless, change is coming, and a test pilot project at the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach hopes hydrogen could be the key. Read more…

Subaru ready to squash EV production?

End of the line for this EV?

What’s the real cost of an electric car?

Just as a number of automakers are bringing electric cars to market, another automaker might be taking its electric car off the road. While Fuji Heavy and Subaru deny the idea of ending production on the Stella EV, new reports of this inevitability continue to emerge.

Of course, with only 400 unit sales in the last year and half, who could blame them? Read more…

$5.00 gas in 2012 predicted by ex-Shell Oil President

How much longer can pickup trucks butter the Big 3's bread?

Or some time this decade?

Due to increasing worldwide demand for oil, a former president of Shell Oil, John Hofmeister is predicting $5.00 gas in 2012 according to CNN.

Another analyst, Tom Kloza, chief oil analyst with Oil Price Information Service, believes $5.00 gas is coming this decade, but not by 2012. Read more…

The hybrid effect expands: Could it be contagious?

Start stop isn't just for hybrid cars.

Ford plans greater use of start/stop technology

For decades automakers, particularly US automakers, have taken every opportunity to increase fuel economy as a means to also increase horsepower and/or size. Of course, such a phenomenon isn’t really that surprising. Since trucks are the bread and butter of the US auto industry, and ever more power and size seems to motivate most truck buyers far more than fuel economy, it’s just business.

Finally; however, there are more and more cracks in that business model, but will they mean anything? Read more…

Zinc-air batteries almost ready for mass commercialization?

Only in hearing aids for now?

First hearing aids, then computers, then cars?

For several years now Toyota has acknowledged that it has been working on batteries beyond lithium. In fact, Toyota has openly stated that the auto industry will move beyond lithium, and heavy-metal batteries, such as zinc-air, have been mentioned by Toyota on numerous occasions.

Already, zinc-air batteries can be found in hearing aids, and IBM seems to believe they’ll be much more prevalent in the next few years. Read more…

A new Toyota Prius concept heading to Detroit

The Prius MPV is a done deal.

Expanding the Prius family

Toyota is set to debut the larger Prius MPV at the Detroit Auto Show, but another Prius-based concept is also in the works, although further details aren’t expected until the show.

Is another sporty hybrid concept inevitable? Read more…

Here come the Chinese plug-ins

Better luck in the US than in China?

China is the key player in the future of the auto industry

There has been a lot of hype around BYD for the last several years, yet sales of BYD plug-in vehicles have been non-existent in China so far. In fact, BYD had to recently shelve a few EVs sold in China due to lack of sales.

Still, another focus of BYD has been the US market, and BYD is set to bring a number of new offerings to the North American International Auto Show. Read more…