Autoblog

Ding, ding... Round Three!

When the city of London decided in November 2006 to tax gas-guzzling, emission-spewing vehicles (aka sports cars), we knew someone would put up a fight. It didn't take long before Porsche, the enthusiast-oriented German automaker, stepped into the ring. Round One started last month, after London's Mayor Ken Livingstone decreed that a $50 daily tax shall be levied against all environmentally unfriendly vehicles that drive through his city beginning this October. After Porsche formally requested the mayor reconsider his plan or else it would call for a judicial review of the proposal, the Mayor kicked off Round 2 by accusing Porsche of imposing unnecessary pollution on Londoners and then compared the brand's sports cars to garbage littered on the street.

After consulting with its ringside trainer, Porsche has chosen to involve a legal referee in this match and make a formal application for judicial review to challenge the matter. Once the papers are filed, Mayor Livingstone's corner will have 21 days to acknowledge the claim. Don't expect the Mayor's office to throw in the towel -- most expect this bout to go the distance.

[Source: Porsche]

The big news from Bentley in Geneva wasn't really about today -- but stay tuned for 2012. Bentley plans to have its wheel-to-well measure of CO2 emissions down to less than 120g/km, from 400 g/km now. How? By lightening the cars, by engineering better transmissions, and through powerplants able to take advantage of 2nd generation biofuels, meaning cellulosic ethanol from straw and waste products. The best Bentley head Dr. Josef Paefgen would say for specifics was "everything is being considered." So there. Click through the jump to get the full press release and the science, and be thankful Bentley's given you something to look forward to.

[Source: Bentley]

Did you hear the one where Bob Lutz calls global warming a "total crock of shi*t"? Yeah, he did say what you just thought he said, though the most Maximum of Bobs added that he's just skeptical and doesn't deny the theory completely. He's interested in green transportation technology, but for different reasons than perhaps a die-hard, tree-hugging liberal. It's all about weening our nation off the teet of imported oil for Bob. Regardless, the interwebs went wacky with the "crock of sh*t" quote, and Bob has taken time out of his busy schedule to address those digital pundits that have given this story its legs.

Yesterday on the GM Fastlane Blog, Lutz tried to get people to look past his own beliefs and at the bigger picture, saying "The point is not why and how did we get where we are, it's what are we going to do to get where we're going." And he goes on to state what that big picture is: removing the automotive industry entirely from the environmental equation. That's REALLY big picture stuff, but Bob claims that this goal is what motivates the decisions being made at GM right now. Of course, he also admits that he gets paid to do what makes the most business sense for GM. Fortunately, those two things seem to be in harmony more and more as these green conscious times intensify.

[Source: GM Fastlane Blog]

It's the mayor of London in one corner and Porsche, the maker of thoroughbred sports cars, in the other.

In the green trunks, Mayor Ken Livingstone has decreed that a $50 daily tax shall be levied against all gas-guzzling, emission-spewing vehicles that drive through his city beginning in October. His logic says that it will fight global warming, and the money raised will help implement a Paris-style bicycle plan for the city. Re-election is around the corner, so this initiative is imperative to his tenure.

In the black trunks, Andy Goss, the Managing Director of Porsche Cars GB, rejects the tax as unjust. The automaker claims it is a disproportionate fee that will have a very limited effect on CO2 emissions. Its plan is to write Livingstone a letter requesting that he reconsider the proposal, and if nothing happens after 14 days, take the matter to the courts, which could throw out Livingstone's tax altogether.

And the winner is... neither side. Both are unable to deliver a knock out punch, so the winner will likely be chosen by decision.

[Source: Automotive News Europe]

Cigarettes, alcohol and fireworks all carry warning labels because of their potential danger to your health. The European Parliament has now suggested cars should carry similar warnings, not for your health, but the planet's.

Under the proposal, carmakers would have to set aside 20% of an ad's space for environmental impact information, listing fuel consumption and carbon dioxide emissions.

As you might expect, auto manufacturers are not happy about the suggestion and advertising companies and media outlets are afraid of how much money they stand to lose.

As the New York Times points out, the plan is a long way from being implemented, since the EU rarely moves quickly on anything. We see how such a requirement could do some good, but also understand that people who care about environmental impact usually know better than to buy, say, a HUMMER to begin with.

[Source: The New York Times]

Although there is a lot of debate about what type of green technology will be the best for our environment and our economy into the future, plug-in hybrids appear to be growing in popularity. One of the concerns with this type of alternative energy vehicle is what will happen to our power grid when all of these vehicles plug in. Can the current infrastructure handle the greater load? Well, the newest AIADA newsletter tells us that we should be OK up to about 180 million plug-in hybrids. That's a heck of a lot of hybrids. That figure was part of a report by the U.S. Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory.

With unstable and high gas prices, electricity becomes even more attractive, so understanding what we might have to do to handle an influx of plug-ins is important. Electricity is cheaper than gasoline, for sure, but it is not a zero emission solution. The extra load on powerplants simply means that emissions are transferred from the vehicle to the plant. So there is still some work to do on that front as well. But the good news is that making that change can have a positive impact on CO2 levels as well. The study included a finding that if 84 percent of our 220 million vehicles were running on electricity, our carbon dioxide emissions could drop by 5 percent. And CO2 is what many environmentalists are looking at when they discuss the problem of greenhouse gases and global warming.

In a separate but related news item, The Wall Street Journal reported that these plug-ins will probably cost an extra $6,000 to $10,000 more than our current crop of non-hybrid vehicles, even when mass produced. Batteries are a big part of that premium, so advances in that technology may make the differences smaller in coming years, but as most people already realize, hybrids aren't likely to pay for themselves for at least several years of ownership. Critics often say that hybrids will never pay for themselves on reduced fuel use alone, which is usually true. What most people fail to factor into that equation, however, is that consumers often value the "greenness" of their cars above dollars and cents. The feel-good factor is a big part of the ownership experience. Just like most people don't recycle their cans, bottles and papers for the money, as much as for the notion that they are doing something positive for the planet and cleaning up after themselves.

[Sources: EDTA via The Auto Channel]

Long at the front of environmental efforts, and often ridiculed because of it, California filed a groundbreaking lawsuit against six major automakers today. The allegation is that these automakers have caused millions of dollars worth of spending by the state due to increased greenhouse gases resulting from running their automobiles. State Attorney General Bill Lockyer said the lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Northern California is the first to seek damages based on vehicle emissions. Named in the suit are Ford Motor Co., General Motors Corp., Toyota Motor Corp., Chrysler Motors Corp., and the North American branches of Honda Motor Co. and Nissan Motor Co. Ltd.

California's regulations to limit greenhouse gases from vehicles through its California Air Resources Board (CARB) have often caused friction between the state and automakers. California, with an estimated 26 million vehicles on the road, often sets automotive and environmental trends because it accounts for 10% of national auto sales. Automakers frequently incorporate the more restrictive California requirements into the whole fleet rather than producing different versions of the same vehicle for California and other states that adopt its policies.

[Sources: Reuters, CARB]

As the Arctic ice caps shrink due to the warming of the planet, it's expected that vast reserves of additional oil and gas will become available, as approximately 25 percent of the planet's petroleum is thought to lie under the polar ice caps. In an effort to map these hydrocarbon resources, the US Geological Society (USGS), BP, and Statoil will be heading far north to conduct widespread surveys next year.

What is frustrating a few people is that the survey activity will take place in conjunction with the International Polar Year, which is a large scientific project intended to establish benchmark polar environmental data so that the future effects of global warming can be understood. To critics, this seems a bit like joining the World Wildlife Federation to help collect data on endangered species, only to bring a hunting rifle just in case something looks tasty.

[Sources: Taipai Times; International Polar Year]