Autoblog

VW joins Daimler's protest of new A/C refrigerant as EU deadline for compliance passes

Jonathon Ramsey — Sun, 06 Jan 2013 09:00:00 EST

Filed under: Government/Legal, Safety, Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen

The case of Dupont and Honeywell's refrigerant R-1234yf is doing the exact opposite of keeping things cool. The two chemical companies have spent years and hundreds of millions of dollars developing R-1234yf to replace R-134a, the new refrigerant shown to be 99.7-percent kinder to the environment than the one it is meant to succeed. Part of that development has been years of testing by governments, outside safety agencies and automakers to approve the chemical for use in cars. It passed the protocols necessary for the European Union to declare that new and significantly revised cars from 2013 onward needed to use R-1234yf, and mandated that every car as of 2017 must use it.

Enter Daimler AG. The automaker created a head-on collision test with a B-Class at their Sindelfingen test track that would lead to the pressurized refrigerant being sprayed on the engine. The result in 20 out of 20 test was that the refrigerant burst into flames as soon as it hit the hot engine, while Daimler says that R-134a does not catch fire in the same test. Another unexpected result of the R-1234yf test was the release of hydrogen flouride, a chemical far more deadly to humans than hydrogen cyanide, emitted in such amounts that it that turned the windshield white as it began to eat into the glass.

Said a Daimler engineer in a Reuters piece, "It was scarcely believable. The most complicated lab tests conducted using the most sensitive measuring instruments around found nothing and all we do is drive a car around a couple of times, open a tiny hole in the refrigerant line and the next thing you know the car is on fire." So Daimler said it wouldn't use the refrigerant, and it recalled the cars it had already shipped with R-1234yf.

Honeywell and Dupont pointed to the years of successful tests and accused Daimler of deliberately staging its test so that the car would catch fire - various fluids in an engine will catch fire if sprayed on the engine in a certain way - suggesting among other things that Daimler didn't want to pay the higher cost of the R-1234yf coolant. At least two other German and Austrian testing agencies have cautioned against the new chemical, a German firefighters organization has lobbied to have it banned while a rival German firefighters organization has cleared it for use, some German authorities are asking that automakers be given more time by the EU to conduct more tests, and it's reported that 13 carmakers have begun their own testing based on Daimler's initial findings.

A report in Bloomberg says that Volkswagen has joined Daimler in refusing to use R-1234yf in its cars. There aren't any 2013 VW models that fall under the EU mandate for use this year, so the fact that VW is speaking up means it wishes to lodge a vocal protest. Other automakers are still committed to the new chemical; Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet and GMC are still switching over in 2013, and Toyota in the EU has gone on record saying it hasn't found any safety issue with R-1234yf. The EU says it will enforce its decree, but no penalties have been mentioned for any automaker defying the order. Honeywell and Dupont are waiting to see what will happen, a Honeywell manager saying, "The key element for the EU government is forcing the implementation of their rule."

VW joins Daimler's protest of new A/C refrigerant as EU deadline for compliance passes originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 06 Jan 2013 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Freestyle motorcycle riding in the French Alps film is gorgeous

Zach Bowman — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 15:15:00 EST

Filed under: Etc., Videos, Motorcycle

Of the world's innumerable natural wonders, the French Alps are particularly spectacular. Stretching along the border between France and Italy, the mountain chain offers exceptional vistas and, for braver folk, incredibly challenging terrain. Freestyle trials rider Julien Dupont recently brought a few friends out for a day of playing in the mountains, and Ride the World Productions tagged along to film the whole event. The camera crew spent some time playing with its own toys, including a camera-equipped Air Drone remote-control helicopter.

The result is one very well-shot, very well-edited video of some impressive freestyle motorcycle riding. Watching Dupont work his magic with mountain and machine is a real treat, and it makes us itch for a little time in the saddle ourselves. Hit the jump to check out the full video for yourself. You can also poke around the RTWprod YouTube page for more clips of awesome riding.

Continue reading Freestyle motorcycle riding in the French Alps film is gorgeous

Freestyle motorcycle riding in the French Alps film is gorgeous originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 03 Nov 2011 15:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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DuPont to sell $4B auto paint business?

Jonathon Ramsey — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 08:01:00 EST

Filed under: Plants/Manufacturing, Earnings/Financials

Even though DuPont's automotive paints, or "performance coating," division brought in 12.1 percent of the firm's 2010 revenue, the pretax operating-profit margin was only seven percent, said to be about "half the corporate average." With the highly diversified firm making plays in more lucrative "megatrend" areas, Automotive News reports that DuPont has retained Credit Suisse to find a buyer for its two coatings divisions valued at $3-4 billion.

An analyst has said selling the units will improve the portfolio, but the question is what other company will have the will (and the financial wherewithal) to take them. DuPont says it wants to up the division's profit margins to ten percent in 2012, but with automakers still hammering supplier prices, it will take some healthy productivity engineering to make that happen. Credit Suisse hasn't begun the sale process yet, but a buyer could be sought among the other three large auto-coatings companies, PPG, BASF and Arko Nobel.

DuPont to sell $4B auto paint business? originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 03 Nov 2011 08:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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World's Most Popular Car Color: Silver under threat from Black

Zach Bowman — Tue, 07 Dec 2010 19:25:00 EST

Filed under: Etc.

2010 DuPont Automotive Color Popularity Study - Click above for high-res image gallery

DuPont has rolled out its annual Automotive Color Popularity Report, and it looks like the long-reigning king may be under threat from a new foe. Silver held the most popular color title for seven years until 2007, when it was dethroned by the likes of white and white metallic. That trend carried over for 2008, but in 2009, silver took its place in the spotlight once again. Now it looks like black may be staging a comeback. This year, of all the cars sold around the world, 26 percent went home with a silver paint job, but 24 percent rolled out of the factory with a black coat of shiny.

Meanwhile, white, white pearl and grey soaked up just 16 percent of all cars sold in 2010. Dupont says that black's popularity is largely propelled by the color's success in markets outside of the U.S., where noir doesn't quite have the same swagger as elsewhere. In fact, here in North America, white retained its popularity with a three percent lead over black and a four-percent jump over silver.

And what about the least popular color of the year? That one goes to yellow and gold, with just 1 percent of all new vehicles swaddled in the color of sunshine and the 70's. Hit the jump for the full press release. Hat tip to Brent!

Gallery: 2010 DuPont Automotive Color Popularity Study

[Source: DuPont]

Continue reading World's Most Popular Car Color: Silver under threat from Black

World's Most Popular Car Color: Silver under threat from Black originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 07 Dec 2010 19:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Americans like White, the world likes Silver in new Color Popularity Report

John Neff — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 14:57:00 EST

Filed under: Car Buying

DuPont has released its annual Color Popularity Report, and for the first time has converged data from across the globe to create a worldwide report on how we, as a species, prefer our cars to be colored. OK, maybe that's a bit hyperbolic, but the new worldwide report confirms that Black, Silver and White reign supreme regardless of borders. The three colors are tightly packed in North America, where White is most popular at 17.8 percent with Black (17 percent) and Silver (16.8 percent) not far behind. Europeans, however, like the sleek look of Black at 27 percent compared to Silver at 19.9 percent and White falling pretty far behind at 10.2 percent. Different regions like different colors, but these three remain at or near the top across the board.

Who knows why car buyers the world over seem averse to all the colors of the rainbow. Not us. While we dig a nice metallic Silver, other colors like Red, Blue and even shades of Green have a way of teasing out a car's personality better than the grayscale stuff. If you were shopping for a new car (or are), what colors are at the top of your list? We've included a poll below to see if our audience thinks anything like a DuPont customer.

View Poll

[Source: DuPont]

Continue reading Americans like White, the world likes Silver in new Color Popularity Report

Americans like White, the world likes Silver in new Color Popularity Report originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 01 Dec 2009 14:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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DuPont chief calls on Detroit to make 'Car of the Future'... that uses his fuel

Jeremy Korzeniewski — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 16:29:00 EST

Filed under: Hybrid, Green, Chrysler, Ford, GM

It's debatable whether or not now is the right time to make changes in the way our cars are made, with some believing that Detroit should follow the path it's already on and others claiming there couldn't be a better time to make major sweeping changes. Count DuPont head Chad Holliday among the latter. Holliday's so-called "Detroit Project" would challenge American automakers to introduce a new "Car of the Future" that would achieve 75 miles per gallon and run on butanol - an alcohol fuel that DuPont just so happens to market itself.

Regardless of whether DuPont stands to benefit from this project, there are a few major hurdles to overcome, not the least of which is an initial $5 billion investment at a time when the Detroit 3 are asking for many times that from the government just to stay in business. We also see problems getting proposed collaborators such as Intel, Microsoft, Dell, Boeing and Google all working on the same page. Schools such as MIT, the Georgia Tech, and the University of Michigan could also be involved, according to Holliday. No problem, right?

Getting an automobile to run on butanol isn't a problem, it's been done over and over again. Yes, it is a cleaner fuel that may be a better choice overall than ethanol, but coming from the head of a company with a vested interest comes off as a bit disingenuous. It also reminds us of something we heard the other day...

[Source: Detroit News]

DuPont chief calls on Detroit to make 'Car of the Future'... that uses his fuel originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 03 Dec 2008 16:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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REPORT: Silver still king of car colors, the future looks blue

Michael Harley — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 17:58:00 EST

Automotive paint supplier PPG says the color of tomorrow's car is blue. According to Jane Harrington, PPG's manager of color styling, "It's one of those colors that complements vehicle shapes... It's a globally acceptable color. It doesn't have any bad connotations."

The company studies trends in fashion, interior design, and consumer products to predict the tastes of fickle consumers. PPG isn't the only company predicting more blue sheetmetal on our roads and highways. An April report by chemicals giant DuPont also predicted a resurgence in the color, adding it was influenced by ecological concepts such as the sky and water. Consumers in 2008 apparently haven't caught on to the new "blue" trend yet. So far, 20 percent of the cars sold this year have been silver ("A neutral color that works on just about any car," says Harrington). White is second (18 percent), followed by black (17 percent) and red (13 percent). Although blue may be the new green, most consumers will still stick with black, white, and silver -- core colors that are always offered on nearly every vehicle.

[Source: AP via Google News, photo by Magic Super Toys]

REPORT: Silver still king of car colors, the future looks blue originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 16 Oct 2008 17:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Color trend update: Blue gaining on White

Jeremy Korzeniewski — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 09:59:00 EST

Filed under: Trends, Etc., Lifestyle

Click above to view gallery of more happy and confident cars

Each year, DuPont does a study on color trends in the automotive industry. As the leader in supplying finishes for both the new and aftermarket auto realms, this is the kind of information that the company needs to know. Thankfully, DuPont's researchers always share their findings with the rest of us, and last year it was reported that white had taken over from silver as the color in which to be seen. This year, the pigment company decided to shake things up with a mid-year check on the multi-hued situation around the world, and it seems that blue, which is also the new green, is making a bit of a run at adding some pizazz that's been missing from simple achromatic white. Interestingly, the masses seem to be reacting just a little bit to the economic downturn that this country has been facing, choosing simple solids instead of more flashy hues. Perhaps those downers are just lacking in self-worth.

Gallery: Pixar CARS Photochops

[Source: DuPont]

Color trend update: Blue gaining on White originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 13 Jun 2008 09:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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DuPont reports most popular color on earth

Jonathon Ramsey — Tue, 04 Dec 2007 15:28:00 EST

Filed under: Etc., Lifestyle

For seven long years, silver has reigned as the overall number one choice worldwide for car color. DuPont reports that those days are over, and the new color of choice is -- gasp -- white/white metallic. That means more people prefer white cars than silver or black cars, with white taking a decisive lead in countries like Mexico and Japan. A study done earlier this year found that 62-percent of cars sold over six months were white. Hmmm.

In North America, white/white pearl covered 19-percent of the overall vehicle market, 26-percent of the truck/SUV market, and tied with black for the luxury market. We don't know where the "luxury" segment begins, but we've never seen a white A8, and we already know who orders the tiny number of white XJ's, so who's ordering all the white S-Classes and 7-Series'? Come on. Show yourselves.

It's spun a number of different ways: white is an "agent of change" that will open the doors to new colors; white is the new trendy color following fashion and furniture trends; and white provides a nice palette for customization. Sure, this is about as subjective as you can get, and we're not totally against white cars -- Aston Martin gave us a pearl metallic Vantage to roll around in, and we didn't mind. But we wouldn't buy a pearl metallic Vantage. And our first request when renting a car is "Don't give us a white one." Ah well. Hit the jump for the full press release, and follow the link for the color charts to see what flake flavor your country is.

[Source: DuPont]

Continue reading DuPont reports most popular color on earth

DuPont reports most popular color on earth originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 04 Dec 2007 15:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Pricey Pickup: 1969 Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow truck for sale

Dan Roth — Thu, 14 Jun 2007 11:23:00 EST

Filed under: Aftermarket, Classics, Sedan, Truck, Etc., Rolls-Royce

All that money, and it looks like a lowered Ford Courier with a nice paintjob -- from the side, anyway. This Silver Shad-amino (Shadero?) has just undergone a two-year restoration by Florida's Foreman Motors. It'd be just the thing out on the Estate, cruising the grounds surrounded by sumptuous leather and wool with the Spirit of Ecstasy up on the prow. We think it's great; it's not like these particular Rollers are rare cars, anyway. The duPont Registry, want ads for those with excess filthy lucre, has it listed at $49,000, or a dollar per accrued mile. It could be worse, at least the Silver Shadow has handsome, stately lines and the conversion appears to be high-quality. Imagine what a Camargue's blockier profile would do without its fast C-pillar. Although, that rakish rear window may make a nice Cam-a-Lanche. It'd likely beat the truck in fuel economy, too.

[Source: duPont Registry via Winding Road]

Pricey Pickup: 1969 Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow truck for sale originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 14 Jun 2007 11:23:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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