Autoblog

If residents in several cities in Clark County, Washington want to get their cars clean, they could soon be forced to do it at retail car washes. According to an employee at the Washington state Department of Ecology, the state wants "people to make the connection of 'what goes on the street goes into the creek.'" And soapy car wash residue is something they don't want in the creek.

The state wants the cities to come up with a way to keep any water that isn't rain water from getting into the environment without being treated. The cities, about a dozen in all, say that's crazy, and have threatened to sue the state for trying to enact measures that exceed federal Clean Water Act.

The state suggests that if people still want to clean their cars, that they don't use soap with phosphorus, and wash their cars on gravel or grass where the water will be filtered by the soil. That's ironic, because part of the state's measure also requires sprinkler water to be captured and treated. Residents could always try the state's other option: don't use soap at all.

[Source: Next Autos, Photo CC | Credit: Koop]

Now that making cars cleaner and more efficient is a mainstream proposition, the only questions are how each carmaker plans to do it. BMW's Efficient Dynamics has allowed it to lower it's CO2 emissions more than any other automaker. In a show of how seriously all automakers are taking the issue, The Economist revealed a study of fourteen automakers from GM to Suzuki found that only Honda posted an emissions increase from 2006-2007.

Essentially, the automakers are trying to figure out how to please the government and the public at a cost that allows them to stay in business. Competing -- and expensive -- technologies are all in the race now, although everyone seems to have agreed that ultimately, electric cars will be the norm. Luxury carmakers can pad prices to cover or subsidize the tab of frugal technology. When the mid- and low-price automakers are making cars that get 80 mpg that the average couple can afford, then the landscape will be much more clear.

No matter what, none of this spells the end of the internal combustion engine: said VW's head of group research, "It is important to recognize that there is not a single solution, and that the internal-combustion engine will continue to dominate for at least 20 years." Follow the link to read the full piece, and you might want to start stocking up on multi-plug outlets... Thanks for the tip, Forrest!

[Source: The Economist]

General Motors is apparently serious about it's green push and will be launching a new commercial later this month to show off its environmental intentions. The spot, created by McCann-Erickson, is GM's televised Dear John letter to Big Oil that begins by saying, "We've had this great relationship for many years. We think we will both be a lot happier and healthier if we see less of each other."

That spot will be bolstered by a Chevrolet green campaign and sponsorship during the Olympics that highlights GM's coming enviro-friendly tech. While the commercial is more than a little cheeky and unrealistic, when a major automaker even pretends to say goodbye to Big Oil, on national television no less, you know that things could truly be moving on.

[Source: Automotive News, sub req'd]

The Big Predictions for the Future have begun. This is the numbers game where eye-popping numerical targets start being thrown around before we've come anywhere close to achieving the eyebrow raising targets that are still 14 years away. According to Margo Oge at the EPA, the CAFE standard will need to jump to 75-MPG by the 2030s to meet greenhouse targets.

There is, somewhere, a "widely backed scientific-community proposal to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 50 to 80 percent by 2050 from 2000 levels." Based on current realities, the EPA has reckoned that the fleet average for fuel economy would need to more than double from the 2020 target of 35 mpg in about 15 or so years in order to achieve even the minimum standard.

The EPA is looking at a variety of alternative fuel options as a way to make the plan work. Yet we have no idea whether this is being looked at as a serious long term plan, or whether grand pronouncements are being made because it's the thing to do right now. While we freely admit that the world of cars could use some cleaning up, we do wonder... is any other industry going to be on the hook for reducing greenhouse gasses?

[Source: Detroit News]

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]

In yet another move demonstrating that Porsche is capitulating to the greener crowd, an industry newsletter is reporting that the German automaker's executives have overcome their long-time reservations about diesel powerplants and are considering such a vehicle for their lineup by 2010.

Reportedly, Porsche is studying a diesel engine for its upscale Cayenne SUV. This would be the second non-gasoline engine for the Cayenne, as the Cayenne Hybrid is expected to turn up in 2010 as well. The diesel would be borrowed from Volkswagen, a company Porsche has significant stake in. The platform-sharing Volkswagen Touareg has offered a diesel in the States since 2006 (you know, it's the one that pulls 747s).

[Source: Automotive News Europe - Sub. Req'd]

Britain's Automobile Association has found another bump in the road to environmental kindness: speed bumps and really low speed limits. They took a car that got 58-mpg running a constant 30-MPH, and ran it over speedbumps at the Millbrook Proving Ground, slowing down and speeding up for each bump. What they discovered was that mileage dropped to 31-mpg and carbon dioxide emissions went up. The findings correlate with those of the country's Transport Research Laboratory, which reported that "carbon monoxide emissions are increased by as much as 82% and nitrous oxide levels by 37% on roads with speed bumps."

The AA also found that setting the speed limit at 20-MPH instead of 30-MPH raised car emissions and consumption by 10-percent. Along with the speed bump results, these are intriguing findings, but in the real world, how long do you spend each day driving over speed bumps, and driving 20-MPH? The AA says that it knows speeds need to be kept down on residential roads to keep children safe, but thinks that "average speed cameras" would be more acceptable to the driving public. Based on the comments we get at Autoblog about speed cameras, we doubt it.

[Source: Channel 4]

Canada's response to America's latest energy legislation and CAFE standards: a resounding "Meh, whatever. Call us when you're serious." The land of the maple leaf has declared that the new U.S. standards simply don't go far enough. Said the nation's transport minister, "We welcome the U.S. goal, but are committed to developing made-in-Canada standards that achieve - at minimum - that same target in Canada."

What kind of goal do they have in mind? Well... they haven't really said. But there will be a 60-day consultation period while the government holds pow wows with various groups, clans and businesses, and then they will come up with... something... that will take effect for the 2011 model year. No word on whether Dick Cheney has been invited to attend the sessions.

Of course, no announcement that "Those guys didn't do enough, so we're going to do it right" would be complete without fifteen follow-up announcements claiming that "You guys aren't doing enough, either!" Quebec, which is already playing the role of Canada's California in trying to set emissions rules that are more stringent than federal standards, has said "setting fuel efficiency standards alone doesn't go far enough." The Sierra Club says the delay to implementing the new rules -- to 2011, mind you -- is still too long. And the auto industry is saying that if you want it, fine, but you're going to pay for it. It looks like the quest for the greenest mile is going to bring quite a bit of heat to the frozen north.

[Source: Canadian Broadcasting Corp]

Blue is, among other things, the color of the doldrums (the blues), the unknown (out of the blue), the cold or airless (turning blue), the ocean (the big blue), Democrats (blue states), and racy films (blue movies). According to ad agency JWT, 2008 could see blue take on more meaning: becoming the "color of environmentalism, social conscience, and all-round niceness. JWT notes that blue is the color of the sea and the sky, making it easier for people to identify it with the current hot-button issue of climate change."

It's interesting that JWT thinks blue sea and skies make it "easier for people to identify" with environmental concerns. Like green trees and the green, green grass of home are just to damned abstract to really understand what this whole saving-the-Earth thing is all about. It's not like we need anything else clouding the environmental debate -- like Bluetec and Bluemotion, which both utilize green diesel technology. So instead of trying to figure out if you're a blue-greenie or a green-greenie, why don't we just call it teal and get on with being good to the Earth?

[Source: AutoblogGreen]

In 1998, the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association said that in ten years it wanted cars to put out 140g of CO2 per kilometer. According to the latest report from Transport & Environment, a "green pressure group" according to the BBC, only two makers are close to that, and two out of three German car makers have raised their fleet CO2 levels since 1998.

Along with Suzuki, VW and DaimlerChrysler were the only two automakers in the survey not to have lowered their fleet CO2 levels. BMW lowered its CO2 emissions by 2.5-percent to 184 g(CO2)/km, but VW's increased by .9-percent and DaimlerChrysler's rose by 2.80-percent. Yet even though VW increased its emissions, it is still the best performing German manufacturer, with a fleet average of just 166 g(CO2)/km.

PSA/Citroen is the closest to the target, with a CO2 rating of 142 g/km, followed by Fiat at 144 g/km. For the full report and methodology, click here. And for those of you interested, GM and Ford fall in line just behind Honda, and before VW.

Thanks for the tip, John P!

[Source: BBC.com]