Autoblog

Monday must have been "Engine Tech" day at Honda, seeing as they released info about their new clean diesel, Advanced VTEC, and the topic we're about to discuss: the new FFV system that'll be rolled out in Brazil later this year. Before we do that, we should mention that it isn't just automotive powerplants that received the laboratory love, as Honda also announced innovations for its motorcycle and power equipment engines, too. The White Lab Coat Brigade has certainly been keeping itself occupied.

Anyway, back to the topic at hand. With its new flexible-fuel system, Honda believes that it has essentially conquered all the known drawbacks of using ethanol. Problems with cold starts, inconsistent performance, variations in fuel economy and emissions are all addressed with the new system. Designed to operate on fuel grades ranging from E20 all the way up to E100, the Honda FFV system analyzes the levels of exhaust gas concentration in the exhaust system to estimate what fuel blend is currently in the tank, and then adjusts accordingly. The result, according to Honda, is that its FFVs will have performance and fuel economy ratios that nearly equal those of their gasoline-only engines.

The two prototypes revealed today, a Civic FFV and a Fit FFV, seem to bear this out. The Civic, when running on E100, generates 140PS at 6,200 rpm and 174 Nm of torque at 4,300 rpm. Fill it with an E22 mix and theose numbers only drop to 138 PS and 172 Nm (this torque peak arrives at 5,000 rpm). With the Fit, it's more of the same. On E100, it makes 83PS at 5,700 rpm and 119Nm of torque at 2,800 rpm. On E22, it drops to 80PS and 116 Nm at identical engine speeds.

What does this all mean? It mean that Honda has positioned itself to be all things to all people in the next few years. Not sold on green tech? No problem, there's Advanced VTEC standing by. Into diesel? Its new clean diesel technology will pass US regulatory muster. Tree hugger? Technophile? You know about the already-available hybrid powertrain, and in '08, it'll be joined in the marketplace by a limited-production FCV. And if growing fuel is your thing, these new FFVs appear to be up to snuff (if Honda ever decides to offer them outside Brazil).

Honda's chess pieces are slowly moving into place. They've dipped a toe into all the technology pools, and should be able to capitalize if one emerges as the clear favorite among consumers.

What? No pure EV? Hey, nobody's perfect.

(Additional photos, press release after the jump)

Remember a long time ago when we reported that Toyota would not be developing a plug-in version of its popular hybrid vehicles, specifically a plug-in Toyota "King of Kilowatts" Prius? Well, power to the people! Jim Press stated today at the National Press Club that Toyota is indeed "pursuing" development of a plug-in hybrid vehicle. Press also told Automotive News that his company was also "strongly considering" the sale of ethanol capable vehicles, or flex-fuel vehicles (FFVs) in the U.S.

Toyota's effort in the way of plug-in hybrid technology comes in response to pressure both from the U.S. government and environmental groups who have called on automakers to look beyond hybrids for other solutions to our nation's energy problems. Automakers have been reticent, however, because plug-in hybrids require larger, more expensive battery packs that can withstand being charged to full capacity and drained completely on a daily basis. Toyota will have to work quick, however, as Ford may be the first automaker with a plug-in hybrid on the market.

Ethanol and E85 are not really on the radar of John Q. Public in the U.S., but domestic automakers are heavily marketing their efforts to produce more FFVs and increase the number of E85 pumps on the ground. Toyota expressing interest in developing engines capable of running on both gasoline and E85 implies it doesn't want to be the odd automaker out if E85 catches on.

[Source: Automotive News]

May new vehicle sales in Brazil were up 25 percent year-over-year, but the market share of flex-fuel vehicles fell for the second month in a row, to a mere 76.3 percent of the total.

The sale of flex-fuel cars fell a fraction of a percent as ethanol prices rose, but the next sugar cane harvest is underway and ethanol prices fell 11 percent in May, which is expected to boost flex-fuel vehicle sales going forward.

Not only do flex-fuel vehicles claim the lion's share of Brazil's new car market today, but the country's national automaker's association fully expects FFVs to account for 100 percent of Brazil's new car sales in the not-too-distant future.

Volkswagen apparently got the memo - earlier this week the automaker said it had ended production of gasoline-only cars and will now produce only flex-fuel models in Brazil.

Brazil produces ethanol fuel from sugar cane at roughly half the cost of U.S. ethanol. U.S. producers are protected by a hefty 54 cents-a-gallon tariff on imported ethanol.

[Sources: Reuters, Bloomberg]

The Center for American Progress, which bills itself as a nonpartisan organization (we'll let our readers form their own opinion), has kicked off a campaign to Kick the Oil Habit. Academy Award winner Robert Redford was given a spot on CNN.com's front page to speak his mind about the project, which is certainly an unusual opportunity.

The first step to kicking this habit, according to Redford and the CAP, is to encourage oil companies to increase the availability of E85 and flexible-fuel vehicles (FFVs). The goal is to double the number of E85 pumps in the next year, and to make E85 available at half of the nation's gas stations in this decade. After that, things get a bit fuzzier, with calls to "launch new challenges to our elected leaders".  

Certainly, we look forward to the successful deployment of alternatives to oil, and hopefully the campaign can generate some concrete proposals. At this time, however, there doesn't yet appear to be much to this push, except an effort to promote the so-called "carbohydrate economy".

[Source: CNN.com]

General Motors is offering a $1,000 fuel card with the purchase of a 2006 or 2007 Chevy or GMC FlexFuel vehicle. The promotion is only available in the Chicago and Minneapolis-St. Paul markets between May 2nd and July 31st and is good with the purchase of an FFV Tahoe, Suburban, Avalanche, Sierra, Silverado, Impala or Monte Carlo. The fuel card is good at participating fuel stations in both markets that offer both gas and E85.

GreenCarCongress has broken down how far $1,000 in fuel will go with the purchase of a FlexFuel Tahoe. A new Tahoe owner can expect to drive 5,800 miles on GM’s dime if he or she fills up with gas and only 5,400 miles if E85 is chosen. The Tahoe returns 17 mpg on regular gas, a figure that drops to 13 mpg on E85.

[Source: GreenCarCongress]

The sight of 85 Tahoes triple-parked in Manhattan is one to behold. GM parked the fleet of flex-fuel SUVs in front of the Javits center today to make a green scene before they're picked up and driven off to various New York dealerships. The group also contains the first ten flex-fuel Suburbans off of the production line.

It's a strange world we live in when a group of 85 illegally-parked SUVs in Manhattan are supposed to be a statement on behalf of the environment.