The Blue Oval has gifted the U.S. Department of Energy a one-of-a-kind vehicle: a plug-in Escape Hybrid that can run on E85, has a 30-mile range on pure electric power at up to 40 mph, and gets 88 mpg in the city and 50 mpg on the highway. Yes, you read that correctly. But you might want to read it again.
The Escape uses a 4-cylinder engine assisted by a 10kW lithium-ion battery pack made by Johnson Controls/Saft. In pure electric mode, the battery pack runs until it is 70-percent depleted, and then the gasoline engine kicks in. The vehicle's emissions are estimated to be 60-percent less than that of a traditional gas vehicle, and that could climb all the way to 90-percent less if the car used cellulosic ethanol.
This is one of 20 vehicles that Ford is giving to government and research bodies in order to help push the growth and penetration of hybrid vehicles. Mark Fields, Ford's president of the Americas, said "There's no silver bullet solution, so we're pursuing multiple technology paths – recognizing that commercial viability is an essential component for success." And we say hear hear, well done, and it's about time...
In Dallas, a businessman has spent half a million dollars to install nine pumps that dispense E85, E10, and biodiesel. The catch: the businessman is a HUMMER dealer, and the pumps are next to his dealership. The station is called Classic Clean Fuels, and it is intended to make a statement for next year's H2 and H2 SUT, which will be the first production models to be Flex-fuel capable.
You won't need to drive a HUMMER to get E85 at the station. The pumps are open to the public, a first for a dealer-owned gas station. By 2010, GM has said all HUMMERs will be biofuel-capable. GM plans to market 15 Flexfuel models next year, but only one percent of the country's service stations sell E85. GM is using that as an opportunity to open the public's (and dealers') minds to putting alternative fuel stations in alternative places.
Said GM's Larry Burns, "Down the road we may even want to consider hydrogen dispensers at dealerships."
In the fuel economy and future tech debate, the hybrid vs. diesel vs. hydrogen fuel cells vs. smaller cars and smaller engines always provokes a fair bit of discussion among Autoblog commentators. At this point, no one yet knows what's going to win since nobody knows how the volatile mix of products, timelines, prices, regulations, legislation, state standards, and gas prices will ultimately pan out. Bob Lutz's prediction is that diesels, at least as far as the US is concerned, won't be much of a factor.
His reasoning is simple: "I think customers are going to say, 'Wait a minute. At equal fuel prices I'm paying $4,000 more for this." Unlike many countries in Europe, the US offers no incentive for people to buy diesels. In the States the price of a diesel vehicle is often more than $1,000 higher than that of a gasoline-engined car, and diesel fuel is just as expensive as gas (throughout California and other states, it's slightly more expensive than premium unleaded). In that case, Lutz's opinion is that just about all the customer will glean from an oilburner is a higher car payment.
Lutz sees diesel uptake in the US hovering at about eight-percent. The technology he sees as winning the day: ethanol. It's clean, it's easy to integrate into the refueling infrastructure, and it "doesn't require a change in consumer behavior." (Except for the people in emerging markets who've seen the price of corn skyrocket.) For another take on the fuel economy battle, according to Kelly Blue Book, 40-percent of US new car shoppers think hybrids are the future, with just 17-percent citing flex-fuel.
If you're interested on getting an Autoblog Garage-style take on the new Dodge Avenger, head over to AutoblogGreen, where Sam Abuelsamid reviews the medium-sized Charger doppelganger after spending a few days with one of the sedans in SXT trim. Why AutoblogGreen? Well, Sam ran the car on E85 once the partial tank of gasoline it was delivered with ran out, so in addition to a review of the car in general, he weighs in on that aspect as well. Check out the full review here.
Touted as a means to give V8-like horsepower with V6 fuel economy, the TwinForce V6 at this year's Detroit Auto Show stands as one of Ford's biggest announcements so far. Started with the Duratec 35 as a foundation, the engine's combination of turbocharging and direct injection yields a claimed 415 HP and 400 ft-lb of torque - more than enough to smoke any naturally-aspirated V8 currently offered by the Blue Oval here in the United States.
The engine also offers flex-fuel capabilities, with operation possible on either premium gasoline or E85. Ford also claims 15% better fuel economy than a 6.0L V8 of similar performance, so the tire-smoking can commence with reduced guilt. There's no word yet as to whether the new motor can take advantage of the superior knock resistance of ethanol to provide a horsepower bump, but this seems like an ideal platform on which to roll out such a feature. The horsepower junkies among us might also want to consider that an injector sized to flow enough E85 for 400+ HP will probably support at least 600 HP on gasoline, so the aftermarket should have a field day with turning up the wick on the TwinForce.
What do you say - should Ford put this thing into a Mustang, stuff a bulletproof drivetrain behind it, and continue in the V8-terrorizing tradition of the Buick GN and Toyota Supra? Just the thought of such a monster sends chills up our spine.
Click past the jump for the full press release and a general overview of the plumbing; meanwhile, we'll try to snap some live shots of the motor on the show floor.
Check out all the debuts and galleries from the Detroit Auto Show here.
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.
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".
As automakers blitz Washington with their answers to the U.S. dependency on increasingly expensive foreign oil, it was Toyota's turn to step up to the plate Wednesday. Speaking to the House Energy and Commerce subcommittee, Toyota's advanced technology manager, William Reinert, focused on his company's hybrid solution, saying its annual production of hybrids could pass the one million mark within the next decade.
While Toyota is far from alone in its development of hybrid vehicle technology, according to Reuters, it would appear to be far ahead of its U.S. competitors, who are instead focusing on alternative fuels (notably ethanol) as their near-term 'silver bullet,' while they play catch-up with hybrid technologies.
Of course, Reuters points out, the problem with the flex-fuel alternative is the necessary, massive build-out of an ethanol infrastructure before the fuel can have a significant impact on America's energy situation. Building flex-fuel-capable vehicles is not the problem - growing, refining and distributing the fuel is, and in the mean time, Toyota continues to refine its hybrids, focusing on improving production efficiency and lowering costs.
The likelihood of accidentally using E85 in a vehicle designed only to run on straight gasoline is pretty damn small, considering the difficulty of even intentionally encountering an E85 pump. Regardless, a group of automakers and petroleum industry officials are reminding consumers that fuels containing blends of ethanol over 10% (E10) are only for "flex-fuel" vehicles. Additionally, consumers are being warned that modifying standard vehicles to use higher blends of ethanol is not recommended. The corrosive effects of ethanol can cause damage to standard fuel system over time, and making the necessary changes to the engine management system calibration will almost certainly run afoul of the EPA and its myriad regulations concerning emissions compliance.
For those wondering if your vehicle is certified to run on E85, check the owner's manual, or go to the National Ethanol Vehicle Coalition's list of flex-fuel vehicles.
As reported earlier, the CEOs of the Big Three met with Congressional leaders Thursday, pledging their support for U.S. energy security through advanced technology initiatives and alternative fuels.
Tom LaSorda, Bill Ford and Rick Wagoner (right) told Congress that they support the "25x25" Initiative, an effort to get 25 percent of U.S. transportation energy needs met by renewable fuels by 2025. The Initiative is led by the Energy Future Coalition, with support from agriculture and forestry groups.
The U.S. automakers say they're doing their part with the production of flexible fuel vehicles, but said that fuel availability is a major obstacle to meeting the 2025 target. With only about 600 retail outlets currently carrying E-85 , the automakers say the figure will need to climb to the 34,000-50,000 to support the increased production of E-85-capable vehicles.
Touted as a means to give V8-like horsepower with V6 fuel economy, the TwinForce V6 at this year's Detroit Auto Show stands as one of Ford's biggest announcements so far. Started with the Duratec 35 as a foundation, the engine's combination of turbocharging and direct injection yields a claimed 415 HP and 400 ft-lb of torque - more than enough to smoke any naturally-aspirated V8 currently offered by the Blue Oval here in the United States. 
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.
As automakers blitz Washington with their answers to the U.S. dependency on increasingly expensive foreign oil, it was Toyota's turn to step up to the plate Wednesday. Speaking to the House Energy and Commerce subcommittee, Toyota's advanced technology manager, William Reinert, focused on his company's hybrid solution, saying its annual production of hybrids could pass the one million mark within the next decade.
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As reported earlier, the CEOs of the Big Three met with Congressional leaders Thursday, pledging their support for U.S. energy security through advanced technology initiatives and alternative fuels.
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