Enterprise Holdings, parent of the Enterprise Rent-A-Car, National Car Rental, and Alamo Rent A Car brands, specializes in renting cars at airports and in neighborhood locations across the country. While best known for its ubiquitous rentals like Chevy Impalas and Toyota Corollas, in some markets drivers can choose ‘green’ models ranging from Toyota Prius and Ford Escape hybrids to plug-in electrics like the Nissan LEAF and Chevy Volt.
However, it’s not all about electrics. Enterprise is also promoting biofuels through the Enterprise Rent-A-Car Institute for Renewable Fuels, a result of its partnership with the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, the largest independent plant research center in the world.
Now Enterprise is growing on another front that speaks to a popular trend: car sharing. It has acquired Mint Cars On-Demand, a service in Boston and New York City that offers car sharing to over 8,000 members at 40 locations. The expanding Enterprise car sharing operation now includes WeCar, PhillyCarShare, and Mint. All will be branded Enterprise Car Share by the end of the year, when, we have no doubt, Enterprise will continue expanding its presence in this growing market.
Membership-based car sharing programs provide short-term – typically by the hour – vehicle rentals that include gas and insurance, enabling mobility on demand for those who need transportation but wish to forego car ownership.
Two electric Mitsubishi race cars will compete in this year's annual running of the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb in Colorado Springs, Colorado this July. One of these will be an essentially stock version of the 2012 Mitsubishi i with a more aerodynamic front bumper, roll cage, and safety equipment, which will be driven by SCORE International off-road series race-winning driver Beccy Gordon.
The second entry will be the advanced race-spec i-MiEV Evolution shown that has little physical resemblance to the production Mitsubishi i but uses the same motor, battery, and other major components as the production version, integrated in a tube-frame chassis. It will be piloted by two-time Paris-Dakar Rally champion Hiroshi Masuoka.
The prototype racer incorporates an enhanced Mitsubishi innovative Electric Vehicle (MiEV) electric motor, lithium-ion battery pack, and braking system. A single motor drives the front wheels with two motors powering the rear, providing sure-footed four-wheel-drive for the Pikes Peak race. All this is wrapped in a wild-looking carbon-fiber bodyshell we wish could make it to the showroom, at least in some iteration.
Engineers and researchers from Mitsubishi and its component and systems suppliers will be on hand to record and analyze data from both cars. This underscores the growing role that racing will have in the development and refinement of electric vehicles, just as it has for internal combustion cars over the past century.
Okay, let’s admit it. We’ve come to depend on electronics in our lives and indispensible devices of all sorts have transitioned from our homes and pockets to our cars. So it’s no surprise that automakers and accessory companies have recognized the importance of making this an easy and convenient transition for us.
Hands-free, Bluetooth, and power ports have become second nature for drivers on the go. Now Chrysler’s Mopar division is stepping up to be the first to offer in-vehicle wireless charging so our devices stay powered and connected without the need to deal with dangling power cords and power ports.
Chrysler’s answer – first appearing in the all-new Dodge Dart – is an 8.27 x 9.5 x 3.25 inch power bin seamlessly integrated at the front of the center console. Charging is easy. Just place a battery-powered device on the bin’s built-in charging grid and charging automatically begins when the vehicle is started.
A specially-designed case for popular smartphones is required and included with the power bin feature, which costs $200 plus installation. While designed exclusively for smartphones at this time, we’re sure this is just the beginning for wireless device charging in our motoring future.
Toyota has a long history in developing electric drive vehicles. Nobody can dispute its unparalleled success at dominating the gasoline-electric hybrid market with its venerable Prius, or how this success has led to a family of highly-efficient vehicles under a Prius sub-brand.
Now the automaker has unveiled its new RAV4 EV that’s been developed in conjunction with Tesla Motors, featuring a Tesla powertrain with a 154 horsepower electric motor and 41.8 kWh lithium-ion battery pack. It’s a real technical achievement that’s come from research and development to production in under two years. But what’s the bottom line?
The RAV4 is a smart package that’s been optimized for efficiency, achieving class-leading aerodynamics with a 0.30 Cd aided by a restyled front bumper, grill, mirrors, rear spoiler, and underbody design to maximize air flow. It’s typical of the battery electric breed in many respects, offering a driving range of about 100 miles with a six hour charging time on a 240 volt charger – about the same specs as the original, smaller RAV4 EV powered by nickel-metal-hydride batteries in the mid-1990s.
At the same time, it stands apart from the crowd because it’s the only electric SUV on the market. Toyota plans to make 2,600 RAV4 EVs over the next three years and offer them only in California, starting late this summer, at a $49,800 price tag.
According to the Environmental Protection Agency’s latest ‘Light-Duty Automotive Technology, Carbon Dioxide Emissions, and Fuel Economy Trends’ report, cylinder deactivation is an increasingly popular way to net greater efficiency from a V-6 or V-8 engine. However, the technology is largely bypassing passenger cars.
Cylinder deactivation was found in 38 percent of all pickups, 17 percent of vans, and 17 percent of truck-based SUVs in the 2011 model year. By comparison, only 3 percent of the passenger cars on the market benefitted from it.
Fuel-saving cylinder deactivation technology enables an engine to shut down half of its cylinders under certain low-demand driving conditions. It provides a no-sacrifices way to have V-8 or V-6 power at the ready for quick acceleration while eking greater efficiency from an engine when additional power isn't required.
Known variably by such names as displacement on demand, multi-displacement, and variable cylinder management, these cylinder deactivation systems work seamlessly and provide about 8 to 20 percent better fuel efficiency, depending on application. It's expected that the technology will ultimately find greater use in vehicle models as automakers strive to meet increasingly greater fuel efficiency targets.
Our friend Carroll Shelby, who passed away at age 89, will be remembered by many for his racing wins early in his career including the 24 Hours of Le Mans, plus his skillful ability to craft some of the most notable street-legal sports cars ever made. The Shelby Cobra and Shelby Mustangs are top-of-mind among auto enthusiasts. Shelby was also involved in many other high-profile vehicle programs including the Ford GT40 and Dodge Viper.
What’s less known about Shelby was his interest in things automotive outside the realm of performance. Carroll Shelby was a juror for Green Car Journal’s Green Car of the Year program since its beginning in 2005. He also believed in electric drive technologies and was opinionated about the use of alternative fuels.
In a 2004 Green Car Journal interview, Shelby shared many perspectives on environmental performance including his frustration with how long it was taking to bring hybrids into the mainstream, plus his belief that the industry’s answer to meeting emissions control regulations in 1965 should have been to transition vehicles to clean-burning natural gas, rather than choking gasoline internal combustion vehicle performance for years with the nascient smog equipment of the day. In this same interview, Shelby was prescient regarding the role that racing could play in promoting hybrid technology, something that’s occurring on the racing circuit with increasing frequency today.
Carroll Shelby, an American icon, will be missed.
Alternative fuel vehicles are increasingly finding their way to racing as a way of promoting the breed to consumers. Most of these are competition cars. Now, for the first time a compressed natural gas (CNG) car has found its way to a NASCAR race as an official pace car.
A Honda Civic Natural Gas sedan fielded by Dallas, Texas-based Atmos Energy – one of the country's largest natural gas-only distributors serving more than three million customers – has served as the pace car at the ‘Bumper to Bumper Pro Late Model Series’ race held at Revolution Park Racing and Entertainment Complex in Monroe, Louisiana. The race was part of the NASCAR ‘Whelen All American Series,’ which allows drivers to be eligible for NASCAR's national championship program for weekly racing.
According to Atmos Energy, the Civic Natural Gas sedan’s use as a pace car aligns perfectly with the goal of providing an exciting fan experience while promoting environmental responsibility. This same strategy has bee used elsewhere in racing with other advanced technology pace cars running on gasoline-electric hybrid power and other alternative fuels.
Atmos Energy and many other companies have been converting a variety of fleet vehicles, often pickups and vans, to cleaner burning natural gas, which offers performance similar to that of gasoline vehicles while offering reduced fuel and maintenance costs. Honda’s Civic Natural Gas is the only factory-produced CNG passenger car in the United States.
Performance has historically been a huge touchstone for the Dodge brand. These days, though, this is defined in ways other than pure power and acceleration, with environmental performance at the top of many lists.
The revival of the legacy Dodge Dart nameplate for the 2013 model year aims squarely at this ‘new’ performance. This car looks cool, harkening to its storied past with an array of great styling features that make it look better than we ever remember the original Dart looking back then vis-à-vis its peers, while blending in lots of advanced electronics, safety systems, and of course efficiency.
Three Tigershark powerplant options are offered including a 16-valve, 2.0-liter (160) four-cylinder engine and two four-cylinder MultiAir variants – a 1.4-liter (160 hp) MultiAir turbo and a 2.4-liter (184 hp) MultiAir 2. Fiat’s fuel-efficient MultiAir technology reduces fuel consumption and emissions through precise electro-hydraulic valve control of air and combustion, cylinder by cylinder and stroke by stroke. All engines couple to either six-speed manual or automatic transmissions.
The 2.0-liter and 1.4-liter engines with six-speed manual achieve EPA ratings of 25 city/36 highway and 27 city/39 highway mpg, respectively. The 2.4-liter MultiAir 2 engine will debut in the Dodge Dart Aero model coming this fall and offer at least 41 mpg on the highway.
The sub-compact BMW X1 premium sport activity vehicle (SAV) combines the utility of an SAV with the driving dynamics of a BMW sports sedan. This combination has already proved popular in markets outside the U.S. Now the X1 is heading to our shores this coming fall.
The U.S. version gets some unique updates for American drivers including exterior and interior refinements and the addition of various EfficientDynamics technologies. These include regenerative braking for all models with Auto Start/Stop and ECO PRO modes in the X1 sDrive28i and all-wheel drive xDrive28i variants, all to improve fuel efficiency.
Both the sDrive28i and xDrive28i feature BMW’s latest 2.0-liter TwinPower Turbo four-cylinder engine, which features 240 horsepower with 260 lb-ft torque at a low 1,250 rpm. It connects to an 8-speed Steptronic automatic transmission. Performance is a given with the sDrive28i and xDrive28i achieving zero to 60 mph in 6.2 and 6.3 seconds, respectively.
Even with this level of performance, EPA estimated fuel economy is 24 city/33 highway mpg in the former and 22 city/30 highway mpg in the latter. The X1 sDrive28i and xDrive28i will retail for $31,545 and $33,245 with the more powerful, and somewhat less fuel efficient, 3.0-liter TwinPower Turbo-powered xDrive35i starting at $39,345.
While the 2012 Kia Rio is not EPA rated at 50 mpg, that’s not to say this efficiency can’t be achieved, as the Green Car Journal - FrugalDriver.com team illustrated during a recent Kia fuel economy drive from Miami to Key West in Florida. The goal was to post the highest mpg among a media group driving Rios and Optima Hybrids on a varied route, which included congested Miami city driving, various state highways, and then 127 miles along the Overseas Highway/US 1 through the Florida Keys.
Driver Todd Kaho’s winning hypermiling strategy was safe and simple: Use conservative pedal pressure, drive the posted speed limit, anticipate stops by slowing well ahead of time to avoid scrubbing momentum, and shut down the engine at stoplights to simulate a stop/start feature (a coming Rio option). And, oh yeah, forego fuel economy-robbing A/C and drive with windows up above 35 mph to cut wind resistance…even on an 85 degree tropical day. No sweat (well…some).
Kia’s Rio, Rio 5-Door hatchback, and Optima Hybrid are among many unsung heroes now on the market that achieve 40 highway mpg or better on conventional fuel. Others are out there from Audi, Chevrolet, Ford, Honda, Hyundai, Mazda, Toyota, and VW.
How do they do this? In the case of the Rio, by using a 1.6-liter GDI (gasoline direct injection) four-cylinder engine and efficient six-speed automatic to provide a nice balance of power and fuel efficiency, delivering a class-leading 138 horsepower and a class-leading EPA fuel economy rating of 30 city/40 highway mpg. Drive like we did and you'll do even better.
Audi’s focus on electrified transportation is showcased in its series of e-tron concepts, all very sophisticated approaches to developing future production vehicles for varying classes from city cars to high-performance sports cars. The latest, the A6 L e-tron plug-in hybrid concept, is a foray into the luxury market.
This e-tron exercise is based on the A6 sedan, which features a sporty and athletic appearance and an array of accouterments desired by prestige buyers. The e-tron variant features the same lightweight bodyshell as the production A6 but sports a distinctive single-frame grille with slender crossbars and nearly covered air intakes, signatures of Audi’s e-tron models. Other unique styling cues include a rear diffuser and 21-inch wheels and tires.
Beneath the skin resides a parallel hybrid system integrating a 211 horsepower, 2.0-liter TFSI engine and a 95 horsepower electric motor. Energy for the electric motor is supplied by a liquid-cooled lithium-ion battery pack positioned in a collision-protected space at the rear of the car. The A6 L e-tron is designed to operate exclusively on the electric motor, the combustion engine, or a combination of the two. Electric-only range is said to be up to 50 miles at a steady speed of 37 mph. The car’s hybrid control module selects the operating mode best suited for conditions with an emphasis on driving range.
Audi says its first production e-tron model will be the A3 e-tron in 2014, followed by other New Energy Vehicles in following years, with the goal of providing buyers a range of efficient drivetrain options that complement its existing TDI clean diesel, TFSI gasoline, and hybrid choices.
Natural gas pickup choices are growing with the addition of a CNG powered pickup from Ram Truck. The dual-fuel Ram 2500 Heavy Duty CNG pickup, offered exclusively as a Crew Cab 4x4 model on a 169-inch wheelbase, is designed to run on either compressed natural gas or gasoline.
The transition from natural gas to gasoline is handled automatically. Unlike the natural gas pickup offerings from Ford and GM that are available to both fleets and consumers, the fully assembly line-built Ram CNG pickup will initially be offered exclusively to fleets at an MSRP of $47,500, plus a $995 destination charge.
To run on both fuels, the Ram HD CNG’s 5.7-liter HEMI V-8 is modified with redesigned cylinder heads, CNG compatible valves and valve-seat materials, a second CNG-specific fuel rail and CNG injectors, new spark plugs, and a new powertrain control module. A pair of 4.6 cu.-ft. CNG tanks located in the 8-foot pickup bed hold the gasoline gallon equivalent of 18.2 gallons. They are fueled through a CNG filler connection located next to the standard gasoline fuel neck, accessed through the Ram’s fuel filler door. An 8 gallon gasoline tank adds 112 miles of range to the pickup’s 255 range on natural gas.
Keeping track of fuel level is straightforward with a CNG-specific gauge adjacent to the conventional gasoline gauge in the instrument cluster. The CNG pickup’s considerable functionality is retained with a 1,580 lb. payload rating, 7,650 lbs. of towing capability, and a 4 ft., 8-in. usable cargo bed length.
Cars are going ‘green’. So are auto manufacturers. Why not the retailers that sell us our cars?
Honda figures that makes perfect sense so it has launched its new Environmental Leadership Awards for designated ‘Green Dealers.’ The program honors independently-owned Honda dealers that have reduced their environmental impact by reaching specified thresholds of decreased water use, implementation of a comprehensive recycling program and, in the case of Honda’s Platinum award, earning LEED certification from the US. Green Building Council. The minimum 10 percent energy reduction required for an award is in line with the Environmental Protection Agency’s Energy Star Award / National Automobile Dealers Association program.
According to Honda, 10 Honda and Acura dealers have already received the award while 18 more have applied to be in the program. Impressively, more than 200 dealers have independently developed initiatives to reduce their environmental impact. The first dealer to achieve the highest Platinum Level award is Headquarters Honda of Clermont, FL. Silver Level honorees include Acura of Peabody (Peabody, MA), Diamond Honda (City of Industry, CA), Honda of Burleson (Burleson, TX), Joe Morgan Honda (Monroe, OH), McDaniels Acura (Columbia, SC), Norm Reeves Acura of Mission Viejo (Mission Viejo, CA), Rock Honda (Fontana, CA), Rossi Honda (Vineland, NJ), and Voss Honda (Tipp City, OH).
Interested in locating a Honda Environmental Leadership Award winning dealer? It's as easy as visiting www.Honda.com.
Most electric vehicle owners expect free public charging opportunities. Still, plenty of charging providers aim to sell such services and have built business plans around this.
Even as a pay-for-play network of charging stations emerges, we do expect many businesses to offer free charging as a way to attract environmentally-inclined customers. As all this unfolds, there’s substantial partnering going on as electric vehicle makers try to send the right message that charging stations are coming in greater numbers and many of them will indeed offer charging for free.
Case in point: Electric vehicle owners will now have access to free charging at an additional 15 charging stations in California because of an arrangement between Nissan North America and Adopt a Charger, a nonprofit group that works with companies and organizations to fund fee-free electric vehicle chargers in public places. Nissan is paying for three 220 volt Level 2 chargers at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and four Level 2 chargers at the Music Concourse Garage in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park. An additional eight 120 volt Level 1 outlets are also being sponsored at the Music Concourse.
These charging locations should get maximum visibility and use since both are at highly-visited family attractions with large concentrations of electric vehicle owners in the regions. This 'best-bang-for-the-buck' approach is sure to influence both free and pay-for-play charging locations in the future.
The benefits of cruise control systems are well known: automating the often tedious job of maintaining steady driving speeds while delivering the side benefit of better fuel efficiency. However, sustaining optimum speeds is not always easy during times of heavy traffic when cars around you may be traveling at varying speeds, and especially in bumper-to-bumper traffic.
Aiming to remedy this is Cadillac with its ‘Super Cruise’ semi-autonomous technology that’s capable of fully automatic steering, braking, and lane-centering in highway driving. The automaker is road testing this technology now.
Key to delivering this semi-autonomous capability is the integration of lane-centering technology that uses forward-looking cameras to detect lane markings, along with GPS map data to detect curves and other road characteristics. Already, many of the building block technologies for Super Cruise are available as part of the available Driver Assist Package on Cadillac’s 2013 XTS and ATS models.
The system uses sensor fusion to provide 360 degrees of crash risk detection and enhanced driver assist features like rear automatic braking, intelligent brake assist, range adaptive cruise control, lane departure warning, and more. Cadillac says the system could be ready for production vehicles by mid-decade.
Car rental giant Hertz will begin offering compressed natural gas (CNG) vehicle rentals to customers at Will Rogers World Airport in Oklahoma in early May, serving as a pilot program for the company’s CNG airport rental activities.
Initial natural gas rentals will include two GMC Yukons and eight Honda Civics, the latter Green Car Journal’s 2012 Green Car of the Year. All vehicles will include NeverLost GPS navigation to assist renters in mapping local CNG refueling stations. Oklahoma has significant CNG fueling infrastructure across the state with some 70 existing or planned public stations.
Hertz introduced CNG vehicles through Hertz On Demand at Oklahoma State University last year. It already rents CNG vehicles in Italy and the UK. In the U.S., the CNG rentals are part of the company’s growing Green Traveler Collection that includes natural gas, electric, and other fuel-efficient vehicles.
The expansion of energy-efficient and clean vehicles stems from the launch of Living Journey, Hertz's global sustainability strategy announced earlier this year. CNG vehicles are a good fit for this program since natural gas is a cleaner-burning fuel that emits up to 30 percent less carbon dioxide and 75 percent less carbon monoxide. CNG also costs significantly less than gasoline and is produced domestically.
It should be no secret that electric vehicles are pricey because of the extraordinarily high cost of their advanced lithium batteries. Yet, most folks still wonder why the purchase price of a battery powered vehicle is so high. Here’s a clue: Ford’s CEO Alan Mulally has now shared that the cost of the lithium-ion batteries used in the $39,200 Ford Focus Electric – Green Car Journal’s 2011 Green Car Vision Award winner – is $12,000 to $15,000 per vehicle.
Obviously, this kind of battery cost is limiting the number of electric vehicles automakers are willing to make since building them is just one part of the equation. The other important part is selling them…and that means either convincing buyers to step up to their higher price or relying on federal or internal subsidies, or both.
We’ve been through this before. During the test marketing of battery electric vehicles in the 1990s, people wondered why electric cars couldn’t be a success. We pointed out then, as we are again now, that the batteries in the EVs of the day – the GM EV1, Honda EV Plus, Toyota RAV4 EV, and others – were likely $20,000 to $30,000 per vehicle. The latter figure was confirmed to us by the late Dave Hermance of Toyota’s electric vehicle program some years ago.
So what really killed the electric car back then? The cost of batteries. We’re just hoping that battery development costs for a new generation of electric car batteries – whether lithium-ion or other technologies – can be overcome to provide the momentum needed by the emerging electric vehicle market.
Hydrogen fuel cell buses and cars can now fill up with this zero-emission fuel at AC Transit’s municipal bus facility in Emeryville, California. The hydrogen fueling systems provided by Linde North America are capable of fueling up to 12 buses and 20 passenger cars per day. A second AC Transit hydrogen fueling station in Oakland is expected to begin operating in 2013. Part of AC Transit’s HyRoad project, the stations aim to demonstrate the commercial viability of hydrogen fuel cell technology for public transit.
The transit agency operates buses in 13 cities in the East Bay Area of Northern California, including Emeryville, Oakland, and Berkeley. AC Transit additionally operates trans-bay service to San Francisco.
The California Air Resources Board estimates that fuel cell buses will deliver a net reduction of 2.7 pounds of carbon dioxide per mile using hydrogen reformed from methane, and 6.3 pounds per mile using hydrogen derived from solar, wind, or other renewable sources. With each AC Transit bus projected to travel 36,000 miles annually, this could potentially reduce carbon emissions by 44 metric tons per year when using methane as a source of fuel, or 103 metric tons using renewables.
Importantly, these are tailpipe and carbon emissions reductions that can be duplicated by transit agencies across the country. To do so, however, requires significant public and private investment to enable the effort.