General Motors Promotes Alternative Fuel

Automakers are saying that they are going to make a car that can run on this and that but so far, they have only managed to come up with hybrids and flex fuel vehicles.

Hybrid vehicles are good for the environment for the fact that they use electricity (sometimes) to power a vehicle.  Apart from hybrid vehicles, there are also flex fuel vehicles or those vehicles which can run on either gasoline or ethanol.

Using ethanol means we do not have to depend on oil producing countries for our fuel as it can be produced here in the country.  We have a lot of areas where corn can be cultivated and then used to manufacture ethanol.

The problem here though is that there are limited infrastructures manufacturing said fuel.  Also there are very few refilling stations which offer E85, a blend of fuel containing 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline.

General Motors though has taken an initiative to promote the presence of refilling stations in California by partnering with the first refilling station in Los Angeles to offer ethanol.  On February 26, drivers would be able to fill up their flex fuel vehicles with bio-ethanol for only 85 cents per gallon.

This move by the automaker is a good one as it means they are serious about flex fuel vehicles.  Last year, a study showed that 99 percent of flex fuel vehicles actually still runs on gasoline thus not actually being of great help to ease of energy dependency on petroleum fuel.

I think that the government should also step in to help the alternative fuel industry set up the proper infrastructure which would enable them to supply clean bio-ethanol to more consumers across America.

Fast, Silent Like A Bullet

Of course, you can’t resist the temptation of a car which is as fast and silent as a bullet. Electric cars are like that; they are pretty silent.

One of the world leaders in the production of electric cars is Tesla Motors. On the cover of the March issue of Automobile magazine, the automaker was tagged “this year’s most important [electric] sports car.”

The automaker boasts of performance statistics of zero to 96 kilometers an hour in 4.7 seconds, and a top speed of 200 km/h and a 340-km range.

With the arrival of Tesla in the United States, buffs holler…but the cars were quiet.

National Post writes:

“P1,” which is auto industry parlance for the first production unit, belongs to Elon Musk, Tesla’s chairman and a former PayPal executive who has spent much of his personal fortune making the car a reality.

After mechanics installed the battery pack that contains more than 6,800 lithium-ion cells, Musk took the car out for its first spin. “I’ve invested US$50-million and a lot of time and effort into Tesla, so it’s very gratifying to be able to drive my car for the first time,” he said.

Musk envisions selling thousands of Roadsters a year before quickly expanding to a more affordable electric luxury sedan and then adding a cheaper compact electric. “We’re definitely going to make a lot of cars, otherwise this would be a very expensive car,” Musk said. “Much anticipated and much delayed, the Tesla Roadster heralds a new age of electric vehicles.”

The zero-emission car was scheduled to kick off early last year, but problems with its transmission derailed the release. Tesla grabbed the spotlight over the past year as it replaced its CEO and co-founder, Martin Eberhard, with Ze’ev Drori, a Silicon Valley tech expert. “This is the beginning of the realization of the dreams,” Drori added.

Tesla’s arrival calls for a celebration. Cheers to that!

LoneStar At the Chicago Auto Show

Three things. Customers only want three things when buying trucks. That was Dee Kapur, president of the Navistar Truck Group, said. Now what are these three things? First, personal touch. Kapur said that customers want a truck that states something about its driver. Second is comfort. Whether working or resting, they demand that they stay relaxed. Finally, customers want a cost-effective vehicle. Something in which fuel economy and serviceability comes together to increase if not maintain their income.

That’s exactly what the International LoneStar is all about. A product of extensive customer research and especially designed for customers, it has a striking, aerodynamic appeal with its top of the line interior and exterior innovations. The LoneStar that debuted at the Chicago Auto Show is tagged as a big-rig truck, visually striking with its advanced technology.

It also features improved ergnomics, industry-leading suspension and other highly developed technologies that provides its occupants with a higher level of comfort. LoneStar boasts of a combination of workstyle and lifestyle. It is equipped with a standard ABS, roll stability, traction control, Bluetooth integration for hands-free phone, leather-wrapped steering wheel, swivel chairs, sofa-bed design with back pillows, mini refrigerator, monsoon stereo system with 11 speakers, sub-woofer and amplifier plus more features that according to Navistar Truck Group Chief Designer David Allendorph, could make any truck driver spend 120 hours or 5 days in his or her truck – enjoying his or her own lifestyle while driving.

He added that LoneStar’s purpose is to deliver style, comfort and practicality with a projected fuel efficiency of five to 15 percent compared to standard trucks, equivalent to an annual savings ranging $3,000 to $8,000.

Other trucks from Navistar are currently on display at the Chicago Auto Show that is ongoing ‘til now.