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Why the Government Now Cares What You Spend on Gas

Why the Government Now Cares What You Spend on Gas Page added on November 13, 2013 locationaffordability.info The housing crisis was, of course, primarily about housing: housing that people couldn’t afford, housing that banks helped them finance anyway, housing that too many treated as a sure-fire investment . But in a less noticed way, the housing crisis was also very much about transportation. The money we spend getting around is largely dictated by the choices we make in where to live. Buy a house 20 miles down the highway from your job, and your costs of getting around on $4-a-gallon gas are much steeper than they would be if you lived a short walk from the office (or the bus stop). Those costs – half a tank of gas here, a bus ticket there – are much harder to track than a single monthly housing payment. They’re practically invisible. […]

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Field test shows Volvo Buses’ plug-in hybrid reduces fuel consumption by 81% and energy consumption by 61%; 21 mpg

Field test shows Volvo Buses’ plug-in hybrid reduces fuel consumption by 81% and energy consumption by 61%; 21 mpg Volvo Plug-in hybrid_EN_2013 Volvo Bus’ plug-in hybrid. The pantograph for rapid charging can be seen on the roof. Click to enlarge. Field tests being conducted in Gothenburg show that Volvo Buses’ plug-in hybrid reduces fuel consumption by 81% and total energy consumption (diesel plus electricity) by 61% compared to a comparable Euro 5 diesel bus. ( Earlier post .) The field test in Gothenburg began in June 2013 and includes three plug-in hybrid buses, the batteries of which are rapidly recharged at the terminals. This makes it possible for the buses to run on electric power for most of the route. The plug-in hybrids are based on the Volvo 7900 Hybrid, Volvo Buses’ second series-produced hybrid bus model. The plug-in hybrids have been further developed, and enable rapid recharging from […]

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The Future Requires (Better) Batteries

George Crabtree has a familiar problem. His phone is charged in the morning, but by 4 p.m. it’s out of juice. “I find it really annoying to see that it’s off and wonder how many calls I’ve missed,” he says. Unlike most of us, though, Mr. Crabtree might be able to do something about it. He directs the Joint Center for Energy Storage Research at Argonne National Laboratory. Argonne is part of a group of labs, universities and companies tasked by a Department of Energy program to design a battery that lasts five times as long and costs one-fifth as much as current batteries—in five years or less. In truth, few people give the Argonne program—or similar quests by other researchers and startups around the world—much chance of succeeding within a few years. Electric-car makers, to cite one example, take four or five years just to evaluate a new […]

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LA 2013: Volkswagen Announces 256 MPG Diesel Hybrid

Hybrid Cars VW Diesel Hybrid Gets 260 MPG Published on November 9th, 2013 | by Jo Borrás 7 VW Diesel Hybrid Gets 260 MPG Volkswagen knocked one out of the park with its genre-defying, extreme MGP XL1 supercar- with orders exceeding the company’s XL1 production plans for the slinky exotic car , despite its six-figure price tag. Don’t think that the XL1 is done because VW doesn’t plan on building more XL1s, though. Meet the Volkswagen’s XL1 follow-up act: the 250+ MPG Volkswagen Twin Up! diesel hybrid set to debut later this month at the LA Auto Show . The Twin Up! uses a modified version of the XL1′s 47 hp, 800 cc diesel engine and electric hybrid drivetrain to return a claimed fuel consumption of more than 256 MPG and CO2 emissions of just 27 g/km on the European cycles (if that g/km measurement didn’t give it away). […]

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GFEI report suggests $2T savings from fuel economy improvements in ICE vehicles through 2025 can help fund long-term transition to plug-ins

« DOE Inspector General criticizes agency’s handling of disclosures over Ecotality awards | Main | U-Mich Mobility Transformation Center targeting full autonomous vehicle deployment in Ann Arbor by 2021 » Print this post GFEI report suggests $2T savings from fuel economy improvements in ICE vehicles through 2025 can help fund long-term transition to plug-ins Fuel economy improvements from conventional internal combustion engine cars can save an estimated $2 trillion in fuel costs through 2025—and more in years after— according to a new working paper published by the Global Fuel Economy Initiative (GFEI) prepared by Dr. Lew Fulton, Co-Director, NextSTEPS Program at the Institute of Transportation Studies, University of California at Davis. The GFEI, a partnership of international agencies and top energy policy experts, suggests that these cost savings could in part be used to help offset the costs of developing a global market for electric vehicles over this time […]

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South Stream gas pipeline construction begins in Bulgaria

SOFIA, Bulgaria, Nov. 1 (UPI) — The start of construction of the South Stream gas pipeline in Bulgaria marks the launch of one of Europe’s largest energy projects, Gazprom’s chief said. “A landmark event has taken place today: Construction started on the Bulgarian section of the South Stream gas pipeline, the most large-scale and important project in Europe,” Gazprom Chairman Alexei Miller said in a statement Thursday. “This project is a key element of energy security of the whole European continent.” South Stream is meant to add diversity to Russia’s export routes through Europe. A contractual dispute between Gazprom and its counterparts in Ukraine, which hosts most of Russia’s gas for Europe, adds a layer of risk to conventional routes, officials say. Miller said the direct connection to Bulgaria, a member of the European Union, means geopolitical risks associated with transit countries are eliminated “forever.” Bulgarian consumers will receive […]

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Green Car Congress: UPS begins operational rollout of ORION advanced route optimization software

« Argentina’s largest ethanol plant begins operations; Vogelbusch technology | Main | Petrobras says it will increase production capacity by 1M barrels per day in 2013 » Print this post UPS begins operational rollout of ORION advanced route optimization software ORION infographic ORION infographic. Click to enlarge. UPS has launched its ORION (On-Road Integrated Optimization and Navigation) advanced route optimization software. The rollout of ORION is intended to optimize 10,000 delivery routes by the end of the year, reduce miles driven and reinforce UPS’ sustainability efforts. US deployment to nearly all 55,000 routes is planned to be completed in 2017 and global deployments are planned for the future. ORION contains more than 250 million address data points. The software combines customers’ shipping requirements with customized map data the company has compiled to provide UPS drivers with optimized routing instructions that meet service-level requirements, while reducing miles driven. Most routes […]

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Green Car Congress: Volvo Drive-E engines delivering NEDC fuel consumption in S60 sedan as low as 62 mpg US for diesel, 40 mpg for gasoline

« Audi pricing 2015 A3 sedan starting at $29,900 in US; diesel, PHEV coming | Main | Center for Automotive Research awarded Federal grant to study automotive bio-based materials cluster » Print this post Volvo Drive-E engines delivering NEDC fuel consumption in S60 sedan as low as 62 mpg US for diesel, 40 mpg for gasoline 124741_1_5 The new Drive-E diesel engine. Click to enlarge. Volvo is introducing the first engines—two gasoline and 1 diesel—in its new 2.0-liter, four-cylinder Drive-E powertrain family ( earlier post ) and has received official European NEDC certification on fuel consumption and CO 2 emissions when applied in the S60 sedan. Leading with the lowest fuel consumption is the Volvo S60 D4 diesel with 181 hp (135 kW) and manual gearbox, delivering class-leading CO 2 emissions at 99 g/km, which translates into fuel consumption of 3.8 l/100 km (62 mpg US ). A Volvo […]

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Green Car Congress: BMW introduces the 2 Series; power up, fuel consumption down by up to 21% over 1 Series, depending upon model

« Volkswagen opens new plant in Ningbo; 16th in China, with annual capacity of 300,000 units | Main | Audi pricing 2015 A3 sedan starting at $29,900 in US; diesel, PHEV coming » Print this post BMW introduces the 2 Series; power up, fuel consumption down by up to 21% over 1 Series, depending upon model P90133915 New BMW 2 Series Coupe. Click to enlarge. BMW has introduced an entirely new model series in the form of the BMW 2 Series Coupe. Offering both gasoline and diesel engines at launch (depending upon market), output is up by as much as 10 kW over the new car’s 1 Series predecessor, yet average fuel consumption in the EU test cycle has dropped by up to 21%, depending on the model. One four-cylinder gasoline engine and one four-cylinder diesel unit are available from launch, putting 135 kW/184 hp at the disposal of […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple