Watch any car commercial, and you will almost always see the abbreviation “MSRP” come up next to the price of the car. Many people don’t know that this stands for the Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price. In other words, this is what the big corporations “suggest” their dealerships sell their cars for. But dealerships are independently owned and operated, and they can set the price as high, or low, as they want.

Which plays into two upcoming, potentially world-changing cars; the Chevy Volt and Nissan LEAF. While many Chevy dealerships seem prepared to gouge initial Volt buyers by as much as $20,000 over MSRP, many Nissan dealers are taking the opposite route, actually going under the MSRP for the LEAF by as much as $1,000. What gives?

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Forget emotion for a moment. If you were to base your next new car purchase purely on logic, what would it be? If you live in America, you most likely would buy either A) a V8-powered pickup or B) a fuel efficient hybrid. Why? Because either you need to move stuff around (pickup) or just yourself (hybrid). Yet for all their fuel-saving frugality, most hybrids don’t pay back the extra cost spent on the technology very quickly.

Except perhaps one. A Canadian study of 16 different hybrids found that just one, the Mercedes Benz S400 Hybrid, cost less to own and run than its gasoline counterpart (that would be the regular S400). How is that so?

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I still find it hard to believe that mass market electric vehicles are right around the proverbial corner. In fact, until I’ve actually seen a Nissan LEAF or a Chevy Volt on the road, I refuse to be suckered in. There are people out there far more optimistic than I, however, and they see the future as looking more promising every day.

The McKinsey research firm has published a study which suggests that the United States will lead the world’s electric car consumer market.

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It is hard to believe that just 100 years ago, most people still got around either by foot or (if they were lucky) on horseback. These days, many Americans don’t just drive cars; they couldn’t live without them. As cities continue to siphon off people from the suburbs though, many municipalities are looking for ways to cut down on the increased traffic that comes with too many cars.

San Juan, the capital (and most populous city) of the island of Puerto Rico, is faced with a series of challenges. An over-reliance on cars has left the city over developed and under planned, with many pristine beaches inaccessible, the traffic an absolute nightmare. This is especially true in Isleta, or Old San Juan. But a $1.5 billion infusion of cash hopes to change Old San Juan into a walkable city where cars aren’t allowed.

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By Larry E. Hall

Will the next New Beetle that debuts at January’s Detroit auto show take design cues from this 2005 Ragster Concept? And, will Volkswagen announce the arrival of a Hybrid Beetle?

Three weeks ago we attended a press conference at Volkswagen’s Electronics Research Lab in Palo Alto, Calif., where VW chairman Dr. Martin Winterkorn presented the automaker’s plan for hybrid and electric vehicles. I checked my notes and there was no mention of an upcoming Beetle hybrid but Britain’s Autocar.com is reporting that their sources have confirmed a hybrid model is planned for the new “Peoples Car,” which is scheduled for next year.

When it debuts next January at Detroit’s North American International Auto Show—will it be named the New, New Beetle?—Autocar says it will have a “radical design,” that is a completely fresh, modern take on the classic “People’s Car.” Several industry pundits have already tagged the 2005 Ragster Concept as the guide for the car’s new styling. If that’s so, it isn’t a radical design when compared to the current model. In fact, the Ragster is not much more than a George Barris chop job from the 1950s.

Regardless of the Beetle’s new exterior design, it won’t be a difficult task to incorporate a hybrid system. It is fashioned from the new 2011 Jetta platform, and the hybrid version of that car arrives in 2012. That would seem to validate Autocar’s report that the hybrid Beetle will be equipped with VW’s twincharger TSI in-line four cylinder, which incorporates both a supercharger and a turbocharger. The TSI engine will make its first U.S. appearance in the Jetta Hybrid, according to Dr. Winterkorn. And, if it duplicates the Jetta, it will be a full-hybrid system, enabling the car to be powered by the electric motor(s) only, the gasoline engine only or both.

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General Motors has apparently chosen E85 ethanol as the best “near-term” alternative fuel solution. In a post on GM’s FastLane blog, technical fellow Candace Wheeler, says that the carmaker is ready to move forward with an ambitious expansion of flex-fuel vehicles, which can run on either gasoline or corn ethanol blends of up to 85 percent.

Despite commitments from major automakers like GM, E85’s long-term outlook remains in question. Why’s that? Because evidence suggests that very few people who own flex-fuel vehicles actually end up using the fuel. Just 2,500 of the 162,000 gas stations in the United States actually offer E85, which in most parts of the country offers little to no cost savings compared to standard gasoline.

Dr. Wheeler said that GM has pledged to produce 850,000 flex-fuel vehicles, beginning next year. That would represent a 55 percent increase over current levels. “Our 2010 lineup represents the most (flex-fuel vehicle) models on the market,” wrote Wheeler. “With many new stations opening up, especially in the south and south central regions, it’s becoming easier find a place to fill up.”

But How Just ‘Near-Term’ is E85?

Indeed, Wheeler cites a 17 percent increase in ethanol production over last year’s levels, to 839,000 barrels per year, as a reason why E85 might catch on. But even if expiring production and blending incentives are extended by congress later this year, there’s still reason to be skeptical of whether it will catch on. E85 isn’t in a position to immediately benefit from a spike in gas prices, and could be edged out by increased production of other alternatives should prices rise more gradually.

Even if the majority of American cars were to have flex-fuel capability and gas prices were to somehow increase to 2008 levels next summer, most drivers would have no way of cashing in on the savings until enough fuel pumps were installed at enough gas stations nationwide. Furthermore, even with production of ethanol rising, it’s unlikely that enough E85 could be produced to meet a significant level of demand in the near term—especially without impacting food prices.

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The California Senate yesterday voted 28-3 to pass a bill to would extend the use of carpool lanes for solo hybrid drivers through June 30, 2011. The legislation, SB 535, would also provide HOV access to solo drivers of plug-in hybrids under the state’s Enhanced Advanced Technology Zero Emissions Vehicle (EAT-PZEV) designation. SB 535 now goes to the governor, who will have 12 days to sign or veto it.

Unless the governor signs SB 535, solo drivers of conventional hybrids will be denied access beginning Jan. 1, 2011. California issued yellow carpool lane access stickers to 85,000 hybrids between 2004 and 2007.

California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed Assembly Bill 1500 in early July, providing the solo carpool lane perk to owners of pure electric vehicles and cars running on compressed natural gas until Jan. 1, 2015. AB1500 did not extend the privilege to hybrids.

The Zero Emission Vehicles are white and the current hybrid stickers are yellow. The California Department of Motor Vehicles is considering the use of green stickers for the Enhanced AT-PZEVs.

Limit of 40,000, No Access for Volt For Now

California Senator Leland Yee, the author of SB 535, said the goal of extending hybrid HOV access for an additional six months is to give California hybrid owners time to purchase the electric cars and plug-in hybrids coming to the market. The all-electric Nissan LEAF and the Chevy Volt plug-in hybrid go on sale later this year. However, the 2011 model year Chevy Volt will not be certified as an Enhanced AT-PZEV and will therefore not qualify for the HOV perk. The Toyota Prius Plug-in Hybrid, expected in 2012, has been certified as an Enhanced AT-PZEV, and will therefore qualify for solo HOV access.

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By Larry E. Hall

Forget about the possibility of the Volkswagen diesel-electric hybrid L1 Concept and its 157.8 mpg ever seeing production. In fact, don’t expect any diesel hybrids from VW.

Diesel engines have traditionally delivered better fuel mileage than their gas counterparts, and today, thanks to technology, their emissions output rivals gas powertrains. Adding an electric hybrid system to a diesel would, therefore, seem to make sense—a green car with superb fuel economy.

For years, Volkswagen has showcased a number of diesel-hybrid concept vehicles. That might give you the impression that VW dealers will soon have them in their showrooms. Repeat after me: That’s not going to happen.

VW spokesperson that recently told Great Britain’s Autocar that “diesel hybrids still don’t make good business sense.” The spokesperson continued by saying, “The higher cost of clean diesel technology would make them even more expensive than petrol-electric cars. The markets where hybrids are most popular are also the ones where diesels are least popular.”

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Racing is not very green, and yet it continues to amaze me how many in the racing world are taking clean energy seriously. A great example is the American Le Mans Series, which continues to promote hybrid and alternative fuel vehicles at its races. Even the greenest cars can’t green a whole race track though, which often covers hundreds of acres and on race day can accumulate epic mounds of garbage.

Pocono Raceway in Pennsylvania is taking a pro-active step in greening their facility. This past weekend they threw the switch on the largest solar array in Pennsylvania, which not only provides power to the massive race track, but 1,000 nearby homes as well.

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I complain about traffic congestion a lot, until I am reminded that compared to some parts of the world, America has it easy. I could not imagine living in Moscow or Beijing, where four-hour traffic jams are the norm. China faces an especially daunting task as their population continues to expand and urbanize; you can only build so many highways and move so many people, and building new train lines is expensive and requires extensive planning.

Unless… you put the train right over existing highways. That is what one Chinese designer is proposing. And I think the idea has a lot of merit… if only he can figure out how to get around existing overpasses.

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I am of the opinion that to get people to “Go Green” you have to convince them it is for their benefit. Yes, saving the Earth is important, I am down with that. The fact of the matter though is that most people won’t go out of their way to save the planet unless there is a tangible benefit for them. Clean air don’t pay the bills.

Which is why hybrids and electric vehicles make so much sense for business, especially local ones. Many businesses rely on heavy vehicles that get poor gas mileage to get their business to their customers. Frost & Sullivan, a market research group, is predicting that over the next six years, the commercial hybrid market is set for big growth. Sounds like people are starting to catch on to how much money can be saved by increasing fuel economy.

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It still pains me that Ford has murdered the Mercury brand. I am a die-hard Mercury enthusiast, and even though it was before my time, I’ve heard many stories about the great cars Mercury used to make. The Cougar, the Comet, the Marauder… these are cars that quickly became legends. No more Mercury though, and Ford has officially sold Volvo (for $1.8 billion, a lot less than they bought it for), leaving the Blue Oval with just two brands; Ford and Lincoln.

The Lincoln lineup though, quite frankly, is kinda sad right now. Lincoln has no cars all its own, just rebadged Fords. That could change soon though, as Ford plans to focus on expanding the Lincoln lineup… though not in the direction you might think.

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By Larry E. Hall

Hydraulic Hybrid Developed By EPA Increases Garbage Truck Fuel Economy Up To 30 Percent

In the early morning hours across America, five days a week, an army of big-dog garbage trucks sets out to pick up our trash. They pull up, stop, idle, load and take off for the next stop, often only 100 feet or less away. This happens 300 to 1,200 times per day, per vehicle.

The city of Ann Arbor, Mich. is purchasing four Peterbilt garbage trucks with Eaton’s Hydraulic Launch Assist hydraulic hybrid system. The city expects a 30% increase in fuel economy as well as savings from fewer brake replacement jobs.

On a good day, a diesel garbage hauler will eke out 4 to 5 mpg. Then there are all those icky, nasty pollutants pouring out of the exhaust pipe.

But thanks to the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), yes, those government folks who monitor environmental laws and fuel mileage testing, a system called “hydraulic hybrid” increases fuel economy up to 30 percent and reduces carbon dioxide emissions by 40 percent or more in heavy-duty truck applications.

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As part of the federal government’s policy of cutting its vehicle fleet use of petroleum by 30 % by 2020, the Department of Energy will lease 334 Ford Fusion Hybrids this year from the General Services Administration.

The General Services Administration (GSA) ordered 5,600 gasoline-electric hybrid vehicles earlier this year, and the first batch arrived about a month ago. More new vehicles will continue to arrive throughout the summer as they roll off assembly lines. The purchases, announced last March, are in addition to the 3,100 hybrid vehicles agencies received last year as part of the 2009 Recovery Act. This brings the total of the federal hybrid vehicle fleet to more than 11,000 cars and trucks, slightly less than two percent of the 600,000 vehicles the government operates.

GSA leases the new hybrids to federal agencies as they trade in their older gas-guzzling vehicles, which GSA sells at auctions. Proceeds from the auctions, in addition to taxpayer funds earmarked for the purchases, help fund the hybrid purchases.

The Department of Energy’s commitment to an all-hybrid vehicle fleet within 3 years includes leasing 273 Chevrolet’s Silverado Hybrid pickup trucks this year from the General Services Administration.

The Department of Energy is a leader in the government’s transition to fuel-efficient hybrids and has committed to an all-hybrid fleet within three years. This year the agency is leasing 753 vehicles from GSA: 334 Ford Fusions, 273 Chevrolet Silverado pickup trucks, 145 Ford Escape sport-utility vehicles and one Honda Insight.

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Using a recently identified gene from e. coli, researchers think they may have jumped the last hurdle in the race to create a commercially viable biofuel.

Back when biofuels were in vogue and everybody in the industry, as well as what seemed like a majority of politicians, were singing kumbaya in the name of solving all our woes, California company LS9 was seen as one of the rising stars in the next generation biofuels movement. The reason: they were (and are still) developing a genetically engineered microbe that can take raw plant material and turn it directly into a fuel (diesel and/or gasoline) that you would be able to drop into your existing fuel tank and your car wouldn’t so much as even notice. This type of biofuel is called a “drop-in” fuel.

Imagine that: a facility that accepts any kind of woody waste or raw plant material as input and produces tanks and tanks of gasoline as its output on a daily basis—nothing else needed and no other steps in between. If it could be developed, you might start to grasp how revolutionary such a process would be.

Of course, since those heydays of biofuel in-vogueness, biofuels have become mired in the ugly world of Corn Belt politics, controversies over food vs. fuel, land use issues, and debates about whether or not biofuels are even better for the environment than fossil fuels to begin with. Looking back, it was amazing how quickly the promise of biofuels all fell apart. But that didn’t stop companies like LS9 from continuing to do research on what are still, fundamentally, potentially game changing advances.

And now LS9, in a paper published in the prestigious scientific journal “Science,” says that their last hurdle to actually creating some kind of super bug that can do what they set out to do—change raw plant matter into fuel—has been jumped. The discovery opens the door to completely engineering a microbe that can fulfill the promise of a cheap, renewable drop-in fuel made from materials that don’t compete with food.

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With electricity poised to potentially replace gasoline as the fuel that powers tomorrow’s automobiles, the question of where that power comes from is an important one. If the majority of the world’s electricity continues to come from coal, replacing internal combustion engines with lithium ion batteries will, in essence, just mean replacing one carbon-spewing combustible with another—though most research on the subject shows that EVs are still significantly cleaner.

But a new study calls into question whether coal will still be cheapest available source of energy by the time electric vehicles start making a major dent in the auto market. Could a looming shortage force our hand in replacing coal with nuclear energy and renewables?

Twin Peaks

In recent years, peak oil theory has received a lot of attention—and not just from the commodities gurus and conspiracy theorists who have been shouting warnings from the rooftops for decades. With global energy demand rising and countries like China and India on the cusp providing the world with billions of new consumers seeking something similar to the energy-thirsty “American way of life,” even the mainstream media has been known to throw the term out there from time to time. In fact, it’s possible that the consensus on peak oil has shifted in the last decade from a question of “if,” to one of “when.”

What hasn’t gotten as much attention in recent years though is the global supply of another fossil fuel that mankind relies upon to power its prosperity: Coal. About half of the electricity used in the United States comes from the burning of coal, and in other countries that number is often much higher. China relies on the fuel for more than 70 percent of its energy. But with international demand for coal expected to rise by nearly 50 percent by 2030, exactly how much of this finite resource is left to mine, and how long will it be until global production peaks?

According to a study by Tadeusz Patzek of the University of Texas and Gregory Croft of Berkeley, that day is a lot closer than anyone would imagine. Patzek and Croft are warning that after 2011, global production rates for coal will begin to decline—sinking to 1990 levels by 2037 and dropping to half of peak production by 2047. The paper also projects a corresponding decrease in emissions from coal, by an average of 2 percent per year.

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