Study: algae biofuels not the easy, green biofuel answer – yet
Filed under: Biodiesel
Over the last several years, algae has been seen as the great green hope to make biofuels a truly viable option that wouldn’t affect food supplies. In part, this is because algae has the potential to yield up to 100 times as much fuel per acre as soy or corn feedstocks. Unfortunately, progress been slow so far, and a new study by Andres Clarens of the University of Virginia indicates making algae requires much more energy to produce than crops.
The study is based on computer models of the entire production process and reveals that current algae production takes six times the energy of growing crops and emits more greenhouse gases. The problem is apparently the amount of fertilizer required to grow the algae. Thankfully, the fertilizer requirements are dramatically reduced if the algae is fed with sewage waste water which contains nutrients that help it grow. Getting the waste water to the the algae ponds or reactors does require some infrastructure investment, though.
[Source: New Scientist | Image: Jurvetson - C.C. License 2.0]
Kia Soul’ster Concept, the Car of the Future?
One very interesting car being released is the 2009 Kia Soul’ster Concept. This car, which features a yellow body, dual chrome exhaust, carbon-fiber interior sleeves and 19-inch aluminum alloy wheels, was first unveiled in 2009 and there are many who think it may be the car of the future, despite its odd look.
The production [...]
Attention Kmart Shoppers: Buy 20 Hot Wheels, get a cool ’62 Vette by mail
Filed under: Etc., Marketing/Advertising, Toys/Games
You know what we like almost as much as real cars? Toy cars. It’s gotten to the point where there mere existence of Hot Wheels, Matchbox, and the like seem like an ongoing conspiracy to suck an extra few bucks out of our wallets with every trip to the store.
Furthering that belief is Hot Wheels’ new Kmart promo, wherein if you buy 20 cars from the basic assortment (they need to match certain SKUs, just FYI), you can then mail in your stack of receipts to receive the special edition ’62 Corvette you see above. (A gallery of more detailed pics can be seen at HotWheelsCollectors.com.) It arrives on a special blister pack that notes its collector’s edition status, and is even shipped in a Kar Keepers protective case to help ensure that the heavy-handed employees at your local sorting station don’t wreck it in transit.
To qualify for the promotion, you must buy your 20 eligible Hot Wheels cars between Feb. 10 and Mar. 10, 2010. Additional details, official rules, etc. are available at HotWheelsCollectors.com. Now please excuse us – there’s a Jackson burning a hole in our pocket, and a Kmart within easy driving distance.
[Source: HotWheelsCollectors.com]
Attention Kmart Shoppers: Buy 20 Hot Wheels, get a cool ’62 Vette by mail originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 31 Jan 2010 15:43:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Volvo introduces new direct injected, turbocharged 2.0-liter GTDi
Filed under: MPG, Volvo
Volvo 2.0-liter GTDi engine – Click above for high-res image gallery
Direct injection and turbocharging go together like peanut butter and jelly. Abbot and Costello. Brett Favre and protracted retirement negotiations. And it’s easy to understand why, considering that very few of us seem willing to give up performance in the name of fuel efficiency and these two technologies combined squeeze both extra ponies and extra mileage out of a small-bore powerplant.
Volvo’s first Gasoline Turbocharged Direct Injection (GTDi) engine will displace 2.0 liters and will offer up 203 horsepower and 221 pound-feet of torque at just 1,750 RPM (plus an overboost function unleashing another 15 lb-ft for short bursts). Volvo will first use the new mill in its European S80 sedan, to be followed closely by the V70 and XC60 models.
The new GTDi engine also features variable valve timing on both camshafts, further improving efficiency, and it will be offered with either Volvo’s dual-clutch fully automatic six-speed Powershift transmission or a six-speed manual gearbox. We fully expect Volvo to eventually offer this new powerplant in the United States as a replacement for its aging 2.5-liter inline-five. Click past the break for the official press release.
[Source: Volvo] Read more…
Honda: Insight “too small,” likely to miss sales targets, Fit Hybrid a ‘struggle’
Filed under: Hybrid, Honda
2010 Honda Insight – Click above for high-res image gallery
Honda Executive Vice President Koichi Kondo doesn’t seem to think that the automaker will hit its worldwide sales goal of 200,000 Insight Hybrids in its first year on the market. Why? “I think we compromised too much on size in pursuing fuel efficiency” for the U.S. market, he said.
In total, Honda sold 130,445 Insights worldwide by the end of last year. The car was first introduced in Japan in February and then in the U.S. in March. Here in the States, the car’s second-largest market, Honda sold just 20,572 units in 2009 – a far cry from the 90,000 it hoped to sell here in the first year.
Further, in reference to the long-expected Honda Fit Hybrid, Kondo said:
There are plenty of people who think that the current Fit meets their needs already [when it comes to fuel efficiency]… A hybrid version might seem expensive. Our engineers are really struggling.
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Mercedes Steps into the Future with the 2012 Mercedes ML
Mercedes knows that the world needs good cars that are good for the environment and they are ready to provide them. One such car is the 2012 Mercedes ML450 Hybrid SUV that has 335 horsepower and 381 pound-feet of torque, while getting 24 miles per gallon on the highway. However, there is a new vehicle, [...]
Report: Mercury planning C-segment vehicle for 2012
Filed under: Sedan, Hatchback, Ford, Lincoln, Mercury, Rumormill
Lincoln Concept C – Click above for high-res image gallery
According to Automobile Magazine, Ford is putting Mercury on its list. Sorry, we couldn’t help ourselves. Specifically, the list in question contains the names of 10 vehicles the Blue Oval plans to build off its global compact car platform. Mercury will supposedly be getting one of the new C-segment vehicles based on the architecture used for the recently unveiled 2012 Ford Focus, which also shares its guts with the Ford C-Max and Grand C-Max MPVs.
Says Lincoln-Mercury spokesman Mark Schirmer, “Certainly, one [variant of the global compact car architecture] will be a Mercury… It’ll give us something to put into showrooms, and help energize the Mercury brand.” We’re glad to hear that, as the Mercury brand is in some serious need of rejuvenation.
Best guesses for what form the new compact Mercury for 2012 might take range from a slightly upmarket version of the Ford Focus (we certainly hope it’d be more than just a shoddy badge-job) or something along the lines of the Lincoln Concept C from the 2009 Detroit Auto Show. If it’s going to be one or the other, we cast our official vote for the latter. We’ll see.
