Posts Tagged ‘Fuel Economy’
UPS sets new target of 20% increase in fleet fuel economy by 2020
Filed under: MPG, Green Daily
Between 2000 and 2009, the United Parcel Service (UPS) managed to significantly increase fuel-efficiency across its fleet of 60,000 delivery vehicles. During that time, UPS reports that its U.S. ground fleet boosted its average miles per gallon by a rather remarkable ten percent. The ten percent improvement allows the company to boast that UPS drivers logged 77.3 million more miles in 2009 than they did in 2000, yet fuel consumption decreased by an astounding 3.2 million gallons.
While a ten percent boost is certainly good, UPS believes that vehicle technology, sophisticated routing technology and fuel conservation efforts can improve fuel efficiency even more. The company’s latest Sustainability Report outlines future goals and targets a 20 percent increase in overall fuel efficiency from 2000 to 2020. With nine years down, UPS is already at the halfway mark. In the coming years, UPS will focus on adding additional hybrid diesel electric and compressed natural gas vehicles to its fleet. Click here (PDF) to read about UPS’ plans for a greener tomorrow.
[Source: United Parcel Service via Green Car Congress]
UPS sets new target of 20% increase in fleet fuel economy by 2020 originally appeared on Autoblog Green on Fri, 30 Jul 2010 16:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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2011 Chevrolet Volt requires premium fuel (U.S)
General Motors have said that the 1.4 litre petrol engine in the 2011 Chevrolet Volt will require premium fuel.
The Volt hybrid uses an 111kW electric motor as its primary driving force. When the lithium-ion battery pack is used up after 40 miles (65km), the 80bhp petrol engine comes to life to recharge the motor and battery pack, extending the vehicle’s range to 300 (547km) miles plus. Combined engine and electric power comes to 150bhp and 370Nm (273lb-ft) of torque.
Chevy’s 2011 Online Order/Reference Guide for dealers, an entry under the reference code LUU states: “Engine, Range Extender, 1.4L Internal Combustion Engine (estimated: 80bhp [60 kW]), requires premium fuel.”
A GM spokesman Adam Denison confirmed: “The Volt’s unique architecture causes the onboard engine to act more like a generator. As such, premium fuel is required to maximise fuel efficiency. The use of premium fuel in the Volt increases fuel efficiency by 5 percent or greater over the use of regular fuel. Simply put, premium fuel optimizes this engine’s characteristics. Basically, with reduced fuel consumption a key objective, premium fuel is the right solution for the Volt.”
Although fuel economy is yet to be announced, GM stresses that the Volt can return 230mpg combined on the U.S cycle. That translates to around 1l/100km.
The 2011 Volt receives an 8 year, 100,000 (160,000km) mile battery warranty. Prices start at ,000, ,500 after the ,500 tax credit. If you fancy leasing, put down a ,500 security deposit and you can lease the all-new Volt for 0/mth for 36 months. The first 4,400 owners will get a 120v charging cord and a 240v charging station with home installation. A 5 year OnStar ‘Directions and Connections’ service (which includes Automatic Crash Response, stolen vehicle assistance and connected navigation), 8 airbags (x2 front, side, curtain and knee), ESP w/ traction control will come as standard. On the warranty front, a 3 year/36,000 mile bumper-to-bumper warranty, a 5 year/100,000 mile road assistance, courtesy transportation and petrol engine warranty, 6 year/100,000 mile corrosion protection coverage, and an 8 year/100,000 mile battery warranty will be available.
Currently available for pre-order at select dealerships (in California, New York, Michigan, Connecticut, Texas, New Jersey and Washington D.C), the first Volts will be delivered late this year. Those who are curious about the Volt can ring 1-888-VOLT-4-YOU (1-888-865-8496) to get any questions answered. Impatient customers can order their new Volt on http://www.getmyvolt.com/.
The Volt will go on sale in the U.S and Europe in 2011.
Toyota celebrates a decade of Prius
Filed under: Hybrid, Toyota, Green Daily
As of 2010, the Toyota Prius has been available in North America for a decade, and it remains by far the best-selling hybrid both here and around the world. Since its Japanese market introduction 1997, drivers have bought more than 1.8 million of the gas-electric dynamos, with about half of those ending up in the United States (and apparently half of those landing on driveways in the San Francisco Bay area!).
The original Prius was a gawky-looking four-door sedan that was slow and often didn’t meet up with customer’s fuel economy expectations. It wasn’t until the second-generation model arrived in 2004 with a new teardop hatchback body style that the Prius really took off. By 2007, cumulative sales topped half a million, with the third-generation model arriving two years later offering improved efficiency and better dynamic performance than ever. This year, Toyota has begun to deploy a test fleet of plug-in Priuses with lithium ion batteries with full series production of those versions coming in 2012.
While we wait for our future corded Prius models to give us even more pull with our eco-minded friends, we’ll join Toyota in celebrating the now-iconic green machine by checking out the historic gallery below.
[Source: Toyota]
Continue reading Toyota celebrates a decade of Prius
Toyota celebrates a decade of Prius originally appeared on Autoblog Green on Thu, 29 Jul 2010 07:56:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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A two-cylinder hybrid: Can consumers change?
Time to get un-American
Outrageously cheap and fuel efficient
In the very near future Fiat might offer a two-cylinder car for the American market. Obviously, such a vehicle – one would think – would be called a joke by most Americans. Yet, what if Fiat offered an agile, fun-to-drive 100 mpg, 2-cylinder hybrid for just ,000?
Could such a hybrid outsell the Smart ForTwo? Could it compete with Toyota Prius sales?
The other day, MotorTrend asked their community whether they would personally buy a two-cylinder car. Not surprisingly, many of the gear heads mocked the entire concept. Surprisingly, however, nearly half expressed an interest with various caveats of course, such as fun to drive, excellent fuel economy, price, etc.
Also not surprisingly, many against such a vehicle cited safety as a significant concern. Yet, we could be just years away from software and auto-drive features that could make the smallest cars as safe as any other car on the market. If the safety of small cars were no longer an issue, would interest increase significantly?
Regardless of whether such safety capabilities are available and cost-effective any time soon, it seems that the concept of such a vehicle isn’t nearly as un-American as it was not so very long ago. More important, such safety features are coming.
While not an easy task, I’d bet Americans can think outside-of-the-box if provided with a truly compelling offering. Hopefully, one day an automaker will provide such a product. They just might realize far more success than they ever imagined and, eventually, I’d bet again, such products will be required for success.
No 4.4 TDV8 for America (U.S)
According to insiders at Range Rover, the all-new 4.4 litre V8 diesel will not be sold in the U.S.
The new engine, originally designed with Ford and built in Mexico, offers substantially better fuel economy and lower CO2 emissions compared to the previous 3.6 litre V8 unit, but the engine is still not clean enough to strict U.S emission regulations. The current U.S emission laws are equivalent to Euro6 standards, which come into power in 2014. The 4.4 TDV8 is engineered to meet Euro5 standards.
Although, the next-generation version of the TDV8 engine is set to be launched in 2014/15, and Range Rover sources said the engine is “very likely to come to the U.S then”.
