by Frankie Berti

New York City’s Department of Transportation and Alta Bicycle Share, Inc. will be opening the largest bike share system in the country by summer of 2012. Ten thousand bikes in 600 stations around Manhattan, Brooklyn, and the surrounding burroughs will be available 24 hours a day throughout the year for short bike rides.

The Details:

Alta Bicycle Share, the same company that runs Boston’s New Balance Hubway and Washington D.C.’s Capital Bikeshare, will be running the program. New York City’s program is funded by private sponsorship and user fees, much like Miami’s DECOBIKE. Alta will be responsible for installation, maintenance, repairs, cleaning, and customer support. The bike stations will be solar powered, thus reducing energy costs, do not require roadwork for installation.

Rental rates will be determined after the contracts are signed, but Alta is promising affordable annual memberships, costing less than a monthly unlimited ride MetroCard (around $90-95). Unlimited weekly membership would cost $20-25 and unlimited 24-hour access would be $8-10. The NYC bike share will include the obligatory smart phone app, which will use the system’s wireless technology to find real-time bike and station availability.

Like the DECOBIKE bike sharing program in Miami Beach, the bikes will be available in 30 to 45 minute sessions. Longer trips will incur a small, graduated usage fee. Check out the Boston and Washington D.C. bike share programs to compare rates. Check out NYC Bike Share to see how it works.

Who will benefit:

Bike shares are great for short trips: they reduce bike parking, storage issues, and as well as theft. This share program will help New Yorkers connect to different modes of mass transit where subways don’t reach. And Alta Bike and the NYDOT will be hosting demonstrations, open houses, and workshops throughout the city for those who are new to the concept. Alta Share estimates that it will employ 200 locals to help run the share.

The Benchmarking Bike and Walking Report shows that New York is in the top five states for bicycling and walking levels, and that New York City ranks in the top five cities for the same. The city’s transit system already tops the nation in its scope; items like this bike sharing program no doubt make biking the Big Apple that much more accessible, especially considering that 54 percent of all trips New Yorkers make are less than two miles, the perfect distance for a quick bike ride.

New York City has one of the highest bike userships in the country, but it also ranks in the top 10 cities with the highest fatality rates for bicyclists and pedestrians. Mayor Bloomberg acknowledged this in his State of the City address in January: “…the reality is more and more New Yorkers are biking, and the more bike lanes we put in, the fewer deaths and serious injuries we have on the streets.” Of course, that depends on education and biker awareness. But it seems that the government will be providing the infrastructure support needed, as per the mayor’s address: “We’ll also make our city smarter and safer by deploying Traffic Enforcement Agents to safety hot spots at key intersections, doubling the number of 20 mile-per-hour zones for schools, and continuing adding more miles of protected bike lanes.”

by Christopher DeMorro

Last week the California Air Resource Board voted to pass new regulations that would require automakers to put 1.4 million plug-in electric and hybrid cars on the roads by 2025. But as I pointed out in the initial post, automakers can get around making that many EV's by simply "overcomplying" with a greenhouse-gas reduction target.

By overcomplying, CARB means that automakers who reduce their overall fleet emissions by 2-grams-per-mile more than the stated goals of a 34 percent reduction from the 2016 GHG emissions standard can sell about half as many zero or low-emissions vehicles. That could cut in half the 1.4 million clean car goal, which would be a boon to automakers who see the goal of 15 percent clean car sales as largely unachievable, short of a massive and permanent gas price spike.

So, not only is CARB now mandating what kinds of cars automakers should make, but they are also leaving a massive, easily-attainable loophole that will cut the legs right out under from the overly-ambitious goal.

Do two bone-headed moves make for good policy? Probably not. CARB hasn't even left the door open for discussion of this move, and since 15 other states apply to CARB standards, this affects the whole nation, not just the Golden State.

Does anyone here really believe that by 2025, 15 percent of cars on the road will be electric or plug-in hybrids? I don't. It is far more likely that Americans will transition from huge cars into smaller, more fuel-efficient offerings that don't have a huge price premium like hybrids and EV's. Nationwide, hybrids only account for less than 3 percent of all new car sales. California expects a five-fold increase in less than 15 years. I am all for electric cars and hybrids, but the last time California mandated that automakers build and sell electric cars, it ended poorly for all involved.

Instead of mandating the cars automakers should build, CARB should instead figure out how to make electric vehicle ownership easy and affordable while at the same time increase gas taxes on the cash-strapped state to help fix up some of their many crumbling roads and bridges. The market will figure things out from there.

Only CARB has the ability to simultaneously piss off the private industry and environmentalists in one fell swoop.

by Jim Motavalli

The big electric car launches of 2011 failed to generate the consumer excitement that some had predicted. But as new battery technologies emerge and tougher mileage standards kick in, automakers and analysts still believe that electric vehicles have a bright future.

At the Detroit Auto Show early this month, I sat down with some Nissan executives who were celebrating the sale of the 10,000th Leaf battery car in the U.S. (and 20,000th worldwide). Behind them on the company's stand was the eNV200, a plug-in version of one of Nissan's minivans and one of three new electric cars Nissan will have on the road by 2015. Brendan Jones, a Nissan marketing and sales strategist, told me, "From a Leaf perspective, 2011 was a great year, and very positive for the company." He said that Nissan's EV sales had topped those of any other automaker in history.

By traditional auto standards, 10,000 sales of a much-hyped model in a full calendar year are disappointing. The Chevrolet Volt plug-in hybrid, equally celebrated, did slightly worse, with sales of 7,671 in 2011. By contrast, Nissan sold 114,991 Sentras and 268,981 Altimas last year, and Chevrolet sold 204,808 Malibus.

Since the Obama administration offered subsidies to ease the EVs way forward, the early sales performance became the target of political attacks, particularly after a Volt caught fire following a government crash test. (The car was later exonerated by federal regulators.) The Republican Party's website headlined an article "Failed Promise: Obama's Million Electric Cars 'Overly Optimistic.'" Mitt Romney, the son of an auto company president, described the Volt "an idea whose time has not come," and Rush Limbaugh said bluntly, "Nobody wants to buy any."

But much of the reporting on the subject, and the attacks, failed to tell the full story. Neither the Volt nor Leaf were available nationwide in 2011, and both were plagued by supply problems. Leaf customers on the East Coast, who put down early deposits, should be getting their cars in the coming months, and Nissan hopes to double production and delivery in 2012. The EV technology is still a novelty for prospective buyers, but the necessary charging networks, though still embryonic, are growing rapidly.

Yet while the big electric car launches of 2011 failed to find as many buyers as hoped, automakers and analysts still see increasing success for electric vehicles in the U.S. and in global markets, including China, which will soon be the world's largest. The future, they say, lies in new battery technologies that will lower the cost and increase the range of EVs. And tougher mileage standards for U.S. auto fleets, set to kick in over the next decade, will give the cars a big boost.

Felix Kramer, who founded CalCars.org to promote plug-in hybrids, is optimistic. "In spite of press reports of disappointing sales, we don't hear about unsold cars stuck on dealer lots or buyers' remorse. We do hear current and prospective owners talking about the features they want in the next cars that come to market." He points out that Ford, Honda, Toyota, Mitsubishi, BMW, and most other carmakers will be rolling out new EV models over the next two years.

"Early adopter" buyers tend to be vocal boosters - a group of loyal Volt owners sent a letter after the fire controversy broke, headlined, "Why are Chevy Volt Owners Keeping Their Keys?" Paul Scott, a director of Plug In America who doubles as a Leaf salesman in the Los Angeles area, says electric cars are doing great. "Instead of a few hundred EV drivers, we now have almost 20,000. A high percentage of these are vocal advocates of the technology... As long as the external costs of dirty energy are not in the price, we'll be at a disadvantage, but the gap will close eventually, one way or the other, and EVs will dominate in every way."

But clearly, there were unreasonable expectations for electric car liftoff. "I think we, particularly the government, created too much hype and conversation about both pure EVs and plug-in hybrids," David Cole, chairman emeritus of the Center for Automotive Research in Michigan, told me. "The fact is that the economics are not here yet... The problem was that they invested in commercialization before it was ready for prime time. The fact is that just because you want something to happen doesn't make it happen."

The U.S. Advanced Battery Consortium has set a cost goal of $250 per kilowatt-hour stored, but many packs today come in at three times that. A $7,500 federal income tax credit (and some state subsidies) helps take the sting out of high prices, but the cars (which currently start at more than $30,000) are still expensive.

Does this mean that EVs are doomed? Not at all, but it does mean that early numbers are likely to be relatively low. Cole is siding with many in Detroit when he says that plug-in hybrid technology (which, as in the Volt, combines an electric motor and batteries with a gas engine acting as a generator) "will be the long-term winner" because it solves the "range anxiety" issue presented by battery cars that travel 100 miles on a charge. Even with that advantage, however, GM's sales goal of 45,000 for the Volt in 2012 may be overly optimistic. "I want some of whatever they're smoking," said Eric Evarts, associate autos editor at Consumer Reports.

But cars running solely on batteries will get cheaper and offer increased range. Automakers are pouring billions into battery research, and some predict that pack costs will be cut in half within five years. "All of the manufacturers are working very hard on the technology, as they should, so they are prepared when the economics work to launch product in high volume," Cole said.

Bob Lutz, who famously dismissed global warming as "a crock of [expletive]" when he was vice chairman of General Motors, nevertheless earned the title "Father of the Chevrolet Volt" for shepherding the car to production. Lutz told me that, by 2025, 20 to 25 percent of new car sales will be hybrid, plug-in hybrid, or battery electric "merely because of government regulations - by 2025, American auto fleets will have to achieve 54.5 mpg." And he added that European regulations are similarly demanding. "No one knows how to meet these regulations without massive hybridization and electrification," he said. In the film Revenge of the Electric Car, Lutz says that "the electrification of the automobile is inevitable."

Aside from government regulation, other factors likely to boost plug-in cars are the quest for energy independence - since electricity, especially when it's generated from renewable fuels, is domestic - and state efforts, especially in California, to combat global warming and cut local pollution from tailpipes.

Lutz' predictions are in line with the industry and the analysts who follow it. According to the Boston Consulting Group in a 2010 report, all forms of electrics will have "a likely overall penetration of 26 percent" in the global market by 2020. And that explains why - despite the slow sales - the stands at the Detroit Auto Show, both foreign and domestic, were crowded with electric cars and plug-in hybrids. "For the next 20 years, the internal-combustion engine will be the leading powertrain, but increasingly the electric cars will dominate," I was told by Peter Marks, then the CEO of major auto supplier Bosch. "My grandchildren will drive electric cars, I'm convinced of it. It's inevitable that cars will become electric."

The pace of EV adoption in Europe and China - which has the potential to develop a market far outstripping that of the U.S.- has also been slow in the early days, despite subsidies that in some cases dwarf those in the U.S. John Gartner, an auto analyst with Pike Research, attributes the sluggish sales pace around the world to "a combination of the automakers making the vehicles available later than intended, the twin natural disasters in Japan, and the sluggish global economy."

According to a survey from JATO Dynamics, by last September only 5,222 EVs were registered in Europe, with Germany (1,020 cars) in the lead, despite the lowest subsidy ($491) on the continent. Denmark, with very lucrative $26,000 tax credits possible on EVs, registered only 283 of them in the first half of 2011. JATO concluded that perks associated with EVs - such as free city-center parking in Oslo, Norway and access to bus lanes -mattered more than price as a determining factor. In Norway, despite lower subsidies, EV sales were three times those of Denmark.

But price is still a problem for many European buyers, despite the EV's significantly lower operating costs. Even with a $7,700 government subsidy, the Leaf in Great Britain (where it costs $44,000) is $10,900 more than the very fuel-efficient VW Golf Bluemotion. The Leaf is 10 cents a mile cheaper to run, but it takes a lot of dimes to total $10,900.

Pike Research predicts that China, with the world's largest auto market, will also have the leading EV market by 2015. China, with 150 automakers, has no less than 55 companies now building electrified vehicles or launching development programs. Some EV builders, such as BYD (with a 10 percent investment by financier Warren Buffett), are also major battery makers. Chinese government subsidies are among the most generous in the world. In five major cities, consumers can tap into $9,474 in rebates (paid to automakers rather than car buyers) for battery electrics and $7,895 for plug-in hybrids. Pike's Gartner, who calls China's electric sales so far "disappointing," also points out that, beginning January 1, all electrified vehicles were exempted from vehicle usage taxes, "which is likely to boost sales there."

China set a government goal of enabling production of 500,000 electric cars and buses a year by the end of 2011, but its actual rollout is at this point considerably smaller, only a few thousand annually. BYD's plan to start selling electric cars in the U.S. has stalled. A China Business News count identified only 10 registered electric cars in Shanghai (which has 23 million people) last fall, and 25 in Hangzhou.

But Chinese central planning could dictate that the industry will ramp up quickly. Prime Minister Wen Jiabao has called for a new "road map" for green cars, and the EV effort is heavily supported by China's state-run electric companies. As the New York Times reported, "With China expected to surpass the United States in the number of all vehicles on the road by as early as 2020, the government-run utilities see it as their job to provide an alternative to imported oil as a way to power several hundred million cars, trucks, and buses."

China is a sleeping giant when it comes to electric cars, and that's a pretty good analogy for the rest of the global industry, too. If you judge by the cars on the road today, EVs aren't impressive - but it's the potential just around the corner that has gotten automakers and governments excited. Consumers aren't yet on board in large numbers, but if the cars continue to improve and get cheaper, they will be.

by Christopher DeMorro

I will be 26 years old in March, planing me smack dab in the middle of "Generation Y," one of the largest demographics America has ever seen. We are media saavy, socially connected, underemployed and overly-confident. And according to a new study, Gen Y could be the generation that leads America away from oil, and into hybrid and electric vehicles. Sounds good...but does it miss the point?It can be hard, as a car guy, to step out of my skin and try to look at life through the lens of my peers, many of whom look at driving as a chore, rather than as something fun to do. Many of us were handed down crappy 90's cars, and are turned off by American cars. We're also the first generation to have been really impacted by the presence of hybrid cars.

The study, conducted by Deloitte, says that among Generation Y, 59 percent of those surveyed preferred hybrids over conventional gas cars. 2 percent preferred pure electric vehicles, and only 37 percent preferred traditional gas engines. That is a pretty shift in perceptions, though there are some pretty obvious reasons why.

Unlike previous generations, Gen Y has had to deal with higher-than-normal gas prices for a good part of their driving career. We are also graduating with more student debt, and have access to more tools, and choices, when it comes to buying a first car. My generation is more concerned with practicality and connectibility than it is with speed and style (though looks still count.) But 89 percent of Gen Y respondents also want a vehicle that gets better fuel economy than their current ride, which is what makes hybrids so appealing. Connectivity is also an issue of import to Gen Y, with 59 percent saying in-dash technology is important to interior styling, and 73 percent seeking a touch-screen interface in their car, with smartphone applications important to 72 percent of respondents. Basically, we don't want cars, we want mobile extensions of our connected world. The study believes that our willingness to integrate our technology, and emphasis on fuel efficiency, could what is needed to push hybrid cars into the mainstream.

But there are problems, starting with cost. We want a bargain, a deal, a good investment, which is where many hybrids fall short. It can take years for a hybrid to pay off the premium price versus a less-efficient compact car, like the Chevy Sonic or Hyundai Elantra, both of which are rated at 40 mpg highway. The Sonic starts at $13,865, and the Elantra $15,345, much cheaper than the cheapest hybrid currently on the market, the Honda CR-Z, which starts at 19,495, but delivers less highway mpg. Even the Prius C, which should be rated at a combined 53 mpg, and will have an MSRP of around $19,000, will take years to pay back the owner. And with so many Millenials unemployed, underemployed, or caught under the burden of huge amounts of school debt (this guy), a new car is pretty far down the list of "must-haves." I have to start paying for health insurance come March 16th, which in and of itself is almost a car payment.

And Generation Y knows this. We are also walking, biking, and moving to urban areas more and more. Cars are not as important to my generation as they were to previous generations. The study says that Gen Y buyers are willing to pay $300 more per mpg improvement for a hybrid over a non-hybrid, which is still $50 short of the $350 per-mpg improvement premium most hybrids charge.

In short, I'm not sold on this study. My generation may be more inclined to buy a hybrid, but once you get into that showroom it's a whole different world, and I have a feeling most of my peers would still prefer a cheaper compact to a premium hybrid...if they buy a car at all.

by Charis Michelsen

Need another reason to buy a hybrid? Here's one - the Dekra Used Car Report (which focuses on green vehicles) announced this year that the Toyota Prius was the compact vehicle with the fewest problems.

Hybrids - Complicated AND Dependable

Hybrid vehicles are a daunting prospect for many car buyers - the general impression is that they're really complicated, which leads to a fear of many expensive trips to the shop or the dealer to get something fixed. Dekra shows that it just isn't true; the Prius was easily at the top of their quality section as the compact car with the fewest defects showing up between 30,000 and 60,000 miles.

Dekra's method of rating cars is their defect index, which subtracts the percentage of vehicles with "significant deficiencies" from the percentage of vehicles with no relevant defects. In other words, the higher the number, the better. When the Toyota Prius was evaluated, 90 percent of the vehicles had no significant problems, while 2.5 percent had serious issues, giving it a defect index of 87.5 percent.

Apparently Toyota Makes Reliable Small Cars

Toyota actually did quite well across the board in Dekra's report, with the Auris (also available as a hybrid) taking second place for quality in the compact car section, and the Yaris firmly taking top place among the small cars. Toyota, one might speculate, is not surprised by this news at all, as its on internal statistics show the Prius as having the fewest maintenance costs of any car it is currently selling.

Think about that for a moment - of all the cars Toyota has under warranty, the one that costs them the least is the Prius. Complex or not, that sounds pretty reliable to me. The competition needs to step it up a notch.

While conducting its research, Dekra evaluated 15 million general inspections of 230 models from the past two years (that's an average of over 65,000 cars of each model type). They evaluated typical used-car defects only, which is to say if the car was screwed up from not being properly maintained, the owner had it coming and those problems didn't count (worn-out tires not caused by engineering defects, for instance).

Ready for a Prius - or at least ready to embrace the knowledge that hybrids are as dependable as any other car? Let us know in the comments, below.

by Christopher DeMorro

Electric vehicles are finally starting to saturate the market, though some of the same old arguments continue to be made against the limited range of EV's. But a new study but two doctoral students claims that 95 percent of all single-destination trips could be made by today's electric vehicles. Surprised? Don't be.

Cars like the Nissan LEAF and Mitsubishi i are rated at a real-world range of between 70 and 80 miles. That doesn't sound like much range, but two Columbia University students analyzed data from a 2009 National Household Travel study, and came to the conclusion that only 1 percent of all single-destination trips were farther than 70 miles. An overwhelming majority (95 percent) of these trips were under 30 miles in length, well within today's range limitations.

But the doctoral students Garret Fitzgerald and Rob van Haaren (who run the website Solar Journey USA) did not stop there, going on to tackle the American commuter mentality. Their findings? 93 percent of commuters travel less than 100 miles to work every day, just beyond the average range of today's EV's. But the average commute was 13.6 miles, well within the range of today's EV's.

Of course that does not solve the problem of high prices and limited public charging options. EV's may not make sense for everybody. But, once the prices come down and EV's can be competitive with today's compact cars, EV's will make sense for a lot of people, no matter what the politicians and pundits try to tell you.

As we think about what to expect for 2012, I have assembled a short list of what I am watching in the world of medium and heavy duty trucks. Here are several key trends that we are watching in the truck market in 2012:

1) The world economy is improving (albeit slowly), such that overall truck purchases are expected to rise this year. The United States saw consumer confidence and spending grow slightly in the last quarter and should be able to extend this into 2012, despite continued risks in Europe. Speaking of Europe, the crisis in Ireland and Greece appears largely averted. While other countries remain worrisome (looking your way, Italy), the leadership finally appears to be taking this seriously and 2012 is looking to be a bit smoother than 2011. Interestingly, a cloud that hangs over early 2012 is China's potential trade deficit with the United States. Slowing exports may mean that China's employment may not keep up with its growing urban population, which would stunt domestic economic growth. This could potentially add to the economic growth in the U.S. and Europe as imports to China rise. However, expect that the Chinese government will make some policy changes (stimulus or monetary changes) to bolster specific domestic economic sectors - likely producing a positive impact on the truck market in China.

2) We anticipate that 2012 will be the year that hydraulic hybrids will move from demonstration projects to full commercialization. These hybrids will be focused in the largest users of fuel (we have seen them in delivery vans and refuse trucks for the most part so far). This focus will continue, but wider fleet adoption is expected in 2012.

3) Natural gas is growing in heavy applications (transit buses and Class 8 trucks) where the upfront cost of hybrids and plug-in remains a significant hurdle. In 2012, this trend is likely to continue, particularly in European and developing Asian markets. The lower cost of the natural gas conversion and the availability of low cost refueling infrastructure in some markets will push transit agencies in particular to focus on CNG as the fuel of choice.

4) Plug-in electric truck growth has been slow in 2011. A large part of this is due to the industry being focused on the United States, Japan, and China for plug-in trucks. Japan spent a good part of 2011 rebuilding from the disastrous earthquake, leaving China and the weak economy of the United States to lead the global sales of plug-in trucks. China is expected to be flat or even slightly lower in 2012 depending on how item no. 1 plays out, leaving the focus to remain on U.S. into 2012. However, Pike Research expects that Europe will start to see significant growth in plug-in trucks as well. Smith Electric Vehicles of the U.K. (now part of the U.S. Smith Electric Vehicles) is well positioned for growth, and Daimler and Mitsubishi Truck & Bus (Daimler owns 85 percent share) have demonstrated the Fuso Canter E-Cell battery electric truck based on one of the most popular truck platforms in Germany. Transit buses are another source of interest in heavy duty electric drivetrains in Europe, with electric bus projects showing up in the U.K. and France.

5) Small fleets will continue to be neglected in 2012. While the big fleets (think Fedex, UPS, DHL, Perolator, Fritolay) capture the headlines because of their large green truck purchases, a large part of the volume in the medium and heavy duty truck market comes from small fleets. These small fleets have been largely ignored by emerging plug-in and hydraulic truck technology, leaving CNG and hybrids to take a lead in this market. This won't likely change in 2012, though hybrids may start to play a bigger role in this market as Hino, Navistar, and Freightliner continue to push their hybrids through their large dealer networks. However, most smaller fleets will continue to look towards truck and engine downsizing, and alternative fuels as their best options for reducing fuel costs.

Photo by Walmart Stores/flickr/Creative Commons

by Andrew Meggison

China has tested its latest in high speed rail. A train made of plastic materials and carbon fiber rocketed down the tracks at a Chinese record setting 311 mph (500 kilometers per hour). If put into use, this will be the fastest, conventional-wheeled train, exceeded in speed only by Japanese MAGLEV trains.

According to officials, the new train boasts a number of new technologies and materials, including carbon fiber and magnesium alloys. Sound insulation was a major issue, and one that was eventually resolved. The train is designed to look like an ancient Chinese sword and is made by Sifang Locomotive, a subsidiary of CSR Corp Ltd.

The six carriage train sports a tapered head, and boasts of a maximum drawing power of 22,800 kilowatts - compared to the current CRH380 trains that have 9,600 kilowatts of drawing power.

With the help of government funds since 2006, China is home to the largest high speed rail network in the world. The goal for China is to have 16,000 kilometers of dedicated high-speed rail lines connecting all of China's major cities by 2020.

With such large projects there is always bound to be problems and China's rail system has certainly had its share in recent months. Corruption, safety issues, and fare issues have all been problematic but these problems are not slowing China down.

The test run of the new train was successful but that does not mean that when and if the new train is put into service the train will move at its full speed. China has slowed all of its high speed trains down after a collision in July.

The train "will provide useful reference for current high-speed railway operations," quoted train expert Shen Zhiyun.

With the new train and nationwide record secured, China continues to be the world's leader in high speed rail.

While the major automakers have unveiled new electric plug-in and hybrid cars at this week's North American International Auto Show in Detroit, including a cheaper version of the Toyota Prius, industry observers say consumer demand for alternative fuel cars remains tepid. Even as auto sales in the U.S. increased by 10 percent last year, sales of "alternative source" light vehicles increased by just 2.3 percent, according to one analyst group. Overall, sales of hybrids and plug-ins dropped to 2.2 percent of all auto sales last year, down from 2.4 percent in 2010, the New York Times reported. So even as automakers say they believe electric vehicles are an important part of the future (with Ford, Chevrolet, and Nissan also unveiling new hybrids this week), some major players concede they might be forced to reduce production. On Tuesday, a General Motors executive said the company may cut production of the plug-in hybrid Chevrolet Volt if sales don't achieve expectations during the first half of 2012. Last year, the company sold about 8,000 Volts - about half of its target.

Photo by Kerry Woo/flickr/Creative Commons

by Susanna Schick

Ford Unveils Lane Keeping System

This video shows how Ford's latest driver aids will help distracted drivers avoid those pesky vehicular manslaughter charges. As a cyclist, I approve. I just wish it was mandatory in all cars/light trucks. Perhaps then, lanesharing could be legalized in the rest of the US, dramatically improving motorcyclist safety and reducing traffic congestion. Although in 25+ years of lanesharing on 2 wheels I haven't had anyone sideswipe me, so either it's not as dangerous as people think, or I'm just better at paying attention than some riders. There's a great article on the subject over at Jalopnik.

While Cadillac Makes It Easier To Avoid Driving

When I watched Cadillac's CUE unveiling at the LA Auto Show, I was actually horrified. CUE simplifies and streamlines all the distractions people enjoy doing so much more than driving. As the population surges, traffic worsens, so driving has become downright unbearable, especially in megacities like Los Angeles. People want to be anywhere but in their car. Music, social media, conversation, texting all serve as pleasant diversions from the odious task of inching forward at 15mph (on the freeway) for hours at a time. In response to this, many car manufacturers offer optional auto-stop capability, to stop the car when you're too busy texting to realize it's time to stop. Distracted driving is such a problem, our tax dollars were used to create this website.

"Sending or receiving a text takes a driver's eyes from the road for an average of 4.6 seconds, the equivalent-at 55 mph-of driving the length of an entire football field, blind."

Some luxury cars also have lane drift notification, a system that will warn the driver when they're about to change lanes without signaling. This system would be engaged constantly on most cars in Los Angeles, as signaling is viewed as a request to speed up and block the spot the signaler wanted to occupy. Now, Ford is set to launch this technology on the Fusion, bringing lane positioning driver aids out of the luxury garages and into the mainstream. Their active city stop and active park assist systems are already very popular, even with German drivers, as reported here.

Making Roads Safer For All Users

Apparently I wasn't the only journalist at the LA Auto Show who prefers to bike in LA. Mayor Villariagosa has done a lot to make LA a more bike-friendly city. We have more bike lanes, paths, and shales coming in every day. Citizens can even give their feedback on how we'd like our streets to be used at this city site: LA/2B. Most bicyclists & motorcyclists are 110 percent focused on the task at hand. When a minor distraction may be your last, you tend to become hyper aware of the threats around you, focusing on what's most likely to kill you, not on what your ex just posted on Facebook. When you're safely ensconced in a metal cage with airbags and seatbelts, it's easy to lose focus on the task at hand. Thus, I hope these driver aids become as mandatory as seatbelts. People aren't becoming more attentive drivers, and laws against distracted driving aren't likely to prevent any pedestrian/cyclist deaths. But an anti-drift system will.

by Christopher DeMorro

In the race to develop useful alternative fuels, researchers and scientists are leaving no potential source of energy overlooked. That includes drawing power from the sea, and while tidal generators and wind farms are already being installed, a luxury boat maker thinks it can build an hydrogen fuel cell boat, drawing power from the very sea water itself.

France-based Luxury Sea, a builder of opulent boats and watercraft, claims to be building a boat whose 500 horsepower engine will get powered by hydrogen fuel scraped from sea water. The boat, called the MIG 675, is 22 feet long and 8 feet wide, utilizing an aluminum hull with room for three people. The proposed top speed is 70 mph, with a cruising speed of about 45 mph.

Rather than utilize a hydrogen fuel tank to store fuel, self-taught inventor Angi Le Floch claims that a generator produces 50,000 volts of electricity right from the water itself. This is enough electricity to power all of the on-board systems, and produce hydrogen fuel for the engine. The planned price of this boat is about 250,000 Euro (about $325,000 U.S.)

There are precious few details about this supposed hydrogen generator, which means of course that I am skeptical that this is anything more than a marketing ploy. But if somebody could really figure out how to scrape hydrogen from seawater in a cost-efficient way, it could completely change sea shipping forever. Then again, the video above has no sound, which is quite suspicious, and the lack of details in unsettling. Since there is no source of pure hydrogen, it must be split from other atoms (like water) which is an energy intensive process. If Angi Le Floch's hydrogen generatordoe what it claims, which is extracting hydrogen directly from seawater, it would be a game changer like no other.

After all, sea traffic is among one of the heaviest polluters on the planet. If we could bring that pollution down to zero, we would take a major bite out of global emissions of all kinds. I bet it would also save shipping companies hundreds of millions of dollars in the long run. There'd be no need for refueling, and in essence it sounds like a perpetual motion machine, at least as long as you're in the water.

So ya, like I said, lots of skepticism here, and scaling technology up from a luxury boat to a super freighter will take lots of time and money. At the end of the day, this is probably just another feel-good luxury boat with little or no basis in reality.

by Christopher DeMorro

I got excited at first, thinking we might see the comeback of the rotary engine. But in fact the two gas engines will be 2.0-liter, four-cylinder motors with an unspecified amount of horsepower and torque. According to Ford's press release though, it is among their "most advanced" non-turbo engines. Atkinson-cycle engines combine that power, compression, intake, and exhaust cycles of an engine into a single turn of the crankshaft. They are incredibly efficient, if not overly powerful engines.

The Atkinson cycle is usually employed in rotary-style engines made popular by Mazda, though it can also be used in standard cylinder-based engines. The problem is, these engines lack low-end grunt...which can be offset by either a turbocharger (in Mazda's case) or an electric motor, the path that Ford is taking. It's an interesting choice, and I will be sure to question some suits come the Detroit Auto Show about this decision. But since the C-Max will be hybrid-only from the get-go, perhaps Ford figured they didn't need the EcoBoost's extra grunt.

Ford is taking square aim at the Prius and Volt with the C-Max, calling out both models in the press release. Ford is claiming the C-Max will be able to get up to 500+ miles on a tank of gas, about 66 percent more mileage than a Chevy Volt. Ford also expects fuel economy to be better than the Prius V, and to deliver a better fuel economy equivalent than the Prius Plug-In in charge-depletion (i.e. more all-electric miles)

The Blue Oval will hopefully get more specific during the Detroit Auto Show in January, because they are making some pretty bold claims for a brand new car. Ford has been on a roll lately, but it will all come down to to MPG and MSRP, which is what seems to matter the most to Americans these days.

by Dave Hurst

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) recently announced that they are doing an official investigation into fires in the Chevrolet Volt battery packs. Essentially, if the packs are not discharged after a catastrophic crash, some of these packs have caught fire hours, days or weeks after the crash. While this does not seem to present a safety issue for owners, it could for first responders, towing companies and repair facilities. Jordan Weissmann, writing for The Atlantic, claimed that this is "an unpleasant story for GM. But it's also bad news for the rest of the electric car movement."

To some degree, he may be right. The Volt is a symbol or halo vehicle for GM, and those who are eager to see plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs) fail will certainly enjoy this and make some hay from it. Giving the PEV haters an opportunity to point to a safety issue is definitely not ideal for continued growth of the market in general. While Neil Cavuto's uneducated, seething hatred of the Volt is distinctive (and seemingly based in politics rather than anything engineering related), the point is that a symbolic vehicle whose battery failure results in a fire is a dramatic enough event to even draw questions from non-automotive writers like Mr. Weissmann.

However, I don't agree that the symbolism will ultimately drag down the entire market. It does seem likely to hurt Volt sales in the short-term, but long-term this looks more like the typical growing pains of a new product, rather than the death of the PEV. More likely, the impact will be a few new model delays as automakers look to shore up any outstanding safety questions that may stem from the Volt fires. I do not expect to see automakers lambasting each other's battery technology. We did see sniping between Nissan and GM over the BEV vs. PHEV issue in the early months, but nobody wants to see a shadow cast over lithium batteries used in vehicles.

For GM's part, they have responded quite reasonably to this issue. GM has been communicating with owners, offering loaners and now offering buyback for those concerned (no one to date has accepted this offer). Contrasting GM's actions to Toyota's response to unintended acceleration allegations last spring, we see a very different strategy. Claiming that this type of problem will kill the entire PEV market is analogous (albeit not exactly the same) to claiming that Toyota's unintended acceleration would kill the entire midsize gas-powered vehicle market. Perhaps even more relevant, several years back, Dell recalled batteries from nearly every laptop product line due to a fire risk. That didn't kill the market for Dell laptops.

Mr. Weissmann came full circle in the article, pointing out that, "There's also no sign at this point that the Volt is any more of a fire risk than your average gasoline-powered car", wrapping up "How GM handles it will have lasting implications not just for the company, but the industry as a whole." I agree that GM could have harpooned the whole PEV market, by laying the blame at some fundamental lithium technology. But that has not been the case. Are the American consumers smart enough to see the difference between a single, although symbolic, vehicle issue and a fundamental vehicle technology? I'm betting they are.

California released its plan for putting 1.4 million electric, plug-in hybrid and hydrogen-powered cars on its roads by 2025, that's one in seven cars.

"These rules will make California the advanced car capital of the world, driving the innovation, patents and technology that will generate thousands of jobs here, and set the stage for us to compete in the global clean car marketplace," says James Goldstene, Executive of California's Air Resources Board (ARB).

By 2025, the rules would reduce smog-forming emissions across the state 75 percent by 2025, almost eliminate evaporative emissions, reduce toxic particulates, and cut greenhouse gas emissions the equivalent of taking 10 million cars off the road.

New global warming standards for model years 2017-2025 would reduce vehicle emissions by about half of current levels and 34 percent below 2016 requirements. The standards are being coordinated with federal agencies to establish a single set of global warming pollution and fuel efficiency requirements for automakers.

ARB notes the new technologies used to achieve smog and greenhouse gas standards could add about $1900 to the cost of vehicle, but that would be more than offset by $6000 in cost savings over the life of a car.

When fully implemented, annual fuel costs to operate a car will be reduced by an average of 25 percent, with overall cumulative savings of $22 billion by 2025.

Clean Fuels Outlet rules require oil companies to install hydrogen refueling stations as automakers ramp up sales of fuel cell vehicles, ensuring access to fuel for these vehicles. They also requires California to study infrastructure needs for vehicles that recharge from the electric grid.

The proposed rules are designed to ensure development of environmentally superior cars with a full range of models, from compacts to SUVs and pickups that will continue to deliver the performance, utility, and safety vehicle owners have come to expect with significant savings thanks to reduced operating costs.

ARB economic analysis indicates the overall savings generated by the proposed rules will result in an additional 21,000 jobs in California in 2025, rising to 37,000 in 2030, as people shift the money they no longer have to spend on gas to other parts of the economy.

Photo by Robert S. Donovan/flickr/Creative Commons