Auto Blog

It’s not often that a Hummer is pictured here on AutoblogGreen but this particular brute, owned by hydraulic hose and belt supplier Gates, is being converted to a hydraulic hybrid using a system developed by Hybra-Drive. We introduced them to you in ‘07 and now that they’re making some news, we wanted to bring them back. Their set-up, you’ll remember, uses a conventional engine to pressurize a hydraulic system to send power to the wheels which is said by the company to reduce fuel consumption by more than half and reduce emissions as much as 90 percent.

It seems this small Deerfield, MI business has been chosen over some of the more established firms like Eaton to “negotiate with the Parcel Delivery Working Group of the Hybrid Truck Users Forum (HTUF) in Pasadena, Calif. for validation and testing of hybrid hydraulic power on parcel delivery vehicles,” according to the Great Lakes IT report on WWJ Newsradio 950. HTUF is a branch of Calstart that, through forums and working groups, works to help commercialize hybrid designs for trucks. So maybe we’ll be seeing hydraulic hybrid systems used in vehicles besides the Peterbilt garbage truck at some point in the future.

[Source: WWJ Radio]

Click to view the Coggiola T-Rex in our gallery

The original HUMMER H1 was far from the prettiest truck on the market. But then, beauty wasn’t part of the design brief, as it was originally developed for military use before Operation Desert Storm and Arnold Schwarzenegger propelled it into celebrity. At the 2000 Geneva Motor Show, Italian design house Coggiola unveiled its idea for a more “stylish” take on the ultimate utility vehicle. The T-Rex you see here was the result. Powered by the H1’s 6.5-liter turbodiesel, it measures a very HUMMER-like 17.7 feet long and 7 feet tall, dwarfing everything else on the road this side of a semi.

The one-of-a-kind concept vehicle is now up for auction on eBay in Italy with a €500,000 asking price. The buyer is pretty well guaranteed never to see another one on the road, but that’s the closest we’d want to see the word “pretty” in the same sentence as this Italian-American tough guy.

[Source: eBay.it via CarScoop]

There just aren’t as many Hummer buyers now as there once were. News came out yesterday that Hummer registration are way down, but the exact reason why is hard to pin down. Sadly, there aren’t a great number of totally awesome new green cars to sweep in and get sold. We have to report the likely death before birth of another one: the VW Golf TDI Hybrid. At least Aptera got some good news.

• Sign of the times? Hummer registration plummets
• Dodge Viper and Ford GT engineer joins the Aptera development team
• VW Golf TDI Hybrid probably dead in the water
• The Prius may not be the best way to cut energy costs
• VIDEO: All the Smith Electric Vehicles from the CV Show
• Pelosi commends Bush on 31.6 mpg by 2015 step
• Intelligent Energy and PSA Peugeot Citroën unveil H₂Origin
• GM CEO Wagoner slams biofuel critics in Beijing
• ZeroTruck will be unveiled at AFVI expo in Las Vegas
• Air Products makes hydrogen to then make gasoline and diesel in Alberta
• Imperia GP roadster gets its guts tested
• Peugeot to designers: “Imagine a Pugeot for the megapolis of tomorrow”
• Yokohama reminds you to check your tire pressure regularly
• Gumpert Apollo hybrid to race at Nurburgring 24
• The Detroit News coughs in Beijing’s air quality
• Cheap gas in China prompts buyers to go bigger, while Gov’t wants smaller
• Ancient Japanese company makes modern lithium ion battery with SILXIn Indiana E85 station subsidies can go to government too!
• Goodyear joins EPA Smartway Transport partnership
• DOE readies $86m in grants for three cellulosic ethanol plants

People who drive a Toyota Prius or some other hybrid car can potentially save a lot of money in operating costs. However, it may not be the most effective way to cut energy consumption and expenses for everyone. Bloomberg has published an interesting article on some of the alternative ways of spending your transportation dollars that might save even more. From a dollars and sense perspective, a driver who doesn’t drive a lot of miles might be better off with something smaller and cheaper like a Yaris (see also, this post). The Yaris is a lot cheaper but gets lower mileage. A driver who doesn’t accumulate many miles may end up spending less in total payments and fuel costs and would have an incentive to drive less. Alternatively, one could forego a car altogether and take public transport and invest the difference. Although many investments are doing poorly in the current market, there are some investments that are doing well. Over the past couple of years oil industry stocks have done remarkably well, for example. Wouldn’t it be great to skip driving and profit off of those who chose not to?

[Source: Bloomberg]

Although none of the Hummer models are really all that worse than any other body-on-frame SUV powered by a large engine, the ex-military marque is considered by many to be the anti-green brand. If that’s how you feel, you’ll likely be glad to hear that Hummer models are languishing on dealer lots all over the country. Hummer spokeswoman Joanne Krell suggests that the downturn in sales is directly related to the upturn in fuel prices. That makes sense, now doesn’t it? Maybe not… Acura is the only brand that has seen similar drops in new registrations with nary a V8 engine in sight. All of this raises a few questions: Is the Hummer brand is just plain falling out of favor? If so, would flex-fuel engine options help their cause?

[Source: Automotive News - sub. req’d]

Click on the image to watch a video of a prior air-powered bike

While we’ve seen plenty of air-powered cars, but this may be the first compressed air-powered moped that we’ve laid our eyes on. Created by inventor and TV presenter Jem Stansfield, the air-powered moped was created for a U.K. National Geographic channel documentary called Planet Mechanics. Compressed air is stored in a couple of carbon fiber tanks originally used by firefighters which can be refilled in just a few seconds using larger air containers. Once filled, the bike is capable of traveling at eighteen miles per hour for up to seven miles. That’s not going to set any records, but for a quick little build using off-the-shelf parts, it’s not too bad at all!

This air-powered moped is not Stansfield’s first attempt at such a machine. Be sure to watch the video after the break for some more air-powered bicycle fun.

[Sources: Motorcycle News, Youtube]

There are over six million GM credit card holders that can use 3% of their card usage towards the purchase or lease of a new GM car, but until yesterday that offer didn’t apply to Saturn. The GM card program has been ongoing since 1992, which is right after Saturn came into existence, but since the “different kind of car company” went on its path at the beginning, it wasn’t included in the debt-inducing give-aways. Since Saturn has been towing the company line the last few years, we’d say the press release after the jump should have been issued a while back.

If you don’t have a GM credit card, this little tidbit probably means little to you, but if you have been racking up points in hopes of buying a GM product, it doesn’t hurt to finally include Saturn in your list of choices.

[Source: GM]

PRESS RELEASE:

GM REWARD CARDS Expands Options to Include Saturn Vehicles

GM Card and the GM Flexible Earnings Card now offer customers even more choices when redeeming Earnings

DETROIT - Consumers who want to use their GM Card or GM Flexible Earnings Card toward the purchase of an eligible, new GM vehicle now have the option to purchase or lease a new Saturn under expanded program guidelines.

The GM Card and the GM Flexible Earnings Card allows Cardmembers to earn toward an eligible new GM vehicle with every credit card purchase. In the past, these Earnings could be applied toward eligible new vehicle purchases or leases offered by Chevrolet, Pontiac, Buick, GMC, Cadillac and Hummer. Effective April 15, 2008 Saturn vehicles will be added to the expanded program.

“We’re very excited to be able to offer potential Saturn customers another valuable tool when making their purchase decision,” said Jill Lajdziak, general manager, Saturn. “Our Cardmembers have asked for this and we’re responding.”

Saturn has the freshest line-up in the industry, having launched five all-new products in the past 24 months.

A GM Flexible Earning Cardmember’s redemption options include: 3 percent Earnings on eligible, new GM vehicles or 1 percent cash back.

“This reward card allows Cardmembers to choose the right reward for them and triples the base Earnings to 3 percent when you redeem on a GM vehicle,” said Jody Stidham, director, GM Lifecycle Management. All GM reward card Earnings can be used in conjunction with most national promotional offers.

About GM REWARD CARDS

The GM Card, one of a suite of reward card products, is one of the richest co-branded credit cards in existence, rewarding customers with Earnings on every credit card purchase. Currently there are nearly 6 million GM reward card members. Since the program’s inception in 1992, more than five million GM vehicles have been purchased or leased using Earnings. The GM Card and GM Flexible Earnings Card are issued by HSBC Bank Nevada, N.A., the credit card unit of HSBC, one of the nation’s largest issuers of private-label and general-purpose credit cards. These Cards can be used anywhere Mastercard is accepted and has no annual fee. New applicants can apply for the GM Flexible Earnings Card on line at gmflexcard.com.

The Big Predictions for the Future have begun. This is the numbers game where eye-popping numerical targets start being thrown around before we’ve come anywhere close to achieving the eyebrow raising targets that are still 14 years away. According to Margo Oge at the EPA, the CAFE standard will need to jump to 75-MPG by the 2030s to meet greenhouse targets.

There is, somewhere, a “widely backed scientific-community proposal to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 50 to 80 percent by 2050 from 2000 levels.” Based on current realities, the EPA has reckoned that the fleet average for fuel economy would need to more than double from the 2020 target of 35 mpg in about 15 or so years in order to achieve even the minimum standard.

The EPA is looking at a variety of alternative fuel options as a way to make the plan work. Yet we have no idea whether this is being looked at as a serious long term plan, or whether grand pronouncements are being made because it’s the thing to do right now. While we freely admit that the world of cars could use some cleaning up, we do wonder… is any other industry going to be on the hook for reducing greenhouse gasses?

[Source: Detroit News]