At LotPro.com we see the dawn of a new era for Ford Motor Company here in the states. With the upcoming Fiesta, FoMoCo is bringing one of its best-ever small vehicles over from Europe pretty much intact. And as much as we welcome the new Ford Fiesta, we also yearn for its bigger sibling, the Focus.

Unlike the current mash up of a design that roams the byways of America, the European Focus is blessed with style, handling and, dare we say it, gobs of performance, especially in RS guise. But aside from all those good qualities, it also appears that the RS can be, ahem, quite frugal if you want it to be.

Here is the latest from Ford in that regard:

BRENTWOOD, Essex, October 2009 – Ford’s fastest-ever European production car, the 163mph Focus RS, added a surprising new figure to its remarkable performance statistics – an average fuel consumption of (US) 32 mpg.

More than half of the UK’s Ford Focus RS allocation has already been sold, with each priced at $42,956 on-the-road.

Mercedes-Benz F-CELL

On August 26th, Mercedes-Benz announced that it will be launching its first series-produced fuel cell vehicle. The B-Class F-CELL is scheduled to begin production late in the year and the first of approximately 200 vehicles will be delivered to customers both in Europe and here in the states.

According to Mercedes-Benz, the new zero-emissions vehicle will have performance numbers similar to that of a 2.0-liter gasoline engine equipped car while consuming the equivalent of 3.3 liters of diesel fuel per 100 kilometers (71.3 mpg) in the NEDC (New European Driving Cycle).

Mercedes promises no compromises in traditional B-Class interior space, storage capacity or comfort as well as a 400 kilometer (248.5 mile) range and 3 minute refueling times.

“2009 is the year in which we are establishing further milestones where sustainable mobility is concerned. The B-Class F-CELL is taking on a pioneering role as the world’s first fuel cell powered automobile to be produced under series production conditions”, says Dr. Thomas Weber, Member of the Board of Management of Daimler AG, responsible for Group Research and Development for Mercedes-Benz Cars.

Powertrain

The heart of the F-CELL is an advanced fuel cell system with a cold-start capability in temperatures as low as -14 degrees Fahrenheit. As with a “traditional” gas-electric hybrid, the fuel-cell vehicle uses lithium-ion battery technology with an output of 35 kW and a capacity of 1.4 kWh to both boost power and recover braking energy. The unique sandwich floor technology employed in all of M-B’s A and B-Class vehicles allows the company to place all drive components in the floor which results in a maximum amount of passenger space as well as protecting the component systems.

Sitting in the small lap of luxury

While most of us here in the U.S. are not used to a small (a.k.a. the Ford Fiesta) premium sedan, Mercedes has been building them for years in Europe and the F-CELL comes with all the requisite goodies.

Taking a cue from Henry Ford, you can have any color you like, as long as it’s bonamite silver. Exclusive 10-spoke alloy wheels will also be standard, as will leather upholstery, heated seats, automatic climate control and Mercedes’ COMAND-system.

To help allay customer concerns about the safety of the F-CELL’s high-voltage drivetrain will fare in an accident, Mercedes engineers more than 30 additional crash tests of the F-CELL’s drive-specific components above and beyond those done for the B-Class, itself.

Only a few places to “pump you up!”

Although the F-CELL will be made available in both Europe and the U.S., its unique requirements for a hydrogen fuel delivery infrastructure will, in the short term, probably limit its availability to certain metropolitan areas such as those found in Hamburg, Stuttgart and portions of California.

Keeping it green

At LotPro.com, all of us are in favor of cleaning up the environment, especially if that means building eco-friendly vehicles with the same performance standards (or better) than the ones they replace.

And while most of the press surrounding these vehicles has been directed towards the sexier models such as the Teslas, Fiskers and Volts, a number of manufacturers have been directing their energies towards the more, shall we say, utilitarian modes of transportation.

The gas on the bus goes “glug”, “glug”, “glug”

Beginning this school year, a group of students at Huth Junior High School in Matteson, Illinois, will be riding to classes in a diesel hybrid school bus. Built by Enova Systems and IC Corporation (a division of Navistar), the PHEV (plug-in hybrid electric vehicle) is what’s known as a “charge-depleting” vehicle, meaning that it must be plugged into an electrical outlet (overnight or between routes) in order to recharge its battery bank.

The biggest advantage of the hybrid system is fuel economy. While your average diesel-powered school bus manages a paltry 6 mpg, the hybrid can more than double that – up to 13 mpg. The bus is operated by Kickert, a subsidiary of Cook-Illinois, the largest family-owned and operated school bus contractor in the U.S. (the balance of Cook’s fleet – 2,000 busses – runs on biodiesel fuel).

“School buses obviously start and stop constantly, and this is exactly what a hybrid system needs to stay efficient. We also think it is something that will save fuel and provide a better environment for the children we transport now and the children of the next generation,” explains Cook-Illinois COO John Benish, Jr.

Specifications

Bus: 2009 IC Bus CE Series

Engine: 200 hp MaxxForce 7 diesel

Transmission: Allison 2500 PTS

Hybrid System: Enova Plug In Hybrid System

•    80kW Electric Motor
•    Battery Care Unit (BCU) which monitors battery conditions
•    Dual lithium-ion battery packs containing 28 12-volt lithium-ion batteries in series
•    An isolated cooling system featuring its own radiator
•    A Control Electronics Unit (CEU), which contains the system’s electronics

Performance

The batteries weigh 1,680 pounds and are located on one side of the bus in a protective frame and are offset by 1,680 pounds of steel counterweights in a similar frame on the other side. Yet even with nearly 3,400 pounds of additional mass, the CE series outperforms a normal diesel school bus in the following areas:

Fuel Economy Improvement: Up to 65% improvement

Emissions Reduction: Up to 39% reduction

Images courtesy of IC Bus and Navistar

A first

At LotPro.com, we love cars that get great fuel economy. So it was with keen interest that we read this week that General Motors had announced that the Chevrolet Volt had become the first mass-produced vehicle to claim more than 100 mpg in the composite fuel economy rating. The EPA results also showed an electrical efficiency rating of 25 kilowatt hours/100 miles in the city cycle (equivalent to 230 miles per gallon).

Unlike conventional gasoline engines, the mileage testing on the Volt was performed using a new set of fuel economy standards that has been devised by the EPA specifically for Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles (PHEVs).

The EPA’s new methodology for PHEVs places more weight on the city driving cycle and uses kilowatt hours per 100 miles traveled, as opposed to miles per gallon, to define the efficiency of plug-ins (as in the aforementioned 25 kWh/100 miles). Given the current cost of electricity (11 cents per kWh), a Volt owner would pay about $2.75 for the amount of electricity it would take to travel 100 miles – an average of about 3 cents per mile.

The Volt

The Volt, you will remember, is GM’s most recent foray into the realm of pure electric vehicles and it is scheduled to start production near the end of next year and will be designated as a 2011 model. According to company estimates (using pre-production prototypes), it is expected to travel up to 40 miles on electricity alone from a single battery charge with an overall range of more than 300 miles through the use of a flex fuel-powered engine-generator.

“From the data we’ve seen, many Chevy Volt drivers may be able to be in pure electric mode on a daily basis without having to use any gas,” said GM Chief Executive Officer Fritz Henderson. “EPA labels are a yardstick for customers to compare the fuel efficiency of vehicles. So, a vehicle like the Volt that achieves a composite triple-digit fuel economy is a game-changer.”

The numbers

“The 230 city mpg number is a great indication of the capabilities of the Volt’s electric propulsion system and its ability to displace gasoline,” said Frank Weber, global vehicle line executive for the Volt. “Actual testing with production vehicles will occur next year closer to vehicle launch. However, we are very encouraged by this development, and we also think that it is important to continue to share our findings in real time, as we have with other aspects of the Volt’s development.”

Images courtesy of General Motors

Gentlemen, start your lasers

It’s Friday afternoon here at LotPro.com, so we thought that we’d offer up something different, yet still automotive-related.

Today, that happens to be the news coming out of the U.K. that engineers at the University of Liverpool (for you baby boomers out there that’s the same town that gave us the Beatles and Jerry & The Pacemakers), working with Ford Motor Company, are the recipients of a £198,910 ($323,900) grant from the Carbon Trust (a British government entity created to develop low carbon technologies for the future) to develop a vehicle ignition system, based on lasers, which could cut car exhaust emissions.

Cleaner engines

According to the Carbon Trust, replacing a conventional spark ignition with laser ignition would enable a higher degree of control over the combustion of the air and fuel mixture in a conventional gasoline engine, thereby reducing a vehicle’s carbon emissions in a number of ways.

Experiments conducted at the National Energy Technology Laboratory (part of the Department of Energy here in the U.S.), indicate that the leaner an internal combustion engine runs, the “cleaner” it would be, in terms of nitrogen oxide emissions. Lean-burn engines, with their lower combustion temperatures, significantly reduce the amount of NOx produced. In order to do this, however, an increase in spark energy is required and, to quote Shakespeare, “ay, there’s the rub.”

NETL puts it this way, “Delivering increased spark energy negatively impacts spark plug durability and the effectiveness of the spark plug in transmitting adequate energy as an ignition source. The lack of spark plugs with the required durability is quickly becoming the limiting factor for developing ultra low emission, high-efficiency natural gas engines. Laser ignition delivers the high energy required to ignite ultra-lean mixtures and eliminates the need for spark plugs.”

Laser ignitions

According to Carbon Trust, unlike a conventional spark ignition which is able to fire one (usually) or two (in a few engines) sparks at or near the combustion chamber roof, it is possible to aim a laser anywhere in the combustion chamber – ideally where the fuel is most concentrated.

By using a computer to direct the beam, the engine can be run much more efficiently, while also overcoming the poor-start performance of engines running on biofuel blends.

Another benefit of the laser ignition system is that the beam can be delivered through much thinner fiber optic cables, enabling the use of larger diameter valves that will result in a more efficient flow of gases through the engine.

The future

Dr Tom Shenton, Reader in Engineering at the University of Liverpool and Principal Investigator on the project, said: “The key to reducing emissions in the spark-ignition engine is improved control, and for the last one hundred years the primary means of ignition control has been the spark plug.  With laser ignition we now have an exciting new alternative which will give much greater scope for engine controller optimization and the implementation of new engine designs.”

Images courtesy of The Department of Energy, National Energy Technology Laboratory

Britain’s first hydrogen-powered car

Somerset House in London is half a word away and a far cry from the corporate hallways of the world’s major automobile manufacturers. But it was here that Riversimple company founder Hugo Spowers unveiled his new design for a hydrogen-powered car.

Powered by a much-smaller number of hydrogen fuel cells than Honda’s FCX Clarity (the Riversimple is the size of a Smart car and uses a 6kW fuel cell as compared to the Honda’s 100kW fuel cell), this results in a vehicle with an expected fuel consumption equivalent to 300 miles per gallon, a top speed of 50 mph and a range of over 200 miles.

According to Riversimple, greenhouse gas emissions are estimated at 30 grams per kilometer wheel to well – meaning that the company has included in the estimate the environmental impact of hydrogen extraction and processing – the vehicle, itself, emits only water as the byproduct of the fuel burning process.

5 key elements

According to the company, the approach to their hydrogen car has five key elements:

•    A lightweight network electric vehicle constructed from carbon composites and powered by hydrogen fuel cells.

•    Open source design and development. Riversimple will invite the community to help develop its vehicles, by licensing its designs to the independent open source foundation 40 Fires.

•    A service concept – we will lease cars not sell them. This aligns the interests of the manufacturer with the interests of the consumer and of the environment – everyone wants cars that have a long life span with maximum efficiency and minimum materials usage.

•    Distributed manufacturing – The economies of scale of carbon composites frames are very different from those of steel-bodied vehicles. Riversimple vehicles are likely to be produced in small factories producing 5,000-10,000 vehicles per year. This allows for considerable local variation in the car.

•    Broader ownership – The corporate structure of Riversimple is designed to ensure that all stakeholders in the enterprise have a fair say and share in the benefits of a successful business.

Fact sheet

Weight:                    350 kg
MPG:                        c. 300 mpg equivalent in energy terms
Greenhouse gas emissions:    c. 30g/km (well to wheel) in the urban cycle with hydrogen produced from natural gas
Top Speed:              50 mph
Acceleration             0 – 30 mph in 5.5 seconds
Range:                       240 miles
Lifespan:                   15-20 years
Service Intervals:    Annual

Riversimple projects that it will have 10 cars in operation by next year and that the vehicle will be available in the retail market (at least in the U.K.) by 2012. All Riversimple vehicles will be leased with a monthly rental of £200 ($330) plus 15 pence (25 cents) per mile to cover the cost of fuel and engine maintenance.

The invisible manufacturer

Here at LotPro.com, we really have to pity poor Mitsubishi. As the red-headed stepchild of the Japanese automakers, the brand has found selling vehicles in the U.S. a bit of a rough row to hoe. If it wasn’t for the success of the Lancer (with 5 different trim levels plus two for the Evolution), which accounts for nearly half of all its passenger car sales here, the company’s footprint in the U.S. would be very small, indeed.

This isn’t to say that the vehicles that the company produces are bad, but they are, for the most part, forgettable. But that situation, hopefully, is about to change.

The i minicar

Just like every other Japanese manufacturer, there are a whole slew of models that Mitsu produces for its home market that never see the light of day here in the States. One of those models is the i minicar.

First released in Japan in January of 2006, the i features innovative styling as well as a unique mid-rear engine layout. Its overall length (133.7 inches) falls almost squarely between that of the Honda Fit (161.6 inches) and a Smart fortwo (106.1 inches). So why even mention the i?

i-MiEV

At the 2009 Geneva auto show, Mitsubishi exhibited two electric concept versions of the i, called the i-MiEV (for Mitsubishi in-wheel motor Electric Vehicle). Today, the company unveiled the production version and announced that it expects to lease 1,400 copies to corporations and governmental units in Japan with an eye on accepting orders, beginning in July, from individuals for delivery beginning in April of 2010.

Standard features include a single charge range of 100 miles from its stack of 88 lithium-ion cells and a top speed slightly north of 80 mph. It also features a climate control system with an air conditioner powered by an electric compressor and a heating system that circulates warm water from an electric heater.

The i-MiEV also comes standard with LED headlamps and rear combination lamps with LED emitters for the taillamps and stop lamps. And as if using electricity for motive power weren’t enough, the electric i also uses PBS (polybutylene succinate)-bamboo fiber Green Plastic for the interior trim on the tailgate.

Inside, the i-MiEV will have an available entertainment system complete with a 7 inch display and navigation (to be updated through the use of SD flash cards) based on solid state drive (SSD) technology to ensure maximum power conservation.

The rest of the story

The good news is that it looks like Mitsubishi is planning on bring the i-MiEV over here sometime in the near future. The bad news is that the vehicle sells for 4,599,000 yen (a cool $46,800) in Japan.

2009 Edition

California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger

Last year’s road tour that focused on the automotive application of the chemical element with the atomic number of 1 played out across the amber waves from Portland, Maine to Los Angeles, California. This year, at LotPro.com, we’ve noticed that the tour has been pushed up from August to May and June, and plays itself out on the west coast of North America – beginning in the land of the Governator and finishing up in the host city for the 2010 Winter Olympics.

vehicle refueling

The tour started in Los Angeles on May 26th by fueling up at the first 700 bar hydrogen fueling station to be sited in the United States at the University of California, Irvine. This year’s tour, organized by the California Air Resources Board, California Fuel Cell Partnership (CaFCP), Powertech Labs (on behalf of British Columbia), National Hydrogen Association (NHA) and the U.S. Fuel Cell Council, is focusing its efforts on those communities “where hydrogen technologies, such as passenger vehicles, transit buses and hydrogen stations, will likely enter the market first.”

“The Tour will show how capable today’s hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles are by providing performance, environmental responsibility, a reduction of fuel imports and a pleasant driving experience for anyone who gets behind the wheel,” said Jeff Serfass, President of the National Hydrogen Association.

Tour vehicles

Participating in this year’s tour will be hydrogen-powered fuel cell vehicles from Daimler, General Motors, Honda, Hyundai-Kia, Nissan, Toyota and Volkswagen. In addition to veterans from the 2008 Hydrogen Road Tour, several new rookies will take part in the tour this year, as well as fuel cell transit buses which will participate at several of the stops (Vancouver, the tour’s terminus, will operate a fleet of 20 fuel cell buses for the 2010 Winter Olympic Games).

Here are this year’s participants:

 Daimler F-Cell

Chevrolet Equinox fuel cell vehicle

Honda FCX Clarity

Hyundai Tucson FCEV

Kia Borrego FCEV

Nissan x-trail FCV

Toyota FCHV

Volkswagen Tiguan HyMotion

Drive America Forward by any other name is Cash for Clunkers

Here at LotPro.com, we see where late last week, Senators Debbie Stabenow, a Michigan democrat and Sam Brownback, a Kansas republican, jointly issued a press release regarding the introduction of S. 1135, the Drive America Forward Act more commonly known as the “cash for clunkers” bill.

Although the actual bill is still being printed by the government printing office and is not yet available for perusal, the news release shed even more light on how the program would work (at least as it has been proposed).

In broad terms, car buyers would trade in their older vehicles and receive vouchers of up to $4,500 toward the purchase or lease of a new, more fuel-efficient car or truck. As it is currently written, the program would be authorized for up to one year and provide for approximately one million new car or truck purchases.

The legislation divides cars and trucks into four categories and the mpg values are based on the EPA combined fuel economy as posted on the Monroney label affixed to new vehicles and also found on the EPA web site.

Bill specifics

The trade-in vehicles must:

• Work Trucks: Under the agreement, consumers can trade in a pre-2002 work truck (defined as a pick-up truck or cargo van weighing from 8,500-10,000 pounds) and receive a voucher worth $3,500 for a new work truck in the same or smaller weight class. Only 7.5 percent of the total funds can be used for vouchers for the purchase or lease of a work truck. There are no EPA mileage measures for these trucks; however, because newer models are cleaner than older models, the age requirement ensures that the trade will improve environmental quality. Consumers can also “trade down,” receiving a $3,500 voucher for trading in an olderwork truck and purchasing a pick-up or van weighing between 6,000-8,500 lbs.

Funding for the bill will come from redirected recovery funds. To prevent someone from buying a clunker just to qualify, the program will commence retroactively on March 30th of this year and last for 12 months from that date. Owners that have purchased a vehicle that falls within the program guidelines prior to the bill’s passage and March 30th will receive a $3,500 voucher if they can verify they followed the ownership requirements and the vehicle was scrapped as outlined in the program.

The Bottom Line

The bill is currently in committee (Commerce, Science and Transportation of which Senator Brownback is a member). And while it has the backing of all the auto manufacturers as well as the National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA), other groups such as the Engine Parts Group and the Automotive Aftermarket Industry Association, are against it, arguing that scrapping these vehicles would add to already overcrowded landfills and remove a large number of valuable rebuildable parts from the supplier pipeline.

Announcement from Ford

Here at LotPro.com, it isn’t often that we get enthusiastic about an engine. But, then again, it isn’t often that a carmaker introduces a new engine with new engine technology and with North America as its production source.

Today, Ford Motor Company announced the much-anticipated start of production of its first EcoBoost engine for the North American market that will see its first application in the 2010 Lincoln MKS sedan. More importantly, it marks the beginning of a major technological thrust by ford that will result in the availability of direct injection turbocharging in more than 90 percent of the company’s North American offerings by 2013.

Derrick Kuzak, Ford’s vice president of Global Product Development puts it this way, “The beauty of EcoBoost is that it enables us to downsize for fuel efficiency, yet boost for power. We’re able to decrease the size of the available engine – such as installing a V-6 versus a V-8 – yet boost the power using turbocharging to deliver similar power and torque of that larger engine.”

Initial offering

The first application of the 3.5-liter EcoBoost V-6 will be the all-wheel-drive 2010 Lincoln MKS. In this application, the engine will produce 355 horsepower at 5,500 rpm and 350 ft.-lb. of torque from 1,500 to 5,250 rpm. Adding frosting to the top of this cake, it can be run on regular fuel while delivering in excess of 17 mpg city and 24 mpg highway.

The current bells-and-whistles package that accompanies Ford’s latest under hood accoutrement includes 19” alloys, an EB-specific 6-speed transmission with steering wheel mounted paddle shifters, push button start, HID headlamps and, dare we say, much more.

As if that weren’t enough, the blue oval boys are planning on a late availability appearance package that will give the EB MKS a more aggressive appearance and “further differentiate” it from lesser conveyances to the tune of special leather seats and embroidery and assorted exterior spoilers all ‘round plus 20” chrome dubs.

The moneymaker

Central to this whole theme, of course, is the engine, itself. The 3.5-liter V-6 is equipped with twin parallel, water-cooled turbochargers that are smaller and spool up more quickly.

According to Brett Hinds, EcoBoost project manager, “The two turbochargers both operate identically over the speed range of the engine – one gets its energy from the left bank and the other gets its energy from the right bank, with both feeding together into the engine,” Hinds said. “Both spin immediately and produce boost, even at low engine speeds.”

Fuel delivery is accomplished by spraying fuel directly into the combustion chamber.  The high-pressure fuel pump operates at 2,150 psi – more than 35 times that of a conventional V-6 engine. The fuel pump is also mechanical and cam-driven with a single piston and an electronic valve that controls fuel delivery through the rails to the injectors.

“Because the fuel is directly introduced into the combustion chamber, you don’t get fuel wetting the combustion wall like with port fuel injection, you don’t saturate the ports and you don’t get droplets that might recombine and add to saturation,” Hinds said. “By injecting fuel directly into the combustion chamber and under high pressure, the fuel can be directed to exactly where we want it to be for a given combustion cycle.”

Availability

The MKS EcoBoost is available now with a base MSRP of $47,760 plus destination and delivery charges.