Photo credit by batega via flickr.

In its early days, Barcelona’s Bicing seemed like an unparalleled success. With 400 stations and 3,000 of the squat, burly red-and-white bikes stationed around the city, Bicing quickly became part of Barcelona’s big city atmosphere and was enthusiastically received by inhabitants.

But after five years, something scary started to happen, in addition to the vandalism and Read the full story on TreeHugger

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OM651: new generation of four-cylinder diesel engines. Click to enlarge.

Mercedes-Benz has revamped the Vito light van and Viano—a large capacity van based on the Vito.

New engines and new transmissions in the Vito and Viano reduce emissions and fuel consumption by up to 15% while enhancing performance. All engines comply with the Euro 5 emissions standard. In addition to the new ECO Gear six-speed manual transmission, the BlueEFFICIENCY technology with ECO start/stop which comes as standard is an option.

VITO

The revamped Vito as a panel van. Click to enlarge.

All diesel engines are equipped with an oxidation catalytic converter, a particulate filter and cooled exhaust gas recirculation. The new ECO Gear manual transmission offers a broad gear ratio spread for optimum performance and enables low fuel consumption and emission levels. The Vito is the only model in its class to feature a six-speed transmission for all four-cylinder drive variants as standard, Mercedes says.

Four-cylinder CDI. At the core of the new generation of engines is the four-cylinder in-line unit which has the internal code OM 651. It is available in three power variants for the Mercedes-Benz Vito:

Vito Four-Cylinder CDI Variants
	Vito 110 CDI	Vito 113 CDI	Vito 116 CDI
	Figures differ according to variant
Power output	70 kW (95 hp) at 3800 rpm	100 kW (136 hp) at 3800 rpm	120 kW (163 hp) at 3800 rpm
Max torque	250 Nm at 1200-2400 rpm	310 Nm at 1400-2600 rpm	360 Nm at 1600-2400 rpm
Fuel cons. (NEDC)	7.7 L/100 km (BlueEFFICIENCY 7.4 L/100 km)	7.4 L/100 km (BlueEFFICIENCY 6.9 L/100 km)	7.4 L/100 km (BlueEFFICIENCY 6.9 L/100 km)
CO2	203 g/km (BlueEFFICIENCY 195 g/km)	195 g/km (BlueEFFICIENCY 182 g/km)	195 g/km (BlueEFFICIENCY 182 g/km)
Top speed	158 km/h	176 km/h	191 km/h
Acceleration 0-100km/h	18.1 s	13.4 s	11.5 s

This represents an overall rise in power output and torque in comparison to the predecessor models, with major increases in some instances. At the same time, fuel consumption and CO₂ emissions have been reduced by up to 15%, depending on the engine variant.

The high torque of the long-stroke engine with 83 mm bore and a stroke of 99 mm provides for unusually high tractive power. The two overhead camshafts actuate a total of 16 inlet and exhaust valves via cam followers with hydraulic valve clearance compensation.

The camshafts are driven via a combination of gearwheels and a short chain, providing the robust basis for a virtually endless service life, according to Mercedes. This is especially advantageous in tough commercial use involving high mileage and high levels of stress and strain.

Fuel injection takes place by means of a common rail system. Particularly durable solenoid valves and seven-hole injection nozzles provide for extremely precise fuel injection with up to five injections per combustion cycle. The benefits of this technology include a gentle build-up of pressure and a smooth-running engine. The maximum injection pressure is 1800 bar.

Charging is carried out by a turbocharger with variable turbine geometry which combines high efficiency with swift response to movements of the accelerator pedal. Maximum torque is available right from very low engine speeds and over a broad rev range—another key benefit in commercial operations requiring high tractive power. With its combination of a rated engine speed of 3800 rpm and elasticity, the four-cylinder engine has an unusually broad useful operating range between around 1000 and 4000 revs. This is unmatched by any other diesel engine in this class of vehicle, Mercedes says.

Common rail injection, the low-vibration forged crankshaft running on five bearings and the rear camshaft drive provide the foundation for the engine’s surprisingly smooth running. All four-cylinder engines also benefit from Lanchester balancing, with two counter-rotating shafts running under the crankcase, driven by spur gears. Mercedes-Benz is the only manufacturer in this vehicle class to deploy balancer shafts in all four-cylinder engines of its vans.

Demand-responsive auxiliary units. The development engineers have also devoted great attention to optimizing the auxiliary units. The oil pump is a controlled vane-type pump featuring electrical actuation, for example. It controls its delivery rate automatically according to the given requirements, as does the controlled fuel pump. This reduces the power output, thereby lowering fuel consumption. The coolant pump also adjusts automatically to the given requirements, further helping to reduce fuel consumption. The same goes for battery management, with the alternator charging only when necessary.

ECO Gear six-speed manual transmission. The new six-speed ECO Gear manual transmission comes as standard for all Vito models equipped with a four-cylinder diesel engine. This transmission is a substantial contributory factor to the reduced fuel consumption and further enhanced dynamic performance of the Vito CDI. Its defining feature is a particularly broad gear ratio spread, with a short first gear (i=5.076) and a long sixth gear (i=0.675) designed to keep the engine speed low.

This configuration accords due consideration both to typical situations such as hill starts with full payload and loaded trailer and to long journeys on the motorway. Overall, the engine speed has been reduced substantially in the interests of lower fuel consumption and emissions. Another consequence of this strategy is a noticeable improvement in ride comfort.

The well-proven five-speed automatic transmission is alternatively available for the Vito. It comes as standard for the Vito 122 CDI and Vito 126.

The V6. The V6 engine in the Vito 122 CDI is based on an aluminium crankcase with a V angle of 72 degrees. Thanks to offset connecting rod journals, the engine runs more smoothly than any other diesel in its class, Mercedes says. The technical highlights include a total of four chain-driven overhead camshafts, common rail injection with piezo injectors and eight injection holes per injector for ultra-fine atomization of the fuel.

The latest version of the engine in the Vito 122 CDI offers 10% percent more power, at 165 kW (224 hp) and an unchanged level of torque, at 440 Nm. It complies with the Euro 5 emissions standard. At the same time, fuel consumption and CO₂ emissions have fallen by around 5%. Other enhancements of this latest version of the V6 include a maximum injection pressure of 1600 bar.

Vito 126. The Vito 126 features a V6 gasoline engine, also Euro5 compliant and coupled with an automatic transmission.

BlueEFFICIENCY. BlueEFFICIENCY technology is available as an option for the Vito panel van and comes as standard in the Vito crewbus licensed as a passenger car. A label below the A-pillar confirms that BlueEFFICIENCY is on board. The scope of the package includes:

• ECO start/stop function (not for automatic transmissions);
• Battery management;
• Minimum Rolling Resistance tires;
• ECO power steering pump;
• Shift point indicator (not for automatic transmissions)
• A controlled fuel pump; and
• Internal engine measures.

The BlueEFFICIENCY package further reduces the Vito’ consumption by an additional 0.2-0.3 liters per 100 km (6.75 g of CO₂ per km) in the new generation, according to model and engine variant.

VIANO

The Viano offers two engine variants based on the OM 651:

Viano Four-Cylinder CDI Variants
	Viano CDI 2.0 CDI	Viano CDI 2.2
	Power output	100 kW (136 hp) at 3800 rpm	120 kW (163 hp) at 3800 rpm
Max torque	310 Nm at 1400-2600 rpm	360 Nm at 1600-2400 rpm
Fuel cons. (NEDC)	7.24 L/100 km	7.24 L/100 km
CO2	190 g/km	190 g/km
Top speed	174 km/h	188 km/h
Acceleration 0-100 km/h	14.1 s	12.18 s

The new ECO Gear six-speed manual transmission comes as standard for the Viano CDI 2.0 and CDI 2.2.

The latest version of the engine in the Viano CDI 3.0 offers 10% more power, at 165 kW (224 hp), and 440 Nm of torque. Fuel consumption and CO₂ emissions have fallen by around 5%. Other enhancements of this latest version of the V6 include a maximum injection pressure of 1800 bar.

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US dependent upon on China for 17 critical rare earths

Can rare earth activities in US catch up in time?

For a few years now worries about a rare earth metal shortage have been growing. Several times this topic has been covered on this blog regarding rare earths and hybrid cars, most recently in:  Just how important are rare earth metals? and Hybrid crazy China: Supply and demand manipulation?.

And the worries seem to be intensifying.

“The situation is nothing short of a crisis,” says Karl A. Gschneidner Jr., a senior metallurgist at Iowa State University’s Ames Laboratory who has been studying rare-earth materials there since the 1960s, according to fascinating piece by Chemical and Engineering News . “There is nearly zero rare-earth mining, processing, and research going on now in the U.S.,” claims Gschneidner.

Today, Electron Energy, the last US rare earth metal magnet producer – the type of magnets critical for countless technologies – is worried.

“We’ve seen rare-earth prices increase steadily in recent years,” claims Eltectron’s CEO Peter C. Dent, “but until now, we have been able to get the supplies we need. We’re very concerned now about the long-term availability of these materials.”

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Except the hybrid versions.

As red, white and blue as it gets

Essentially, every foreign brand saw their sales get hammered in August, and while US automakers also experienced declining sales, sales of pickup trucks continue to post gains.

Without big gas guzzling pickup trucks, the Big 3 would be seeing a lot of red.

Cars.com has put together a pretty scary Top Ten sales chart for August. Outside of Big 3 pickup trucks, only the Hyundai Sonata posted a gain in monthly sales.

Obviously, there were no hybrid cars on the list.

No wonder there is a double standard in CAFE regulations.

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Filed under: Chevrolet, GM, GMC, Natural Gas, Green Daily

Starting this fall, commercial fleet customers can opt to order their full-size GMC Savana and Chevrolet Express vans with either a factory-fitted compressed natural gas (CNG) system or a liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) setup. The CNG/LPG vans will be delivered from the factory with the chosen fuel option and all necessary components installed and won’t require any aftermarket modifications. General Motors has finalized pricing for the CNG system but, due to its lofty price tag, we don’t expect many buyers will be opting for this natural gas package.

GM’s pricing for the CNG option breaks down like this:

The all-inclusive CNG option includes a dedicated CNG system ($14,590), a natural gas-capable Vortec 6.0-liter V8 engine ($1,295), as well as HD trailering equipment ($265). A $240 credit for deleting the spare tire brings the package price to $15,910. So the total cost of either a 2011 Chevrolet Express or 2011 GMC Savana Cargo model, which starts at $25,980 would be $41,890 with the CNG option.

According to GM, “Chevrolet and GMC are the only full-line vehicle brands to offer a “check-the-box” CNG option for vans.” Jumping from a mid-20s price tag to over 40 large for the CNG-powered cargo van seems like a stretch to us, but then again, we don’t own a commercial fleet, nor are we the targeted buyers. Only time will tell if the people who are think the optional CNG package is worth it. Hit the jump for more info on GM’s CNG option package, which will be available this fall on the Chevy Express and GMC Savana.

[Source: General Motors]

Continue reading GM announces $15,910 MSRP for Chevy Express, GMC Savana CNG packages

GM announces $15,910 MSRP for Chevy Express, GMC Savana CNG packages originally appeared on Autoblog Green on Thu, 02 Sep 2010 09:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Etc.

It wasn’t all that long ago that barrels of oil cost around $10. One energy analyst quoted by CNBC, Peter Beutel, the president of Cameron Hanover, thinks that a fresh, crisp Alexander Hamilton is just about what a barrel is worth. His reasoning?

We have so much oil right now, more than we’ve had in 27 years. Why is it 27 years? Because that’s how far our records go back. It’s probably the most in 50 or 100 years. … We’ve got 50 million barrels of crude more than we had two years ago. We have 176 million of distillate. When I started in the business back in 1980 we used to think to ourselves: “Gee, we would love it if we had 140 million barrels of distillates to start the winter.”

The problem?

I honestly think that if there were no investors using oil as an asset that the price of oil right now would be $10 or $15 or $18, but it wouldn’t be anywhere near where it is.

For the record, a barrel is currently valued/traded at around $74.

Now, it appears Beutel is looking at this from a purely economic perspective. If there is excess supply, why aren’t prices dropping? He notes that expectations that the economy will recover are helping elevate the price – more global economic activity means more oil used and thus more demand, it’s as simple as that – but those of us who favor reducing oil use see other reasons for the price to continue to climb. Now, if only alternative energy prices could decline as quickly as oil prices rise. Thanks to Evan for the tip!

[Source: CNBC]

One analyst’s view: oil should cost just $10 a barrel originally appeared on Autoblog Green on Wed, 01 Sep 2010 19:47:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Hybrid, Honda, In The AutoblogGreen Garage

Take off your rose-colored glasses, CRX fans

Okay, so the 2011 Honda CR-Z isn’t exactly the modern-day CRX redux that we were all hoping for. Mildly upsetting, yes, but perhaps this disappointment tarnished our initial impression of this newest hybrid offering from Honda. We still have many questions about its form and function, but need to accept the fact that times have changed, Honda’s product strategies have been realigned to the times and the CRX shall remain a modern classic – especially the Si. Besides, this little two-seat hybrid isn’t really all that bad. Really.

What we have here is an inherently good vehicle that doesn’t make a whole lot of sense. It only has two seats and its EPA fuel economy numbers are underwhelming. A Ford Fiesta, for example, is more functional, less expensive and gets nearly the same combined fuel economy – at least compared to a manual-equipped CR-Z like our tester.

But don’t write off the CR-Z completely. It may be a tough sell when looked at from a big picture perspective, but on its own, it’s a pretty good little whip. Follow the jump to find out why.

Photos copyright (C)2010 Steven J. Ewing / AOL

Continue reading Review: 2011 Honda CR-Z

Review: 2011 Honda CR-Z originally appeared on Autoblog Green on Thu, 02 Sep 2010 07:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: EV/Plug-in, GM, Tesla Motors

As clever marketing response to General Motor‘s attempt to trademark the term “range anxiety,” we have to give Tesla Motors some credit. GM will (is already?) come out swinging against all-electric vehicles, and it’ll take some judo-like moves from smaller companies and electric vehicle fans to turn GM’s energy against itself, if we want the intra-plug-in community fighting to continue. Here’s Tesla’s stab at GM’s trademark attempt:

By all means, GM can have “range anxiety.” To Roadster owners, the term is as irrelevant as “gas stop” or “smog check.” We are, however, looking into trademarking “Tesla grin.”

You might thing that quote came from Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who’s been known to offer us an eyebrow-raising remark or two. But no. This one comes from Tesla vice president of communications Ricardo Reyes, indicating that the company is officially behind this line of attack. Will it work? For some, it probably already has.

[Source: Tesla]

Tesla bites back at GM’s trademark attempt: you can have “range anxitey” originally appeared on Autoblog Green on Wed, 01 Sep 2010 18:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Etc., EV/Plug-in, On Two Wheels, Green Daily

Matthew Dieckmann, president of Santa Rosa-based Electric Race Bikes and known by friends and neighbors as the “local electric motorcycle entrepreneur,” was involved in a fatal crash in Santa Rosa, CA late Monday morning. Dieckmann was piloting an electric motorcycle near the Coddington Mall when he collided with a Toyota Prius. Though the Prius driver suffered no injuries, 29-year-old Dieckmann did not survive the crash.

Santa Rosa Police Sgt. Doug Schlief stated that Dieckman’s motorcycle struck the passenger side of the Prius. Investigators are still attempting to determine who might have been at fault, but some witnesses suggest that either Dieckmann or the Prius driver turned left at the intersection without yielding to oncoming traffic. The intersection was closed for five hours for investigation.

Family members say that Dieckmann was piloting one of the electric motorcycles that he developed for Electric Race Bikes. Dieckmann was known as a pioneer in the industry and strongly promoted electric motorcycles. Most well known for his developmental work on the EGP, an electric motorcycle that captured third place at a TTXGP competition in May, Dieckmann will be sorely missed by many. But his innovations, which have made an impact on the electric motorcycle industry, will surely live on.

[Source: Clutch & Chrome, SF Gate]

Electric motorycle entrepeneur killed in car accident originally appeared on Autoblog Green on Thu, 02 Sep 2010 09:56:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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