In case you all didn’t know, I am a huge NY Giants Fan, so this Superbowl Sunday is about as close to a religious holiday as I have. What I’m saying is, there may or may not be a green news roundup on Monday morning. But for today, there is! This morning’s highlights include a Chevy Volt calculator that shows what you’ll save, Lebron James rides a bicycle to work, and the world’s prettiest solar car.Even LeBron James Rides A Bike To Work [Treehugger]

Audi To Compete With Hybrid In 24 Hours Of Le Mans [Green Car Congress]

Chevy Volt Calculator Shows How Much You’ll Save [Chevy Voltage]

Indiana Ethanol Industry Eager To Expand [Domestic Fuel]

Video: Volt Superbowl Commercial Draws Intergalactic Attention [YouTube]

World’s Prettiest Solar Car Kicks Off 21,000 Mile Journey [CleanTechnica]

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Nissan and its luxury subsidiary, Infiniti, are playing a game with the automotive press called “tease and speculate.” We’ve been hearing about an upcoming luxury electric car from Infiniti since last year, as well as a plug-in performance hybrid. The latest crop of teaser pictures is for the plug-in hybrid, which now has a name; the “EMERG-E.” Will it live up to the hype?

I am hoping so. There have been precious few details regarding just what shape the EMERG-E will take, but now a few are starting to emerge from the obscurity. A 1.2 liter range-extending gas engine will be mounted in the middle of the EMERG-E concept for superior weight distribution, and that in an urban setting the Infiniti will be able to run on pure electricity. Infiniti had previously released these two teaser images of the yet-unnamed car, but without any of these new details.

As far as pure electric driving range goes though, Nissan will only say that the electric driving range is “respectable.” What could be more important, should such a fanciful concept actually make it to dealerships, would be fuel consumption in range-extending mode. A 1.2 liter engine is pretty small, though its main competitor, the Chevy Volt, also uses a small (1.4 liter) range-extending gas engine. The Volt is rated at 37 MPG combined and costs $41,000; could a similarly-priced Infiniti do better than the Volt?

Perhaps if they build it. The teaser photos paint a pretty picture of a sporty coupe, but it will come down to whether or not this is more than just a concept car. I hope it is, because if rich people get on board with the whole electric car and hybrid thing, everybody else is going to want them too. That’s just how it seems to work these days.

Are you looking forward to the EMERG-E too, or could you care less?

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We know where our Democratic President stands of Electric Vehicles (EVs) and alternative energy thanks to President Obama’s State of the Union Address. But where do the remaining Republican challengers stand on such issues? We here at Gas2 decided to find out.

The current state of America is not great. The housing market has not returned, unemployment is high, and the price of good just keeps going up. To top things off 2012 also happens to be a Presidential election year – so that means not a lot of is actually going to get done on the real issues and instead all eyes are going to be on the race.

Currently there are four Republican candidates squaring off against one another for a chance to take on President Obama. The candidates are former Massachusetts Governor Willard Mitt Romney, former Republican Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich, Texas Senator Dr. Ron Paul, and former Republican Senator from Pennsylvania Rick Santorum.

Different people from different background and all with different ideas on many issues; but for the sake of our interests here at Gas2 let’s look at where each candidate stands on alternative fuel use and the growing EV market.

Willard Mitt Romney

On the issue of alternative fuels, Romney gives importance to achieving the targeted goal of American energy independence so that America can free itself from reliance on oil rich countries.  At the same time, energy independence will aid America in becoming an economic and military superpower. Essentially through energy independence in Romney ‘s eyes America can do what it has to do without worrying about fuel or energy related consequences associated with the actions.

“The United States must become energy independent. This does not mean no longer importing or using oil. It means making sure that our nation’s future will always be in our hands. Our decisions and destiny cannot be bound to the whims of oil-producing states…” Romney said.

As for what kinds of alternative fuels Romney as listed as viable for the US, really for Romney just about everything is on the table. Nuclear energy, biodiesel, ethanol, and natural gas are all worth exploring for the Romney Camp. Additionally Romney has suggested exploiting domestic sources of oil such as the Outer Continental Shelf and Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. With the use of alternative fuels Romney believes the nation will also have to invest a lot into research and innovation. The areas that will need heavy investment include fuel technology, power generation and materials science with a focus on clean technology and more efficient power generation.

Mitt Romney is taking the safe road when it comes to his stance on alternative fuels. That safe road is saying that America’s dependency on foreign oil is bad and needs to stop, the solution for Romney is not set in stone, nuclear power or natural gas whatever works. What this does for Romney is not pigeonhole him within the alternative fuel markets. However, it is also not a clear plan.

This scatter shot approach to the alternative fuel issue is not uncommon for the Republican candidates as will soon be shown.

However, where Romney does stand out from the other candidates is on his stance that having America kick its foreign oil addiction will lead to an even stronger military. Romney has repeated time and time again his idea that having the strongest and largest military in the world will act as a deterrent from foreign aggression. This stated mixing of alternative energy and military muscle is a unique stance amongst the Republican candidates and one that Romney believes in.

On the issue of EVs, Romney has raised some eyebrows with comments that he has made. In an interview with The Detroit News, Tesla spokesperson Ricardo Reyes commented, “[It is] unfortunate that Gov. Romney is using Tesla as a political tool and he’s wrong. We’re creating American jobs.”

Reyes was commenting on a piece Romney wrote in which he said,

“Tesla’s next vehicle is expected to list for $57,400. Fisker’s car, already a year behind schedule, will cost $97,000. “We have a history of losses and we expect significant increases in our costs and expenses to result in continuing losses for at least the foreseeable future,” says Tesla’s most recent quarterly filing.

And neither firm has created many jobs. So far, approximately 100 workers are employed by Fisker in Wilmington, Del., while an additional 500 are actually assembling the cars in Finland. Tesla’s record is only slightly better. Even these few jobs may be illusory: studies of Europe’s green job experiments have found that each new green job destroys several other jobs elsewhere in the economy.”

 This is an interesting departure from research approach that Romney has championed for regarding alternative fuel use and energy independence. On one hand Romney is saying that as a nation, America needs to explore all alternative energy options. But on the other hand, Romney is saying that the “European green job experiment” is no good for the United States.

The underlying factor for Romney is not that EVs are bad and that there is no market for them, as some other Republicans have said. For Romney it comes down to money. Romney is a capitalist and a successful one at that. For Romney companies live and die depending on the actions they take. On the American auto industry bailouts Romney said,

“It would have been best not to have had the president and government put their hands on the bankruptcy process … Bailouts are not the answer.”

The same goes for making EVs. Romney does not care that a company like Tesla is making an EV. From a capitalistic standpoint Romney is looking at Tesla and saying go for it, make the EVs and if they do not sell and Tesla goes away so be it – it’s the risk of doing business in the American market. What Romney does not like is the $1 billion USD in federal loans that companies like Tesla and Fisker took to create a few hundred “green jobs”.

Newt Gingrich

“Contrary to popular belief, America has more energy than any nation on earth. All that’s keeping us from becoming energy independent is a lack of political will to do so.” – Newt Gingrich

Gingrich has been in politics a long, time first arriving I Washington DC representing Georgia’s 6th congressional district in 1979. Gingrich is unique amid the other Republican candidates in regard to his alternative energy policies because Gingrich has actually written a book in which he details his plan. The book is titled A Contract with the Earth.

A Contract with the Earth details ways in which Gingrich would address almost every green issue facing America today. Within his book Gingrich comes out strongly in favor of nuclear energy and domestic oil drilling, he also recognizes the need for federal tax incentives that encourage clean energy choices, specifically singling out electric cars and renewable resources. Gingrich digs deep into federal agencies and policy and would replace the EPA with a more economically driven organization called the Environmental Solutions Agency. Gingrich has also written Drill Here, Drill Now, Pay Less: A Handbook for Slashing Gas Prices and Solving Our Energy Crisis.

At one of the latest CNN Republican Debates Gingrich said,

“We ought to have a massive all-sources energy program in the United States designed to, once again, create a surplus of energy here, so we could say to the Europeans pretty cheerfully, that all the various sources of oil we have in the United States, we could literally replace the Iranian oil.”

Gingrich’s approach to green issues combines solutions that the two major parties have put forward in the past. Interestingly, Gingrich’s emphasis on consumer choice, weak government control, and private enterprise reflect a gathering of Republican, Democrat, and even Libertarian proposals; and his “all options on the table” solution is the same solution taken by Romney.

Gingrich, however, is not all talk and thought on issues. Gingrich has put his proposals into action in the past most notably as was one of the sponsors of the Endangered Species Act. In fact, Gingrich record and reputation on the wide range of green issues is, arguably, clearer than any other candidate in the 2012 race — Democrat or Republican.

On the Gingrich website his energy plan is even laid out.  

As for EVs, Gingrich has outlined their positive use in many of his environmentally and energy focused books. While Gingrich has shied away from mentioning the benefits of EVs as of late, his past published works in which he uses EVs as an example of viable clean energy solution speak for themselves.

 Ron Paul

Ron Paul is a Libertarian through and through. As a Libertarian, Paul’s aim is to minimize federal government action in virtually every aspect, and that includes the energy and environmental fields.

Libertarian’s reason that the government has no business controlling or regulating what persons or firms do with their money, because of this system of thought Paul has been labeled by some as a non-green, however such labeling is inaccurate.

While Paul is “still open” on the question of global warming, Paul is not anti environment or alternative energy and fuel, not bay a long shot. Being a Libertarian Paul thinks that each state should pass their own environmental laws not the federal government – take the power away from the federal government and pass it off to each state plain and simple.

Paul supports nuclear, wind, solar, and any other forms of energy production. However, he opposes subsidies to them as he does not believe that the federal government has the right to take money from one person to subsidize the energy desires of another. Thus Paul is anti carbon tax as collected by the federal government. However, if a state put into effect their own carbon tax Paul would be fine with that because this would leave the business being hit with the carbon tax the option of moving to another state that did not have a carbon tax. Liberty.

In the past, Paul has noted that protection of the environment is not a function that the Constitution allows the federal government to perform. He has therefore called for an end to the EPA. To address any possible pollution, Paul has stated that private property rights should function in this aspect as no man has the right to pollute another person’s land, water, or air. He notes that if government regulation of the environment were removed and ill environment effects were addressed on a private property level, then the cost of any pollution would be built into the cost of that particular energy model. The best energy model would then prevail and would be the one that best balances the cost to bring the product to market and the effects it has on the environment.

Yes, it is a bit messy but on the issue of alternative energy Paul summed up his feeling through a post on his website:

“…I do not support providing federal grants to any industry, I do support the tax credits contained in the NAT Gas Act, HR 1380. These credits reduce taxes for the production or purchase of vehicles that run on American-made natural gas. These credits are not subsidies. Of course, we should repeal federal barriers to energy production and reduce taxes on all forms of energy. Therefore, I have also introduced the Affordable Gas Price Act HR 1102 which would remove governmental barriers to offshore drilling, encourage private investment in new refineries and suspend taxes on gasoline when the price at the pump reaches a certain threshold. Lowering taxes to encourage the domestic production of energy and getting government out of the way of the American energy market is not a government giveaway; it is the way it should be in a free country.”

On the issue of the EVs, Paul has not really said anything specific. But by understanding the Libertarian views and playing by the Libertarian rules we can see where his opinion would likely fall: If a company wants to invest money and attract outside investors into building and selling EVs that is fine – but there will be no federal involvement, monetary or otherwise, what so ever.

Rick Santorum

First off, Rick Santorum does not believe in global warming and, as a Senator, voted exclusively against reducing emissions or pollution, including voting against funding of renewable energy, voting to end CAFÉ standards and voted against reducing oil usage 40% by 2025. Santorum was rated a 0% by the League of Conservation Voters. Yikes.

On his campaign website, Santorum said the country needs

“…an all-of-the-above energy policy that uses oil, natural gas, coal, and nuclear energy to power our economy and empower the American worker.”

As with Romney and Gingrich, Santorum is taking the safe (scatter shot) road in regards to alternative energy policy and an energy independent America.

Additionally, Santorum does advocate ending roadblocks to oil exploration and stopping new natural gas regulations.

“We will open up energy in America, whether it’s ANWR, whether its coal mining, whether it’s drilling, we will have a free market of energy production. And we will lead the world and we will have stable, long-term energy prices.”

Santorum has said that he would phase out all energy subsidies and opposed creating incentives for “different forms of energy that the government supports.” Santorum voted against ethanol subsidies while in Congress and in a June 2011 debate in New Hampshire, Santorum said he believes the ethanol industry is mature enough to survive without them.

Santorum also supports offshore and Arctic drilling for oil.

“It is absolutely essential that we have as much domestic supply of oil, that we build the Keystone pipeline, that we create the jobs that — that that would create, and provide oil from domestic sources.

Different from the other Republican candidates, Santorum is a major supporter of coal. For some time Santorum was a consultant, being paid $142,500 from 2010 to August 2011, to Consol Energy one of the largest coal mining companies in the United States.

While Romney has attacked EV manufactures and Gingrich has written books promoting their use, Santorum has been rather mute on the topic. Santorum is, however, a proponent of ethanol use in vehicles, saying that all U.S. vehicles should be required to burn ethanol and other bio fuels in addition to gasoline while speaking to the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association, even though he voted against ethanol subsidies while in office.

Overall the four remaining Republican candidates have different views on EVs – some negative, some positive, and some none at all. However, all of the Republican candidates are for alternative fuel use and American energy independence…which is the same thing that every President since Dwight Eisenhower has said.

If nothing else, it is important to know where the Presidential candidates stand on America’s energy future. If anything will define this nation in the coming years, it will be the looming energy crisis. Whoever is elected President in November needs to have a clear, concise plan, but it is up to voters to figure out who truly has America’s best interests at heart.

Andrew Meggison was born in the state of Maine and educated in Massachusetts. Andrew earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Government and International Relations from Clark University and a Master’s Degree in Political Science from Northeastern University. Being an Eagle Scout, Andrew has a passion for all things environmental. In his free time Andrew enjoys writing, exploring the great outdoors, a good film, and a creative cocktail. You can follow Andrew on Twitter @AndrewMeggison

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High-level architecture diagram. The four colored rectangles representing classes filled with smaller white rectangles representing subsystems. all interconnected by straight lines representing communications links going through one of four pink ovals representing types of communications. Click to enlarge.

The US National Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) Architecture has been updated to version 7.0. The ITS Architecture provides a common framework for planning, defining, and integrating ITS deployments and reflects the contributions of a broad cross-section of the ITS community and provides a definitive reference for ITS deployment planning, according to the US Department of Transportation (DOT) ITS Joint Program Office (JPO).

As one of the major new additions in version 7.0, the Architecture has been aligned with the US DOT’s connected vehicle research program, including consistent use of connected vehicle terminology.

The National ITS Architecture defines the functions that are required for ITS; he physical subsystems where these functions reside; and the information exchanges that connect these functions and physical subsystems together into an integrated system. Other major new additions to version 7.0 include:

• An Architecture Use section was added to the website that describes how the architecture is used to support transportation planning, programming, and project development. This new view of the architecture includes planning factors, goals, objectives and strategies that are created through the transportation planning process. Each of these outputs are linked to the service packages in the National ITS Architecture, providing an entry point to the architecture that is oriented to transportation planners and grounded in the transportation planning process.

• The Architecture has been modified to keep it in alignment with the Federal Motor Carrier Administration’s (FMCSA) Commercial Vehicle Information Systems and Networks (CVISN) 4.0. Several architecture flows and support for FMCSA’s Wireless Roadside Inspection Program were added.

• Three new service packages were created to support Active Traffic Management: ATMS22: Variable Speed Limits, ATMS23: Dynamic Lane Management and Shoulder User, and ATMS24: Dynamic Roadway Warning.

• The website has been significantly upgraded, with hyperlinked diagrams, a use page that supports transportation planning, programming and project development, and a new Institutional Layer page.

• The Architecture has been made more consistent with the ITS Architecture for Canada version 2.0. This includes the addition of APTS11: Multimodal Connection Protection and ATMS26: Mixed User Warning Systems.

• Support for alternative pricing of roadways, including vehicle-miles-traveled (VMT) plans, was added with ATMS25: VMT Road User Payment.

Resources

• >Key Concepts of the National ITS Architecture

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Sketch of the Citan. Click to enlarge.

Mercedes-Benz will introduce a new urban delivery van called Citan later this year. The name Citan combines the words “city” and “titan,” indicating that the vehicle is designed for city logistics, the company said during a symposium on brand competence and city logistics held at the Mercedes-Benz Design Center in Sindelfingen.

The drive concept encompasses a broad range of low-emission, fuel-efficient diesel and gasoline engines and includes a BlueEFFICIENCY package. An electric drive version is also being planned.

The Citan will be launched on the market in fall 2012. The vehicle will be unveiled to the general public for the first time at the IAA Commercial Vehicle Show in Hanover in September.

With the introduction of the new urban delivery vehicle, Mercedes-Benz is adding another production series to its family of vans. The Citan is supplementing the Vario (6.0 to 8.2 tons), Sprinter (3.0 to 5.0 tons), and Vito (2.77 to 3.2 tons) to broaden the range of products in the lower weight classes of the van market.

Whereas the small vans segment was still a niche market in the mid-1990s, it has now grown to around 700,000 units in Europe. Mercedes-Benz Vans plans to gain a market share of 4-5% in this segment.

Due to its large number of variants, the new urban delivery van will be suited for a broad range of commercial applications, the company said. Not only will the Citan be offered as a panel van, a crewbus, and a mixed-use vehicle; it will also be available in a variety of lengths and weights.

Mercedes-Benz has greatly expanded its vans business in recent years; the brand is not only manufacturing vans in Düsseldorf (Sprinters), Ludwigsfelde (Sprinters and Varios), and Vitoria, Spain (Vitos), but also in the US, Argentina, and China.

It is also planning to strengthen its presence in the Russian market through a partnership with GAZ, the leading manufacturer of commercial vehicles in Russia. Over the medium-term, the GAZ factory near Nizhny Novgorod will produce 25,000 Sprinters each year.

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Ford President and CEO Alan Mulally will unveil the production-ready version of all-new Ford B-MAX (earlier post) at the 2012 Geneva Motor Show in March. Ford introduced the B-MAX concept at the 2011 Geneva show.

Production version of the B-MAX. Click to enlarge.

Ford’s new 1.0-liter EcoBoost gasoline engine will be available on the B-MAX, as will Duratorq TDCi diesels. (Earlier post.) The Ford B-MAX goes on sale in Europe later this year.

Ford said that bringing the B-MAX to production required a new approach to door construction, which has resulted in wide-open access for drivers, passengers and luggage; with the center pillars integrated into the doors themselves.

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Filed under: EV/Plug-in, USA

It’s been a couple years since we first saw the Boulder Electric Vehicle prototype in action but now comes word that the company has delivered its very first production vehicle. The initial DV-500 (as it is affectionately called) has been sold to Denver-area Precision Plumbing,Heating & Cooling who have made a commitment to buy 20 of the all-electrics at a very reasonable-sounding $70,000 apiece.

In addition to obvious changes in appearance, its performance also differs slightly from the original. The production version boasts an 80-kWh battery pack made up of China-sourced lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO4) cells that weigh in at 1,300 lbs and are said to be good for 120 miles of range. Power comes from an 80-kW AC motor that gives the 7,000-lb truck a 70 mile-per-hour top speed. Charging can take up to eight hours.

Precision Plumbing’s Tom Robichaud says that despite the higher up-front costs, he expects to save $6,000 to $8,000 per vehicle per year in lower operating costs and anticipates the trucks to be good for 300,000 miles. Currently, he says, the Sprinter vans he uses now are replaced after 100,000 miles. In anticipation of the electric fleet, the company has also installed a solar array at its facilities.

Boulder Electric Vehicle reportedly has five production lines set up and is busy building the vehicles for Precision and other customers. The company also has plans for a bigger truck that doubles the 500 cubic foot capacity of the DV-500. Hit the jump for a couple clips featuring Mr. Robichaud and his new promotionally wrapped plumbing van.

Continue reading Boulder Electric Vehicle delivers first truck to Precision Plumbing [w/video]

Boulder Electric Vehicle delivers first truck to Precision Plumbing [w/video] originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Fri, 03 Feb 2012 10:06:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: EV/Plug-in, Fiat

Italian automaker Fiat SpA missed a chance to benefit from growing global interest in electric-drive vehicles by giving up on some of its advanced-powertrain development efforts in favor of trying to develop more fuel-efficient internal combustion engines. That’s the feeling of Corrado Clini, a member of Italy’s Ministry of the Environment, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Clini said that Fiat’s hybrid-electric Multipla, which was developed in the 1990s but has long been shelved, “was more sophisticated than the Toyota Prius,” and that Fiat’s Magneti Marelli division was not being sufficiently utilized in the development of electric-drive components, the Journal reported.

Fiat’s electric-vehicle efforts have been limited to development work on an battery-electric powered Fiat 500. While this car was never released, a specially converted 500 EV was notoriously owned by deceased Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi. Fiat’s sister company Chrysler displayed a battery-powered 500 at the 2010 Detroit Auto Show, and has said that a production model may be ready for the 2013 model year.

Fiat-Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne once estimated that his company will lose $10,000 on each Fiat 500 EV sold. He also conceded in an interview with Automotive News last fall that Chrysler will need to make hybrid vehicles in order to meet progressively more stringent greenhouse-gas emissions standards in the U.S.

Italian Environment minister: Hey Fiat, you missed the boat on EVs originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Fri, 03 Feb 2012 11:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: MPG, AutoblogGreen Exclusive, Legislation and Policy, USA, Washington DC Auto Show

One of the differences between the Washington Auto Show and car shows in other cities is the almost overwhelming appearance of politicians and government officials. Whether they come to learn or to lecture (or both), these folks create a well-worn trail from the Hill to the Walter E. Washington Convention Center every January.

One such official who spoke at the show last week was David Sandalow, assistant secretary for policy and international affairs at the Department Of Energy. His main point? That “this [auto industry] revival wasn’t destined to happen,” and only happened because of the “difficult” and vital choices that the Obama Administration made to save the auto industry, choices that are now paying off with jobs and an improving economy. From here on out, he said, we have to keep things humming by supporting innovative technology that makes our cars cleaner and better.

Sandalow, who also wrote “Freedom From Oil,” said he was amazed at how fast technology has evolved in the last 15 years, the lifetime of his teenage daughter. “It’s an incredibly exciting time,” he said. “Technological innovation is sweeping the globe.”

To that end, the DOE is supporting a lot of different research avenues, including light weighting, fuel cells, plug-in cars and biofuels. “Advanced batteries is a particularly important area that we’re investing in,” he said, citing the Batteries for Advanced Transportation Technologies Program at Berkeley National Lab as one strong example.

As a plug-in car driver himself, Sandalow said that, “One of the advantages of electric vehicles is that we have a widespread electricity infrastructure.” Of course, building out a Level 2 network will require “some investment,” he said, adding that the research shows that most people will charge their vehicles where they currently they park their vehicles: at home at night.

On this point, he told a story about a panel discussion on clean car technology that he saw a few years ago. Two auto execs (he declined to name them) were discussing the potential of introducing plug-in vehicles to the U.S. market. One of the execs said that plug-in cars aren’t worth it because only half of U.S. drivers park where they can plug in at night. The other one said his company was very excited to introduce plug-ins here because half the people can charge up at night. Apocryphal or not, that right there tells you all you need to know about people who lead and people who follow.

DOE’s David Sandalow defends Obama’s auto record originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Fri, 03 Feb 2012 08:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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