Auto news and reviews from Car Buyer's Notebook.com: Ethanol Archives

May 10, 2008

Survey: Quest for Fuel Efficiency Changing Americans' Car Consciousness

Detroit, Mich. – With rising gas prices, today’s car buyers admit fuel efficiency and diversity is not just a necessity, it’s also fashion forward.

If Americans had to choose between driving a car that was beautiful on the outside vs. one that was “greener” on the inside, nearly eight in 10 Americans (79 percent) who plan to buy or lease a car within the next two years would choose the greener car.

Continue reading"Survey: Quest for Fuel Efficiency Changing Americans' Car Consciousness"

Student Teams Show Off "Green" Vehicles at New Jersey Ride and Drive

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and General Motors (GM) will host a behind-the-scenes opportunity to see the vehicles from the collegiate engineering competition Challenge X: Crossover to Sustainable Mobility in action.

The event is May 15, at Old Bridge Township Motorsports Park and is a stop on a road rally from New Jersey to Washington, D.C. Seventeen Chevrolet Equinoxes have been re-engineered by student teams using a range of cutting-edge clean vehicle technologies such as hybrid, plug-in or fuel cell propulsion systems.

Continue reading"Student Teams Show Off "Green" Vehicles at New Jersey Ride and Drive"

May 1, 2008

GM and Mascoma Enter into Non-Food Biofuels Relationship

WASHINGTON -- General Motors Corp. and Mascoma Corp. today announced a strategic relationship to develop cellulosic ethanol focused on Mascoma's single-step biochemical conversion of non-grain biomass into low-carbon alternative fuels to help address increasing energy demand.

The relationship, which includes an undisclosed equity investment by GM, complements an earlier investment in a cellulosic ethanol startup that uses a thermo-chemical process to make ethanol from non-grain sources.

Continue reading"GM and Mascoma Enter into Non-Food Biofuels Relationship"

General Motors To Announce Second Advanced Biofuels Relationship

On May 1, at 10:30 a.m., GM President Fritz Henderson will announce General Motors’ Corp’s second partnership with a cellulosic ethanol manufacturer. Non-grain based sustainable biofuels are critical to meet rising energy needs and decrease dependence on foreign oil.

GM leads the auto industry in offering vehicles that can run on either ordinary gasoline or E85 – a blend of 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline – or any combination of the two. There are more than 7 million flex-fuel vehicles on U.S. roads, 3 million of which are GM cars and trucks.

April 25, 2008

GM's Tech History Behind Coskata's Cellulosic Ethanol Plant

MADISON, Pa. – General Motors Corp.’s role in helping Coskata Inc. bring its next-generation cellulosic ethanol to market traces back a quarter of a century to technology developed for a GM iron foundry in northwest Ohio.

Coskata announced Friday that its pilot plant will be located at the Westinghouse Plasma Center in Madison, the current site of a pilot-plant gasifier.

Continue reading"GM's Tech History Behind Coskata's Cellulosic Ethanol Plant"

April 24, 2008

Poll: More Americans Worry About Energy Issues, Than Home Foreclosures, Jobs or Global Warming

OMAHA, Neb. -- When it comes to energy, Americans worry most about dependence on foreign oil.

Almost half of the 1,200 voters polled by Peter D. Hart Research Associates Inc. rate imports as one of their two biggest energy concerns. A distant second is the lack of viable alternatives to fossil fuels.

The U.S. imports about two-thirds of its oil. Of all the energy the country consumes every year, only 6 percent is renewable (excluding nuclear). The rest is oil, gas and coal.

Continue reading"Poll: More Americans Worry About Energy Issues, Than Home Foreclosures, Jobs or Global Warming"

April 22, 2008

Volkswagen Group Launches Environmental Microsite

HERNDON, Va. -- Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. today launched responsiblemobility.com, a microsite focused on the company's sustainable mobility strategy.

The new microsite comes as the Group's Audi and Volkswagen brands prepare to embark upon their 50-state clean diesel strategy, and as the Group continues work on next generation alternative energy innovations such as biofuels and high temperature fuel cells.

Continue reading"Volkswagen Group Launches Environmental Microsite"

April 21, 2008

Hybrid Vehicle Registrations Leap 38%

SOUTHFIELD, Mich. -- Nationwide registrations for new hybrid vehicles rose to 350,289 registrations in 2007 - a 38 percent increase from 2006, according to R. L. Polk & Co. The Toyota Prius continued to lead the segment with 179,178 total new registrations - 51.2 percent of hybrid market share.

"Auto buyers are benefiting from new hybrid launches, and fleecing of old models that didn't work. There is a lot of excitement being generated within the industry as manufacturers adjust plans to adapt to consumer demand," said Lonnie Miller, director of Industry Analysis at Polk.

Continue reading"Hybrid Vehicle Registrations Leap 38%"

April 18, 2008

FCX Clarity Fuel Cell Vehicle Official Car for 2008 Indy Japan

TOKYO, Japan – Honda Motor Co., Ltd. announced that the FCX Clarity fuel cell vehicle will serve as the official car of the 2008 Indy Japan event to be held at Twin Ring Motegi in Tochigi, Japan, April 17-19.

Since 2007, all IRL IndyCar series racers run on low environmental impact 100% ethanol fuel. Scheduled for release in the U.S. in the summer and in Japan in the autumn of this year, the FCX Clarity runs on hydrogen and emits no CO2 or other environmentally harmful emissions in operation, making it an ideal vehicle for the event.

Continue reading"FCX Clarity Fuel Cell Vehicle Official Car for 2008 Indy Japan"

April 17, 2008

Buick Lucerne Joins GM FlexFuel Lineup for 2009

ALEXANDRIA, Va. - The 2009 Buick Lucerne sedan will join General Motors' industry-leading lineup of flex-fuel vehicles that can run on either ordinary gasoline or E85, or any combination of the two, GM Vice President of Environment, Energy and Safety Policy Beth Lowery said Thursday.

The Lucerne, the first flex-fuel capable Buick passenger car, will be among more than 15 GM models with flex-fuel capability in 2009, up from 11 offerings this year.

Continue reading"Buick Lucerne Joins GM FlexFuel Lineup for 2009"

April 14, 2008

Student-Built Prototype Vehicle Breaks Mileage Record

HOUSTON -- "Ladies and gentlemen, start your fuel-efficient engines" were the words that kicked off the 2008 Shell Eco-marathon Americas; and that's exactly what more than 300 students from Canada, Mexico, and the United States did today.

Mater Dei High School of Evansville, Ind., set a new mileage record at the 2008 Shell Eco-marathon Americas, a challenge to design, build and test fuel-efficient prototype vehicles that travel the farthest distance using the least amount of fuel.

Continue reading"Student-Built Prototype Vehicle Breaks Mileage Record"

April 9, 2008

Enterprise Rent-A-Car Offers Hybrids in Four Atlanta Locations

ATLANTA -- In response to demand for environmentally friendly vehicles in Atlanta, Enterprise Rent-A-Car has designated its first “Green Branches” in the country at four locations across the metropolitan area.

Hybrids and fuel-efficient vehicles will comprise approximately 60 percent of each of the four “Green Branch” fleets, demonstrating Enterprise’s ongoing commitment to supporting the use of alternative technologies and fuel-efficient vehicles.

Continue reading"Enterprise Rent-A-Car Offers Hybrids in Four Atlanta Locations"

April 7, 2008

Alternative Fuel Vehicle Sales Up by 15% in 2007

WASHINGTON -- Newly released sales figures from R.L. Polk reveal a record number of Alternative Fuel Automobiles (AFAs) rolled off dealer lots in 2007.

In total, close to 1.8 million AFAs were sold last year, roughly 250,000 more than were sold in 2006. Sales of E-85 capable/flexible fuel vehicles and hybrid electric vehicles were up significantly while clean diesel vehicle sales fell slightly.

Continue reading"Alternative Fuel Vehicle Sales Up by 15% in 2007"

March 30, 2008

Hummer to bring out E85 models

Hummer's first production E85 models will be the 2009 H2 pickup and H2 SUT, a Hummer spokesman said Friday.

Hummer made the announcement during the grand opening of a Dallas area dealership's E85 ethanol station. Classic Chevrolet-Hummer is the first dealer-owned E85 station selling to the public.

General Motors plans to offer more than 15 FlexFuel models for the 2009 model year. Hummer has committed to offering biofuel capability on all its vehicles by 2010.

March 28, 2008

First Dealership-Owned E85 Station Opens in Texas

GRAPEVINE, Tex. – Texans with flex-fuel vehicles gained easier access Friday to E85 ethanol at the first public biofuel pumps in the nation owned by a new car and truck dealership.

Classic Chevrolet/HUMMER, which sold more Chevrolet trucks than any dealer in the nation in 2007, spent more than $500,000 to install nine pumps dedicated to E85, E10 and biodiesel at the new Classic Clean Fuels station adjacent to its Mr. Good Wrench Quick Lube Plus and HUMMER dealership in suburban Dallas.

Continue reading"First Dealership-Owned E85 Station Opens in Texas"

Car Buyer's Notebook.com

Recent Stories

Topics