To all on thread:
In Richardred's absence I'd like to post a few notes on the ongoing saga of ethynol and non petro products.
As a GM dealer,I have a commercial and fleet department which serves the oil patch here in the Houston market.
Last week I was invited out to Red Rock Resort in Las Vegas to see and drive the new 2009 GM fleet.
The largest theme presented is: GM is where you can get the most relief from the high cost of buying energy.
The GM approach is a multi planned approach:
It starts with fuel efficiiency.GM offers more models over 30 mpg than any OEM.
They build more flex fuel vehicles than any OEM.All of the rhetoric about food for fuel is just noise.GM will build over 400,000 vehicles this year that will be flex fuel.In the past it first was offered in big V-8 and mostly trucks.Flex fuel engines are now all the way down to the Aveo's 1.8 liter engine.As they redesign for flex fuel they also build in Variable Valve Timing - a great feature also.
GM's point regarding E85 is it displaces the need to buy more imported petroleum.Thier estimate is that without E-85 taking off some of the imported petroleum pressure gas would be at least 50 cents higher right now.
Food for fuel is just the first step.Corn is the easy first step to the endgame cellulosic ethynol.Cellulosic ethynol has benefitted from billions of government research and is now understood and will be viable within 2 years.
Cellulosic ethynol will displace (through modification)all corn ethynol plants because the base sorce product it uses is basically free vs corn which has a food cost.
Cellulosic will be 1.00 per gallon cheaper than corn based and thus displace the product through market based economics.
GM knows what they're taling about as they have made investments in 2 different cellulosic ventures.Here is one that uses forrest waste products:
motortrend.com
ecogeek.org
The biggest long term benefit from corn based ethynol is it begins the infrastructure development, that is needed to make ethynol available on an "accross country" basis.
This requires BIG government support and of course it isn't exactly being supported by big oil and their distribution channels.Thus the disinformation about energy waste and green gasses we here so much about on TV.FOOD for FUEL yadda yadda!
Available now in addition to :fuel efficient vehicles and vehicles that are E85 compatible (flex fuel vehicles),are an accross the vehicle line attack on coupling fuel efficiency with and electronic assist.
THESE ARE CALLED DUO MODE HYBRIDS.By the end of this year GM will have 9 models.Examples currently offered are Hybrid Tahoe and Yukon.Also this year will be Hybrid cre cabs Silverado and Sierra.Saturn Vue and Chevy Malibu pick up the low fuel users where the big SUV's and trucks make the fuel users more efficient.I talked with the GM engineers quite a while and they say 25% fuel savings as actual ,but it does depend on your drivuing style.
chevrolet.com
GM will introduce a new hybrid every 120 days till 2012.There literally is a fleet of them coming.
Tax credits phase out after 60,000 units/ manufacturer have been sold - so early adopters get the worm.The credit ranges, based on fuel consumption foot print, and goes as high as 2300 for the trucks and 650 for smaller cars and 1300 on midsize cars.
Next comes plug in.Chevy Volt will be available as a 2010.GM has over 2000 engineersd working on this hugue project.The volt will commute 40 miles on a charge from a 110 volt outlet.It has an auxillary gas engine that drives a electric generator and offers a combined range of 150 miles on 1 gallon of gas.As this approach becomes mainstream there will be additional demands on the electric grid - another investment thought.
chevrolet.com
Last but not least, the high point of my trip, was to actually drive a Chevrolet Equinox upfitted with GM 4th generation Hydrgen fuel cell.
Imagine buying a car that NEVER uses a petroleum product and has ZERO emmissions.
I stooped down and smelled the carbon fiber panel that had 4 chrome plated exhaust ports and they where just warm humid air.
Its only biproduct is water vapor.
It is fast and all but silent.
There currently are 100 of these in Washington DC,New York and Los Angeles.Once again a huge impediment to this alternative vehicle is an infrastructure that does not exist and bi passes the big oil industry.To be trully impactive on diminishing oil demand a national infrastrucure must be constructed and it will be at the direct opposition of OIL.
chevrolet.com
A mandate much like Corn based Ethynol will be required.It must originate from the grass roots of American people to have any chance of being powerful enough to displace the entrenched OIL industry.
Every step in alternative fuel vehicles diminishes the cash flow of the BIG OIL INDUSTRY.
Keep this in mind as you hear the countless obfuscation about these dynamic new technologies.
I came back feeling much better about what seems to be an endless and depressing situation.
The solutions are much closer to reality than most think.
The solutions are from simple to complex,from conserving to eliminating the use of oil.
They will take time to implement and they offer high paying job creation that promotes technology manufacturing.
It is a great story that will unfold right now and into the future.
If you are interested in driving the fuel cell vehicle and live in the 3 cities where fueling capability exist, log on to GM's website and request a 90 day roadtest.
chevrolet.com
There is a better world out there - it features American technology!
Bob
I hope this doesn't sound like too much of a GM ad,but it was their show and my experience.
Other car makers have similar programs,and GM BMW and Daimler have collaborated on the Hybrid Duo Mode models. |
