President's Page

As we saw last month, there are significant environmental consequences of continued reliance on fossil fuels for automotive transportation needs. This month we take a look at some current news, technology, and legislation aimed at reducing the energy inefficiency of vehicles.

New News?

Ford Motor Company, in a startling admission, says sport utility vehicles are environmentally unfriendly, chug gas and can be a danger to drivers in smaller vehicles. The automaker also said its high-profit business in SUVs doesn't always jibe with its desire to be more environmentally responsible. The critical comments were delivered in a book given to shareholders who attended Ford's annual meeting. The automaker said the book was part of the company's effort to be more "transparent" about the problems it is facing and its proposed solutions. The book also promotes several environmentally friendly steps made by the automaker, such as making its SUVs meet low emission standards and increasing the number of recyclable parts. (Associated Press, May 12, 2000). However, with SUV profit margins up to nearly $15,000, Ford will "continue to build and market SUVs to meet customer demand."

Government/Industry Partnership Pays Off

In 1993, the U.S. Government and the U.S. automotive industry formed the Partnership for a New Generation of Vehicles (PNGV) to improve international competitiveness in automotive manufacturing, apply commercially available innovations, and develop a "clean car" production prototype by the year 2004. This clean car would get up to 80 miles per gallon at the same level of performance, utility and cost of ownership as today's vehicles.

As evidence that the PNGV is paying off, Ford has announced that it plans to produce a hybrid-electric sport utility vehicle that will achieve 40 miles per gallon in urban driving by 2003. Ford's hybrid-electric vehicle (HEV) will be a modified version of the new Ford Escape. It will feature a four-cylinder gasoline engine with an electric boost that will achieve performance equal to the new six-cylinder vehicle. It will use regenerative braking to recharge its batteries and will shut down the engine when coasting or stopped. Ford's HEV meets California's Super Ultra Low Emissions Vehicle (SULEV) standard and European Stage IV emission standards. (See Statement by Energy Secretary Richardson on Ford Motor Company's Hybrid SUV Model (sorry, that page disappeared -Webmaster].)

On the Hill

President Clinton celebrated Earth Day 2000 by issuing an Executive Order on Federal Transportation, "Greening the Government Through Federal Fleet and Transportation Efficiency." This order sets a new standard for federal vehicle fleets to reduce their annual petroleum consumption by at least 20 percent by 2005, relative to 1999 consumption levels. The Order suggests reducing fleet size and miles driven, but also emphasizes the use of alternative fuels and efficient hybrid-electric vehicles. (See General Sustainable Development Information from the US Department of Energy.)

R&D Priorities

A recent study by MIT's Energy Laboratory, taking into account the importance of including fuel cycle (extraction, processing, distribution) in vehicle technology analysis, concludes that "gains from continued work on conventional fuels and vehicles are so great that emerging technologies like the fuel cell will have trouble competing" in the near-term. However, "devoting considerable resources to developing electrical drive trains is appropriate. Electrical drive trains are used in hybrid systems, which promise substantial gains in energy use and emissions well before 2020. Likewise, electrical drive trains are used in both fuel cell and battery vehicles." (See Fuels and Vehicles for 2020: How the New Technologies Measure Up (sorry, that page disappeared -Webmaster].)

Hybrid-Power Vehicles

Toyota's Prius gets the honor of being the first hybrid-electric car sold on the planet. Since 1997, Japanese buyers have purchased 35,000, and by August U.S. car buyers can have one too. Toyota projects 12,000 will be sold stateside in the first year. The U.S. market Prius will be fully equipped and sell for $19,995. A pre-order program on Toyota's web site will begin in June.

While Toyota may produce the first commercial HEV, apparently Honda is first to sell a hybrid-electric car in the US. There's already a waiting list in the U.S. to buy Honda's Insight 70 mile per gallon gasoline-electric hybrid. The two seat Insight is now rolling off the production line and has begun arriving at West Coast dealerships. To meet the unexpected demand, Honda has decided to increase its U.S. allotment from 4000 to 6500 cars for this year. (See Honda Insight Owners Achieve More Than 90 Mpg In Tour De Sol Road Rally for details (sorry, that page disappeared -Webmaster].)

Looking toward the future, DaimlerChrysler AG has unveiled the ESX3, a hybrid diesel-electric concept car that achieves the gasoline equivalent of 72 miles per gallon. The five-passenger car features a three-cylinder diesel engine that works along with a motor drive on the front wheels to propel the car. During braking, the motor generates electricity to recharge the car's lithium-ion battery pack. The lightweight body makes use of another DaimlerChrysler innovation, injection molded thermoplastic technology that achieves significant improvements in weight and cost. The ESX3 weighs in at just 2,250 pounds (1020 kg) while meeting all federal safety standards and providing the roominess and comfort of today's family sedan. The entire vehicle is more than 80 percent recyclable. (See ESX3 Lowers Fuel Consumption, Emissions and Cost.)

Chapter E-mail List Going Strong

We now have nearly 500 individuals on the Boston Chapter Activities Update e-mail list. This is really great, as we were able to pull together over 100 people for the Boston Chapter pre-opening event at F1 Boston on Sunday, June 4 on very short notice using only this list. If you would like to be on the list to receive information about late-breaking Chapter event news, please join the The Boston Chapter Bulletin.

July/August 2000 Bimmer

President's Page by Fred Beck

The Editor's Red Pen by Justin Hughes

Bimmerscopes by Lady Dixi Isetta

July/August 2000 New Members by Barry Tarr

2000 Boston Chapter Autocross Series: Autocrossing 102 by Steve Hazard

2000 Boston Chapter Autocross Series: The Devens Shuffle by Allison Feldhusen

2000 Boston Chapter Autocross Series: Drivers In Dresses by Aimée Reveno

2000 One Lap of America: Larry and Ryan's One Lap Adventure by Larry Leff

2000 One Lap of America: One Lap Adventure Photo Gallery by Allison Feldhusen

Your Vintage Car on the Big Screen by Justin Hughes

More Boston Bimmer articles by Fred Beck

President's Page: Mr. Beck Goes To Washington November/December 2000 Bimmer

President's Page: Calling All Members October 2000 Bimmer

President's Page: Bonjour, Chapitre de Boston! September 2000 Bimmer

President's Page June 2000 Bimmer

2000 Charitable Contributions: In Memory of Parker Spooner June 2000 Bimmer

There are 51 more Boston Bimmer articles by Fred Beck