Haulage goes green

By Paul Hudson for CNN

The drive towards more eco-friendly vehicles isn't the preserve of the manufacturers of passenger cars.

Commercial vehicles also contribute to congestion and emissions, and although few of us spare a thought for them most of us rely on them to transport the goods we buy.

At the UK's premier Commercial Vehicle (CV) show in Birmingham, makers were just as keen to promote their green credentials as the most fanatical auto manufacturers.

British manufacturer Vauxhall unveiled a range of panel vans than run on E30 biodiesel, a mixture of conventional diesel and fuel made from renewable resources, meaning carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions reduced by up to 20 per cent over similar vehicles running on 100 per cent conventional diesel. It is planning trials of two models with a major fleet customer.

As part of a controlled fleet trial, a number of vans will run on biodiesel B30 across the UK as Vauxhall and its parent company General Motors investigate the long-term potential for the fuel in the UK, and look towards a more widespread distribution network for it.

Biodiesel is made from naturally renewable sources such as sunflower and rapeseed oils, where the oil is extracted and transformed into a methyl ester. Biodiesel B30 is a mixture of 30 per cent biodiesel and 70 per cent conventional diesel.

Emissions from the fuel are reduced because plants grown for conversion to biodiesel actually absorb CO2 from the atmosphere.

Although biodiesel can be produced from a variety of sources, quality is critical, and GM is calling on the EU and the UK government to look at establishing a quality specification for the fuel.

Vauxhall's managing director, Bill Parfitt, said: "Fuel efficiency is already one of the top priorities for our commercial vehicle customers. Payload and duty cycles mean downsizing is generally not an option, so achieving further CO2 reductions becomes a real challenge."

"The introduction of biodiesel B30-compatible models is one way GM can help customers reduce their CO2 emissions and is part of General Motors' wider commitment to alternative fuels and advanced propulsion systems -- we're very pleased to be the first manufacturer planning to fully trial the fuel in the UK."

"Of course, governments have an important role to play as well, specifically in terms of ensuring the quality and wider availability of the fuel, and providing incentives to encourage customers to buy it."

The biodiesel B30-compatible vans aren't the only vehicles offered by General Motors to successfully use biofuels. Swedish auto brand Saab introduced petrol-based BioPower vehicles in 2005, which are capable of running on any combination of petrol and bioethanol E85.

The increased use of platform sharing, in which a whole range of passenger cars and commercial vehicles are planned one chassis platform, makes it easier for manufacturers to roll out fuel-efficient technologies.

There's also a drive towards battery-powered vehicles -- particularly for short-distance, urban use -- although hybrids are still seen as the longer-term solution.

The development of wholly electric vehicles has been spurred by the planned Low Emission Zone (LEZ) restrictions in London. Other makers that are simply keen to show their green credentials, through dramatic emission reductions (including carbon dioxide and noise), are showing great interest in diesel-electric hybrids.

As yet, there are no CV hybrids available in the UK market. Most are still at the prototype stage and, as Toyota and Honda have found with their Prius and Civiv passenger car petrol-electric hybrids, involve considerable investment before any profitability can even be considered.

Therefore, in the CV world at least, electric vehicles are seen as viable in the short term. Despite shortcomings in weight, range and performance -- mainly connected with limitations of current battery technology -- they are simpler and less costly than an equivalent hybrid.

Smith Electric Vehicles of Tyne and Wear, whose milk-floats have been used by dairies all over the UK for more than 40 years, unveiled a range of electric vehicles at the CV show

The adoption of sodium nickel chloride batteries in place of the hitherto ubiquitous lead-acid type are at the heart of what is claimed to be the technology breakthrough for SEV. These power packs are about 80 per cent than lead-acid units with the same energy storage, and deliver more performance.

The converted Ford Transit on show has a claimed top speed of 80kph (50mph) in combination with a range of up to 240km (150 miles).

Modec uses the same battery technology for its electric vehicles, and says that UK supermarket giant Tesco will be using the vehicle for home deliveries of groceries. The new trucks can carry a two ton payload, have a 100-mile range and a top speed of 50mph, all on one overnight charge.

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GM: The new green carmaker?

The planet's biggest car company shows off its Earth-friendly side.

By Peter Valdes-Dapena, CNNMoney.com staff writer

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- The belief that General Motors has all the environmental sensitivity of a panda fur wholesaler has been widespread for a long time.

This is a company that has, in recent memory, relied on its largest, least fuel-efficient vehicles for profits, making it an easy target for environmentalists.

Kicking things off at the Los Angeles Auto Show this week, the world's largest automaker embarked on a big campaign to change that image.

There was an environmental theme at the show that even included a competition among California-based auto designers to come up with the niftiest enviro-friendly fantasy cars. GM won that competition with the Hummer O2, an off-roader with algae-filled body panels that produce oxygen from sunlight.

Out on the show floor, Ford and Honda both are both showing hydrogen fuel cell vehicles. But it's GM, again, that's really making the big green push.

It's appropriate that GM kicks this off in California, the state that, basically, required manufacturers to sell electric cars in the 1990s. Several manufacturers did, including Ford, Honda and Toyota, and all decided there was no market for those vehicles. They all stopped producing them for good as soon as the rules changed.

GM alone, however, has born the PR fall-out for that decision after a recent documentary drew attention to its decision to withdraw and destroy its EV1 electric cars.

Now, GM says, it's getting back into "electrified vehicles" with products it hopes consumers will ultimately find more palatable.

None of the fuel-saving vehicles GM showed at the L.A. Auto Show will have a big impact on the company's sales any time soon. Even the hybrid vehicles coming out in the next two years won't do much because hybrids still represent a tiny fraction of the U.S. car market.

Hydrogen fuel cell cars are still in the distant future as a mass-market item, but GM took a small step forward with 50 road-ready Chevrolet Equinox Fuel Cell vehicles.

That's half the 100 that the company will give to "everyday drivers, celebrities and policymakers" to drive around L.A., Washington, D.C., and New York in what the company is calling "Project Driveway." GM will listen ardently to their feedback, the company says.

Also on display at the show: the Chevrolet Sequel fuel cell vehicle. This is a more advanced vehicle, built for from the start as hydrogen fuel-cell vehicle.

In hydrogen fuel cell vehicles, a chemical process that makes water out of hydrogen and oxygen also releases electricity that drives the car.

"With Chevrolet being GM's global volume brand, it makes sense that Chevy will lead GM's fuel cell vehicle charge," said Ed Peper, Chevrolet's General Manager, in an announcement prepared for the show.

Saturn, meanwhile, is taking the point position in GM's roll-out of its gas/electric hybrid technologies. Coming to market long after Toyota, Honda and Ford had begun selling hybrid vehicles, GM's first hybrid, the Saturn Vue Green Line, is just entering dealerships now.

It's a "mild hybrid," meaning its electric motor lacks enough power to actually drive the vehicle alone. Critics call it a cheap way to make a hybrid, but that, says GM, is part of the benefit. Their Vue's hybrid system costs consumers less to buy because it costs less to make.

The other advantage of the "mild hybrid" system is that requires just a small battery pack. You can see that in the new Aura Green Line sedan. Other hybrid sedans lose trunk space to make room for batteries, but not this one.

In 2008, a completely redesigned Saturn Vue SUV becomes available with the same "full hybrid" system GM is using on its large SUVs. That Vue is expected to get a 45 percent improvement in fuel economy compared to the regular V-6-powered Vue. The current "mild hybrid" Vue gets only a 20 percent improvement in fuel economy. (Actual mileage numbers aren't available yet.)

The redesigned Vue with full- and mild-hybrid systems will be available to consumers at the same time, the company says. You can take your choice. Lower price or more fuel economy.

Someday, a plug-in hybrid version of the Vue will become available, GM promises. That vehicle will use the full-hybrid system, but with the additional capability of having its batteries charged from a wall outlet.

The plug-in Vue will be able to drive for more than 10 miles at moderate speeds using electricity only, according to GM.

But that requires much more advanced battery technology than anyone currently has at hand. So, while the rest of the system is ready to go, GM says, it has to wait to wait for battery suppliers to come up with a something that's up to the task.

At the end of Wagoner's presentation, two men went up on stage with a huge paper they asked Wagoner to sign. They said it was a pledge for GM to be the leader in fuel economy by 2010.

Wagoner replied, "I think my speech speaks for itself."

There's virtually no way GM will be the leader in fuel economy in just four years. But perhaps, by then, it can remove the big "Kick me, I'm bad for the planet" sign from its corporate back.

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Saturn Vue Green Line: hybrid for tightwads

With its first mass-market hybrid, GM emphasized cost savings. That may be just what the market needs.

By Peter Valdes-Dapena, CNNMoney.com staff writer.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) - In creating its first gas-saving hybrid vehicle for the mass market, General Motors took the cheap way out. This time, it could prove to be a very smart move.

The fact is, hybrids just aren't selling like they used to. While the Toyota Prius is still a hot item, Ford is offering incentives on its hybrid SUVs, and sales for other hybrid vehicles are softening.

One reason is that most hybrids, unlike the Prius, are not distinctive. A Toyota Highlander Hybrid looks like a Toyota Highlander. A Ford Escape Hybrid is a Ford Escape. "So the hybrid becomes another powertrain option," said Anthony Pratt, an analyst with J.D. Power and Associates.

That means that consumers are increasingly putting hybrid systems through the same cost/benefit analysis to which they would subject any other high-cost option.

For consumers simply looking to save money in the face of rising gasoline prices, it makes more sense to purchase a fuel-efficient vehicle that doesn't rely on hybrid technology. Hybrid versions of vehicles usually cost about $3,500 to nearly $8,000 more than non-hybrid versions. Part of that cost is for unrelated options that usually come as part of a hybrid package that you might not even want - third row seats, leather interior, wood grain veneer.

Another answer might be to buy a vehicle with a less complex, less expensive hybrid system. It might not be quite as fuel-efficient but it will pay for itself faster.

The Saturn Vue Green Line hybrid SUV, coming out this summer, will cost about $2,000 more than a regular Saturn Vue. Its sticker price will be about $23,000, making it the cheapest hybrid SUV you can buy.

"A total price in the low $20,000 range, I think, opens the door to the mass market," said Jesse Toprak, executive director of industry analysis for Edmunds.com.

The Vue Green Line uses a system that relies on lower voltage than other hybrids. That means, for one thing, that the Vue Green Line doesn't need nearly as large of a battery pack. Batteries cost money and add weight. It also made the Vue's hybrid system easier to integrate into a normal automotive electrical system which, again, means lower cost.

But the Vue Green Line's electric motor can't actually drive the vehicle on its own even at low speeds, the way, for example, a Ford Escape Hybrid's can. In all hybrid vehicles, the gasoline engine automatically shuts off as soon as the vehicle stops moving even at stop signs and red lights. That saves all the gas wasted in pointless idling.

But, once the vehicle gets going again, the Ford Escape Hybrid can crawl through city traffic without starting its gasoline engine at all, at least until the battery needs recharging. In the Vue Green Line, however, the gasoline engine starts running the moment the driver's foot lifts off the brake pedal. The electric motor in the Vue assists the gasoline engine in propelling the vehicle but it is too weak to do much on its own.

Instead of having a high-efficiency continuously variable transmission, as other hybrid vehicles do, the Vue Greenline has the same four-speed transmission as the regular Vue. Again, the slight gain in efficiency that would have come from a CVT wasn't worth the added cost.

Some hard-core hybrid fans may look askance at the Vue's low-cost hybrid compromise. It does save gas, but not huge amounts. GM claims the Vue Green Line will get 20 percent better fuel economy than the a regular 4-cylinder Saturn Vue SUV.

Since the Vue is already a relatively efficient SUV, 20 percent means five miles per gallon. Overall, its estimated mileage is a little less than a Ford Escape Hybrid or Toyota Highlander Hybrid, but the Vue Green Line will also cost thousands less than those SUVs.

The Vue Green Line's hybrid system may be the right way for GM to crank up its hybrid vehicle portfolio but it will still face serious hurdles with buyers. For one thing, it's a Saturn Vue. The Vue has not been treated nicely by Consumer Reports, an influential source for car shoppers, which gives it "Much lower than average" marks for predicted reliability and has little good to say about it otherwise. (Despite the criticism, the regular Vue has been selling about as well as the average mid-sized SUV, though, according to Edmunds.com.)

Also, Toprak of Edmunds.com points out, the Vue Green Line will be available in two-wheel-drive only, eliminating a big reason many buyers opt for an SUV to begin with.

In creating a cheaper way to make small hybrid vehicles, GM has taken an important step toward making the technology truly mainstream. Now the trick will be to build a really compelling vehicle around this new powertrain. As gas prices rise, a cheap, efficient vehicle that's genuinely good is something that car buyers will really have an appetite for.

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