When it came to January alt-fuel sales, there was Toyota, and then there was everyone else.
While the world's biggest maker of hybrids appeared to get back on track and get its supply chain in order after last year's Japan tsunami hampered production, most advanced-powertrain models other automakers sold in the U.S. experienced a substantial dropoff despite the fact that gas prices were up about 10 percent from a year earlier.
Other automakers weren't so fortunate.
Toyota, whose Prius generally accounts for about half of the hybrids sold in the U.S., sold 11,555 units of the model, up 8.7 percent from a year earlier after sales fell 3.2 percent for all of 2011. Meanwhile, Toyota, which didn't disclose figures for any other individual hybrid models, boosted sales of its non-Prius hybrids by 54 percent from a year earlier to 3,087 vehicles, indicating that buyers appear to be taking to the Camry Hybrid that debuted late last year. And Toyota's Lexus luxury badge increased January sales by 60 percent to 1,963 vehicles, likely a reflection of demand for the Lexus CT 200h hatchback that launched last year.
Other automakers weren't so fortunate. Honda, whose 2011 hybrid sales fell 5.9 percent from a year earlier, continued to see lagging demand for its models. January hybrid sales plunged 58 percent from a year earlier to just 1,304 vehicles, with Honda's best-selling hybrid - the Insight - moving just 492 vehicles. The Honda CR-Z sport-coupe hybrid had a 59 percent drop in sales to 363 vehicles, while the Honda Civic Hybrid sales fell 31 percent.
Meanwhile, Ford didn't fare much better, taking a 35 percent hit in hybrid sales from a year earlier to 1,209 vehicles in January. The U.S. automaker, which will start selling the Ford Focus Electric this year, saw all three of its hybrids - the Escape, the Fusion and the Lincoln MKZ - have sales declines north of 30 percent.
The only other bright spots, aside from Toyota, were General Motors and Nissan.
The only other bright spots, aside from Toyota, were General Motors and Nissan. Nissan, whose Altima and Infiniti M-Series Hybrids sell in very limited numbers, boosted January sales of its battery-electric Leaf almost sevenfold from a year earlier to 676 vehicles.
GM also boosted alt-fuel sales from a combination of more demand for the Chevrolet Volt extended-range plug-in, and from sales of the new Buick LaCrosse eAssist. The latter model moved 803 vehicles and accounted for about 20 percent of all LaCrosses sold in January, while the Volt almost doubled year-earlier sales to 603 vehicles.
Still, a closer look indicates a potential tapering off in interest for some electric-drive technology, at least for now. Leaf sales fell 29 percent from the 954 vehicles sold in December, which may just as well reflect the overall drop in car sales between January and December (Prius sales in January were down 32 percent from a month earlier). Volt sales, on the other hand, plunged 61 percent from December, which was a monthly record for the vehicle. And the Mitsubishi i battery-electric vehicle, which debuted in the U.S. in November, moved just 36 units last month, less than half of the 76 vehicles sold in December.
As for diesel-powered models sold by German automakers, the results were split. Volkswagen in January boosted diesel-vehicle sales by 30 percent from a year earlier to 4,789 units, while Audi's diesel sales fell 10 percent from a year earlier to 703 vehicles.
BRAND/COMPANY
Vol%
Jan. 2012
Jan. 2011
Vol%
YTD2012
YTD2011
Ford Motor Co.
Ford Escape Hybrid
-33.65%
345
520
-33.65%
345
520
Ford Fusion Hybrid
-36.95%
611
969
-36.95%
611
969
Lincoln MKZ Hybrid
-31.62%
253
370
-31.62%
253
370
FORD MOTOR TOTAL
-34.97%
1,209
1,859
-34.97%
1,209
1,859
Volkswagen
Volkswagen Touareg Hybrid
na
na
na
na
Volkswagen Diesels
30.20%
4,789
3,678
30.20%
4,789
3,678
General Motors
Buick Regal Hybrid
na
na
na
na
Buick LaCrosse Hybrid
803
0
802.6
0
Cadillac Escalade Hybrid
na
na
na
na
Chevrolet Malibu Hybrid
na
na
na
na
Chevrolet Silverado 1500 Hybrid/GMC Sierra 1500 Hybrid
Before we get too far into this, a primer on the ZEV Mandate changes and what the over-compliance rule actually is is important. The basic idea is that CARB wants to reduce the amount of CO2 and other pollutants in the air that come from transportation. Zero-emission vehicles - whether they be plug-in or hydrogen powered - will do this, so CARB decided that at least 15.4 percent of all the cars sold by a major automaker in California needs to be either an EV, a plug-in hybrid or a hydrogen fuel cell vehcile by 2025. To go along with this new rule, some automakers asked for - and got - an over-compliance rule that will "allow manufacturers who systematically over comply with the proposed LEV III GHG fleet standard to offset a portion of their ZEV requirement in 2018 through 2021 model years only."
Some argue that the over-compliance rule will lead to a smaller environmental benefit from ZEVs because, quite simply, there will be fewer ZEVs on the roads than there would be without the rule. This is true. It's also true, as others will argue, that what matters most is lowering the amount of nasty pollutants and emissions from the air, so who cares if this happens because there is a true ZEV driving around or a much-improved (read: cleaner) gas-powered car that emits fewer greenhouse gases than today's vehicles?
We didn't want to try and answer that question. But we did think it made sense to try and capture the landscape of the recent battle over the rule, and so we asked some of the involved automakers and other concerned parties for their opinions. We put together a list of responses after the jump.
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.
- Number sold in February: 800 (estimate. Perry recently said these two months were sold out or nearly sold out)
- Number of people who haven't had a chance to order because they live in a state where the Leaf is not yet for sale: 2,000 (according, again, to Perry)
- Number of people who cancelled (unknown)
= 12,400 people or so
Nissan's Katherine Zachary tells Autoblog that the company doesn't share cancellation data, so it's not possible for outsiders to know exactly how many of the 12,400 have raised and then lowered their hands. Zachary added, "We have new people coming into the process every day, so it's really a moving target." Still, somewhere out there, there could be 12,000 people who are patiently waiting to snatch up Nissan's 2012 Leaf production. Even if 50 percent of them cancelled, that still leaves many months of strong sales coming for Nissan in the U.S. this coming year, even as production ramps up.
One thing that Zachary was willing to share were the colors chosen by buyers for model year 2012 Leaf orders. They are:
Brilliant Silver - 24%
Blue Ocean - 23%
Glacier Pearl - 21%
Cayenne Red - 19%
Super Black - 14%
Given that Blue Ocean was the Leaf's "Launch Color," we're a bit surprised to see it being outsold by silver, if only just. If you were going to order a Leaf (or if you have), what color would it be? Take our poll below.
Ask the average driver whether he or she would like better fuel economy from they car they're driving now, and the answer will, of course, be "Yes!" Ask whether the feds should continue forcing automakers to improve fuel economy on a very aggressive schedule, and most will, again, agree. But many people have little real understanding of what that will take... or what it will cost.
The lasting legacy of America's first major fuel crisis in 1973 remains the federal government's response to it: Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) laws. The first one required automakers' 1978-model "sales-weighted fleet averages" to be at least 18 miles per gallon. This was no challenge for imports selling mostly small cars, but a tall order for domestics at the time. It meant U.S. makers would have to balance sales of profitable larger vehicles with (usually loss-making) smaller ones, whether or not anyone wanted to buy them. Light truck standards followed for 1979, beginning at 17.2 mpg for 2WD and 15.8 for those with 4WD.
Critics contend CAFE is a sorry substitute for reducing fuel usage through higher fuel taxes.
Critics contend CAFE is a sorry substitute for reducing fuel usage through higher fuel taxes, as other countries have done, because it puts the onus on automakers, regardless of market demand, and drives up vehicle prices. Still, CAFE was toughened each year through the early 1980s, softened slightly in the mid-'80s, then leveled off at 27.5 mpg for cars for 20 years, from 1990 to 2010. The truck number accelerated slowly to 20.7 mpg (combined for 2WD and 4WD) for 1996, stayed there through 2004, then climbed again to 23.5 mpg for 2010.
Then, on May 19, 2009, President Obama announced a new "national fuel economy program" mandating a fleet average of 35.5 mpg for by 2016 - a daunting 29-percent increase that moved the requirements of an existing 2007 law forward by four full years. Since 2012 models were essentially done, automakers would have just four model years to achieve it.
Tesla Motors has nothing but undeniable design hits in its two-vehicle portfolio. We know this is true because there has been very little written about how bad the Roadster and the Model S look. We're about to see if the company can make it three in a row when the wraps come off the Model X at a special event February 9 in Los Angeles. Getting our first visuals of that crossover will certainly be interesting, but it's really just a part of what Tesla is calling "The Year Of The Model S." The Model S, after all, heralds a new Tesla brand, so the Model X needs to "have the same design cues" while also expanding Tesla's lineup.
A lot of people would love a minivan but can't bring themselves to buy one, so they drive an SUV.
Those are the words of Tesla's vice president of communications, Ricardo Reyes, who told AutoblogGreen during the Detroit Auto Show that the Model X will be a true seven-seater that combines "the functionality of a minivan with a cool SUV/crossover package. A lot of people would love a minivan but can't bring themselves to buy one, so they drive an SUV." Tesla wants to offer an alternative to the traditional SUV bodystyle just as it offers an alternative electric powertrain. The move into utility vehicle territory, also marks the end of an era of sorts. The car that brought electric vehicles roaring back to life - Tesla's iconic Roadster - is about to go the way of the dodo.
Right now, Tesla's Fremont factory (the former NUMMI plant) is still building beta versions of the Model S as it gets ready for the first production versions. Because of this, Tesla is confident that Model S deliveries will start in the U.S. this summer as scheduled, and that means that Tesla will sell the last Roadsters here soon. Reyes told AutoblogGreen in an email:
From the beginning, the Roadster was conceived as a limited production vehicle. Our original agreement with Lotus was for a glider run of 2,400 vehicles. Due to continued demand, we increased production into 2012 for a total run of 2,500. We decided to continue offering Roadsters in the markets outside the United States where Model S deliveries start later. Model S deliveries are on schedule to begin in the United States in mid-2012. They will follow in Europe about six months later.
To date, the Roadster sold well over 2,000 units around the world, with "approximately half" sold in the U.S., but the car is about so much more than giving a few thousand wealthy people a thrilling, emissions-free car.
At some point during the 2012 Detroit Auto Show, Nissan sold its 10,000th Leaf in America. Not bad for an all-electric car that has been on sale for just over a year and is not yet available in all 50 states (this landmark will be achieved by March, though). Brendan Jones, the Leaf's marketing and sales strategist for Nissan North America, was understandably enthusiastic: "From a Leaf perspective, 2011 was a great year and very positive for the company. [10,000 sales] is more EVs than have been sold in the United States - and 20,000 globally - than all the other OEMs combined throughout the world. So that's an outstanding achievement."
They came from as close as the General Motors headquarters across the street and as far away as Santa Fe, New Mexico.
They represented groups as diverse as automakers and the military, steel manufacturers and religious organizations.
And nearly all of the 90 or so people who testified on a proposal to raise the nation's fuel economy standard to 54.5 miles per gallon by 2025 offered support for the plan before a joint government panel in downtown Detroit.
Noting that the Obama administration's proposal had won the diverse support of auto industry insiders, labor unions, consumer watchdogs and environmental groups, Congressman John Dingell said, "this is an event that ranks with the loaves and fishes."
Tuesday's hearing, held by the Environmental Protection Agency and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, was the first of three that will give members of the public opportunity to comment on the joint-proposed Corporate Average Fuel Economy rules. Further hearings are set for Thursday in Philadelphia and Tuesday, January 24, in San Francisco.
But it was in downtown Detroit, the heart of the nation's auto industry, that government leaders were offered widespread support for the 54.5 mpg standard Tuesday. Proponents said the U.S. would benefit in the form of increased automotive jobs, consumer savings and enhanced national security.
"I've had people ask me, 'Why a pick-up?' and my answer is, 'Why not?" Matura told AutoblogGreen. "That's kind of what Smart's about: why couldn't it be? It's the same thing with cars. Why do they all have to be big and long and everything else?"
It's the same thing with cars. Why do they all have to be big and long and everything else?
Matura is voicing the mentality that prompted her and Smart to launch the brand's first-ever national advertising campaign in the U.S. in September last year (a second commercial came at the end of October). The "Unbig" commercials came about after Smart's transition from the Penske Automotive Group to returning to the Mercedes-Benz USA fold. The Unbig campaign was a combination of Smart's internal beliefs about what the brand represents and outside agencies, with the core message being to rightsize your life. "The beautiful thing about the Smart is that, yes, it's a car, but it's more than a car. It's a lifestyle, it's a mindset, it's whatever you want it to be," she said. "The Smart makes a statement about the people who drive it."
U.S. alt-fuel vehicle sales for December showed mixed results relative to a year earlier, as gains by Toyota and Nissan were offset by lagging sales from Honda and Ford. For the year, hybrid vehicle sales by Japanese automakers Toyota and Honda were hampered by supply issues stemming from the earthquake and ensuing tsunami that struck Japan last March, which also likely pulled down overall 2011 numbers.
Toyota Motor Co., the world's largest maker of hybrids, sold 23,172 Toyota and Lexus hybrids in December, up 13 percent from a year earlier. Toyota Prius sales were up 8.7 percent, while the launch of the redesigned Toyota Camry Hybrid pushed that model's sales up 46 percent. Toyota also benefited from last year's debut of the Lexus CT 200h hatchback, which added 2,259 vehicle sales last month.
December alt-fuel sales also benefited from more demand for battery-electric and extended-range plug-in vehicles.
December alt-fuel sales also benefited from more demand for battery-electric and extended-range plug-in vehicles such as the Nissan Leaf and General Motors' Chevrolet Volt, both of which debuted with relatively small numbers in December 2010. A year later, GM sold a monthly record 1,529 Volts, up from 326 a year earlier, while Nissan sold 954 Leafs, up from just 19 vehicles 12 months prior. And Mitsubishi marked its first full month of sales for its i electric vehicle with 76 vehicles sold.
Such gains were offset by lagging hybrid sales from Honda and Ford. Honda's hybrid sales in December plunged 47 percent from a year earlier to 1,819 vehicles, as all three of Honda's hybrids - the Civic Hybrid, the CR-Z and the Insight - had year-over-year sales declines of at least 36 percent. Insight sales were down 58 percent.
Meanwhile, Ford, which has been pushing its gas-powered vehicles that get at least 40 miles per gallon on the highway, also had December sales declines for its hybrids. Ford Fusion Hybrid sales dropped 40 percent and more than offset higher sales by the Ford Escape and Lincoln MKZ Hybrids. Overall, the U.S. automaker's hybrid sales fell 24 percent from a year earlier to 2,402 vehicles.
Adding slightly to the December alt-fuel total was Volkswagen, which sold 5,980 diesel-powered vehicles, up 14 percent from a year earlier.
Toyota's hybrid sales totaled 178,587 vehicles, down 5.6 percent from 2010.
For the year, Toyota failed to close the gap caused by its mid-year supply issues and ended 2011 down in hybrid vehicle sales. The company's hybrid sales totaled 178,587 vehicles, down 5.6 percent from 2010. The Prius, which accounted for more than three-quarters of Toyota's hybrid sales, moved 136,433 vehicles, down 3.2 percent, while all of the Lexus hybrid models that debuted before 2011 had lower sales last year. For the year, the Camry and Highlander Hybrid sales were each down more than 35 percent.
Meanwhile, Honda's hybrid sales fell 5.9 percent last year to 31,584 vehicles, as higher CR-Z sales - the sport coupe debuted in mid-2010 - were offset last year by a 26-percent plunge in Insight sales and a 36 percent drop in Civic Hybrid sales.
Ford finished 2011 up - albeit slightly - in hybrid vehicle sales. The Lincoln MKZ Hybrid, which debuted in September 2010, quadrupled its sales to 5,739 vehicles and more than offset the effect of declining sales for both the Ford Escape and Fusion Hybrids. Overall, Ford's hybrid sales last year rose 1.4 percent to 27,114 vehicles.
Finally, Nissan sold 9,674 Leafs, finishing just 326 vehicles short of its goal to sell 10,000 of the battery-electric vehicles during the model's first full year in the U.S. Additionally, for the year, GM sold 7,671 Volts.
BRAND/COMPANY
Vol%
Dec. 2011
Dec. 2010
Vol%
2011
2010
American Honda
Honda Civic Hybrid
-37.64%
565
906
-35.89%
4703
7336
Honda CR-Z
-35.62%
564
876
115.85%
11330
5249
Honda FCX Clarity
-100.00%
0
3
-88.24%
2
17
Honda Insight
-57.85%
690
1637
-25.82%
15549
20962
AMERICAN HONDA TOTAL
-46.84%
1819
3422
-5.90%
31584
33564
Audi
A3 TDI
na
na
3.82%
3609
3476
Q7 TDI
na
na
7.57%
3689
3430
Ford Motor Co.
Ford Escape Hybrid
23.15%
1080
877
-9.77%
10089
11182
Ford Fusion Hybrid
-40.32%
888
1488
-6.51%
11286
12072
Lincoln MKZ
2.36%
434
424
381.46%
5739
1192
FORD MOTOR TOTAL
-13.88%
2402
2789
10.91%
27114
24446
General Motors
Chevrolet Silverado 1500 Hybrid/GMC Sierra 1500 Hybrid
29.75%
205
158
-51.32%
1165
2393
Chevrolet Volt
369.02%
1529
326
2253.07%
7671
326
Mitsubishi
Mitsubishi i
na
76
0
na
80
0
Nissan North America
Nissan Leaf
4921.05%
954
19
50815.79%
9674
19
Toyota Motor Co.
Lexus CT 200h
na
2259
0
na
14381
0
Lexus GS 450h
10.00%
33
30
-7.54%
282
305
Lexus HS 250h
-75.56%
274
1121
-73.14%
2864
10663
Lexus LS 600h L
-47.06%
9
17
-34.88%
84
129
Lexus RX 450h
-19.67%
1233
1535
-29.08%
10723
15119
Toyota Camry Hybrid
45.98%
1797
1231
-36.65%
9241
14587
Toyota Highlander Hybrid
-40.67%
563
949
-38.66%
4549
7416
Toyota Prius
8.73%
17004
15639
-3.17%
136463
140928
TOYOTA MOTOR TOTAL
12.90%
23172
20524
-5.58%
178587
189147
Volkswagen
Volkswagen Diesels (Jetta, Golf, etc.)
na
na
Note that some automakers do not break out hybrid sales figures from sales figures of their non-hybrid counterparts, and therefore cannot be accurately reported.
Nestled in the hills outside Chattanooga, TN squats a large, brand new Volkswagen plant. Fresh and shiny, the collection of buildings houses the people and robots that turn delivered parts and materials into brand-new 2012 Passats, the first of which was just sold to a young man in the tech industry in California. VW is having good success with the sedan, with year-to-date sales up nearly 60 percent over 2010 numbers. But this story isn't about the cars. It's about the building that makes the cars.
VW recently announced that its Chattanooga plant was awarded LEED Platinum certification. Building or retrofitting a building to get LEED status isn't all that difficult, if you're just aiming for a lower-level award. To reach the highest level, Platinum, you need to put in a fair bit of work to score enough points (at least 80) on the United States Green Building Council's (USGBC) rating system. This system (detailed in this PDF) is incredibly complicated. For example, a company can get one point for limiting "disruption and pollution of natural water flows by managing stormwater runoff" or two points for reducing "ozone depletion and support[ing] early compliance with the Montreal Protocol while minimizing direct contributions to climate change." There are 117 pages of this stuff. While planning the plant, Volkwagen's team combed through them to find ways to make sure the plant would be up to snuff.
VW isn't the only automotive player in the LEED game in the U.S. Honda has 11 certified "green buildings" in North America, the most of any automaker, and companies like Audi and Toyota encourage dealers to get the LEED out. But VW can be justifiably proud of the accomplishment in Tennessee, since the facility is the "only automotive manufacturing plant in the world to receive the Platinum certification."
Mazda is a small Japanese car company - fifth in Japanese-brand U.S. sales behind the "Big Three" of Toyota, Honda and Nissan and just behind distant-fourth Subaru - that prides itself on being different, more youthful and more fun to drive. Hence its "Zoom-Zoom" marketing theme and the goofy toothless grin on the faces of most recent Mazda products.
Now Mazda is taking a very different approach to meeting government and customer demands for fast-increasing fuel efficiency that may (or may not) pay off. Instead of betting billions on plug-in and hybrid vehicles, Mazda's approach is a comprehensive effort to substantially increase the efficiency of every element of every vehicle, beginning with engines and transmissions and continuing through bodies and chassis.
Mazda has been working on these efficiency-enhancing technologies for half a decade and is now applying them - beginning with new powertrains in its revamped 2012 Mazda3 compacts (pictured), which join the vaunted 40-mpg highway economy club - under the marketing name "Skyactiv." Some critics say the name is dumb. To some it may conjure images of flying cars or clear, blue skies over active lifestyles. Mazda says it means, "The sky is the limit."
But what really matters is, how well will it work? And will it sell more Mazdas?
Marques McCammon, Aptera Motors's former CMO, contacted AutoblogGreen to set the record straight and sent over the picture you see above (click it to enlarge). It was taken on the last day, McCammon says, adding:
This is what the team really looked like on the day that we closed. ... We had been planning to do a group picture for weeks, but we kept postponing it support of investor meetings and strategy sessions. On Friday, when we told the team that we were closing one of the fabricators, suggested that we go through with the picture for old time's sake.
The car is in the background because several of the engineers requested the opportunity to drive it one more time before it was assigned to the liquidators. The liquidators agreed and after a few hot laps around the building, the team took this picture.
He also told us that the employees, "walked out of there with dignity and poise" after learning the company was shutting down. "The notion that we were trying to destroy assets of the company is ridiculous," he said. "There was no instance of our guys going crazy. That's simply not true."
If you've paid any sort of regular attention to websites like AutoblogGreen over the past four years, the movie Revenge of the Electric Car will feel awfully familiar. Many of the events in the film were written about at the time on these pages, so it's fair to say that none of our long-term readers will need any spoiler warnings for this article. What director Chris Paine has done here is whittle down years of plug-in vehicle progress into a compelling story that succinctly shows why electric cars are here to stay. We told (and continue to tell) the story in real time. ROTEC tells it in 90 minutes with the addition of some behind-the-scenes footage. Given the time constraints, the film sadly leaves out equally interesting story lines like the development of the Ford Focus Electric, the Coda Sedan or the Fisker Karma.
This is because Paine narrows the plug-in vehicle story to four main protagonists: GM's Bob Lutz, sometimes known as the father of the Chevy Volt; Carlos Ghosn, the head of Renault-Nissan and the man who's made the biggest bet on plug-in cars; Elon Musk, who - c'mon, do we really need to introduce the man who was the basis for Robert Downey, Jr's Tony Stark (i.e., Iron Man) - and Gadget, the do-it-yourself EV conversion expert who was also featured in Paine's earlier film, Who Killed The Electric Car? The film follows these four men for the last few years, and the resulting tale is wonderfully commentated on by Dan Neil, the always-entertaining auto journalist for the Wall Street Journal.
The 2012 Chevy Volt you see above is a little different from those that have been poked, photographed, and test driven on this page in the past. First, this one is a little dusty, with 1,000 miles on its plug-in hybrid power train. This one is also a 2012, with some subtle changes from the 2011 version. However, the biggest difference between this Chevy Volt and others seen on this site is that this one is sitting in my driveway.
This is my Volt, picked up two weeks ago as one of the first available in my area. For 2012, Chevy made available the color "Summit White," also known as just plain old white. Since the Volt has lots of thick black accents, I went with the white thinking NASA, Space Shuttle and Saturn V. As it turns out, everyone who has seen the car has immediately mentioned Star Wars and Stormtroopers. That works, too. For the interior, I reversed the scheme of the outside, picking the bright white accents on black leather (a new combo for 2012). It's not exactly the most subtle car in the world, but I like it.
I traded in my much-beloved 2004 Toyota Prius for this latest bit of automotive kit, which I know is bound to raise some voices in protest. After all, the Prius had brought me more than 100,000 miles of 50+ mpg, worry-free driving, so trading it away doesn't represent a big (if any) net gain for the environment. However, it's not as if my Prius is about to become a paperweight. Someone else will take over driving that car, while I take advantage of the temporary government kickback to do just what such incentives are intended to do: support bringing new technology to the marketplace. According to GM, more than 10 percent of new Volt owners have traded in an existing hybrid, which is pretty much what you would expect. Few people currently driving Hummers are likely to think of the Volt as their obvious next purchase.
Do not get a paper phone book
Auto
Filed under: Diesel, EV/Plug-in, Hybrid, AutoblogGreen Exclusive
When it came to January alt-fuel sales, there was Toyota, and then there was everyone else.
While the world's biggest maker of hybrids appeared to get back on track and get its supply chain in order after last year's Japan tsunami hampered production, most advanced-powertrain models other automakers sold in the U.S. experienced a substantial dropoff despite the fact that gas prices were up about 10 percent from a year earlier.
Toyota, whose Prius generally accounts for about half of the hybrids sold in the U.S., sold 11,555 units of the model, up 8.7 percent from a year earlier after sales fell 3.2 percent for all of 2011. Meanwhile, Toyota, which didn't disclose figures for any other individual hybrid models, boosted sales of its non-Prius hybrids by 54 percent from a year earlier to 3,087 vehicles, indicating that buyers appear to be taking to the Camry Hybrid that debuted late last year. And Toyota's Lexus luxury badge increased January sales by 60 percent to 1,963 vehicles, likely a reflection of demand for the Lexus CT 200h hatchback that launched last year.
Other automakers weren't so fortunate. Honda, whose 2011 hybrid sales fell 5.9 percent from a year earlier, continued to see lagging demand for its models. January hybrid sales plunged 58 percent from a year earlier to just 1,304 vehicles, with Honda's best-selling hybrid - the Insight - moving just 492 vehicles. The Honda CR-Z sport-coupe hybrid had a 59 percent drop in sales to 363 vehicles, while the Honda Civic Hybrid sales fell 31 percent.
Meanwhile, Ford didn't fare much better, taking a 35 percent hit in hybrid sales from a year earlier to 1,209 vehicles in January. The U.S. automaker, which will start selling the Ford Focus Electric this year, saw all three of its hybrids - the Escape, the Fusion and the Lincoln MKZ - have sales declines north of 30 percent.
The only other bright spots, aside from Toyota, were General Motors and Nissan. Nissan, whose Altima and Infiniti M-Series Hybrids sell in very limited numbers, boosted January sales of its battery-electric Leaf almost sevenfold from a year earlier to 676 vehicles.
GM also boosted alt-fuel sales from a combination of more demand for the Chevrolet Volt extended-range plug-in, and from sales of the new Buick LaCrosse eAssist. The latter model moved 803 vehicles and accounted for about 20 percent of all LaCrosses sold in January, while the Volt almost doubled year-earlier sales to 603 vehicles.
Still, a closer look indicates a potential tapering off in interest for some electric-drive technology, at least for now. Leaf sales fell 29 percent from the 954 vehicles sold in December, which may just as well reflect the overall drop in car sales between January and December (Prius sales in January were down 32 percent from a month earlier). Volt sales, on the other hand, plunged 61 percent from December, which was a monthly record for the vehicle. And the Mitsubishi i battery-electric vehicle, which debuted in the U.S. in November, moved just 36 units last month, less than half of the 76 vehicles sold in December.
As for diesel-powered models sold by German automakers, the results were split. Volkswagen in January boosted diesel-vehicle sales by 30 percent from a year earlier to 4,789 units, while Audi's diesel sales fell 10 percent from a year earlier to 703 vehicles.
January U.S. alt-fuel vehicle sales: Prius leaves other hybrids in the dust originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Mon, 06 Feb 2012 19:53:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | Email this | CommentsFiled under: EV/Plug-in, Green Culture, Honda, Hyundai, Nissan, Toyota, AutoblogGreen Exclusive, Legislation and Policy
What impact will the "over-compliance" rule - some would say loophole - in the California Air Resources Board's recent changes to the Zero-Emission Vehicle (ZEV) Mandate have? The short and obvious answer is that only time will tell, but one can make the case both that it's a good thing and that it's a bad thing. Odd, but true.
Before we get too far into this, a primer on the ZEV Mandate changes and what the over-compliance rule actually is is important. The basic idea is that CARB wants to reduce the amount of CO2 and other pollutants in the air that come from transportation. Zero-emission vehicles - whether they be plug-in or hydrogen powered - will do this, so CARB decided that at least 15.4 percent of all the cars sold by a major automaker in California needs to be either an EV, a plug-in hybrid or a hydrogen fuel cell vehcile by 2025. To go along with this new rule, some automakers asked for - and got - an over-compliance rule that will "allow manufacturers who systematically over comply with the proposed LEV III GHG fleet standard to offset a portion of their ZEV requirement in 2018 through 2021 model years only."
Some argue that the over-compliance rule will lead to a smaller environmental benefit from ZEVs because, quite simply, there will be fewer ZEVs on the roads than there would be without the rule. This is true. It's also true, as others will argue, that what matters most is lowering the amount of nasty pollutants and emissions from the air, so who cares if this happens because there is a true ZEV driving around or a much-improved (read: cleaner) gas-powered car that emits fewer greenhouse gases than today's vehicles?
We didn't want to try and answer that question. But we did think it made sense to try and capture the landscape of the recent battle over the rule, and so we asked some of the involved automakers and other concerned parties for their opinions. We put together a list of responses after the jump.
Continue reading Who was for, who was against CARB's ZEV mandate "over-compliance" rule
Who was for, who was against CARB's ZEV mandate "over-compliance" rule originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Fri, 03 Feb 2012 17:53:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | Email this | CommentsFiled under: MPG, AutoblogGreen Exclusive, Legislation and Policy, USA, Washington DC Auto Show
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.
Permalink | Email this | CommentsFiled under: EV/Plug-in, Nissan, AutoblogGreen Exclusive
What's up with the sales, orders and reservations of the Nissan Leaf? Nissan loudly trumpeted the 20,000 reservations it originally collected back in September, 2010 and Nissan's Mark Perry recently told AutoblogGreen that, since then, that number has climbed to around 26,000. Where do things stand today? That's not exactly simple to figure out. Here's what we know:
-
Number of accepted Leaf reservations: 26,000
-
- Number of Leaf models sold: 10,000
-
- Number sold in January: 800 (estimate)
-
- Number sold in February: 800 (estimate. Perry recently said these two months were sold out or nearly sold out)
-
- Number of people who haven't had a chance to order because they live in a state where the Leaf is not yet for sale: 2,000 (according, again, to Perry)
-
- Number of people who cancelled (unknown)
-
= 12,400 people or so
Nissan's Katherine Zachary tells Autoblog that the company doesn't share cancellation data, so it's not possible for outsiders to know exactly how many of the 12,400 have raised and then lowered their hands. Zachary added, "We have new people coming into the process every day, so it's really a moving target." Still, somewhere out there, there could be 12,000 people who are patiently waiting to snatch up Nissan's 2012 Leaf production. Even if 50 percent of them cancelled, that still leaves many months of strong sales coming for Nissan in the U.S. this coming year, even as production ramps up.One thing that Zachary was willing to share were the colors chosen by buyers for model year 2012 Leaf orders. They are:
-
Brilliant Silver - 24%
-
Blue Ocean - 23%
-
Glacier Pearl - 21%
-
Cayenne Red - 19%
-
Super Black - 14%
Given that Blue Ocean was the Leaf's "Launch Color," we're a bit surprised to see it being outsold by silver, if only just. If you were going to order a Leaf (or if you have), what color would it be? Take our poll below.View Poll
A word on Nissan Leaf sales, orders and reservation numbers [w/poll] originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Fri, 27 Jan 2012 15:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | Email this | CommentsFiled under: MPG, AutoblogGreen Exclusive, Legislation and Policy, USA, At Witz End
Is 54.5 mpg achievable... and what will it cost?Ask the average driver whether he or she would like better fuel economy from they car they're driving now, and the answer will, of course, be "Yes!" Ask whether the feds should continue forcing automakers to improve fuel economy on a very aggressive schedule, and most will, again, agree. But many people have little real understanding of what that will take... or what it will cost.
The lasting legacy of America's first major fuel crisis in 1973 remains the federal government's response to it: Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) laws. The first one required automakers' 1978-model "sales-weighted fleet averages" to be at least 18 miles per gallon. This was no challenge for imports selling mostly small cars, but a tall order for domestics at the time. It meant U.S. makers would have to balance sales of profitable larger vehicles with (usually loss-making) smaller ones, whether or not anyone wanted to buy them. Light truck standards followed for 1979, beginning at 17.2 mpg for 2WD and 15.8 for those with 4WD.
Critics contend CAFE is a sorry substitute for reducing fuel usage through higher fuel taxes, as other countries have done, because it puts the onus on automakers, regardless of market demand, and drives up vehicle prices. Still, CAFE was toughened each year through the early 1980s, softened slightly in the mid-'80s, then leveled off at 27.5 mpg for cars for 20 years, from 1990 to 2010. The truck number accelerated slowly to 20.7 mpg (combined for 2WD and 4WD) for 1996, stayed there through 2004, then climbed again to 23.5 mpg for 2010.
Then, on May 19, 2009, President Obama announced a new "national fuel economy program" mandating a fleet average of 35.5 mpg for by 2016 - a daunting 29-percent increase that moved the requirements of an existing 2007 law forward by four full years. Since 2012 models were essentially done, automakers would have just four model years to achieve it.
Continue reading Future Fuel Economy Mandates, Part I: 54.5 mpg is going to be hard to reach
Future Fuel Economy Mandates, Part I: 54.5 mpg is going to be hard to reach originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Thu, 26 Jan 2012 19:56:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | Email this | CommentsFiled under: EV/Plug-in, Tesla Motors, AutoblogGreen Exclusive, Detroit Auto Show
Tesla Motors has nothing but undeniable design hits in its two-vehicle portfolio. We know this is true because there has been very little written about how bad the Roadster and the Model S look. We're about to see if the company can make it three in a row when the wraps come off the Model X at a special event February 9 in Los Angeles. Getting our first visuals of that crossover will certainly be interesting, but it's really just a part of what Tesla is calling "The Year Of The Model S." The Model S, after all, heralds a new Tesla brand, so the Model X needs to "have the same design cues" while also expanding Tesla's lineup.
Those are the words of Tesla's vice president of communications, Ricardo Reyes, who told AutoblogGreen during the Detroit Auto Show that the Model X will be a true seven-seater that combines "the functionality of a minivan with a cool SUV/crossover package. A lot of people would love a minivan but can't bring themselves to buy one, so they drive an SUV." Tesla wants to offer an alternative to the traditional SUV bodystyle just as it offers an alternative electric powertrain. The move into utility vehicle territory, also marks the end of an era of sorts. The car that brought electric vehicles roaring back to life - Tesla's iconic Roadster - is about to go the way of the dodo.
Right now, Tesla's Fremont factory (the former NUMMI plant) is still building beta versions of the Model S as it gets ready for the first production versions. Because of this, Tesla is confident that Model S deliveries will start in the U.S. this summer as scheduled, and that means that Tesla will sell the last Roadsters here soon. Reyes told AutoblogGreen in an email:
To date, the Roadster sold well over 2,000 units around the world, with "approximately half" sold in the U.S., but the car is about so much more than giving a few thousand wealthy people a thrilling, emissions-free car.
Continue reading Tesla in final stages of Model S prep; readying Supercharger network for road trips
Tesla in final stages of Model S prep; readying Supercharger network for road trips originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Tue, 24 Jan 2012 19:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | Email this | CommentsFiled under: EV/Plug-in, Nissan, AutoblogGreen Exclusive, Detroit Auto Show
At some point during the 2012 Detroit Auto Show, Nissan sold its 10,000th Leaf in America. Not bad for an all-electric car that has been on sale for just over a year and is not yet available in all 50 states (this landmark will be achieved by March, though). Brendan Jones, the Leaf's marketing and sales strategist for Nissan North America, was understandably enthusiastic: "From a Leaf perspective, 2011 was a great year and very positive for the company. [10,000 sales] is more EVs than have been sold in the United States - and 20,000 globally - than all the other OEMs combined throughout the world. So that's an outstanding achievement."
This enthusiasm embodies Nissan's public face about the Leaf and electric vehicles in general, a tone set by Nissan-Renault Alliance chairman and CEO Carlos Ghosn. To follow up the Leaf, Nissan and Infiniti will introduce three more EVs in the coming years: the eNV200 van that was on display at the Detroit Auto Show, the Infiniti EV that will be shown in New York later this year and another vehicle. We've speculated about this fourth vehicle before, but thought it would make sense to ask Castelli and Nissan spokesman Mark Perry to give us more hints about what we'll be seeing next. Click past the jump to read more.
Continue reading Nissan sells 10,000th Leaf in States, ready for next phase of EVs
Nissan sells 10,000th Leaf in States, ready for next phase of EVs originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Thu, 19 Jan 2012 19:56:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | Email this | CommentsFiled under: MPG, AutoblogGreen Exclusive, Legislation and Policy, USA
They came from as close as the General Motors headquarters across the street and as far away as Santa Fe, New Mexico.
They represented groups as diverse as automakers and the military, steel manufacturers and religious organizations.
And nearly all of the 90 or so people who testified on a proposal to raise the nation's fuel economy standard to 54.5 miles per gallon by 2025 offered support for the plan before a joint government panel in downtown Detroit.
Noting that the Obama administration's proposal had won the diverse support of auto industry insiders, labor unions, consumer watchdogs and environmental groups, Congressman John Dingell said, "this is an event that ranks with the loaves and fishes."
Tuesday's hearing, held by the Environmental Protection Agency and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, was the first of three that will give members of the public opportunity to comment on the joint-proposed Corporate Average Fuel Economy rules. Further hearings are set for Thursday in Philadelphia and Tuesday, January 24, in San Francisco.
But it was in downtown Detroit, the heart of the nation's auto industry, that government leaders were offered widespread support for the 54.5 mpg standard Tuesday. Proponents said the U.S. would benefit in the form of increased automotive jobs, consumer savings and enhanced national security.
Continue reading First hearing on 54.5 mpg proposal reveals widespread support
First hearing on 54.5 mpg proposal reveals widespread support originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Wed, 18 Jan 2012 19:54:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | Email this | CommentsFiled under: EV/Plug-in, MPG, SMART, AutoblogGreen Exclusive, Detroit Auto Show
The Smart booth at this year's Detroit Auto Show features more than the iconic Fortwo. There is the For-Us pick-up concept, of course, and the Smart e-bikes that we first saw in Paris in 2010. New Smart USA general manager Tracey Matura said that this is all intentional, because all these things allude to an important question that Smart is trying to ask in the new auto industry.
"I've had people ask me, 'Why a pick-up?' and my answer is, 'Why not?" Matura told AutoblogGreen. "That's kind of what Smart's about: why couldn't it be? It's the same thing with cars. Why do they all have to be big and long and everything else?"
Matura is voicing the mentality that prompted her and Smart to launch the brand's first-ever national advertising campaign in the U.S. in September last year (a second commercial came at the end of October). The "Unbig" commercials came about after Smart's transition from the Penske Automotive Group to returning to the Mercedes-Benz USA fold. The Unbig campaign was a combination of Smart's internal beliefs about what the brand represents and outside agencies, with the core message being to rightsize your life. "The beautiful thing about the Smart is that, yes, it's a car, but it's more than a car. It's a lifestyle, it's a mindset, it's whatever you want it to be," she said. "The Smart makes a statement about the people who drive it."
Continue reading Smart GM Tracey Matura: we're the brand that asks "Why not?"
Smart GM Tracey Matura: we're the brand that asks "Why not?" originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Tue, 17 Jan 2012 17:56:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | Email this | CommentsFiled under: EV/Plug-in, Hybrid, AutoblogGreen Exclusive
U.S. alt-fuel vehicle sales for December showed mixed results relative to a year earlier, as gains by Toyota and Nissan were offset by lagging sales from Honda and Ford. For the year, hybrid vehicle sales by Japanese automakers Toyota and Honda were hampered by supply issues stemming from the earthquake and ensuing tsunami that struck Japan last March, which also likely pulled down overall 2011 numbers.
Toyota Motor Co., the world's largest maker of hybrids, sold 23,172 Toyota and Lexus hybrids in December, up 13 percent from a year earlier. Toyota Prius sales were up 8.7 percent, while the launch of the redesigned Toyota Camry Hybrid pushed that model's sales up 46 percent. Toyota also benefited from last year's debut of the Lexus CT 200h hatchback, which added 2,259 vehicle sales last month.
December alt-fuel sales also benefited from more demand for battery-electric and extended-range plug-in vehicles such as the Nissan Leaf and General Motors' Chevrolet Volt, both of which debuted with relatively small numbers in December 2010. A year later, GM sold a monthly record 1,529 Volts, up from 326 a year earlier, while Nissan sold 954 Leafs, up from just 19 vehicles 12 months prior. And Mitsubishi marked its first full month of sales for its i electric vehicle with 76 vehicles sold.
Such gains were offset by lagging hybrid sales from Honda and Ford. Honda's hybrid sales in December plunged 47 percent from a year earlier to 1,819 vehicles, as all three of Honda's hybrids - the Civic Hybrid, the CR-Z and the Insight - had year-over-year sales declines of at least 36 percent. Insight sales were down 58 percent.
Meanwhile, Ford, which has been pushing its gas-powered vehicles that get at least 40 miles per gallon on the highway, also had December sales declines for its hybrids. Ford Fusion Hybrid sales dropped 40 percent and more than offset higher sales by the Ford Escape and Lincoln MKZ Hybrids. Overall, the U.S. automaker's hybrid sales fell 24 percent from a year earlier to 2,402 vehicles.
Adding slightly to the December alt-fuel total was Volkswagen, which sold 5,980 diesel-powered vehicles, up 14 percent from a year earlier.
For the year, Toyota failed to close the gap caused by its mid-year supply issues and ended 2011 down in hybrid vehicle sales. The company's hybrid sales totaled 178,587 vehicles, down 5.6 percent from 2010. The Prius, which accounted for more than three-quarters of Toyota's hybrid sales, moved 136,433 vehicles, down 3.2 percent, while all of the Lexus hybrid models that debuted before 2011 had lower sales last year. For the year, the Camry and Highlander Hybrid sales were each down more than 35 percent.
Meanwhile, Honda's hybrid sales fell 5.9 percent last year to 31,584 vehicles, as higher CR-Z sales - the sport coupe debuted in mid-2010 - were offset last year by a 26-percent plunge in Insight sales and a 36 percent drop in Civic Hybrid sales.
Ford finished 2011 up - albeit slightly - in hybrid vehicle sales. The Lincoln MKZ Hybrid, which debuted in September 2010, quadrupled its sales to 5,739 vehicles and more than offset the effect of declining sales for both the Ford Escape and Fusion Hybrids. Overall, Ford's hybrid sales last year rose 1.4 percent to 27,114 vehicles.
Finally, Nissan sold 9,674 Leafs, finishing just 326 vehicles short of its goal to sell 10,000 of the battery-electric vehicles during the model's first full year in the U.S. Additionally, for the year, GM sold 7,671 Volts.
2011 U.S. alt-fuel vehicle sales: a mix of ups and downs originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Fri, 06 Jan 2012 19:53:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | Email this | CommentsFiled under: Manufacturing/Plants, Volkswagen, AutoblogGreen Exclusive, Legislation and Policy, USA
Nestled in the hills outside Chattanooga, TN squats a large, brand new Volkswagen plant. Fresh and shiny, the collection of buildings houses the people and robots that turn delivered parts and materials into brand-new 2012 Passats, the first of which was just sold to a young man in the tech industry in California. VW is having good success with the sedan, with year-to-date sales up nearly 60 percent over 2010 numbers. But this story isn't about the cars. It's about the building that makes the cars.
VW recently announced that its Chattanooga plant was awarded LEED Platinum certification. Building or retrofitting a building to get LEED status isn't all that difficult, if you're just aiming for a lower-level award. To reach the highest level, Platinum, you need to put in a fair bit of work to score enough points (at least 80) on the United States Green Building Council's (USGBC) rating system. This system (detailed in this PDF) is incredibly complicated. For example, a company can get one point for limiting "disruption and pollution of natural water flows by managing stormwater runoff" or two points for reducing "ozone depletion and support[ing] early compliance with the Montreal Protocol while minimizing direct contributions to climate change." There are 117 pages of this stuff. While planning the plant, Volkwagen's team combed through them to find ways to make sure the plant would be up to snuff.
VW isn't the only automotive player in the LEED game in the U.S. Honda has 11 certified "green buildings" in North America, the most of any automaker, and companies like Audi and Toyota encourage dealers to get the LEED out. But VW can be justifiably proud of the accomplishment in Tennessee, since the facility is the "only automotive manufacturing plant in the world to receive the Platinum certification."
Continue reading Volkswagen justifiably proud of LEED Platinum status in Chattanooga
Volkswagen justifiably proud of LEED Platinum status in Chattanooga originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Fri, 16 Dec 2011 14:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | Email this | CommentsFiled under: MPG, Mazda, AutoblogGreen Exclusive, At Witz End
Mazda is a small Japanese car company - fifth in Japanese-brand U.S. sales behind the "Big Three" of Toyota, Honda and Nissan and just behind distant-fourth Subaru - that prides itself on being different, more youthful and more fun to drive. Hence its "Zoom-Zoom" marketing theme and the goofy toothless grin on the faces of most recent Mazda products.
Now Mazda is taking a very different approach to meeting government and customer demands for fast-increasing fuel efficiency that may (or may not) pay off. Instead of betting billions on plug-in and hybrid vehicles, Mazda's approach is a comprehensive effort to substantially increase the efficiency of every element of every vehicle, beginning with engines and transmissions and continuing through bodies and chassis.
Mazda has been working on these efficiency-enhancing technologies for half a decade and is now applying them - beginning with new powertrains in its revamped 2012 Mazda3 compacts (pictured), which join the vaunted 40-mpg highway economy club - under the marketing name "Skyactiv." Some critics say the name is dumb. To some it may conjure images of flying cars or clear, blue skies over active lifestyles. Mazda says it means, "The sky is the limit."
But what really matters is, how well will it work? And will it sell more Mazdas?
Continue reading Mazda SkyActiv is a novel approach to fuel efficiency; will it work?
Mazda SkyActiv is a novel approach to fuel efficiency; will it work? originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Mon, 12 Dec 2011 19:56:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | Email this | CommentsFiled under: EV/Plug-in, Hybrid, AutoblogGreen Exclusive, Aptera
Remember those Aptera-destroying videos that we thought were maybe filmed on the day the company closed up shop but then turned out to be months old? Here's some more context about them and information about what really happened on Aptera's last day.
Marques McCammon, Aptera Motors's former CMO, contacted AutoblogGreen to set the record straight and sent over the picture you see above (click it to enlarge). It was taken on the last day, McCammon says, adding:
Continue reading What really happened on Aptera's last day: smiles, not destruction
What really happened on Aptera's last day: smiles, not destruction originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Sat, 10 Dec 2011 16:39:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | Email this | CommentsFiled under: EV/Plug-in, Green Culture, AutoblogGreen Exclusive
If you've paid any sort of regular attention to websites like AutoblogGreen over the past four years, the movie Revenge of the Electric Car will feel awfully familiar. Many of the events in the film were written about at the time on these pages, so it's fair to say that none of our long-term readers will need any spoiler warnings for this article. What director Chris Paine has done here is whittle down years of plug-in vehicle progress into a compelling story that succinctly shows why electric cars are here to stay. We told (and continue to tell) the story in real time. ROTEC tells it in 90 minutes with the addition of some behind-the-scenes footage. Given the time constraints, the film sadly leaves out equally interesting story lines like the development of the Ford Focus Electric, the Coda Sedan or the Fisker Karma.
This is because Paine narrows the plug-in vehicle story to four main protagonists: GM's Bob Lutz, sometimes known as the father of the Chevy Volt; Carlos Ghosn, the head of Renault-Nissan and the man who's made the biggest bet on plug-in cars; Elon Musk, who - c'mon, do we really need to introduce the man who was the basis for Robert Downey, Jr's Tony Stark (i.e., Iron Man) - and Gadget, the do-it-yourself EV conversion expert who was also featured in Paine's earlier film, Who Killed The Electric Car? The film follows these four men for the last few years, and the resulting tale is wonderfully commentated on by Dan Neil, the always-entertaining auto journalist for the Wall Street Journal.
Continue reading Film Review: Revenge of the Electric Car
Film Review: Revenge of the Electric Car originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Wed, 23 Nov 2011 19:39:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | Email this | CommentsFiled under: EV/Plug-in, Hybrid, Chevrolet, AutoblogGreen Exclusive
The 2012 Chevy Volt you see above is a little different from those that have been poked, photographed, and test driven on this page in the past. First, this one is a little dusty, with 1,000 miles on its plug-in hybrid power train. This one is also a 2012, with some subtle changes from the 2011 version. However, the biggest difference between this Chevy Volt and others seen on this site is that this one is sitting in my driveway.
This is my Volt, picked up two weeks ago as one of the first available in my area. For 2012, Chevy made available the color "Summit White," also known as just plain old white. Since the Volt has lots of thick black accents, I went with the white thinking NASA, Space Shuttle and Saturn V. As it turns out, everyone who has seen the car has immediately mentioned Star Wars and Stormtroopers. That works, too. For the interior, I reversed the scheme of the outside, picking the bright white accents on black leather (a new combo for 2012). It's not exactly the most subtle car in the world, but I like it.
I traded in my much-beloved 2004 Toyota Prius for this latest bit of automotive kit, which I know is bound to raise some voices in protest. After all, the Prius had brought me more than 100,000 miles of 50+ mpg, worry-free driving, so trading it away doesn't represent a big (if any) net gain for the environment. However, it's not as if my Prius is about to become a paperweight. Someone else will take over driving that car, while I take advantage of the temporary government kickback to do just what such incentives are intended to do: support bringing new technology to the marketplace. According to GM, more than 10 percent of new Volt owners have traded in an existing hybrid, which is pretty much what you would expect. Few people currently driving Hummers are likely to think of the Volt as their obvious next purchase.
Continue reading Living with the Chevy Volt: 1,000 miles, 11 gallons and a lot of fun
Living with the Chevy Volt: 1,000 miles, 11 gallons and a lot of fun originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Mon, 31 Oct 2011 19:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | Email this | Comments