EU rules put the brakes on limos

[serges]

timesonline reports that europe's luxury carmakers are under threat from new regs on carbon dioxide emissions, so it may soon be the day to kiss the limousine goodbye. a tragic thought for my home town of edinburgh, favourite destination of the hen party, where bouncing limos full of young and tipsy girlish pulchritude are a frequent feature of the weekend landscape.

officials in brussels are planning to limit the averagecarbon-dioxide emissions of new vehicles sold in europe after 2012 to 130g/km. well, at least that should finally get rid of the chelsea tractors, bane of the school run in so many cities.

even the bulk of today's small cars average just below 160g/km while manufacturers who concentrate on bigger models such as mercedes and bmw have few cars below 180g/km. sure, they can modify their engines and use other measures to meet the targets for just under £1,000 - not a lot to their customers - but they can't pass the cost on and have to meet the cost themselves as it's a legal requirement.

no wonder there's intense lobbying going on from the auto industry and the german government on behalf of its premium car-makers. but the eu's not in the mood to compromise. it takes the view that this move is vital to its credibility and, in any case, more efficient engines will save its citizens billions on fuel. quite so. the european commission is also minded to place an upper limit on co2 output, so that could rule out the sports saloons and supercars that soften the blow of middle age for so many european businessmen. i can think of a few whose lives would be saddened by depriving them of their boy toys.

but guess who'll be leading the pack on all this co2 reduction? i think it's going to have to be scotland. our own wee snp parliament decided last year that we should have the most ambitious co2 reducing target on this continent - 80 per cent by 2050 - so that we become the green energy capital of europe. that works out at a stonking 3% a year. just as well we don't have a car industry of our own lobbying like crazy to keep their gas guzzlers on the road.

what we do have though is a bus making industry. now if they could just turn their hand to making electric buses and the occasional electric limo, how cool would that be? and we'd still have the joy of seeing the hen parties stotting around our fair city every weekend.

muito importante esta leitura, nada que não tenha sido discutido até agora, por aqui!!

in http://www.mygreenwheels.com/journal/20 ... limos.html

[serges]

no seguimento da história!


bmw to show diesel and hybrid models for us market in detroit

at the upcoming north american international autoshow in detroit (13-27 january), bmw will introduce two different approaches to more fuel efficient technology for the us market: the advanced diesel with bluetec system, featured in the x5 xdrive35d and the 335d (earlier post) and the concept x6 activehybrid (earlier post).

the two bin 5 compliant diesels are my 2009 production vehicles, and will be on the market in all 50 states in the fall of 2008. bmw has already stated that the x6 will be the first bmw product to offer the two-mode hybrid technology. however, although the x6 is available with a diesel powerplant in europe, the company has no plans to offer the x6 in the us with the diesel.

the european diesel version—the x6 xdrive30d—is powered by a single-turbocharged six-cylinder diesel engine featuring third-generation common-rail fuel injection and producing 175 kw (235 hp) at 4,000 rpm. the 2,993cc unit achieves 520nm (384 lb-ft) of torque from 2,000 rpm through to 2,750 rpm. the bmw x6 xdrive30d delivers 28 mpg us on the european combined cycle.

nor will the north american x6 models offer the brake energy regeneration system (earlier post) as offered in the european models at this time. the conventional north american x6 will have low rolling-resistance tires, low-friction transmission fluid and engine oil, electric water pumps and high efficiency automatic transmissions.

the conventional x6 features a new 4.4-liter eight-cylinder with twin turbo technology—the first application of this on an eight-cylinder engine—and high precision injection direct gasoline injection. it develops maximum output of 298 kw (400 hp) in the speed range from 5,500-6,400 rpm together with peak torque of 610 nm (450 lb-ft) maintained consistently between 1,800 and 4,500 rpm.

the x6 also offers a 3.0-liter straight-six with twin turbo and high precision injection technology that delivers maximum output of 224 kw (300 hp) and peak torque of 407 nm (300 lb-ft).

bmw says that the concept x6 activehybrid reduces fuel consumption by up to 20% compared to a comparable car running on a combustion engine.

in http://www.greencarcongress.com/2008/01 ... .html#more

[serges]

para juntar umas achas a fogueira junta se a gm mais os seu inúmeros protótipos de papel!



gm introducing e-flex cadillac concept with fuel-cell plug-in hybrid drive

gm ceo rick wagoner will use the consumer electronics show in las vegas on wednesday as the platform to introduce the company’s newest e-flex concept, the cadillac provoq crossover. (earlier post.) the provoq is a fuel-cell plug-in hybrid that can drive 300 miles (483 km) on a single fill of hydrogen, with 280 miles (450 km) from hydrogen and 20 miles (32 km) from electric energy stored in a lithium-ion battery pack.

the provoq fuel-cell concept is the fourth example of gm’s e-flex propulsion system. like the fuel-cell version of the volt propulsion system unveiled in shanghai in 2007 (earlier post), the provoq powertrain combines gm’s new fifth-generation fuel-cell system with a lithium-ion battery.

unlike the gasoline-engined range-extending propulsion system for the volt (due to go into production around 2010) which is battery-dominant, the shanghai and provoq systems are fuel-cell centric, and use a blended operating strategy to augment their range and power with a battery pack that is roughly half the size of that in the first volt.

compared to the concept system unveiled in shanghai, the provoq fuel-cell stack offers 10% more output (88 kw vs 80 kw) and uses a larger lithium-ion battery pack (9 kwh with 60 kw peak output, compared to 8 kwh and 50 kw peak).

a pair of 10,000 psi (700 bar) composite storage tanks beneath the rear cargo floor hold 13.2 pounds (6 kg) of hydrogen to feed the fuel-cell stack, located under the hood. (the fuel-cell variant of the volt system in shanghai had a 4 kg hydrogen store.)

the electricity generated by the fuel cell is distributed to a 70 kw co-axial drive system for the front wheels and individual, 40 kw wheel hub motors on the rear wheels, giving the cadillac provoq its all-wheel-drive traction and great driving dynamics. (the shanghai version also featured a 70 kw motor for the front wheels, but 25 kw in-wheel motors on the rear wheels.)

the provoq’s 0-60 mph (approximately 100 km/h) speed of 8.5 seconds is a more than 30-percent improvement over the previous-generation fuel-cell system. provoq has a top speed of 100 mph (160 km/h).

the wheels are wrapped in custom michelin tires incorporating green-x technology. these low-rolling resistance tires feature a tread pattern that mimics the “h20” notation for water.

additional vehicle features include:

*

solar panel integrated in the roof to help power onboard accessories, such as the interior lights, audio system and more.
*

brake-by-wire technology.
*

front grille louvers that close at highway speed to enhance aerodynamics, and open at low speed to provide maximum cooling to the fuel-cell stack.

a variety of recycled and recyclable materials are used, as well. highlights include:

*

the headliner is wrapped in a fully recyclable soy-based material;
*

the carpet is made of recycled polyester and jute;
*

the leather used to cover the seats and instrument panel are free of harmful chemicals;
*

the xorel material used on the door panels and instrument panel, treated to perform as a carbon-fiber-type material; and
*

the chrome trim is made with less-harmful materials.

in http://www.greencarcongress.com/2008/01 ... .html#more

[jmal]

humm, entretanto criam uma excepção para as limos.

[katzilla]

como nós com barrancos...

[itisix]

o que eu acho é que vão acabar com os carros a gasolina porque o diesel é mais fácil de ter co2 baixo. e o resto da poluição??

[katzilla]

no forum tem um post de uma fabrica que irá reaproveitar o co2 da atmosfera, por isso podemos poluir mais uns anitos.

[Jorge Santos]

como é? a propósito de alguém que colocou um post em inglês, foi-lhe citado o seguinte:

citação:
9. se um tópico incluir um texto numa língua que não a de camões, exige-se a tradução para português a acompanhar o texto original.

em que ficamos? ou a tradução é só exigível a alguns ?

[orbis]

já tinha pensado nisso.
no entanto acho que essa regra devia ser mudada. uma coisa é eu estar a armar-me e escrever em inglês, outra coisa é copiar um texto da net, de difícil tradução muitas vezes e em que se calhar vale mais ler no original (quem souber).

[jmal]

no forum tem um post de uma fabrica que irá reaproveitar o co2 da atmosfera, por isso podemos poluir mais uns anitos.

ainda não descobriram como nos livrar-mos do consumo excessivo de petróleo quanto mais essa.

[katzilla]

também achei ser muita fantasia, mas estou aqui para ver o que pinta por aí