Auto & Car Blog

Filed under: Government/Legal, Green, Marketing/Advertising, Saab, Australia

Marketers have been known to make claims that test our good sense, our gullibility and our patience. But in a field in which it’s often the best story — not the best product — that wins, some of the more unsightly details can get left out when making a pitch. Nevertheless, there is still, as Pinocchio’s nose would tell you, a line between a tall tale and what’s commonly referred to as a lie.

Saab Australia drove its entire model range over that line when it claimed in a campaign last year that “Every Saab is green, with carbon emissions neutral across the entire Saab range.” The ads also said Saab would plant 17 native trees to offset the CO2 emissions for the lifespan of each car it sold. Turns out that 17 trees only offsets the carbon produced in the first year of a car’s life. Saab left that part out when they lied added the small print.

Australia’s competition watchdog took Saab’s parent company, GM Holden, to court, and in a verdict for truth and the environment, Saab’s claims were declared, ahem, “misleading”. GM has pledged to “retrain its marketing staff in relation to making green claims,” and plant a forest of 12,500 trees to cover the lifetime emissions of all the cars sold during the campaign.

[Source: Drive]

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Filed under: MPG, Legislation and Policy

• www.drivecongress.com
• www.drivingamericasfuture.com
• www.grabdemocracybythehorns.com (password protected at this time)

What do all of the above internet sites all have in common? They are all designed to encourage consumers to contact Congress. What shall consumers say to Congress? To “Oppose Unrealistic Fuel Economy Increases,” according to one of the sites. The other sites have similar goals, although Chrysler is only targeting their dealerships at this time with their “Grab Democracy by the Horns” site. Drive Congress was created by The Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, an organization made up of nine manufacturers, or ten if you count Daimler separate from Chrysler already.

The sites all suggest that there are better ways to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions than focusing on better fuel economy for our automobiles. Will this sentiment be rejected in the face of record high gasoline prices, or will consumers agree that fuel economy and harmful emissions should be kept separate from one another in legislation? Perhaps you should do what they are suggesting and contact Congress. Let them know what you think, one way or the other.

[Source: Detroit News]

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BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD Step behind the curtain at Ford Motor. Experience the documentary first-hand.

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Filed under: Green Culture, Legislation and Policy

Australian federal Environment Minister Malcolm Turnbull has announced plans for a national switch from incandescent bulbs to more efficient technology such as compact fluorescent bulbs in a bid to save enormous amounts of electricity. Inefficient standard light bulbs use approximately five times as much electricity to produce the same amount of light as compact fluorescent bulbs.

Mr. Turnbull said that the switch in lighting technology would reduce greenhouse gas emissions at an annual rate of around 8000,000 tonnes to 2012. But this could rise to as much as four million tonnes a year by 2015 as more households and industry make the change. Lighting represents a large portion of greenhouse gas emissions in Australia - around 12 percent of household emissions, about 25 percent of commercial sector emissions, and 25 percent also of public and street lighting emissions.

Wal-Mart is trying to instigate a similar revolution in the U.S. through its scheme to sell every one of its regular customers–100 million in all–one compact fluorescent bulb.

Analysis: We have much better things to use our electricity on, such as PHEVs and pure EVs. Why blow our energy on 19th century technology when we can use 20th century instead? And one day we might even see the widespread adoption of white LEDs that will save even more juice.

Related:

• Need a model for energy conservation? Look to California
• ORN reports on move by environmentalists in Alabama to promote solar power
• Portable bioreactor turns trash into energy on the fly

[Source: Sydney Morning Herald]

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BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD Step behind the curtain at Ford Motor. Experience the documentary first-hand.

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Filed under: New York Auto Show, Green, Tech, Infiniti, Nissan

Ever-tightening emissions requirements, teamed with consumers’ lust for today’s high horsepower numbers, have led to some creative valve timing and lift schemes. Infiniti’s G37 will be pack some interesting tech underhood when it debuts at the upcoming New York International Auto Show. There are actually two new developments working in conjunction to give independent control over valve timing and lift. Nissan has dubbed the control technologies Variable Valve Event and Lift and Continuous Valve Timing control, or VVEL and C-VTC, respectively. VVEL uses a clever arrangement of links to actuate the valves, and moves the fulcrum for the links via a seperate shaft actuated by a DC motor. By moving the fulcrum, the valve lift is varied.

More after the jump, along with press release

[Source: Nissan via Gizmag]

Continue reading New York Preview: Nissan to introduce new variable valve timing tech

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BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD A new documentary series. Be part of the transformation as it happens in real-time

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Filed under: New York Auto Show, Coupes, Sports/GTs, SUVs, Green, Mercedes-Benz

Click above for high-res gallery from Daimler’s press conference

Just like any good political campaign, Mercedes came to the New York Auto Show touting nothing much as a whole lot. Actually, the faux political rally might have been less than compelling with its old news, but the new M Class sporting 50-state legal BlueTec diesel power is exciting. Almost as exciting as the very original 1965 190 D Mercedes had borrowed to illustrate its long-running experience with Rudy’s coal dust motor. The senescent sedan will be helping MBZ recreate Bill Carroll’s cross-country diesel-fueled journey to celebrate the U.S.-wide availability of what it’s touting as the cleanest diesel ever. BlueTec allows the M-, GL- and R-class oil burners to earn ULEV and TierII/Bin 5 classification.

Mercedes says its new diesels are now as clean as gasoline powerplants, and once they drop BlueTec hybrids on us, emissions and economy will improve yet again. JD Power projects that fully 40 percent of vehicles will be diesel powered by 2017, and Mercedes wants to increase diesel sales beyond the current level of 22 percent. The newly tweaked M-Class should help move the powertrain off dealer lots. Sporting plenty of safety upgrades, new headlights, a Hannibal-Lechter inspired grille and some interior tweaks, the M-Class has returned from the gym freshly chiseled. It was not all utes and politely obscured minivans (*ahem* R-Class). Just before Mercedes wrapped the presser, they said, we’re paraphrasing here, “Oh yeah, we also brought the SL, w00t.”

Continue reading New York 2008: Mercedes burns oil and rubber

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