One of the big contributors to rising food prices over the past year has been the cost of getting food from the field to the grocer. Truck drivers across Europe and especially in the UK have been protesting increasing fuel costs for months. The U.S. Department of Energy is partnering with the Swedish government and one of the largest manufacturers of heavy trucks - the Volvo group - to find ways to reduce the fuel consumption of those trucks. The two governments and Volvo have already previously committed $12 million to the joint development program and this week announced an additional $36 million dollars. The two governments will each contribute $9 million of the new funds with the rest coming from Volvo. The goal is to reduce fuel consumption of the truck engines by 10 percent. The program will evaluate biofuels in heavy truck engines as well as develop advanced transmissions, new engines and hybrid drive systems.

[Source: Department of Energy]

The British Motor Show is coming up later this month and Peugeot is planning to shine the spotlight on its most efficient and least polluting vehicles. Drivers in London, in particular, have to deal with congestion charges if they have to go into the central part of the city but they are exempted if the cars they drive emit fewer than 120g/km of carbon dioxide. Low-emitting cars like this also get a break on national road taxes. As a result, companies like Peugeot have been trying to create models specifically to meet this standard. The diminutive 107 KISS SE only has to pay about $70/year in road tax. Peugeot will also be showcasing the 908 HDi Le Mans racer and the 308 RCZ concept. For those of you in the UK who attend the show, you can quench your thirst at a free water bar at the Peugeot stand.

[Source: Peugeot]

In perhaps the most obvious move of the decade, MarketWatch is reporting that GM will in fact bring the upcoming Chevy Beat to the U.S. market. The Beat was one of a trio of mini-car concepts that appeared at the New York Auto Show in 2007. GM announced last November in Los Angeles that the Beat would be produced but refused to commit to bringing it to the US market. What GM has said is that all new models from anywhere in the corporation are being engineered using a global development process to meet all regulatory requirements around the world. At its debut, the Beat was listed as having a 1.2L turbocharged engine. If GM does indeed bring it here it could be powered by an upcoming turbocharged direct injected three cylinder set to be produced at the Flint engine plant. GM desperately needs a car like this to compete in a $4/gallon market and meet new CAFE requirements.

[Source: MarketWatch]

During a press conference in Lansing, Michigan on Wednesday, Governor Jennifer Granholm suggested that the state should consider lowering speed limit from the current 70mph. Granholm was speaking during the launch of a new state web site designed to help Michigan residents save money. The site includes a calculator that lets users determine how much money they could save by car pooling as well as a service to help match up commuters to share rides. Granholm didn't give any indication of what she thought the speed limit ought to be. It seems increasingly likely that states will start lowering speed limits in the coming months if fuel prices don't subside. On the personal side, Granholm indicated that she and her husband are both driving hybrids and she is riding a bike to the office two days a week.

[Source: Detroit News]

The National Renewable Energy Laboratory has just completed a two-year study of the hybrid buses being operated by Long Beach Transit in southern California. Unlike most transit systems using hybrid buses, Long Beach has been using a system that combines a gasoline engine with a series hybrid system. The ISE ThunderVolt hybrid uses a Ford 6.8L V10 running at constant speed to turn a generator that provides juice to a pair of electric motors. Only the motors drive the wheels. Instead of batteries, Long Beach also chose to equip their hybrid buses with ultracapacitors. The Long Beach bus routes are comprised of mostly low speed operation with many stops per mile making the rapid energy absorption of ultra-caps desirable. NREL looked at the performance of the buses and found that the gas hybrids got 4.3 percent lower fuel efficiency than the conventional diesel buses in the fleet. When the lower energy content of gasoline is factored in, though, the gas hybrid came out 8.5 percent better. Overall efficiency was about a wash for the hybrids. In the study the hybrid buses got 3.35 mpg. The increased use of regenerative braking from the ultra-cap hybrids has cut brake system maintenance by 90 percent although other service intervals were somewhat higher. The city has 62 hybrid buses out of a fleet of 228 currently and has ordered 25 more.

[Source: National Renewable Energy Laboratory, via GreenCarCongress]

When drivers set out to hypermile, there is a spectrum of techniques that they can use. These range from the good - don't blast away from a red light and don't speed up then slam on the brakes at the next red - to the risky. Dale Earnhardt, Jr. may be able to use hypermiling tricks like shutting down the engine at high speeds to win a race, but that doesn't mean you should try it during your commute.

The AAA thinks we need a reminder to not risk our lives - or endanger others - in order to save a little bit of gasoline. Drafting, coasting and "rolling through stop signs and driving at erratic and unsafe speeds" are specifically mentioned in the group's official statement on dangerous hypermiling (read it after the jump).

Who's performing these techniques? It's hard to say, but we can assume that the AAA knows a thing or two that we don't. After all, they're out there rescuing the increasing number of people who are running out of gas these days.

[Source: AAA]

Tata Motors' diminutive Nano is getting closer to Job 1. if all goes as planned (and when doesn't that happen in the auto industry?) production of the Nano should kick off early this fall. As that date approaches, a number of questions arise. As an extremely fast growing economy, India faces one of the common problems of such scenarios: high inflation. With inflation running at 10 percent right now, will Tata still be able to meet its $2,500 price target? Regardless of price the Nano utlimately sells for, what comes next? Tata is reportedly working on cleaner and greener versions of the Nano to help deal with the issues of pollution and rising fuel prices. Tata has previously licensed the compressed air car technology developed by MDI and an air car based on the Nano seems like a good possibility. Battery powered and micro-hybrid (auto start-stop) are also likely.

[Source: The Earth Times]

Since Toyota, like other automakers doing business in the U.S., is currently unable to supply enough hybrids and other small fuel efficient cars to meet consumer demand, they are offering up other suggestions on how to conserve gas. Over on the Open Road blog, they have talked about hypermiling before but there is a solution that saves even more fuel and emissions. In a shocker for a car company, they actually suggest driving less.

As we've discussed before, there are plenty of ways to do just that. First of all, plan ahead. Instead of making separate trips to the store, to school to pick up the kids, and then to the soccer field, time things to make a single trip and plan the sequence to give you the shortest route. Go get a basket for your bike and use that for short trips to the store or a friend's house. If you have mass transit available, take the bus or train. Perhaps most important, just say no to drive throughs. Park the car and walk the 30 feet to get your burger or coffee.

[Source: Toyota]

Though BMW was the first automaker to contact the Bush Administration with concerns about the latest CAFE rules, it didn't take long for more to speak up. As represented by the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, the Detroit 3, Toyota, Volkswagen, Mercedes-Benz and others have banded together to proclaim the demands too harsh. Especially considering the current state of automotive affairs, the Alliance alleges that it will be too costly to either meet the goals set out in the latest CAFE standards or face the fines for not meeting them. It is certainly true that most automakers are finding it tough to sell vehicles in these days of turbulent fuel prices and a damaged economy in the U.S.

Eighty-percent of the auto market in the states is represented by the Auto Alliances members, so the issues presented by the groups are sure to be taken seriously. With other groups, including Transportation Secretary Mary Peters, wanting to actually increase the CAFE requirements even further, the auto manufacturers seem to have their work cut out for them.

[Source: Automotive News - sub. req'd]

A Toledo, Ohio-area mechanic is claiming to have a miracle breakthrough originally conceived by his grandfather more than 60 years ago. The development has supposedly been installed on Doug Pelmear's 1987 Ford Mustang and allows it to achieve 80-110mpg, depending on which story you believe. Personally, I'm not inclined to believe either story. Particularly since Pelmear also claims that the Mustang now produces 400hp and 500lb-ft of torque and accelerates from 0-60mph in 3 seconds with a top speed of 180mph. 400hp would not be nearly enough to move a Fox-body Mustang of this vintage through the air at that speed nor would it give the car that kind of acceleration especially not while achieving that kind of fuel efficiency.

A Toledo TV station visited with Pelmear and reporter Aaron Brilbeck decided that any hint of skepticism or even probing questions about exactly how this machine works would be inappropriate. The Mustang does have E85 stickers on it, although using ethanol would be unlikely to be beneficial unless the mileage number is based purely on the amount of gasoline used directly as fuel and ignoring the ethanol. Pelmear apparently intends to enter his car in the Automotive X-Prize, where a few more probing questions will be asked. Thanks to Paul and Brent for the tips!

[Sources: WNWO.com, MustangEvolution]

While sales in other countries have mostly fallen in recent months, French car dealers are happy right now. With an overall first half of the year increase of 4.5 percent, small and mini cars have led the way with a 15 percent jump in France. Small cars now comprise nearly half of all new car sales and French brands Renault and Peugeot/Citroen have grabbed 60 percent of that segment. The new French tax schemes add extra fees to vehicles that emit more CO₂ while buyers of cleaner cars actually get money back. Buyers of cars that emit less than 130g/km of CO₂ are eligible for rebates ranging from 200 Euros to 5,000 Euros for low or zero emissions vehicles. Cars that emit from 160g/km to 250g/km of CO₂ face taxes of 200-2,600 Euros.

[Source: Automotive News - Sub. req'd]

There has been a longstanding tradition among car rental agencies to push renters up to bigger, more expensive models. Not that it was all that difficult to do, considering that Americans tend to prefer larger vehicles when all other aspects are equal. Now, though, not all of those aspects are equal, as bigger vehicles are usually thirstier vehicles and the renter is required to return the vehicle with a full tank of gas. So, the act of stepping up to a Hemi-powered Dodge Charger from a four-banger equipped Caliber no longer holds the allure that it once did.

A side effect of users sticking to their smaller vehicle choices is a compact car shortage among rental agencies. This, of course, only makes matters worse as the companies will then do nearly anything to move the larger metal. One other result of the shortage is an increase in the cost to rent a small car and a corresponding decrease in cost to rent an SUV or minivan, which could help offset the higher gas bill.

[Source: ABC News]

The deadline for automakers to comment on the latest CAFE standard proposal is today, and at least one manufacturer has decided to speak up. BMW is calling the fuel efficiency standards it would be required to meet 'unattainable.' As you may be aware, the latest proposal takes into account the overall footprint of the vehicle, and manufacturers which sell large vehicles won't be required to meet the same goals as those which produce smaller vehicles. While that's great for manufacturers with truck-heavy lineups, automakers like BMW are in for a world of hurt as they tend to produce smaller, sportier machines. For this reason, BMW would be required to average 37.3 miles per gallon for its cars, quite a bit higher than the 35.7 mpg industry average. The Bavarian's trucks would need to achieve 31.7 mpg, compared to an industry average of 28.6 mpg.

While it may seem a bit unfair (or maybe not) that BMW should be required to hit higher numbers than some other manufacturers, it should be pointed out that BMW currently offers no engines with fewer than six cylinders and is on a bit of a crossover binge as of late. What's more, the marque has proven rather adept at squeezing high power outputs from relatively small displacement, so we'd stop a bit short of suggesting that the numbers being asked of it are unattainable.

[Source: Automotive News - sub. req'd]

Back in April, we applauded General Motors and its decision to eke some more fuel economy from its high-volume compact car, the Chevrolet Cobalt. Along with the 9-percent increase in fuel mileage, the new model got a shiny new XFE (eXtra Fuel Economy) badge in the process. Pontiac is now offering an XFE version of the G5, which shares most major components with the Cobalt. We're happy to report that next year's Cobalt and G5 XFE manage to gain yet another mile per gallon on the highway, up to thirty-seven, to go along with their unchanged twenty-five city miles per gallon.

GM's XFE models are apparently selling rather well and were one of the reasons that the General chose to add a third shift to the Lordstown, Ohio plant where the compact cars are assembled. Additionally, the success of the badge may encourage GM to make similar fuel-savings changes to more of its cars. After all, low rolling-resistance tires, revised gearing and engine mapping are relatively minor changes which are fairly easy to apply on an older model. We look forward to the change.

[Source: The Detroit Free Press]

Ford is expected to take advantage of this month's British Motor Show in London to debut an ECOnetic version of the new Fiesta sub-compact. ECOnetic is Ford's branding for special low CO₂ versions of its different vehicles. In the case of the Fiesta ECOnetic, that means a 1.6L TDCi turbodiesel under the hood cranking out 89hp. Helping the Fiesta minimize its fuel consumption and hence CO₂ emissions will be a modified low-drag nose, side skirts, rear spoiler and wheels. Most of the grille will be closed off to push air around the car rather than through the engine compartment. The final drive ratio has been changed to lower the engine revs when cruising as well. The 2009 Fiestas, like their Mazda2 siblings, are lighter than the models that they replace. All of this adds up to 62.5mpg (U.S.) combined from the new model and CO₂ emissions of 98g/km. That CO₂ number is low enough to exempt the Fiesta ECOnetic from British road taxes and London Congestion Charges.

[Source: AutoExpress]