The BusinessWeek article anounces new tougher fuel economy standards that may include full size trucks and SUVs, requiring CAFE ratings of 24mpg, up slightly from 22.4 mpg. Now the domestic auto manufacturers have been lobbying against this and trying to stall the regs. There;s not much new there, they've traditionally resisted Government regulations ( like in the above cartoon) and later used the technologies as selling points.
Ford Motor Company's "Driving American Innovation" and GM's "Drive Yellow, Live Green" campains both push each company's "Green" ambitions. But these tougher regulations are achievable goals with some of the technologies that are so close on the horizon.
Ford has their Gen 1 (Escape/Mariner/Tribute) Hybrids on the market and Gen 2 (Fusion/Milan/Edge) & 3 (500/FreeStyle/Montego) are coming within 3 years. Ford has also been working on their Hydraulic Launch Assist system for full size trucks and SUVs as well as Hydrogen Internal Combustion Engines and more fuel efficient Diesels. GM has been selling full size pickup Hybrids and now is releasing versions of their mini SUVs ( Vue/Equinox/Torrent) and their Saab divison is working on their Bio Fuel Saab 9-3. Chrysler has the potential with their Common Rail Diesels for the Liberty and possibly the new Caliber, and their parent company Mercedes new BlueTech Diesels which of course could trickle down into Chrysler vehciles in the US.
Toyota and Honda Hybrids are selling well, and Subaru is working on both a Hybrid and a Diesel programs. Mazda's Hydrogen project and Direct Fuel Injection are both promissing. VW's new Bluemotion including TwinChargers. It's an interesting time to be an auto enthusiasts. So hopefully any pressure on the industry will be the push they need to bring some of the technologies to market quicker.
No comments:
Post a Comment