Small Car Prices Rise with Demand

Increased demand in small cars will drive up prices over the next few years. Automakers are adding new features to small cars to increase prices and to regain profits that they once earned on trucks. Many people will not want to sacrifice their navigation systems and leather seats as they move to smaller cars. In the next four years, small car prices will go from the high teens to the mid $20,000. Honda’s redesigned Fit has a high end trim that costs $19,430. Ford also added a premium Focus model that is priced from $18,665 to $23,214. Average selling prices are already rising. The Focus’s average selling price is up 4.4% from a year ago and the Toyota Yaris is up 3.6%.

Source USA Today

Ford Truck Plant Converting to Build Cars

Ford is spending $75 million to convert a truck plant to build small cars. The Wayne Michigan plan currently makes the Ford Expedition and Lincoln Navigator. Sales of the Expedition are down 39% this year and the Navigator is down 28%. Car production will begin in the plant in 2010. The plant will build the Ford Focus or another small car. When the conversion at the plant is completed, it will be a flexible production facility able to produce various vehicles on the same production line.

Source USA Today

GM Unveils 2011 Chevy Cruze

The Chevy Cruze will replace the Cobalt small car. It will be a premium small car looking to attract buyers as they downsize due to high gas prices. The Cruze was designed from the start to be sold around the world. Sales will start in Europe next year. Sales start in the U.S. in 2010. The engine for the U.S. will be a 1.4 liter turbocharged four cylinder which could get up to 40 mpg on the highway.

Source CNN Money

New Honda Hybrid Will Be Priced Less Than Prius

The new Honda hybrid will be priced lower than the Toyota Prius’ base price of $21,500. The car will be a five door and will only come with a hybrid powertrain. Sales will begin in April 2009. The car has not been named yet. Honda wants the new hybrid to be affordable to a larger segment of buyers.

Source MSNBC

Exhaust Heat Will Save Fuel

General Motors and a BMW supplier are close to converting heat from the car’s exhaust into electricity. The electricity will reduce the amount of time the alternator runs and improve fuel efficiency. The U.S. Department of Energy is partly funding the research and their goal is to improve fuel economy by 10 percent. These thermoelectric generators could be in production in three years. Today’s engines lose 40 percent of their energy in exhaust heat. Any heat energy that is captured will improve overall efficiency.

Source The Associated Press

Allow Euro Cars to Be Sold Here

John McElroy, from Autoline Detroit, has an excellent idea to bring more fuel efficient cars into the U.S. market fast. We should allow automakers to sell any car that meets the European emissions and safety standards in the U.S. The U.S. and European standards are very close but it can take years to modify a car designed to meet one standard to meet the other. This relaxing of standards should only be temporary, say 5 years, and the manufactures should be forced to build the vehicles in the U.S. This would cut years off the time it is going to take to get more fuel efficient vehicles and will also cut our oil consumption.

Source Autoblog

Saturn Vue Plug-In Development Progressing

The Saturn Vue Plug-In Hybrid is approved for production and development is progressing. Eleven of the Vue plug-Ins are being tested with lithium-ion batteries. Later in 2008, sales of the 2009 Vue Two-mode Hybrid will begin. The Two-mode hybrid system is based on the system currently available on the Chevy Tahoe and GMC Yukon. The Plug-In version will be available in a few years.

Source GM FastLane Blog

55 MPH Speed Limit Making a Comeback

With gasoline at an all time high, lawmakers are looking to bring back the 55 MPH speed limit. Senator John Warner wants the Energy Deportment to study what speeds cars are most fuel efficient and how much fuel would be saved. In 1974, a 55 MPH speed limit was imposed by Congress in reaction to the Arab oil embargo. It was repealed when gas dropped near $1 a gallon back in 1995. The lower speeds save fuel and reduce highway fatalities.

Source WCBS

BMW Opposes New Fuel Economy Rules

BMW submitted a comment of opposition to the NHTSA over the 2011 Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards. The new standard calculates the fuel economy a vehicle needs to get based on the size of the vehicle. So a small car will need to get better fuel economy that a large pickup. BMW currently sells high performance luxury vehicles. Safety and luxury features add weight. Their entire lineup is rear or all wheel drive and the smallest engine is a six cylinder. BMW claims that the 2011 standards will encourage auto makers to increase the size of their vehicles to minimize the efficiency increases they need to make. This CAFE issue will be a mute point if gasoline stays above $4.00 because then it will be consumers not regulation forcing higher efficiency.

Source Automobile

Euro Ford Focus Stateside in 2010

Ford will begin building the European version of the Focus in North America in late 2010. The four and five door versions will be sold in the U.S. The Euro Focus is on a more premium platform than the U.S. Focus. The Focus currently sold in The States is an update of the previous model. This move is a reaction to $4 gasoline. In 2010, Ford will also build and sell the Fiesta in North America. The Ford Fiesta is a smaller car than the Focus.

Source AutoWeek

Top Tips to Save Gas

1. Go easy on the accelerator and brakes. Driving like there is an egg between your foot and the gas pedal is the best way to improve your fuel economy.
2. Do not accelerate much at high speeds. The engine has to work much harder when you are going more than 55 mph.
3. Use the correct motor oil. Consult the owner’s manual for the proper viscosity for your car.
4. Clean out your trunk and back seat. Any extra weight will hurt your gas mileage.
5. Buy a Scan Gauge. It displays your fuel usage and other information from your car’s computer.
6. Improve your car’s aerodynamics. Removing your roof rack could increase your mileage 2% to 3%.
7. Check your engine air filter. If it is dirty, your engine will work harder and use more fuel.
8. Get your wheels aligned. Your car will roll easier.
9. Keep your tires properly inflated. Under inflated tires can drastically reduce your fuel economy.
10. Keep your engine maintained. A regular tune up will ensure your engine is running efficiently.

Source Forbes

$4 Gas is a Good Thing!

Thomas Friedman points out in his op-ed column, that expensive gasoline is the only thing that motivates people to conserve. He points out the things a truth telling Presidential candidate would tell Americans. First thing is there are no quick fixes for gas prices. Rising global demand and poor energy policy in the United States are pushing up oil prices. The way to end our oil problems is to ensure high gas prices. The government should place a price floor on gasoline of $4. If the market price is higher than $4, then nothing needs to be done, but if the market price drops below $4 the gas tax should be raised to make the price $4. There should be tax rebates to offset this gas tax for the middle class and the bottom tax brackets. Gasoline at 4 dollars is the magic point where Americans drive less and buy smaller vehicles. When gas prices drop, as they did in the 1980s and 1990s, Americans buy larger and larger vehicles because they can afford to. The problem comes when gas prices rise and people can no longer afford the fuel for their large inefficient vehicles. The guarantee of $4 gas would cause consumers to avoid gas guzzlers because they would know the price of fuel would not drop. Car companies would need to make more fuel efficient vehicles to meet consumers’ expectations.

Source The New York Times

Drivers slow down as gas prices rise

In a response to high gas prices, some drivers are slowing down to reduce fuel consumption. Cars are most fuel efficient at speeds from 30 to 60 mph. Efficiency drops sharply at speeds above 65 mph as engines work harder to overcome wind resistance which rises exponentially. If everyone drove 60 mph instead of 70 mph, demand for gasoline would drop 2 to 3%. This would result in a 10% reduction in the price of gasoline.

Source USATODAY

GM targets November 2010 for Chevy Volt sales

GM is aiming to have the Chevy Volt in showrooms by November 2010. The Volt is an electric car with a backup gasoline engine. The gasoline engine will not power the vehicle; it will be a generator that charges the batteries. The Volt can be plugged in to charge the batteries. On a full charge, the Volt will be able to go 40 miles on electric power alone.

Battery testing is continuing around the clock. The testing is designed to simulate 10 years and 150,000 miles of use. The Volt is the top priority project in all of GM. The batteries will be located down the center of the car and under the rear seats. The Volt will be a four seat car with enough headroom for a 6 foot 2 inch male to sit in the front and back.

Source Edmunds

10 gas saving tips

1. Go easy on the accelerator and brakes. Driving like there is an egg between your foot and the gas pedal is the best way to improve your fuel economy.
2. Do not accelerate much at high speeds. The engine has to work much harder when you are going more than 55 mph.
3. Use the correct motor oil. Consult the owner’s manual for the proper viscosity for your car.
4. Clean out your trunk and back seat. Any extra weight will hurt your gas mileage.
5. Buy a Scan Gauge. It displays your fuel usage and other information from your car’s computer.
6. Improve your car’s aerodynamics. Removing your roof rack could increase your mileage 2% to 3%.
7. Check your engine air filter. If it is dirty, your engine will work harder and use more fuel.
8. Get your wheels aligned. Your car will roll easier.
9. Keep your tires properly inflated. Under inflated tires can drastically reduce your fuel economy.
10. Keep your engine maintained. A regular tune up will ensure your engine is running efficiently.

Source Forbes

Four-Cylinder Engine market share increasing

As gas prices go up more new car buyers are choosing four cylinder engines. J.D. Power reports that four cylinders have 37.9 percent of sales, which is a 6.8 percent increase since 2003. Six cylinders have dropped dramatically to 39.8 percent from 45.6 percent in 2003. Eight cylinders have also dropped and now have 20.4 percent of sales. With the upward trend in gas prices, I expect four cylinders to be the dominate engine choice in a few years.

Source Winding Road

Progressive Insurance to sponsor the $10 Million Auto X Prize

It was announced at the New York Auto Show that Progressive Insurance will be the main sponsor for the Automotive X Prize. Progressive will also be putting up the $10 Million for the prize money. The Auto X Prize is a competition to encourage the development of super fuel efficient vehicles. The types of fuels are wide open and the vehicles need to get the equivalent of a gasoline 100 MPG.

Progressive Automotive X PRIZE

Source CNN Money

Nissan to have all electric car in 2010

Nissan is developing an electric car for fleet customers in 2010. Retail sales will start in 2012. It will use lithium ion batteries made by Nissan’s joint venture with NEC Corp. Nissan will show a small battery powered concept car. Range will be 100 miles. Top speed will be about 75 mph, and a full recharge will take eight hours.

Source AutoWeek

GE invests in electric cars

General Electric has recently made two large investments in the electric car industry. Think is a Norwegian company that makes cars that run solely on electric. GE has invested $4 million in Think. A123Systems is a Massachusetts based lithium-ion battery maker. A123Systems supplies Think with batteries and are also developing batteries for the Chevy Volt. GE has invested $20 million in A123Systems.

Source MSNBC

GM displays next generation Hybrid System

The improved Hybrid System will be three times more powerful than the system currently available on the Saturn VUE, the Saturn Aura, and the Chevy Malibu. The improved system will be available in 2010. The system remains a belt alternator starter hybrid. This type of hybrid is costs much less than other full hybrid systems. The second generation system will use a lithium ion battery, which is lighter and more powerful than the battery used today. Annual volume is planned to exceed 100,000, which will bring costs down. Fuel savings can be up to 20 percent.

Source Edmunds