As more diesel and hybrid vehicles enter the market, drivers increasingly want to know which is better. This is an especially big question for sport-utility fans who feel they could easily justify owning one of the large vehicles if only it could match the fuel economy of a car.

Of the diesel and hybrid SUVs I have driven – there are only a dozen or so available — the Toyota Highlander Hybrid Limited and Volkswagen Touareg TDI come closest to combining midsize-car-like fuel economy with the size and cargo capacity that make SUVs appealing. Most other models are either too small to give drivers the high-riding sense of command they seek, or don’t come close to having decent fuel economy.

The Highlander and Touareg are well matched in price, power and practicality, and are about the same size. But the $41,020 Highlander runs on hybrid technology and the $42,800 Toureg on a diesel engine. The Highlander also offers a third-row seat the Touareg lacks, but it is too small for convenient regular use.

Each has a relatively small six-cylinder engine that still manages to power a large vehicle competently. The Touareg’s engine is typical of most diesels — they are generally good at getting a vehicle moving from a stop, and have more power at low speeds than gasoline engines of similar size. Diesels don’t have as much high-speed horsepower, but their low-speed muscle, or torque, is a better fit for the way most people drive.

The Highlander’s hybrid drive system uses an electric motor to provide similar torque that assists the gasoline engine under hard acceleration. The result is that neither gives its driver that frustrating, underpowered feeling.

On paper the Highlander seems like the easy winner because its estimated fuel economy is 27 miles per gallon in city driving and 25 mpg on the highway, compared with the Touareg’s 17 mpg in city driving and 25 mpg on the highway. But in typical everyday driving I found the two to be much closer in performance and fuel consumption. During long highway trips, both clawed their way to 27 miles per gallon, which is remarkable for big, heavy SUVs.

But I found that the hybrid’s urban fuel economy usually fell short of its estimate unless I drove in a slow, plodding way that makes the most of the hybrid’s electric motor. The problem is this driving style annoys other motorists, especially those caught behind you.

The Touareg diesel usually performed a bit better in the city than its estimate suggested, though it never came close to matching the hybrid in pure stop-and-go city driving. The Highlander’s ability to run on its electric motor alone at lower speeds lets it excel in the slow, choppy driving conditions at which gasoline and diesel engines are least efficient.

In everyday driving, I avoided unnecessarily fast starts and tried to drive smoothly, but did not truly strive for top fuel economy. The result: About 24 miles per gallon overall in both the Highlander and Touareg. However, when I tried a little harder to squeeze extra miles out of each vehicle by obeying speed limits, planning suburban routes to avoid stop-and-go driving and coasting whenever possible, the Highlander began to edge ahead. Both SUVs have trip computers that keep track of average fuel economy, and the Highlander’s seemed to respond more readily to small changes in driving style. If you work hard to hone your driving technique to maximize fuel economy, the Highlander seems to work with you and is therefore more rewarding to drive.

The biggest difference between these vehicles lies in their mechanical feel on the road. Other than using diesel fuel, the Touareg feels conventional. Its engine rumbles steadily and its six-speed automatic transmission shifts with a rhythm that most drivers will find familiar.

The Highlander, however, has a continuously variable transmission that smoothly varies its drive ratios in a way that lets the vehicle’s speed build without the distinct steps of a transmission with conventional gears. The feel is seamless, but less engaging. The engine often sounds like it is laboring, but “CVTs” tend to be more efficient than typical transmissions.

Drivers who are especially fond of SUVs with traditional power plants and familiar mechanical layouts may still prefer the way the Touareg feels on the road and responds more sharply to the throttle, while finding the Highlander a bit off-putting. Still, I got used to the Highlander’s transmission quickly and liked the way it smoothed out its overall ride. I also appreciated that the Highlander weighed several hundred pounds less than the Touareg despite carrying two power systems (electric and gas). Drivers who frequently tow heavy loads will almost surely pick the Volkswagen for its 7,716-pound towing capacity, compared with a rather weak 3,500 for the Toyota.

I would happily drive either vehicle every day. Both run smoothly, handle well and are comfortable for long trips. But the Highlander always felt like Toyota took more time and care in putting the car together. And then there are the numbers — the Environmental Protection Agency’s average fuel cost estimate for the Highlander is $1,542, compared with $2,100 for the Touareg diesel. While such estimates aren’t perfect, they are especially helpful when comparing vehicles. In the end, the Highlander does a better job at mixing the often incompatible elements of SUV size and space with small-car fuel economy.

SOURCE: Wall Street Journal

With more electric, fuel cell and hybrid vehicles on the road today, measuring miles per gallon isn’t as easy as it was in the old days, the Washington Times reports.

Alternative-fuel cars have different ways of computing mpg. For example, the new Chevy Volt electric car has a projected fuel economy equal to 230 mpg.

Edmunds.com is asking the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to come up with fuel-cost ratings to assist buyers in comparing the cars. On Sept. 15, the agency asked for public comments on emissions and fuel economy standards for plug-in electric and hybrid cars.

“A consumer could reasonably assume, based on the way that they have been using window stickers now going back to 1975, that the Chevy Volt is over four times more efficient to operate than the Toyota Prius. And [that] would actually be completely wrong,” said Jeremy Anwyl, CEO of Edmunds.com.

Edmunds.com would like for the EPA to stop allowing car makers to promote vehicles based on mpg. “If car companies are building cars with very high monthly costs from a fuel perspective, that’s the sort of information that needs to be out there,” he said.

Anwyl said the agency is interested in the proposal from Edmunds.com and has been inquiring of the company how customers use the Internet comparison sites when making decisions.

SOURCE: NACS Online

As the government hammers out how it will rate the fuel efficiency of hybrid-electric and all-electric vehicles, an Israeli company wants to make sure the U.S. gets it right.

The Environmental Protection Agency has a draft proposal for computing an efficiency rating using a “miles per gallon” scale but is not close to issuing a final ruling. It would be a rating buyers could use to compare various vehicles.

ETV Motors, a company that specializes in self-charging hybrid-electric propulsion systems for cars, has suggested in a letter to the EPA that the government consider a new multiple standard. CEO Dror Ben-David says ETV advocates a three-pronged rating for fuel efficiency: one number to show how far the car can go on a single plug-in battery charge, a second number to show how energy intensive the battery is, and a third for how much gasoline it consumes to drive a generator or the wheels when the battery runs out. Ben-David says the U.S. decision is important. “Most of the world looks at the United States as the standard provider and will adopt what the U.S. is doing.”

Even though no plug-in electric vehicles have yet hit the market in significant numbers, debate has begun over efficiency claims. Using an EPA draft proposal, General Motors has forecast that its plug-in Chevrolet Volt electric car will be rated at 230 mpg (it will go 40 miles per plug-in charge before the gas engine comes on to generate electricity), though the EPA cannot confirm that. Nissan, using different numbers from the Department of Energy, claims its Leaf plug-in car, an all-electric with no engine to burn gas, will get the equivalent of 367 mpg.

Says Ben-David, “A single number is not good enough. … It might be a bit misleading.”

Jim Kliesch, a senior engineer for the Union of Concerned Scientists, says there are a variety of other ways the government could set a standard to cover plug-in electrics, but no option is simple.

He says they could measure the car’s greenhouse gas emissions, a number that goes up when a vehicle consumes more gasoline or other fossil fuel. But that rating would also need to include how much carbon dioxide is emitted by power plants that generate electricity to recharge the car’s battery when it is plugged in.

And using an mpg rating formula may be misleading, Kliesch says, because people may not get that efficiency in the real world, depending on their usage patterns and how much or how little the onboard “range-extender” engine is needed.

“It’s really critical that the test procedure that’s decided on accurately reflects what people are going to experience,” he says. “Unfortunately, that’s easier said than done.”

Source: USA Today

I have become what I most hate. As the traffic light turns green on Manhattan’s Park Avenue I feather the gas pedal, softly rolling forward. Horns blare and yellow cabs swirl round my blue Ford like a river divided by a rock.

I coast the Fusion Hybrid to the next light, ignoring the invective directed at me, the maddeningly slow driver clogging up traffic.

But damn I’m getting good gas mileage.

If sports-car lovers fixate over Nurburgring lap times and power-to-weight ratios, there’s an equally obsessive eco-green set who argue over consumption-over-distance ratios and the etiquette of hypermiling — the practice of driving to maximize fuel economy.

The latter group has another midsize hybrid to obsess about, and this time it’s from a U.S. automaker. Ford’s Fusion Hybrid gets Environmental Protection Agency estimates of 41 miles per gallon in the city and 36 on the highway.

But it can achieve better than that — way better — driven “correctly.” Ford advertises that the 17.5-gallon tank will last you for 700 miles in the city, yet a Ford team wrangled 1,445 miles in a test — more than 80 mpg. The problem is that the driving style needed to achieve those numbers will raise the blood pressure of your fellow road users.

The midsize sedan seats five and starts at $27,270, a sizable premium over the base $19,270 Fusion. A $1,700 Federal hybrid tax credit is good until Sept. 30.

Braking Energy

Ford’s other available hybrid is the $29,645 Escape Hybrid SUV, which also seats five and gets 34 city, 31 highway. There are also Mercury versions of the Fusion and Escape, the Milan Hybrid and Mariner Hybrid. In all, Ford has upped its hybrid production to 50,000 units for 2009.

The Fusion Hybrid has a 2.5-liter, four-cylinder gasoline engine and an electric motor for combined power of 191 horses. Ford says the car can operate up to 47 mph in electric mode. Like the Toyota Prius, it uses nickel-metal-hydride batteries and a regenerative brake system to recapture energy.

As for looks and design, except for the shiny three-tiered grill and the honeycombed taillights, it has about as much style as knit sweaters. From the lackluster rims, which look like they’re made of plastic, to the generic sedan shape, the Fusion has no flash whatsoever. Both the rear seats and the trunk are cramped as the battery pack is stored back there.

The economical aesthetic extends to the interior. You like your plastic garnished with cheap-looking cloth? You’re in luck. Fortunately, heated and leather-trimmed seats are available, as is Ford’s fine SYNC infotainment system.

Digital Display

Engineers spent lots of time on the instrument cluster, coined SmartGauge. The digital display flashes fancifully when you turn the car on, showing a speedometer flanked by data on the operation of the hybrid systems and real-time mileage.

How much information you get is up to you. There are four modes, from basic “inform,” giving only fuel and battery charge levels, to “empower,” which even tells you how much energy the air conditioning is sucking.

The goal is to use the readings to maximize your driving efficiency. It definitely works, though it can be as distracting as a video game.

As with other hybrid and electric cars, there’s no start-up noise when you switch the Fusion on, and the continuous variable transmission means there’s no shifting. The transitions between gas and electric power are mostly seamless.

Slow Start

The Fusion has a tight turning radius and though you won’t mistake the steering or suspension for a German-made car, they are acceptable. Power is adequate. It’s no less fun to drive than a Toyota Camry.

Which brings us to those driving techniques that make you public enemy number one. The best mileage is achieved when the electric motor is on, and the best way to do that is to avoid stopping or, when you must, to start off again very slowly.

This is, of course, the opposite of New York City driving etiquette — mashing on the gas to surge through gaps and slamming on brakes at stoplights. Mincing through traffic instead put me in real-time mpg of 60.

The art of hypermiling is controversial as it can include illegal maneuvers such as rolling through stop signs and drafting, or following another vehicle closely to reduce wind resistance. Ford says the team who got 80 mpg did not do that.

Either way, you have to keep the speed down, often to far slower than the flow of traffic. Hitting a parkway, I drive a steady 55 miles per hour and get 50 mpg. Nice. Eyes on the SmartGauge, I slow down. At 49 mph an octogenarian in an Oldsmobile blows by, honking her horn. Embarrassing, but I’m in the 60-mpg range.

I kick the air conditioning up to full blast and the SmartGauge scolds me for sucking lots of extra energy. I quickly stab it off, feeling sheepish.

In fact, I feel a bit giddy. Green can be fun. I wonder how long it takes for this feeling to fade. I’m guessing the first time you’re late for work.

SOURCE: Bloomberg

Billed by Ford Motor Co. as the world’s most fuel-efficient sport-utility vehicles, the Ford Escape Hybrid and Mercury Mariner Hybrid offer a way to “drive green” and save gas without giving up interior space and versatility, says a representative of a local dealership.

“The Mariner and Escape hybrids have all the advantages people expect of SUVs — a high driving position, excellent outward visibility, plenty of cargo room — but their fuel economy is better than you get with many smaller vehicles,” said Barry Almonrode, sales consultant at Bill McCoy Ford Lincoln Mercury of Muncie.

While most cars achieve their best gas mileage on the highway, the Escape and Mariner hybrids get their best economy in the city, so they are most beneficial to those who run many errands in town or commute in traffic, he said.

“Even if you drive a small car, your fuel economy can drop to the low 20s if most of your trips are in stop-and-go conditions,” Almonrode explained. “In comparison, the Mariner and Escape hybrids are rated at 34 miles per gallon in the city.”

While Ford’s hybrid SUVs include several technologies not used on conventional vehicles, such as two-mode, gas/electric powertrains and regenerative brakes, these hybrid functions are controlled automatically, so there’s nothing special the driver needs to do, the company says.

“Orchestrating many of the functions is the job of the Vehicle System Controller,” Ford says on its Web site. “Among other things, it shuts the engine down during coasting and at stoplights to save fuel, converts the electric motor to a generator during braking to help recharge the battery pack, and helps manage powertrain-related functions.”

To test the ability of its hybrid SUVs to save gas and perform reliably under severe conditions, Ford has supplied Escape Hybrids to several New York City taxicab operators.

“With hundreds of thousands of miles accumulated over the past two years in New York City, there has been an estimated fuel savings of $250,000 for the initial fleet of 18 Escape Hybrid taxis,” the company said in a news release. “Now there are 288 Escape Hybrids in taxi service throughout the city, and drivers are reporting that the hybrids are delivering on the durability requirements and fuel-saving advantages that make them a great choice for taxi use.”

The Mariner and Escape hybrids both have 153-horsepower, 2.5-liter four-cylinder engines, 94-horsepower electric motors, 330-volt batteries and electronically controlled, continuously variable transmissions.

Other standard features include dual-zone automatic climate control, Sirius satellite radio and Ford’s “SYNC” system, which provides for hands-free control of the audio system and a Bluetooth-enabled cell phone.

Many people who buy an Escape Hybrid or Mariner Hybrid on or before September 30, 2009, will qualify for a $1,500 federal tax credit, according to the Environmental Protection Agency’s Web site (fueleconomy.gov.)

Because the tax credit is scheduled to phase out as manufacturers sell more of each hybrid model, the credit on the Escape and Mariner hybrids will drop to $750 on October 1, 2009, the agency reports.

SOURCE: Star Press

Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa Jackson came to West Philadelphia High School’s auto garage today to see first hand the award-winning cars a group of teenage students are producing.

The school’s Electric Vehicle X-Prize teams are building hybrids that can go from zero to sixty in less than 4 seconds and get 100 miles per gallon. They have already beat companies like Toyota and Honda by building the world’s first hybrid supercar.

Now they’re poised to be a top contender for the X Competition next spring which carries a $10 million prize.

“There’s so much to gain for urban youth and people around the world jumping on the green economy,” said sophomore Azeem Hill. “So many people need jobs.”

The EVX team started 11 years ago as an after-school program. The students have a budget of about $200,000. The big question is, how are they beating companies with millions at their disposal?

“It’s the fact that we’re not a big established company and not complicated,” said senior Eric Yates. “But we’re showing the world that if you understand the basics, look what kids in inner city Philadelphia – and youth all over – can do.”

These humble kids say they’re just trying to drive the market forward and open doors for inner city workers. EPA Administrator Jackson had nothing but good things to say.

“The president has said the green economy has to touch everyone,” she said during her visit today. “This is a great example of the administrators, teachers and sponsors knowing what is needed, and putting kids on the right track.”

SOURCE and VIDEO: ABC Local

Plug-in hybrid vehicles operating in the electric mode don’t produce any emissions—but, of course, the power plants that charged up their batteries did. So are the emissions from largely coal-fired power plants better for air quality than the emissions from millions of tailpipes? New research says yes—with enough plug-ins replacing gas- and diesel-powered vehicles, those living in cities can breathe easier.

The formation of ground-level ozone—the primary ingredient in smog and a serious cause of respiratory problems—is the product of a chemical reaction: nitrogen oxides (NOx) and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) reacting in the presence of heat and sunlight. In a study published Tuesday in Environmental Research Letters, researchers at the University of Texas at Austin examined what would happen if you moved the production of these pollutants in time and space.

Using photochemical modeling, the researchers increased the nighttime electricity generation of coal-fired power plants in the Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Maryland grid to near capacity, and assumed that this electricity would be used to charge plug-in hybrid electric vehicles for commuting in cities like Pittsburgh, Baltimore and Newark the following day.

“Because the formation of ozone depends on sunlight, this shift in time from day to night is very important,” says Michael Webber, associate director of the university’s Center for International Energy & Environmental Policy, and a co-author of the study. “Moreover, because the emissions shift from heavily populated urban areas to rural areas with lower population, the number of people who are affected also changes, mostly for the better.”

In a scenario where the vehicles fully utilize the excess electric capacity at night, and get 318 Wh/mile in their commutes, NOx emissions at power plants increase by 168 tons, and VOC and CO emissions increase by 1.2 and 11.9 tons respectively. But NOx emissions from daily traffic would decrease by 300 tons, according to the research, and VOC and CO emissions would decrease by 180 and 2420 tons respectively. Overall, the average maximum concentration of ozone over an 8-hour period would decrease from between 2 and 8 parts per billion (ppb).

These findings could be good news for cities struggling to meet standards for ground-level ozone, which the Environmental Protection Agency reduced from 84 ppb to 75 ppb in 2008. (For example, while most of North Carolina met the old standard, 21 of 30 counties with air-quality monitors now exceed the new one.) But populations near power plants, which would shoulder the burden of higher  pollution, might not be as thrilled. The authors also warn that, because ozone chemistry is so complex, lowering NOx emissions could actually worsen air quality in very localized urban areas.

A study Webber co-authored in Environmental Science & Technology last year revealed a potentially serious downside to plug-in hybrids: With the grid’s current composition, electricity production requires about 136,000 million gal of freshwater per day—and so a transition to plug-in hybrids, even charged at night, could pose a real problem for water-stressed regions. Of course, both increased air pollution and water consumption could be addressed by using renewable energy to provide the additional capacity.

Most technologies or fuels have trade-offs, Webber says, and plug-in hybrids are no exception: They might be worse for water, but at the same time better for air quality. “There are many places in the world—for example the eastern half of Texas—where air-quality concerns trump water concerns,” Webber says. “Overall, this article just represents one more piece of analysis that is relevant to the energy transition.”

Source: Popular Mechanics