Chevrolet has released the specs for the 2011 Chevrolet Caprice PPV (Police Patrol Vehicle) and it includes an E85 compatible platform – YEAH!
The new 2011 Caprice will be powered by a 6.0-litre V8 and include Active Fuel Management. General Motors says that will make it the police service’s fastest-accelerating and highest-top speed vehicle. This FFV will be included in GM’s extensive line of E85 compatible vehicles available in 2012, but this vehicle will not be offered at the retail level.
Hot off the press: we’ve got news of a brand new ‘eco-friendly’ ‘bio-oil’ for your car that is actually plant based!
It’s called G-OIL and is made by Green Earth Technologies in Connecticut. This SAE 5W-30 motor oil is the first biodegradable oil to receive the American Petroleum Institute’s ‘SM’ certification – how cool is that?!?
For those of you who want to get your hands on this new, eco-friendly motor oil it will be available at Honest-1 Auto Care, a national full-service auto repair and maintenance franchise chain with 20 locations in the US: http://www.honest-1.com
It’s also available at Amazon.com , or if you’re in the PA area you can find it at National Auto Stores.
According to the Korea Herald it’s MOZEN Auto Care service will soon be available on it’s new Sonata automobile.
Not only will the MOZEN service wirelessly link the car’s electronic control systems to a monitoring center, but it also includes a theft prevention function, SOS and robbery alert services, route guidance, traffic information, and a hazard alert service. In addition, Mozen Special provides users with wireless internet and mobile phone services. Users can select from two types of MOZEN terminals depending upon the type of automobile they are to be installed in.
SWEET!
In an effort to get consumers the real numbers for the cost of owning and driving a plug-in vehicle the Society of Automotive Engineers, (SAE) and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, (NREL), are finalizing their proposal to the EPA in which they recommend that there be two rating listed for plug-in automobiles: one measuring miles per gallon, (MPG), and the other measuring electricity per mile, (EPM).
The EPA currently combines gas and electricity mileage making the ratings appear artificially high, giving some cars unrealistic and sky high MPG figures. If you get to see them rated by electricity per mile and gallons per mile you can compare apples to apples with more realistic findings. Jeff Gonder, an NREL researcher says “If you combine them into one (number) artificially, you can’t derive a final output like annual costs.”
The NREL is also coming up with a new way to judge fuel efficiency with dynamometers. Since putting the car on the machine and seeing how far it can go until the tank is empty doesn’t reflect actual performance for plug-ins, the researchers are mimicking average driving behavior on the machines to come up with average yearly fuel costs.
We all know the auto industry is in major trouble but there was a glimmer of good news for March: even though sales for March 2009 were down 37% from March 2008 they were actually UP 25% from February 2009!
The month over month bump may have been due to all the incentives dealers are offering consumers to come in and buy a new car. The average incentive on vehicles sold last month was $3,169, up 30 percent from a year earlier and a record high for the industry, according to the auto Web site Edmunds.com.
So if you’ve got a stable job this could be a great time to purchase a new car, with some incentives equaling or below the auto-makers own employee discounted pricing!
Don’t throw out those carrot tops, they may be the next generation of biofuel!
Toyota, along with other Japanese companies, announced they are setting up a research company to develop cellulose derived biofuel. Cellulosic ethanol uses inedible plant matter.
In the U.S. corn based ethanol has been blamed for raising food prices along with a host of environmental problems as the fuel uses quite a bit of energy to produce and creates more pollution than it saves.
According to Reuters, the consortium has set itself the goal of producing 1.6 million barrels per year of bioethanol by March 2014, and producing bioethanol at about $70 a barrel by 2015.
The other firms involved include: Nippon Oil Company, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Toray Industries Inc, Kajima Corp and Sapporo Engineering Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of Sapporo Breweries.
We all try to do our part to help the environment and be as green as we can but some of us simply cannot give up our cars and make the switch to bikes, buses or trains like some of you can!
If you must drive a car then here is a great article with tips and links to help you buy a more fuel efficient car:
http://green.yahoo.com/living-green/buying-a-fuel-efficient-car.html
It includes info on gas-electric versus biodiesel and a list of the top 100 cars by green rating.
Of course once you go ahead and make your new auto purchase we know you’ll be back here to thank us by purchasing a pair of Hawaiian print car seat covers for your new ride. 
Did you know that filling your tires with nitrogen instead of air can help the environment and save you money??
According to GetNitrogen.org - “With nitrogen tire inflation, improvements can be noted in a vehicle’s handling, fuel efficiency and tire life through better tire pressure retention, improved fuel economy and cooler running tire temperatures.”
Nitrogen is required for use in all airplane tires by the FAA, is used by NASCAR and Indy drivers and is available at most Costco stores.
Despite freezing temperatures a cooling economy and frozen auto sales the The North American International Auto Show opened as scheduled in Detroit, MI.
Despite the snow and chilly temperature attendance was fairly robust.
Joe Serra, senior co-chair of the 2009 NAIAS, said the previews were an overwhelming success.
“Over 5,300 journalists from 49 countries attended this year’s show, proving the NAIAS is the most significant auto show in North America and one of the top shows in the world,” he said.
We’re happy to see the auto show was still drawing crowds but we bet you couldn’t find a nifty pair of Hawaiian seat covers on any of the cars displayed.