A website called fuelclinic.com has been started that will allow you to track your actual gas mileage online and “will teach you safe and efficient driving techniques that will improve your gas mileage, and help you monitor your progress as you continue to practice better driving techniques,” according to the website.  Fuelclinic.com says that it can improve your gas mileage by 10-20%, possibly more. I’m all ears I have to say.  The developer of the website, Michael Bragg, owns a Toyota four-wheel drive pickup truck and he has improved his gas mileage from 18 or 19 mpg to 23 mpg. That’s pretty good, right?  I’m interested. 

Basically, we as drivers have to change our driving styles in order to successfully improve our gas mileage. Plain and simple.  We need to not be in such hurries,  accelerate and brake gradually, avoid traffic jams (though I’m not sure how you do this, who really wants to be in a traffic jam?), and “in general just calm down” Bragg says.  Easy right?  I know that this won’t be easy for me, but I think I’m going to sign up at fuelclinic.com and try to track my gas mileage. I’ll track it for a few months, then report back. 

Have any of you heard about the new idea of pay-as-you-go car insurance that is being thrown around in California?  Well, it’s true. I found an article on autoweek.com that says that California is seriously considering doing this and as early as November.  What would happen would be that you could buy insurance coverage by the mile.  This way the consumer could just pay for the insurance that they use and save money.  Another thought of lawmakers is that people would drive less, therefore there would be less emissions, which equals healthier air, etc. 

So, how it works is that you can prepay for a specific number of miles. You could buy a blocks of miles for a certain amount of time, if you need more you can buy them.  There will be discounts available to you if you use this new insurance option.  Part of the plan can be that you report your miles to the insurance company and their insurance agent or repair shop will check your odometer. 

This pay-as-you-go insurance option is definitely not worthwhile for the commuter with a lengthy commute or people that drive a great deal one week and then not so much the next. It would be too hard for these consumers and probably cost them a lot more.  I guess it’s a good idea if it truly works out like California is hoping that it does. I don’t know if people will truly drive less to save some money.  I’m sure there are some people that will do that, but a great number of them?  I don’t know. I know I probably wouldn’t.  I don’t love to drive now, I do it when I have to, therefore nothing would change for me with this new pay-as-you-go insurance.  But that’s just me, I’ll be interested to see if it does begin in November, and how many people choose to go this route. 

www.jetsongreen.com

Toyota announced yesterday that they will start leasing plug-in hybrid cars later this year in the U.S., Europe, and Japan, according to msnbc.com.  There will be 200 plug-ins available in Japan, 150 in the U.S., and 150 in Europe as well.  The plug-ins will have lithium-ion batteries, that are more common in laptop computers and other gadgets than in cars.  Currently, Toyota’s hybrids use nickel-metal hydride batteries.  The lithium-ion batteries will produce more energy and the cars will run like other electric vehicles do.  Plug-ins are charged in a regular household socket, and if the battery runs low, the vehicle will then drive like a regular hybrid, so don’t worry about your battery dying while driving.  More and more companies are trying to make plug-in models. Who knows. I wouldn’t be surprised if these cars are the norm in 10 years.  We shall see I guess.    

Big news today in the auto industry world. Though I’m sure this isn’t the first you’ve heard about it. Anyways, President Obama has laid out the new standards that must be followed for cars and light trucks starting in 2016.  For cars, you must get on average 39 miles per gallon and light trucks get 30 mpg.  The average price of a vehicle will go up by about $1300.  This new proposal will force the automakers to meet these new fuel efficiency standards about 4 years before the Bush administration had originally said it needed to in 2007.  Obama’s administration says that these new fuel efficiency standards “will save 1.8 billion barrels of oil and eliminate 900 million metric tons of greenhouse gases” according to an article on detnews.com.  This is the equivalent of taking 177 million cars and trucks off the road. That’s a lot of good that will be done for the environment.  Another piece to saving the earth is that President Obama has said that new cars must cut the carbon emissions by 30%.  California already had these higher carbon emissions standards in place. They have been pushing for the rest of the country to get on board.  There was a tremendous amount of support for Obama’s plans for the fuel and emissions standards.  I heard on tv tonight someone ask if they think that 2016 is just a number and that these standards will constantly be pushed back.  The news people said that didn’t think so, that the good support of these plans will help keep the project on target for 2016. I sure hope they are right. I think it’s a great idea, and we can all only hope that all the automakers follow through and sooner than later would be even better.   

Here’s an interesting tidbit that I read about producing diesel fuel. I thought I would share it. I found this in my local newspaper. A Minnesota biofuels company, the SarTec Corp., has produced a clean diesel fuel from algae harvested from a pond next door to its facility.  Clayton McNeff, who is a chemist and industrialist, said the company has “perfected a 3-year old continuous flow process and produces about 1000 gallons of diesel fuel weekly” for $1.25 to $1.75 per gallon.  The fuel is being produced from various feedstocks from restaurant and ethanol-plant waste oils to non-edible crops and “plain old pond scum.”  This is great news for our renewable fuel thoughts.  We need more solutions such as pond scum to try to get new sources of fuel.  Geez, I wish I could have had some pond scum and made it into biodiesel fuel. I could be rich now! 

According to autoweek.com, the fuel-economy standards will rise 8 percent to an average of 27.3 miles per gallon for the 2011 model year due to the new U.S. rules.  The new regulations will have a new system that sets the standards for the different models depending upon its size.  Some vehicles will have higher standards than others.  For instance, cars will need to have an average of 30.2 mpg which is up from 27.5 mpg.  Light trucks standards will be 24.1 mpg up 1 mile per gallon.

“These standards are important steps in the nation’s quest to achieve energy independence and bring more fuel-efficient vehicles to American families,” said Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood.  The new fuel standards are the first step by President Obama to increase the fuel-economy.  Federal law requires the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration  give the automakers at least 18 months before making higher standards. 

On the bottom of the article on autoweek.com, many people were commenting on these standards. I read that many of the people feel like the government needs to tax gasoline as Europe does. I don’t think that that is necessary at this point. I understand the reasoning behind the taxing; people would then lean towards finding/buying cars with alternative fuel sources.  I think that if we continue to increase the fuel standards in the years to come, that’s a step in the right direction.  Then, maybe down the road if more people aren’t buying the fuel-efficient vehicles, then we look at the alternative; taxing gasoline.  Just my opinion…. 

I found an blog on autobloggreen.com about the things that should be considered when you are considering buying a green vehicle.  Many people say that if you want a green car, you need to buy a hybrid. Hybrids are environmentally friendly using less gas, but they are expensive to drive. There are rumors out there that the Chevy Volt will cost somewhere between $30,000 to $40,000.  That’s a hefty price to pay for a car.  If you can afford, a hybrid then this car is better for people that do a lot of city driving. The hybrids’ “fuel efficiency comes from capturing energy that is usually lost during braking,” according to the article.  By the way, there are used hybrids with prices down 23.5%. 

Another “green” option are diesel vehicles.  They are better for the driver that is on the highway most of the time.  Diesel gas costs more than regular gas, but you get more miles per gallon.  Diesel engines used to be very poor for the environment, but the new diesels, such as the Volkswagen Jetta TDI, are very clean and green.  Several automakers, Audi, VW, and Mercedes are making diesels. You need to check them out.

You could also buy a flex-fuel vehicle.  A flex-fuel vehicle can use ethanol that is blended with gasoline in concentrations up to 85% ethanol.  A flex-fuel vehicle doesn’t cost much more than regular gas. The problem is that you have to live by a E85 gas station in order to fill up your car.  That could definitely be tricky for most people until there are more E85 gas stations out there.

So, there’s some brief info for you on green cars and what to choose from.  More and more automakers are making better gas mileage vehicles, especially in 2010 and 2011. If you can, hold out until then, and have more choices.   

Mark Phelan of the Detroit Free Press wrote an article about Fiat and their new fuel system called Multiair.  This new fuel system developed by Fiat was unveiled at the Geneva Auto Show last week.  The Multiair is said to be able to reduce fuel consumption by as much as 25%.  The Multiair will be available in all of Fiat’s current and future partners, hopefully including Chrysler, if that works out. 

The first Multiair engine will be in the Alfa Romeo MiTo sporty compact car that will be sold in Europe this year.  Alfa Romeo hopes to sell the MiTo in the United States sometime soon. 

Here’s how Fiat’s Multiair engine works.  The system uses “electronic controls and hydraulics to vary an egine’s valve timing over a wider range than the mechanical systems automakers use today” according to Phelan.  Many automakers have been turning to variable-valve timing in recent years to improve fuel economy.  The Multiair reduces an engine’s fuel consumption by 10%, but it has a lot of power, so automakers will be able to replace big engine with smaller ones that could lead to 25% less fuel consumption.  The exhaust emissions are also reduced by 40-60% according to Fiat.  The Multiair system can be used on both gasoline and diesel engines. 

It’s only a matter of time before more and more companies will be producing engines that reduce fuel consumption and are environmentally better.  It’s a must in the world today, and companies like Fiat know it.        

An article on MSNBC.com says that Hawaii has unveiled a plan to be the first in the nation to roll out electric car stations statewide.  This is being done, according to Governor Linda Lingle, to “wean the islands off oil.”  Hawaii imports foreign oil for about 90 percent of its energy needs.  One-third of this oil is used to fuel cars and buses on the islands.  The governor hopes that these electric car stations will help Hawaii slash their fuel use by 70 percent by 2030. 

A company called Better Place will be building all of the recharging stations and provide recharged batteries for the electric cars as well.  Better Place will purchase renewable energy, such as wind power, from Hawaiian Electric Company.  The company plans to have stations open around the state by 2011, and there will be between 50,000-100,000 stations to charge your batteries by 2012.  These fuel stations will be in parking lots, on downtown streets, and in neighborhoods. 

Other cities in the U.S., such as San Francisco plan to get some Better Place recharging stations, but Hawaii looks like it will be the first state to have these stations statewide.  Better Place chose Hawaii as the first statewide roll out because they have so much renewable energy, such as wind, solar, geothermal, and wave power.  Better Place will not use oil, so they need other resources readily available.  

Many automakers are building or in the process of designing electric cars to be available in the next few years. Hopefully Hawaii is successful with its recharging stations and more states follow suit.