Look Mom, No Gas: 100% BioEthanol Saab Concept

Today, GM announced its first BioEthanol concept, the Saab BioPower 100. It’s a Saab 9-5 SportCombi wagon that features a 2.0-liter turbo engine that runs on E100 — 100% ethanol. Currently, many manufacturers produce flex-fuel vehicles that run on E85, a mixture of 85% ethanol and 15% regular gasoline. This concept gets rid of even that small percent of gas.

All that ethanol means the octane level is incredibly high. The small turbo engine produces a whopping 300 hp and 295 pounds-feet of torque and hustles to 62 mph in 6.6 seconds. The idea of running a car on ethanol has always appealed to us because of the possible performance aspect. Currently, the infrastructure isn’t in place to support a massive switch to ethanol-powered vehicles, and the cost per gallon of E85 is still quite high. Add that to the lower fuel economy the E100 would get, and we better see a lot more sorghum farms and ethanol refineries popping up to make it affordable. It seems car companies can build nice performance cars that run on alternative fuels; now alternative fuel production needs to catch up.

Source: GM

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Hybrids Not as Environmentally Friendly as Thought

A study by an Oregon automotive research company details vehicles’ energy costs per mile — from inception through production right to your garage. The results are surprising and could put a damper on environmentalists’ support of hybrids. Because the study takes into account every aspect of the production process, hybrids like the Honda Accord Hybrid have an energy cost of $3.49 per mile. Compare that to a regular Accord, at $2.18, or a Hummer H3, at $1.98, and that green vehicle taxes the environment more.

The study has actually been out for some time, but we hadn’t read it before and thought it might spark an interesting discussion.

Now, these results don’t impact mileage at all. Buyers looking to save at the pump get better mileage with efficient hybrids. This study simply highlights the hidden environmental impacts of these new technologies — mainly the additional batteries and electric motors a hybrid requires. Of course, over time — with more research and development — the environmental impact should decrease. For now, though, don’t be so quick to frown at the Hummer H3 driver next to you at the stoplight.

[Look Beyond Gas Mileage When Making an Environmental Choice, 37signals.com]

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BMW announced yesterday plans to produce 100 hydrogen-powered 7 Series ...

BMW announced yesterday plans to produce 100 hydrogen-powered 7 Series sedans in the U.S. for 2007. Though the hydrogen 7 Series will be a full-fledged, road-going vehicle, the automaker will loan the car only to select owners. The full-size sedan, coming sometime next year, uses a 260-hp V-12 that draws fuel from either a 19.5-gallon tank or a secondary tank with 17.6 pounds of liquid hydrogen.

The automaker says the hydrogen 7 has a range of 125 miles off the hydrogen tank and 300 miles off the gas tank — a good thing, as there are only two liquid hydrogen fuel stations in the country, one in Los Angeles and one in Washington D.C., according to BMW spokesman Andreas Klugescheid. He’s hopeful there will eventually be more.

“It’s the usual chicken and egg thing,” Klugescheid said. “You won’t have any filling stations if you don’t have any cars.”

Unlike gas-based hydrogen vehicles, the 7 Series uses liquid hydrogen, which Klugescheid said has much higher energy density than gas. Gaseous hydrogen is more widely available, however; Klugescheid estimated there are between 40 and 45 stations in the U.S.

Automakers have promoted hydrogen-powered vehicles as a carbon dioxide-free alternative to gas-powered cars. A handful of models — like Honda’s FCX and GM’s hydrogen-diesel buses — have made it onto the streets in certain states, and plenty more sit in concept-car form. Even so, the limited refueling infrastructure means mainstream hydrogen cars are probably years away.

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