Bartle Doo Article Archives

From: http://feeds.autoblog.com/~r/weblogsinc/autoblog/~3/grBZco5yVBE/

Filed under: MPG, AutoblogGreen Exclusive, SAE World Congress

As fuel economy regulations tighten all around the world, each part of the automobile is getting a second (and third and fourth …) look to see if there is any way to squeeze out a few more yards per gallon. At the SAE World Congress in Detroit this week, Lacks Enterprises was showing off its contribution to the get-every-efficiency debate: Evolve Hybrid Wheels.

James Ardern, Lacks Wheel Trim Systems director of business development, told AutoblogGreen that wheels, which spin at 1,000 rpm, are pretty much four propellers that can have a big effect on aerodynamics, an effect that hasn’t been measured nearly as much as it could be.

“We have learned that wheels are contributing significantly to the fuel economy of a vehicle.”

“We have learned that wheels are contributing significantly to the fuel economy of a vehicle,” he said. The things right next to the wheels, the tires get tested. Consumer Reports, for example, has shown that better, more efficient tires can raise a vehicles mpg rating by one or two ticks, and Lacks has test results that show that the wheels – at least the Evolve wheels – can do the same.

The Evolve Hybrid Wheels are not to be only used on hybrids. The name comes from the hybrid composite wheel technology that is applied to a structural aluminum backbone that is both lightweight and strong. Then, the designers can add a variety of shapes to blend aerodynamic efficiency with good looks (eye of the beholder and all). Lacks had Rousch conduct some independent tests, and discovered that a Ford Focus SE outfitted with the Evolve wheels got a 0.4 mile per gallon improvement in the average city fuel economy and a 1.1 mpg highway improvement, compared to the car’s stock wheels.

The idea is to co-develop efficient wheels with the automakers, and Ardern said Lacks is currently in discussions with three different OEMs and, “We do have one Evolve wheel already launching on an OEM capacity towards the end of this year,” but he would not name which company. First truck testing will be tested by June and a second in August/September, and the same type of test will be run. An expanded set of tests will be done on the Focus this summer as well. There are no plans to test the wheels on an alternative power vehicle, but Ardern did say the program “will keep expanding.”

“Why hasn’t this happened before? One, it hasn’t been measured. Two, it is difficult to do it. It is not an exaggeration to say wheel development includes to many towers of competency: wheel suppliers themselves from a manufacturing point of view, wheel engineering from a structural and safety point of view, not also weight teams and fuel economy and ride and handling teams are getting involved. But then you’ve still got design and now

Automobiles

Shell Eco-marathon

April 12, 2013 Bartle Doo Leave a comment

Continue reading Shell Eco-marathon

Filed under: Emerging Technologies, EV/Plug-in, Green Culture, Hydrogen, MPG, AutoblogGreen Exclusive

An Oil Company Spends Big To Teach Students To Use Less

The Shell Eco-marathon Americas 2013 is over, the winners declared. Thousands of excited students came to Houston last weekend with 140 cars and the winning team managed to get upwards of 3,580 miles per gallon. Now that the cars have been packed up and shipped back to schools throughout the hemisphere, from Alaska to Brazil, we can look back and discuss some of the bigger issues that the three frenzied, fuel-efficient competition days – and the months of hard work leading up to the event – raise.

Before leaving Houston, we got to sit down with representatives from Shell, which spends an undisclosed amount of money to put on these Eco-marathons around the world. It’s a huge undertaking, and one that has lots of positive angles and some particularly thorny ones. But first, a short history.

The story goes that the first Eco-marathon started as a bet between two Shell engineers. The year was 1939 and the winner managed to hit 49.39 mpg.

The story goes that the first Eco-marathon was started as a bet between two Shell engineers to see who could go further on a gallon of fuel. The year was 1939 and the winner managed to hit 49.39 miles per gallon in a 1933 Plymouth. They had so much fun they did it again and, by 1949, the winner was getting 150.53 mpg. The numbers kept going up from there. 1968: 244.62 mpg. 1973: 392.02 mpg. And so on. The event was known as the Shell Mileage Marathon, but in 1985, a name change signified the start of the event in its current form. That year, students from 20 European countries in 25 teams competed in the first Eco-marathon in France, and the winners managed to get 1599.45 mpg. The 1997 event was canceled because of heavy rain and in 2006 the first solar cars ran the race. In 2007, the event was held in the US for the first time, in Fontana, CA, and Asia joined the party in 2010. Today, across the three events, over 400 teams participate each year. Next year, a fourth location will draw teams from the Middle East and Africa. The current record is 8,914 mpg, set by a French team in 2003.

Shell Eco-marathon originally appeared on Autoblog Green on Fri, 12 Apr 2013 14:54:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

From: http://feeds.autoblog.com/~r/weblogsinc/autoblog/~3/EV5iiRNQF80/

Business, Finance, Occupation & Industry

Has the EPA Made These Companies Rich?

April 9, 2013 Bartle Doo Leave a comment

By Tyler Crowe and Aimee Duffy, The Motley Fool

Filed under: Investing

With the recent EPA proposal to tighten gasoline standards, several oil companies are crying foul. The American Petroleum Institute estimates that complying with these new regulations could cost the entire industry $10 billion upfront with an additional $2.4 billion each year to comply. This isn’t all bad news, though.

Fool.com contributor Tyler Crowe takes a look at this proposed regulation, and he sees some opportunities that could arise from this new standard. As gasoline becomes cleaner, it will also improve engine quality and help to increase the miles per gallon rates on gasoline vehicles, so it could take some pressure off of automotive manufacturers when meeting new MPG standards. Also, the anticipated increase in a gallon of gas resulting from this regulation could also play well into the hands of Tesla Motors and Westport Innovations , whose alternative transportation fuel options become more attractive as gasoline becomes more expensive.

As the most advanced designer of engines powered by natural gas, Westport Innovations is a small company with a big goal: to lead the world in transitioning away from traditional oil-based fossil fuels in favor of abundant, cheap, and clean natural gas. The company has a price tag large enough to match its ambition, and will need to grow revenue quickly in order to justify sky-high expectations. To help you determine whether Westport Innovations is right for your portfolio, The Motley Fool has just released a brand-new premium report breaking down the company’s opportunities, competitive advantages, and risks. To get started, simply click here now for instant access.

var FoolAnalyticsData = FoolAnalyticsData || []; FoolAnalyticsData.push({ eventType: “TickerReportPitch”, contentByline: “Tyler Crowe and Aimee Duffy“, contentId: “cms.29624”, contentTickers: “NYSE:F, NASDAQ:TSLA, NYSE:VLO, NASDAQ:WPRT”, contentTitle: …read more

Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance

Automobiles

Diesel benefits shrink as gas engines get more fuel-efficient, torquier

April 2, 2013 Bartle Doo Leave a comment

Filed under: Diesel, MPG, USA

Could all of the work some automakers are doing to increase diesel engine adoption in the US be going up in a cloud of smoke? Maybe so, as torquier and more fuel-efficient gasoline engines and cheapening hybrid technology are cutting into what had been perceived as the advantages of diesel drivetrains, the Detroit News says.

While companies like General Motors and Chrysler have announced plans to add diesel models, Ford, Toyota and Hyundai are eschewing the technology for passenger cars. Hyundai CEO John Krafcik estimated that a diesel-powered car costs, on average, $5,000 more than a similar gas-powered car, while the price premium for hybrid-powered vehicles is about $1,500.

US diesel sales jumped 25 percent last year, but diesels sill only account for 2.7 percent of the overall market.

Additionally, gas engines are being developed to deliver more torque at the low end, which provides one of diesels benefits without the drawback of (currently) about 36 cents more per gallon compared to regular unleaded. While US diesel-vehicle sales did jump 25 percent last year, they sill only account for about 2.7 percent of new US cars, or slightly less than hybrids’ market share, the newspaper says, citing Edmunds. Diesels account for about half of the new vehicles sold in Europe.

In February, General Motors unveiled the 2014 Chevrolet Cruze Diesel, which will be GM‘s first diesel passenger car in the US since the 1986 Chevrolet Chevette. The Cruze Diesel, which is turbocharged, will deliver 148 horsepower and 258 pound-feet of torque as well as 42 miles per gallon highway fuel economy.

Late last year, Germany‘s largest automakers, including Volkswagen, BMW and Mercedes-Benz, joined up for their “Clean Diesel. Clearly Better.” campaign, which promoted diesels as a relatively inexpensive way to boost fuel economy and combat rising refueling prices. Last year, VW‘s clean-diesel sales jumped 32 percent from 2011 to almost 83,000 units, while diesel sales for Audi in the US were down 1.6 percent to 7,179 vehicles.

Diesel benefits shrink as gas engines get more fuel-efficient, torquier originally appeared on Autoblog Green on Tue, 02 Apr 2013 18:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

By John Rosevear, The Motley Fool

Business, Finance, Occupation & Industry

Did GM Just Crush Ford's Pickup Advantage?

April 1, 2013 Bartle Doo Leave a comment

Filed under: Investing

General Motors said on Monday that its all-new Chevy Silverado and GMC Sierra full-sized pickups will have the most fuel-efficient V-8 engines in their market segment – so efficient that they would even beat Ford‘s much-touted “EcoBoost” V6 truck engines.

The difference is a tiny one, just one mile per gallon in the EPA‘s highway ratings. It’s unlikely to mean a whole lot in real-world driving. But while the difference may be tiny, consider this: GM didn’t just send out a press release, they held a full-blown press conference to tout the new trucks’ advantage.

Is this just mere Detroit trash talk? No. The truth is, the pickup wars are very serious business for both GM and Ford, and little distinctions like this one can mean a lot.

Why pickups are a huge deal for both GM and Ford
Why are pickups such a big deal? Because they’re a huge source of profits. Ford’s F-Series and GM‘s Chevy Silverado aren’t just the best-selling pickups, they’re the No. 1 and No. 2 best-selling vehicles in America, period, handily outselling cars like Toyota‘s super-popular Camry month after month.

Consider this for context: Tesla Motors has made a big impact with its goal of selling 20,000 of its all-electric Model S sedans in 2013. But Ford sold over 54,000 F-Series pickups just in February — and while that was a decent month for the Blue Oval, it wasn’t a remarkable one. GM‘s total sales of its two pickups, the Silverado and the Sierra, were in the same ballpark.

Long story short, full-sized pickups sell in huge numbers here in the U.S. And they’re high-margin products, especially when they’re “optioned up” with luxury-car-type features or heavy-duty add-ons, as many are nowadays. That adds up to an enormous impact on the bottom line: One top analyst recently estimated that as much as 90% of Ford’s global profit comes from the F-Series.

The impact at GM is likely somewhat less, but it’s still huge.

Why small differences in cost can be a big deal
So why did GM make such a big deal out of its one-MPG victory? Because it might mean a lot of sales. Unlike cars, the vast majority of which are bought by individual consumers, many pickups are purchased by business buyers. Those buyers range from giant utility companies down to tiny three-man contracting firms, but as a general rule, they’re very sensitive to new truck pricing and to cost of ownership differences.

That sensitivity is why Ford has advertised its EcoBoost drivetrain so heavily over the last year, and it’s why GM made a big deal out of a tiny MPG advantage on Monday. It’s an advantage that probably seems trivial to most individual consumers, but to a commercial fleet manager, it might swing an order to Chevrolet that might otherwise go to Ford.

Might, that is, unless Ford responds, which it surely will. Stay tuned.

Automobiles

EPA finds 2012 fuel economy was highest ever, 23.8 mpg

March 15, 2013 Bartle Doo Leave a comment

Continue reading EPA finds 2012 fuel economy was highest ever, 23.8 mpg

Filed under: MPG, USA

The average fuel economy for a new car in the US made a record single-year jump, according to new data from the US Environmental Protection Agency. Fleetwide fuel economy rose a record 1.4 miles per gallon to an all-time high of 23.8 mpg, the EPA says. During the past five years, average new-vehicle fuel economy went up 16 percent while emissions decreased 13 percent. Check out the EPA‘s press release below and find further information here.

The numbers reflect the fact that the number of US hybrid and diesel models has doubled in the last five years, thanks to automakers expanding their line-ups. Last year, alt-fuel vehicle sales jumped 63 percent to more than 540,000 vehicles, while plug-in vehicle sales roughly tripled to about 50,000 vehicles.

The EPA report echoes similar findings from the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute (UMTRI), which earlier this year said fleetwide fuel-economy advanced 1.3 miles per gallon to a record 23.8 MPG. And UMTRI said in a separate report early last month that January’s average new-vehicle fuel economy continued to increase to a monthly record of 24.5 miles per gallon.

David Friedman, the senior engineer and deputy director of the Union of Concerned Scientists’ Clean Vehicles program, said in a statement that the progress is good, but more needs to be done. “With high gas prices the new norm, the average model year 2011 vehicle will cost its owners almost as much to fill up over its lifetime as it did to purchase it,” he said. “Consumers need more options to shield themselves from the high cost of gasoline.”

EPA finds 2012 fuel economy was highest ever, 23.8 mpg originally appeared on Autoblog Green on Fri, 15 Mar 2013 16:23:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Automobiles

Report: Ford C-Max, Fusion hybrids subject of MPG lawsuit in California

March 1, 2013 Bartle Doo Leave a comment

By Jeffrey N. Ross

2013 Ford C-Max Hybrid in blue - front three-quarter view

Filed under:

A California lawsuit over the fuel economy claims for the 2013 Ford C-Max was first reported back in December. Based on the numerous reports we’ve heard of disgruntled owners failing to get their car’s EPA fuel economy ratings on the C-Max and 2013 Fusion Hybrid, we suspected there would be more to this story. The Detroit News is reporting that two California law firms are combining their lawsuits against Ford on this matter for “false and misleading” claims.

The article states that there are hundreds of C-Max and Fusion Hybrid owners who have joined the lawsuit, but the issue isn’t limited to customers. In December, Consumer Reports extensively tested both the Fusion Hybrid and C-Max and found that both hybrids performed significantly worse than their EPA claims. This all comes just a few months after Hyundai and Kia took the unprecedented step of lowering the fuel economy ratings for all of their 2012 and 2013 model-year vehicles.

Ford C-Max, Fusion hybrids subject of MPG lawsuit in California originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 01 Mar 2013 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Automobiles

Hyundai, Kia delaying and updating new Sonata, Optima Hybrids?

February 20, 2013 Bartle Doo Leave a comment

Kia Optima Hybrid - front three-quarter view

Filed under:

Given the recent debacle regarding overstated fuel-economy estimates from Hyundai and Kia, we wouldn’t blame the companies for being a little gun-shy about new vehicle releases. That just might be the case for the 2013 Hyundai Sonata and Kia Optima Hybrids.

With the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) not including those two models under its 2013 model-year list (it only lists the 2012 versions and 2013’s gas-only versions), Hybrid Cars is wondering if the two companies aren’t pushing back their debuts for some late tweaks. At the moment, only the 2012 Optima Hybrid shows up on Kia’s website, and the same goes for the Sonata Hybrid. A Hyundai representative told Hybrid Cars that the 2013 Sonata Hybrid is being redesigned in Korea, with announcements possibly coming in the next month or two. Neither Hyundai nor Kia responded to requests for comment from AutoblogGreen.

It would seem to make sense that Hyundai and Kia are takign some extra time readying their 2013 model-year hybrids. In late 2012, Hyundai and Kia had to drop fuel-economy estimates on many of its 2012 and 2013 model-year vehicles after reporting inaccurate mileage estimates. The companies agreed to give money back to about 900,000 vehicle owners, with the amounts varying based on the MPG adjustment to their models and the owners’ odometer readings. In all, the companies set aside about $412 million for refunds. Both the 2012 Sonata and Optima Hybrids are now rated at 36 miles per gallon combined.

Hyundai, Kia delaying and updating new Sonata, Optima Hybrids? originally appeared on Autoblog Green on Wed, 20 Feb 2013 15:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Automobiles

US gas prices to fall over next two years

February 15, 2013 Bartle Doo Leave a comment

Filed under: MPG, USA

US gas prices are expected to fall over the next couple of years as fuel consumption levels off, indicating that vehicle fuel-economy gains may have positive long-term effect on everyone’s wallets.

Regular fuel prices, which on average rose 2.8 percent in 2012 to $3.63 a gallon, will fall to $3.55 a gallon this year and will decline another 4.5 percent to $3.39 in 2014, the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) says.

And while the vehicle-buying public isn’t getting any smaller, fuel consumption is expected to remain basically unchanged at about 8.72 million barrels a day through 2014.

Either way, the percentage of an average household’s budget spent filling up neared a 30-year high last year, so any news of a fuel-price decline is good news for consumers. So far this year, gas prices have risen more than 20 cents a gallon to about $3.55, according to American Automobile Association.

Last year, new cars sold in the US had a record-high fuel economy of 23.8 miles per gallon, up 6 percent from a year earlier, according to the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute (UMTRI).

Check out the EIA‘s set of graphs and reports here.

US gas prices to fall over next two years originally appeared on Autoblog Green on Fri, 15 Feb 2013 09:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Computers

Review: Camtasia Studio 8 raises the bar on interactive video creation

January 17, 2013 Bartle Doo Leave a comment

Over the years, TechSmith’s Camtasia has evolved from being the go-to program for software demonstrators to a full-featured education/information video tool. With version 8, Camtasia Studio ($299, 30-day free trial) has not only added new features—including multi-track video editing and embedded hyperlinks—but has been rewritten from the ground up with new optimized code and greater potential impact.

If you watch a YouTube video explaining how to edit in Photoshop, write in Word, or do anything else in a program, that video was very likely created with Camtasia Record, the original core function of Camtasia Studio. Capturing and showing screen-based activity, such as cursor movement, menu choices, and other interface interactions remains quite straightforward. Click the Record button, and everything you do on your computer monitor is recorded, until you click the Stop button. The results are quite smooth, even when capturing complex on-screen media. That’s because Camtasia’s new capture engine is optimized for high-definition video, and can now record at 30 frames per second. (Version 7 had a tendency to slow down to 5-10 frames per second.)

But once you get into the video editor, Version 8 is clearly an entirely new kind of program. The new multi-track interface can import video from other sources, including MP4, MPG, MPEG, WMV, MOV, SWF, BMP, GIF, JPG, PNG, WAV, MP3, WMA and Zipped Library. (However, Camtasia Studio imports only one video and one audio track from a .mov file, rather than multiple tracks. Also, only SWF created from Jing or previous versions of Camtasia Studio can be imported.). You can even display several video windows in a single screen and have them play at the same time. You can name and group tracks. What’s more, batch edits such as animations, zoom/pan, and other effects can be applied to an entire group, saving lots of time and effort.

**Camtasia Studio** is now a multi-track **video** editor/creator, which can have several videos playing at once, with special effects (such as rotation) applied to the **video** windows.

The Canvas is no longer just a playback view of your project. You can now work directly with any object (including video windows) on the Canvas, clicking and dragging to resize and reposition. When dragging, alignment guides appear to help you line up elements to other objects. However, there’s no single-click command to resize a window that fills the canvas, which would be useful. Anything (video windows, graphics, callouts, etc.) on the canvas can be animated over time. In our tests, we were able to create some very slick visuals, such as applying a perspective angle to a video window, using the rotation control. Unfortunately, you can’t apply rotation with interactive clicks and drags, only through a dialog.

Source: FULL ARTICLE at PCWorld

Automobiles

Bob Lutz-approved Via X-Truck offers 800 hp, 100 MPGe

January 15, 2013 Bartle Doo Leave a comment

Continue reading Bob Lutz-approved Via X-Truck offers 800 hp, 100 MPGe

Filed under: EV/Plug-in, Hybrid, MPG, Detroit Auto Show

Give Bob Lutz a little bit of time and a big idea, and he will create for the world “the kind of vehicle I would like to own.” That’s what he called the X-Truck concept – from the Lutz-affiliated Via Motors – which debuted at the Detroit Auto Show. If you’re thinking that the X-Truck (and Via’s other offerings, the Presidential SUV and the VTRUX Van) looks a little like a Chevrolet vehicle, well, it certainly does. It’s a converted 2013 Chevy Silverado, after all. The X-Truck, though, was changed inside and out. The truck now has a plug-in hybrid powertrain while the outside was redesigned by Lutz and his team to look a little meaner and beefier but still offer the “fuel economy of a Prius.” The changes include custom running boards, fender flares and modified wheels. It’s also been raised five inches. A built-in iPad not only communicates information to the driver, they but can also communicate with the service department to solve problems.

No official EPA numbers have been released, but Via says its vehicles will get “over 100 mpg in typical local daily driving.” As Bob Lutz put is, “Wouldn’t it be great if someone built a truck that drives like the Volt?” It’s got lots of power, too. The standard Via powertrain (which all of its vehicles have, has a 402 horsepower electric motor. The X-Truck has two of them.

To supplement the 24-kWh, liquid-cooled lithium-ion battery pack, Via’s vehicles use a gas engine as a generator. In the case of the X-Truxk, that means a 5.3-liter V8 from GM (the previously planned V6 generator was scrapped, in part because of availability and in part because the V8 is actually more efficient in this situation because the V6 would have to be worked harder, George Prokos, the service/warranty manager of field operations at Via, told AutoblogGreen.

Via vehicles get around 35 miles of all-electric range.

Via vehicles get around 35 miles of all-electric range. When the battery is depleted to 20 percent state-of-charge, the generator kicks on to both provide traction and charge up the pack. When the battery is back up to 25 percent, the generator turns off. “The only way you can tell [the engine turns on or off] is by watching the iPad,” Prokos said.

Via also talked a bit more about its relationships with Pacific Gas & Electric and Verizon, both of which are using Via vehicles in their fleets. PG&E said in a statement that the Via trucks and vans, which have an optional onboard inverter to provide 110- and 240-volt power, “offer PG&E the potential to provide mobile, on-site power to help manage electric outages and minimize disruptions for customers.” Via and PG&E have been working together since 2008.

Prokos said the vehicles unveiled in Detroit point to a new consumer direction for the company, since both the X-Truck and the Presidential (a converted Suburban). “As far as I know, no one else has a four-wheel drive, jacked-up plug-in truck,” he said. “The idea is to give the consumer something a little different than the other extended-range vehicles that are out there.”

Bob Lutz-approved Via X-Truck offers 800 hp, 100 MPGe originally appeared on Autoblog Green on Tue, 15 Jan 2013 11:47:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Source: FULL ARTICLE at Autoblog

Video Gaming

Gran Turismo 5 Gets Free 2014 Corvette DLC

January 14, 2013 Bartle Doo Leave a comment

The 2014 Corvette Stingray is coming to Gran Turismo 5 as free downloadable content tomorrow. The car was originally released as the C7 Test Prototype in November (and covered by a tarp) but will now be fully unveiled just one day after its reveal at the North American International Auto Show.

“During the creation of the virtual Corvette Stingray, careful attention was paid to the tiniest details of the new design inside and out, as well as to the enhanced performance and driving characteristics — right down to the shift schedule for the 7-speed manual transmission,” SCEA associate product manager Ken Chan wrote on the PlayStation Blog. “The Corvette Stingray will produce an estimated 450 horsepower and 450 ft. lbs. of torque, is capable of accelerating from 0-60 in less than four seconds and will achieve more than 1g in cornering grip. It will also be the most fuel-efficient Corvette ever, exceeding the EPA-estimated 26 MPG of the current model.”

Source: FULL ARTICLE at IGN Video Games

Automobiles

Federal green car fleet buys more Hyundai hybrids as overall number goes down

January 10, 2013 Bartle Doo Leave a comment

Filed under: MPG, Ford, Hyundai, Legislation and Policy

The Obama administration made a big deal about how it had a long-term plan to green up the federal vehicle fleet back in early 2011. Even with that big target, the overall number of hybrids is going down. And, after spending time buying fuel-efficient US cars, the Obama administration has been turning more to hybrids from foreign automakers – just like the general public – rather than fuel sippers from Ford or General Motors.

According to a Bloomberg report that used data from the General Services Administration, the overall number of hybrid and electric vehicles the US government bought last year went down by a third to just 1,801 vehicles. Over half of them (54 percent) were from Hyundai, Toyota and Mitsubishi. The number one vehicle by volume? The Hyundai Sonata Hybrid. The US government also purchased vehicles like the Mitsubishi i and the Toyota Prius. Among US civilian buyers, Toyota claimed the four most popular hybrid spots and the Sonata was fifth.

The stated plan is for the Federal government to only buy alt-fuel vehicles by 2015, but the numbers and percentages of the fleet have been dropping. Bloomberg’s numbers show that the Feds bought 8,139 alt-fuel vehicles in 2009, 6,467 in 2010 and then 2,645 in fiscal 2011. The early number were buoyed by stimulus spending.

Federal green car fleet buys more Hyundai hybrids as overall number goes down originally appeared on Autoblog Green on Thu, 10 Jan 2013 18:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.