Abhishek Agarwal asked:


General Motors Co. has become one of the top motor vehicle companies in the alternative fuel industry. GMC has made a stand to promote cleaner, more efficient and greener vehicles. Their motto promotes this endeavor: “Thing green, go yellow.”

GMC is promoting its E85 vehicles very heavily. E85 stands for 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline. The E85 is made from corn (get the yellow part now) or other biodegradable waste (even garbage). It burns cleaner than regular gasoline. It is also cheaper to make as the corn is grown in the Unites States, thus limiting the dependency on foreign countries. Just these reasons alone show why GMC is setting the standard with alternative vehicles. You also can’t watch a television show without seeing a commercial promoting the new greener GMC.

However, a lot of it has to do with the environment. With the global warming crisis becoming a head-on problem, companies such as GMC are trying to help out. Cars aren’t going to go away just because the earth’s average temperature is rising. GMC isn’t going to stop making vehicles either. That’s why the company offers alternative fuel vehicles, which GMC is committed to.

GMC’s website offers a ton of information on its alternative fuel vehicles such as fueling stations around the country, specs on cars and specific state requirements. Those looking for more information on the alternative fuel vehicles GMC has to offer can download brochures on each car from its website.

Let’s look at some of the specific contributions GMC has made to the alternative fuel industry.

- GMC is producing 12 E85 FlexFuel vehicles for 2008. The company plans making half of its manufactured cars E85 or biodiesel by the year 2012.

- The GMC offers many different classes of vehicles, not just tiny commuter cars. The Chevy Tahoe, Suburban are just two of the 12 cars offered. These are two large-sized SUVs.

- GMC has partnered with SmartWay to create over 1,400 fueling stations (early 2008) and only plan on creating more and more as people demand more fueling stations.

- GMC offers companies the option of buying a fleet of cars to help reduce gas emissions.

GMC is committed to helping the environment by creating less greenhouse gas emissions. It does offer other alternative options such as its Chevy Equinox Fuel Cell. The car is run on a hydrogen fuel cell and its only waste product is water, making it a truly remarkable improvement. That means no emissions, no greenhouse gases, only water.



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RyanThomas asked:


Car buyers are now opting for fuel efficient vehicles offered by different car manufacturers. This is what the Auto Alliance announced as a way to start the celebration of the National Alternative Fuel Autos Week.

The group of car makers reported that there are now 10.5 million alternative fuel vehicles on U.S. roads according to 2006 sales data from R.L Polk and Co. The data also shows that last year alone, more than 1.5 million alternative fuel vehicles were sold. The figure surpasses the expectation of the auto industry by as much as 50 percent.

Today, car makers based in the U.S. or abroad are offering 60 models of alternative fuel vehicles. These include hybrid electric vehicles, flex-fuel vehicles which can run on a combination of gasoline and bio-ethanol, and diesel engine equipped vehicles which gets its juice from biodiesel.

Dave McCurdy, the President of the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, has this to say during the announcement: “There are 10.5 million Alternative Fuel Autos on the roads and highways of every state across the country. We are happy to see that consumers are, in fact, discovering the alternatives that are available to them on dealership lots nationwide. We believe that the numbers of Alternative Fuel Autos on the roads continues to rise because consumers can choose from a variety of autos that reduce fuel use while still providing the utility, safety, performance and comfort they seek.”

While there are a lot of alternative fuel vehicle out in the market, car manufacturers are still looking for ways to develop more technology which will be employed by their vehicles to make them more fuel efficient. Alternative fuel vehicles are not the only vehicle to be produced with concern for the environment in mind though.

Conventional vehicles are also equipped with features that make them more fuel efficient and more eco-friendly. These features include fuel injectors, variable valve timing, continuously variable transmission (CVT), and exhaust filtration devices like the Nissan catalytic converter. These features allow even conventional vehicles to consume less fuel but still perform at the highest possible level.

In order to offer more fuel efficient vehicles, members of the Alliance have created partnerships with the alternative fuel industry to make alternative fuel more available to consumers. As of today, members of the Alliance have created over 25 partnerships with other industries to facilitate the development of newer alternative fuel technology.

The aim of the group is emphasized on McCurdy’s statement. “Having exceeded our sales expectations in 2006, we hope that 2007 will be another banner year for sales of Alternative Fuel Autos. This year marks the first-ever National Alternative Fuel Autos Week and automakers hope to draw more attention to the availability of these autos currently for sale.”



ROCHELLE

Alisha Dhamani asked:


If it’s a diesel, it’s an alt fuel vehicle by default. Biodiesel blends can be used in any diesel engine; however, it’s important to use the blends in accordance with the manufacturers specs. With more and more clean diesels coming on line, keep your eyes peeled for those ULSD pumps too. With fueling stations in all 50 states, it’s getting easier and easier for diesels to go cleaner and greener.

Biodiesel is a non-toxic and biodegradable fuel that is made from vegetable oils, waste cooking oil, animal fats or tall oil (a by-product from pulp and paper processing). Biodiesel is produced from these feedstocks through a process called transesterification, by reacting the oil with an alcohol (usually methanol, although ethanol can also be used) and a catalyst (such as sodium hydroxide). The resulting chemical reaction produces glycerine and an ester called biodiesel. The majority of biodiesel is produced by this method.

Compared with conventional diesel, biodiesel combusts better with a higher cetane rating and produces fewer life cycle greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) which contribute to climate change.

Biodiesel blends, a mixture of petroleum diesel and biodiesel, can be used in any diesel engine. As biodiesel can be blended with diesel in any concentration, the blend level depends on economics, availability, the desired emissions level, material compatibility and combustion characteristics.

An increasing number of Original Equipment Manufacturers are endorsing the use of lower biodiesel blends, e.g, 5% in their engines. Some manufacturers now extend warranty coverage for new diesel powered vehicles to use lower blends of biodiesel, provided the fuel meets applicable standards. Some manufacturers also provide vehicles pre-filled with biodiesel blends.

In colder climates, biodiesel tends to lose viscosity, particularly at higher blend levels. To counter this effect, changes to the feedstock source or additives may be needed to address the cold flow properties of this fuel. Research and testing is underway to reduce biodiesel production costs and address cold weather problems.

Biodiesel is considerably less flammable than petroleum diesel, which burns at 50 C (120 F). Pure biodiesel (B-100) does not ignite until 150 C (300 F). The flashpoint (the temperature at which it will ignite when exposed to a spark or flame) of a biodiesel blend falls somewhere between these temperatures, depending on the mixture.

Because biodiesel is a mild solvent it is important to wipe up spills and dispose of rags safely. Biodiesel may deface some paints if left on painted surfaces for a long time.

Hybrids are vehicles of mixed composition basically, an electric motor and an internal combustion engine. Commonly powered by a gasoline engine that generates its own electricity and stores it in an onboard battery, hybrids are a popular choice for awesome fuel economy and squeaky clean emissions.

Pure electrics offer zero emissions and plug directly into a standard AC outlet–while their range is limited, there are a selection of good choices available.

If it’s a flexible fuel vehicle (FFV) it can subsist on a diet of E85, gasoline or any percentage of the two. E85 is 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline, and burns cleaner than gasoline, contributing fewer greenhouse gas emissions.One of the cleanest burning fuels, natural gas is a common retrofit and fleet alternative fuel.

Although there are over 5 million vehicles worldwide powered by natural and compressed gas, in the United States there’s currently only one production vehicle available that comes ready to fuel up at any CNG station–but that’s not the only way to power up with CNG.

Also known as liquefied propane gas (LPG), propane powers over 10 million vehicles worldwide, with 270,000 of them on the roadways of America. Find out if it’s the fuel of choice for your set of wheels.

There are basically two ways to use hydrogen to power a vehicle burning it in an engine or using it as an energy carrier for a fuel cell. While hydrogen fuel cell vehicles are in various states of development, there are a few that have actually hit the roads.



LELA