EPA Says 1 in 4 New Vehicles Meets 2016 Emission Standards Today; 2025 is Another Issue

Apparently, meeting future emission standards shouldn’t prove too hard for auto manufacturers as one would expect. That’s because according to an Environmental Protection Agency official, one-quarter of all new vehicles today already meet federal emission standards that won’t come into effect until 2016.

Jeff Alson, senior policy advisor at the EPA Office of Transportation and Air Quality, said during an event at the agency’s Ann Arbor test facility that nearly 90 new models sold today either meet 2016 emission targets or can meet them simply with air condition improvements and no powertrain changes.

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VW gets Fizzy with New Eco Up! that can Run on Natural Gas, Biomethane or Petrol

Volkswagen has just presented a new edition of its Up! mini called "Eco", which features a modified version of the regular model's 1.0-liter three-cylinder petrol engine that can run on Compressed Natural Gas, or CNG for short.

CNG is a promising alternative fuel to gasoline that has caught up with many European consumers.

Among the many benefits of this fuel is that it has a higher energy content than petrol or diesel as 1.0 kg of natural gas is equivalent to 1.3 litres of diesel or 1.5 litres of petrol. According to VW, the energy content of 1.0 kg natural gas amounts to 11.69 kW, while the associated quantity of diesel yields 9.86 kWh and of petrol, 8.77 kWh.

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Renault Creates World's Largest Photovoltaic Network in the Auto Industry to Park its Cars Under

Renault is killing two birds with one stone with the creation of what it calls, "the world's largest photovoltaic system in the auto industry", as it will not only serve to produce electricity, but will also protect new vehicles from the elements of nature before they leave plants.

The carmaker is introducing some 40 hectares or 400,000 square meters (equal to 60 football fields) of photovoltaic panels simultaneously at six of its French production sites in Douai, Maubeuge, Flins, Batilly, Sandouville and Cléon, at delivery and shipping centers as well as employee parking areas.

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BMW 116d EfficientDynamics Records 103MPG UK – 2.7lt/100km in RAC Challenge

A latest generation BMW 116d EfficientDynamics hatch driven by the team at Green-Car-Guide at the RAC Future Car Challenge 2012 achieved an average fuel economy of 103 mpg UK (equal to 85.8 mpg US and 2.7lt/100km) over the 64-mile Brighton to London route, recording a 39 per cent improvement over the manufacturer's official 74.3mpg UK combined economy figure. Read more »

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