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Bentley Continental Supersports Concept Called Green

February 27, 2009 in Bioethanol, Consumer News, Future Cars by kristen | No comments

Bentley Continental Supersports

The Bentley Continental Supersports edition will debut at the 2009 Geneva Motor Show in March. And though it’s the fastest, most bad-ass Bentley ever built, it’s laying claims to green fame as well. The Continental Supersports will be a FlexFuel vehicle.

As part of Bentley’s commitment to reducing carbon dioxide emissions by 15% across the range of its cars, the Continental Supersports will be able to run on E85, gasoline, or a combination of the two. The company claims that this reduces “well-to-wheel” emissions by 70%. (By well-to-wheel, they mean from the moment the fuel is sourced to its refinement and delivery to when it burns in the combustion engine and releases emissions from the tailpipe.)

Bentley is basing its green claims on the hope that second-generation biofuels from 100% renewable sources like crop waste will become widely available by the time the Continental Supersports concept becomes a real, live car.

And, you know, it’s got a W12 engine that kicks out 621 bhp and has a 204-mph top speed. If you’re into that kind of thing.

Find Your Alternative Fuel Station

November 7, 2008 in Biodiesel, Bioethanol, Consumer News, EVs, Future Cars, Hydrogen, New Tech, PHEVs by kristen | 1 comment

If you’ve been considering an alternative-fuel vehicle for your next car but were wondering where on earth to fill up, look no further than the U.S. Department of Energy. That’s right — the DoE has put together a handy web site where you can search for refueling stations for just about any kind of fuel except regular, ol’ gasoline:

  • Biodiesel (B20 and above)
  • Compressed Natural Gas
  • Electric
  • Ethanol (E85)
  • Hydrogen
  • Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG)
  • Liquefied Petroleum Gas (Propane)

It should surprise no one that California leads the way in most types of alternative fuel stations. E85 is huge in the Midwest, which is another no-brainer, but biodiesel is big in Georgia and the Carolinas, which I did not know. Texas has hundreds of propane filling stations, as anyone who watches “King of the Hill” would probably guess.

There is a ton of information on the Alternative Fuels and Advanced Vehicles Data Center, and it will be a valuable resource as more alternative-fueled cars come to market in the next four years or so. Bookmark it now, folks, and tell all your friends who love green cars.

Interstate 65 Is a “Biofuels Corridor”

October 24, 2008 in Biodiesel, Bioethanol, Consumer News, diesel by kristen | No comments

Interstate 65, now a biofuels corridor

This month Interstate 65, which runs from Gary, Indiana, to Mobile, Alabama, become America’s first biofuels corridor, with help from the U.S. Energy Department, General Motors, and the Ethanol Promotion and Information Council. What does a biofuels corridor mean for drivers? It means that there are dozens of stations along I-65 offering E85 (85% ethanol, 15% gasoline) or B20 (20% biodiesel, 80% regular diesel), each spaced no more than a quarter tank apart.

The idea is less romantic than Route 66, but far more practical and forward-thinking. The route covers four states: Indiana, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Alabama. Seems like the perfect place to try out your new $2.4-million Koenigsegg CCXR supercar, which runs on E85. It could do this route from stem to stern in a cool three and a half hours.

Photo by peggydavis66.

Convert Your Car to E85 and Find Fueling Stations

September 29, 2008 in Bioethanol, Consumer News by kristen | No comments

Drive Flex Fuel stickerDriveFlexFuel.com sells conversion kits for cars, trucks, RVs, motorcycles, and boats so that they can run on E85, gasoline, or a combination of the two. The kits are available for any fuel-injected engine (which covers a lot of ground) for a few hundred bucks.

As a hypothetical demonstration, I’ll use my little red GMC pickup truck. The picture of this particular conversion kit looks intimidating: a box with a lengths of “plug and play” connectors coiled around it. It’s available for less than $400, though, which seems like a bargain. (They also have kits for the likes of your 12-cylinder Ferraris and Aston Martins for about $700.)

Like most other alternative-fuel web sites, there’s a carbon footprint calculator, which tells me that I’m emitting nearly 5,000 pounds of CO2 annually (the EPA estimator says I’m putting out more like 6,000 pounds. Either way, it’s not great). By using an E85 converter from Drive Flex Fuel, though, I could reduce my annual CO2 emissions by more than a ton. Intriguing.

Where to gas up, though? Using the zip code where my little red truck lives in Portland, Oregon, Drive Flex Fuel came up with eight locations within 50 miles. Two of these, though, were for government vehicles only, and a few seemed to be for commercial vehicles, not passenger vehicles.

This seems like a project for experienced home mechanics only — not a DIY weekend deal, unless you’re converting a non-essential car just for kicks. But if you’ve got the greasemonkey chops and want to green your ride, this seems like a relatively inexpensive and easy way to do it.

“Green” Flag Drops October 4 at American Le Mans

September 27, 2008 in Uncategorized by kristen | No comments

Let this serve as your reminder to set the TiVo: The first-ever Green Challenge will take place at the Petit Le Mans race at Road Atlanta October 4. The American Le Mans Series has taken the lead for alternative fuels in professional racing, and it will showcase the strides that have been made in go-fast green cars at its race within a race.

I’ve blogged about the race before, so this is just a recap. Race teams running alternative fuels for the 2008 season include:

  • GT1 Class — Corvette Racing, E85
  • G2 Class — Aston Martin V8 Vantage, E85
  • LMP1 Class — Intersport Racing’s Lola, E85
  • P1 Class — Audi R10, clean diesel

Photo by Dave Hamster.

ALMS Green Challenge Race

August 7, 2008 in Bioethanol, MPG, diesel, racing by kristen | 1 comment

E85 CorvettesYou, Citizen Driver, are not the only one who cringes every time you fill the gas tank or feels  a pang of guilt when your car belches those nasty emissions out the tailpipe. The American Le Mans Series of racing professionals knows your pain. That’s why it’s instituting the Green Challenge at its signature event, the Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta, scheduled for October 4.

Three factors will be considered in naming a winner of this race-within-a-race:

  • Performance (of course — this is a race)
  • Fuel Efficiency
  • Environmental Impact

Cars will be ranked by the amount of energy they use, the greenhouse gases they emit, and the amount of gasoline they displace over the course of the race. Which boils down to going as far as they can, as fast as they can, with the least environmental impact.

ALMS has been taking steps all season to lessen the environmental impact of racing. GM, Audi, and others have introduced race cars running on alternative fuels like E85 and clean diesel. You can bet those teams will be vying for the Green Challenge title. Race fans and consumers are winners in this event, too, as technological innovations on the track often trickle down to cars on the showroom floor.

Even NASCAR is dipping a toe in the clean-and-green waters. Michigan International Speedway, which hosts two NASCAR events during the season, stepped up its recycling efforts this year. During the Lifelock 400 weekend in June alone, MIS collected 15.3 tons of aluminum, plastic, and cardboard. They’re even recycling construction materials from some recent upgrades to the facilities, and they’ve instituted an office recycling program.

Eco-friendlier fuels, recycling … What is auto racing coming to? Oh, right. Its senses.