Nissan chief wary of hybrids
Evidence of sales slowdown shows gasoline savings may not justify extra cost, he says
By Associated Press | April 13, 2006
NEW YORK — Nissan Motor Co.’s chief executive, Carlos Ghosn, said he feels vindicated that hybrids could be seeing a sales slowdown, since he has repeatedly warned it’s too early to fully back the technology.
Read the whole article here.
Carlos Ghosn was recently named by Barron’s Magazine one of the world’s 100 Best CEO’s
Why: Saving two fabled auto makers.
After spearheading an extraordinary turnaround at Japan’s Nissan Motor, Carlos Ghosn, 52, is attempting an encore with the hurting Renault, whose operating profit plunged by a third in ‘05.
The Brazilian-born Ghosn — who took the French car maker’s reins last May and remains CEO of Nissan, which is 44% owned by Renault — has announced a sweeping restructuring.
His goal: a Renault revival without job cuts. This is France, after all. Ghosn intends to cut non-labor manufacturing costs 12%, boost capacity utilization, introduce 26 new models, and expand sales into South America, India, Iran and South Korea. If anyone can do it, it’s Ghosn. — V. J. R
Perhaps Mr. Ghosn is looking for a hybrid engine that didn’t require expensive batteries and controls, was more fuel effecient, powerful and economically friendly than today’s gas-electic models?
Edmunds
Inside Line Report
IL Reports: Engineers Say Gasoline Engine Isn’t Dead
DETROIT — Those who think gasoline is about to go the way of the dinosaur should take note of a strong effort by many firms to prove gas still has its place in the automotive mix.
Millions are being spent trying to squeeze more and more efficiency from traditional engines. Many of these were on display at the 2006 Society of Automotive Engineers World Congress here earlier this month.
Take, for example, the Scuderi Split-Cycle Air-Hybrid Engine, which offers promise for more efficiency, greater performance and lower emissions from piston engines. The Scuderi Group claims its design will reduce emissions by 80 percent, triple fuel economy and enhance power output compared to current gasoline and diesel engines.
You can read the full article here.
You can learn more about how the Scuderi Air Hybrid engine works by visiting Scuderi’s web site.
Business Week
Hybrid Talk: Big Auto Bandies the H Word
Despite the buzz that they’ll save money and the environment, many of today’s hybrids aren’t as fuel efficient as they pretend to be.
Hybrids used to be the environmentalists’ great shining hope for combating auto pollution, greenhouse gas emissions, and gas guzzling. Those were the romance days for hybrids, the first two or three years following their introduction in 2000. But the honeymoon is over. With the emergence of performance-oriented hybrids and ultra-mild hybrid systems, environmentalists now see the technology as one more example of how Big Auto has hoodwinked consumers into believing their products are as green as they can possibly get.
The big issue for the environmentalists is the so-called Pavley Law.
The regulation, which could affect as much as 30% of the U.S. market (not just California), would be phased in from 2009 to 2016. It would require the auto industry to cut greenhouse gas emissions from its new fleets by approximately 30%.
The auto industry response to the law is,
that greenhouse gas restrictions are a surrogate for fuel economy, because increasing fuel efficiency is the only effective way to reduce the amount of carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere. Therefore, they claim, California is trying to regulate fuel economy standards, which only can be established at the federal level. Otherwise, they argue, manufacturers would have to produce vehicles based on two or more different emissions standards. (In fact, tailpipe emissions are already set at the state level.)
You can read the whole article here.
Detroit Free Press
A FAMILY’S INVENTION: Engine could advance hybrids
Split-cycle model may cut costs, double mileage
“We’re basically preserving technology that’s been around for a century, but we’ve tweaked it a bit and made it better,” Sal Scuderi said.
Ahead of the pack
Even though they won’t have a working prototype until next year, the Scuderis have:
# Verified their unique engine ideas with outside experts.
# Raised $8 million to fund their company.
# Patented their designs in 45 countries.
The moves put them several steps ahead of the parade of engine inventors who have made pilgrimages to Detroit over the years touting engineering breakthroughs.
Most leave empty-handed, but the Scuderis believe Carmelo Scuderi’s ideas are too compelling to ignore.
To read more about what makes the Scuderi air hybrid engine so compelling, you can find the rest of the article here..
For even more information, check out the Scuderi Group’s web site.
US Secretary of Energy pushes ethanol, electric cars and hydrogen cells at SAE
Ultimately, Bodman said, electric cars and hydrogen fuel cells are the answer to the country’s energy problems. Hydrogen produces more energy than other fuels but no harmful emissions.
General Motors Corp. scientist Candace Wheeler said no single alternative fuel will end the nation’s dependence on foreign oil, since the United States uses 140 billion gallons of fuel a year.
“It’s going to take a number of different fuels,” Wheeler said.
Over the next three years, the federal government plans to award $50 million worth of grants to universities, national laboratories and private companies researching hydrogen. The program, aimed at developing vehicles that run can more than 300 miles on a single fill-up of hydrogen, furthers the Bush administration’s goal of commercializing fuel cells by 2020.
