Always be suspicious of peace announcements coming from Munich. Oh, wait… make that Stuttgart. I mean Großaspach. Anyway, AMG’s boss has been wondering where all the hydrocarbons have gone (long time passing). Volker Mornhinweg tells Autocar that “the horsepower war is over.” Luckily, it turns out that there are more ways to massively inflate a Mercedes price tag than just dialing up the horsepower. The new emphasis for AMG’s tuning efforts: weight saving, engine optimisation and alternative technologies. For example the new E63 AMG ( with “only” 550hp) will offer an optional, efficiency-improving manual wet-clutch gearbox. That’s the unit first seen on the SL63. Woo. Hoo. AMG also hints that smaller diesel, hybrid and four-cylinder models could be in the cards. But don’t call it eco-appeasement; the move may be more about finding some branding lebensraum. Daimler’s anschluss with Aston Martin, the emergence of AMG’s Black series and the persistence of Maybach are simply pushing AMG’s mainstream offerings in a less power-crazed (and carbon-intensive) direction.
Category: Fuel Economy
The federal bailout bucks propping-up GM and Chrysler’s bankrupt businesses come with political strings attached– that will turn into piano wire with each successive snuffle at the trough. And so it begins… Yesterday’s New York Times editorial called for higher federally mandated fuel economy standards. “[Now that Bush is history] The Obama administration now has a free hand to set its own standards that will save consumers money at the pump, reduce oil dependency and greenhouse gases, and help make the American car companies more competitive. The 2007 energy bill required new cars and trucks to meet a fleetwide average of 35 miles per gallon by 2020, a 40 percent increase over today’s average of 25 m.p.g. Congress intended this as a floor, not a ceiling, and ordered the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to write specific regulations.” Uh-oh…
Mercedes failed to meet US-market CAFE standards in 2008 and paid a $28.9m fine in December for it, reports the Freep. VW also paid the NHTSA a fine of $4.5m in August for light truck violations, while Porsche paid $1.2m and Ferrari coughed up a $1.1m to flout CAFE through 2008. But the Mercedes fine, which came to light in a recently-released NHTSA document, is the second largest in CAFE history. DaimlerChrysler AG remains the king of CAFE failure, having paid a record $30.3m in eco-indulgences for its 2006 imported product line. Which consisted primarily of of Mercedes models. Is it any wonder then that, as Bertel noted just a few days ago, Daimler is catching the hybrid fever?
George W Bush is inspiring another round of “kick the can/punt the ball” criticisms today by delaying a decision on 2011-2015 CAFE rules until after Obama takes office. “The recent financial difficulties of the automobile industry will require the next administration to conduct a thorough review of matters affecting the industry, including how to effectively implement,” explains a Department of Transportation statement reported in Automotive News [sub]. Current energy policy requires a 35 mpg fleet average by 2020, a 40 percent increase over the current standard of 27.5 mpg for cars and 23.1 mpg for light trucks. Considerable controversy exists over how quickly to ramp up to that standard, as the expense to automakers competes with environmentalist agendas for political sympathy. Since Obama will end up with the final say on the current (and future) auto bailouts, CAFE-setting power will give him another bargaining chip with Detroit. He just has to make a CAFE decision by the April 1 deadline. Unless of course he scraps CAFE in favor of a carbon or gas tax. In any case, it’s just a little more uncertainty to swirl on an auto industry future that is already as clear as mud.
Jaguar XF Diesel S – 3.0 V6 with 271 hp, 442 lb/ft of torque. Will do 0-60 in 5.9, rated at 35 MPG (US) average. A 236 hp version of the same 3.0 liter engine will be available.
Not for North America. (Consolation prize: we will get the 5.0 liter Supercharged gasoline V8 with 503 hp next year). Full embargo-broken press release after the jump.
Hyundai just released some pricing info and specs on the surprisingly decent looking Elantra “Touring,” which is essentially just a 5-door hatch version of the professionally mediocre Elantra sedan. What really sticks is the EPA fuel economy, rated at 23 city and either 30 or 31 highway with the manual or automatic, respectively. We’re still talking about a four-cylinder “compact” car here, and despite the weight of size and safety equipment, I am surprised. Hyundai’s own Sonata — with another 40 horses vs. the Elantra — has virtually the same EPA ratings. Sure, we like to trot out the Corvette as an example of a high mileage powerful car, but there are at least a dozen other examples of cars with way more power (and metal) than the Elantra touring and better fuel economy. My 2004 Honda Accord V6, which was a rather portly cruiser, returned 31 mpg on the highway. And yet, the Elantra isn’t unique. Saturn’s Astra, with a 1.8 liter engine, only musters 24/32. The Mazda3 is in the same league. Some of the more efficient cars in this segment can deliver 35 miles per gallon highway – cars like the Corolla, Focus, Civic, and Cobalt XFE. But solely from a fuel economy standpoint, I have a hard time justifying even these better ones, when their bigger counterparts like the Camry, Fusion, Accord, and Malibu offer reasonably close numbers, especially on the highway. It leaves me wondering why, when the Fusion gets 32 mpg highway from its four cylinder, we don’t have a Ford compact car with a gasoline engine that gets 38 mpg highway. But them’s the breaks.
Don’t worry. The economy won’t hurt you. It just wants you to have some fun. To prove it, the price of gas continues to fall, now averaging $1.66/gallon according to USA Today. Officially, the last time prices were this low was in 2004, and prices are still dropping after hitting an all-time high this June at $4.11/gallon. The government’s weekly gas and fuel price update shows prices are at their lowest in the Gulf Coast and Rocky Mountain regions. Diesel prices are falling as well, hitting a national average of $2.42/gallon. Help keep downward pressure on fuel prices by finding the lowest local prices (with help from your federal government) here. And if you’ve got a dime you can listen to your V8 tonight. Freaky!
“The (2009 PDK) Porsche Carrera covered about 190 kilometres/118 miles of the total route on country roads and 30 kilometres/19 miles in city traffic, with the remaining distance on the Autobahn. The car’s tank was filled up prior to and after the test drive by a certified inspector of the German DEKRA Car Inspection Authority, who also sealed the fuel tank and the engine compartment in the process. Under normal traffic conditions, with the headlights switched on, and with rain from time to time, the driver sought to keep the car’s engine speed between 1,800 and 2,000 rpm, with a road speed between 90 and 130 km/h (56 – 81 mph). The average speed achieved in the process was 84 km/h or 52 mph.”
If you journey to the Detroit Auto Show this winter, you will get a chance to see the new Mercedes A and B Class models. I know, I know. Who cares, right? (No points for guessing Automotive News [sub]) Especially since the Benz Boys will be headlining their Concept BlueZero hybrid/alt-fuel roadshow at the wasteland formerly known as the Detroit Auto Show. But did you know that all of those fancy futuremobiles will be based on the “sandwich board” platform which first debuted in production on the original A-Class? Apparently it makes for a lot of flexibility with powertrain choices. The new A and B will ditch the intriguing but space-limiting concept for a standard FWD layout, but at least the B and “likely” the A as are headed stateside sometime in 2011. Absent a GM bankruptcy-triggered end of times, of course. And though we won’t be in Detroit to snap our own photos of these Euro-hatches (right, boss?), their American ambitions bring up a wrinkle on the stimulating discussion on our national ambivalence towards compact cars. Read More >
The NY Times explores one of the great riddles of the automotive world today, namely Detroit’s near-pathological inability to consistently produce quality compact cars. Scribe Rob Sass revisits the development of American compacts, and concludes that in addition to being hurt by low historic concern for fuel economy, compacts “had the bad luck of being produced by chronically undercapitalized independent automakers. These compacts were not particularly thrifty, had no distinctive engineering features and rather than being stylish but sensible, they were simply cheap and frumpy.” And as appealing as many classic American compacts now are as collectibles, the argument rings true.
Hyundai has apprently learned nothing about vehicle marketing in the last five years. What they are supposed to do is develop overly-complicated high-efficiency models, put lots of eco-friendly badges on them, advertise them at rest in an unspoiled natural envrionment, and then charge people through the nose for them. Instead, they’re taking existing models, improving their efficiency with low-tech fixes, and selling them for even less money than the normal versions. Whatever they’re putting in the water over at Hyundai HQ, it’s making for some dangerously common-sense business decisions. The Car Connection reports that Hyundai started with normal Elantra and Accents to create their new “Blue” line of improved-efficiency sedans, and then decontented them to save weight, lowered them to improve aero performance and fitted low rolling resistance tires. Sure, this means you’ll get no a/c and no power anything, and you’ll probably suffer through some horrendous ride quality and handling, thanks to the tweaked suspension and crummy tires, but these are small prices to pay for saving the world. And not being the only family on the block with a Prius. GM has tried a similar approach to fuel efficiency with its Cobalt XFE, but its underpromotion is keeping it MIA from market success. No word yet on pricing or availability for Hyundai’s Blue line, but if they avoid the XFE’s mistakes, this should be a fairly popular option for the budget automaker.
This is what happens when a company makes more money by playing the markets than by selling product: the financial guys take over. In the good old days, Porsche made smallish, nimble cars that had great SPM and MPG ratings (the former being smiles per mile). Nowadays, Porsches are no longer small, but still manage to be desirable to car enthusiasts, Yuppie moms and pimps alike. With few exceptions, Porsches have always delivered a unique package of intuitive steering, a great soundtrack, a tractable engine with a wide power band, fantastic brakes and everyday reliability. Did somebody at Porsche explain “well, four outta six ain’t half bad” when the question was asked whether the “soundtrack” and “wide power band” parts are dispensable? We ask this since Porsche announced that for the first time ever, it will be using Diesels. Spiegel Online reports from Februrary 2009 onwards, European markets will enjoy (not!) Cayennes fitted the VW 3.0 TDI engine I kinda liked (and disliked) in the Audi Q7. It is not a bad engine, as it has more torque than the basic gasoline version. But it does make the Cayenne seem even more like an overpriced Touareg on steroids, which is saying something, since the Touareg is kinda like an overpriced Passat on stilts. More data for Chuck Goolsbee: 244g CO2; 550NM; 25.3 MPG according to EU ratings; €56k. Porsche thinks it needs this one because of CO2 regulations, until it gets its hybrid up and running. We suspect the real reason is that German Cayanne sales are down 13% this year.
Recently-increased emissions standards (along with CAFE requirements) have received quite a bit of attention from Detroit’s blame-everyone-but-us squad. But bailout-begging agendas aside, just how hard are the new(ish) EPA standards to meet? Not that hard at all, according to an EPA report covered by Green Car Congress. The Office Of Transportation and Air Quality’s Report on Engine and Vehicle Compliance (pdf) for 2007 shows that the overwhelming majority of vehicles on the market actually meet or pass the EPA’s Tier Two Bin Five standard in current form. In fact, most US-market cars and light trucks currently boast a 46 to 90 percent compliance margin, meaning the amount by which they actually exceed EPA requirements. Under the EPA regime, models which “over-comply” with standards earn their makers credits which can be applied to under-conforming models. Of the 40-odd manufacturers on the market, five (Ford, Honda, Hyundai, Kia, and Toyota) had a positive Tier Two emission limit credit balance for 2007, while only Aston Martin carried a net-negative credit balance. The credit-positive firms tended to certify most of their vehicles at Bin Five levels, while adding a few sub-Bin Five (higher standard) vehicles to gain credits. Those which merely met the standard certified at a mix of Bin levels which added up to an average of Bin Five. That wasn’t so hard, was it?
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