MSNBC reports on dismal sales of the overhyped Dual Mode Yukotahoe Hybrid, currently running hundreds of units per month. Given its $50k+ price tag and complete lack of wiggle room on price (especially compared to its non-hybrid counterparts), this comes as little surprise in the extremely price-sensitive US market. Unfortunately GM and their hybrid transmission factory, projected sales were 10-15k units this year. That's not quite as bad as TTAC's whipping boy (the Cadillac BLS), but underutilized capacity is a Very Bad Thing in this economic climate. What does this mean for the upcoming Saturn Vue Dual Mode Hybrid? It's estimated $30k price tag just might be the sweet spot. Or not. GM's losing ground in the hybrid SUV race on a daily basis. In the Yukotahoe Hybrid's price range, Toyota's already sold 5,553 Lexus RX 400h's this year. And in the Vue's venue, they've sold 8,889 Highland Hybrids. Even Ford is leaving them in the dust, with 7,132 Escape and Mariner Hybrids out the door since January 1.  

Concerned that demand for "green cars" could be fueling marketing gimmickry more than real improvements, Auto Express UK ran a test of seven supposedly low-carbon cars (full results not available online) with interesting results. The Times Online reports the test revealed that several vehicles perform much worse in the real world than their manufacturers claim (and repeat ad nauseum in marketing material). One such offender is the VW Polo BlueMotion, which was launched as "Britain's cleanest car" with a claimed C02 output of under 100g/km. In the Auto Express, the Polo failed to achieve its lofty benchmark, and received low scores. Honda's Civic Hybrid has a claimed C02 emission of 109g/km, but in testing it delivered 171g/km, enough to bump it into a higher carbon tax category. The Lexus GS450h claims an impressive 35.8 mpg, but delivered only 26.7 mpg in Auto Express' tests. Ford's ECOnetic 1.6 diesel Focus returned about 45 mpg, a good 20 mpg off the 65.6 mpg claimed by the manufacturer, although carbon output is decreased compared to standard Ford diesels. In short, carbon emissions and fuel efficiency are almost universally overestimated and hyped in marketing efforts. While EPA ratings are often better than anyone receives on the road, we don't base vehicle taxes on carbon output. With tax incentives in place for less-polluting cars, Britain's government will probably want better verification of actual C02 output levels going forward.

Green Car Congress reports on a recent test of the Merritt Unthrottled Spark Ignition Combustion (MUSIC) engine by Powertrain Technologies. "MUSIC is an un-throttled, high thermal efficiency, lean-burn, spark ignition system that uses an indirect combustion chamber to produce charge stratification by means of controlled air management" the unelected reporters reveal. In laypersons terms, a trick cylinder head with an external combustion chamber and twin injectors were fitted to a 2.0 Ford Duratec engine, allowing more efficient fuel-air mixtures and (diesel-like) unthrottled operation from idle to full load. There's no sense in trying to break down the technology any further, because it's complicated enough to make HCCI look like the Flintstone car. The upshot: the MUSIC engine delivered 20 percent better efficiency than a standard Duratec in the urban cycle, with an even better 42.5 percent improvement at near idle speeds. The downside? Power is cut nearly in half, delivering only 50 hp (from a two liter engine) at 4k rpm. Developers claim their results could improve with better injection equipment, but add the cost and reliability issues and you have a yourself a hefty engineering to-do list before this technology hits the streets. 

Unless you don't live, breathe and sleep auto industry goss, you know high gas prices and a construction industry slowdown have killed sales of full-size pickups. Not a moment too soon, Ford is developing a new, more efficient pickup to fit between the F150 and the Ranger. Dubbed the P525, the lighter vehicle's based on the F150 frame, likely powered by one of Ford's new Ecoboost turbocharged V6s. "Sources" tell Automotive News [sub] that the pickup (which could carry the old F100 nameplate) is in Ford's product cycle plan, awaiting final approval. Will this new pickup will replace the Ranger, which could go out of production when Ford's Twin Cities plant shuts down in 2009? Hell if I know. But with revised CAFE regs looming, the new pickup is more likely to replace the F150 as Ford's volume truck (the current F150 returns between 13 and 20 mpg depending on trim). If the P525 graduates from development, expect "unique sheet metal and innovative storage space." We'll be a little more concerned with the weight and miles per gallon.

Green Car Congress reports that GM will offer two new engines in 2009, based on its global Ecotec four-cylinder architecture. The 1.4-liter direct-injection turbocharged four-banger and 1.6-liter Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) turbocharged four-cylinder will debut in "Europe and other regions." The Euro 5 compliant 1.4-liter four will offer between 120 and 140 hp and eight percent better fuel consumption than a higher displacement naturally-aspirated engine with similar output. Direct injection and independently-variable camshafts account for much of the improved efficiency, and provide a platform onto which GM's HCCI technology can be transferred. The 1.6-liter CNG mill should pump out about 150 hp and 155 lb/ft of torque. This announcement cements the trend towards smaller engines with forced induction, as championed by Ford's forthcoming Ecoboost line of turbocharged mills. Although we're not holding our breath to see GM launch a sub-two liter engine in the U.S., the 1.4-liter engine would likely make the Cobalt or the Aveo a force to be reckoned with– at least in terms of fuel economy.

Break out your recyclable paper party hats! Toyota's just sold it's one millionth sorta cute, kinda ugly sensible hatchback with Hybrid Synergy Drive. While the Prius is not quite the Model T (Henry Ford the Senior sold 501,462 Tin Lizzies in 1915 alone), a million vehicles sold in ten (or eleven) years is nothing to scoff at– at least these days (cough Lutz cough Ghosn). Right now, sales are jumping. In April, Priora sales rose 66.6 percent vs. last April. Year-to-date, they're up 22.6 percent. Happily (for Toyota), Priora are also selling like hot, gas/battery-powered hotcakes in Europe, where sales ascended by nearly 33 percent. Japanese Priora sales are up 24.5 percent. ToMoCo's press release calculates that the 1m hybrids silently cruising all over blind pedestrians the world have cut 4.5m tons of CO2 emissions compared to regular vehicles (et tu, Sequoia?). The Moving Forward folk claim that they'll be selling 1m hybrid vehicles per year. Chevy's Volt? Not so much.

Regular readers should know by now that Autoblog Green will say nice things about anything that it considers "green enough." But as chic as it may be at the moment, the "green at all costs" posture has its downsides, particularly when you end up saying that the demise of the Bajaj three-wheeler is "unfortunate." Then again, maybe there really is something to be said for third-world three wheelers, because now ABG is all thrilled about the prospect of another pedicab special, this time from Thai firm Tuk Tuk, hitting the US market. The Tuk Tuk is currently undergoing EPA and NHTSA testing to see if the mainstay of Bangkok's taxi industry is ready for U.S. sales. And yes, for those who must know, the two-stroke engine which gave the Tuk Tuk it's goofy name is staying in the developing world where it belongs, to be replaced for American duty by either a 200cc or 650cc liquid-cooled four-stroke. It will be offered in a variety of body styles, for passenger, cargo or truck duty. The three-wheeled oddity may even be offered with an LPG drivetrain, which is sure to have the eco-friendly ice cream vendors lined up around the block.

California's Air Resources Board (CARB) has been a Detroit boogeyman for some time, occupying the angry, bitter section of auto exec's hearts (normally reserved for the UAW and the folks who control Japan's currency). But The Detroit News reports that tensions may be easing between the industry and the the California cloudchasers. CARB Chairwoman Mary Nichols told reporters at the Society for Automotive Engineers (SAE) Government/Industry session that the board is considering modifying California's emissions controls to become regional, rather than statewide rules. Details are still emerging as to what exactly just what the Hell that means. And that means the thaw in relations is largely rhetorical, with the industry accepting that CARB regulations are basically unstoppable and CARB reaching out to quell manufacturer and dealer concerns. "We can have a national fuel economy policy and still allow California a role as a laboratory for innovative approaches to reducing carbon dioxide emissions," says Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers President Dave McCurdy, stressing that a national approach is better. Nichols, for her part, says the regulations will entail only "a small increase in costs" and "a little bit of creative repackaging." Meanwhile, Green Car Congress reports that California's Pavely regulations would reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 41 percent more than new CAFE standards, if applied nationally. How great is that?

Who do you think is doing the greatest damage to the US dollar? The Chinese? The European Union? OPEC? Brace yourself – it's you, every time you press the gas pedal on your gas-guzzler. With today's oil prices, US oil imports represent $1.5b per day leaving the country — make that $548bn per year. "This represents the single largest contribution to America's balance-of-payments deficit, and is a leading cause for the dollar's ongoing drop in value," writes Michael T Klare, author of "Rising Powers, Shrinking Planet," over at Tomdispatch.com. Hindsight is 20/20, but things would have been a lot different if the automakers had realized where things were headed, when things were headed that way. Meanwhile, motorists unlucky enough to be stuck with land barges are seeing second-hand values take a torpedo in the bow. Yes – gripe, gripe, gripe. But this is serious. If T. Boone Pickens is right, the price of oil is going Polar North, which means the dollar is headed for the antipodes. Klare thinks the yearly US tab for gas could easily reach three quarters of a trillion dollars soon. Do the patriotic thing. Go easy on the pedal, will you?

There's a new boss in Motor City, and it ain't Mr. Cubic Inches. Carmaker doing business stateside are increasingly adopting third (or is it fourth?) generation turbochargers to create smaller, more efficient gasoline engines– and satisfy new, stricter federal fuel economy regs. For example, VW's new TSI mill combines excellent fuel economy with good performance and so-so driveability. The Passat 1.4-liter TSI cranks out 122hp; enough to propel Wolfsburg's warrior from zero to 60mph in 10.4 sec. This while achieving 36 mpg (European model, U.S. gallons, EU testing cycle). Suppliers are scurrying to build blowers. BorgWarner's constructing new turbo-making facilities in Mexico and Thailand; and expanding facilities in Hungary and Poland. Their goal: increase its passenger car turbocharger manufacturing capacity by more than three million units. Rival Continental is set to open a new turbocharger factory in 2011, making 100k spinners a year. Is whistling the new burble?

The AP (via NPR) reports that Ford plans to put six-speed automatic transmissions (AT) into 98 percent of its North American vehicles by 2012. Ford's seductively-named "6F35" transmission is the technological fruit of a $720m joint development effort between Ford and GM. Ford claims the new automatics– debuting in the ‘09 Escape and Mercury and Lincoln clones– offer four to six percent better fuel economy than their current four- and five-speed equivalents. Craig Renneker, Ford's chief engineer for the slushboxes, admits that "these technologies are all about fuel economy." No, wait! Ford VP Barb Samardzich is a bit more PR-savvy: "They also deliver improved acceleration and smoother shifting," she adds. Anyway, you can thank the 35mpg fleet average CAFÉ standards for the additional cog. "With today's high gas prices, the decision to deploy these across virtually
the entire Ford lineup comes at a good time."

Green Car Congress reports that GM is road testing a Saturn Aura equipped with a homogeneous charge compression ignition (HCCI) engine. HCCI technology compresses a lean air-fuel mixture in the cylinder, which ignites without spark plugs, creating low-temperature, flameless combustion. GM says HCCI combustion reduces NOX and particulate emissions and offers 15 percent better fuel efficiency. The 2.2-liter modified ECOTEC engine is set up to use traditional spark ignition when starting, driving over 55mph and other low-temperature or high-load circumstances. It switches to HCCI mode for most driving. The modified mill makes 180hp and 170 lb/ft of torque, with additional help from direct injection, variable valve lift, dual electric camshaft phasers and individual cylinder pressure transducers to "control the combustion as well as deliver a smooth transition between combustion modes." Props to GM for developing technology which doesn't require them to reinvent the wheel battery, but it'll be a while before HCCI is ready for prime time. That said, direct injection– as seen on the new Porsche Cayenne and other, more prosaic VeeDubs– had a rocky start.

Chevy has its Cobalt XFE, VW its special Polo Bluemotion edition. And now Ford has joined the party, at least in Europe with a special edition Focus called ECOnetic. Manufacturers are getting this down to a bit of a formula and that's a very good thing. Better bumpers, more flush wheel covers, lower resistance tires, and in this case "lower viscosity transmission fluid" all contribute to the mileage and CO2 improvements. The benefit? Fifty-five American miles per gallon on the combined cycle (though their testing methods are considerably more forgiving than American fuel economy standards) and low enough CO2 emissions that the car will be exempt from London's congestion charge. The secret, of course, is that Ford's Focus 1.6 diesel already qualifies for exemption, but don't tell the advertising guys. Still, this is unfortunate news that perhaps the market can adapt to more intense fuel and emissions standards, albeit with limited run special edition versions of existing cars. And no, for the last time, we can't have the Euro Focus in America for a few more years because Ford hates each and every one of us.

Toyota's iQ city car is coming to Europe next year, competing in the "small but premium" category. (Translation: Toyota's pricing the not-so-mighty midget be priced between Fiat's 500 and BMW's MINI.) But the folks at Autocar UK thought that Toyota was too smart to develop a unique platform for just one car, so they asked "senior sources" if there was more iQ to come. Too right, mate. ToMoCo will also use the iQ platform on a (somewhat) larger car, which will compete with VW's forthcoming up! city car. Meanwhile the iQ will not be offered in hybrid trim; Toyota's boffins reckon a hybrid drivetrain would be too heavy. Thus the Yamaha-sourced one-liter, two-cylinder motorcycle engine (what, no R1 mill?) equipped with start-stop technology, and a diesel. Sometimes the highest IQs favor the simplest solutions. And the worst jokes.

Finance and Commerce reports that it was a close-run thing– 20 to 18. But despite strenuous lobbying by Minnesota's ethanol industry,  the state's finance committee recommended adopting California's controversial car emissions standards. For one year. John Tuma, a lobbyist for the Minnesota Environmental Partnership, was a happy camper. Ish. "[For now,] consumers are going to be paying for vehicles that are not as fuel efficient as they could be so they will be paying more at the gas pump. And [there will be] more global warming pollution for a year. But it puts [standards] in place and that’s a step forward." [The bracket brigade in in da house!] Chris Radatz, director of public policy for the E85 FlexFuel-lovin' Minnesota Farm Bureau, is not so happy with The Gopher State's Clean Car Act. "“We’re depending on a state to set standards that has a whole different infrastructure,” Radatz said, referring to CA's lack of corn juice pumps. To placate the E85 crowd, a last-minute amendment stipulated a [taxpayer-funded] study of how the bill would affect the availability of flex-fuel vehicles. Availability as in sales? You betcha! Look for this legislation to fall on the floor and flop like a fish.