MotorAuthority has it on good, um, authority that Fiat will be offering gas and diesel-electric hybrid drivetrains by 2011. Research on the powerplants is still in the early stages, says Fiat Powertrain Technologies honcho Alfredo Altavilla, and the 2011 timetable could still be delayed if the development team runs into problems. The engines are said to be a 0.9 liter two-cylinder gas-hybrid with a dual-clutch transmission, and a larger 2.3 liter diesel-hybrid four-banger. European emissions standards are clearly the motivating factor here, and the tiny gas burner is expected to weigh in at 90g of CO2 per km driven, well below 2012 European Commission standards. With Fiat jumping on the greentech bandwagon, there's only one other major industry trend that the Italian giant has yet to announce its approach to: the demand boom from the developing world. And just like that, Paul Tan reports that Fiat is planning a new entry-level world car to be released by 2010. There's speculation that it may not be branded as a Fiat (no word on whether the boffins think an entry-level car would hurt the brand, or visa-versa) but the Torino firm could pull out the old Uno or Palio badges too. With its close ties to India's Tata Motors, Fiat could be placed to compete in the nosebleed market. We'll be watching.

Environmental issues have topped cost reduction as the major concern for the auto industry for the first time according to a survey by DuPont and the Society of the Automotive Industry (SAE) [via CNN Money]. The survey of automotive designers and engineers picked a basket of challenges– from CAFE standards to emissions controls– as the industry's top concern, unseating cost reduction after 14 years. Fifty-three percent of those polled selected environmental concerns vs. 32 percent who went with cost reduction, Some 54 percent also say consumers are most concerned with improvements in fuel efficiency; only 37 percent think improved comfort and convenience float purchasers' semi-metaphorical boat. In less surprising news, alternative fuel-powered vehicles were named as the technology with the greatest impact on the car industry for the fifth year running. Biofuels and weight reductions also climbed in importance in this year's poll, completing the snapshot of an industry in transition.

Remember Ford's promise to improve SUV fuel economy by 25 percent by 2005? Or the one about building a quarter-million hybrids by 2010? Well, the Detroit Free Press reports that The Blue Oval Boyz are at it again. FoMoCo's pledged to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from its U.S. and European vehicles (no mention of Chinese or Australian models) by 30 percent by 2020. So what makes them think they can keep this promise? Better modeling, says Ford's VP for sustainability, environment and safety engineering. "We started this 'modeling' three years ago" Sue Cishcke reveals. "And that's given us confidence to be able to say what our thinking and blueprint and plan is, and how it's aligning with the regulations." Of course, meeting the new Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards will increase fuel efficiency by 40 percent– and reduce greenhouse emissions drastically. And when do these new regs go into effect? Why it's 2020! What a coincidence.

We weren't the only ones giving Toyota grief about their $20m contribution to the Audubon Society. The Green Company That Also Sells Gas-Guzzlin' Trucks has gone on the defensive after readers of their Open Road blog castigated the Japanese automaker for the largesse. It seems the National Audubon Society is one of the plaintiffs in a suit against the National Park Service for alleged failure to regulate beach driving at the Cape Hatteras National Seashore in North Carolina. Readers felt Toyota's donation "is being used against people who use their 4-wheel drive vehicles" and "to help fund the closure of the beaches of the Outer Banks of NC." ToMoCo says not so. After all, "we build and sell four-wheel-drive vehicles that have developed an enviable reputation in the four-wheeling community and many of us here are enthusiastic four-wheelers." To that end, their donation "will be used only to fund conservation projects, train environmental leaders and offer volunteer opportunities, not for lobbying or legal efforts." Yes but… a contribution of that size will free Audubon to redirect organizational funds that would have been used for those purposes, increasing their legal and lobbying firepower.  

Porsche's battle against London's car-hating Mayor, Ken Livingstone, continues. PistonHeads reports that Porsche now claims a study by London's own government transit authority, Transport for London, shows congestion charging would increase greater London's CO2 levels by 182k tons by 2012. The argument is simple: if people can't go in straight lines through London, they'll be driving longer routes around the congestion zone. More driving, more CO2. The reduction of CO2 in central, congestion-charged London would be only 2200 tons– a tiny fraction compared to what happens in the surrounding areas. Meanwhile and in any case, Porsche is getting maximum PR benefit from the fight. Everytime someone reads about Porsche pouring millions of pounds into this legal struggle, they create David and Goliath associations. Sure, the greens share Livingston's anger. But they're not buying Porsches anyway.

Hertz isn't the only rental car company trying to save the planet one Buick LaCrosse at a time. The AP (via Google News) reports that Enterprise is lathering-up for a bit of greenwashing. The nation's largest rental company is opening four "green branches" in that bastion of environmental awareness: Atlanta, Georgia. In response to "consumer demand," about 60 percent of the vehicles offered in the designated green stores will be hybrids or other fuel-efficient vehicles. Experts say that rental customers looking to buy a hybrid are driving current demand (so to speak). No surprise there; rental companies charge a $5 to $15 a day hybrid premium. Enterprise, Hertz and Avis have about 10k hybrids in their fleets. With over 1.8m vehicles in rental fleets across the nation, Cobalts, Corollas and Elantras are destined to remain the rental companies' bread and butter vehicles– even as they put their green creds on the line.

Citing environmental concerns, state Environment Minister Rainer Loske has enacted a plan to limit Bremen's section of the Autobahn to 120 km/h (about 75 mph). Loske reckons that the speed limit will cut tailpipe emissions by five percent. In the future, the limit would [somehow] reduce emissions by 15 percent. I think Garfield (the cat, not the dead president) put it best: "Big fat hairy deal." As one of TTAC's most environmentally conscious contributors (i,e, "a perfect example of a hypocritical hyper-car loving tree hugger"), let me be the first to condemn this idiotic bullshit misguided mandate. Bremen could achieve the same greenhouse gas reductions by stipulating that drivers keep their tires properly inflated. Also, how much is this limit actually saving if it turns a two-hour trip into a three-hour journey? My guess? Not much. The good news: Bremen only has jurisdiction over 60 km of Autobahn. If you were traveling at 300 km/h, it would take just five minutes to surmount. Sigh… The limit goes into effect today, April 9, 2008. How do you say "slippery slope" in German?

The New York state legislature has shot down NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg's proposed $8 congestion charge on vehicles entering Manhattan. Wired News reports that the proposal which was to be a career-capper for Bloomberg was doomed by heavy-handed tactics by the Mayor's office. En route to telling state legislators that "You're either for this historic change in New York or you're against it," Bloomberg's transportation commissioner, Janette Sadik-Khan was pulled over by state police for speeding and improperly using her lights and sirens. This obviously affected how representatives received the proposal. "When [she] was coming up here telling me I can't drive," said Bronx Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz, "she was busy being driven in a city-owned car by a chauffeur, speeding, getting a ticket with her lights and sirens on." Bloomberg called the rejection "a special kind of cowardice," which, in an ironic twist, is almost exactly what opponents called the revenue-building measure when justified by global carbon emission levels.

Those of you in Chicago, Dallas, or Boston who are anxiously awaiting your Chevy Volt can just keep waiting. In an email to the Detroit Free Press yesterday, the Volt's pater familias Bob Lutz revealed that if when it (finally) goes on sale, it'll be distributed first in California, then in Washington D.C., Florida, New York and "elsewhere on the East Coast." Apparantly the rest of the country gets whatever's left over. However, he warned "that's only current thinking, and the plans could change." Given the rate at which they've changed their minds on everything about the Volt from the styling to the release date, you can count on the final distribution plan looking nothing like he described.

In our latest editorial on Australia's tanking car industry, I noted that a government report emphasizes future production of large vehicles with green powertrains. The Australian reports that the Aussie government's half-billion dollar green car manufacturing fund could be used to lure production of the next-generation Toyota Camry hybrid down under. Toyota Australia VP Dave Buttner says ToMoCo had been pushing to build a hybrid car here for five years but "policies conducive to investment" (a.k.a. public money) were vital to the plan. The plan seems to convenient to avoid: Aussie politicians get to check of the box next to "build large, green cars" on their bureaucratic checklists, and Toyota gets enough money to offset Australia's high labor costs and strong currency. Oh, and Toyotas actually sell well in the land of Oz as well, especially the Prius, who's sales rose 63 percent last year. So who loses out in all of this? Just Toyota's competitors and Australia's taxpayers.

The European Union's goal of reducing C02 emissions to 120g/km is not attainable by the 2012 target date, says Daimler CEO Dieter Zetsche. Speaking to Wirtschaftswoche, and reported by Auto Motor und Sport , Dr Z says "sixty percent of the vehicles which we will sell in 2012 are already in the factories and are going to customers on the market." With C02 averages currently at 170g/km, Zetsche says it will take another seven years to prepare a new generation of vehicles, leaving EU goals out of reach within the current timeframe. Zetsche also reveals that Daimler will be sticking to its guns on alternative energy development, vowing to push for greater acceptance of hydrogen fuel cells where the automaker has sunk considerable R&D efforts. Zetsche acknowledges that "The last open question is: will there be a universally available hydrogen infrastructure, where will the hydrogen come from, and what will be the energy savings?" Big questions indeed for a company facing tough carbon goals in a short timeframe.

Audi may be right on target with their plans to import diesels . A study by J.D Power (via the Detroit News ) shows diesels and gas-electric hybrids will have 17 percent of the U.S. market by 2015. Surprisingly, Power thinks diesels will outsell hybrids because of the higher cost of admission to the hybrid club; they predict by 2015 hybrids will increase to seven percent of the market (from the current 2.2 percent) while diesel vehicles will make up ten percent. Sales of four-cylinder gas engines are also expected to rise sharply as the automakers scramble to meet the new 35mpg CAFE standard. They don't think hydrogen fuel cells and pure electric cars will have much impact as they won't be available in any significant numbers during the years covered by the study. But what about E85? The proportion of vehicles available that can run on corn squeezin's will nearly double but few of them will be using it because it still won't be available in most places. That won't matter to the manufacturers, though, if the new CAFE standards have the ethanol loophole the current one does.

While "going green" is often little more than PR posturing, fuel-intensive businesses see alternative energy as simply a way to save money. But while electric, hybrid and other efficient drivetrain technologies proliferate in cars, commercial trucks have largely been left out of the green wave. Greentech Media reports that Electrorides, a green truck startup, is hoping to cash in on this absence by offering the first electric commercial-duty truck. The ZeroTruck is based on an Isuzu N-series platform, retrofitted with a UQM Technologies electric motor, offering 100-mile range when unladen. But commercial trucks aren't of much use when empty, and when loaded down the range falls sharply. That's why Electrorides offers a biodiesel engine which converts the vehicle to a parallel hybrid, adding another hundred miles to the truck's range. Like most new green vehicles reported in the media, the ZeroTruck is in beta testing, and is not yet available. Start watching out for the silent colossus this August (literally… this thing will sneak up on you!).

CTV.ca  reports that John Baird, Canada's firebrand Minister of the Environment, has green-lighted a $90 million vehicle scrappage program. In essence, the objective of the program is to encourage Canadians to trade in their high-emission beaters in favor of credits on a new car. CTV notes that "[t]hese older vehicles make up just a fraction of the estimated 18 million vehicles in Canada, but they account for up to two-thirds of the pollution that causes smog." There is a current mish-mash of recycling programs in Canada, but the new legislation aims at creating a national, uniform program for beaters nationwide. Though one can't argue with the aesthetic merits of getting some of the ancient, rusted-out Pontiac Parisiennes off Canadian roads, one has to wonder about how enticing any recycling credits would really be. All of those clunkers, being fully depreciated and cheap to insure, have  very low cost of ownership, which usually (and easily) offsets any extra fuel costs. Unfortunately, specifics of the plan have not been announced by the Federal government, which makes any assessment of its effectiveness difficult, at best.

In an almost touching display of "follow me over this cliff" pathos, GM is urging industries and governments to sink money into the hydrogen infrastructure. Speaking at the National Hydrogen Association's annual conference in Sacramento, CA, GM R&D VP Larry Burns told the Truth As He Sees It ™ to what is probably the only crowd in the country that wouldn't laugh him off the stage. "It's no longer a question of 'can it be done?' or 'should it be done?'" said Burns. "We not only should do it. We must do it. It's now a question of collective will. Do we have the collective resolve to work together to solve the challenges we face rather than handing them off to future generations?" What does this "collective resolve" trope really mean? Cash money dollars yo, and lots of it. "We have reached a stage where we cannot continue to make significant progress on our own," opines Burns. "Our customers must have safe and convenient access to affordable hydrogen. This means the energy industry and governments must join the auto industry in our journey to produce and sell fuel cell-electric vehicles in volume numbers." Added Burns, "We have not discovered anything yet to suggest mass volume cannot ultimately be attained." Oh. Dear. God.