Nobody can accuse Daimler of ignoring the green marketing craze that is sweeping the industry. They've shown high-tech lithium-ion-based diesel and mild hybrid concepts in near-production models (in contrast to other automakers' futuristic flights of fancy). A "BlueEfficiency" package will be available across its Mercedes-Benz model line by year's end, bringing lower weights, reduced rolling resistance and 10 percent better efficiency. None of these efforts will be particularly profitable, but unlike other companies, Daimler is willing to admit it. According to Automotive News [sub], Daimler research chief Thomas Weber says the company isn't expecting its green initiatives to make it any money. "We have to make sure that we keep an eye on the profit situation," said Weber. "Our strategic goal is not to make a lot of money with this, but also not to lose a lot of money with this." What, no mention of how eco-oriented vehicles help the German automaker bank the bucks by meeting new Euro and U.S. CO2/mpg regs, so they can sell high-profit gas guzzlers? Hey, glasnost only goes so far.

Daniel Yergin is the Pulitzer-winning oil historian/author of The Prize, chairman of Cambridge Energy Research Associates (CERA) and a steadfast energy optimist. Peakist wags at The Oil Drum have defined a "yergin" as CERA's predicted long-term oil index price of $38/bbl. Oil prices currently hover around 2.7 yergins, but Yergin and CERA still carry a lot of weight in the energy consulting biz. US News & World Report's "Beyond the Barrel" blogs that Yergin now sees renewable energy as a serious player in energy markets. Speaking at the Washington International Renewable Energy Conference, Yergin told attendees, "We are going through a period of what I call the 'great bubbling,' a high degree of innovation all across the energy spectrum… This is boosting the competitiveness of renewables and efficiency, and is also evident in terms of conventional energy." CERA forecasts that so-called clean power could supply between seven and 16 percent of the world's electric needs by 2030. That's a significantly greater percentage than U.S. government forecasts of 4.2 percent (which blithely include ethanol as clean energy). Meanwhile, gas prices continue to escalate. The AP reports they've ascended by near-as-dammit a dime in the last two weeks.

Not content with redefining built-it-yourself furniture, the Swedes have decided it is time to redefine driving. Since Sweden has the highest car-sourced CO2 emissions in the EU (mostly due to their love of huge Volvo wagons), the Swedish EPA (SEPA) has announced that anyone obtaining a new drivers license in Sweden must take eco-driving lessons. Added to the already lengthy licensing process in Sweden are class-based sessions as well as behind-the-wheel instruction on lugging your engine shifting to the highest gear as soon as possible, coasting whenever possible with the goal to avoid using your brakes. SEPA claims this process reduced fuel consumption by 10 percent (two – three MPG for most cars). According to Emilie Lundros (preparing to take her final test next month), students who don’t ecodrive fail the new tests. Catching ‘em early seems to be the key. “I only drive eco” says Lundros, “That’s the only way I have been taught, it was easy to get the hang of it and feels natural and comfortable… My parents? They think it’s a bit boring really.” So there you go, our future lies in the hands of the young saving 10 percent and having 10 percent less fun in the process. Parking lot hoonage? Det är strikt förbjudet nu.

Chinese firm BYD (better known as an industry leader in NiCad and Lithium Ion batteries) unveiled its second plug-in hybrid at the Geneva Auto Show. Green Car Congress says its unique three-mode hybrid drivetrain starts in full-electric mode, switches to range-extending serial hybrid mode, and finally to Prius-style parallel hybrid setting (with gas and electric motor operating together). Scheduled for 2010 (isn't everything?), the new F3DM is aimed at the European market. BYD is not shy about its chances for success in the hybrid and electric car markets. "Battery technology is our core competency," Chairman Wang Chaunfu boasts. "And we think we are well-placed against GM and Toyota." No surprise then, that the company's 20kWh lithium-iron phosphate battery pack can go 70 miles on a single (long-ish) nine-hour 220 VAC charge… with a gas engine ready to kick in to extend range or increase power at any time. With a BYD test-fleet of taxis preparing to take to the streets of Shenzhen, the first automaker to sell an out-of-the-box, plug-in hybrid could well be Chinese. 

Britain's Advertising Standard Authority has called-out a Saab ad for its E85-capable, "BioPower" vehicles. The ad claims "bioethanol consumption does not significantly raise atmospheric levels of CO2." The watchdog agency also received complaints about the ad's claim that E85 reduced C02 emissions by 70 percent over normal gasoline– but dismissed them. Saab was able to prove that the assertion is factually true… if you use Brazilian sugar-ethanol. Still, it seems like Saab ad execs could have done the math and discovered that even with a best-case 70 percent reduction in C02 emissions, 30 percent of a gas-powered Saab's emissions still qualify as a "significant contribution" towards atmospheric carbon. Of course they didn't, which is why the ASA ruled that the ad is "misleading" as readers are "likely to infer that bioethanol did not add a significant amount of CO2 to the atmosphere." What a concept: requiring fairness, math skills and even-handedness of people who are just trying to save the world by selling more cars. Now if only we had a watchdog to similarly debunk the pro-E85 falsehoods spewed by America's business and political leaders. Oh wait… you're reading it. 

Automotive battery technology is getting better, but will it be ready to meet the growing demand for alternatives to gasoline and diesel fuel? The Economist reports that the vehicle battery market will soon be worth $2.3b. At the moment, lithium-ion is the go-to technology. While lithium is a light, relatively inexpensive metal that maintains charge capacity well, lithium batteries can overheat and explode. Battery developers are experimenting with a variety of materials and blends for the positive electrode: cobalt oxide, manganese-nickel-cobalt, nickel-cobalt-aluminum oxide, and iron phosphate doped with aluminum, niobium and zirconium. As demand soars, expectations mount. General Motors, for one, needs a safe, dependable Li-ion battery for their Volt plug-in hybrid. And they need it now– if they're going to meet the [most recent] late 2010 deadline. "It's either going to be a tremendous victory, or a  terrible defeat," says James George, a battery expert based in New Hampshire. The clock is ticking.

Writing in the New Scientist, Carey W. King and Michael E. Webber of The University of Texas at Austin compare the amount of water used for petroleum refining vs. electricity generation. King and Webber found that electricity generation "consumed" or evaporated three times more water than gas production. During electricity generation. seventeen times more water is "withdrawn", used as coolant and returned to its source. "I wouldn't sound the alarm that this is going to ruin the day," says King, "But looking into the future, this is something we should take into account." King advises powerplants to switch to more expensive dry (forced air) cooling. Alternatively, "If we use only wind or solar energy, water use would be essentially zero." Where will we get the energy to build all those turbines and panels? Fossil fuels, of course.

Mass High Tech reports that General Electric is dipping a toe in the electric car business, investing $4m in electric car maker Th!nk and another $20m in A123 Systems, the MassiveTaxes-based battery company. The announcement comes as the formerly Ford-owned Norwegian EV manufacturer unveils its new Ox crossover in Geneva. GE says it plans on opening a new research center in upstate New York, where it will work with A123 to develop high-capacity, lithium-ion batteries for electric and hybrid cars. Last year, A123 received a $15m contract for next-generation vehicle batteries from the U.S. Advanced Battery Consortium (Chrysler, GM and Ford) and a contract to supply batteries for the Saturn Vue Green Line plug-in program. It's good to see investment in homegrown battery development that's a little more sophisticated than just strapping a bunch of laptop batteries together.

At the International Renewable Energy Center, President Bush was shown a modified plug-in hybrid Toyota Prius and a Mack truck with a biodiesel-friendly Volvo engine. According to The Detroit News, Bush sang the body politic electric. "We want our city people driving not on gasoline but on electricity. And the goal, the short-term goal, is to have vehicles that are capable of driving the first 40 miles on electricity." (Not coincidentally, 40 miles is the projected EV range of the Chevy Volt.) While the Prez signed an energy bill mandating 36b gallons of ethanol by 2022, he's refused to fund advanced battery research (chump change at $500m over five years). "We've got to get off oil," the former oilman pronounced. "Dependency on oil presents a real challenge to our economy." Yeah, but how about political dependency on subsidies?

Though locked in a battle for worldwide sales domination, top executives at GM and Toyota agree on one thing: hydrogen fuel cell cars are a crock of shit (albeit an extremely cold one). Speaking separately to reporters at the Geneva Auto show, GM Vice Chairman Bob Lutz and Toyota President Katsuaki Watanabe criticized the "zero-emissions" technology as too expensive, too dependent on non-existent infrastructure, not competitive with other alternative power sources, and an idea that just ain't done cookin'. The Wall Street Journal quotes ToMoCo's top dog as saying "it will be difficult to see the spread of fuel cells in 10 year's time." Meanwhile, the recipient of TTAC's inaugural Bob Lutz Award asks, "If we get lithium-ion to 300 miles… Why do you need fuel cells?" I guess this explains why The General didn't bother installing an actual fuel cell power train into the Cadillac Provoq hydrogen concept making the rounds at this season's auto shows.

Attention car companies who desperately want to beat Toyota at the green car game: start building diesel hybrids now. Accordingt to Automotive News [sub], Toyota President Katsuaki Watanabe says his company has no plans to build a hybrid diesel car. Toyota leads worldwide sales of gas – electric hybrids, plans to offer diesels on the Tundra/Sequoia platform and sells a truck in Japan with a hybrid diesel powertrain. So what's the issue? Unlike other companies we could mention (cough, GM, cough), Toyota doesn't see the value in rushing prohibitively expensive green technology to market. "A diesel hybrid car would cost more than a gasoline hybrid," explains Watanabe, reminding the greenrush crowd that the car business is still a business. So what of diesel hybrid concepts from Mercedes and Volkswagen? We can only assume that consumers have long become accustomed to overpaying for German offerings. 

Lamborghini has unveiled the new Gallardo LP560-4, claiming its lighter, faster and, inexplicably, greener than its predecessor. I know, I know; you're thinking thank God, I can finally drive one of Sant'Agata's finest without the painful pangs of eco-guilt. So what really makes this Lambo more eco-friendly than other supercars? Why they've improved carbon emissions by 18 percent! Yes, it now gets 17mpg combined– up from 14mpg on last year's model! Exactly the kind of engineering achievements that will have current owners trading in their old, dirty, sinful Gallardos. Lambo CEO Stephan Winkelmann couldn't help but undercut his own bizarre marketing canard, saying "being a supersports car is all about accelerating and top speed… If you want to go fast, you consume, and if you consume, you have emissions. You will never come to the average emissions of the average car." Um, so… is there something we're missing here? Why on earth announce that your expensive, handmade Italian sportscar uses Volkswagen technology to improve its environmental footprint by "lessening friction between mechanized gears, improving the power/weight ratio and engine design?" There may well be a better way to eviscerate the passionate, emotional image of Lamborghini, but we can't think of it.

Yesterday GM CEO Rick Wagoner announced his employer's plans to offer at least 16 hybrid models by 2012. Speaking at the Geneva auto show, Wagoner said The General will introduce one hybrid model every four months until 2012. Automotive News [sub] reports the hybrids will use updated versions of the two hybrid systems GM currently offers: the two-mode hybrid for trucks and SUVs and the hybrid-lite belt-alternator system for passenger cars (no mention of a full hybrid high-mileage passenger car to compete directly with Prius and the other hybrid offerings from across the Pacific). You can bet GM'll game the numbers to achieve their goal, as spokesman Brian Corbett said the 16 hybrids would be launched in North America, Asia and possibly Europe. That means they can drop the drivetrain from the Saturn Vue Greenline into its Theta platform-mates around the world and instantly claim five new hybrids. Not bad for a company whose Vice Chairman of Global Product Development thinks hybrids "make no economic sense." Anyway, when it comes to greenwashing, GM is clearly set on becoming the industry leader.

Green has always been an essential part of the Bentley experience… lots and lots of green. But today the British automaker unveiled its plan to join the wave of manufacturers offering more environmentally-friendly drivetrains. You know; eventually. The German-owned British brand will begin its transformation from maker of CO2-spewing playthings for the over-moneyed set to eco-conscious planetary champions by offering a flex-fuel option next year. ("James, take the Bentley down to London and fill it up with ethanol"). By 2015, Bentley will provide E85 compatibility across their entire lineup (all six models). And while you're recovering from that shock, the Bentley Boyz will begin development of an unspecified drivetrain that will deliver 40 percent better fuel efficiency than their normal gas-sucking mills. In the short term, Bentley says its socially responsible engineering efforts will focus on enhanced engine management; new, improved transmissions and drivelines and weight reduction. Torque about greenwashing…

Showcased in the Saab 9-X concept at Geneva, GM's unveiled their fifth hybrid powerplant: an evolution of their first-gen Belt-Alternator-Starter system (a.k.a. BAS or "mild hybrid"). The Detroit News says upgrades include a new, Hitachi-sourced lithium-ion battery, a new electric motor, the addition of "brief electric-only propulsion" and improved regenerative braking. At Geneva, GM hybrid guru Steve Poulos said these upgrades do not an American Revolution make. "We took the same [first-gen BAS] system and put it on steroids." GM's next gen system is three times more powerful than the existing BAS unit. That said, Poulos admitted that the new system will improve a BAS-equipped vehicle's fuel efficiency by one to two miles per gallon. CEO Rick Wagoner says this new drivetrain is "important step to make hybrid technology more affordable to a wide variety of consumers." Baby steps indeed. If GM wants to catch-up with Toyota's Synergy drive, they'll have to do better than this.