Filed under: Etc.

Long ago, in the time after 9/11/01 and before the invasion of Iraq 3/19/03, fuel prices were still pretty stable. A few airlines, Southwest being the biggest, decided to buy longer term contracts for jet fuel (2 – 3 years) in advance. This is called “hedging”. And then the prices increases came. Most of the other airlines were buying short term at spot prices. Southwest was paying around $30 a barrel (actually as low as $24 a barrel) of jet fuel when the other airlines were paying $60 a barrel and above. The savings to the airline were significant, approaching a billion dollars in 2005. With the money they saved in fuel, they could invest in more aircraft, more training, growing their operation, not cutting the salaries of their employees. Of course, now that petroleum prices have been so high for so long, the benefits of hedging have started to shrink . . .unless there is – God forbid – an event that drives petroleum prices above $78 a barrel. But that won’t happen, or will it?

Most individual vehicle owners don’t have the economic clout or the facilities to hedge ground vehicle fuel – there are a few lucky ones (if you think cheap gas is a good thing). Some trucking fleets, however,
can do so. As Aviation Week says, “Hedging takes cash as well as skill and luck.” For instance, I would have kicked myself if I had hedged at $2.50 a gallon in February when unleaded regular dropped to $1.99 here in NJ. Of course, gasoline is just about $3 a gallon here today just three months later.

[Source: Aviation Week and Space Technology]

 

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Posted by Samuel (in Anchorage, Alaska)

Hola a todos,

Es muy difícil para mi poder expresarles la forma en que los diferentes países se están comportando, especialmente cuando no se ha estado en este tipo de foros, pero voy a tratar de explicarle de la mejor manera que pueda. Bueno, como les había contado antes, las delegaciones de Japón, Nueva Zelanda y Australia están negociando, o para ser ‘exactos’ se rumorea, la manera de intercambiar la opción de caza ballenera costera, para los japoneses a cambio de que ellos dejen su propuesta de cazar jorobadas en la próxima temporada. Eso tendría que votarse hoy pero pensamos que no habrá consenso sobre aquel trato si es que ya lo tienen hecho. Para nosotros, hay un problema legal sobre el cazar jorobadas en la antártica, porque esta caza tendría que ser formalizada por la Convención sobre el comercio de especies amenazadas CITES (por si sigla en Inglés), al ser empaquetada la carne y ser vendida en Japón esto pondría a Japón en una situación de ilegalidad además que ellos estarían cazando ballenas de una forma ‘comercial’ la que está prohibida y en un Santuario Ballenero donde no se puede cazar.

Continue reading Las cuotas balleneras y la caída del santuario del atlántico sur…

Posted by Dave (live from the International Whaling Commission in Anchorage, Alaska)

Following the recent general election in Iceland, there’s a new foreign minister in place, Ingibjorg Solrun Gisladottir. And yesterday, she said something on Icelandic TV channel 2 that contradicts the statements of Iceland whaling commissioner Stefan Asmundsson – who is, as you all know, very pro-whaling – aggressively so, in fact.

Ms. Gisladottir said that “we are sacrificing greater interests for lesser ones in this issue”, and that she didn’t set the instructions for the Icelandic delegation – who are sitting just down the room from me here in Anchorage. They were probably instructed before she came into office. What’s more, she hasn’t been in support of the hunt in the past.

Continue reading Iceland’s whaling conflicts with tourism – according to foreign minister…

Filed under: MPG, Mazda

Click on the photo for a gallery of high-res images of the new Mazda2

Mazda recently started production of the new Mazda2 that debuted at the Geneva Motor Show and one of the new engines available in the car will be a 1.3L Miller-cycle engine which would be more accurately called an Atkinson cycle engine. The Atkinson cycle uses a longer power stroke than the compression stroke. This is achieved on modern engines by keeping the intake valve open past bottom dead center, allowing the engine to push some of the air-fuel mix back out into the intake manifold. This can result in a significant increase in fuel economy but at the cost of low end torque. The Miller cycle adapts this concept by adding a supercharger to improve the torque and was first used by Mazda on the mid-nineties Millenia.

On the new 2 Mazda gets rid of the supercharger but uses the Atkinson cycle. Nomenclature aside the new setup provides some excellent economy. The engine is mated up to Mazda’s first CVT and manages 54mpg compared to the 1.3L in the old model that got 45mpg. The engine also has variable valve timing which it appears Mazda is using to adjust the use of the Atkinson cycle to maximize efficiency and while still maintaining decent performance. On top of the all the fancy powertrain stuff, Mazda also reduced the weight of the new 2 by over 200lbs compared to the old model which helps both performance and efficiency. So far their is no indication of whether we will see this engine in the US market.

[Source: Mazda]Mazda Develops New Naturally-Aspirated MZR 1.3L Miller-cycle Engine

The new MZR 1.3L engine powers the all-new Mazda Demio to achieve a fuel economy of 23.0 km/L and qualify for Japan’s Green Tax exemptions

HIROSHIMA, Japan-Mazda Motor Corporation has developed a new, naturally aspirated MZR 1.3L Miller-cycle engine, which will power the all-new Demio (known as the all-new Mazda2 in overseas markets) when it goes on sale in Japan in July 2007. In combination with Mazda’s first continuously variable transmission (CVT), the engine will assist the new Demio to achieve a 10-15 mode fuel economy of 23.0 km/L, an improvement of approximately 20 percent over the 19.2 km/L rating of the current model.

Newly developed from the current MZR 1.3L DOHC aluminum engine, the naturally-aspirated MZR 1.3L Miller-cycle engine employs delayed closing of the intake valves in order to reduce pumping losses and improve thermal efficiency through a higher expansion ratio. Intake valve timing is optimized by the Sequential Valve Timing System to provide improved fuel efficiency over the current MZR 1.3L engine when cruising and accelerating. In conjunction with the CVT, which transfers torque at low speeds without power loss and eliminates gear-shift shock, the setup achieves excellent fuel efficiency as well as a smooth and exhilarating ride.

In addition to this new, highly efficient powertrain, the all-new Demio has been made approximately 100 kg lighter than its predecessor through weight reduction techniques, which have resulted in nimble handling and significantly improved fuel economy.

The Demio model with the naturally aspirated MZR 1.3L Miller-cycle engine combined with the CVT transmission achieves a fuel economy that is rated as 20 percent or better than the level specified by Japan’s 2010 fuel economy standards. Exhaust emissions are also at least 75 percent lower than 2005 standards, which conforms to Japan’s Super Ultra-Low Emissions Vehicle (SU-LEV) standard and qualifies the Demio for Green Tax exemptions.

Through its Sustainable Zoom-Zoom plan that was announced in March 2007, Mazda declared its intention to pursue the harmony felt between driving pleasure and environmental and safety features, and its quest for an advanced Zoom-Zoom world. This includes the ongoing desire to create captivating design, to provide our customers with continual driving pleasure and to develop improved safety and environmental technologies.

 

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Filed under: Etc., Manufacturing/Plants

In an article recently published on Automotive News, Keith Crain analyses the increase of gasoline prices in the States and the impact for American manufacturers.

Oil prices not only affect drivers but has a deep impact in the economy: everything is transported with fuel and oil is a cost material for lots of products. He affirms that the country can cope with higher prices and won’t enter recession. Drivers, he says, are already adjusting “nicely” to the higher price of fuel, as everybody gets used to the higher fuel prices and figures out how to budget accordingly.

Crain also compares prices with Europe, where consumers are already paying double, mostly because of the high taxes used as a deterant for fuel consumption (did you know that in some places a part of that tax goes into the Public Health services?). “Our leaders have not yet figured out how to do that without committing political suicide”, said Crain.

[Source: Automotive News, sub. req.]

Therefore, it’s getting tougher for manufacturers to figure out what products to design and engineer and tougher for dealers to figure out what to buy and stock. Customers want the same vehicles with a 20 percent improvement in fuel economy. He affirmst that it’s very easy to say for the government and for the consumer, but it will be very difficult for manufacturers.

So do we really agree with him when that manufacturers can’t make more efficient cars overnight?

Incidentally, it was announced today that some automakers are close to calling for fuel economy standards as high as 36 mpg for cars (in 2022) and 30 mpg for light trucks (in 2030). The proposal would be offered as an alternative to a fuel economy measure scheduled to be considered by the full Senate the week of June 11.

 

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More from Daniel, one of our political advisors, on changes at the World Bank:

Bush has done it again. The US President has put loyalty ahead of merit by choosing Robert Zoellick as the new head of the World Bank. I have known Zoellick for a while. He was Bush’s trade representative from 2001-2005. In that role, he pursued free trade at all costs at the World Trade Organization (WTO). In 2003, he started a WTO attack on Europe’s genetic engineering restrictions.

In 2003, at the failed WTO talks in Cancun, Mexico, Zoellick famously threatened developing countries, that the US will pursue market access for US corporations to developing world markets in whichever way they see fit. I remember listening to his press conference with a certain shiver running down my spine.

Continue reading New World Bank head nominated…

Filed under: Emerging Technologies, Etc., Transportation Alternatives

Trafficmaster is a UK-based company somewhat like OnStar, but much, much better. The Trafficmaster telematics system communicates directly with your satellite navigation system to give you the most up-to-date traffic information yet possible. This is achieved through communication from existing customers’ Smartnav in-car navigation system which sends data on actual vehicle speed on its route, instead of relying on speed limits. This allows the system to know when there is a traffic jam, and when everybody is cruising at a good clip. With this information readily at hand, traffic flow can be optimized, saving time, fuel consumption and emissions.

As add-ons to Trafficmaster, Teletrac and Trackstar help keep track of specific vehicles – the former for commercial companies tracking their fleet vehicles, and the latter tracking your vehicle if it’s stolen, and directly linking its data to the police for recovery. Nifty, huh?

[Source: Trafficmaster]

 

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Posted by Dave (in Anchorage, Alaska)

Well, it’s the end of day two here at the International Whale Whaling Commission (IWC). Three days left, and we’re all going slightly nuts.

The day began smoothly enough. I stumbled out to breakfast at a local diner that the Greenpeace team have been frequenting. The staff are getting to know us so well there we barely need menus anymore. Several of us reckon that we’re going to go home heavier – the helpings here in Alaska are enormous.

Local Whales for Local People
At the Captain Cook Hotel, the morning’s main order of business concerned subsistence whaling quotas – and it all ran along smoothly at the beginning. The United States managed to secure its ongoing bowhead quota for the Alaskan Inupiat and Yup’ik people, the Russian Federation, while saying that it would like to get more whales for its aboriginal people, decided not to ask for them. St Vincent and the Grenadines succeed in getting a quota of four humpback whales a year after making a proposal that was backed by several countries that are generally anti-whaling, like the UK, France and Italy, on the basis that St Vincent and the Grenadines had based their proposal on sound science – and that the whaling was indeed sustainable.

Continue reading IWC in Anchorage: Diplomatic Madhouse…

Filed under: Hybrid, Lexus

For those of you who have saved a LOT of money, say by hedging fuel for some airlines, and want to blow it on a really high level hybrid, there is the Lexus LS 600h L. This is the flagship of the House of Toyota. Built like a tank, finished like a jewel, powered by a strong V-8 and a hybrid drive system, this is the kind of vehicle that travels slightly detached from the road, the local environment, and anyone else that doesn’t have a near 7-digit income.

The “600” weighs in at about 5,000 lbs; features a very comfortable, isolated interior; and 438 HP (V-8 plus electric). It will do 0 – 60 MPH in 5.5 secs and, thanks to being a hybrid, it is rated at 20 mpg city and 22 mpg highway. All this, starting at only $104,000. That price by the way, is enough to buy four Toyota Priuses.

While this car may appeal to many, it doesn’t appeal to me. It isn’t that is not a very good car, it is just not appropriate for pulling up at my local sushi bar, or my used book store, or the ice cream shop I frequent. It just wouldn’t be appreciated and I would fear I would be asked the question, “Whaddaya drivin’ these days? A Buick?”

Related:

• Geneva “Preview”: Lexus’ LS 600h with V8 hybrid powertrain

[Source: Fortune magazine]

 

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Filed under: EV/Plug-in, On Two Wheels

The Vectrix electric maxi-scooter was released across the pond a few weeks ago, and Motorcycle News was there for its unveiling. Today, we bring you a video that they were able to grab while in attendance. A maxi-scooter is, as the name implies, larger than the average scooter and is capable of higher speeds, faster acceleration and comfort for longer distances. Speaking of distances, plan on about 70 miles or so based on early reports and depending on speed and the use of regenerative braking. As always, your mileage may vary. But, the good news is, no matter how far you travel, you will be doing so using no petroleum or fossil fuels of any sort (well, depending on what powers your grid).

Related:

• Electric Vectrix maxi-scooter review
• Vectrix electric bikes coming in early 2007

[Source: Motorcycle News

 

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BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD Step behind the curtain at Ford Motor. Experience the documentary first-hand.