"Cash For Clunkers" Rulemaking Published

I don't believe in conspiracies. Except for this one. The Government comes up with the acronyms first, and then chooses words that will fit. How else do we explain words that say little except for the cute little acronyms they form hmmm?

The summary of the "Consumer Assistance to Recycle and Save Act of 2009" and notice of upcoming rulemaking proceeding was published today. NHTSA, in conjunction with EPA, is to have everything ready by July 24th.

In a nutshell, trade in your old gas guzzling car or truck (must have been manufactured after mid-1984) toward a brand new one that guzzles a little less and get a $3,500 to $4,500 discount off the new one, as long as the sticker is under $45,000.

Your old vehicle will be shredded or crushed to get it off the road. You will need to have owned and insured/registered it for at least the past year to be eligible. The details are laid out on the last page of the PDF below.

Overall this will probably reduce pollution somewhat and give a slight nudge toward alleviating the recession.

Source: NHTSA (Txt, PDF)

RiverSimple Open-Source Hydrogen Car

Key points of the press release indicate the car is powered by a 6 kW fuel cell (8 hp) and that it is networked with ultracapacitors, to absorb energy from regenerative braking (a la F1 KERS).

However, as I previously said, whether hydrogen-powered vehicles can be successfully commercialized at this point is debatable, but I am convinced the concept of open source automotive development and (more) localized or decentralized production is definitely going to take off.

Electric Vehicle Plug Standard Coming In July?

SAE J1772 is supposedly going to ballot for this month for final approval. This would be a good move toward standardization of infrastructure and hardware. The SAE (Society of Automotive Engineers) process typically takes a few years for completion
of a standard or recommended practice so the outcome is generally well vetted by the industry.

Source: AutoBlogGreen

Green GT Prototype Race Car

Great stuff. Electric racing cars. They still have limitations with range, and to some extent weight, but they are definitely coming along. With FIM's announcement that it will be running an electric motorcycle racing series we will, the recent TTXGP, and now a number of other events things are looking up for EVs even in this economy.

Greent GT has tested their car at Circuit Paul Ricard in France. The car is named the Twenty-4.... for 24 Volts?

Source: AutoBlogGreen

Driver Training Idea

Following up on my previous post, an emergency situation is no time to learn how to handle it. Drivers should be trained ahead of time how to deal with evasive maneuvers in safe, controlled conditions. Maybe this has been done before, but I'm
not aware of it.

We've all seen a lot of bad driving. If manufacturers (or dealerships) offerred safety clinics or driving classes they could help enhance public safety and bring more traffic to their showrooms.

Hyundai is guaranteeing fuel prices for a year. A few manufacturers will subsidize your car payments if you lose your job. How about manufacturers teaching people to drive better while providing them a chance to test drive the cars?

This might work well if done in conjunction with a motor club (AAA) and an auto insurer. Maybe those who successfully complete the program could also get a discount on their insurance rates?

Just a thought.

Safety Rulemaking & Research Priorities

The Natinoal Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) published a request for comments (due Aug. 31, 2009) on its Safety Rulemaking & Research Priority Plan 2009-2011. Here are a few interesting insights gleaned from the report.

In 2007 there were more than 6 million police-reported crashes in the U.S., over 41,000 people were killed, 2.5 million injured, and it is estimated the cost to society was $230 billion (about $750/person).

Four types of crashes account for 85% of all fatal crashes, as well as 75% of all road fatalities (presumably including pedestrians?):

Run-Off-Road (23%)
Rear-End (28%)
Lane Change (9%)
Crossing Path (25%)

Makes sense. The higher the speed and/or directional difference between objects in a collision, the greater the risk.

Light trucks present a higher fatality risk than passenger cars in frontal crashes with other motor vehicles (37% and 32% of fatal crashes, respectively).

Light trucks also present a significant fatality risk in non-collision rollovers, "accounting for 23 percent of crash fatalities."

This will not be helped by CAFE standards which is assessed in part on vehicle footprint, which is based on track width and wheelbase and thus encourages larger overhangs. This reduces vehicle stability compared with placing wheels at the furthest corners of the vehicle.

Crash avoidance programs are the highest priority at NHTSA as they offer the greatest benefits.

Source: NHTSA (Text, PDF)

Out-of-the-Box Aston-Martin

AM has explored a number of distinctive avenues since Dave Richards and Prodrive have taken over the reins. First there was the Rapide, the first A-M 4 door. Then the London bus project, the Lagonda SUV, and now a city car.

The city car is based on the Toyota iQ's underpinnings. Automotive News reports A-M will not actually make any changes other than interior trim and a new fascia; no mechanical changes. The company plans to build 2,000 units a year and sell first
only to existing clients.

The article alludes to this being a means by which A-M can raise its average unit fuel economy. Talk about unintended regulatory consequences. If that's true it will also raise the total A-M footprint.

In light of the macro picture, the goal should be to reduce the carbon footprint of real A-M cars, even if only a modest amount. That would produce a better environmental outcome by far.

Source: Automotive New (subscription required)

Daytime Running Lamps Will Not Be Required

Back in 2001 GM had petitioned NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration) to require vehicles to be equipped with daytime running lamps (DRL). It took a while but today the agency published a denial of the petition.

Here's the official summary:

This document denies a petition for rulemaking submitted by General Motors on December 20, 2001. The petitioner requested that the agency amend the Federal motor vehicle safety standard (FMVSS) on lamps, reflective devices, and associated equipment to require the installation of daytime running lamps on passenger cars, multipurpose passenger vehicles, trucks, and buses that have a gross vehicle weight rating under 4,536 kilograms (10,000 lbs). NHTSA has reviewed the petition and performed an extensive analysis of real world crash data. Based on the results of our study we were unable to find solid evidence of an overall safety benefit associated with daytime running lamps and are therefore denying the petition for rulemaking. The agency maintains its neutral position with respect to the safety benefits from the use of daytime running lamps.

Links to full document: Text and PDF formats.

NHTSA Roof Crush & Foot Print Workshop

June 25th - Attended a workshop organized by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), part of the US Department of Transportation. Two topics were covered: Revised FMVSS Roof Crush standard 216a and calculating vehicle "footprint" for fuel economy purposes.

This is basically wheelbase x track width. The presentation was about the specifics of how they determine each vehicles "footprint".

Then it was off to the compliance lab. No pictures were allowed, but the lab's web site has some. Look under standard 216 of this page:

http://www.general-testing.com/vehiclesafetystandards.htm

A new Honda Fit was tested (and destroyed) at yesterday's event. Held up pretty well. The standard now requires vehicles under 10,000 lbs GVWR to be able to withstand 3 times their unladen weight while allowing for no more than 127 mm (5 inches) of platen (the rectangular plate used to crush the roof) travel and a maximum force of 222 Newtons (50 lbs) of head contact on the head form (like a test dummy).

Rising Star: Hyundai

A good article that highlights some of the moves that have made Hyundai a sales success in light of the downturn. Notice that John Krafcik, (acting?) CEO of Hyundai Motor America was on the research team behind the groundbreaking book "The Machine That Changed the World".

Here's the link:
http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article.cfm?articleid=2256