Ford committed to improving the fuel economy of the most profitable and problematic portion of its fleet -SUVs. As part of its “Cleaner, Safer, Sooner” campaign, the company will increase fuel economy in all SUVs by 25 percent by 2005.
John DeCicco of the American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy spoke highly of this move. “It changes the tenor of the public debate on fuel economy. “A five percent per year energy improvement over the next five years is only slightly less than the rate our studies identify as economically practical.”
He notes that stronger CAFE standards remain necessary to ensure that similar technology and design improvements are made by all companies and in all market segments.
The improvements go beyond either the European automakers’ joint commitments on fuel consumption or previous Congressional proposals calling for a 20 percent fuel economy increase within 5 years and
a 40 percent increase over 10 years.
About 70 percent of the fuel economy gains will be achieved through improvements in existing vehicle lines, including the application of advanced powertrain technologies, weight reduction, and improved
aerodynamics. The other 30 percent of improvements will come from new market entries that have higher fuel economy.
Visteon Corporation’s new plastic fuel tank system purportedly eliminates almost all hydrocarbon emissions, enabling vehicle manufacturers to meet California’s Partial Zero Emission Vehicle (PZEV) standard. A plastic tank is lighter (better fuel efficiency), cheaper, and doesn’t corrode like steel. And DaimlerChrysler is starting a five month pilot to test a plastics recycling technology that could make its vehicles 95 percent recyclable while cutting the cost of manufacturing new vehicles by millions of dollars a year.
In Brussels, the European Commission announced a euro 5.2 million (US$4.5 million) project to develop vehicles with fuel economy ratings of 100 kilometers (62 miles) per liter of diesel. The cost of the project will be shared between the EU and participating materials producers and vehicle manufacturers.
The goal is to develop materials for an ultra-lightweight version of Volkswagen’s Lupo TDI by 2004. The working group will work toward incorporating lighter materials and smaller engines – the key to increasing fuel economy and lowering emissions. Low cost carbon composites can reduce a vehicles weight by 40 percent and smaller engines can increase fuel efficiency by 30 percent. Another goal is to reduce the total number of parts required to produce a vehicle (about 200) by a third to reduce the cost of developing new materials, increase ease of recyclability, and lower the retail price.
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