Efficiency vehicle

Today s mid-sized passenger cars are about 15 to 18 % "well-to-wheels" energy efficient as indicated in Figure 9-3. Despite the increased vehicle efficiency of a methanol... 

Vehicle efficiency EV1 Electric NECAR III Methanol Prious Gasoline P2000 Diesel... 

Ihe specific information used to provide estimates of activity levels varies with the emission source sector being examined. For utilities, fuel use is desired. For the industrial sector, information on fuel use alone is not adequate since many industrial process emissions do not result from fuel combustion. Usually, some approximation for product output, such as estimates of value added or earnings, is often used. For motor vehicle emissions, estimates of vehicle miles traveled is more useful than fuel use because most emissions are unrelated to vehicle efficiency, i.e., a small car emits about the same amount of pollution per mile as a larger car. 

Hydrogen fuel cell vehicles would seem to be the perfect answer to our burgeoning and alarming dependence on imported oil. For some, like Peter Schwartz, chair of the Global Business Network, they are almost the deus ex machina—the quick, pure technological fix—that will avoid the need for difficult policy choices, such as federal mandates for increased vehicle efficiency.10 That is overopti-mistic hype, as we will see. 

Because of this inaction, as of 2002 the fuel economy of the average vehicle on American roads was at its lowest level in two decades and likely to get worse.43 The fuel economy laws have a loophole allowing suvs and light trucks to average 20.7 mpg, 25 percent lower than the standard for new cars. This has allowed overall vehicle efficiency to drop as the suv share of new vehicle sales has grown. Ford, for instance, has backed off a voluntary commitment to increase suv fuel efficiency, and, in fact, its 2003 model year suvs will be less fuel efficient than those of the previous year.44 Moreover, companies known for fuel efficiency, such as Honda and Toyota, both of which have introduced hybrid vehicles into the U.S. market, have also introduced gas-guzzling suvs. 

As indicated in Fig. 4-7, well-to-tank gasoline fuel efficiency is 88 percent and gasoline vehicle efficiency is 16 percent, resulting in a 14 percent well-to-wheel total efficiency. Using hybrid technology, the number is doubled to 28 percent. 

For fuel cell hybrid vehicles, today s vehicle (tank-to-wheel) efficiency is 50 percent, but the well-to-tank efficiency is low. Toyota has set a target of 42 percent total well-to-wheel efficiency (which is three times higher than that of current gasoline vehicles). To achieve this goal, fuel cell vehicle efficiency must be over 60 percent. Simultaneously, Toyota has also requested the energy industry to develop high-efficiency hydrogen production methods to achieve 70 percent or more well-to-tank efficiency. 

Are there models for successful policy intervention of this magnitude and duration In California, there are many The path we have adopted in California includes a menu of actions to be taken in order to travel the road to a hydrogen future. These actions include vehicle efficiency improvements, alternatives to conventional fuels, greater penetration into the vehicle fleet of hybrid electric vehicles (HEV), and eventually hydrogen fuel cell vehicles in significant numbers. 

Vehicle type Weight Kilometers Liter Vehicle Efficiency Fuel... 

Vehicle mass reduction, changes in basic vehicle architecture, and improvements in power trains are key to improved vehicle efficiency. The development and use of new materials are crucial to improved fuel efficiency.12... 

Average work delivered to the road is 261 hp over the entire cycle, with a fuel consumption rate of 104 lb/hr (an average of about 3.5 mpg). Thus, vehicle efficiency is given by... 

Some First World countries are embarked upon an aggressive, well-financed, and deeply coordinated effort to switch from petroleum-based economies to hydrogen-based economies. A hydrogen economy is considered as the final task, coupled with major vehicle efficiency... 

Toyota (2005b). Well-to-Wheel There s much more to vehicle efficiency than simple miles per gallon. Toyota Motor Sales, USA. Available at http //www. toyota.com. 

Table 8.3. Fuel costs (cents/mile) for ICE, hybrid, EV, HjHybrid, FCV, and FCV OB, assuming the default vehicle efficiencies summarized in Table 8.1... 

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