Vehicle Fuel Economy - Latest News
US House approves vouchers designed to improve vehicle fuel economyPosted 11/06/09
In an attempt to improve vehicle fuel economy across the US, the US House of Representatives have approved a bill to provide vouchers of up to $4,500 for customers to trade in their old cars and buy new fuel-efficient cars.
The bill was approved by 298 votes against 119 and would require four billion dollars to be allocated to the program. The bill is expected to encourage the purchase of one million new vehicles and would run for one year. New vehicles must have a better fuel economy than the cars being traded in.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said, "this bill is quite a remarkable piece of legislation and the timing is perfect. And when they trade in these cars, they will strengthen America's auto industry, creating jobs and reducing layoffs and save more than 250 million gallons of gas."
The bill now lies in the hands of the US Senate, who must also approve it. Finally it would be sent to President Barack Obama for his signature to become law.
Mazda commits to improving its vehicle fuel economy
Posted 21/04/09
Mazda is aiming to improve its vehicle fuel economy by 30 per cent by 2015 in response to rising fuel prices and increasing concerns about the environment.
Mazda will introduce various technologies that will combine to improve its vehicle fuel economy. Mazda will develop new, more efficient engines for its entire range of vehicles and employ a “smart idle stop system” as early as 2009. This technology can shut the engine down when the car is stationary – similar to a hybrid car – thus increasing vehicle fuel economy. Mazda also says it will begin using lightweight materials and technologies to reduce the weight of its vehicles “by 100 kilograms or more”, which will increase fuel economy further.
The move to improve vehicle fuel economy by as much as 30 per cent would reduce fuel use by as much as 3.9 litres per 100km (L/100km), saving 780 litres of fuel per year when driving 20,000km.
Mazda’s current most economical car is the Mazda 2, which uses 6.4L/100km, a figure that would be decreased to 4.5L/100km if 30 per cent reductions were achieved. That’s around the same vehicle fuel economy as a hybrid car. The current Toyota Prius hybrid car – a larger, better equipped, but more expensive vehicle – has a fuel economy of 4.4L/100km.
Australian showrooms forced to display realistic vehicle fuel economy figures
Posted 31/03/09
From April 1st 2009 Australian car makers must display both the urban (city) and extra urban (highway) vehicle fuel economy figures on cars in showrooms. Previously, they only had to display a combined vehicle fuel economy figure, which was skewed towards highway driving and hid the real fuel economy of some cars in typical day to day driving.
This is a big step forward in enlightening consumers about vehicle fuel economy since some larger cars can use almost twice as much fuel in the city as in the country. For example the Holden Commodore Calais V6 uses 15.8l/100km in the city versus a fuel economy of 8.6l/100km on the open road. A government spokesman said "most people would intuitively know their cars use more fuel in the city than on the highway but the labels will help to quantify the difference."
Not only will the new vehicle fuel economy figures give motorists more information about the cost of running a car but it also allows a more informed choice about the environmental impact of a certain vehicle.
The new information will be loaded onto the governments Green Vehicle Guide website and motorists will be able to use an online calculator to work out how much they will save on their fuel bill if they change to a more economical vehicle.
Before 2003, vehicle makers were required to display city fuel economy figures but from 2003 to 2009 they only had to provide an average vehicle fuel economy figure which was based on 37 per cent city driving and 63 per cent highway driving.
City vehicle fuel economy figures will be calculated by a dynamometer test at an average speed of 19km/h and will include idling, followed by a series of stops and starts. Highway vehicle fuel economy figures will be calculated at an average speed of 63km/h and will include acceleration up to 120km/h.