Sebastian Blanco
Filed under: Etc., Ethanol, EV/Plug-in, Hybrid, Hydrogen, Green Daily

Ben Cipiti, of Sandia National Laboratories, has written what Renewable Energy Access titled "An Unbiased Approach to Evaluating Transportation Fuels." The piece has excited the REA readers (43 comments and counting) as it attempts to put ethanol, battery-powered vehicles (PHEVs and hybrids and BEVs) and hydrogen into a clear ranking system. The takeaway lines for me are these:

It turns out that when compared side by side, an electric vehicle economy will be more than twice as efficient as a hydrogen economy. In other words, the hydrogen economy would require building twice as many new power plants as compared to converting to electric vehicles.

For the rest, read the original, and don't miss the warnings about ethanol (the studies that find good things about ethanol are often funded by pro-ethanol forces). It's hard to escape - from Cipiti's article and from the general messages I've been hearing over the last 20 months of writing for AutoblogGreen - is that pure electric vehicles (or EVs with a range extender) are the best hope for the future, hopefully starting right here in 2008.

[Source: REA]

Source: REA takes an "unbiased approach" to comparing transportation fuels

Noah Joseph
Coupes, China

View in hi-res courtesy of Autoblog Chinese

If you're still under the impression that Chinese automakers are only building knock-offs of existing cars and small sedans through joint venture with foreign carmakers, think again. The Chery A6, previewed at the Shanghai show by the A6CC concept, is heading into production.

The car recently completed testing, and is scheduled to go on sale sometime in the latter half of 2008. Based on the Chery A6 sedan, the A6 coupe uses the company's front-drive B2 platform. It will come available with a choice of engines – including a 2.0-liter turbo, a 2.4-liter V6 and a 3.0-liter V6 – mated to either a six-speed manual or four-speed automatic.

With the new A6 coupe, Chery apparently wants to slip unnoticed into foreign markets – the styling is a little bland – but if it plans to sell the A6 range outside of China, the company may meet some resistance from Audi, whose mid-range sedan already uses that alphanumeric designation.

[Source: Winding Road]

Source: Chery A6 coupe heads into production

With another year over the national road authorities have began reviewing the road toll to examine if their tactics have proven successful. As a nation, Australia’s 2007 road toll was lower than last year’s 1605.

The main exception being the bush which saw a steady climb. 1569 people lost their lives on Australian roads this year with New South Wales topping the table with 445 deaths.

Queensland, which has spent considerable amounts of money (campaign 300) increasing speed cameras, police presence and RBTs, saw its death toll hit 360 - 60 more than the transport authorised had aimed for and the second-highest in the country. It was also the state’s worst record since 1997.

Victoria came in third with 333 deaths including 13 in the last 10 days of the year - the second lowest road toll for the state. Western Australia came in fourth after suffering a surge in rural deaths. The state recorded 235 deaths, a 14 per cent increase over 2006 (200).

South Australia suffered 125, coming in fifth place. The Northern Territory saw its road toll rise almost 25 per cent, with 57 deaths this year. 14 lives were lost in on ACT roads, up one from 2006.

Despite the highest road toll in the country, NSW’s 2007 record was the best for the state since 1980 (per capita).

“This is the fifth consecutive year the road toll has reduced despite a steady increase in traffic on our roads. Motorists deserve credit for heeding the road safety messages.” NSW Premier Morris Iemma said.

Queensland authorities on the other hand have a lot to answer for. The highly publicised campaign 300 has failed miserably in bringing the road toll below 300.

Unfortunately, not only has it failed, but the road toll has increased by almost 7 per cent (337 in 2006). The extra speed cameras have proven to be nothing more than a successful revenue-raising scheme.

Victorians should expect a drink-driving blitz throughout this year with statistics showing a 16 per cent increase in fatalities involving drivers under the influence.

Despite calls from major motoring groups, government authorities continue to deny the benefits of driver training.

Tell us what you think is the best way to reduce the road toll?

Source: 2007 Road Toll Figures