Environmentales

No doubt about it. Automakers are making great efforts towards the development and manufacturing of green vehicles. The North American International Auto Show has been full of green vehicles and each one was attracting much attention from the car enthusiasts.

Recently, The Auto Channel reported that the Washington Auto Show will also be full of green vehicles. According to the report, clean diesel engines will be taking center stage in the said motor show.

Allen Schaeffer, the executive director of the Diesel Technology Forum, had this to say: "With nearly 20 new and prototype diesel vehicles on display during Detroit's auto show, and many on their way to Washington, 2008 will be the 'year of clean diesel'. The unveiling of these new models shows that automakers are investing in this high performance, environmentally friendly technology." The Diesel Technology Forum is consisted of automakers, engine manufacturers, auto parts manufacturer and energy supply companies.

In the past, the diesel engine has been avoided by American consumers due to the fact that diesel engines of the 70s are known for their loud operation and black soot emission. But today, automakers have succeeded in developing diesel engines which produces very little greenhouse gas. "The new diesels are clean, quiet, fun to drive and don't require consumers to sacrifice power or performance to achieve better miles per gallon. The significant number of models introduced this year makes it an extremely exciting time for the U.S. diesel market," said Schaeffer.

Today, there have been already a lot of diesel vehicles announced to be nearing their launch. Here are some of them:

• BMW Group unveiled two vehicle models equipped with the BMW Advanced Diesel with BluePerformance, the 335d and the X5 xDrive 35d, which will be available later this year.
• Volkswagen will introduce an updated clean diesel Jetta into the U.S. market this year.
• GM has plans to put a diesel engine in the Chevy Silverado beginning in 2009.
• Audi unveiled the A4 sedan and expects to start selling the Q7 3.0 TDI by the end of 2008/early 2009.
• Toyota will launch a diesel-powered Tundra pickup truck and Sequoia SUV in the U.S. soon.
• Honda announced plans to put diesel engines in Acura vehicles starting in 2009, with the Honda lineup to follow.
  

These vehicles can be expected to bring about in the change in the attitude of Americans toward diesel engines. These vehicles are obviously more valuable than repair manuals.

The threat of global warming is so real and everyone must be working towards the protection of the environment.  Burning petroleum fuel is one of the major cause of greenhouse gas emission which contributes greatly to global warming.  Thus, it is much better if we can find alternative energy sources so that we will no longer be burning petroleum fuel.

One institution taking an initiative towards the protection of the environment is Yellowstone Capital Partners.  Today, The Auto Channel reported that the firm has announced re launch of its second alternative energy fund called the Yellowstone Energy Ventures II L.P. or YEV II.

Yellowstone is expecting about $50 million worth of investment which will be invested on the development of green technologies. The fund will be managed by Yellowstone chairman Omar Sawaf, Bill Brewer, and Rick Owen.  I think it is safe to say that no part of the fund will go to the development of fog lights as there are already a lot of them out there.

Omar Sawaf had this to say regarding the action taken by Yellowstone:  "The global dynamics that motivated Yellowstone to create YEV I back in 2004 not only remain in place today, but are even stronger than they were at that time.  Strong global demand and economic growth in virtually every region of the world -- combined with high capacity utilization and depleting supplies for fossil fuels, the global drive to use cleaner fuels to fight global warming, and energy security concerns -- have combined to close the economic gap between fossil fuels and renewables.

"In addition, technology improvement in the alternative and renewable space continues to escalate at a rapid pace and increases in government regulation and incentives not only abroad, but now being seen in the U.S., are accelerating the adoption of these new energy technologies. We believe all of these factors make the alternative and renewable energy technology segment of the Cleantech industry an attractive and unique opportunity for long term investors. We also believe that Yellowstone's early entry into the segment and the relationships we have developed over the past four years are creating significant deal flow that can benefit investors in both YEV I and YEV II."

With the increasing price of gasoline, it is not surprising that auto buyers are looking at hybrids and smaller vehicles for their next purchase. More importantly, the threat of global warming is finally being addressed and automakers are now developing and manufacturing green vehicles.

Recently, The Auto Channel reported that American audit, tax and advisory firm KPMG conducted a poll of 113 senior executives from the auto industry to see what they think will happen to green vehicles in the future and how consumers will react to certain vehicle classes.

Daron Gifford, National Automotive Leader for the firm, had this to say: "The industry knows where it is and knows where it needs to be. It needs to produce quality vehicles that are fuel efficient, especially in this economic cycle, and it needs to invest heavily in developing alternative sources of power. We found the execs in our survey more optimistic than past years, and that's largely because the landscape before them is clearer on the direction they need to go."

The Auto Channel reported: "To meet demand, auto execs in the KPMG survey said that in the next five years, in terms of global market share and units sold, 81 percent expect major increases in low cost/introduction cars and an equal percentage expect increases in hybrids. This was followed by cars, at 67 percent, and crossovers at 58 percent. Categories of vehicles expected to fall are SUVs and large pick-ups, with 47 percent projecting a decrease in SUVs and 50 percent projecting a decrease in large pickups."

"The auto execs expect heavy investment in new models/products and new technologies in the next two years as well as building capacity in Asia. Not investing puts manufacturers at risk in terms of market and product differentiation, resulting in market share decline," Gifford added. This means that you can expect more green vehicles in the very near future still equipped with radiators though.

Honda President Takeo Fukui recently announced that hybrids will account for 10% of the company’s global car sales by 2010.

The second largest Japanese automaker introduced its first hybrid - the Insight - almost a decade ago. And to reach its goal in a matter of 3 years, the automaker will be adding 2 new hybrids to partner with the existing Civic Hybrid.

They are the Global Hybrid to go on sale in 2009, with a focus on making hybrid technology more affordable and a worldwide sales plan of 200,000 units, and a "sports hybrid" based on the CR-Z concept revealed at Tokyo Motor Show, New Zealand Herald reported.

Separately, Honda Canada entertains a number of engineering changes to Fit and Civic models. This is an effort to include the vehicles as part of the Government's 2008 ecoAUTO Rebate Program Engineering changes to all 5-speed manual transmission-equipped 2008 Honda Fit (DX, LX and Sport) and all 5-speed manual transmission-equipped Honda Civic models (DX, DX-G, LX and EX-L) resulted in fuel economy rating reductions that qualify them for the Government of Canada's 2008 ecoAUTO Rebate program, according to a release. Upgrades on engines, catalytic converters, and other auto parts paved the way for more fuel-efficient vehicles.

"We worked very hard within an incredibly short period of time with Honda's research and development teams and our assembly facilities to make the necessary changes to allow manual transmission-equipped Fit and Civic models to qualify for the rebate program," said Jim Miller, the executive vice president of Honda Canada.

"The changes that Honda Canada made to these Fit and Civic models are quite significant. However, we were able to make these engineering changes without any compromises to our full complement of standard safety features. This approach goes beyond industry and government requirements to ensure that Canadians are not forced to choose between environmental concerns or personal safety when buying a vehicle, regardless of its price or size. This is our 'Honda Benefit' for Canadians," he concluded.

In addition to the government's $1,000 rebate for all manual transmission-equipped Fit models, the automaker is offering a $750 gasoline card for all automatic transmission-equipped 2008 Fit models to provide Canadians with added value in recognition of the vehicles' top-of-class safety and fuel efficiency.