All About Alternate Fuel Vehicles (AFV)

By Pat Sherman,November 16, 2007
Source: SignsonSanDiego.com
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/northcounty/20071116-9999-lz1mi16green.html

For North County residents hoping to rack up green mileage, the demand for alternative fuels surpasses the supply. Finding the stuff can be difficult.  Oceanside businessman Bill Cox owns a branch of 1-800-Got-Junk, which hauls trash from homes and businesses to a landfill or recycling center. When the Vancouver-based company invited its franchise owners to operate one of their trucks on biodiesel for a six-month test, Cox jumped at the chance.
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Los Angeles, November 15th, 2007
http://www.autospectator.com/cars/mercedes-benz/
0034927-mercedes-benz-unveils-diesel-hybrid-concept-la-show

Mercedes-Benz is holding the North American debut of a bold new powertrain at the Los Angeles Auto Show, open to the public November 16-23, 2007 at the L.A. Convention Center. The new S400 BLUETEC HYBRID combines both clean diesel and hybrid technologies by using the latest BLUETEC diesel instead of the gasoline engine that usually helps power a hybrid.  Since hybrids use a conventional engine in concert with an electric motor, it’s not surprising that a state-of-the-art hybrid is making use of the world’s most fuel-efficient piston engine – the diesel. In its latest form, the exhaust emissions from the Mercedes-Benz BLUETEC diesel are as clean as a modern gasoline engine.
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By Dee-Ann Durbin, BusinessWeek,
Los Angeles, CA, Nov. 14, 2007
Source: BusinessWeek.com
http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D8STQLN80.htm

Honda Motor Co. said Wednesday it will begin leasing its new FCX Clarity hydrogen-fuel-cell-powered car to a limited number of Southern California drivers this summer. Honda wouldn’t say how many vehicles will be leased. The company plans to offer a three-year lease with a $600 monthly payment. The low-slung, FCX Clarity sedan was unveiled at the Los Angeles Auto Show.  Honda also is developing a home fueling station that uses a home’s existing natural gas supply to produce hydrogen. The automaker now has such a fueling station on its research and design campus in Torrance.
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Sharon Terlep / The Detroit News /Nov. 14, 2007
Source: Detroit News
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071114/AUTO04/711140411

General Motors Corp. will make Chevrolet, its best-selling brand, the center of an urgent attempt to cast the automaker as a progressive, environmentally friendly company to consumers worldwide. GM, in an uphill battle to cultivate a green image, will use an appearance today at the eco-centric Los Angeles Auto Show to prove it has the products and technological know-how to back up Chevy as an Earth-friendly brand. “In the past, we haven’t told our story as well as we could,” said Larry Burns, GM’s vice president of research and development. “And this is a competitive game.”
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David Shepardson / Detroit News Washington Bureau
Washington, Nov. 14, 2007

General Motors Corp. announced the prices of its full-size hybrid SUVs today, saying all of the vehicles would retail for more than $50,000. GM said the Chevrolet Tahoe Hybrid’s suggested retail price would be $50,490 (two-wheel drive) and $53,295 (four-wheel drive), while the GMC Yukon Hybrid would be $50,945 (2WD); and $53,755 (4WD). Those prices include a $900 destination charge and pending IRS approval, could be eligible for a federal tax credit. “We promised to apply our most advanced technologies to vehicles that can save the most fuel, and we are delivering on that promise with the Tahoe and Yukon Hybrid SUVs,” said GM vice chairman Bob Lutz today.
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Nov. 15, 2007
Source: SmartPros.com
http://accounting.smartpros.com/x59808.xml

The Internal Revenue Service has certified that the 2008 Nissan Altima Hybrid vehicle meets the requirements of the Alternative Motor Vehicle Credit as a qualified hybrid motor vehicle. The credit amount for the hybrid vehicle certification of the 2008 Nissan Altima Hybrid is $2,350.  The announcement comes after the IRS concluded its quarterly review of the number of hybrid vehicles sold. Nissan sold 2,627 qualifying vehicles to retail dealers in the quarter ending Sept. 30, 2007. This brings the total number of qualified hybrid vehicles sold to 7,849.
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Staff, Associated Construction Publications
November 15, 2007
Source: http://www.acppubs.com/article/CA6493553.html

The United States Air Force displayed Mack Trucks, Inc.’s innovative and fuel-saving hybrid technology at the Hybrid Truck User Forum (HTUF), September 19 to 21 in Seattle. A Mack Granite® model dump truck, built for the Air Force’s Advanced Power Technology Office (APTO) and currently stationed at Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada, will be at the HTUF exhibition and ride and drive. “Hybrid systems can have a major impact on reducing the more than 38 billion gallons of diesel fuel the U.S. trucking industry consumes every year,” said Paul L. Vikner, president and CEO of Mack. “Mack’s research indicates that hybrid electric systems in heavy-duty trucks could save as much as 35 percent of the fuel consumed by conventionally powered vehicles. Thanks to the support of the Air Force and Congress, we’ve already met many of the challenges involved in turning the hybrid concept into a reality in heavy-duty trucks.
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By MarketWatch, Beijing, Nov 15, 2007
http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story
/story.aspx?guid=%7BE0AF09E4-35D1-40E5-93E7-1BA8D4AE438E%7D

US auto giant Ford Motor Co.said on Thursday it was considering launching hybrid vehicles in China, the world’s second-largest automobile market. The announcement at an industry conference in the eastern Chinese city of Jiangyin came just two weeks after rival General Motors announced plans to build an alternative fuel research center in China aimed at developing “green” vehicles for China’s market.

“We are looking at the possibility of bringing hybrid vehicles into the Chinese market. We are trying to understand which models are the right ones to bring here,” said John Viera, director of Ford’s sustainable business unit.  Viera also called on the Chinese government to implement policies to promote more energy-efficient vehicles. China’s auto market is now second only to the U.S., but the growing numbers of motorists have contributed to appalling air pollution in cities and a spike in energy consumption.

Oct 20, 2007
Source: Energy Bangla.com
http://www.energybangla.com/article_det.asp?aId=774

4th International Conference & Exhibition CNG Conex 2007 will be held on 17-18 November 2007at Karachi Expo Centre with the objective to promote CNG as an alternative and environment friendly fuel in the Country and promotion of CNG conversation of heavy vehicle especially urban transport to protect environment. The Conference & Exhibition will be inaugurated by Federal Minister of Petroleum and Secretary Petroleum is expected to be Chief Guest at the concluding session. This was stated by Naeem Qureshi Chairman Organizing Committee Malik Khuda Buksh, Chairman CSOAP A. Sami Khan President CNG Dealers Association at a joint press Conference at a local hotel.
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Valley Stream, NY, Nov. 6, 2007
Source: Energtek.com press release
http://www.energtek.com/Energtek/IR/Pressrelase.htm

Energtek Inc. (Energtek) announced today the successful completion in the Philippines of the conversion and road-test of an ANG- powered three-wheeler. The conversion has been performed using the technology developed by Energtek’s subsidiary, Angstore Technology Ltd. Energtek, in cooperation with, and under the supervision of, representatives of the Department of Energy of the Republic of the Philippines and of the Philippines National Oil Company Exploration Corporation, converted and further field tested a Honda EMX-155 motorcycle with a side car (tricycle). This model is one of the most widely used motorcycles in the Philippines. The tests, performed in San Antonio, Province of Isabela, met the goals set by the involved parties.
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