Ohio gov signs on to natural gas vehicles push

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Ohio Gov. John Kasich has told governors in Oklahoma and Colorado that his state wants to join their initiative to increase the use of natural gas vehicles in state automobile fleets.
Kasich sent a letter this week affirming the state's interest in the governors' effort, which is aimed at making the vehicles more affordable for the average car buyer.
Besides Oklahoma and Colorado, the governors of Kentucky, Maine, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, Utah, West Virginia and Wyoming have signed a memorandum committing their states to the initiative.
Kasich says his signature can be added to the effort, along with the state's seal.
The memorandum promises to invest in natural gas vehicles when replacing older cars and trucks that burn traditional fuels.
Ohio has more than 12,000 vehicles in its fleet.

New CX-5 to Fully Implement Mazda’s SKYACTIV Technology

Mazda’s first full implementation of its next-generation SKYACTIV suite of technologies will appear in the automaker’s all-new Mazda CX-5 compact SUV crossover, a production model that’s evolved from the MINAGI concept car first shown at the Geneva Motor Show earlier this year. The CX-5 is the first of the company’s production models to adopt Mazda’s new 'KODO - Soul of Motion' design theme.

Designed to provide Mazda’s signature fun-to-drive experience, the CX-5 promises precise response, a high-quality ride, and outstanding environmental and safety performance.

SKYACTIV technologies improve the environmental performance of every part of a vehicle including body, chassis, transmissions, and a range of powerplants through improved efficiencies, lightweighting, and other innovations.

The Euro-spec CX-5 shown here uses Mazda's SKYACTIV-G 2.0-liter gasoline engine, with standard and high-performance 2.2-liter SKYACTIV-D 2.2 diesel engines available. The latter engine is designed to provide exceptional environmental performance for a compact SUV with the 2.2-liter diesel engine said to deliver CO2 emissions of less than 120g/km.

SoCal Gas Field Testing Natural Gas ‘Fueling Station in a Box’

he move toward ever-larger numbers of natural gas vehicles requires a variety of fueling solutions.

Clean Energy has been busy providing fueling stations for fleet and public use, plus building a ‘Natural Gas Highway’ along major highway corridors. Many Honda Civic Natural Gas owners have compressed natural gas (CNG) refueling appliances in their garage.

Now Southern California Gas Co. has launched a field demonstration of the Galileo Microbox, what’s described as a streamlined compressed natural gas ‘fueling station in a box’.

According to SoCal Gas, modular fueling station technologies like this contain all the primary components for a refueling facility in a single, factory integrated enclosure the size of a small shipping container. That, in turn, offers the potential for lower construction and maintenance costs, minimal installation time, and a smaller physical footprint.

The Microbox is being used for the first time in the U.S. at the SoCal Gas Riverside, California customer service base, providing customers CNG at about $2 per gasoline gallon equivalent.

Maxximus LNG 2000 Combines Style, Power, and Natural Gas

Liquid natural gas (LNG) is normally considered a fuel for heavy-duty trucks, not a million dollar supercar. Yet, this is the very ’green‘ fuel that powers the street legal Maxximus LNG 2000 and coming Prodigy LNG, both developed by businessman and philanthropist Bruce McMahan and high-performance engine builder Marlon Kirby.

Previously, they built the Maxximus G-Force, claimed to be the world's fastest street-legal supercar with three records: 0 to 60 mph in 2.0 seconds, 0 to 150 mph in 9.3 seconds, and the quarter-mile in 9.7 seconds at 157 mph. The records were set at the Rockingham, North Carolina Raceway and were certified by the World Record Academy.

Now this team says it expects to break those records with the Maxximus LNG 2000, which was unveiled at the World Oilman’s Poker Tournament at the Wynn in Las Vegas. This new effort by Centaur Maxximus Motion uses a 430 cubic-inch, twin turbo all-aluminum V-8 engine producing over 1600 horsepower while running on LNG. With appropriate adjustments, the engine can also use compressed natural gas or liquid petroleum gas (propane).

In addition to the Maxximus LNG 2000, the company’s planned Prodigy LNG supercar engine will feature a billet block and cylinder heads with four valves-per-cylinder and LNG direct injection. Digital valve technology is said to eliminate the need for camshafts, pushrods, rockers, and lifters, resulting in reduced parasitic friction losses. All this adds up to 2000 horsepower, says the company. Other advanced technologies include a six-speed paddle gear shift box, hybrid all wheel drive with in-line torque sensing technology, carbon ceramic brakes, and ceramic wheel bearings.

The Prodigy LNG's all-carbon-fiber body will ride on a hybrid carbon-fiber and chromalloy tubbed chassis. Ride height adjustable suspension with comfort control is part of the package along with an integrated computer-controlled front wing. Its full custom interior is planned to feature inlay carbon-fiber and burled wood. And the projected price? A cool million.

Audi A2 Concept Features Small Stature, Electric Power

Like many automobile manufacturers, Audi plans to compete in the electric car market. It recently unveiled its Audi A2 Concept, a pure electric vehicle. The Audi A2 is a five-door, four-passenger city car with small external dimensions It has an overall length of just over 149 inches, about 25 inches shorter than the Nissan Leaf. The Audi A2 Concept can accommodate a special city bicycle between the seats and in the rear cargo compartment.

Audi’s A2 Concept uses a lithium-ion battery pack that stores 31 kilowatt hours of energy, of which 24 kilowatt-hours is usable. Typically, about 80 percent of an EV's battery capacity is available for propelling the vehicle. Lithium-ion batteries packs prefer a partial cycle rather than a deep discharge, since deep discharging can reduce battery life. They don't have the ‘memory effect’ found in some other battery chemistries.

The battery powers an electric motor rated at 116 horsepower of peak power and 199 lb-ft torque. This gives the lightweight, 2535 pound EV a governed top speed of 93 mph with 0 to 62 mph acceleration of 9.3 seconds. The lithium-ion battery pack is located in the sandwich floor and the electric motor is transversely mounted in the front of the vehicle, driving the front wheels via a single-speed transmission. The A2 Concept features electric steer-by-wire and brake-by-wire systems.

A driving range of 124 miles is achieved under the European driving cycle. It takes roughly 1 1/2 hours to fully recharge the battery using 400 volt, three-phase European current and about four hours when using 230 volt household current. It is also designed for Audi Wireless Charging. Here, a driver pulls the car over a parking spot that contains a primary coil. Electrical energy is automatically transferred inductively to a secondary coil in the EV, which in turn transfers power to the battery pack. Audi says contactless Audi Wireless Charging takes about the same amount of time as other charging technologies.

The car's relatively light weight is achieved through the use of Audi Space Frame (ASF) technology combined with hybrid multi-material construction. Here, very different materials are combined to achieve ultra light weight. For example, the superstructure is made largely of aluminum components and complemented with carbon fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP) components. The 18-inch wheels are fabricated using cladding technology, in which the alloy base wheel and cladding are manufactured separately and bonded together, to greatly reducing the amount of material used. In the Audi A2, this saves about 4.4 lb per wheel.

The Audi A2 Concept car features an opaque glass roof finished in flat Electric White that becomes transparent at the push of a button. When an electric voltage is applied, small particles integrated into the glass align so the light can pass through the glazing unhindered. When the glass roof is darkened it blocks infrared sunlight almost completely. This helps temperature management of the interior, important in battery electric vehicles.