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It's not a News Year's Day tradition that anyone looks forward to but, with the first reporting deadline looming to comply with the state Air Resources Board rule to regulate diesel truck emissions, a California Farm Bureau Federation specialist reminds farmers and ranchers to record the odometer readings of qualifying agricultural vehicles in their fleets.

The Copenhagen climate summit was jammed over fundamental differences between rich and poor. Representatives from developing world nations had threatened to walk out of the conference over the last week. Developed world diplomats thought this was just conference drama. There is a serious issue. The rich world has been making extreme and morally questionable demands of poor countries. If they persist, no effective global strategy on climate change is possible. One such example to consider is the issue of cultivation and trade of palm oil, a valuable product produced in developing nations in Asia, Africa and Latin America and sold...

According to an unnamed senior company source quoted in Autocar, Mercedes-Benz is currently deciding if it will launch a new range of three-cylinder engines. According to the source, if the German automaker chooses to go the three-cylinder route, the engine may be one cylinder bank of the company's well-regarded V6 line. If MB does go with an inline three, it will join fellow German automaker BMW in lowering its cylinder count. Apparently, though, taking this route is thought to be an expensive proposition that would require extra engineering in the form of a strengthened bodyshell, additional sound deadening and redesigned...

NARDO, Italy -- BMW tuning company AC Schnitzer has build the Schnitzer ACS 3.5d coupe, which recorded a top speed of 288.7kph (179.2mph) on the famous Nardo Ring in Southern Italy - setting the new world record for the Fastest road-legal diesel car. The Fastest road-legal diesel car uses a twin-turbocharged 282bhp three-litre diesel with 428lb-ft that has been tuned to produced 310bhp and 501lb-ft. (enlarge photo) The Fastest road-legal diesel car capable of reaching 0-62mph in 5.7 seconds, and it also gets racing suspension, two racing exhaust-pipes, front and rear spoilers and skirts, and 20" alloys with the power...

A sweeping California regulation aimed at cutting hazardous pollution from diesel engine exhaust could be derailed after a key state researcher on the project was caught in a lie about his academic credentials.

DES MOINES, Iowa — A central Iowa plant could soon begin producing jet fuel from poultry fat. Bolingbrook, Ill.-based Elevance Renewable Sciences plans to build a $15 million plant in Newton, adding onto an existing biodiesel operation. The experimental operation plans to use plant oils and poultry fat as building blocks to replace petroleum-based chemicals used to make myriad products, including jet fuel, lubricants, adhesives and even cosmetics and candles. "It allows us to make a very interesting slate of products, which is different and somewhat in contrast to how poultry fat is used today," said K'Lynne Johnson, Elevance's chief...

The California Air Resources Board gave truckers a break Wednesday on the state's tough diesel emissions rules, acknowledging that the bad economy has both improved the state's air quality and made anti-pollution upgrades unaffordable. After a nearly seven-hour public hearing in Sacramento that featured more than 80 speakers including truckers, health and environmental advocates and even high school students from Oakland, the air board ordered modifications to the rules drawn up for consideration in April. Those changes could include significant delays in enforcement of the rules, depending on how quickly the economy recovers. The board also could add new exemptions...

Released on December 9, 2009 (Next Release on December 16, 2009) Short-Term Forecast is for Asian Oil Demand Growth With the emerging Asian economies rebounding from the global economic downturn faster than the G-7 economies, the Asia-Pacific region is the leading driver of global economic recovery and higher oil demand. Although the emerging Asian economies were generally less exposed to financial risks and credit default arrangements than the U.S. and European economies, many of them have taken strong stimulus measures throughout 2009 that are expected to boost domestic demand, financial credit, and greater investment in transportation and infrastructure. Growth in...

The California Air Resources Board must decide today whether the bad economy justifies giving truckers and construction firms more breathing room on the state's toughest-in-the-nation diesel pollution regulations. By cutting diesel consumption, the recession has likely improved the state's air quality, air board staff say. Fleet owners hope to use that evidence to convince the agency that it should delay mandated retrofits and upgrades they say the recession has made them unable to afford. "They could not have put enough regulations in place to do what this slowdown has done," said Felipe Martin, chief financial officer at Sacramento's Martin Bros....

A year ago, high officials of the California Air Resources Board learned that the author of a statistical study on diesel soot effects had falsified his academic credentials. The CARB researcher, Hien Tran, acknowledged the deception and agreed to be demoted, but after his data were given another peer review, they remained the basis of highly controversial regulations that will cost owners of trucks, buses and other diesel-powered machinery millions of dollars to upgrade their engines. The Tran study concluded that diesel "particulate matter" was responsible for about 1,000 additional deaths each year. Only recently, with the rules on the...

BMW's EfficientDynamics Vision concept car combines the best of all worlds with incredible fuel efficiency, breaktaking performance, and sensational looks. It's powered by a three-cylinder turbo-diesel engine, lithium polymer batteries, and electric motors front and rear. The BMW Vision gets a U.S. unveiling next week at the Los Angeles Auto Show, Dec. 4-13. The only bad news: The BMW Vision is more vision than production-ready concept car. What you'd most likely see on sale would be the key components such as the drivetrain and battery technology transplanted to a more mainstream body. On a stopover from Europe en route to...

DETROIT -- Chrysler Group will launch Fiat-designed diesel engines and dual-clutch transmissions in its North American products, Chrysler said today. The company also will launch its new Pentastar V-6 engine on the 2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee in the second quarter of 2010, said Paolo Ferrero, Chrysler powertrain chief. The Pentastar will replace all Chrysler’s V-6 engines, from 2.7-liter to 4.0-liter displacement. The first dual-clutch transmission will appear on a D-segment vehicle at the end of 2010. Also about that time, Chrysler will launch stop-start technology on the Jeep Wrangler. Chrysler did not immediately specify when it would introduce Fiat-derived diesel...

Released on October 28, 2009 (Next Release on November 4, 2009) Changing Distillate Export Patterns Distillate (including diesel) is the second largest petroleum product consumed in the United States, used for everything from fuel for trucks and trains to residential heating and even a small amount of power generation. Although still overshadowed by gasoline consumption within the United States, global trends have been rapidly increasing the demand for distillate. This is causing major changes in the United States’ role in the world distillate market. For many years, the United States was a net importer of relatively small volumes of distillate,...

PDATED (October 2, 2009): Volkswagen has now officially released details on the 2010 Golf TDI. The new model is rated at 30/41 mpg (city/hwy) for the manual transmission and 32/42 mpg with VW’s advanced DSG automatic transmission. The car is priced from $21,990. Noticeably absent from the North American market since 2006, the Volkswagen Golf TDI will return for 2010. The new model was showcased today at the New York Auto Show, along with the high performance GTI (see our review here). There weren’t any standard Golfs on the floor, but we do have info on that model too....

Diesel fuel used to cost less than the more highly refined gasoline. Is there a real reason for this, or is it price gouging? The main reason is rising global demand, but new environmental restrictions and higher federal taxes also are factors. Historically, the price of diesel fuel at the pump actually has been higher than that of regular gasoline more often than it has been lower, as can be seen in this chart, which is based on weekly statistics from the federal Energy Information Administration. Until recently the normal pattern has been for gasoline to cost more than diesel...

Link only due to copyright............. http://www.wired.com/autopia/2009/10/biodiesel-hybrid-bu/

ARLINGTON, Va. —The Truck Writers of North America (TWNA) announced Detroit Diesel Corporation’s DD15 engine turbo compounding as the winner of its Technical Achievement Award for 2008 during TMC’s 2009 Annual Meeting in Orlando, Fla., Feb. 9-12.

We first saw Jay Leno's EcoJet mid-engine turbine coupe at the 2006 SEMA Show in Las Vegas. Leno, with General Motors' Design Chief, Ed Welburn, and Frank Saucedo, who heads the automaker's west coast studio, penned the design concept. Leno has both a motorcycle and a pickup truck powered by "jet" turbine engines, so the plan was to create an automobile that would run on a similar powerplant fueled by biodiesel. The EcoJet was initially a static exhibit, but one thing about Jay's Garage is that everything runs. So Jim Hall, Bernard Juchli and the other wizards in the Burbank...

Unless you drive one of its tractors, Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. is an unfamiliar name. That should change as the company enters the U.S. truck market by year’s end. Two Hampton Roads automobile dealers have bought territories: Beach Ford Lincoln Mercury for Suffolk and Cavalier Auto Group for Chesapeake, Norfolk, Portsmouth and Virginia Beach. "We really wanted it if we could get the entire market," said Steve Klimkiewicz, vice president of Cavalier Auto Group, which will open showrooms on the site of its wholesale used car store on Military Highway in Chesapeake and in Saturn of Virginia Beach's used car...

The winners: Supermini Fiat 500 Start&Stop £9,700, 113g/km, 58.9mpg Small family car Volvo S40 1.6D DRIVe S £17,495, 104g/km, 72.4mpg Family car Toyota Avensis 2.0 D-4D T2 £17,545, 135g/km, 55.4mpg Executive car BMW 318d ES £24,235, 123g/km, 60.1mpg MPV Citroën Grand C4 Picasso 1.6 HDi £19,095, 140g/km, 53.3mpg 4X4 Lexus RX450h SE-L £50,460, 148g/km, 44.8mpg Sports car Mini Cooper S £16,575, 149g/km, 45.6 mpg Luxury car Audi A8 2.8 V6 FSI SE £49,970, 199g/km, 34.0mpg Technology Vauxhall Ampera Editor's award Tesla

It’s rare that we test two-year-old cars, but this particular Accord is rarer—in the U.S., anyway—than burlesque houses in a Texan polygamy camp. Under the hood is a 2.2-liter four-cylinder engine. It’s happy as low as 1300 rpm, but power starts at about 1600, with a whopping 251 pound-feet of torque (55 percent more than the current four-cylinder Accord) available at 2000 rpm. There is a nearly imperceptible difference between 70- or 80-percent throttle and flat-footing it, meaning the car feels quick when driven at about 8/10th, but sluggish when it’s really hammered. It took 8.9 seconds to wind the...

Using a separate E85 direct injection boosting system combined with gasoline port fuel injection (PFI) makes the engine more efficient in its use of gasoline, and can be viewed as a more cost-effective alternative to a modern diesel, according to a Ford study presented by Robert Stein, currently of AVL, formerly of Ford, at the SAE 2009 World Congress.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Oil prices fell Tuesday as investors respond to the expiration of the May futures contract and ongoing economic concerns. Light, sweet crude for May delivery was down $1.06 to $44.85 a barrel in pre-market, electronic trade in New York. The May contract, which expires Tuesday, tumbled nearly 9% in the previous session. Oil for June delivery was down $3.96 to $48.51 a barrel. Trading is often volatile in the days leading up to the expiration of monthly futures contracts as investors not wishing to take delivery of physical oil roll positions into the front-month contract. Meanwhile,...

Two years ago Imperium Renewables feted U.S. senators and other bigwigs at the opening of a biodiesel plant at the port of Grays Harbor, Wash. The $88 million plant was heralded as a great green hope in the fight against global warming. At the event, Imperium chief executive Martin Tobias dipped his finger in a container of biodiesel and took a taste for the crowd. Imperium's prospects aren't looking so sweet today. The plant at Grays Harbor is sitting idle. Most of Imperium's employees (110 two years ago), including Tobias, have been sent packing. The company has not much to...

($) 1…2…3? With the U.S. average retail price for regular gasoline now above the $2 per gallon mark, many Americans may be wondering if even higher gasoline prices await this summer. Does the surge over $2 per gallon signal a re-run to the $3 level or higher this summer, adding to the budgetary strain already experienced by average consumers? Although future market conditions are highly uncertain, EIA does not see gasoline prices climbing to such levels this year. It does seem likely, however, that gasoline prices will average more than $2 per gallon this summer. On average, prices of crude...

While U.S. gasoline demand (measured as deliveries) ticked up 2 percent for February, perhaps in response to lower prices, February diesel demand plunged 12 percent and jet fuel demand dropped 6.6 percent from a year ago, reflecting the faltering economy, according to API’s Monthly Statistical Report. Overall, total oil-product demand fell 3 percent from a year ago, marking the lowest demand for a February since 1999. With demand off, refinery inputs fell – by 2.9 percent from a year ago – to their lowest February level since 2002. Even so, industry gasoline production averaged over 8.8 million barrels per day,...

Released on March 11, 2009 (Next Release on March 18, 2009) Changing Expectations A lot has changed over the last several months, here in Washington with the new Administration, and across the U.S. and the rest of the world as economic conditions continue to deteriorate. It has been the latter change that has impacted EIA’s short-term global oil market forecast. In the latest Short-Term Energy Outlook (STEO), just released yesterday, EIA is projecting 2009 global oil demand to be 3 million barrels per day lower than we projected as recently as six months ago, in our September 2008 STEO. Why...

Released on March 4, 2009 (Next Release on March 11, 2009) The Bakken Formation Helps Increase U.S. Proved Reserves of Oil This Week In Petroleum for January 28, 2009 noted that North Dakota had the Nation’s third largest increase in proved reserves of crude oil in 2007, 70 million barrels (17 percent). Most of this increase came from development of the Bakken Formation. What is the Bakken Formation and why does it matter? What is the Bakken Formation? The Bakken Formation contains a major onshore unconventional oil resource in Montana, North Dakota, and Saskatchewan, Canada. It has three distinct layers,...

VW Introduces Fifth Generation Polo; Weight Down, Fuel Consumption Down Volkswagen unveiled the fifth generation of the supermini Polo at the Geneva Motor Show. Despite improvements in all aspects of the car, Volkswagen was able to reduce the Polo’s body weight by 7.5%. The introduction of new TDI and TSI engines, as well as the 7-speed dual clutch transmission (DSG), has resulted in reduced fuel consumption and emissions over a wide range of engine power outputs. As an example, the 1.2 TSI turbocharged four-cylinder direct injection gasoline engine produces 77 kW (103 hp), while consuming 5.5 L/100km (43 mpg US),...

President Barack Obama's first budget includes $15 billion a year for renewable energy programs and an ambitious plan to raise $646 billion from a carbon reduction proposal. "Because our future depends on our ability to break free from oil that's controlled by foreign dictators, we need to make clean, renewable energy the profitable kind of energy," Mr. Obama said Thursday morning. "That's why we'll be working with Congress on legislation that places a market-based cap on carbon pollution and drives the production of more renewable energy." The plan uses money from a cap-and-trade program — which would allow companies to...

Are Gasoline and Crude Oil Price Patterns Actually Diverging? Recently, we at EIA have received many inquiries about why gasoline retail prices have been rising compared to the New York Mercantile Exchange’s (NYMEX’s) reported price of crude oil. The national media have also run several prominent stories on this divergence in prices. In particular, EIA’s reported average retail price of regular gasoline in the United States rose from $1.61 to $1.96 between December 29th and February 16th. During the same period, NYMEX’s most reported price for crude oil was volatile, but had no clear upward trend. So what’s going on?...

President Obama will pledge Tuesday night that the nation "will rebuild, we will recover," as he delivers an address to a joint session of Congress and with a nervous nation watching at home. "While our economy may be weakened and our confidence shaken; though we are living through difficult and uncertain times, tonight I want every American to know this: We will rebuild, we will recover, and the United States of America will emerge stronger than before," Mr. Obama will say, according to excerpts of his remarks. In lofty language, Mr. Obama is expected to promise a new path forward...

Barack Hussein Obama will propose a massive business tax on greenhouse gases in his FY 2010 federal budget to be presented this week.The massive tax increase and power grab was buried at the end on article on Obama's forthcoming budget proposal in The New York Times:On energy policy, Mr. Obama’s budget will show new revenues by 2012 from his proposal to require companies to buy permits from the government for greenhouse gas emissions above a certain cap. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that the permits would raise up to $300 billion a year by 2020. Since companies would pass their...

BAY MINETTE — Cello Energy sprouted quietly here as a truly homegrown industry. But it won't stay that way, said David Bransby, professor of energy crops and bio-energy at Auburn University. The company has been in startup for about two months, making renewable diesel fuel from tires, hay, straw, wood chips and switchgrass. Full production should begin in March, with a goal of 20 million gallons a year, produced for well under a $1 gallon, company officials said. Created, built and financed by the father-and-son team of Jack and Allen Boykin of Daphne, the company will "shock the world," Bransby...

Diesel prices in many parts of the world should drop below gasoline this summer for the first time since mid-2007 as refinery projects lift output and slumping economies slash transport and manufacturing demand. The expected shift would restore the typical balance between the two fuels, market participants around the world said. Diesel, closely related to heating oil, traditionally has been more costly in the Northern Hemisphere winter but cheaper in the summer when temperatures rise and U.S. gasoline use peaks. "I'd say there's a fairly good chance that we could see gasoline regain its price premium this summer for the...

Refinery Yields “Refinery yield” is the measure analysts use to assess how the breakdown of petroleum products coming from crude or unfinished oils varies over time. Refiners can adjust product yields in response to changing product prices and other market conditions. Yield changes are made by varying how refinery process units are used and the type of crude oil that is used. EIA receives many questions about yields, including how much they may vary, why they add up to greater than 100 percent, and how to estimate yields from weekly data, which does not contain adequate detail to determine refinery...

T. Boone Pickens said Tuesday that he's seeking as much as $28 billion from the economic stimulus plan to convert heavy-duty trucks from diesel to natural gas engines. [...] Pickens' latest lobbying effort comes as congressional Democrats negotiate details of the $800 billion package of tax cuts and government spending. Pickens said he discussed his request Tuesday with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Henry Waxman and Education and Labor Committee Chairman George Miller. A Pelosi spokesman refused to provide details of the "private conversation." "They, of course, didn't jump up and give me a standing ovation,"...

Mercedes-Benz introduced its new E-Class vehicles in Detroit on the eve of the 2009 North American International Auto Show. The range of engines available for the new E-Class comprises four-, six- and eight-cylinder units with outputs from 100 kW/136 hp to 386 kW/525 hp. The new E-Class models offer reductions in fuel consumption of up to 23% compared to their predecessors The four-cylinder engines are newly developed direct-injection units, which develop a higher output and torque than the comparable V6-engines of the preceding series despite a smaller displacement. The strategy is to replace to replace large, naturally aspirated engines with...

Released on January 14, 2009 (Next Release on January 22, 2009) What a Difference a Year Makes The monthly energy supply, demand, and price forecast published in the Short-Term Energy Outlook (STEO) was extended by one year, through December 2010, in the issue released yesterday by the Energy Information Administration (EIA). Unexpected economic and energy market events will surely arise to upset forecasters’ most carefully considered expectations. We can see how much such events can change expectations by looking at the STEO forecasts for 2009 that were published beginning with the January 8, 2008 edition. In January of last year...

Navistar International Corp., which has been locked in a bitter legal feud with Ford Motor Co. over a longstanding diesel-engine supply contract, said late Tuesday that the two companies have agreed to end their legal dispute – and to terminate Navistar's supply contract three years early. The two companies "benefited from a successful partnership that provided value to both companies for nearly three decades," said Chairman and Chief Executive Dan Ustian. "However, it's in our best interests to resolve our conflict and continue our relationship with each other in other areas." Navistar's contract to supply diesel engines for Ford's heavy-duty...

The Air Car, made by French company MDI, could be launched by Tata Motors in India by 2010-11. Replying to an email query, the French company said, "We will release in France the first cars for the Air France company before June 2009. The cars will be available for the public at the end of 2009." Mumbai-based Tata Motors, India's third biggest car manufacturer had signed a licensing agreement with MDI for manufacturing the car in India. The agreement between the two envisages development and refinement of the technology. The Air Car doesn't require traditional fuel options like petrol, diesel,...

Maximum driving fun with minimal fuel consumption: that's how VW has started car year 2009 by presenting the Concept BlueSport roadster at the North American International Auto Show. "The BlueSport proves to be a compact and passionate car with a clear Volkswagen signature. The car offers pure dynamics with a powerful 134kW Clean Diesel engine that is combined with the characteristic Volkswagen philosophy of efficiency," Volkswagen's board chairman Martin Winterkorn confirmed at the Detroit show. The Concept BlueSport is making its appearance at the car show in Detroit with a Flex Silver exterior and orange fabric convertible top. "It is...

Eleven Northeast and Mid-Atlantic states will cooperate to develop a regional Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS). The 11 states—the 10 members of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) plus Pennsylvania—will work together to create an emissions-performance standard that will eventually provide incentives for energy providers to use lower-carbon fuels. In June, Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick sent a letter to the governors of all 10 RGGI states inviting them to work with Massachusetts on developing a Low Carbon Fuel Standard that would apply to the entire region, creating a larger market for cleaner fuels, reducing emissions associated with global climate change,...

Volvo Cars is introducing an entirely new 2.4-liter 5-cylinder diesel engine in the Volvo S80. Sharing only the D5 badge and the 5-cylinder configuration with the previous generation, the new D5 is Euro-5 compliant and is more efficient than its predecessor. Featuring sequential twin turbochargers, ceramic glow-plugs and piezoelectric fuel injectors, the new engine applied in the S80 delivers 205 hp (153 kW) of power and 420 Nm (310 lb-ft) of torque, with fuel consumption of 6.2 liters/100 km (38 mpg US) and CO2 emissions of 164 g/km. The previous engine generation has undergone constant development in a series of...

Porsche just launched its first modern diesel engine in the Cayenne sport utility vehicle, and the German automaker said when it was first introduced that it was planning on bringing the model to other markets. Considering that the Cayenne is Porsche's best-selling vehicle in India, it's not all that surprising that the oil-burner is slated for an Indian introduction in short order. Even better, according to Car Trade India, "a diesel version of this popular SUV is expected to sell like a hot cake." That sounds good, right? Currently, Cayenne diesels are produced at Porsche's Leipzig factory, and this is...

With the high cost of gasoline and diesel fuel impacting costs for automobiles, trucks, buses and the overall economy, a Temple University physics professor has developed a simple device which could dramatically improve fuel efficiency as much as 20 percent. According to Rongjia Tao, Chair of Temple's Physics Department, the small device consists of an electrically charged tube that can be attached to the fuel line of a car's engine near the fuel injector. With the use of a power supply from the vehicle's battery, the device creates an electric field that thins fuel, or reduces its viscosity, so that...

Panel wants fuel taxes hiked to fund highwaysBy JOAN LOWY, Associated Press Updated 04:20 p.m., January 1, 2009 WASHINGTON (AP) — A 50 percent increase in gasoline and diesel fuel taxes is being urged by a federal commission to finance highway construction and repair until the government devises another way for motorists to pay for using public roads. **SNIP** With motorists driving less and buying less fuel, the current 18.4 cents a gallon gas tax and 24.4 cents a gallon diesel tax fail to raise enough to keep pace with the cost of road, bridge and transit programs. **SNIP** A...

There is no sign that California motorists are returning to their gas-guzzling ways even though pump prices have taken a tumble. Third quarter figures just issued show that consumption was down for the 10th consecutive three-month period. That’s a 6.1% decline compared to the same summertime quarter in 2007. That amounts to a quarter-of-a-billion fewer gallons. Diesel consumption fell more than 10 percent for a drop of 84.7 million gallons.

Jaguar is introducing a new 3.0-liter diesel engine—the AJ-V6D Gen III—in two power levels in its XF Diesel S sedan for the European market. The new V6 engine, derived from the 2.7-liter diesel, improves fuel economy by 12% and produces 10% less CO2 (179 g/km) than the 2.7L, while increasing power by 33%. The new 3.0L engines are Euro-5 compliant. The 275PS (271 hp, 202 kW) version delivers 600 Nm of torque, accelerates the sedan from 0-60 mph in 5.9 seconds, and has combined fuel economy of 35 mpg US (42 mpg UK, 6.7 L/100km)—a 12% improvement in fuel economy...

Despite a steep contango in the forward market, a lack of ULSD in tank continues to support European barge premiums with particular tightness in the prompt market, said market sources Wednesday. Platts assessed 10 ppm ULSD barges at $445/mt on Tuesday, representing a premium to ICE gasoil futures of $28/mt. The premium has increased by more than $10/mt in the past week, according to Platts data. Despite an open arbitrage through much of December that attracted significant volumes of diesel from the US Gulf into Europe, there remains a lack of diesel in storage locations in Rotterdam, Antwerp and Amsterdam,...