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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...

Federal efforts to clean up laker emissions are fueling a heated debate throughout the St. Lawrence Seaway. “It’s a threat to the economics of shipping on the Great Lakes,” Adolph Ojard, executive director of the Duluth Seaway Port Authority, said of rules recently proposed by the Environmental Protection Agency. The EPA wants to wean older lakers off their diet of inexpensive No. 6 “bunker” fuel to reduce sulfur levels 50 percent in 2012 and help prevent tens of thousands of premature deaths. The entire fleet would convert to low-sulfur marine diesel by 2015. But lake carriers say the effort could...

Think last summer's $4 a gallon prices at the pump were painful? Imagine being the US Military, which pays around $400 a gallon in Afghanistan according to the Pentagon comptroller's office in a report to the House Appropriations Defense panel.

Celebrating Petrobras’ 56th anniversary, CEO José Sergio Gabrielli de Azevedo and the boards of Petrobras and of its subsidiaries held a press conference this Wednesday (10/07) at the company’s main office building, in Rio de Janeiro. snip "We are the world’s only major company that uses most of its production to feed its own refineries, which, in turn, market their products mainly in the domestic market. This characteristic is unique in the world," emphasized the CEO, who highlighted the role the company will play from now on, particularly in the supplier chain. "Petrobras will not only supply oil derivatives, natural...

President Obama declared war on oil and natural gas at the United Nations global warming summit, and he made the same pitch to the G20 meeting in Pittsburgh, Jerome Corsi's Red Alert reports. "I will work with my colleagues at the G20 to phase out fossil fuel subsidies so that we can better address our climate challenge," he told the U.N.

A month ago oil giant BP announced a 600 million dollar investment in green algae research. Exxon did not stand still for that. Now they are matching that with their own 600 million bucks. Green algae is a very versatile crop. You can literally and inexpensively make anything from Green Algae that you can make from petroleum or from corn. Hundreds of companies world wide are already hard at work building infrastructure; hundreds of thousands of jobs will result as the Bio Tech Age and the green algae technologies mature over the next few years. Our defense department is supporting...

This came over the AP, and was picked up by a New Zealand site. I have not yet located other sources. Obama wants to end all Federal subsidies for petroleum. Most people do not realize that Petroleum has been massively subsidized for the past 50 years. This will not affect state, county, city or township gasoline, heating oil and diesel fuel subsidies.

Chinese state companies this month began supplying petrol to Iran and now provide up to a third of its imports in a development that threatens to undermine US-led efforts to shut off the supply of fuel on which its economy depends. The sales come in spite of moves over the past year by international companies, including BP and Reliance of India, to stop selling petrol to Iran, and highlight the difficulties of implementing sanctions aimed at curbing Iran's nuclear ambitions. Traders and bankers familiar with Iran's purchasing said the gap left by the withdrawal of such long-standing suppliers had been...

WASHINGTON (AP) - The Obama administration is unveiling plans to require higher efficiency standards for cars and trucks and tougher rules on vehicle greenhouse gas emissions. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood and EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson planned to release the proposed regulations Tuesday. They call for the auto industry's fleet of new vehicles to average 35.5 miles per gallon by 2016. The plan follows up on President Barack Obama's announcement in May that the government regulations would link emissions and fuel economy standards. The Obama administration estimated earlier this year the requirements would cost up to $1,300 per new vehicle by...

Energy: We balk at importing "dirty" oil from Canada, but others aren't so reluctant. Exempt as a "developing" nation from Kyoto-like agreements, China has decided to help Canada develop its energy-rich oil sands.The Financial Post reports that PetroChina International Investment Co. has struck a deal to buy a 60% interest in Athabasca Oil Sands Corp.'s McKay River and Dover projects for $1.9 billion. China has been establishing energy beachheads around the world in its quest to keep its growing economy fueled. With possible conflict brewing between Israel and Iran, Beijing recognizes the need for reliable suppliers like Canada in an...

Energy Policy: A new study shows that Waxman-Markey will increase prices at the pump, deepen our dependence on foreign oil and shred our ability to turn crude into gasoline. Even fuel-efficient cars will still need fuel.Oil may bubble up out of the ground, but gasoline does not. It's made in those ugly little NIMBY places called refineries we are loath to build anymore because we're too busy trying to save the Earth rather than our economy and American jobs. When Hurricane Katrina shut down 20% of our refining capacity in a single day and raised gas prices in a single...

Sunlight can readily liberate hydrogen from water as a result of a novel solid catalyst that mediates that reaction with unprecedented efficiency, according to researchers in China who developed the catalyst. The study advances the decades-old search for an inexpensive way to produce hydrogen, a versatile fuel, from water, an abundantly available resource. A key challenge to tapping into solar energy on a broad scale is developing an effective way to store that energy. One strategy calls for using sunlight to produce fuels such as hydrogen, which in many ways is considered an ideal energy carrier. Using sunlight to evolve...

The recent discovery of a massive oil field in the Gulf of Mexico has crude oil refinery companies projecting its potential output to be well over 15 billion barrels. If these projections are true the impact of this discovery will be much greater than the actual discovery itself and may have encouraged continued crude oil dependency in the midst of a universal push for alternative fuel sources. It would certainly have a significant impact on crude oil consumption in the United States. According to the US Energy department, Americans consumes roughly 5.7 billion barrels of crude oil annually with reserves...

This week (June 22-26) I again fielded a ton of questions from several media sources on oil. This is my recollection of what I was asked, how I responded, and some support for my thinking. Question: I'm seeing at least two reports that said china consumption is up a second month, up much more than a year ago and at record levels. Platts recently reported that China consumed 33.23 million metric tons of oil in May, up 6% from a year earlier. Answer: Demand from China may be up, however, according to the International Energy Agency, global demand for crude...

This week (June 8-12) I was interviewed by several media sources regarding my thoughts on oil and the direction of gas prices at the pump. These are a few of the questions I was asked and how I responded. Question: What happened in the last month that's prompted this increase in gas price -- and oil price for that matter?

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India aims to auction its remaining 1 million square kilometers (387,000 sq miles) of potential exploration areas in the next two to three years, buoyed by recent oil and gas discoveries, the upstream regulator said on Thursday. It recently launched its biggest-ever exploration round, offering 70 blocks as it expects companies to seize the opportunity to strike good bargains because of the economic slowdown. The discoveries, and their development, will prove useful as India imports over 70 percent of the crude it consumes and demand is expected to rise further as the economy recovers. The country...

The federal government mistakenly made public a 266-page report, its pages marked “highly confidential,” that gives detailed information about hundreds of the nation’s civilian nuclear sites and programs, including maps showing the precise locations of stockpiles of fuel for nuclear weapons. The publication of the document was revealed Monday in an on-line newsletter devoted to issues of federal secrecy. That publicity set off a debate among nuclear experts about what dangers, if any, the disclosures posed. It also prompted a flurry of investigations in Washington into why the document was made public. On Tuesday evening, after inquiries from The New...

TVA To Reduce Fuel Cost Adjustment for Third Straight Quarter in July May 15, 2009 TVA today announced that the quarterly fuel cost adjustment will decrease for the third straight quarter for billing periods beginning July 1. This decrease, in addition to reductions on Jan. 1 and April 1, will more than offset the 17-percent FCA increase in October 2008. Overall, the decrease for the fourth quarter of the 2009 fiscal year will be a 4.1-percent reduction on total average wholesale rates, which is a reduction of approximately 35 percent from the current quarter’s fuel cost adjustment amount, bringing it...

Steven Chu, US secretary of energy, on Wednesday said that it would not be politically feasible for the country to lower its reliance on oil by raising petrol prices to Europe’s levels through higher taxes or regulation. In the past Mr Chu, a Nobel laureate, has argued that if the US wanted to reduce its carbon emissions, policymakers would have to find a way to increase petrol prices to levels in Europe. But in an interview with the Financial Times, he said: “At this moment, let me be frank, it is not politically feasible.” Mr Chu’s comments come as oil...

In the sidebar of this article about California's latest Proposition vote is a Poll about Obama's fuel standards which right now has the result that they are overwhelmingly approved of by the American public. Freepers needed to participate in the poll and give a truer picture of what we think about Obama's fuel standards. http://money.cnn.com/2009/05/20/news/economy/california/index.htm Quick Vote What do you think about the Obama administration's new automotive fuel standards?

There's a whole lot of chatter about Obama's new decree on CAFE standards today and rightly so. I wonder why the old CAFE standards came from Congress and Obama just gets to decree his? Oh, well, so much for the Constitution. I'm curious about fuel standards because of simple personal experience. My dad had a 1987 Buick Skylark that we all fit into for normal trips to church and whatnot. It had a 2.5L 4cylinder engine, 4 doors, made about 30 mpg's (but my dad drives really, really slow), and got the job done. Granted, we had a full blown...

The new fuel economy rules announced by the government are more than a challenge; they could end our era of cheap transportation. If they can be met, and that is questionable without some cheating on the rulemaking, cars will be small and expensive--or larger and very expensive. The word coming from Washington is that a 35.5 mile average per gallon requirement will be set for vehicles by 2016, meaning something like 43 miles per gallon for cars and 26 miles per gallon for trucks. Rules are easy to make. Companies like General Motors ( GM - news - people )...

5/14/2009 - KADENA AIR BASE, Japan (AFNS) -- Most of us hear stories of Airmen saving lives in combat, but an Airman who saves the lives of more than 300 passengers is definitely a story worth hearing. A fuel leak on a civilian aircraft caught the attention of Staff Sgt. Bartek Bachleda, 909th Air Refueling Squadron boom operator, during a flight from Chicago to Narita airport, Japan. After alerting the pilots and aircrew, the ranking pilot made the decision to divert the flight to San Francisco. "I noticed the leak on the left side of the aircraft right behind the...

Ethanol producers reacted with dismay to California’s approval of the nation’s first low-carbon fuel standard, which will require the state’s mix of fuels to be 10 percent lower in greenhouse gas emissions by 2020. In a 9-1 vote late Thursday, the state’s Air Resources Board approved the measure (see background here). “The drive to force the market toward greater use of alternative fuels will be a boon to the state’s economy and public health — it reduces air pollution, creates new jobs and continues California’s leadership in the fight against global warming,” said the California board’s chairman, Mary D. Nichols,...

TEHRAN, Iran – Iran now controls the entire cycle for producing nuclear fuel, the Iranian president said Saturday, highlighting his country's growing capabilities at a time when the U.S. wants to negotiate with Iran over its nuclear program. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's comments came two days after the inauguration of a facility which produces uranium oxide fuel pellets for a planned heavy-water reactor — the final step in the long, sophisticated nuclear fuel cycle. "Today, with the grace of God, Iran is a country controlling the entire nuclear fuel cycle," Ahmadinejad said on state television Saturday.

Iran's president has opened the country's first nuclear fuel production plant, making what correspondents say was a defiant speech. President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Iran was open to an offer of fresh talks with world powers, but only if they were based on "justice" and "respect". He also announced progress on a new generation of centrifuges. Iran denies Western claims it aims to build a nuclear bomb, saying its nuclear programme is for peaceful ends. The BBC's Jon Leyne in Tehran says it is the president's defiant political message that is the most significant move of the day. Mr Ahmadinejad made...

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack says the government should move quickly to increase the amount of ethanol allowed in gasoline. Ethanol producers asked the Environmental Protection Agency last week to increase the amount of ethanol that refiners can blend with gasoline from a maximum of 10 percent to 15 percent, which could boost the demand for the renewable fuel additive by as much as 6 billion gallons a year. However, automobile and small engine manufacturers have said there's no certainty yet that such an increase will not harm engines and fuel lines.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE No. 09-53 Governor Palin Supports Extending Motor Fuel Tax Suspension March 10, 2009, Juneau, Alaska – Governor Sarah Palin pledged her support today for Senator Bettye Davis' bill to extend Alaska's suspension of the motor fuel tax. Senate Bill 14 extends a portion of the governor's multi-phase statewide energy plan she introduced last year to help Alaskans combat the high cost of energy. "Alaskans are unique among Americans in the contiguous states in terms of transportation costs," Palin said. "In rural Alaska, particularly, many people are still paying outrageous fuel costs. Heating and fuel bills are double...

The corn-ethanol industry, which wouldn't exist without government intervention, his hired former General turned influence-peddler Wes Clark to lobby for an increase in the proportion of corn ethanol in motor fuel, from 10% to 15%. Corn ethanol is at best fuel-INefficient, raising the cost of driving needlessly, and at worst, it will damage your vehicle. And you get to pay for it!

President Obama drew rave reviews for his unorthodox selection of Dr. Sanjay Gupta as the nation's surgeon general. Not only is Dr. Gupta an accomplished neurosurgeon, but as CNN's in-house doc he has also proven himself a bona fide celebrity. People magazine tagged him as one of 2003's "Sexiest Men Alive," and the swooning that met Obama's announcement suggests... --snip-- TAKING THE IDEA mainstream has brought its share of problems, though. The Los Angeles Times profiled a mechanic last year who has converted his fleet of vehicles to be fueled by fryer grease from a local chowder house. Then Sacramento...

Green trucking: State may consider diesel idling ban soon Mike Ivey — 3/03/2009 1:24 pm The rumble of idling diesel trucks at a highway rest stop is a familiar sound to many travelers. Truck and bus drivers routinely run their engines during breaks to provide heat or air conditioning in the cab and electrical power for the radio or refrigerator. Keeping the motor running also eliminates the need for a "cold start," which is hard on bearings, seals and other engine parts. But growing concerns over air pollution -- not to mention fuel costs -- have driven 21 states to...

CAMP TAJI, Iraq, Feb. 10, 2009 – A diverse group of soldiers here helps to ensure aviation crews always are ready to conduct show-of-force, reconnaissance and presence patrols throughout Multinational Division Center. A petroleum supply specialist with 1st Attack Reconnaissance Battalion, 4th Aviation Regiment, refuels an AH-64D Apache helicopter at Camp Taji, Iraq. Courtesy photo  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Soldiers of the distribution platoon with 1st Attack Reconnaissance Battalion, 4th Aviation Regiment, are responsible for the battalion’s fuel, water and ammunition. The platoon is made up of petroleum supply and ammunition specialists and truck drivers, all critical...

WASHINGTON, Feb. 4, 2009 – Coalition troops in Afghanistan recently teamed up with Afghan soldiers to provide food, clothing and fuel to Afghan villagers and to collect munitions in a rewards program, military officials said. An Afghan soldier distributes humanitarian assistance to a villager in the Deh Rawood district of Afghanistan’s Oruzgan province, Jan. 30, 2009. U.S. Army photo  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Coalition special operations and Afghan national security forces distributed humanitarian assistance to more than 400 villagers in the Deh Rawood district of Oruzgan province Jan. 30. The combined forces distributed 200 bags of coal,...

Politicians want you to pay more when you drive. They just won't admit it."We must ensure that the fuel-efficient cars of tomorrow are built right here in the United States of America," President Barack Obama declared yesterday. He also signed an order directing the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to review the denial of California's request to set its automobile mileage standards higher than those adopted by the federal government. In 2007, Congress passed and President George Bush signed legislation aimed at increasing Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards to at least 35 miles per gallon (mpg) by 2020, up from...

Carol Browner, who headed the Environmental Protection Agency under President Bill Clinton, has been named by Barack Obama to be his Assistant to the President for Energy and Climate Change. This new and undefined office could give her broad influence over economic policy. That is a frightening prospect, not merely because of her participation in a group with overtly socialist ties, but because of the way hostile foreign powers such as China are manipulating the modern Green movement to serve their own national purposes. http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/Read.aspx?GUID=1051A58C-1F0D-4574-AFF6-C283D4D6FE83

In the first speech of his "whistle-stop" tour to Washington, Barack Obama talked global warming to a crowd of shivering Philadelphians who braved 18 degree (sub 10 degree wind-chill) temperatures on their journey to the 30th Street Train Station. It's hard to believe that, given the arctic-like temperatures the northeast has suffered through this winter, the president-elect didn't instruct his writers to reword this passage from his "historic" speech: [my emphasis] "Only a handful of times in our history has a generation been confronted with challenges so vast. An economy that is

ENERGY CRUNCH: REsident had villagers describe their plight as they make do, or do without. By KYLE HOPKINS khopkins@adn.com Published: January 14th, 2009 10:12 PM Last Modified: January 14th, 2009 06:55 AM With a phone and a computer keyboard, Nicholas Tucker has turned a spotlight on his neighbors in the western Alaska village of Emmonak by telling stories of people trapped in a food and fuel crisis. Earlier this month, Tucker asked fellow villagers to describe what Alaska's rural energy crunch meant to them. He says he talked to a 70 year-old husband who cries when he's alone because he...

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...

A measure introduced by US Senators Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Susan Collins (R-ME), and Charles Schumer (D-NY) would establish a national voucher program to encourage drivers to trade in older, less fuel efficient cars, trucks or SUVs for a more fuel-efficient vehicles or to use mass transit. Companion legislation was also introduced in the House by Representatives Steve Israel (D-NY), Jay Inslee (D-WA), Barbara Lee (D-CA), and Dennis Moore (D-KS). The Accelerated Retirement of Inefficient Vehicles Retirement Act of 2009 (ARIVA)—also called the “Cash for Clunkers” program—would reimburse drivers with a credit of up to $4,500 for scrapping vehicles with a...

Ford CEO Alan Mulally says he still likes the tiny European Ka for the U.S. portfolio. His senior staff isn’t so sure. Global product chief Derrick Kuzak and chief marketing officer James Farley get suspiciously quiet, and you can almost see their eyes roll when the subject comes up. Kuzak even smirks over it. The Ka is a bit of a cause with Mulally. But he says he defers to Kuzak on such things in the end. However, let’s not forget, Mulally pretty much brought the Taurus back to life by his sheer will. Ford insiders say there is no...

The biofuel's developers showcased its algal origins A US airline has completed the first test flight of a plane partly powered by biofuel derived from algae. The 90-minute flight by a Continental Boeing 737-800 went better than expected, a spokesperson said. One of its engines was powered by a 50-50 blend of biofuel and normal aircraft fuel. Wednesday's test is the latest in a series of demonstration flights by the aviation industry, which hopes to be using biofuels within five years. The flight was the first by a US carrier to use an alternative fuel source, and the first in...

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...

Is it possible to make a car that carries 4 people comfortably, meets modern safety standards, provides decent performance and gets 80 mpg for barely more than $10,000? Even more impressive would be to do it without electric or hybrid drive. If it's at all possible, Gordon Murray may well be the man to do it. Murray is one of the most innovative engineers of the past three decades. Like Colin Chapman before him, he believes weight is the enemy. Murray has created plenty of lightweight, high performance road and race cars but his latest project, called T25, is designed...

American energy independence may be closer than anyone realizes, and one of the most promising sources is neither wind nor solar nor oil nor coal nor even nuclear – as useful as all of the above may be in their own right. It is biomass, especially bacteria – genetically manipulated to produce hydrocarbon fuels like gasoline and diesel. I wrote about this in May 2008, and in the eight months since then the people involved have made so much progress that a major announcement is scheduled for next week in Washington D.C. My prior column explained the efforts of Tifton,...

Can a car run on water? Bend businessman Rob Juliano claims it can, despite ample skepticism from scientists and automotive experts. Although the average price of fuel has slipped dramatically from a summer high of more than $4 per gallon, Juliano believes water — specifically the hydrogen contained in water — can be used to power an internal-combustion engine at a fraction of the cost of gasoline. Hydrogen is being pursued as a fuel by car manufacturers. Honda earlier this year debuted its FCX Clarity, a hydrogen fuel cell vehicle powered by an electric motor. BMW has developed a car...

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...

Pilots usually think of airplane flight performance in terms of gallons an hour—not miles per gallon. AOPA member and aeronautical innovator Klaus Savier, owner of Light Speed Engineering based at Santa Paula Airport (SZP) in Southern California, has been setting speed and efficiency records for two decades in his experimental, Rutan-designed Vari-EZ—a plane that serves as a technology demonstrator for products that hint at possibilities for improving the efficiency of the GA fleet. “Efficiency and speed go hand in hand,” said Savier, a German-born engineer, glider pilot, and composite materials expert. “They’re so closely related that it’s really a matter...

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...

Is this Swedish town that's routing heat from its crematorium to local homes morbid or brilliant? Let's just call them brilliantly morbid.The town of Halmstad came up with the idea when trying to curb the amount of smoke emitted from the crematorium.   It was when we were discussing all these environmental issues that we started thinking about the energy that is used in the cremations and realised that instead of all that heat just going up into the air, we could make use of it somehow. It was just rising into the skies for nothing," said Lennart Andersson,...