Greenest Manufacturer of the Year Award 2012

Paul Clarke, founder and editor of Green-Car-Guide.com, said “Although judging the winner for the Greenest Manufacturer of the Year Award was harder than ever this year, BMW Group genuinely deserves this accolade, due to the company producing large volumes of cars that genuinely combine efficiency, performance, a great driving experience and an aspirational brand. As well as its current petrol and diesel model range featuring the brand’s pioneering EfficientDynamics technologies, we’re also on the verge of seeing hybrid and electric cars come to market from BMW, which will add another facet to the company’s green credentials.”

To read more on the Award of Greenest Manufacturer

Ford’s new EcoBoost petrol engine uses the latest technology – including advanced turbocharging and direct injection – to deliver the performance of a traditional 1.6-litre engine with the fuel economy of a 1.0-litre.

Fitted to the Ford Focus, the new engine takes fuel economy and CO₂ emissions to new levels for a petrol family car, achieving up to 58.8mpg and 109g/km CO₂ emissions, together with excellent performance and refinement.

In addition to the Focus, Ford’s fuel-efficient new 1.0-litre EcoBoost engine will also be offered in the C-MAX and the all-new B-MAX later in 2012 before being rolled out to other models.

Cenex LCV2012, the UK’s most important low carbon vehicle event, is returning to Millbrook Proving Ground, 5-6 September 2012, and all the latest news about the event will be here on Green-Car-Guide.com.

Over the coming weeks and months the Green-Car-Guide will be bringing you information about the vehicles, exhibitors and speakers that will be appearing at the event – including low carbon prototypes that manufacturers are working on now, that will be in showrooms in the next few years.

For further current information about the exhibition arrangements whether you would like to exhibit or register for tickets as a visitor etc. you can go to the Cenex LCV 2012 website

http://www.cenex-lcv.co.uk/

British Gas has announced a partnership agreement with Vauxhall to benefit its Ampera customers

As part of the agreement formed between the two companies, British Gas will also provide a free home electrical survey to all Vauxhall Ampera customers. Without obligation, a British Gas engineer will recommend the best Home Charging solution, from dedicated circuits to the best home charging points from which to charge your Ampera.

From £799, the British Gas Home Charging solution represents excellent value, bearing in mind the inclusive three year Home Electrical Care from British Gas. However, discounts of up to 75 per cent are also available on some charging solutions to people living in areas designated ‘Plugged-in Places’ by the government.

For more information on the Home Charging Solution to be brought in by British Gas for Vauxhall Ampera customers britishgas.co.uk/electricvehicleterms

Like London buses two Honda concept super cars come along in quick succession. Yesterday the Honda NSX, today we post on the Honda EV-STER which also made its European debut at the show.

The Green Car Guide says: ‘The EV-STER is an electric rear-wheel drive two-seater open sports car. It’s billed as “the next-generation electric small sports concept model”. The use of carbon materials means that it’s light, helping the vehicle’s performance and giving it a range of around 100 miles and acceleration from 0-37 mph in 5 seconds.’

Read more about the Honda EV-STER

For the next few days, there will be a series of posts featuring some amazing low emission cars from major car manufacturers around the World. Many of them are concept cars which having leapt off the drawing board have some chance, or at least in a variant form, of making it into production. The designs and the technology are staggering, and are backed by considerable investment. So lets have a look at the fantastical which may become reality.

First up is the Honda NSX . Now,this hybrid  supercar is expected to be available in three years time. This amazing looking concept will carry a next-generation VTEC V6 engine mid-mounted for maximum balance, and uses lightweight materials throughout. This car is all about engineering efficiency to squeeze out the very best performance to respond directly to environmental responsibilities. To read more…

…and more tomorrow.

“We believe that experiencing the responsive performance and agility of the new Ford Focus Electric will add to the excitement customers are already feeling about this very viable and cost-effective car,” said Stephen Odell, Ford of Europe’s CEO and chairman.

Ford says much of the Ford Focus Electric’s steering, handling and braking feel is shared with the agile, sporty, fuel-powered five-door hatchback Focus model upon which it is based. The absence of a petrol or diesel engine and the vehicle’s outstanding aerodynamics lead to a remarkably quiet and comfortable in-car experience.

Arguably the biggest environmental event in the UK eco calendar, Climate Week, last year had half a million people attending 3,000 events run by schools,businesses,charities, local councils and many others. This year Nissan is to sponsor Climate Week 2012 which will run from 12th to 18th March, inclusive. Supported by the Prime Minister and Sir Paul MacCartney, Climate Week looks to be heading for another resounding success. If you would like to know more about this campaign designed to make a real difference over climate change , or indeed you would like to participate as part of a group or organisation you should check this site at www.climateweek.com now.

Nissan,of course,makes the Leaf electric zero emissions car. Features are:

ABOUT NISSAN LEAF:

• World’s first affordable, mass produced zero-emission family car
• 2011 European Car of the Year
• 2011 World Car of the Year
• Five-seater, family hatchback
• Powered by an 80kW electric motor
• Charges from zero to 80% of capacity in under 30 minutes (quick charging)
• Real-world range: 109 miles (NEDC test)
• Top speed of 90 mph
• Produced in Sunderland, UK, from 2013

Lisa Van Pay of the National Science Foundation meets Will Lark, an MIT graduate student working on the CityCar project. The two discuss the technologies that make this vehicle unique and explore the relationship between art, science and design. The CityCar team hopes that their ideas will someday be part of the solution to problems common to many cities: pollution, traffic and lack of green space. This story effectively illustrates the engineering design process, allowing the viewer to see how researchers identify problems, brainstorm to come up with new ideas, build models to represent a possible solution and test them to see if they will really work, and repeat this process until the original goal is attained or a new way of thinking emerges. Will also describes how he became interested in design and the path he took to become an engineer.

Vauxhall Ampera

Extended-Range Electric Vehicle

175 mpg 

The Vauxhall Ampera is an electric car, with a zero-tailpipe emission range of up to 50 miles. When that range is reached, it can then switch to its onboard petrol range-extender generator, which charges the battery rather than powers the wheels, and keep on driving. So it’s an electric car with no range limitation. The Ampera’s official fuel economy is 175 mpg, equating to 40 g/km CO2, but this really depends on how the car is used in real life; the idea is to drive the Ampera in its electric mode for as much of the time as possible and avoid using the petrol generator. Even though it’s not on sale in the UK until early 2012, if you’re thinking of buying an ultra-efficient new car in the next year then you need to be aware of the Ampera. It’s eligible for the government’s £5000 plug-in car grant; even after this it will still cost £28,995, but it should be much cheaper to run than a conventional car.

For further details on this, and a full report on the other 9 cars listed, go to the green car guide here >>