Automotive

TORRANCE, Calif. (October 1, 2009) – Toyota Motor Sales (TMS), U.S.A., Inc., today reported September sales of 126,015 vehicles, a decrease of 16.1 percent from last September, on a daily selling rate basis. TMS posted sales of 525,975 units in the third quarter, a 28 percent increase over the second quarter.

“Improving economic conditions and the CARS program led to a significant increase for the industry in the third quarter over the first-half year,” said Don Esmond, senior vice president of automotive operations for TMS. “Moving into the fourth quarter, we expect continued momentum will close the year on a bright note.”    » read more »

Ford, Lincoln and Mercury U.S. third quarter sales increased 5 percent versus a year ago and U.S. market share increased 2 points

DEARBORN, Mich., Oct., 1, 2009 – Ford, Lincoln and Mercury third quarter sales were 5 percent higher than a year ago in the U.S., making Ford the only full-line manufacturer to report a sales increase in the period.

In September, Ford sales were 6 percent lower than a year ago. This followed a 2 percent increase in July and a 17 percent increase in August, marking the first time in four years that Ford is reporting a quarterly sales increase.

Ford estimates it gained over 2 points of market share versus last year in September and the third quarter. September marked the 11th time in the last 12 months Ford has gained retail market share.    » read more »

Third-quarter results mark a 26% increase in sales: best quarterly sales increase since 2003

OAKVILLE, Ontario, October 1, 2009 – Ford Motor Company of Canada, Limited saw sales increase 24.3 per cent compared to last September marking the company's fourth consecutive month of year-over-year sales gains.

Strong car sales led by the all-new Ford Taurus, Fusion, Focus and Mustang resulted in more than half of all vehicle sales for Ford of Canada. September also marked the eleventh month of market share growth for the company and rounded out the highest quarterly sales increase since 2003 with a 26 per cent increase.    » read more »

Cash for Clunkers conclusion, weak consumer confidence and extremely low inventory levels adversely affected the industry and GM sales results

2009-10-01 -- DETROIT – General Motors dealers in the United States delivered 156,673vehicles in September. When compared with strong sales a year ago, September’s sales were down 45 percent. GM retail sales were down 46 percent while fleet sales declined 43 percent. When comparing GM’s September total sales with a strong August, and the conclusion of the Cash for Clunkers program, volume was down 36 percent month-over-month.    » read more »

NREL-developed methodology shows promise for estimating real-world energy use

September 28, 2009 -- The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) recently joined forces with researchers from Idaho National Laboratory (INL) and Argonne National Laboratory (ANL) to take the lead in developing and testing a new method for predicting the real-world fuel and electricity consumption of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs).

After examining data on the only PHEV currently available in large numbers, the NREL-developed method shows promise for reasonably predicting the PHEV’s average fuel and electricity use.    » read more »

Winter Fuels: How Inventories are Stacking Up

September 30, 2009 -- One of the critical factors energy analysts focus on each fall, ahead of the rise in demand for heating fuels, is the pre-winter build-up of fuel inventories. This year, inventories are unusually high for all winter fuels, including distillates (which includes heating oil), natural gas, propane, and coal used for electricity generation.

Current high inventories stem primarily from the recession. As the economic downturn deepened throughout 2008 and 2009, energy demand fell, but supply was relatively slow to respond. As a result, stocks of many fuels were pushed well above typical historical levels.    » read more »

In July, Schumer Introduced First-Ever Legislation To Require States To Bar Texting While Driving or Else Lose Federal Highway Funds

September 30, 2009 -- WASHINGTON, DC—U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer (D-NY) today urged the Obama administration to endorse tough penalties for states that refuse to impose bans on texting while driving, as proposed under legislation Schumer offered in July.

Schumer, in remarks made at the Transportation Department’s distracted driving summit, said that while the administration has supported the concept of such a ban, it has so far stopped short of specifically endorsing Schumer’s bill due to concerns about the sanctions that would befall states that fail to comply with a federal ban.    » read more »

Washington, D.C. – The Pew Center on Global Climate Change today launched a new Corporate Energy Efficiency Web Portal that features a myriad of resources designed to help businesses develop new and stronger energy efficiency strategies. The Web portal is part of a larger Pew Center project to document and communicate best practices in corporate energy efficiency strategies in internal operations, supply chains, products and services, and cross-cutting issues.

The broader project is being funded by a three-year, $1.4 million grant from Toyota. The Web portal will continue to be built out over time, and currently features preliminary research findings and other resources, including:    » read more »

West Virginia Continues to Lead Collision Likelihood List

Bloomington, Ill., Sept. 28, 2009 – The number of vehicles on U.S. roadways has grown by 7 percent over the last five years. But the number of times those vehicles have collided with deer has swelled by much more than that.

Using its claims data, auto insurer State Farm estimates 2.4 million collisions between deer and vehicles occurred in the U.S. during the two-year period between July 1, 2007 and June 30, 2009 (100,000 per month). That’s 18.3 percent more than five years earlier. To put it another way, one of these unfortunate encounters occurs every 26 seconds (although they are much more likely during the last three months of the year and in the early evening).

MORE DEER-VEHICLE COLLISIONS    » read more »

The most recent and most complete research shows that distractions that take drivers’ eyes away from the road for an extended period of time are a factor in nearly 80 percent of accidents

DEARBORN, Mich., Sept. 25, 2009 – The vast majority of U.S. drivers believes handheld texting while driving is very dangerous and should be banned nationwide, according to a new national survey released today.    » read more »

System with 5th Generation Fuel Cell Stack Could Be Commercialized in 2015

2009-09-24 -- Washington, D.C. -- The second generation hydrogen fuel cell system in development by General Motors Co. is half the size, 220 pounds lighter and uses less than half the precious metal of the current generation in the Chevrolet Equinox Fuel Cell electric vehicle.

And the production intent fuel cell powertrain can be packaged under the hood in about the same space as a four-cylinder engine. It contains GM’s fifth-generation fuel cell stack, which could be commercialized in the 2015 time frame.    » read more »

New Delhi, September 24, 2009: General Motors India and Reva Electric Car Company (REVA) have entered into a collaboration agreement to develop electric vehicles for the Indian market. This unique partnership will bring together two companies, established in their own field to develop car platforms, electric vehicle technology and advanced control systems.

The agreement was announced jointly by Karl Slym, president and managing director, General Motors India and Chetan Maini, deputy chairman and chief technology officer, REVA.    » read more »

September 16, 2009 -- There's a good chance you've been hearing more about biodiesel lately. This article, the first of several short discussions about biodiesel that will appear in the next few months, lays out some of the basic terminology and qualities associated with this fuel. It also begins to illustrate important factors that vary among biodiesel fuels and fuel blends with petroleum diesel - variations that require fuel suppliers to make adjustments in order to ensure that these fuels perform well.    » read more »

New Interagency Program to Address Climate Change and Energy Security

September 15, 2009 -- WASHINGTON – U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) Secretary Ray LaHood and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lisa P. Jackson today jointly proposed a rule establishing an historic national program that would improve vehicle fuel economy and reduce greenhouse gases.    » read more »

September 17, 2009 -- Washington, DC – Today, Secretary Steven Chu announced that the Department of Energy has closed on its loan offer of $5.9 billion to Ford Motor Company to transform factories across Illinois, Kentucky, Michigan, Missouri, and Ohio to produce more fuel efficient models. The loan is part of the Department’s Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing program, which supports the development of innovative, advanced vehicle technologies to create thousands of clean energy jobs while helping reduce the nation’s dangerous dependence on foreign oil.

The loan for Ford Motor Company is the first to be finalized since the program was appropriated in the fall of 2008.    » read more »