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fred
Chicago
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So theres a worldwide glut of diesel? Even ULSD?
OPIS: Russia’s shipments of diesel to Europe surged 55% in first eight months of 2014
Satellite tracking of oil cargoes by market reporting group OPIS shows that Europe’s dependence on Russia for road fuels in the 28 member countries has deepened significantly. Diesel imports from Russia are at a record in the first eight months of 2014, with Germany the most reliant, followed b...
OR???Canada could just refine its crappy, abrasive crude up there into a finished product...Youd think this would be a no-brainer. Unless getting rid of the sand would be uneconomical. Why else would one attempt to pipe it 2500 miles? Because LA or TX need MORE sand?
Opinion: New technology could end the debate over pipeline safety
by James Stafford of Oilprice.com Who could have ever imagined that North America would surpass Saudi Arabia as the world’s largest producer of oil and natural gas liquids? A decade ago, that would have seemed laughable. Yet that’s exactly what has happened; and it’s not just Saudi Arabia that h...
OR realize that every BILLION we could spend to capture or desalinate in the coming decades would go along way in this heavily-populated and farmed DESERT.
Satellite study shows drought-stricken Colorado River Basin states depleting their groundwater
A new satellite study finds more than 75% of the water loss in the drought-stricken Colorado River Basin since late 2004 came from underground resources. The extent of groundwater loss may pose a greater threat to the water supply of the western United States than previously thought. The C...
"Coasting"??? What a concept! Except the majority of J@ck@$$e$ out there in their over-powered
FUmobiles will still race you to every red light or do anything to pass you in heavy traffic. All the technology in the world is worthless with a loose nut behind the wheel.
New Bosch start-stop system with coasting mode can reduce fuel consumption by up to another 10%
Bosch has developed a new start-stop system with coasting mode; the system stops the engine when the vehicle is traveling at speed, helping to reduce fuel consumption by up to 10%. The function can be combined with any type of combustion engine. First generation start-stop systems stop an eng...
Love the EGR and the start/stop...but KILL V6s...4 cylinder diesels, even with twin sequential turbos, or if you dare, electric rear-drive are ALL thats needed.
Audi banking on Gen 2 3.0L TDI diesel for US sales; calls for a “fair shot” for diesel (update w/ rally results)
Audi's Gen 2 3.0L TDI. Click to enlarge. Audi of America introduced four new TDI clean diesel models for the US market this year—the Audi A8, A7, A6, Q5—along with an updated Q7 TDI, all equipped with a second-generation 3.0L V6 TDI diesel engine. (Earlier post.) This week in Washington, the...
If the transverse 9HP is reducing consumption 12-16% and the rear-drive tranny/driveshafts will lose 8-15% depending on how many ring & pinions its put through...why even build it?
Surely electric motor technology can make virtually anything cruise like a golf cart on RWD at 10-20 mph. And start/stop can kill ICEs when unneeded.
ZF opens passenger car transmission plant in the US; emphasis on 9-speed automatics
Manufacturing 8-speed automatics at Gray Court. Click to enlarge. ZF Friedrichshafen AG has officially opened its new plant for automatic passenger car transmissions in the US. Located in South Carolina, ZF Transmissions Gray Court, LLC will produce about 1.2 million transmissions at this pl...
WHTC would be a good start. All these different specs, some only "half-metric" (US???) would go a long way to getting EVERYWHERE up to sniff. Its pointless to get on-road diesel engines emissions great, while the off-road locomotive or marine engine is still filthy.
Then theres always getting cetane ratings up from where we are now. More alternate fuels, DME, bio, even JetA, CNG, maybe mixed right at the injector for cold start or other hard to control times? More start/stop technology.
There are hundreds of ways to get this right.
ARB researchers evaluate in-use heavy-duty NOx aftertreatment systems, find elevated levels during certain lower-temperature operations
A team from the California Air Resources Board (ARB) reports on their evaluation of the in-use emissions performance of four different heavy-duty diesel engines certified to the MY 2010 or interim MY 2010 NOx standards over a wide range of driving conditions in California in a paper published i...
Awesome..! Where can I buy a drum and how much?
Volvo Trucks to begin limited production of DME heavy-duty trucks in NA in 2015; customer trials; Oberon partnership
Volvo VNL D13 with DME. Click to enlarge. At an event in Sacramento, California, Volvo Trucks announced that it will commercialize dimethyl ether (DME)-powered heavy-duty commercial vehicles in North America, with limited production beginning in 2015. Volvo also revealed ongoing customer fie...
Im sure Mr Bell wouldnt want to talk to me. Im still driving the apparently ONLY 03 Saab 93 TiD in NA.
GM initially looking for NA diesel Cruze buyers from the pool of diesel enthusiasts
With the new 2014 Chevrolet Cruze Clean Turbo Diesel (earlier post) now part of its North American lineup, GM is initially looking to the pool of diesel enthusiasts for its first buyers, said James Bell, GM’s Head of Consumer Affairs. Initially, we expect there will be kind of pent-up demand ...
Cant believe a bunch of these werent burnt down in testing for three years?? Did UL sign off on this?
NTSB issues seventh update on JAL Boeing 787 battery fire investigation
The National Transportation Safety Board released the seventh update on its investigation into the 7 January fire aboard a Japan Airlines Boeing 787 at Logan International Airport in Boston. The auxiliary power unit battery, manufactured by GS Yuasa, was the original battery delivered with th...
A 6.2L engine pushing a 1000kg? car? What "people" exactly cant wait to waste their apparently not hard-earned $ on this? Does this sell in any numbers anywhere but here? Ridiculous. And NOT green by any stretch.
New 450hp Small Block V8 for 2014 Corvette features direct injection, cylinder deactivation, continuously variable valve timing
Power density. The 6.2L LT1 is almost 40 lbs lighter (and more compact) than the 4.4L BMW Twin Turbo V8, and is expected to deliver more power and comparable torque. Click to enlarge. When the all-new 2014 Chevrolet Corvette arrives late next year, it will be powered by a new 6.2L V-8 deliv...
GMs idea of a joke? Give the UofM an obsolete, never certified here diesel from '02. And its a decade later? Shame GCC...you need to follow up on some of these lame "news" flashes. And few people need a 6.4L either. Does that engine sell anywhere but here?
Comparative study finds that B20 increases emission rates of a number of pollutants in both light- and medium-duty diesel engines at idle
Emission rates for the 1.7 and 6.4 L engines at idle. Panels show (a) PM2.5, (b) elemental carbon (EC), (c) NOx, (d) CO, (e) formaldehyde, and (f) sum of target VOCs. Credit: ACS, Chin et al. Click to enlarge. A new study led by researchers at the University of Michigan compared regulated a...
Never have, never will "get" V6s. So much more complication and heat and space, for so little gain.
Toyota to increase V6 engine production in Alabama
Toyota will invest approximately $80 million its Huntsville, Ala. engine facility to increase North American production of V6 engines. The investment will bring total plant investment to more than $700 million. The expansion will allow Toyota Motor Manufacturing Alabama, Inc. (TMMAL) to build...
Right? Wont the Saudis sell you as many tankers of sour crude as you want tomorrow? Why does the US have any need for sandy, sour Canadian crude? Can you imagine what that stuff does to pipelines and compressor seals?
TransCanada re-applies for Keystone XL Presidential Permit; alternative Nebraska route not yet determined
TransCanada Corporation has submitted a new Presidential Permit application to the US Department of State (DOS) for the Keystone XL Pipeline from the US/Canada border in Montana to Steele City, Nebraska. The application includes the already reviewed route in Montana and South Dakota; TransCanad...
I guess we shouldnt hold much hope that a 1.9L Twin turbodiesel that produces 180hp w/400Nms @1800rpm, does 0-62 in 9secs and gets 4(55)-5.5(46) L/100km will arrive anytime soon?
Porsche bringing diesel Cayenne to the US with 2013 MY
Porsche will offer the Cayenne Diesel in the United States market for the first time beginning with the 2013 model year. The third-generation 2013 Boxster, the first all-new design since its debut in 1996, is also on display at the New York International Auto Show along with the Cayenne Diesel....
Why are cops and cabs incapable of using 1.6L TURBODIESELS in this country?
New Ford Police Interceptors deliver up to 35% better fuel economy when idling
The city and highway fuel economy ratings for the new Ford Police Interceptors (PI) have increased by 25% over the retired Crown Victoria. But as law enforcement vehicles spend the majority of their lives idling, Ford engineers also tuned the Police Interceptor sedan and utility vehicle models ...
Dont know if y'all get off the island much, but the rest of the world has communication trucks too, that apparently haul less crap around and consequently get by without a "nice V8" that gets 19mpg on the best day ever. "New GM" needs to be a helluva lot better than "old GM". This country, its businesses and governments, can NO longer afford 19mpg V8s, no matter how cheap and available the ALLEGED 100 year supply of NG is.
AT&T orders 1,200 CNG-powered Chevrolet Express vans
A four-tank option enables a 300+ mile range in the CNG Express vans. Click to enlarge. AT&T has ordered 1,200 Chevrolet Express dedicated compressed natural gas (CNG) cargo vans for deployment to AT&T service centers nationwide. It is the largest-ever order of CNG vehicles from General Mot...
Thats all well and fine but...do these things really NEED 6L V8s? How many will ever need to go faster than 40mph? Or travel more than 10 miles from base?
AT&T orders 1,200 CNG-powered Chevrolet Express vans
A four-tank option enables a 300+ mile range in the CNG Express vans. Click to enlarge. AT&T has ordered 1,200 Chevrolet Express dedicated compressed natural gas (CNG) cargo vans for deployment to AT&T service centers nationwide. It is the largest-ever order of CNG vehicles from General Mot...
Well thats great...except that SUVs are hardly GREEN, huge BOF space-wasters and are powered by the largest V8s and V6s possible with NO/little attempt by the industry to do otherwise.
Mercedes-Benz has sold more than 2M SUVs worldwide; US and China the top markets
Mercedes-Benz has sold more than two million SUV models—G-Class, M-Class, R-Class, GL-Class and GLK-Class—globally since the launch of the first G-Class more than 30 years ago. The SUV models account for around one-fifth of global Mercedes-Benz sales. The US is the largest market for the SUV fa...
Gee...thanx Saab, now go off and die!
Buick’s Ecotec 2.0L Turbo makes Ward’s Best Engines list; 2.0L turbo coming for Malibu
The Ecotec 2.0L turbo I-4 engine that powers the 2012 Buick Regal GS is one of WardsAuto World’s 2012 “10 Best Engines” for North America. At 270 hp (201 kW) the Ecotec 2.0L turbo offers the highest specific output of any GM production engine, and at 135 hp per liter, is the most power-dense en...
This needs to be changed. Some kind of bond or tax needs to be levied to ensure oilcos just dont chase after relatively "easy" crude, while "unmarketable" gets flared because the payback isnt quite good enuf. This supply and demand stuff is complicated and producers werent born yesterday.
EIA: More than 35% of natural gas produced in North Dakota is flared or otherwise not marketed due to infrastructure limitations
Natural gas production in North Dakota has more than doubled since 2005, largely due to associated natural gas from the growing oil production in the Bakken shale formation. Gas production averaged more than 485 million cubic feet per day (MMcfd) in September 2011, compared to the 2005 average ...
There will continue to be a "glut" of gasoline here. Consequently there will be price-pressure on the corn-ethanol "industry".
California gasoline consumption down 2.2% in July, diesel fuel consumption increased 1.9%
In California, gasoline consumption declined 2.2% in July 2011, while diesel fuel consumption increased 1.9%, according to figures from the State Board of Equalization. California’s gasoline consumption decreased 2.2% to 1.25 billion gallons in July 2011 compared to 1.27 billion gallons used ...
At least. But the BIG hang-up was getting the ULSD out of the refiners...it STILL not EN590, but its gettin there.
GM introduces two new diesels to power midsize pickups
When the new Chevrolet Colorado midsize pickup rolls out in the Asia-Pacific region this fall, it will introduce a new global family of Duramax turbo-diesel engines, available in 2.8L and 2.5L displacements. (The Colorado made its global debut in Thailand today.) The 2.8L turbo-diesel is rated a...
@Peter-
Theres something to be said for the under 2-liter 5 cylinder. When you compare the torque, NVH, power-to-weight, eliminating balance shafts and chains, using timing chains, making a more robust, longer-lasting, reliable engine...but what manufacturer wants engines that easily go 300Kmiles? Thats a lot of folks NO longer with jobs.
Volvo introducing new downsized 4-cylinder engine range, with fuel economy improvements up to 35%; hybrid and flywheel drive systems
The Volvo Car Corporation is introducing a new, downsized engine range consisting solely of four-cylinder gasoline and diesel engines. The upcoming four-cylinder VEA (Volvo Environmental Architecture) engine range includes common rail diesels and direct injected gasoline engines. It covers the r...
Better thirty years late than never.
Chevrolet confirms diesel variant for Cruze in North America in 2013
Chevrolet confirmed it will add a diesel variant to the Cruze lineup in North America in calendar year 2013. Diesel versions of the Cruze are currently being sold in Europe. Additional details on the Cruze diesel for North American markets will be released at a later date. Cruze recorded a total...
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