Volkswagen Shows the Future of Clean Vehicles at Sustainability Summit by Anthony Fontanelle

At the Designing Sustainable Mobility Summit, Volkswagen showcased their lineup of clean cars. The summit is being held at the Art Center College of Design which is located in Southern California. The conference facilitates the sharing of ideas of transportation experts and designers on the development of technology that will make future car designs friendlier to the environment.

At the said event Volkswagen of America offers those in attendance the chance to experience the present technology being developed by the car manufacturer. Among the cars that attendees will have the chance to drive is a car that runs on biodiesel or a combination of biodiesel and ultra low sulfur diesel fuel. A car that runs on hydrogen will also be present along with those cars that are equipped with highly efficient gasoline engines.

The car maker's goal in letting the participants of the summit drive the said cars is to emphasize that the use of alternative fuel is not just applicable in theory. Volkswagen aims to show that the technology is already present and it is working already. It is just a matter of time before cars such as the ones showcased will start rolling out of their assembly plants for use of the anticipating public. "It's important to demonstrate that raising the bar in such important areas as fuel efficiency and emission reduction isn't just accomplished with exotic or future-oriented technologies," Ron Cogan said. Cogan is the editor and publisher of the Green Car Journal, the host of the summit's ride-and-drive segment. "Volkswagen's demonstration of its clean diesel and twin charger engines provides real-world examples of environmentally positive technologies that are opening on highways today," he further adds.

During the event, Volkswagen will be offering their Touareg V-10 TDI engine which runs on B5 biodiesel. The fuel is a mixture of conventional ultra low sulfur diesel fuel and biodiesel. The combination provides power for the engine while releasing only a small amount of harmful gas in its exhaust. In connection with the development of Volkswagen of their vehicles that run on biodiesel, they are offering an extended warranty to further promote the use of biodiesel. Their effort to produce vehicles which run on alternative fuel helps in the preservation of the world's fossil fuel reserves. The Touareg will be available for the summit's attendees to drive on public roads. Such would be done so as to show how well a car running on alternative fuel performs.

Also present in the event and available for participants to drive is Volkswagen's highly efficient twin charger engine that is currently being developed by the car maker. The powerplant provides great power packed in a relatively small engine. The high level of power being produced by the engine is due to its use of a supercharger and a turbocharger system. The engine's supercharger aids the engine during low rpm ratings while the turbocharger kicks in at mid-range revs per minute and higher. The said engine is already being used in Europe and has received much praise for its gas mileage rating. The car manufacturer is considering introducing the engine in the United States market. The engine's performance can also be complemented with high quality parts like EBC Redstuff brake pads.

Volkswagen's Touran HyMotion hydrogen fuel cell powered vehicle will also be showcased. The Touran is a concrete example of Volkswagen's dedication in the development of zero emission vehicles. For almost ten years now, the car maker has exerted efforts in the development of practical hydrogen fuel cells that can be used for mass produced vehicles. The Touran uses high-temperature fuel cells that are compact, light and very durable. The development of such hydrogen fuel cells can cut down the manufacturing cost which will make mass production possible and practical.

About the Author

Anthony Fontanelle is a 35-year-old automotive.buff who grew up in the Windy City. He does freelance work for an automotive magazine when he is not busy customizing cars in his shop.

Europe's Largest Automaker Joins Designing Sustainable Mobility Summit by Natalie Anderson

In the news: US subsidiary of Volkswagen is giving a high profile to vehicles with lower environmental impact at the Designing Sustainable Mobility Summit held at the Art Center College of Design in Southern California. At the summit designers and other transportation experts from various countries will share their ideas on how to make future mobility more environmentally attuned.

In connection with this objective, Volkswagen has offered attendees and Art Center students the chance to experience driving VW models that are equipped with only the top-of-the-line Volkswagen parts like the popular Volkswagen ignition coil and have engines specially designed to run on biodiesel, ultra low sulfur diesel and hydrogen. These VW models have highly efficient gasoline engines that are perfect for cruising on public roads.

By allowing participants of the Summit to drive some of the very technologies that they are pursuing makes it more meaningful and at the same time boosts awareness on the importance of environmentally friendly vehicles.

According to Ron Cogan editor and publisher of the Green Car Journal which is hosting the Summit's ride and drive, "It's important to demonstrate that raising the bar in such important areas as fuel efficiency and emissions reduction isn't just accomplished with exotic or future-oriented technologies. Volkswagen's demonstrating of its clean diesel and twin charger engines provide real-world examples of environmentally positive technologies that are operating on highways today."

For the Summit's ride and drive, Europe largest automaker is fielding a Touareg V10 TDI running on B5 biodiesel which is a mixture of conventional ultra low sulfur diesel (ULSD) fuel and renewable biodiesel. Diesel fuel that includes a mix of biodiesel burns cleaner and help displace fossil fuel use which contributes to energy diversity. Volkswagen has also extended its warranty protection to its models operating on B5 biodiesel to encourage more customers to use a cleaner fuel.

In addition an advance preview of the twin charger gasoline engine Jetta which is still in development is also being offered. The Jetta's TSI engine would provide higher power output derived from a smaller displacement engine and at the same time achieve greater fuel efficiency and lower emissions. The TSI is famous in Europe and now being considered for distribution in the US. The TSI also makes use of a supercharger to give its engine that extra boost at lower rpms while its exhaust driven turbocharger provides mid-range rpms or higher.

Also presented at the Summit was Volkswagen's Touran HyMotion hydrogen fuel cell vehicle that does not only embodies the automaker's interest in zero-emission fuel but also showcases the company's breakthrough high temperature fuel cell. The zero-emission fuel is the result of a decade long hydrogen vehicle development that produces a more compact, lighter, and more durable fuel cell system. This technology is expected to make fuel cell powertrains more economical making mass production in the future possible.

The environmentally adept vehicles and activities that Volkswagen is sponsoring simply show the company's commitment in protecting and preserving nature. And because of the company's dedication in pursuing a "greener and safer" world, Volkswagen of America was named the "Industry's most environmentally friendly automaker" by the J.D. Power and Associates 2006 Alternative Powertrain Study.

Volkswagen has also received the EU Commission's European Business Award for the Environment for its innovative SiCon recycling process.

About the Author

Growing up with three brothers, Natalie Anderson became exposed early to the world of automobiles. This 29-year-old account manager now dreams of having her very own top-of-the-line vintage car.

DaimlerChrysler's Commitment to Alternative Fuels Outlined by Anthony Fontanelle

Joining the throng of car makers dedicated to help ease the world's dependence on fossil fuels is DaimlerChrysler, the largest truck manufacturer in the world. At the National Biodiesel Board Annual Conference, Deb Morrissett, the Vice President of Regulatory Affairs for the said company, persuades the growing biodiesel industry to carry on their commitment to develop a natural standard for B20 as car makers are focusing their attention on developing and producing vehicles that will use run on alternative fuels.
The challenge to create a national specification for biodiesel is issued by Morrissett while stating that doing so would speed up the adoption of biodiesel. He further added that doing so would also help in the harnessing and directing the diverse research and investment efforts put into the development of such alternative fuel. He said that biodiesel should have a national fuel specification just like other fuels. "I'm looking forward to the time when anyone can fuel up with B20, but we're not there yet," he also added.
Morrissett also encouraged the industry to stay tuned for the company is intending to build on their diesel engine leadership for the coming future. They would do this with help from their partners like Cummins. As a sign of the company's dedication to produce vehicles that will run on more environment friendly fuel, they have unveiled their Dodge Ram 2500 and 3500 vehicles which come equipped with a 6.7-liter Cummins turbodiesel engine. This engine can run on B5 and B20 biodiesel. The said vehicles will become available in the market in March this year. The two trucks already meet emission standards that will be implemented in 2010 and this simply shows the company's dedication to make their trucks not only to be high performance vehicles but are also safe just like EBC brake pads.
The company's dedication to lessen the dependence on fossil fuel does not end in their use of efficient and clean diesel engines but they are also one of the car manufacturers which are developing the use of alternative fuels on their vehicles. A concrete example of this is the usage of B5 fuel of their Jeep Liberty and Jeep Grand Cherokee models. Both vehicles are approved for regular use of the B5 biodiesel fuel. Furthermore, their 2007 Dodge Ram can run on B20 biodiesel fuel and can be used for commercial, government, and military fleets.
Their support for the alternative fuel industry does not end there either. The company is planning to develop and produce cars that would be equipped with efficient gasoline engines, hybrid cars, flex-fuel vehicles which can run on gasoline as well as alternative fuel like bio-ethanol, electric vehicles and a test fleet of more than 100 fuel cell powered vehicles.
Their commitment to produce flexi-fuel vehicles will see them producing 250,000 units of the said vehicle which can run on E85 fuel - a fuel that is a mixture of gasoline and bio-ethanol. The 85 in the E85 stands for the percentage of bio-ethanol in the fuel which means that the E85 is 85 percent bio-ethanol and 15 percent gasoline. The flexi-fuel vehicles that DaimlerChrysler will produce can also run on conventional gasoline efficiently. The company aims to double the production of their FFV fleet to 500,000 units in 2008.
During the conference, Loren Beard, manager of Fuel Legislation, Regulation and Policy, along with Scott Schramm, Manager of Regulatory and Technical Affairs, also tackled engine warranty issues, OEM experience with alternative fuels and how to deal with new regulations. The National Biodiesel Board Conference was held last February 5 in San Antonio, Texas.
About the Author
Anthony Fontanelle is a 35-year-old automotive buff who grew up in the Windy City. He does freelance work for an automotive magazine when he is not busy customizing cars in his shop.