Motorweek; 2135

This time on motor week it's all about alternative fuels. What's clean and green on the road today and what's in store for the future. So come drive with us. Next. Model TV's original automotive magazine brought to you by Pep Boys. No matter what you drive Pep Boys has over 27000 items in stock. Virtually any part for any car with all the name brands you know plus service pay staff with a a c certified technicians Pep Boys parts tires accessories service and advice. Conflict with. Your host for Motor Week. John Davis. Well hello and welcome again to motor week.

We're glad to have you with us. As you can probably tell from the unusual writing of vehicles around me this is a very special edition of Motor Week. Now these vehicles may look like the ones you see on the road every day but there is something about them that is really quite special. This week we're going to take an in-depth look into the unfamiliar world of alternative fuel vehicles or Vs. Now cars and trucks that run on something other than fuels refined from petroleum and that includes gasoline and diesel have been around for most of the First Century of the automobile. Yet for the majority of consumers These have always remained a little futuristic almost like science fiction. But those same consumers would likely agree that in the future if these should become more common place helping decrease America's dependence on imported oil which accounts for nearly two thirds of the oil we use in this country today. While by the end of our show you'll think differently about these. They're not only available and practical right now but one may be parked in this space next to your own

car and you don't even know it. So let's start with an overview of the different types of alternative fuel vehicles currently available and see if they really are already as practical as they promise to mention alternative fuel vehicles to most people and images of nucular our solar power might come to mind. But while those kinds of fantastic energy sources are practical only in science fiction novels a number of less exotic and the fuels and energy technologies are ready for the road right now. Ethanol or ethyl alcohol as a clean burning renewable fuel made mostly from distilled corn 85 a mixture of 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline is already unwise use in the Midwest and Grain Belt states as a direct replacement for pure gasoline. About half the states have stations that sell E-85. It burns cleaner than gasoline making it good for your engine as well as for the environment. But fuel economy is not quite as good as with regular gas. Ford led the way in

producing flex fuel vehicles those that run on either E-85 or pure gasoline starting 10 years ago with the low volume flex cars marketed to. Customers now all face relieved of P6 Tauruses and Basij and Rangers are E-85 flex fuel capable and tops on Explore and Mercury Mountaineer and 46 states all Chrysler minivans and put up with a 3.3 leader V-6 convert E-85 GM flex fuel lead includes heavy weights like the suburban and Yukon as well as the ES TAN and Sonoma compact pickups but they have to be ordered that way. Natural gas is a clean fuel produced from gas well to recover during crude oil production. It's mostly methane mixed with other hydrocarbons and there are huge reserves in North America. CNG is available for more than 12 hundred stations nationwide CNG models from Ford Honda and General Motors are available to suit many needs and we've sampled quite a few including this dedicated CNG

Honda Civic GX a near zero emissions compact sedan that returns a pretty 34 mpg on the highway and has a. Real world range of 200 miles Ford offers CNG burning options on the F-series pickup around Victoria and Econoline but only at 150 offer switchable buy fuel capability. GM CNG lineup takes a different approach. The Cavalier sedan express van and Silverado Sierra pickups are all available as buy fuel CNG but they aren't switchable on demand. The GM by fuel vehicles will start in one on CNG by default and only switch to gasoline when the CNG tank is empty. Liquefied petroleum gas or Ltd has a clean burning hydrocarbon blend of mostly propane mixed with butane propylene and bugling LBG is available and every state. Well there are some consumer applications. It's widely used in industrial vehicles like forklift and many fleets use LPGA for medium duty trucks. While not

strictly fitting the definition of an AFB we have to mention today's crop of hybrid vehicles here too. Despite burning refined petroleum to make their primary power gas electric hybrids like the Honda Insight the new Civic Hybrid and the $20 Prius have nonetheless advanced the cause of these by pushing the technology of clean energy. Upcoming hybrid versions of the Dodge Durango and Ford Escape will expand the technology into more flexible platform technology to make pure electric vehicles like the Toyota ramp for Evie or Nissan alter Eevee acceptable for wide public use. Still awaits a longer range battery solution. We spent some time in a ramp for Evie courtesy of Pepco a local utility company. We found it amazingly Zippy and traffic despite its empty thirty four hundred thirty nine pounds for a boy. But with a range of only 80 miles we found ourselves watching the odometer very carefully. The automatic charger is a snap to use but you can always count on the Eevee being ready for spur

of the moment trips. One type of electric vehicle that has practical value now is the neighborhood electric vehicle. Companies like Fords think endtime like Chrysler's Jim are dreaming up innovative zero emissions vehicles for use on campuses gated communities military bases and golf courses. We piloted one of these gems around our studios for several weeks and hated to give it up. It's cute as a button convenient and versatile any These are street legal in many states. All roads posted below 25 mph but even with the seatbelts firmly buckled we wouldn't want to drive one on a busy street. Choosing a vehicle powered by E-85 CNG or LBG doesn't mean you're sacrificing performance to get cleaner emissions. To sweeten the pot. Further the IRS and many states offer tax incentives especially depletes for using alternative fuel vehicle and some areas allow these to use restricted commuter lanes even when driving alone. That alone is reason

enough for us to want one. But whatever the reason or the type of vehicle you might need there is an alternative that's right. For you. Every time the auto industry introduces new technology it has to be followed with new ways to maintain that technology. And these are no different. So let's turn things over now to our motor week top tech Pat Goss for a lowdown on what makes a Effie's go and what owners will need to know to keep them going for a long time. John any mechanical device with moving parts will need preventive maintenance sooner or later things are going to wear out. But if you happen to own an alternative fuel vehicle you may find that it's maintenance requirements are quite different than a conventional vehicle. Most people understand that it's important to change their engine oil because it gets dirty with use and over time.

But they don't realize that it is the fuel they were burning in the engine that makes it get dirty so quickly. The combustion of gasoline and diesel produces a lot of carbon and other contaminants that can get into the oil and make it break down. But with cleaner alternative fuels like natural gas and propane The surprise is that not only is there less pollution coming out of the tailpipe but there's less that ends up in the oil as well. As a result of this you can safely go longer between oil changes in a CNG or LP Jeep powered car. The factory recommended interval for the Honda Civic GX for instance is 10000 miles added up and you're looking at a significant cost savings over the life of a vehicle especially for a heavy duty truck or bus fleet. Cars that burn E-85 exclusively may require a special type of oil and will hold to the normal oil change intervals. Ethanol is a fuel with low volatility which may cause problems at startup for spark ignition engines

things like misfires during warm up are not uncommon. However vehicles burning E-85 will see higher engine power output and cleaner fuel systems. As for electric vehicles a lot of the typical maintenance items just aren't there. No spark plugs no muffler tailpipe no engine oil. But what they do have is a lot of very complicated electronic control modules and a lot of very expensive batteries that are going to need replacing eventually. One thing you want to be certain of is that the technician who works on your alternative fueled car or truck is aware that it is in a movie and you need to make sure that he is trained to work on your type of vehicle. It's always important to remember stand the owner's manual on any vehicle. But if you have an alternative fuels vehicle it is crucial if you have a question or a comment write to me. If I use your letter I'll send you a motor

week T-shirt. The address is Motor Week Owens Mills Maryland 2 1 1 1 7. These are the weaker these 1936 tour buses. They've been in service a Glacier National Park since the 1930 Ford Motor Company is currently refurbishing 33 of these unique 17 passenger vehicles to their original condition and is repaired clean LPGA fuel after a fresh coat of black and red paint will soon be back on duty helping bus loads enjoy America's great outdoors cleanly. If you watch motorway for any length of time you know that when it comes to automobiles in general we feel that racing improves the breed when vehicles and component designs are pushed to their limits. They initially will break and then they'll get better. Well alternative fuel vehicles are no different only with AFB. The competition is not

only against other vehicles but it gets larger contenders like time and dwindling resources. Still the urge to win is a powerful force. Most of the time we see alternative fuel vehicles parked only designed to show what maybe future technology. But here at the annual Michelin challenge but I do makers are starting their engine. And they're showing us how close they are to achieving that goal. This is not for nothing I think we should give our children which are clean and spend some money and it just does. We're going to have a sustainable future. You've got to have a sustainable energy source to fuel economy. And. If you've got oil that's not sustainable that is going to be gone in 30 40 or 50 years whatever we have to do. And we really should be doing that. Vigorously with great focus right now is.

Named after been the Michelin man a challenge held this year in Los Angeles and at the California Speedway in Fontana attracted the latest and most advanced innovations and gives major manufacturers along with Michelin the opportunity to put their alternative fuel creations to the test. Hopefully this will encourage consumers to consider the purchase of an alternative fuel vehicle. What we are seeing here today are technologies clean. Energy efficient technologies that are available today. That customers can buy. And it's that combination that really makes us a wonderful opportunity to continue to make progress to keep the customer in mind and the choices that customers want to make for propulsion systems. This car is dramatically different to the other cost to us all to see here it has no internal combustion engine nothing that's in there. It's a fuel cell car and it's a car which is settled by hydrogen over 60 environmentally friendly cars were being judged on criteria such as braking

acceleration. Noise. Overall Performance and insurance whether it be hydrogen fuel cell alcohol electricity or natural gas that powers the cars all of the engines are evaluated just like they are in school an AVC or D grade is given for each test. And while some vehicles out China others organizers stress that every entrant is a winner. Seventy one point six. I think this is the one the most successful because of the participation. Minimum a lot of companies are sixty horse vehicles here and people are really having an opportunity to see in one place all the alternative fuel. Choices. They have for vehicles. And it's getting that information out that's. Very very important. The Michelin challenge to ban them puts another feather in the cap of every automaker here. Not only does it showcase the latest technology it gives all of us one more reason to trade in our gas guzzlers where a cleaner car of the future.

This 2002 Ford F-150 Xcel regular gas pickup has a clean little secret. It's powered solely by compressed natural gas or CNG and it's a perfect AFV to join our long term test fleet that may sound odd when we also say that the nearest public CNG fueling station is 12 miles away from our studio. And that there are only six in the Baltimore metro area but that's OK because we can actually fuel up this pickup at home to do that. We've installed this fuel maker vehicle refueling appliance at the home of our art director Reggie Blackstone. This simple to use device taps into his home's residential gas line after the meter of course and compresses the gas for use in cars. The focus from filmmaker explained that unlike commercial stations that can fill tanks in minutes. This unit has the time to build the bikes. Flow rate is the equivalent of one and a half gallons per hour and generally requires an overnight stay in Reggie's driveway for a cool fellow. Given a range of between 200 and 250 miles we generally

have to fill up twice a week. While this fuel maker unit is still pricey for most homeowners it makes good sense for some commercial fleets and the company is working on a residential refueling unit priced under a thousand dollars. They could be rented or leased to make home CNG fill up both a time saver and financially practical. Imagine no more trips to the gas station. As to the F-150 CNG equipment itself. Ford mounts one CNG tank under the chassis and twin tanks in the bed of the truck. This cuts the 8 foot low bed to about 6 feet. But otherwise this pickup works like any other F-150. Frankly if this bright red truck is any indication of the green lifestyle we like it enough to also take delivery of a CNG powered Hondas Civic GX sedan. Now this is really a vehicle designed to clean up family motoring and we'll see if our enthusiasm for home refueling grows in the months ahead on motor weeks long term road test update.

Wall turned to fuel vehicles are growing in practicality and popularity their potential has only just begun to be tapped and there's no shortage of news about advances in a at me. Plus new alternative fuel concept vehicles are arriving at a record pace. So back with a look at where auto makers think these are headed is general purpose novice with the motor news. We're looking for the latest news on alternative fuel vehicles. Our first stop is always the auto show. And for the 2002 season the world's automakers have pull out all the stops to showcase their cleanest and greenest vehicles. Case in point BMW at last fall's Frankfurt Motor Show BMW chose the coming out party of its new seven series to unveil this concept BMW 745 each with hydrogen drive using a familiar looking V8 the biofuel 745 age runs on either liquid hydrogen or gasoline at the Tokyo Motor Show Toyota showed to produce a book concept. The FCC for an FCC five to four runs on hydrogen gas while the five uses a

reformer to derive the hydrogen from liquid C have a clean hydrocarbon fuel that is a highly refined gasoline. The most adventuresome Effi concept came from General Motors at the 2002 North American International Auto Show in Detroit called autonomy that would forever change car design autonomy is a hydrogen fuel cell enclosed in a skateboard like chassis that could accept a variety of plug in bodies. The idea built lots of vehicle types on one chassis to reduce fuel cell cars and already driveable fuel cell concept is the Chrysler Town and Country nature. What makes them a truly unique is not the fuel cell but the fuel sodium hydroxide a plentiful dry chemical related to borax at three hundred miles nature eems ranges long by Effie's standards. Now if they can only get the cost down to where anyone could consider it for their next minivan. But Ford says they are already close to doing just that with this unique fuel cell hybrid design. The focus at CV. Primary power isn't advanced Ballard Power Systems fuels out hydrogen gas is stored in high pressure tanks.

The hybrid aspect comes from the addition of a 300 volt battery pack the batteries provide extra power when accelerating and recharge themselves during braking. That's more bogus as TV goes on sale in 2000. Boy shows us just how close the technology is ahead of history. And that's it for this week's Motor News. The with the. With. You know bees are a concept that up until now most individuals have not considered when buying a new car or truck. Fortunately business and government have broken ground by buying these in quantities and have found them to be both cleaner and more efficient than originally thought possible and whiten commerce is now looking beyond pure operating cost and tax credits and see these as a way to improve the

environment for their employees and customers. Indeed there are many reasons why there are so many different types of commercial Effie's available. But there are unusual diet doesn't detract from their work ethic. To see just how hard working alternative fuel vehicles can be. Let's look at three common types of AFB fleet operations. Baltimore Gas and Electric is a large utility company with a surface area covering twenty three hundred square miles and a fleet of seventeen hundred vehicles. Of those 94 are powered by CNG but at certain times of the year 600 of Bee Gee's other vehicles including equipment like trenchers and lift trucks burn a blend of 20 percent soy oil and 80 percent diesel fuel called bio diesel. This alternative fuel is low in sulfur which helps to reduce diesels So the emissions and the bio part at least is renewable for certain energy providers like BGT as well as state and federal government fleets. The Energy Policy Act of 1992 or IPAC

requires that up to 90 percent of their new vehicle purchases be feeds. Similar rules apply to private companies like United Parcel Service through the federal clean fuel fleet program. But U.P.S. holds itself to more stringent standards than are required. Big Brown may in fact be the greenest private lead in the country U.P.S. operates more than eighteen hundred alternative fuel vehicles in North America mostly CNG and propane powered by the company's fleet has become a rolling test bed for all sorts of new fuel technologies like this liquefied natural gas big rig. This vehicle is the only one of its kind in operation in the United States. But later in the year we're going to have 10 of these operating in California. We have a responsibility to our employees our shareholders and the communities in which we operate to run efficiently and to be on the cutting edge of transportation and alternative fuel technology. Third type of fleet transit buses like those operated by airport city governments and

businesses all over the country are perhaps the most in need of a long term clean solution. So not surprisingly some of the most innovative clean fuel technologies now on the road. Are found in buses in Washington D.C. is one of many big cities that are replacing their old diesel buses with cleaner CNG units. Someone under 25 or already in service around the nation's capital with more to come. And over 5000 AFB buses are already in service across the country. Denver's Echo Park buses are CNG powered electric hybrids a 70 horsepower aboard engine power as a generator which constantly recharge is a series of batteries which in turn provide the juice for a pair of 220 horse electric drive motors. Ballard Power systems of Canada is developing a hydrogen fuel cell that can power a bus while emitting zero emissions called simply C-bus any admitting simply steam from its exhaust act. This clean all or covered 275 miles without refueling during the challenge prevents us.

But a practical deeply needs more than just an innovative vehicle the ability to have central revealing depots is the key that allows fleets the freedom to experiment with these amazing clean power technology. Two of the most popular alternative fuels CNG and LTG while costing less. You have special infrastructure needs and in some cases reduce the driving range to be most effective. A vehicle needs to be able to complete its daily routine without refueling. So for now bees make the most sense for police to operate on regular routes in a geographic area where the fuel is readily available. There clearly is a place for many more alternative fuel vehicles that are automotive world. So why aren't there more AAFES on the street. Well it's a monumental task to build a market for vehicles that use new fuels instead of the 200 plus million gasoline and diesel powered vehicles already on our streets and highways. Then there's the gas station on almost every corner and the network of parts stores

repair shops and dealers all focused on gasoline and diesel powered cars and trucks. The obstacles for widespread use of these are high. Yes the groundwork for a growing market for these has already been laid. Government and the auto industry are working together to provide dozens of the models many available right now. Business and government fleets have also become AFV leaders. But putting new fuel vehicles in service doing a wide range of applications. This in turn is helping to build demand for new stations to provide these fuels from American resources. Enlightened state and federal regulations are also providing financial incentives for AFV use including tax credits and direct subsidies. Hopefully it won't take another energy crisis or national tragedy for the promise of these to be fully realized. Give us the power to manage our own appetite for oil right now and without giving up with

those of us that like to drive value most. The freedom of the open road. Thank you for joining us for this special edition. I'm John Davis and I invite you to join us again next week for more motor week. To learn more about clean alternative fuels and alternative fuel vehicles visit PBS on line at PBS dot org or America Online keyword PBS motor week has been brought to you by Pep Boys. No matter what you drive Pep Boys Over 27000 items in stock virtually any part for any car with all the name brands you know plus service pay staff with a a c certified technicians Pep Boys parts tires accessories service. And to buy what are you looking for a motorcycle. This. Is. Yes.