What does ‘GREEN’ mean to drivers?
When most of us think of green in the car world – we think of hybrids like the Toyota Prius, Chevy Volt and Ford Escape. We think of cars that get great fuel economy – but green cars are not necessarily hybrids or plug-in cars. Green can be alternative forms of gasoline or event diesel cars.
I’ve never been a huge fan of ethanol being the answer as it burn out catalytic converts and produces 1/3 less energy per gallon, which costs consumers and then pollutes the air.
I’m not of fan of hybrid cars as most of the country doesn’t sit in traffic or idle like big city traffic. There is also no towing capacity for hauling heavy loads or a trailer.
Electric cars will cause a drain on the already taxed power grid and there is no infrastructure to support the drain or a smart way to recycle these batteries without causing other environmental issues.
Hydrogen fuel cells are one solutions but the draw back are infrastructure for refueling and no towing capacity. Plus auto manufacturers who have invested so much in this technology are being pressured by the government to abandon this and move to all electric cars.
The only form of green power technology that really works and has an infrastructure is diesel. Better fuel economy, towing capacity, infrastructure is in place and best of all you save money and still have some performance capability.
Also note that the Green Car Of The Year is a diesel powered car for the second year in a row. Drive a diesel and you’ll understand. They last forever and love to idle; they pollute less with the new low sulfur diesel too. No more smelly, loud and smoky engines. It’s the best of all the choices with the least amount of compromise.
Although the Germans have been the first to offer these cars, other auto manufacturers already produce diesel and sell these automobiles in other countries. The question is why haven’t they realized that diesel is a great solution for the US. Canada has already figured it out. Let’s not be the last one on the boat and hope that other manufacturers realize this is a viable solution.
What does all these three letter acronyms mean when it comes to the green car movement? Autoblog Green has a list below to help.
Courtesy from Autoblog Green.
Deciphering the new vocabulary of the green car movement can sometimes be a real head scratcher. To alleviate as much confusion as possible, we would like to present our readers with a list of common acronyms and what they mean, with plenty of links for more information. If you have some TLAs (that's three-letter acronyms) that you'd like us to add to our glossary, just let us know in the comments.
B5 (also: B20, B99) – Petroleum diesel fuel mixed with biodiesel. The number is the percentage of biodiesel in the liquid, so B5 is 95 percent petroleum and five percent biodiesel.
BEV – Battery electric vehicle. That is, an electric vehicle without a range extender, like an engine or a hydrogen fuel cell, of any type.
CAFE – Corporate Average Fuel Economy standards. A system used in the United States to define the mileage requirements of new vehicles.
CARB – California Air Resources Board. It's mission is, "To promote and protect public health, welfare and ecological resources through the effective and efficient reduction of air pollutants while recognizing and considering the effects on the economy of the state."
CVT – Continuously variable transmission. A type of transmission with an effectively infinite number of gear ratios that provides improved fuel economy because the engine can run at its most efficient revolutions per minute independent of vehicle speed.
DCT – Dual-clutch transmission. A single housing that contains two separate transmissions and clutches. It can improve fuel economy.
DI – Direct injection. A type of fuel injection in a gasoline engine that uses high pressure to inject the fuel directly into the combustion chamber. This can provide better fuel efficiency and lowered emissions in some situations.
DSG – Direct shift gearbox. Another name for dual-clutch transmission.
E85 (also: E10, E15) – Petroleum gasoline mixed with ethanol. The number is the percentage of ethanol in the liquid, so E85 is 15 percent petroleum and 85 percent ethanol.
EDTA – Electronic Drive Transportation Association. Puts on the annual EDTA conference and is self-described as "dedicated to advancing electric drive as a core technology on the road to sustainable mobility. As an advocate for the adoption of electric drive technologies, EDTA serves as the unified voice for the industry and is the primary source of information and education related to electric drive. Our membership includes a diverse representation of vehicle and equipment manufacturers, energy providers, component suppliers and end users."
ER-EV – Extended range electric vehicle. A vehicle that is driven by an electric powertrain but includes a powerplant that can recharge the batteries on the go, through a fuel cell or a liquid-fueled engine. This is GM's preferred term for the Chevy Volt's powertrain.
GTDI – Gasoline turbocharged direct-injection. Gasoline-powered engines that use higher compression ratios and inject fuel just before ignition. Ford's EcoBoost engines use GTDI.
H2 – Hydrogen.
HCCI – Homogeneous charge compression ignition. A gasoline engine that uses high temperatures generated by compressing the intake stream to ignite the fuel.
HHO – Hydrogen-on-demand. A way to make hydrogen in a vehicle and use it in the engine. Not commonly accepted as an effective fuel-saving technology.
ICE – Internal combustion engine.
Li-ion – Lithium-ion. A type of battery chemistry commonly used in advanced automobile batteries to provide more power with less weight.
MPGe – Miles per gallon equivalent. A way to calculate the longstanding miles per gallon rating used with liquid fuel-powered vehicles in a vehicle where some of the energy comes from another source, like the electric grid.
NEV – Neighborhood electric vehicle. Low-speed electric cars that may or may not look like golf carts.
NiMH – Nickel-metal hydride. A type of battery chemistry that is used in most of the hybrid vehicles on the road today.
PHEV – Plug in hybrid vehicle. A vehicle with two power sources, one of which is a battery that draws power from an outlet.
SULEV – Super ultra low emission vehicle. One of the categories defined by the California Air Resources Board for emissions standards.
SVO – Straight vegetable oil. Liquid fuel that can be used in diesel engines with some modifications.
TDI – Turbocharged direct injection. A name for the modern diesel engines from the Volkswagen group.
TSI – Turbo stratified injection. An engine that uses direct injection with a turbocharger (and sometimes a supercharger) to get more power from the same amount of fuel.
ULEV – Ultra low emission vehicle. One of the categories defined by the California Air Resources Board for emissions standards.
VMT – Vehicle miles traveled. The number of miles that all vehicles in a national fleet travel in a given year.
VVT – Variable valve timing. A system that allows the engine computer to change the lift, duration or timing of the intake and/or exhaust valves while in operation.
WVO – Waste vegetable oil. Similar to straight vegetable oil, but describes oil that has been used at least once for another application (e.g., cooking).
ZEV – Zero emission vehicles. One of the categories defined by the California Air Resources Board for emissions standards.
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