LAMBORGHINI ANNOUNCES NEW, AMBITIOUS PROGRAMS FOR REDUCING CO2

LAMBORGHINI ANNOUNCES NEW, AMBITIOUS PROGRAMS
FOR REDUCING CO2

• 35 million Euros investments

• The construction of a large photovoltaic plant, combined with an energy-
saving project, will achieve a 30% reduction in the factory’s CO2
emissions by 2010

• Modifications to vehicles will result in a 35% reduction in CO2
emissions by 2015

Sant’Agata Bolognese, 7 June 2009 – Automobili Lamborghini announces its
intention to complete its program of environmental sustainability in record time by
presenting new plans which will enable the company:

• to achieve a 30% reduction, by the year 2010, in the CO2 emissions produced
by its factory
• to achieve a 35% reduction, by the year 2015, in the CO2 emissions
produced by its vehicles

The plans for reducing emissions will thus involve two areas: modifications to the
Lamborghini factory in Sant’Agata Bolognese, and development in vehicle design.

To redefine its industrial processes in accordance with its policy of environmental
sustainability, Lamborghini has just begun a project to complete installation of a large
photovoltaic system by the end of 2009.

The roof-top plant will produce 1,582 Megawatt hour (MWh) of “green” energy per
year, which translates into a 20% reduction in CO2 emissions (-
1,067,820 Kg/year) by 2010.

The photovoltaic systems will have a total installed power rating of
1,4 Megawatts and will extend over 17,000 m2 throughout the entire industrial area.
The new system will be built by Sinergia Sistemi S.p.A.

At the same time, an equally important energy conservation project involving
insulating the production facility’s whole roof, improving lighting and heating and
introducing destratification systems for heated air will be completed, thus resulting in
a 10% energy usage reduction by 2010.

These projects represent the next step in a program that began last year with the
opening of the new Lamborghini
Logistics Center. The Center has already contributed to diminishing the impact
caused by heavy truck traffic on the roads between Anzola and Sant’Agata Bolognese.
It is calculated that this facility has achieved a reduction of emissions by over 75 kg
per annum, and nitrogen oxide by over 750 kg (Sources: Standard Euro 3).

In April 2009 Lamborghini obtained the UNI EN ISO 14001 certificate, meeting
the international environmental standards. It is also the first firm in the Italian
automotive sector to be close to registering for the EMAS environment certificate,
having successfully completed the program: EMAS regulations are set by the
European Union to support organisations in their effort to evaluate and improve
their own environmental efficiency.

These recent achievements support Lamborghini’s commitment to protecting the
environment in which it operates, and its desire to make all stakeholders aware of
its actions in a transparent manner.

With regard to Lamborghini vehicles, the CO2 reduction plan aims for an additional
35% decrease in emissions by the year 2015.

The program reached its first milestone with the Gallardo LP 560-4. Introduced
last year, the new car’s technical advancements resulted in an 18% reduction in CO2
emissions.

At this point, Research & Development activities will continue in the following
directions:

- decreasing vehicle mass
- improving combustion
- reducing friction
- Start-and-Stop systems
- hybrid drive train solutions
- biofuels

Lamborghini’s commitment and its sense of social responsibility regarding the
environment is evidenced by the numbers and by the sheer size of the investments
that are planned. 35 million Euros will be appropriated over the next five years for
this purpose.

Stephan Winkelmann, the President and CEO of Lamborghini, has said, “Despite
the difficult situation in today’s global economy, Lamborghini is committed to its
policy of environmental management, since we are well aware of the great
opportunities that derive from it. We have an objective to reduce CO2 emissions to
the greatest possible degree. We have also set compulsory annual goals that are part
of an integrated approach both considering the automobile as an element which is
more considerate of the environment, in terms of emissions and the use of
resources, to the accomplishment of a series of corresponding measures such as
modifications to our factory. This is an important action for Lamborghini and a
central opportunity for our long term corporate and product development.”

European Parliamentarian Guido Sacconi, President of the European Commission
on Climate Change, recently paid a visit to Lamborghini headquarters in Sant’Agata.
At that time, he said that, “The commitment shown by Lamborghini with its efforts
to reduce environmental impact and develop vehicles with less polluting
technologies confirm the company’s goal of following the right path toward
complying with the directives of the European Union. To safeguard the DNA,
history and technology of niche car manufacturers on a European level, a series of
exceptions have been passed for manufactures of ’specialty’ vehicles (with fewer
than 10,000 new cars made per year) who run their own production facilities and
design centres, even though they are part of a group of associated producers. This is
the exact situation in which Lamborghini finds itself. We have been particularly
satisfied with the actions it has taken thus far, because they illustrate this company’s
desire to embrace a new industrial vision which combines competitiveness and
performance with social responsibility.”

Partner companies:

Located in Casalecchio di Reno, Sinergia Sistemi S.p.A. is a leader on the Italian
market of services that help companies save energy. The company specializes in
energy certification of buildings and the construction of large systems that take
advantage of renewable energy sources. Sinergia Sistemi also acts as an E.S.Co.
(Energy Service Company) that finances the plant systems and energy
requalification projects it offers to its customers, in a relationship of total Energy
Management.

The finalized project was built from a design based on a preliminary study carried
out by the CENER National Center for Renewable Forms of Energy of Spain. This
study involved a broad evaluation of the feasibility and size of the project.

Hybrid Cars for Sale

Electric Cars For Sale

Toyota Prius Hybrid For Sale

Annual road rally will highlight advances in fuel-cell technology

Hydrogen powered vehicles near consumer readiness

SACRAMENTO: Today the California Air Resources Board announced
the 2009 Hydrogen Road Tour, an annual road rally to demonstrate
the advancements in fuel-cell technology, will begin May 26 in
San Diego, and end June 3 in Vancouver, British Columbia.

Organized by the ARB, California Fuel Cell Partnership, National
Hydrogen Association and US Fuel Cell Council, the tour will
travel more than 1,700 miles and have 28 stops. The public will
be invited to test drive the vehicles and experience first hand
their range, performance and road readiness.

"Fuel cell technology is on the verge of becoming a practical
alternative to burning gasoline," said Air Resources Board
Chairman Mary D. Nichols. "This year's road tour demonstrates how
far the industry has come and how near we are to putting these
cars in the public's hands."

Currently, 300 fuel-cell vehicles have been placed on California
roads and manufacturers expect to increase that to 4,300 by 2014.
Fuel cell technology is also being used to power transit buses
and forklifts, and to produce electricity for industrial uses.
Examples of these will be showcased at some of the tour's stops.

California is a proponent of diversifying the fuels used to
power transportation. As part of ARB's 2006-2007 budget, the
California legislature allotted $25 million for the purposes of
encouraging the use of biofuels and high efficiency, low-emitting
vehicle technologies. These funds were used to support projects
that reduce air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions by using
alternative fuels.

In April 2009, ARB adopted a low carbon fuel standard fulfilling
Governor Schwarzenegger's 2007 executive order. The regulation is
aimed at driving down greenhouse gas emissions from the
transportation sector, which accounts for 40 percent of the
state's total emissions of climate changing gases. To achieve
this goal 20 percent of petroleum used in California cars will be
replaced with clean alternatives, including electricity,
biofuels, hydrogen and other options by 2020.

Recently, the Air Resources Board awarded Mebtahi Station
Services, San Francisco Airport, Shell Hydrogen and UCLA $1.7
million each to supplement the construction of hydrogen refueling
stations. When these stations are constructed the amount of
hydrogen available to the public will be double.

"I'd like to congratulate the partnership, the individual auto
manufacturers working to develop these cars and the companies
installing needed refueling stations," Nichols added. "Their
great progress secures our energy independence and defends the
environment."

The Air Resources Board is a department of the California
Environmental Protection Agency. ARB's mission is to promote and
protect public health, welfare, and ecological resources through
effective reduction of air pollutants while recognizing and
considering effects on the economy. The ARB oversees all air
pollution control efforts in California to attain and maintain
health based air quality standards

The Great Ethanol Scam

Californias fuel is 10% Ethanol. This article brings some potential issues with Ethanol use.

Not only is ethanol proving to be a dud as a fuel substitute but there is increasing evidence that it is destroying engines in large numbers.

Like motorists, if landscaping tool owners put gasoline with more than 10% ethanol in their small engines, that immediately voids any factory warranties. In the case of the Lexus recall, using just a 10% ethanol blend was found to be destroying many of these engines also.

Source : Business Week

100 MPG Hybrid Hummer

Its like a Volt based Hummer. It says in here that they had GM consult on part of the electronics integration.

The prototype we'll see in Detroit at the Society of Automotive Engineers World Congress on Monday features a series-hybrid drive train similar to the Voltec system in the Chevrolet Volt. Like the Volt, the H3 will be driven solely by electricity. The engine -- the 260-horsepower 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder used in the Pontiac Solstice -- will drive a 100-kilowatt generator to recharge the three lithium-ion battery packs. Fisker Automotive is using the same engine in its Karma range-extended EV.

All together the battery packs have a combined capacity of 40 kilowatt hours and total weight of 600 pounds. Raser claims a recharge time of between 3 and 10 hours, depending upon the voltage of the outlet the batteries are plugged into.

Source : Wired Magazine

Clean Up Your Classic Car with Propane

All thoughout the rest of the world, cars are converted to propane. Here in the US there is a small group of people that have converted cars to propane.

Propane falls just behind gasoline and diesel as the most common vehicle fuel in the United States, and some 10 million vehicles use it worldwide. The Department of Energy says propane produces less carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide and nonmethane hydrocarbon emissions than gasoline. Increasing annual consumption by 10 percent could displace nearly 1 billion gallons of gasoline by 2017, according to the Propane Education Research Council.

So far none of the big automakers offers propane-burners to the public here in the U.S. But several companies offer conversion kits and turn-key cars. Roush, for example, sells converted Ford pickups. Retrofit kits don't require any major alterations, Krainiak said, and you can switch back to gasoline if you can't find propane.

Uncle Sam has adopted several provisions and tax credits to spur propane use, according to the National Propane Gas Association, and there's effort to increase the number propane fueling stations in the U.S. There are about 2,500 nationwide, and it's going for 64 cents a gallon. Krainiak considers propane a viable engine fuel for the future, and he isn't alone. Hyundai plans to offer a propane-electric hybrid in South Korea, where the stuff is readily available.

Source: Wired Magazine

Prius Based Sportscar is On the Horizon For Toyota

Sports car , or "sporty car". Not sure if there is any real market for a hybrid sports car right now. We will see. Tough to know in todays economy.

The gasoline powerplant is not mentioned, but the car would get a heavily massaged version of the Hybrid Synergy Drive with gear selection courtesy of steering wheel mounted paddle shifters. An unnamed Toyota executive noted the targeted price point is somewhere around $24,000 with a 0-60 MPH time around 7 seconds. So a historically quirky, lightweight mid-engined, manual transmission sports car gets green by going heavy with hybrid bits, an automagic transmission and God-only-knows what powertrain layout.

Soruce : Jalopnikand Gizmodo

Hybrid car sales go from 60 to 0 at breakneck speed

Hybrid sales with $5 a gallon gasoline boomed, but now with $2 a gallon gasoline the higher priced vehicle sales are off big.

Last month, only 15,144 hybrids sold nationwide, down almost two-thirds from April, when the segment's sales peaked and gas averaged $3.57 a gallon. That's far larger than the drop in industry sales for the period and scarcely a better showing than January, when hybrid sales were at their lowest since early 2005.

Dealers are offering incentives and have huge supplies of vehicles. Where less than a year ago the dealers were charging premiums for hybrid vehicles.

Yet automakers believe they have little choice but to make more hybrids. Though car buyers are losing interest, politicians are pushing them as key to reducing U.S. dependence on foreign oil and limiting the global-warming gases that cars emit into the atmosphere.

Expensive hybrids are even harder to move.

A sales-tax deduction does little to move vehicles like the $74,085 Cadillac Escalade hybrid or the Lexus LS600h, which starts at $105,885. Neither gets better than 21 mpg, and buyers pay a premium over similar gasoline-only vehicles that would take decades for owners to equal in fuel savings even if gas hit $5 a gallon. So far this year, only 415 of the pair have sold nationwide.

Source : LA Times