Trucks at Work Blog

“As a potential mass production vehicle, the Nissan e-NV200 concept would also provide a reduction in operating costs compared to current internal combustion engine vehicles.” –Hideto Murakami, corporate vice president, Nissan Motor Co., Ltd.

Nissan showed off a new all-electric cargo van similar in size and style to Ford Motor Co.’s popular Transit Connect (a van that is also offered in an all-electric format) at the 2012 North American Auto Show in Detroit, MI, this week – a vehicle it expects will combine driving range similar to Nissan’s all-electric LEAF sedan with payload and cargo space similar to the current NV200.

Now, Nissan’s NV200 multi-usage vehicle is only currently available in Japan, Europe and China right now but – based on the growing popularity of Ford’s Transit Connect – I for one would not be surprised to see it pop up in the U.S. market sooner rather than later.

The Nissan e-NV200 concept, like the LEAF, is powered by a lithium-ion battery composed of 48 compact modules connected to an 80 kilowatt AC synchronous motor that generates 207 lb-ft (280 N-m/rpm) of torque.

As a potential mass production vehicle, Hideto Murakami, corporate vice president for Nissan Motor Co., Ltd., said in a statement that the Nissan e-NV200 Concept would also provide a reduction in operating costs compared to current internal combustion engine vehicles – something he considers critical to the future of EVs as a whole. more

“We expect to be able to reduce the energy consumption in a city bus by up to 65% [and] carbon-dioxide emissions by more than 75% with a plug-in hybrid compared with today’s diesel buses.” –Håkan Karlsson, Volvo Buses CEO

Here’s another alternatively-powered commercial vehicle design to keep your eye on for the future: the plug-in hybrid transit bus being developed by Volvo Buses, a division of Sweden’s AB Volvo.

Now, Volvo’s been building diesel-electric hybrid buses for a while now – in fact, it’s sold over 250 of them worldwide, and these hybrid models reduce diesel fuel consumption by 35% on average compared to their diesel-only brethren.

But the adding the “plug-in” piece takes fuel efficiency to a whole new level, potentially cutting diesel consumption by 65%, according to Volvo Buses, because it allows the electrical drivetrain to be re-powered independently of the diesel engine.

In short, the bus can run on just electricity alone and then be plugged in somewhere down to the line to recharge its batteries, without having to operate the diesel engine to perform those recharging duties. more

“It’s a mistake not to look at the opportunities that a strategic sustainability program can bring to private equity and businesses of all shapes and sizes. Beyond compliance, ‘environmental sustainability’ affects the entire business spectrum, offering benefits through a strategic, operational, reputational and financial lens.” –Tim Hartnett, PricewaterhouseCoopers

Businesses today – especially those involved in transportation – can no longer afford to roll their eyes when talk turns to “sustainability” initiatives.

Though the word still carries with it the overtones of religious fervor, corporations large and small are coming to realize – if they haven’t done so already – that embarking on “sustainability” initiatives not only can help make their operations “greener” in the environmental-friendly sense, it can help them save a lot of money too; both for them and for customers, too.

[Transportation is in many cases a key piece of corporate sustainability efforts, with Wal-Mart providing a good example of the potential savings to be gained.]

Think on this statistic for a minute: in a survey conducted by global consulting firm KPMG LLP back in April, nearly 55% of U.S. executives said their organization has a formal sustainability strategy in place, with another 12% noting they were currently working on developing a “sustainability” strategy while an additional 19% expecting to eventually develop a formal plan. more

When it comes down to the bare essentials, only a couple of data points really matter when the talk turns to the future of alternatively powered vehicles – how many are built and sold every year.

I mean, let’s face it – you can talk until you’re blue in the face about how using alternative means of vehicle propulsion will reduce foreign oil imports, decrease harmful exhaust pollutants, and help fight global warming. But all of that is but so much wishful thinking unless alternatively powered vehicles are actually manufactured and then purchased in significant numbers by commercial fleets and consumers alike.

Now, however, Ford Motor Co. is taking a swing at the first part of that equation where electric power is concerned, saying it plans to triple production capacity of its electrified vehicle lineup by 2013 – in particular, focusing on its all-new seven-person C-MAX Hybrid and C-MAX Energi plug-in hybrid, which begin production next year. more

There should be a quip in here about how “yellow” is fast becoming the new “green,” but despite trying, looks I’m coming up empty today, sad to say.

Yet that certainly isn’t the case when it comes to the ubiquitous yellow school bus – a staple of the American education system, yet also one that consumes a heck of a lot of fuel.

Chew on these numbers for a moment, courtesy of the American School Bus Council:

• Number of school buses operating in U.S.: 480,000

• Average annual miles per unit: 12,000

• Total annual mileage: 5.74 million

• Average fuel mileage for a diesel-powered bus: 7 mpg

• Average gallons consumed per year per unit: 1,714

• Total gallons consumed per year: 822 million

For that reason, many school bus operations – both public and private – have for years tested (and re-tested) a variety of different alternative propulsion technologies, using fuels such as natural gas, propane, and biodiesel, alongside a variety of hybrid systems. more

“There are a lot of really smart and innovative fuel-efficient ideas to be seen on and off the track.” –Anthony Bernier, a member of Quebec’s Université Laval team competing at the 5th annual Shell Eco-marathon Americas event

Anyone in the trucking business understands the vital importance of fuel economy. And what better way to search for improvements in vehicular fuel economy than turning teams of high school and university students loose on the problem?

That’s the thinking behind Shell’s Eco-marathon Americas, a competition wherein students design, build and test fuel-efficient vehicles with the aim of traveling the farthest distance using the least amount of energy – without breaking down of course.

High school and university students from Canada and the U.S. battled it out during the 5th annual two-day Eco-marathon Americas this year in Houston, TX, and – surprising – for the third year in a row and beating last year’s mileage by 77 mpg, the team from Université Laval in Quebec, Canada took home the internal combustion First Prize with an astonishing best run of 2,564.8 miles per gallon (mpg) in the Prototype class. In the UrbanConcept class, the team from Louisiana Tech University in Ruston, LA, took First Prize by achieving a best run of 646.7 mpg.

In all, 62 teams participated in Shell’s 5th Eco-marathon Americas, entering 56 vehicles in the “Prototype” class and 12 vehicles in the “UrbanConcept” class – with some teams bringing multiple vehicles to the event to enter in different categories. more

“One point to consider, though, is the economy: it’s possible that, in economic hard times, environmental enthusiasm wanes as people face tougher financial problems.” –from a recent Harris Poll on the decline of “green behaviors” by American adults between 2009 and 2010

Here’s one for the “DUH” category: a survey conducted by the Harris Poll late last year discovered that American adults overall are now less likely than they were in the summer of 2009 to espouse certain “green” attitudes and engage in various environmentally-friendly activities.

And why might that be? Well, as you can see from the quote above, the good folks at Harris believe “economic hard times” might have something to do with it. We needed a national poll to figure this out? more

“You pay less for fuel, get longer oil change intervals, and the engine lasts longer because propane burns much cleaner. Those savings add up fast, especially for municipalities.” –Joe Allen, technical support, Rush Bus Center, a division of Rush Enterprises

Got a chance to sit down with Jacques van Heerdon and Joe Allen at Rush Truck Centers 2010 Technician Skills Rodeo this week to talk about propane-powered school buses – an appropriate topic for the two as they are, respectively, the operations manager and technical support chief for Rush Bus Centers (RBC); a division of Rush Enterprises dedicated to the school bus market.

RBC is an authorized dealer for Blue Bird school buses so it’s not surprising that they were showing off not one but TWO different propane powered versions; a Vision model equipped with a GM 8.1 liter engine designed and engineered to operate on propane by Powertrain Integration using CleanFUEL USA’s liquid propane injection system, with the other a smaller “Micro Bird” model built on a Ford E-450 chassis using a 6.8 liter engine powered by a Roush liquid propane system.

Why propane power for school bus fleets, you ask? Well the big reason (no surprise here) is economics; at the end of the day, using all the tax credits available, school bus fleets will typically only pay 58 to 68 cents per gallon of propane. And it takes only five minutes or so to refuel a propane bus; almost equal to the time needed for refilling a comparable diesel- or gasoline-powered model. more

“It seems the car-shopping public still has a long way to go concerning electric vehicle consideration and understanding the realities of electric vehicle technology.” –James Bell, executive market analyst for Kelley Blue Book’s kbb.com

A new survey conducted by Kelley Blue Book discerns a troubling outlook in terms of consumer attitudes about electric vehicles (EVs): only 7% of car shoppers say they are likely to consider an EV for their next new-vehicle purchase or lease.

This has big implications for commercial fleets using pure EVs and/or hybrid models (be they of the gasoline- or diesel-electric variety). The reason is simple: without economies of scale, we can’t lower the cost of the most expensive parts of an EV or hybrid – the batteries. more

“When you consider that light-duty electric vehicles have a per mile cost of operation 70% to 80% lower than petroleum-powered light duty vehicles, those are numbers that really get your accountant’s attention.” –Frederick Smith, chairman, president and CEO, FedEx Corp.

FedEx’s Fred Smith believes the wholesale electrification of light-duty commercial vehicles is an absolutely vital transportation strategy the U.S. needs to embark on right away, for the most fundamental of reasons.

It’s not because all-electric vehicles (EVs) would help the U.S. transportation sector be “greener” (although that’s nice) by reducing vehicle exhaust pollution, nor is it because EVs can cost a lot less to operate while delivering significant life cycle cost savings for fleets (which is even nicer).

No, Smith boils the needs for EVs in the country down to one single word: survival. more