This week at the Chicago Auto Show, a wide array of vehicles are being displayed; many of which are alternative fuel vehicles. Even though the price of gasoline is much lower than in past months, the CAFE rule that mandates auto manufactures average 35 mpg for their fleet of vehicles still applies, meaning more vehicles are being offered with an …
Optimizing Engines for Ethanol
A Michigan-based engineering firm has reportedly developed technology to optimize engines for ethanol. According to a press release from Ricardo, Inc., the technology “optimizes ethanol-fueled engines to a level of performance that exceeds gasoline engine efficiency and approaches levels previously reached only by diesel engines.” The technology, called Ethanol Boosted Direct Injection or EBDI, takes full advantage of ethanol’s best …
Enterprise Expands Hybrid Fleet
Enterprise Rent-A-Car, already home to the world’s largest fleet of fuel-efficient vehicles, is doubling the number of gas/electric hybrids in its inventory by adding 5,000 of the green vehicles. This company press release says Enterprise is also designating nearly 80 rental locations across the country as “hybrid branches” that will have a high concentration of the new hybrids available for …