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174 comments on DrumBeat: July 18, 2006

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Donal on July 18, 2006 - 9:41am Permalink | Subthread | Comments top
Want to take a peek at what the rest of the decade has in store for the world's automakers?

Here's what it looks like: The winners, maintaining their momentum, are Toyota and Nissan. The Koreans have a hit a dry patch and Honda is unexpectedly barren.

But the big losers - no surprises here - are General Motors and, bringing up the rear, Ford. By the end of the decade, the market share of Ford, currently number two in the U.S., could fall below both Chrysler and Toyota.

http://money.cnn.com/2006/07/13/autos/autos07.fortune/index.htm

Eco-consciousness appears to be hitting the mainstream. For years, it was only the truly committed, the painfully hip and the guiltily ashamed who were willing to stand up in public and say they were willing to do something for the environment.

Now environmentalism has gone way beyond the sandal-ista crowd. We just may be entering a time when everyone from average individuals to giant corporations to politicians of all ideologies agree that the evidence of environmental degradation is so overwhelming that it's finally time to act.

http://money.cnn.com/2006/07/12/news/economy/pluggedin_lashinsky.fortune/index.htm

This is a column about poop: cow manure that can be turned into electricity, "green" baby diapers that can be put in the toilet and waterless urinals that don't flush.

Hold your nose if you must, but it turns out that there's money to be made in finding ways to dispose of waste in ways that are cleaner and better for the planet.

http://money.cnn.com/2006/06/20/news/economy/pluggedin.fortune/index.htm

Is this CNN or Treehugger?

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treeman on July 18, 2006 - 11:09pm Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top
Doesn't look to me like honda has hit a dry spell. Their new accord diesel rocks! This is from a couple months ago.Remember, this is a real car, 5 seater.
Honda's new Accord 2.2 i-CTDi Sport has this week set no fewer than 19 world speed records and achieved 3.07 litres / 100 km (92 imperial mpg, ~76.6 US mpg) fuel economy to boot. British racing driver Robin Liddell and freelance journalist Iain Robertson were part of the European record-setting team.

Amongst the speed records set, which were all achieved in Production Car Class B (2000 - 2500 cc), were 133.04 mph (1 mile flying start), 84.25 mph (1 mile standing start) and an average speed of 130.38 mph over a 24-hour endurance period. These records were all set at Papenburg high-speed oval test track in north-west Germany on 1 and 2 May, and are all subject to FIA ratification.

Two production cars, randomly selected by FIA officials, were used to undertake the speed records, and apart from the fitting of roll-cages, racing harnesses and radio equipment for track-to-pits communication, no other modifications were made to the cars.

Following the speed record attempts, the same two cars were then driven 419 miles from Papenburg test track to Wiesbaden, near Frankfurt in order to complete the fuel economy run. The route comprised of a mixture of motorway and non-motorway driving, during which one of the Accords achieved a staggering 92 imperial mpg (US mpg=~76.6) average.

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Woilf on July 18, 2006 - 11:19pm Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top
Way to go, Honda!

I've got a 1991 Accord EX wagon with 275K miles and still going strong, and a 1997 Accord EX wagon that hasn't even been broken in yet at 116K miles.

-best

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behindthecurtain on July 19, 2006 - 7:32am Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top
Yeah, I would love to be able to buy the Accord diesel in the US. Rumor has is that Honda is bringing diesels here in about 2 more years for use in their trucks, SUVS and vans. The cars will stick with hybrid drivetrains. Supposedly, Honda has also said that they will meet all 50 states most stringent emissions requirements, and won't need the urea injection that  Mercedes will be using. I hope its true!
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davet on July 19, 2006 - 11:47am Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top
Looks like the dieselheads are making a point that diesels are not slow (unfortunately they didn't mention the fuel economy at 140 mph).  And in the 2005 Tour de Sol, a VW Passat on biodiesel averaged 77 mpg, best of the non-Honda Insight production cars (would probably have done a bit better with petrodiesel, but at 77 mpg, why bother)
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174 comments on DrumBeat: July 18, 2006

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