Vadim
Лучезарный колёс
U.S. hybrid vehicle registrations up more than 25 per cent in 2003, stats show
By John Porretto
DETROIT, 22-04-04 (AP) _ The number of Americans driving hybrid cars jumped more than 25 per cent in one year, a trend that is expected to continue because of high gas prices and automakers' plans for more hybrid models.
There were 43,435 U.S. registrations for hybrid vehicles last year, a 25.8 per cent increase from 2002, according to figures from R.L. Polk & Co., the Southfield-based firm that collects and interprets automotive information.
California had the most registrations for vehicles with environmentally friendly gasoline-electric hybrid engines, followed by Virginia, Florida and Washington.
"People are buying hybrids because of mileage benefits and environmental concerns," said Lonnie Miller, director of Polk's analytical solutions unit. "With the rising cost of gas, hybrid registrations will likely increase in 2004."
Since 2000, hybrid sales in the United States have grown at an average annual rate of 88.6 per cent, Polk said, but they account for only a fraction of total vehicles sold. Full-year U.S. sales for 2003 were 16.7 million.
Hybrids draw power from two different energy sources, typically a gas or diesel engine combined with an electric motor. Small cars made by Honda Motor Co. and Toyota Motor Corp. are the only versions available in the United States, but nearly every automaker is investing in hybrid technology.
Honda's hybrid Civic accounted for 50 per cent of the registrations last year, slightly ahead of the Toyota Prius, Polk said.
Hybrid sales so far this year have been somewhat mixed.
Toyota sold 9,918 Prius models through March, 62.4 per cent more than it sold in the same period last year, according to Autodata Corp. Toyota, Japan's biggest automaker, was the first in the world to commercially mass-produce and sell hybrid cars with the Prius in 1997.
Honda said it set a monthly sales record in March for the hybrid Civic, though sales in the first quarter of 2004 were off from a year ago _ 6,494 through March 2003, compared with 5,982 this year.
Because of the relatively new technology, the hybrid Civic costs about $2,000 US to $3,000 more than a comparable non-hybrid Civic, the automaker said.
Ford Motor Co. is set to introduce a hybrid version of its compact Escape sport utility vehicle this summer, and luxury brand Lexus also plans a hybrid SUV. Honda plans to introduce a hybrid version of its midsize Accord passenger car this year.
Ford has said the hybrid system in the front-wheel-drive Escape allows the vehicle to get 15 to 17 kilometres per litre in city driving, compared with 8.6 kilometres per litre in a 2005 Escape with a V6 engine. It also plans another hybrid SUV and midsize sedan in the next few years.
"These versatile segment offerings will help push the success of alternative fuel vehicles," Miller said.
Ford chairman and chief executive Bill Ford said earlier this month the federal government should offer tax breaks of about $3,000, or possibly boost gas taxes to spur consumer interest in hybrid vehicles.
Schwarzenegger's plan to retrofit Hummer pushed 'down on priority list'
By Michael R. Blood
LOS ANGELES, 22-04-04 (AP) _ Labelled an environmentalist-come-lately as a candidate, Arnold Schwarzenegger answered his critics by announcing plans to retrofit one of his gas-swilling Hummers to run on eco-friendly hydrogen power.
"I think that's where the future of fuel will be going," he said at the time.
But seven months later, the high-tech Hummer has yet to hit the road. For the moment, the project has produced more talk than torque.
Seven companies submitted bids to do the work, ranging in cost from $40,000 US to $150,000, but no contract has been signed, said Rick Margolin, assistant director of Energy Independence Now, a Santa Monica group that evaluated the proposals on behalf of the governor.
"He does have people working on it," Margolin said.
Schwarzenegger raised his proposal for a clean-fuel vehicle with officials in the Hummer division of General Motors Corp., but for now the company is not engineering a hydrogen-fuelled Hummer for him or anyone else.
"It's out there as an idea," said David Caldwell, a spokesman for Hummer. "It's not something that exists currently. It's not something you would expect to see in the near future."
He added, "We would never do a Hummer on any energy source that would not perform like a Hummer is supposed to perform."
Schwarzenegger took delivery of the first Hummer made available to the public more than a decade ago, a civilian version of a military vehicle that caught the public's attention during the Persian Gulf War.
His popularity in Hollywood helped transform the brand into a favourite status vehicle. He was forced to defend his association with the hulking, low-mileage Hummer during the campaign when rivals questioned his environmental credentials considering his choice of transportation.
General Motors markets and distributes the latest version of the vehicle, the 2,900-kilogram H2, and estimates it gets 4.3 to 5.4 kilometres per litre. Dealers put the figure at 3.2 to 4.3 kilometres per litre.
The issue hasn't vanished. Activists planned a Thursday news conference in Sacramento to urge the governor to stop driving his signature vehicle, citing its impact on air quality.
Sierra Club lobbyist Bill Magavern said the gas-greedy Hummer "wreaks havoc to our environment" but viewed the governor's promise to retrofit his sport utility vehicle as "largely irrelevant."
"The Hummer is the opposite kind of vehicle from what we would like to see on California streets," he said. "What's more important to us is whether he keeps his promise to reduce California air pollution by 50 per cent. ... We have yet to see his strategy."
There was no mention of his Hummer on Tuesday, when Schwarzenegger directed state agencies to work with private companies and research groups to develop a statewide network of stations offering hydrogen fuel within six years: "Your government will lead by example," he said in announcing the initiative.
By John Porretto
DETROIT, 22-04-04 (AP) _ The number of Americans driving hybrid cars jumped more than 25 per cent in one year, a trend that is expected to continue because of high gas prices and automakers' plans for more hybrid models.
There were 43,435 U.S. registrations for hybrid vehicles last year, a 25.8 per cent increase from 2002, according to figures from R.L. Polk & Co., the Southfield-based firm that collects and interprets automotive information.
California had the most registrations for vehicles with environmentally friendly gasoline-electric hybrid engines, followed by Virginia, Florida and Washington.
"People are buying hybrids because of mileage benefits and environmental concerns," said Lonnie Miller, director of Polk's analytical solutions unit. "With the rising cost of gas, hybrid registrations will likely increase in 2004."
Since 2000, hybrid sales in the United States have grown at an average annual rate of 88.6 per cent, Polk said, but they account for only a fraction of total vehicles sold. Full-year U.S. sales for 2003 were 16.7 million.
Hybrids draw power from two different energy sources, typically a gas or diesel engine combined with an electric motor. Small cars made by Honda Motor Co. and Toyota Motor Corp. are the only versions available in the United States, but nearly every automaker is investing in hybrid technology.
Honda's hybrid Civic accounted for 50 per cent of the registrations last year, slightly ahead of the Toyota Prius, Polk said.
Hybrid sales so far this year have been somewhat mixed.
Toyota sold 9,918 Prius models through March, 62.4 per cent more than it sold in the same period last year, according to Autodata Corp. Toyota, Japan's biggest automaker, was the first in the world to commercially mass-produce and sell hybrid cars with the Prius in 1997.
Honda said it set a monthly sales record in March for the hybrid Civic, though sales in the first quarter of 2004 were off from a year ago _ 6,494 through March 2003, compared with 5,982 this year.
Because of the relatively new technology, the hybrid Civic costs about $2,000 US to $3,000 more than a comparable non-hybrid Civic, the automaker said.
Ford Motor Co. is set to introduce a hybrid version of its compact Escape sport utility vehicle this summer, and luxury brand Lexus also plans a hybrid SUV. Honda plans to introduce a hybrid version of its midsize Accord passenger car this year.
Ford has said the hybrid system in the front-wheel-drive Escape allows the vehicle to get 15 to 17 kilometres per litre in city driving, compared with 8.6 kilometres per litre in a 2005 Escape with a V6 engine. It also plans another hybrid SUV and midsize sedan in the next few years.
"These versatile segment offerings will help push the success of alternative fuel vehicles," Miller said.
Ford chairman and chief executive Bill Ford said earlier this month the federal government should offer tax breaks of about $3,000, or possibly boost gas taxes to spur consumer interest in hybrid vehicles.
Schwarzenegger's plan to retrofit Hummer pushed 'down on priority list'
By Michael R. Blood
LOS ANGELES, 22-04-04 (AP) _ Labelled an environmentalist-come-lately as a candidate, Arnold Schwarzenegger answered his critics by announcing plans to retrofit one of his gas-swilling Hummers to run on eco-friendly hydrogen power.
"I think that's where the future of fuel will be going," he said at the time.
But seven months later, the high-tech Hummer has yet to hit the road. For the moment, the project has produced more talk than torque.
Seven companies submitted bids to do the work, ranging in cost from $40,000 US to $150,000, but no contract has been signed, said Rick Margolin, assistant director of Energy Independence Now, a Santa Monica group that evaluated the proposals on behalf of the governor.
"He does have people working on it," Margolin said.
Schwarzenegger raised his proposal for a clean-fuel vehicle with officials in the Hummer division of General Motors Corp., but for now the company is not engineering a hydrogen-fuelled Hummer for him or anyone else.
"It's out there as an idea," said David Caldwell, a spokesman for Hummer. "It's not something that exists currently. It's not something you would expect to see in the near future."
He added, "We would never do a Hummer on any energy source that would not perform like a Hummer is supposed to perform."
Schwarzenegger took delivery of the first Hummer made available to the public more than a decade ago, a civilian version of a military vehicle that caught the public's attention during the Persian Gulf War.
His popularity in Hollywood helped transform the brand into a favourite status vehicle. He was forced to defend his association with the hulking, low-mileage Hummer during the campaign when rivals questioned his environmental credentials considering his choice of transportation.
General Motors markets and distributes the latest version of the vehicle, the 2,900-kilogram H2, and estimates it gets 4.3 to 5.4 kilometres per litre. Dealers put the figure at 3.2 to 4.3 kilometres per litre.
The issue hasn't vanished. Activists planned a Thursday news conference in Sacramento to urge the governor to stop driving his signature vehicle, citing its impact on air quality.
Sierra Club lobbyist Bill Magavern said the gas-greedy Hummer "wreaks havoc to our environment" but viewed the governor's promise to retrofit his sport utility vehicle as "largely irrelevant."
"The Hummer is the opposite kind of vehicle from what we would like to see on California streets," he said. "What's more important to us is whether he keeps his promise to reduce California air pollution by 50 per cent. ... We have yet to see his strategy."
There was no mention of his Hummer on Tuesday, when Schwarzenegger directed state agencies to work with private companies and research groups to develop a statewide network of stations offering hydrogen fuel within six years: "Your government will lead by example," he said in announcing the initiative.