Leaf, Volt and Fiesta among Green Car of the Year finalists

The Chevrolet Volt, Ford Fiesta, Hyundai Sonata Hybrid, Lincoln MKZ Hybrid and the Nissan Leaf were been named finalists for 2011 Green Car of the Year honors today.

It's the first time the list of finalists has included electric cars: the Leaf and Volt.

The winner will be announced during media previews for the Los Angeles Auto Show on Nov. 18. The award, sponsored by Green Car Journal, honors vehicles that represent environmental leadership and technologic innovation.

“These five 2011 Green Car of the Year finalists reflect an auto industry in transition,” Ron Cogan, editor and publisher of Green Car Journal said in a statement. “It wasn't long ago when electric drive was a novelty. Now, it's expected that auto manufacturers will include electric drive in some form among their model offerings.”

Award organizers said the inclusion of the Ford Fiesta alongside the electric Volt and Leaf, and Sonata and Lincoln MKZ hybrids, proves that internal combustion engine technology has also advanced to levels of competitive fuel economy standards.

Ford Motor Co.'s subcompact hatchback qualifies for consideration due to its 40 mpg highway fuel economy using a conventional gasoline engine.

Nominees for the award can include any vehicle that employs a fuel-efficient powertrain technology: electric, hybrid, gasoline engine, diesel engine or alternative fuels. The 2010 Audi A3 TDI took the honor last year. It was the second diesel model in a row to win the award, after the 2009 Volkswagen Jetta TDI.

A vehicle must be on sale by Jan. 1 in order to qualify.

This year, auto enthusiast Jay Leno, host of the “Tonight Show,” and former race car driver and auto designer Carroll Shelby will join a jury that also includes Carl Pope, chairman of the Sierra Club; Frances Beinecke, president of the Natural Resources Defense Council; Jean-Michel Cousteau, president of Ocean Futures Society; Matt Petersen, president of Global Green USA; and Green Car Journal editors.

Millions of Fords recalled for engine-fire risk still unrepaired

In some 1995-2003 Windstars, cruise control switches may leak brake fluid into the anti-lock brake system Ford said.

WASHINGTON -- About 8.4 million Ford vehicles that can possibly catch fire remain on the road because of lack of owner information even after the largest U.S. safety recall ever, regulators said today.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration urged owners of the 14 million vehicles recalled between 1999 and 2009 for leaky cruise-control switches to take their unrepaired vehicles in to dealers. The switches on those vehicles may leak into the antilock brake system, Ford has said.

“If not repaired, the vehicles can catch fire, even if they are turned off, parked and unattended,” NHTSA's statement today said.

A NHTSA spokeswoman said that about 60 percent of the 14 million recalled vehicles -- or 8.4 million – have not been brought in for repair by owners.

Typically, about 30 percent of recalled vehicles are not returned for repair within a year-and-a-half of the announcement, said the spokeswoman, who asked not to be named.

Today's statement singled out used-car owners who may not know whether the vehicles they bought had ever been returned to dealers for needed repairs.

It also urged owners “to watch for potential warning signs of an imminent fire.”

Those signs include a cruise-control system or brake lights that stop working, low brake fluid and the illumination of brake warning lights on the dashboard.

Ford has notified owners about the recalls a number of times, company spokesman Wesley Sherwood said.

The repair rate for the Ford models has been “likely lower than typical” because of their age, he added.

NHTSA praised the automaker's notification efforts as “diligent.”

Among the models that have been recalled over the years are 1992-2003 E series, 1993-2003 F series, 1995-2003 Windstars, 1995-2002 Explorers and 1995-2003 Rangers.

Ford's series of eight recalls for the same defect amounted to the largest-ever U.S. recall, according to NHTSA data. The 14 million vehicles recalled are nearly double the size of the next biggest.

Ford's most recent recall of 4.5 million vehicles for leaky cruise-control switches was in October 2009 after customer complaints of 72 fires.

A Ford owner can check whether a vehicle has been recalled and repaired by entering the vehicle identification number (VIN) on the following site: www.myford.com.

U.S. to set new fuel-efficiency rules for medium, heavy trucks

The Obama administration is preparing to release details of proposed fuel-efficiency standards for medium- and heavy-duty trucks that would begin in 2014 and extend through 2018, according to a published report.

In May, President Barack Obama signed a memorandum directing the EPA and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to co-write the first-ever fuel-efficiency standards for medium- and heavy-duty trucks.

"I believe it's possible in the next 20 years for vehicles to use half the fuel and produce half the pollution that they do today," Obama said at a White House ceremony at the time.

Margo Oge, director of the EPA's Office of Transportation and Air Quality, said an announcement would happen “soon,” The Detroit News reported today. The newspaper said details could be released as early as Monday.

Because heavy-duty trucks account for a large percentage of emissions -- the heaviest consume more than 2 million barrels of oil every day, average 6.1 mpg and emit 20 percent of the greenhouse gases from the transportation sector -- the new proposal could reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 250 million metric tons over five years, The News reported.

The proposal covering medium- and heavy-duty trucks is part of a larger White House initiative that includes standards for more fuel-efficient cars and light-duty trucks, including a 62 mpg fuel economy standard for light-vehicle fleets by 2025.

Current rules require a fleetwide fuel-efficiency average of 34.1 mpg by 2016 for passenger cars and light-duty trucks.

Under the new medium- and heavy-duty truck rules, manufacturers would be encouraged to replace old diesel engines with new, cleaner diesels. The government already has spent $200 million on the effort since 2005.

New diesel engines emit 90 percent fewer environmental pollutants, including those that contribute to smog, compared with engines made 20 years ago, Reuters reported.

Automatic Transmission Trouble Shooting Basics

1) First thing to do, no matter the issue, is to check the transmission fluid

The transmission is slipping: odds are the fluid level is low and topping the fluid level off will take care of the immediate issue(you'll still want to find out what happened to the missing fluid.

The transmission fluid is Dark and smells burnt: At this point if the transmission is shifting ok, a fluid and filter change is in order. If the transmission is causing you an issue and the level is full but still burnt looking you are looking at needing a rebuild. The dark color comes from the worn clutches inside the transmission. The clutch material is similar to that of brake pads and when they wear the leave dust similar to brake dust collecting on your wheels.


Transmission won't shift, No reverse, Stuck in Gear, No Overdrive:

these transmission problems can be caused by severe internal damage, a failed shift solenoid, failed sensor or a transmission computer module failure. Sometimes a simple Read more on Transmission Troubleshooting

Google is testing a car that drives itself - No Driver needed for Google Car

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Google Inc, the world's largest Internet search engine, has been tinkering with engines of another sort and come up with some futuristic results -- a car that drives itself. Video of Google Car

Google, in a posting on its official blog, said it has developed the technology and been busy testing a fully automated car that would take the controls out of the hands of distracted drivers, leaving them free to text, eat or apply makeup to their heart's content.

"Our goal is to help prevent traffic accidents, free up people's time and reduce carbon emissions by fundamentally changing car use," Google said on its blog.

The automated cars use video cameras, radar sensors and a laser range finder to "see" other traffic, as well as detailed maps to navigate the road ahead.

The futuristic autos have already been tested on the heavily trafficked California roadways -- including highways, bridges and busy city streets. They have even navigated San Franciso's famed Lombard Street, a tourist favorite known as the nation's most dramatically winding address.

All in all, our self-driving cars have logged over 140,000 miles, Google said.

All of the test runs have had a driver behind the wheel just in case. The driver can take over as easily as one disengages cruise control, Google said, adding that test drives have also included a trained software operator in the passenger seat to monitor the software.

Google said it believes its self-driving cars might one day cut by half the more than 1 million traffic fatalities suffered each year.

For those ready to shell out hard-earned cash for one of the first self driving autos, Google said the project "is very much in the experimental stage" providing only "a glimpse" of what transportation might look like in the future.

It remains to be seen whether Google investors, who have been concerned by the company's spending, will applaud its automotive aspirations. The company missed Wall Street's earnings estimates in the second quarter and is due to report third quarter results later this week.

Source: ca.reuters.com

GM defends Volt while critics say it's not a pure electric car

Chevy Volt

DETROIT (Bloomberg) -- General Motors Co. is disputing accusations that its low-emission Chevrolet Volt is a hybrid and not a true electric vehicle a month before the car goes on sale.

Auto critics Edmunds.com, Motor Trend, Popular Mechanics and others have said that during heavy acceleration the Volt uses its gasoline engine to augment power from the electric motors to drive the wheels.

On its Web site, GM says the car is an extended-range electric vehicle, not a hybrid like Toyota Motor Corp.'s Prius.

“GM's insistence that the car is fully electric is hard to understand in light of the fact that the gas engine provides direct motive power under certain conditions,” the New York Times said Monday.

Doug Parks, a global electric vehicle executive for GM, told the New York Times that the automaker chose not to publicize the high-speed gas-engine assist feature previously to protect the technology during the patent application process.

'A PR problem'

The Volt debate illustrates the marketing challenge for automakers selling new technology in cars that don't fit standard classifications and whose performance is difficult to measure.

GM and Nissan Motor Co. have both made claims about their new models' fuel economy and driving range that not all consumers may attain because electric performance varies greatly by driving habits.

“You have a PR problem with any one of these vehicles,” said Jim Hall, principal of 2953 Analytics Inc., an auto consulting firm in suburban Detroit. “GM had this sort of schizophrenic thing about doing its best to manage perception and at the same time going off into traditional old-style GM hype.”

GM has promoted the $41,000 Volt as an electric vehicle to give it an image boost over hybrid-electric cars such as the Prius.

“The Chevrolet Volt is not a hybrid,” GM said in materials distributed this week to journalists. “It is a one-of-a-kind, all-electrically driven vehicle designed and engineered to operate in all climates.”

The Detroit automaker has said for three years that the Volt would always run on electric power and more recently said it would average 230 miles per gallon. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency hasn't rated that number, and GM said many consumers may get lower fuel economy.

Series and parallel hybrid

GM said Monday that the engine does assist in driving the car through an electric generator.

Critics at Popular Mechanics and Edmunds both wrote they consider the Volt a plug-in hybrid and not the electric vehicle that GM has touted for years. The Edmunds review of the car had the headline: “GM Lied: Chevy Volt is not a true EV.”

According to the editors at AutoWeek, an affiliate of Automotive News, the Chevrolet Volt is an electric vehicle, series hybrid and parallel hybrid all rolled into one.

For the first 25 to 50 miles it's an electric vehicle, running on the battery pack alone. Once the battery pack reaches its minimum charge, the 1.4-liter engine kicks in and turns a generator to feed electricity to the two electric motors -- or a series hybrid.

At speeds of about 70 mph or more, a clutch pack engages which lets the 1.4-liter engine lend a hand and mechanically help turn one of the electric motors, while also generates electricity for the electric motors. That would make it a parallel hybrid by using two power sources to help move the vehicle.

The new claims have arisen in recent days following the formal media launch of the Volt. For the first time, journalists are getting the opportunity to drive the Volt in all modes and driving conditions.

Up until now, GM had allowed journalists to drive the Volt in electric-vehicle mode only.

“GM has kept the complete functionality of the Volt a closely guarded secret until now,” said Bob Gritzinger, executive editor of Autoweek.com and who was among the journalists that drove the vehicle this week.

Nick Richards, a GM spokesman, said the Volt always runs on electricity and has no mechanical link from the gasoline engine to the wheels.

The car's four-cylinder gasoline engine powers a secondary electric motor, which turns the wheels, Tony Posawatz, the Volt's vehicle line director, said in an interview. The car's gas engine doesn't directly power the wheels, he said. GM never disclosed that fact because the engineers saw it as a benefit that boosted the car's fuel economy, he said.

‘Very different'

“I keep telling people that this is a smart solution,” Posawatz said. “It drives very different from a hybrid.”

Hall, of 2953 Analytics, said there are some similarities between the Volt and the Prius.

“In a Prius, there is no mechanical linkage between the engine and the wheels -- it goes through a motor,” he said. “They use the engine to drive a direct-drive generator to drive the motor. The Volt does the same thing, it's just that the Volt can run with electric power without an engine longer than pretty much any hybrid right now can.”

GM said previously that the Volt would go 40 miles on a fully charged battery before the gasoline engine starts to recharge the battery, giving the vehicle a total range of 340 miles.

The company said this week it will go 25 to 50 miles in electric drive and 310 miles on one charge and a tank of fuel.

Nissan and GM both will have marketing challenges when consumers experience lower range or fuel economy, Hall said. With hybrids and electric cars, they can drive farther in stop-and-go city driving than on the highway because braking recharges the battery.

Company claims

That means many Volt owners won't get 230 miles per gallon in the Volt and Leaf drivers won't get the 100 miles on a single charge that the companies have claimed, Hall said.

Consumers probably won't care whether the Volt is a hybrid or electric car, said Eric Noble, president of The CarLab, an auto consulting firm in Orange, Calif. Potential buyers will be more concerned with the car's price, the fuel savings and how far they can drive before needing to plug in or refuel.

“Consumers don't care what we call it,” Noble said. “In our research, most of the questions from consumers are about battery life and recharging.”

The Volt's emissions are more important than what people call it, said Dan Becker, director of the Safe Climate Campaign, an environmental lobbying group in Washington.

“I don't think purity is the issue,” Becker said. “What comes out of the tailpipe is the issue. If it's a little, it's green. If it's a lot, it's not.”

Coolant Leak in 2001 Sunfire

Hello! HELP PLEASE!!!!! I have a 2001 Sunfire and my coolant keeps leaking out, I put some Coolant in it yesterday in Michigan City Indiana, and got home and the low coolant light came back on. Anyone, have an ideal what the problem could be? Im praying its not a big issue, so any help will be greatly appreaciated..

Response:
1) Check your hoses for a leak if that don't get it maybe you have a small crack in your radiator

2) Check for leaks under the car. Could be caused by a hose leak, bad water pump or radiator. If you don't see any leaks check your oil dipstick, if it is a milky or gray shade it could be a cracked head or head gasket which is bad. The milky or gray shade means the coolant is leaking into your engine and mixing with the oil.

3) I used "Bars stop leak" on mine last year around this time. Worked like a charm, haven't had a problem since. I drive a 1993 Saturn SC2.

4) take it to any auto shop and ask if they can give it a presure test, it should cost little or nothing

5) Google "Dexcool". Thats the red coolant that GM started using around 95 or 96. After reading the horror stories, decide if you still want to keep the car. This stuff will eat gaskets and metal engine parts to the point where you will eventually have to replace the engine. A friend with a late 90's Caddy spent 2 grand to replace the heads, and a month later 5 grand for a new engine. The car was only two years old. Another friend with 2 Chevy vans, a 96 and an 02 spent 800 bux to have the cooling systems 'super flushed' and an intake gasket on the 96 replaced. A month later he blew the engine on the 96. I checked the oil level and it was 4 inches past full. The coolant leaked into the oil pan. A month later he had to replace the lifters on the 02. Don't remember the cost on that one.

I just ain't worth it.

Brake problem with 1992 Chevy Lumina Car

the rear brakes on our lumina are shot we just bought the car and discovered the pads are missing and the rotors are severely rusted and pitted i do not even know if the calipers work.can the rotors be turned or is it just as well to buy new.any advice would be helpful thanks.

Response:
1) The rotors can be turned if there is enough metal left on them to be safely used. There is a minimum thickness which varies depending on the manufacturer. If you bring it to a shop, most will replace the rotors, just for the extra bux.

2) I would compare the price to buying them new. The cost of new rotors vs turning them on our van was only a $5 difference so we bought new.

3) Remember that with ABS Brakes to block the line and crack the bleeder screws before you compress and that they turn while compressing. You can rent the tool from most auto parts stores inexpesively. Myself, I'd replace the calipers just because my son has a 93 Lumina and know that they freeze up due to mounting hardware issues. The Hardware kit is cheap and easy to install to ensure safety. We replaced the rotors for $30 each(Borg), calipers were $40 each(Wagner), pads were $25 for the Lifetime Pads(Wagner).

4) I wouldn't open the bleeder screws... I'd take the cap off the master cylinder and push the cylinders back with a clamp(front) or rears turn them back with a special tool its a cube with a bunch of different prong arrangements and you turn it with a 3/8 ratchet... About 11 at most parts stores.... That way when your done its not necessary to bleed the brakes

5) You GO RIGHT AHEAD. The 1st time you have to buy a NEW Accumulator you'll have learned 1 expensive lesson about ABS Systems. And THAT Folks is WHY We block the lines and bleed off thru the bleeder screw.

Home of the Free Alignment just a myth?

If you live in the US and ever listen to the radio you can't help but hear one of the great commercial going on and on about a free alignment with the purchase of new tires. So we want to clear the air about this free alignment business.

1) they do provide an alignment if you purchase 4 New Tires (PAY the operative word) the price is built in dummy!!

2) Did you wreck your car or have front end work done recently that requires an alignment? Probably not, so you do not need an alignment. Now you are paying more for your tire than you need to so you can get an alignment you don't need. Smart on the advertisers part. Most people do not know that they do not need an alignment.

3) Well my car is pulling? Again, if you didn"t wreck it... you just need tires replaced and no need for over priced tires to get an alignment.

How much do they charge for an alignment without purchasing tires? $69.95. So divide that by 4 and that's about $17.50 per tire. Could you buy tires for $17.50 a tire less. YES, so I am going to have to say that you are not getting a FREE Alignment. Don't let shifty advertising convince you otherwise. Stay alert when dealing with Big Brand Tire Stores.

Hyundai to recall Sonata sedans in U.S.

SEOUL (Reuters) – Hyundai Motor, South Korea's top automaker, will recall some 139,500 Sonata sedans sold in the United States, due to problems with the steering wheel that could cause a loss or reduction of control.

The automaker announced the recall after the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) opened a probe into steering problems in August, a move analysts said was aimed at heading off criticism that it was slow to respond.

"Hyundai's pre-emptive action is fast enough to avoid any criticism in handling safety issues," said Kim Byung-kuk, an analyst at Daishin Securities.

No accidents or injuries occurred as a result of improper assembly or loose steering connections, Hyundai said in an email statement on Sunday.

The vehicles were built from December 11 through September 10.

Hyundai sold 128,484 Sonata sedans in the period from January to August, 35 percent of its U.S. car segment sales during the period.

The firm's latest recall comes as the auto maker seeks to increase production of the Sonata, its best-selling model in America, at its plant in Alabama.

Lee Sang-hyun, an analyst at Hana Daetoo Securities in Seoul, said the recall is unlikely to hit Hyundai's sales.

"However, since potential defects related to assembling are not a significant problem with its quality, it will barely impact Hyundai's sales," Lee said.

In February, Sonata, underwent the first recall this year that affected 47,000 units in South Korea and U.S. due to front door lock faults.

Hyundai has been one of the stronger performers in the U.S. auto sector in recent years, gaining market share and logging an 8.3 percent sales increase in 2009, while the industry fell 21 percent overall to the lowest levels since the early 1980s.

Hyundai's affiliate Kia Motors said in early September its co-chief executive resigned to take responsibility for nearly 86,000 recalls of some of its models, including the Soul compact sedan.