It's a special week for Michigan. No, I'm not talking about the Presidential Primary but one of the World's premier automotive events. Flashing my Ecometro press credentials, I gained access to a childhood annual pilgrimage, Detroit's annual North American International Auto Show. In past years the North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) has been Detroit's grand ball for the Big Three auto manufacturers. With the American auto industry on the ropes and its low-mileage-SUV-chickens "coming home to roost," this year's auto show is in many ways a celebration in new technologies. Diesels and hybrids abound. Maybe the auto industry is starting to come around.
New plug-in hybrids, gasoline hybrids and even diesel hybrids debuted this week at NAIAS. Aston Martin spin off Fiskars showed an elegant plug-in sports car capable of 0-60 mph times under 6 seconds and top speeds of 125 mph. GM displayed its Chevy Volt plug-in and a hybrid Saturn Vue. China's BYD presented a 1 liter gasoline-electric hybrid with a range of 270 miles. Mazda introduced a 450 hp ethanol race car and a hybrid RX8. Toyota promises a plug-in hybrid for the US market by 2010 and Chrysler showed an electric, an electric-gas hybrid and most impressively a Mercedes-bred Bluetec diesel hybrid Jeep.
Predictably, Mercedes, Audi and Volkswagen lead the way in diesel technology. What would you say to a luxury sedan that can reach 149 mph yet still achieve 44 mpg? Mercedes brings the hybrid diesel technology of its Bluetec diesel hybrid engine, found in the S300, to Europe in 2010 N. America soon after.
How about Audi's R8 supercar? This V12 diesel powered concept car is rated at 500 hp, putting down a whalloping 738 lb-ft of torque. That's more than three times the power of a Subaru WRX! The V12 TDI in the R8 displaces six liters and is closely related to Audi's R10, the LeMans winning diesel racer. The R8 touches supercar territory in acceleration too, reaching 100 kph in just 4.2 seconds.
Detroit News blogger Neil Winton points out the American manufacturers predilection for ethanol powered cars rather than diesels preferred by the Europeans. Winton cites J. D. Power data predicting diesel's penetration into the US market to go from 2.2% to 7.1% of the US market by 2012. That's an increase of more than 350% in four years. J.D. Power predicts diesels will reach 15% of the US market by 2015. Hybrids are predicted to only reach 6.5% market share by 2014. Europe already achieves the increased CAFE standard of 35 mpg set out in the recent US energy legislation, albeit with a much higher 50% market share for diesel autos. Reformulation of standards for US diesel fuel in 2007, when burned in new, cleaner burning diesel engines, have helped diesel technology to reach the new California tailpipe emission standards and burn even more cleanly than gasoline engines.
American manufacturers seem to see glimpses of the light but are too bent on the next generation of technology via plug-in hybrids and ethanol powered vehicles. European automotive manufacturers appear to be better positioning diesels and diesel hybrids as a mezzanine technology. New diesel technology not only achieves mileage in excess of 50 mpg and burns cleaner than gasoline engines, but any diesel motor is capable of running on biofuels with little or no modification. The overwhelming evidence seems to suggest that from an enviro-political perspective a new diesel powered car is the clear choice for environmental responsibility and social justice.