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Will SEMA go hybrid?

Damn right a CR-Z hybrid is better than a Mustang, right?!?

Only one hybrid is up for this year’s “Hottest Vehicle” award at SEMA. The Honda CR-Z hybrid will challenge the Chevy Camaro, the Ford Mustang and a number of other conventional vehicles at this year’s show, set for November 2 – 5 in Las Vegas.

Along with the CR-Z, Camaro, and Mustang the hottest car list includes the Dodge Challenger, Audi A4, Ford Fiesta, Hyundai Sonata, Kia Soul, Lexus IS, Mazda 2, Scion tC and Subaru Impreza.

As for the hottest truck, the Chevy Silverado hybrid isn’t specifically on the list, but its conventional Silverado sister is, and since the Silverado hybrid is easily the most important vehicle GM makes – maybe that any automaker makes – then we have to give it a shout-out.

Silverado hybrid baby!

Too bad neither consumers nor the government – let alone GM – understand that fact, but it is what it is; nevertheless, we’re still writing in the Silverado hybrid on our ballet.

Anyway, GM will be on the list next year with the Chevy Volt, as might a few other hybrid cars and plug-in vehicles. Maybe the past is ready to fully ebb in favor of a new flow of ideas.

Utterly senseless?

Will fuel economy ever be cool?

MotorTrend is salivating over the new ABT-Sportsline modified Audi TT-RS today. With specs like 0 – 62 in 4 seconds and a top speed of 181 mph, what gear head wouldn’t act as if his bell had just been wrung?

Yet, if all the effort put into achieving such power had been put into achieving fuel economy, 60 mpg would already be an after-thought.

What is it about power – mostly useless power – that is so Pavlovianly-enticing?

Unfortunately, it isn’t just 0 – 60 times that so compel. For instance, what percent of pickup truck drivers need a truck that can fly up a mountain towing 12,000 pounds? What percent of pickup truck owners ever tow anything? Would the average American contractor go out of business without the ability to drag-race 12,000 pounds up a mountain?

I don’t know, but the Ford F-Series recently topped 50,000 units sold in one month – the first time in over 2 years – while averaging well under 20 mpg. On the other hand, the 50 mpg Toyota Prius sold about 12,000 units.

How can that be acceptable in today’s world? Such poor fuel economy has done more good for America than harm? Seriously? Honestly, I don’t know, but I very much doubt that such an argument can be made. Yet, the government provides an unlimited amount of small business tax credits for such vehicles as it doles tens of billions in loans, grants and tax credits for more fuel efficient vehicles, particularly plug-in vehicles the size of a Prius.

But, can you really play it both ways?

More important, while a 70 mpg plug-in Prius sounds great, as does a Nissan Leaf with 100 miles of EV range, a 40 mpg F 150 would have far more impact reducing foreign oil dependence. Forget $7500 tax credits for the Chevy Volt. $7500 for a Chevy Silverado hybrid could actually achieve real change this decade.

Nevertheless, will it ever be cooler to average 60 mpg versus hitting 62 mph in 4 seconds?

Stagnating fuel eonomy.

Time for a big increase in CAFE?

There has been much talk in the blogosphere regarding CAFE and future fuel economy requirements with some hoping that a huge increase in CAFE is forthcoming. Others claim such an increase will mean many consumers will hold onto older gas guzzlers much longer as automaker profits turn into red ink due to declining profit margins.

Recently a few studies have claimed that much higher fuel economy can be cost-effectively achieved with today’s technologies at a much faster pace than automakers appear ready to embrace.

So how crazy is the idea of 60 mpg by 2025?

According to recent analysis, the current uptick in CAFE standards is “very modest”. Instead of 34 mpg by 2016, 38 mpg “would have delivered additional benefits of $140 billion over the life of the vehicles covered.”

Likewise, moving to 60 mpg by 2025, “will add hundreds of billions of consumer savings and reduced greenhouse gas emissions by hundreds of millions of tonnes.” More important, the costs of the technologies to achieve such standards provide enough savings in fuel costs to more than pay for themselves according the Consumer Federation of America (CFA).

So, 60 mpg by 2025 would be good for consumers, but would it be good for US automakers?

A study by the University of Michigan also claims such fuel economy standards could be achieved without consumers losing any “creature comforts” they are used to today. It’s just that over time, engineering needs to focus on making current engines more fuel efficient not more powerful. Similar to the CFA study, the Michigan study also concludes, this “revolution by evolution” pays for itself over time.

Still, does it mean less profits for automakers?

While the extra technologies might pay for themselves over time, that doesn’t mean such technologies will be as profitable as sticking closer to the status quo as long as possible, and that means automakers will balk. Thus, 60 mpg by 2025 is certainly crazy talk, at least in America.

Other places in the world, however, might embrace this crazy talk, especially emerging markets – and the future of the world’s auto industry. The wheel doesn’t have to be reinvented to make huge gains in fuel economy. It’s NOT all about plug-in vehicles and super grids. Today’s technologies, if not for crazy American consumer demands, could be far, far more efficient.

Emerging markets, however, might find much more sanity in their consumers. And, why not keep it as simple, efficient and cost-effective as possible instead of trying to reinvent transportation through the plug and/or hydrogen? Wouldn’t that be the more crazy path in economies with less money to spend on transportation?

Emerging markets don’t have to immediately leapfrog today’s technologies to succeed in the auto markets of the future, they just have to be more reasonable and responsible than America. That’s not really so crazy, is it?

No more deals after Labor Day?

No more deals after summer?

“This may be as good as it gets, and get used to it,” Jeff Schuster, the executive director of forecasting for J.D. Power and Associates, recently told the AP about summer car deals.

In the past automakers have used August to unload excess inventories in preparation for new models, but more and more excess inventories are becoming a thing of the past as automakers pare down production.

So, is Labor Day your last best chance for a good deal on a hybrid?

That’s the conventional wisdom amongst most automotive analysts. Still, with hybrid sales tanking, for instance, will automakers never again offer a deal to move inventory? Obviously, only time will tell, but the deals on hybrid vehicles have typically been far less ripe than those offered on pickup trucks, for instance, so the lack of a summer sale will probably have limited impact on hybrid sales and hybrid prices.

Likewise, with Toyota anticipating a large increase in hybrid sales over the next few years, coupled with growing competition, especially from lukewarm Ford, and red hot Hyundai, cheaper hybrid prices seem an inevitable trend.

Nevertheless, the Nissan Altima hybrid is still one of the best deals this summer, so that’s worth a look if in the market. Likewise, Toyota Prius leases are the best I’ve ever seen. For other hybrids, why not make a low ball offer? The future probably holds better hybrid pricing anyway, and that makes it a bit easier to walk away if your dealer won’t budge on pricing.

Shifting into fuel economy

Hybrid fuel economy or hybrid performance?

When the Lexus CT 200h hybrid hits dealers it will offer 4 different driving modes – Normal, Eco, Sport and EV – that will provide a nice element of control that might be demanded from Lexus drivers.

While control is a nice option, is a focus on fuel economy slipping away from hybrid technology?

Much of my hybrid driving is focused on trying to achieve ever-greater fuel efficiency but there are times, however, when I’ve definitely taken advantage of the extra torque my Camry hybrid can provide. No one’s perfect. Even hypermilers need to step on it every once in a while just to get the blood flowing.

And, as new hybrids hit the scene, newer and more sophisticated driving modes are becoming standard. In the upcoming CT 200h hybrid for instance, EV mode can be used to power through some extremely sluggish congestion using pure electricity, and Eco mode can provide the most efficient driving in a any kind of driving conditions. Of course, if you just want a nice balance of performance and efficiency, normal is your mode, but if you need to get the blood pumping, Sport mode will help cure the craving.

There’s no harm in that, right? And in a luxury brand like Lexus, Sport mode will probably enable the CT200h to appeal to a wider range of buyers.

Still, horsepower and acceleration have been big drivers of the US auto industry for decades, resulting in a massive foreign oil dependency problem. While hybrid drivers will certainly appreciate ever greater control over their hybrid vehicles via such driving modes, isn’t it possible that hybrid buyers are slowly being led astray from the original point of hybrid technology: fuel economy?