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While this journal often focuses on game-changing technology like hydrogen fuel cells or electric vehicles, it is important to also recognize how automakers are doing to update today’s technology for maximum efficiency gains. The Detroit Free Press recently ran an article about some of these advances.

One of these technologies is direct gasoline injection, a process that injects the exact right amount of fuel needed in an engine using a high pressure pump and special electronic systems. This fine-tuning of the engine can yield massive gains in horsepower while also raising the vehicle’s fuel efficiency achieving more power and better gas mileage.

Another advancement the article discussed was dual clutch transmissions. The dual clutch operates like a manual transmission which gets about 6 percent better gas mileage than a standard automatic transmission. A vehicle equipped with both direct injection and a dual clutch could get 10 percent better fuel economy or as much as putting a mild hybrid into the vehicle. While these technological changes seem fairly minor they can add up to make a major difference in fuel consumption and emissions.

-Rodney E. Slater, Chairman

On October 16, the White House sent a letter to Congressional leaders urging Congress to increase fuel economy standards, but maintain the separate categories for cars and light trucks. This view supports our domestic automakers and embodies our DAF message. We need to increase standards, but shouldn’t force cars and light trucks to meet the same fuel economy requirements. Al Hubbard, the director of the White House National Economic Council, threatened a presidential veto if Congress eliminates the current fleet rule keeping cars and trucks separate.

The Hill-Terry bill we support keeps the vehicles separate. We continuously refer to the legislation passed by the Senate as extreme, mostly because of the Senate’s intent to lump cars and trucks into the same category and raise standards to a level difficult for car makers to achieve. If you think about it, it makes sense that it’s easier to make a small car reach 35 mpg than a heavy SUV that will be used for towing or driving a family of five around. The heavier the car is the more gallons of gas it uses. A mini cooper and a Dodge Ram serve different purposes and require different standards.

Let’s use this time to concentrate on the technologies of the future and the alternative fuel vehicles we will be driving, not making unrealistic standards that will put auto workers out of business.

-Rodney E. Slater, Chairman

On Saturday, September 30th the third annual ECOFEST was held in New York City, an educational environmental festival organized and presented by the West Side Cultural Center. The focus of ECOFEST is to showcase innovative alternative energy technologies. ECOFEST will again feature a SEOTO (Sources of Energy Other Than Oil) display which demonstrates a wide variety of alternative-energy vehicles. On display this year will be the Lexus Hybrid, alternative fuel technology from the University of Toronto, the Hydrogen-Powered Chevy and the Saturn Hybrid. Hybrid technology has been on the market since 1997.

Nearly every major automobile manufacturer has announced either the launch of a hybrid car or plans for a launch. A large part of this is due to the CAFE (Corporate Average Fuel Economy) regulation, by which an automaker must maintain a minimum mileage of 27.5mpg across its product line. By investing in hybrid technology, they can offer faster, larger engines in the rest of their line.

-Rodney E. Slater, Chairman

Thomas Friedman’s October 3 column in the New York Times addressed fuel economy legislation. While I agree with him on many issues, I do feel that the Markey legislation discussed in his column is not the most efficient way to solve our current problems with fuel economy. Many newspapers across the country picked up this article and I wrote a response that was published in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. The rest of this journal entry is my response to the Friedman piece.

The auto industry is supports legislation that will increase CAFE standards; but does so in a bold, but balanced way - through the legislation introduced by Representatives Baron Hill and Lee Terry. More than 13 million people are employed directly or indirectly through the American auto industry and it is more important than ever to protect these jobs.

The bill passed in the Senate and the introduced by Congressman Markey call for extreme measures that would cost the auto industry over $114 billion. They are overly aggressive and set mandates that the auto industry could not achieve. The balanced approach of HR 2927 will allow automakers to continue alternative energy research and development while increasing fuel economy standards. In this day and age we need to focus resources on alternative fuels and advanced technologies, rather than retooling an engine that will still use gasoline.

It’s also important for people to understand that the auto industry is actively developing new cars and trucks that will reduce emissions. They invest over $17 billion a year in research and development and consumers will continue to see more hybrids and alternative fuel vehicles on the road.

HR 2927 is a balanced alternative with the overwhelming support of more than 160 cosponsors.

-Rodney E. Slater, Chairman

Fuel Economy standards affect us all. Commuting to work, taking road trips, simply getting from point A to point B, we use our vehicles for transportation. As a member of the National Grange, fuel economy standards especially impact me and the hundreds of thousands of American farmers and ranchers who rely on our vehicles to make a living.

If Congress passes extreme legislation to increase CAFE standards, the vehicles I use day in and day out will be jeopardized. The Senate recently passed legislation that would impose harsh regulation on automakers, levying the largest regulatory burden on an industry ever, $114 billion. The Senate language also leaves out important provisions on biofuels that affect Americans across the country, especially farmers.

The National Grange supports H.R. 2927 because it is a balanced approach that will allow farmers and rural workers to continue to use the vehicles they need for their livelihood. It encourages automakers to put money towards research of advanced technologies and alternative fuels, rather than reconfiguring engines to meet extreme CAFE standards. Many farmers live on narrow, two-lane rural roads where two-thirds of auto-related deaths occur. The safety of our vehicles cannot be sacrificed due to extreme Congressional regulation. We thank the more than 160 members of Congress that have cosponsored this balanced bill.

-Leroy Watson, National Grange

On Monday, October 1st, I had the opportunity to participate in the Labor Council on Latin American Advancement’s (LCLAA) “Latino Labor Leaders Advocacy Summit” held in Washington, DC. LCLAA is a member of DAF and they invited me to join a panel discussion about climate change, environmental justice and the impact new policies would have on the economy.

There are over 100,000 Latinos directly impacted by the automotive industry, and LCLAA has been at the forefront protecting the interests of these workers. LCLAA is supporting H.R. 2927, the balanced proposal from Baron Hill (D-IN) and Lee Terry (R-NE) that will substantially raise fuel efficiency without negatively impacting the jobs of these workers. This bill will also expand the green collar sector of the economy because of the provisions it includes providing research money on advanced batteries and other transportation alternatives.

The panel also addressed environmental protection and Latinos adversely affected by pollution. In 2002, 71 percent of Latinos lived in counties that violated federal air pollution standards for one or more pollutants. It is clear why LCLAA supports H.R. 2927 – this bill will reduce the harmful emissions that plague Latino communities while protecting the livelihoods of Latino workers.

-Rodney E. Slater, Chairman

Harry Alford, President and CEO of the National Black Chamber of Commerce test drove a hydrogen fuel cell vehicle with Justin Walraven, hydrogen vehicle engineer. Advanced technologies and alternative fuels are the right way to solve the problems related to emissions and energy dependence and this video demonstrates the great benefits that use of hydrogen vehicles can bring:

R. L. Polk and Co., an automotive research firm released very promising numbers about hybrid auto sales on September 17th. Overall, hybrid sales are up 49 percent in the first seven months of this year, and more importantly these sales are led by very strong growth in the Midwest.

For those that thought hybrids were only a status symbol on the east and west coasts, this news demonstrates that advanced fuel saving technology is catching on and a market does exist for these products. It did not take a new law mandating hybrids in Oklahoma to increase hybrid sales there by an astounding 143 percent compared to sales between January and July of 2006.

Moreover, automakers aren’t ignoring this trend either and continue to release these advanced powertain vehicles that will save consumers money at the pump while decreasing the emissions of greenhouse gases. This year hybrids could account for 2 percent of the total market of cars sold and represent a bright spot in an otherwise slow automotive market. With demand running this high, it is clear that automakers will either supply this growing market with hybrid products or fall behind their rivals that do. Either way, American consumers and the environment are the big beneficiaries of this growing hybrid market.

-Rodney E. Slater, Chairman

While automobiles are raced all over the world for sport and entertainment, the engineering challenges presented by auto racing are overlooked by the casual observer. There is nothing like the stress of racing to push automotive technology to the extreme as racing conditions are the harshest. Cars are driven for hundreds of miles at the highest possible speeds without any rest for the vehicle’s component parts. Race tracks are the ultimate proving ground for a vehicles capability.

That is why the hydrogen electric racing federation (HREF) holds so much promise. This racing series will feature vehicles powered entirely by the electricity generated by hydrogen fuel cells. The series’ founder, Peter M. DeLorenzo stated:

“The concept of racing hydrogen fuel cell-powered machines is unprecedented and historic, simply because for the first time in many, many years, racing will undertake a key role in the development of radical new technologies for production vehicles that are still on the horizon.”

Under the extreme conditions of racing, hydrogen vehicles and hydrogen engineering will in effect be fast forwarded. A few hundred miles on the race track is better than thousands of miles of city driving to see just what the electrical components of hydrogen vehicles are capable of. The first “Hydrogen 500” is set to be run in May of 2009 and any developments regarding the hydrogen racing series are worth watching closely.

-Rodney E. Slater, Chairman