This clever hybrid shows the future of green cars
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ANOTHER day, another hybrid – but I think this one is a bit different. Built by Axon Automotive (a big supplier of carbon fibre to the racing car industry) it’s a two-seater MPV with a decent luggage space that runs off either batteries for local travel or a 500 cc petrol or bioethanol-fuelled engine for longer trips and motorways.
Nothing particularly novel there but there are a couple of things I like about it. The first is that you can order how much battery capacity you want, effectively tailoring the car to your driving needs. If you only have a short commute (and the UK daily average is less than 40 miles round-trip) then you don’t need extra battery capacity because that is only adding weight and as we all know, weight is the enemy of good fuel economy.
I think this is a really sensible, logical move.
The other thing that caught my eye is that Axon has published the car’s CO produced during the energy production for the car and then its use while driving, is often overlooked. Axon’s approach strikes me as being very honest and throws down a challenge to other hybrid manufacturers.
The car weighs around 550 kgs thanks to its construction from carbonfibre which is both immensely strong and light compared to a conventional metal such as steel. The shell, the passenger cell, is built from virgin carbonfibre for safety but just to prove that it could be done, the interior trim panels and seats are made from recycled carbon.
The Green lobby rightly points out that making carbonfibre is energy intensive but Dr. Steve Cousins, Axon Automotive’s Managing Director, told me that because of the weight benefits and its durability – and because it can be recycled – the energy savings over a carbonfibre car’s lifetime more than outweigh the energy costs in making it.
If low weight helps give the Axon design excellent eco-credentials, the aerodynamics help give it a decent top speed. You will notice the covers, or spats, over the rear wheels. Wheels are an aerodynamicist’s nightmare because they create a lot of turbulence which creates drag, needing more power (and thus fuel) to overcome and slowing down the car.
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Perry asks EPA to retract greenhouse gas finding
LA PORTE, Texas — Texas Gov. Rick Perry on Wednesday asked the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to withdraw its finding that greenhouse gases threaten the public health and welfare of Americans, alleging the conclusion is based on "manipulated data."
On Monday, the EPA declared greenhouse gases a public health threat and said the pollutants — mainly carbon dioxide from burning fossil fuels — should be reduced. The finding could lead to the first federal limits on climate-changing pollution from cars, power plants and factories.
In a three-page letter sent to EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson, Perry asked her to retract the finding until the science and data it's based on can be validated.
Perry said recent allegations that some scientists manipulated data to provide proof of global warming require the EPA to review the science that lead to the agency's conclusion. In November, e-mails were stolen from a British university that global warming skeptics say show scientists conspired to hide evidence that doesn't fit their theories.
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