Chrysler to Add Three Cars to Flex-Fuel Lineup
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04-26-2006, 09:27 PM
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Chrysler to Add Three Cars to Flex-Fuel Lineup
Chrysler to Add Three Cars to Flex-Fuel Lineup
Posted 4/25/06 10 a.m. CDT
Chrysler will add an E85 version of its Jeep Grand Cherokee later this year.
WASHINGTON — Chrysler plans to add three new vehicles to its lineup of E85 flexible-fuel vehicles in September as part of an expanded commitment to wean America from foreign oil.
In a speech before the Renewable Fuels Association summit in Washington today, Chrysler President and CEO Thomas LaSorda will tout the company's commitment to building ethanol-powered vehicles and other alternative energy sources such as biodiesel. President Bush will also make an appearance at the summit.
Chrysler expects to sell 250,000 E85-fueled vehicles in 2007 and 500,000 in 2008 and will for the first time make flexible-fuel versions of the Jeep Grand Cherokee and Commander SUVs, and the Dodge Dakota pickup. Until now, nearly all of Chrysler's E85 vehicles have been sold to fleet customers, but the new models will be sold directly to consumers.
DaimlerChrysler has built 1.5 million flexible-fuel vehicles, but the availability of flexible-fuel stations has stymied demand. There are 180,000 gas stations in the United States but only 500 ethanol stations, and most of those are in the upper Midwest.
"Unfortunately, virtually all of those vehicles — some of you may even be driving them — are running on pure gasoline, due to the lack of a fuel infrastructure," Lasorda told the Detroit Economic Club in January. "I guess we disproved the 'If you build it, they will come' theory. But flex fuels can work, when government policy gets behind them and encourages infrastructure development."
Sales of DaimlerChrysler's E85-equipped vehicles are down substantially this year — about 25,000 — because it is retooling its product line for the model year beginning in September.
E85 is a blend of gasoline — 15 percent — and ethanol, which is produced primarily from corn, but can be made from nearly any starch such as barley. There are between 5 and 6 million E85-compatible vehicles on the road.
GM expects to sell 400,000 E85 vehicles this year across nine different models and will increase the number of models that it will produce in a flexible-fuel version with 2007 models.
By the end of 2006, Ford Motor Co. will have sold 2 million E85 vehicles. The company sold more than 200,000 in 2005 and expects to sell 250,000 in 2006. In addition to limited availability, E85 achieves substantially lower miles per gallon than traditional gasoline — and often costs more than regular gasoline.
DaimlerChrysler spokesman Max Gates said the company believes tax incentives to reduce the price of ethanol are necessary to make it competitive. "It's the right thing to do to address a whole number of issues from consumption of oil to carbon dioxide emissions," Gates said.
Some environmentalists praise ethanol, but suggest the automakers simply will take advantage of selling flexible-fuel vehicles in order to sell more gas-guzzling SUVs.
"Ethanol and other biofuels — and particularly certified low-carbon biofuels — have an important role to play in reducing our contribution to climate change," said Eric Haxthausen, an economist at Environmental Defense, a group that lobbies for tougher fuel economy regulations. "We need to find a way to open the door to vehicles that can run on biofuels without asking Americans to give up fuel efficiency."
— Reported by David Shepardson, Detroit News; image courtesy of the manufacturer; copyright 2006 The Detroit News
Posted 4/25/06 10 a.m. CDT
Chrysler will add an E85 version of its Jeep Grand Cherokee later this year.
WASHINGTON — Chrysler plans to add three new vehicles to its lineup of E85 flexible-fuel vehicles in September as part of an expanded commitment to wean America from foreign oil.
In a speech before the Renewable Fuels Association summit in Washington today, Chrysler President and CEO Thomas LaSorda will tout the company's commitment to building ethanol-powered vehicles and other alternative energy sources such as biodiesel. President Bush will also make an appearance at the summit.
Chrysler expects to sell 250,000 E85-fueled vehicles in 2007 and 500,000 in 2008 and will for the first time make flexible-fuel versions of the Jeep Grand Cherokee and Commander SUVs, and the Dodge Dakota pickup. Until now, nearly all of Chrysler's E85 vehicles have been sold to fleet customers, but the new models will be sold directly to consumers.
DaimlerChrysler has built 1.5 million flexible-fuel vehicles, but the availability of flexible-fuel stations has stymied demand. There are 180,000 gas stations in the United States but only 500 ethanol stations, and most of those are in the upper Midwest.
"Unfortunately, virtually all of those vehicles — some of you may even be driving them — are running on pure gasoline, due to the lack of a fuel infrastructure," Lasorda told the Detroit Economic Club in January. "I guess we disproved the 'If you build it, they will come' theory. But flex fuels can work, when government policy gets behind them and encourages infrastructure development."
Sales of DaimlerChrysler's E85-equipped vehicles are down substantially this year — about 25,000 — because it is retooling its product line for the model year beginning in September.
E85 is a blend of gasoline — 15 percent — and ethanol, which is produced primarily from corn, but can be made from nearly any starch such as barley. There are between 5 and 6 million E85-compatible vehicles on the road.
GM expects to sell 400,000 E85 vehicles this year across nine different models and will increase the number of models that it will produce in a flexible-fuel version with 2007 models.
By the end of 2006, Ford Motor Co. will have sold 2 million E85 vehicles. The company sold more than 200,000 in 2005 and expects to sell 250,000 in 2006. In addition to limited availability, E85 achieves substantially lower miles per gallon than traditional gasoline — and often costs more than regular gasoline.
DaimlerChrysler spokesman Max Gates said the company believes tax incentives to reduce the price of ethanol are necessary to make it competitive. "It's the right thing to do to address a whole number of issues from consumption of oil to carbon dioxide emissions," Gates said.
Some environmentalists praise ethanol, but suggest the automakers simply will take advantage of selling flexible-fuel vehicles in order to sell more gas-guzzling SUVs.
"Ethanol and other biofuels — and particularly certified low-carbon biofuels — have an important role to play in reducing our contribution to climate change," said Eric Haxthausen, an economist at Environmental Defense, a group that lobbies for tougher fuel economy regulations. "We need to find a way to open the door to vehicles that can run on biofuels without asking Americans to give up fuel efficiency."
— Reported by David Shepardson, Detroit News; image courtesy of the manufacturer; copyright 2006 The Detroit News
#2
04-26-2006, 09:36 PM
Record Breaker
RE: Chrysler to Add Three Cars to Flex-Fuel Lineup
I hope that they fix the fuel economy problem that they have had with the 4.7L V8 FFV version. For whatever reason the FFV version is rated at 12 city/ 15 highway (for gas) and 9 city/ 11 highway (for E85) for either 4X4 or 4X2, in comparison the normal version gets 14 city/ 18 highway (gas) for 4X4 or 14 city/ 19 highway (gas) for 4X2 version. I can't figure out why this FFV has lost so much mileage by switching over when most of them have no real fuel mileage difference between non-FFV and FFV capabilities. It is natural not to get as good fuel economy with E85 but why the normal gasoline goes down puzzles me.