My Desultory Blog

Posted By RichC on July 11, 2006

Diesel car lovers in the US are going to have a lean year in 2007 before several manufacturers have their North American ready diesels figured out. Volkswagen, the number one diesel car manufacturer announced that it will not be producing a TDI for 2007. The new common rail diesel will replace it and will not be available until 2008. (VW says it will continue to sell 2006 vehicles well into the 2007 model year.) Even with this dim news, the future looks bright for more US diesel cars, vans and SUVs unless you need to purchase something in 2007.
One vehicle that will be available according to the Chrysler Group is the 2007 Jeep Grand Cherokee SUV. Its a full size Sport Utility Vehicle with some heavy duty features unlike many in the current crossover vehicle trend. Unfortunately with that ‘heavy duty’ comes reduced efficiency even with the Mercedes 3.0-liter common rail turbo diesel (CRD) engine. According to press releases, the new Jeeps should arrive at dealers during the first quarter of 2007 making them one of the few diesels available. (Mercedes is promising several diesels in the US next year too … from the E class sedan, to the R class crossover and the M and GL class SUVs.)

Jeep might be slightly ahead of most domestic auto manufacturers when it comes to fitting diesels into their line up, as they currently offer the Liberty 2.8-liter CRD and have some US diesel techs already trained in the States. Consider that they also share some technology with the DaimlerBenz side of the business, this will no doubt improve the diesel adoption. (unfortunatly there is some negative Jeep Liberty CRD news) E

The new 3.0-liter Jeep Grand Cherokee CRD engine that is going into the 2007 model produces 215 hp (160 kW) @ 3800 rpm and 376 lb.-ft. torque @ 1600-2800 rpm and gets an estimated fuel economy of 19 miles city and 23 miles highway. (not spectacular if you are in need of efficiency) The Grand Cherokee CRD has an outstanding towing capacity of 7,400 pounds and a driving range of approximately 425 miles. The 3.0-liter CRD engine will be available on the Laredo, Limited and Overland models. According to Bob Lee, Vice-President of the PowerTrain Product Team, “The 3.0-liter CRD is an efficient, smooth-running, clean engine that delivers fuel economy and performance. Advanced diesel technology has improved over the last several years; engines are quieter and cleaner due to electronic controls, higher fuel pressures and advanced after-treatment systems.”

Interestingly like most international automotive companies, diesel is not something all that new to them since more than 60 percent of Chrysler Group vehicles sold in Western Europe are diesel-powered. Between 2003 and 2007, Chrysler Group will triple the number of diesel offerings outside North America.

The Jeep Grand Cherokee CRD will be manufactured at the Jefferson North Assembly Plant in Detroit. The 3.0-liter CRD engine is built at the Mercedes-Benz Berlin Marienfelde Plant in Berlin, Germany. Currently no pricing has been release.

Category: Automotive, Diesel | 6 Comments »
Tags: diesel, jeep, mercedes, SUV, test drive

Posted By RichC on July 10, 2006

Tobia Bucknell of BloggingOhio posted on biofuels in Ohio and how they fit in with our agricultural heritage. Considering Ohio is one of the top ten states in both corn and soybean production, we have much to gain in “growing” (pun intended) the biodiesel and ethanol markets. Mr. Bucknell highlighted several articles from Ohio farming community newspapers pointing to the industry expansion in right in our backyard. ASAlliance Biofuels LLC is building a “$120 million facility that will take some 40 million bushels of corn from local farmers for its operation.” Whether its producing crops for his facility, farmers like Ron Rockhold runs biodiesel in “all his vehicles, along with a handful of other farmers.” Tobias Bucknell stresses that “they do it because they indicate it burns cleaner, gums up their equipment less, and many of them believe it is more patriotic to invest in biodiesel which is American-made.”

It’s nice to see articles mentioning what Ohio farmers and local industry are doing to promote clean, renewable, domestic fuel. Let’s circulate the dollars here at home, keep our the air clean and do something about reducing our dependence on foreign oil.

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Posted By RichC on July 10, 2006

Frank Giovinazzi pointed out in CarBuyersNotebook, an automotive website I read regularly, that the term “biodiesel” has made it into the 2006 Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, the 11th edition. I’m not sure if ‘making Webster’s dictionary’ is the definition of success, but at least everyone will know how to spell it correctly.
🙂
As for Webster’s definition, well its about as generic as a dictionary can get: “a fuel that is similar to diesel fuel and is derived from usually vegetable sources (as soybean oil).”

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Posted By RichC on July 9, 2006

I’ve been battling a storm water problem since we built our house and every year tweak my existing water routing plan contemplating new ways to deal with it. I spotted a “This Old House” video clip that offered a solution … a few more dollars than I want to spend, but I appreciated the engineering ideas. I might be able to use a modified version if my latest French drain project fails to satisfactorily solve my problem.

Here’s a photo of my recent French Drain Project behind our house.

Storm Water – “This Old House”

Category: Misc, Personal, Photos | 2 Comments »
Tags: drainage, home, house, rocks, tootsie, video, yard

Posted By RichC on July 8, 2006

I’m cheering for a group of students from University of Minnesota who will be racing their entry, Borealis III on September 17th in the World Solar Rally. Last year they took 2nd place in a 2005 race from Austin Texas to Calgary, Canada and have rebuilt and modified their vehicle in order to compete in Taiwan. The project manager, Patrick O’Connor and his team held a press event to show off their evolving project with the press this past week. Project vehicles are judged on a variety of factors including style, use of technology and overall race efficiency.

University students have been working on Borealis III since January 2004. The U of M Solar Vehicle Project was founded by a group of undergraduates in the Institute of Technology in 1990. The team is an undergraduate project and remains true to its origins as a student administered, designed and built project that teaches members about engineering and management in a complete product development environment.

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Posted By RichC on July 7, 2006

As a boy, the first movie I ever saw was “The Love Bug” at the Skyline drive-in theater in the back seat of my dad’s Chevrolet Corvair. (actually I think it was it “Born Free” not that it matters.) In an article sent to me by a VW TDI driving friend, German engineers at Volkswagen are coming closer to bringing a “Herbie,” or at least a close relative, to life.
🙂
The current test car is a fully automatic Volkswagen Golf GTi ’53 plus 1′ (its codename) and is capable of driving itself at speeds up to 150 mph. The vehicle can maneuver around corners and even tightly placed cones through a marked test track. It can do this without help from any human assistance using electronic ‘eyes’ of radar and laser sensors sending the information back to its computer.

The Golf GTI uses GPS navigation to track it exact position which has been enhance to locate it to the inch. According to the article, “it drove itself faster and more precisely than the VW engineers could manage.”

I’d like to see this technology go into the DARPA Challenge?

EDIT 7/7/2006 10:40AM – A reader emailed me after reading today’s post that he spotted a FoxNews news break flash about this and sent me an email “knowing I like to include video.” (he’s right) Thanks Jim for reading and emailing to let me know about this. So not to let him down, I found the clip and have included it here.

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Posted By RichC on July 6, 2006

Southwest Windpower has introduced a new residential small wind generator called the Skystream 3.7â„¢ that can produce 4,800 to 6,600 kWh of energy to the average home. The unit is designed to be affordable costing around $10,000 and is intended for ‘on the grid’ power users. In average installations the residential unit should pay for itself in 5 to 12 years by offsetting power purchase from the grid with clean, renewable power. According to the companies co-founder Andrew Kruse in a press release, “Skystream will change the way many Americans power their homes and take control of their energy costs. Wind energy for the individual homeowner is finally main-stream.”

The company, Southwest Windpower is the world’s largest producer of small wind generators (400 to 3000 watts). The 20-year old company has been a pioneer in the development of wind technology and has produced over 90,000 generators that provide power to residential homes, remote cabins, telecom transmitters, offshore platforms, water pumping and sailboats.

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Posted By RichC on July 5, 2006

Biodiesel Magazine published an article their April 2006 issue titled “Simple, effective B100 quick field test available.” CytoCulture International has developed “a practical tool for use throughout the entire biodiesel supply chain.” It is a handy field test, available now (see below), that according to the author is “effective and simple.”

The test, called the pHLip Test by its creator, uses visual identification in a test vial. The most practical test is one that determines the age of biodiesel — the most acidic the sample, the older the biodiesel. As pH level drops, the solution changes from red to orange and eventually yellow if the biodiesel is more acidic … older.
Another test is for the left over catalyst. When trace amounts of hydroxide are still present, the indicator color changes from red to purple if too much catalyst is still left in the fuel. Other indicators are tests for soaps, monoglycerides, diglycerides adn triglycerides. These test require visual inspection of residues and is less definitive, yet a good indicator of a less than ASTM standards fuel.

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Posted By RichC on July 4, 2006

Happy Birthday America! What an outstanding way to celebrate Independence day. STS-121 and the Shuttle Discovery made a near picture perfect launch today at 2:35PM lifting a heavy weight from anyone associated with the Space Program. The crew of seven are now in space and during this 12-day mission will continue evaluating new safety procedures while they visit the International Space Station. The team plans two spacewalks and attempt a series of repairs. STS-121 will be the first of an ambitious 18 planned trips to space over the next 3 years. It would be great to see America Shuttle program phase out on a high note leaving a positive legacy in its wake.

Today’s launch brought back memories of watching NASA launch men into space as the US raced to the moon — to disastrous moments that reminded us of the risk. For Americans and the many involved with the space program, today was a true celebration. I didn’t intend on archiving this moment, but decided last minute I wanted to include such a highlight in my blog. Let’s hope for a safe and successful mission.

Category: Space | No Comments »
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Posted By RichC on July 4, 2006

While our country and its citizens have enjoyed “Independence” for 230 years now, let’s be sure to stop and thank those who earned it, maintained it and fight to keep it. Thank you America, and those who have fought and continue to fight, to keep it free and secure. On a personal note, I’ve made a tradition of replacing our flag each fourth of July — its a good day to do it. (Treo 700p Smartphone photo above using the 2x feature)

What would a national holiday be without looking at a bit of our history. Some of you that read my posts do with and interest in alternative fuels whether it be for national security, a cleaner environment or just to improve our energy future. I spotted this quote from President Richard M. Nixon that I found to be well-suited.

“As we move toward the celebration 2 years from now of the 200th anniversary of this Nation’s independence, let us press vigorously on toward the goal I announced last November for Project Independence. Let this be our national goal: At the end of this decade, in the year 1980, the United States will not be dependent on any other country for the energy we need to provide our jobs, to heat our homes, and to keep our transportation moving.”

The more we think we change the more we stay the same.
🙁

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