La Mode Verte
Environmental Awareness Through Media ProductionsArchive for Fuel Efficiency
The New London Routemaster
www.boston.com 12th November 2010
Quoted from source:
‘It is the latest incarnation of a British icon: a lightweight, fuel-efficient double-decker bus expected to hit the streets of London in 2012. Mayor Boris Johnson spent yesterday morning unveiling a life-size model of the new bus — one that conserves the curves and asymmetry of the original. Double-decker buses have been a feature of capital life since the 19th century, when the horse-drawn variety were praised by elder statesman William Gladstone as the “way to see London.’’ The best-known model remains the curvy red Routemaster, which was retired from general service in 2005 after half a century. Its replacements — boxy, modern double-deckers and giant articulated single-decker buses — kept the traditional color, but largely failed to gain Londoners’ affection. The new model, due to enter service in 2012, brings back the round edges and charm of the much-missed Routemaster. Johnson — posing for pictures with a life-size model of the new bus at a transport museum — said that being inside the new bus brought “a sense of nostalgia.’’ The model unveiled yesterday is immobile — prototypes are not due for another year — and the bus’s look may still change. The new vehicle is being designed and built by Wrights Group Ltd. of Northern Ireland and Heatherwick Studio of London, whose recent projects include the UK Pavilion for the Shanghai 2010 Expo.
Mazda Creates New Combustion-Powered Car Just as Efficient as Hybrids
e360.yale.edu 25th October 2010
Quoted from source:
‘Mazda will introduce a subcompact gas-powered vehicle in Japan next year that gets 70.5 miles per gallon, a model automakers say shows that combustion-powered cars can deliver fuel efficiency similar to hybrid vehicles. With a more efficient engine and transmission, and a frame and suspension system produced with lighter, high-tensile steel, the new Demio (called the Mazda 2 outside of Japan) is 30 percent more fuel efficient than similar models now produced by Mazda. Models produced for the U.S. market will have a lower fuel economy rating because of different manufacturing requirements, but the vehicle will still use the same amount of fuel as a Toyota Prius, without the added costs of an electric motor and accompanying battery. The Demio represents a new class of gas-powered vehicles that automakers say can cut fuel consumption globally even more quickly than hybrids or electric vehicles since changes to the engines tend to be less expensive and can be implemented rapidly. Ford recently announced innovations that will improve the fuel economy of its Focus model by 17 percent, to about 40 miles per gallon.’
