G. David Felt

G. David Felt Alternative Fuels & Propulsion writer www.CheersandGears.com Wednesday 4th of June, NAFA (National Association of Fleet Administrators) had a Green Lunch Buffet to cover the upcoming changes to the pacific northwest. They covered the newest public CNG stations opening this year including a major station that will serve the public and truckers in Oregon on I5 as well as 3 new stations for Seattle. These stations will offer both LNG (Liquid Natural Gas) and CNG (Compressed Natural Gas) to the public. Washington State who has the largest ferry fleet in the nation is building 4 new ferries which will run on LNG with the goal over the next 5 years to convert the whole fleet to LNG. We were told that in Diesel form, these 4 ferry's would consume 600,000 gallons of diesel in a 24hr period. On LNG they are expecting to only consume 510,000 gallons of LNG every 24hrs. The state also said they expect to see a reduction in cost due to how clean the engines run, longer run times between maintenance and less cost to clean up environmental spills from diesel / oil. Peterbilt / Kenworth / Paccar presented showing the growing fleet of pure CNG powered trucks from medium duty to heavy duty with 7L, 9L, 10L and an upcoming 12L LNG/CNG engine options. Fleets were shown the growing list of OEM CNG auto's from Detroit big 3 and how checking the box for the $200 option for a Hardened Engine was a wise move for down the road when they must convert all auto's to CNG, BioFuel or move to Electric. Washington state has pushed back their mandate from 2015 to 2018 to give a bit more time for the Cities, Counties and state to move all public autos to CNG, Biodiesel or electric. Clean Energy announced the purchase of multiple rights to harvest the methane from landfills, animal waste, etc. around the US, scrub it clean and put it into the natural gas supply so that stations can be Redeem certified as a renewable gas source. WorldCNG presented their updated list of 2014 CNG converted auto's. They informed the audience of the new choice for businesses to public entities of having an AWD Terrain or Equinox CUV on CNG. They also brought for people to look at and check out their first converted 2014 3500 CNG Ram Promaster. There was much interest and excitement by the services and city delivery companies as well as local government agencies. While exciting to see this van in person, my personal impression is that this will sell well but not be a long lasting van. To start with, the dash is hard plastic and feels very flimsy. I honestly did not feel it was solid. Fit and finish has a long ways to go as I found many flaws and much unfinished edges in the finished area of the cab as well as at the doors. Inside of the van was aimed for refitters with many places to bolt in various shelf, draws, bins, etc. for custom configuration. Style is truly a personal choice as while I do not think it is a very good looking van, the fleet people that attended seemed to be split down the center 50/50 on love it or hate it for the style. They all loved the CNG option. Interesting note is that to reduce drag on the underside of the van the ProMasters have a very smooth finished if one can call it that to reduce drag. The flip side of this coin is that you reduce drag and get better mpg but you have no place to mount or add on options. This causes the CNG tanks to be stored in a vertical rack behind the cab in a 3 or 4 tank configuration. Have questions? Ask away!

Ford will think they updated their touch system but I am hoping GM on the next generation actually makes a revolutionary move for the Mylink system.

Just found on the Autoweek web site the following: The increase in dimensions has added 132 pounds to the curb weight, with the 5-door tipping the scales at 2,690 pounds. Read more: http://www.autoweek.com/article/20140605/CARNEWS/140609950 They have a nice selection of photo's but I have to say I am underwhelmed with this auto. The whole product line looks dated. Been there done that, when will Mini actually evolve their style?

Yet they are using the same engines in a bigger heavier auto, so less performance even in their S version. Any one know how much weight was gained in going to a 4 door config? Autoguide is saying that the new mini line will also have a 3 and 4 cylinder Diesel option. 4 cylinder diesel only available in the 4 door model. Interesting, but nothing on over all weight.

Hopefully then their awesome CNG Adam AWD will come across the pond to the US Market.

Very dated ride and it shows. Nice write up, I agree as you hit all the important issues. Nissan needs to have a new updated version now if they really want to take on GM, Ford in this space.

VW needs to start by firing their team that thinks it understands the US market, Clean house on Marketing, Style, Engineering, etc. They are clueless on the US market and it will only change if they clean house and start over. Their bland none inspirational products leave the bulk of the market looking to some other vendor. What ever they think works in Europe is not working here or anywhere else.

You want to talk about bland look at your beloved BMW and MB, other than their performance lines, those auto's are all bland and where I can at least sit in the ATS without my knees hitting the dash. The 3 series from BMW and MB C class I hit the dash. Yes at 6'6" tall I am cramped in all 3 versions but Cadillac has marketing issues more than being bland and cramped inside. Before you say GM will kill of Cadillac, you need to think about the stupid moves BMW and MB have made over the years and the diluted garbage they are selling around the world. Quality is some of the worst on both BMW and MB products. Mini's are a joke except to those that love the cuteness of the car as they do not fit most people, lousy product lines and based on their own numbers ship with 1 defect per car and in some cases 2. The Smart Car is another joke of an auto. Right now they might have the money in the bank, but the unions are starting to drag both companies down. They have over capacity, less than reliable products and there are far better choices out there if you are not a badge snob.

What version of browsers are you using? The PDF shows just fine with IE 11, Firefox 29.0.1 and Chrome 35.0.1916

Those numbers are pretty ugly. Start with Firing who ever is asleep at the style wheel. Then move onto the marketing department.

Jeep is truly moving some steel. 20K wranglers, 18K grand Cherokees and 16K cherokees is pretty awesome. Even the older Compass and Patriot are not bad selling numbers. Way to go Jeep.

The police auto, SUV and Heavy duty trucks sure made an impact on their sales, surprising the ones that had large double digit drops in sales and as Drew points out, where is there luxury division?

At times I see an Audio and go wow nice looking but most times just to bland. I figure it must be the performance line of cars that catches my attention as the rest of the line is a sleeper. Surprised they sold this many but as Drew points out, badge snobs.

I can totally understand Jeeps sales growth. Their product line is Hot, fresh and selling. Chryslers sales also make sense since they have an old product line. Ram has solid grow. I wonder why Dodge is so low, but at least it is positive probably based on the Durango growth. Nice to see steady growth for GM.

OK, Cool as I was going to test Performance today but also was wondering what it was that popped up yesterday. Thanks Drew. Thought our web site with that Rocket symbol was getting all smartphone like for touch screens.

The latest jetta change was considered a refresh? I figured they just tweaked it and was running it long in the tooth. I am amazed they consider that a refresh. WOW

Even if gas prices go up, there will still be a market for the Body on Frame Full Size SUV's. From hauling trailers to Companies that have needs, there is a value market for the Full Size SUV and GM is the King right now and must keep them fresh to keep that title.

Coworker caved in over the weekend and traded in his 2009 subaru for a fully loaded AWD 2014 Buick Encore. He loves it, it is a cute little bugger. I have to say I really love it too.

To hit those numbers they are going to have to reduce weight and still not give up the quality of the quiet interior. My gut says MB will keep their quality and give up MPG. Be interesting to see what the final real world numbers end up being.

I don't get offended by your comments and I don't think you were being an ass! You are entitled to your opinions even if folks don't agree with them. Like I said, there are still a number of FCA products that deserve to be picked on. I just think you picked on the wrong one! I really do think you will like the latest generation(or at least have a much more positive impression) if you check one out. IMO pretty much every automaker makes at least one product that deserves a little bashing. Totally agree with this, I also do not think you or anyone is being an ass, just the wrong product chosen. All Auto Companies have bad products, the Durango right now is a pretty sharp solid SUV./CUV The latest Durango is great. I just took one on a 450 mile trip and averaged 28.6 mpg from the V6/8-speed/RWD Very cool to hear about the awesome Mileage. Also Cool Avatar Pic!

Well, it does have tiny 16 inch wheels, compared to 20 or more of '14 era SUVs. Michelins on the DTS were around $800 last year IIRC. 15s on the CR-V would have been $560 out the door I think for Michelins had I not had a good treadwear warranty. My 99 Dodge Durango I put on BFG All Terrain Tires 31 x 10.5 x r15 and Discount Tires had me out the door for just under $800. Not bad for such a superior tire. Last set on the Durango went 110,000 miles. I figure this will be the last set on it as the daughter drives it and I already told her she could use it as a trade in when she gets a new SUV. She really likes the Jeep Cherokee Trail-hawk edition.

Stock price has nothing to do with Tesla's cash situation. As long as they have cash... they can build cars. Elon Musk is worth $11.6 billion alone.... as long as he is willing to put cash into the company, Tesla will survive. Tesla is a personal source of pride for Elon, so I don't think he'll walk away that easily. Agreed, his dislike for Fuel Cell and CNG and his passion for getting his money out of something. I can see him keeping Tesla break even to positive for a while. Eventually when he does loose interest, he will sell it off to recover his investment. I do not see Tesla going away like Fisker did.

It's still going.. needs for the next few months are tires, shocks, brakes. Thats still a healthy two grand done right, maybe three. Not sure where you shop, but Tires, shocks and brakes you should be able to get quality tire and parts installed for about 1500-2000. 4 Wheel Parts is great pricing for quality parts installed.

Awesome

Smart Move, Leave the 3 row cross over to the mid tear and focus on a truly luxury CUV with Escalade being their top of the line SUV.