OEM Diesel Tanks
Oct 13, 2011 (Congressional Documents and Publications/ContentWorks via COMTEX) -- Good morning Chairman Jordan, Ranking Member Kucinich, and members of the Subcommittee. Thank you for inviting me to testify on matters that are extremely important to our nation.s small business trucking professionals and professional truck drivers.
My name is Scott Grenerth. I am a constituent of Chairman Jordan.s and live in Arlington, Ohio. I am a member of the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA), and have been a professional truck driver for more than 10 years. I own my own truck and am currently leased on to a motor carrier, where I pull a flatbed trailer hauling steel and aluminum products throughout the Mid-West.
As you are most likely aware, OOIDA is the national trade association representing the interests of independent owner-operators and professional drivers on all issues that affect small-business truckers. The approximately 150,000 members of OOIDA are small-business men and women in all 50 states who collectively own and operate more than 200,000 individual heavy-duty trucks.
The majority of the trucking community in this country is made up of small businesses, as 96 percent of all carriers have 20 or fewer trucks in their fleet and 78 percent of carriers have fleets of just six or fewer trucks. In fact, one-truck motor carriers represent nearly half of the total number of motor carriers operating in the United States.
The global mega trend to reduce the dependency on fossil fuels to bring down transportation related CO2 emissions has pushed the use of an increasing number of alternative fuels. These fuels include bio diesels produced from various ester origins, and fuels with ethanol content (E10+). As the regional strategies to overcome foreign oil dependency vary, modern world cars will need to be prepared for diverse fuel qualities. Continental, the international automotive supplier, is coordinating a consortium named IQ FUEL to develop a highly integrated micro sensor system that determines the actual fuel composition in the tank. This new Fuel Quality Sensor makes it possible to optimize the engine control strategy according to the current fuel quality in the tank. In addition the intelligent sensor can detect substances in the fuel, such as sulfur, the gasoline water content, additives, and other contaminants. By using this information, engine components and parts of the exhaust gas after treatment can be protected against possible influences on their operation and the emissions level.
A new approach to optimize engine management "Engine management systems face an increasing diversity of fuel qualities today. The resulting variations in combustion- and pollutant-relevant fuel properties mean that we have to determine what we inject in the combustion chamber. Otherwise variations will go unnoticed which would bring down fuel efficiency and cause overly high emissions. The new intelligent Fuel Quality Sensor will make it possible to tune the engine control strategy according to the actual fuel quality in the tank and to get the maximum out of the engine at minimum consumption?, explained Klaus Hau, Head of Continental's Sensor & Actuator business unit. By early 2012 Continental will be able to provide functional samples of the sensor micro system to customers.
Continental has been delivering fuel sensing solutions for many years and has utilized its experience (e.g. with flex fuel sensors and cylinder pressure monitoring) to integrate the new Fuel Quality Sensor and to translate the system?s comprehensive capabilities into engine management benefits.
Continental?s new and innovative exhaust gas turbocharger for compact gasoline engines supports low environmental impact targets as do the on-demand controlled fuel pump and the new externally excited synchronous motor for electric vehicles.
These closely interrelated themes are going to have a decisive effect on vehicle concepts of the future. At the IAA the EDAG Group, as an all-round development partner, presents solutions and concepts for further reducing the vehicle weight and CO-2 emissions for vehicles and production plants.
Besides new lightweight multi-material concepts, the company also will be presenting in Frankfurt its input to the international steel industry's 'FutureSteelVehicle' project. For WorldAutoSteel, EDAG have developed a body concept for conventional and alternative drives, as a demonstration in lightweight, low emissions design. In the area of production technology, EDAG's expertise in tomorrow's energy efficient production can be seen in its in-house developments 'light gripper' and 'light clamping frame'.
For the complex area of electric mobility, EDAG will be presenting solutions for the entire supply chain: starting with lightweight vehicle construction, the integration of components, the interface to the energy providers by means of an intelligent charging system; on to the integration of energy stores in the vehicle architecture and human-machine interface concepts; and finally a presentation of EDpowerdrive, our modular drive system.
Vehicle lightweight construction is not just a fad in response tonew CO-2 levels; rather, it has always been the 'royal' discipline in the automotive industry.
-EDAG -IAA 2011: Lightweight Electric Future - Utility Products
Orlando . While the name doesn't really imply anything uniquely Canadian, the new 2012 Chevrolet Orlando does because this is one Orlando that's only available in Canada, at least within the confines of North America.
Even though the 2012 Chevrolet Orlando isn't available in the U.S., it has been released worldwide under General Motors' global strategy. The Global Delta platform was designed to be a mass-appeal front-wheel-drive vehicle, and the masses find it appealing if you go by how well the Cruze , which shares the platform, is selling.
As a Canadian, let me explain why that's worthy of an exclamation point. At current exchange rates, that equals $20,733 USD. However, Canadians always pay more for vehicles. If we use the departing Chevy HHR as an example, its base price is 8.5% less in the U.S. when the currencies are at par, which lets us guess that, were the seven-seat Orlando sold in the States, it would start at an impressive $18,295 USD.
When we arrived at a hotel in Toronto for the vehicle launch, there were Orlandos lingering out front in all four trim levels and various colors. The Orlando's broad grille and prominent Chevy bow-tie have this kind of brash statement attached to them, as if to say "We're back," while the aggressive wheels-out, body-in stance appear both contemporary and rugged. The roofline is fairly low, and around back the Orlando's beefy C-pillar and over-sized taillights appear decidedly upscale.
MIAMI--( EON: Enhanced Online News )--The Vehicle Production Group LLC (VPG) announced the start of production for the First Mobility Vehicle , MV-1, the first and only factory-built and assembled vehicle which meets or exceeds the vehicle guidelines of the Americans with Disabilities Act. The MV-1 will be available in either gasoline or Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) powertrains. Production of its fully certified vehicle has officially begun and deliveries to customers will begin by the end of September 2011.
The MV-1 features a 56-inch high by 36-inch wide side door opening for easy wheelchair or motorized scooter entry and exit via a wide deployable ramp with a 1200 pound capacity that quickly and easily stores beneath the floor inside the vehicle. The vehicles ramp is available in either a manual or powered version. The MV-1 can accommodate a passenger in a wheelchair and another five occupants, when equipped with an optional rear facing jump seat.
The MV-1 is also the only ADA compliant vehicle with an Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) engineered and assembled CNG fuel delivery system option. Since the system is factory installed, the MV-1 with the CNG option meets all government safety and crash test requirements and maintains the same durability, reliability and quality as the gasoline-powered vehicle, while reducing operating expenses. The CNG fuel system delivers an estimated 290-mile range by virtue of three lightweight tanks seamlessly integrated into the vehicles design, providing customers with a more cost effective and environmentally conscious ownership option without sacrificing significant vehicle driving range.
Headquartered in Miami, Florida, The Vehicle Production Group LLC (VPG) designs, manufactures, markets and distributes the first mobility vehicle engineered from the ground up for wheelchair accessibility.
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