Anytime there is something new, there are skeptics, and rightly so. The scam alerts were on full tilt. You had the college professor types proclaiming that the devices violated thermodynamic law, and there was no way they could work. Then there were those people that incorrectly thought that cars using such devices used no gasoline at all, only the HHO gas, and that could never work.

There were also the skeptics that wondered why, if this technology was so promising, did the beleaguered Detroit auto manufacturers not jump onto the HHO bandwagon like kids mobbing an ice cream truck in August? For a mass-market auto manufacturer to find a technology that could enable them to easily increase horsepower and mileage, while lowering emissions would be a dream come true, and if such devices worked as advertised surely they’d be adopted post haste.

Many of these people questioning the auto makers forgot the morass of regulatory bureaucracy, safety issues, warranty concerns, and liability problems posed by a glass (or any other material) bottle of hydrogen under the hood.

Well, respected Texas racing engine builder, turned auto manufacturer Damon Kuhn (COO) and aftermarket manufacturer Ronn Maxwell(CEO) have some argument with the skeptics. Unlike all the e-book writers on the Internet who have been claiming the HHO technology will work if only you buy their e-book so you can see how to build and retrofit one of the devices on your own car, Kuhn and Maxwell have really put their money where their mouths are.

Kuhn, Maxwell, and ex-Dell executive Adrian Pylypec, who also sports an automotive industry background, are the three behind publicly traded Ronn Motors, and have they got a proof of concept for you! It’s called the Scorpion, and unlike those build it at home kits that you can learn how to assemble from an e-book for a few hundred to $1,000, their rig costs $150,000! That’s right, the Scorpion is a true to life exotic car, to compete with the likes of Ferrari, Lamborghini, and Porsche. The public debut of the hydrogen powered Scorpion was at the annual SEMA show in Las Vegas in November of 2008, to rave reviews.

The Scorpion HHO Exotic Car

No kit car, this, the Scorpion is powered by a breathed on Acura engine. It is the 3.5 liter, Type-S unit used to power Acura’s top of the line sports-luxury sedan, the RL. Sporting all the usual performance and economy enhancing accoutrements, such as port fuel injection, variable valve timing and aluminum / magnesium alloy construction, it produces about 300hp when under the hood of an RL. Not bad, but not what the two from Texas felt was needed to power a super exotic. Plus, they wanted something that would be really special, and environmentally friendly to boot.

Boy, did they get their wish! The HHO and twin-turbo enhanced version of the smooth running power plant really delivers on all fronts. Not content to add only horsepower, they wanted to take something out; emissions. With all the worldwide concern for carbon emissions and climate change, Ronn Motors wanted to demonstrate that high performance doesn’t have to mean environmentally irresponsible.

The Scorpion HHO Exotic Car - another great look

They’ve succeeded in spades, as the HHO injected Acura mill not only delivers a robust 450hp, it does so while only producing about 10 – 20% of the carbon emissions produced by the stock Acura engine. It also returns 40mpg on the freeway according to Ronn Motors, although the car hasn’t been tested by the EPA or DOT yet. That, coupled with the sub 4.0 second 0-60 time is a potent combination, and one not found in any other production automobile, with the exception of the pure electric Tesla roadster. The Tesla however, has a limited range, and it’s top speed of 125mph pales in comparison to the 200mph promised by the Scorpion.

Like it?

Vendors of aftermarket HHO gas kits have pointed to smother running, increased power, better fuel mileage, and reduced emissions, and that’s just what Ronn reps note their modified Acura engine delivers. As you can see from the photos, and probably gathered from the stratospheric price tag, the Scorpion isn’t some backyard kit car. Ronn Motors has a real, 8,000 sq foot production facility that they own, and have another campus like facility in the planning stages.

The Scorpion uses a Hydrogen gas generator, the H2GO(TM), that will be available as an aftermarket unit for $999. This should generate substantial revenue for the company, as they are projecting sales of nearly 1 million units. If this comes to pass, the exotic car business will become an interesting sideline. The unit holds 1 gallon of standard tap water, which should last for 3,000 – 5,000 miles. That corresponds nicely to the oil change interval on most automobiles. It actually uses a separate computer to optimize fuel and has flow, accounting for a large portion of the fuel mileage increase. According to Ronn Motors, some diesel test rigs running the H2GO have reported over 80% increases in fuel mileage.

When can you buy one? Well, they have promised delivery will begin in 2009 for the first run of 200 cars. The $999 aftermarket HHO generators should be available sometime this year too. For those of you who’d rather roll your own HHO power plant, try Water4Gas; they are one of the leaders in the “build and install your own HHO” arena.

It seems ironic that as they have been on Capitol Hill being told they should produce more futuristic, fuel efficient vehicles, they would consider dropping their 3 lines that are most skewed toward the small and fuel efficient. Saab makes no large vehicles. Pontiac makes a couple of larger sedans, but on the whole it tends toward small and mid sized cars. Saturn produces mostly smaller vehicles, with the 8 passenger Outlook SUV thrown in. Starting at less than $30,000, the outlook is a more value oriented alternative for those needing such a large vehicle. You’d think value would appeal to people in such restricted economic times.

A few years ago The General axed Oldsmobile and kept Buick. Once again, it seems Buick has survived corporate scrutiny, at least in the short term. As a car company that makes mostly larger cars and SUVs, you’d think Buick would be one of those GM looked to dump. After all, they’ve already dumped Tiger Woods, their spokesman aimed at shifting Buick’s image a few decades younger. Tiger was informed earlier this week that his lucrative endorsement contract would no longer be needed.

Until next time…………..

There are a few reasons for the increased of most diesel engines when compared to gas engines. One reason for the lower fuel consumption is that diesel fuel has a higher energy density than does gasoline. For example, standard diesel fuel has an energy density of approximately 139K BTU per gallon. On the other hand, gasoline has fractionally less energy, about 125,000 BTU per gallon. As a way of comparison, much touted ethanol is far below either of these two, at about 85K BTU / gallon. That means that a gallon of diesel there has a greater ability to provide propulsive energy, if the efficiency of combustion is equal.

There is another primary reason that diesel engines tend to get better fuel economy than a gasoline power plant. This reason is due to the fuel delivery system of diesel engines; direct injection. Direct injection is more conducive to ensuring all the fuel atomized and is burned. Obviously more complete combustion leads to greater efficiency and lower fuel consumption. The same reasons have led to direct fuel injection systems being adopted for gasoline engines from various auto makers, including Cadillac, Saturn, Audi, and Pontiac. Expect to see wider adoption of this technology on gasoline engines in the near future as a way to decrease emissions and save fuel.

Differences in Power Delivery Between Gasoline and Diesel Engines

A diesel engine tends to develop power lower in the RPM range than an a comparable gas engine. In addition, the diesel will usually develop more maximum torque but less horsepower than a gasoline engine. This means that depending upon the use, the actual fuel economy figures from both gas and diesel engines can be very different indeed. Diesels are typically excel at lower, more constant speed operation while pulling heaver vehicles, while gasoline engines are better suited to lighter vehicles, variable speeds and rapid acceleration.

That partially explains the widespread use of diesel power plants in trucks. They will deliver much higher fuel economy than a comparable gasoline engine when towing heavy loads, and more easily climb steep hills when doing so. There are also durability advantages to diesel engines, especially in heavy duty applications. The operational differences between diesel and gas engines also helps explain the really high highway fuel economy figures returned by passenger cars with small, turbo diesel engines, such as the TDI powered VW Jetta (41 EPA Hwy MPG).

That’s why a diesel engine get better fuel economy than a gas engine.

Until next time………

Making the best gas mileage cars is at the forefront of every auto manufacturer’s agenda these days. Big trucks and full sized SUVs languish on auto dealer’s lots throughout the country, as consumers look for something that will save them money on gas, rather than draining their 401k to fill their tank. Car manufacturers have responded as best they can but lead times on new vehicle models are measured in years, not months.

Developing and implementing new gas saving technologies and staying within the ever changing regulatory framework takes time, and there’s not much the manufacturers can do about it. Those of you thinking that the Big 3 passed on the 100-mpg carburetor because it was too expensive, or that it was suppressed by the oil companies should take this time to remove your cranium from which ever bodily orifice in which it’s buried.

General Motors alone employs over 6,000 power train engineers in an attempt to develop powerful, efficient, quiet and smooth engines and transmissions that consumers want to buy. You should ask yourself why:

A) None of these bright star engineers have stumbled on the formula for the esteemed, 100mpg carburetor?

B) GM has squandered hundreds of millions of dollars developing fuel delivery, engine management, and other technologies that deliver increased fuel mileage, reduced emissions, and smooth running engines if they could have just cut a deal to fast track the 100mpg carb?

C) The whole 100mpg carb idea just doesn’t pass the smell test. You’re not going to get 100mpg, good power, a smooth running engine, and low (actually almost non-existent these days) emissions by simply swapping a carburetor. Also consider that no carburetor equipped vehicles are manufactured by major auto manufacturers any longer, and haven’t been for about a decade. There’s a reason for that.

Since the 100mpg carb isn’t going to be around to increase the fuel economy of vehicles, let’s take a look at the new technologies that are being used to save you gas on your daily slog to work.

The Top Technologies Used to Get Better Fuel Mileage 6 -

Cylinder Deactivation – This is the technique of cutting off certain cylinders when the power isn’t needed. In many cases the valves are closed to reduce pumping losses. There are many different names for this; Chevy calls theirs Active Fuel Management™, Chrysler marketing gurus came up with Multi-Displacement Engine, and Honda likes Variable Cylinder Management™. This is a very nice way to use modern engine management systems to really manage the engine in a quest or better fuel efficiency. Depending on how you drive, you’ll save about 10% – 15% on your fuel bill over a comparably equipped vehicle without cylinder deactivation technology.

The Top Technologies Used to Get Better Fuel Mileage 5 –

Multi-Speed, electronically controlled automatic transmissions and Continuously Variable Transmissions (CVTs) – The advent of extremely sophisticated vehicle management systems have allowed electronic control of your vehicle’s transmission to the n’th degree. The greater amount of transmission control and coordination with the engine, coupled with the increased number of ratios offered by many transmissions (an infinite number, in the case of the CVT), allows large increases in gas mileage. As an example, the new 2009 Chevy Impala 4-cylinder went from an EPA 30mpg highway to 32mpg with the change from a 4-speed automatic transmission to a 6-speed unit.

The Top Technologies Used to Get Better Fuel Mileage 4 –

Turbocharged, small engines – Turbocharging technology coupled with smaller displacement engines has experienced a resurgence in the last couple of years. Acura for example has offered their first turbo engine, the turbo 4-cylinder found in the new Acura RDX small SUV (You’ve got to love a vehicle named after the explosive that’s the basis for the military plastic explosive C-4).

The increased capability of sensor and engine management, fuel delivery, and ignition systems, combined with better materials technology and improved combustion chamber designs, have breathed new life into the turbocharged engine. The added expense and weight of the turbo and its’ associated plumbing can’t really be justified when gas prices are low, but if they stay over $3.50 a gallon, expect to see the turbo / small engine combo stick around for a while.

The Top Technologies Used to Get Better Fuel Mileage 3 –

Engine cut off / restart – Your car never gets better mileage than when it’s not running (infinite mpg), and it never gets worse mileage than when it is running but not moving (0 mpg). Now, what’s good enough for your golf cart moves into the realm of automotive normalcy with the adoption of auto engine cutoff / restart technology.

Used by most hybrids, this changes your vehicle from living in the domain where it gets the absolute worst mileage to the one where it gets the absolute best. That change adds up to increased gas savings and better overall gas mileage with the improvement coming in city driving, the bane of most vehicle’s fuel economy profiles.

The Top Technologies Used to Get Better Fuel Mileage 2 -

Direct fuel injection – As I mentioned earlier, there hasn’t been a non-fuel injected car sold in the U.S. for about 10 years. Most cars now use port fuel injection, where fuel is injected into the intake port, right behind the intake valve. With direct injection, the fuel is injected directly into the cylinder using high pressure fuel injection systems. This gives three big advantages; The cooling effect of the fuel allows higher compression ratios for increased engine efficiency, more precise fuel timing and delivery is possible, and better fuel atomization is realized. These add up to an additional 10% – 15% in fuel economy, often coupled with better drivability and more power.

The Top Technologies Used to Get Better Fuel Mileage 1 -

Hybrid power train technology- You probably saw this one coming a mile away. With the Hybrid Prius’ popularity (even though I personally prefer the Honda Civic hybrid) of late it’s hard to Escape (hey, isn’t that another hybrid) the conclusion that combining both an internal combustion and electric power plant with some of the technologies mentioned above will lead to much improved fuel economy, especially in city driving. Looking at most manufacturer’s best gas mileage cars, it’s fairly obvious most of them are some variation of hybrid.

The hybrid’s ability to recapture heretofore lost energy through the use of regenerative braking, it’s ability to move at lower speeds purely on electric power and the ability to shut off the engine completely when stopped really deliver far better city gas mileage. Soon hybrids will be implemented with small, common rail diesel engines to deliver even greater fuel economy, possibly on the order of 60 – 70mpg in the city.

These are the technologies used to make the best gas mileage cars. There are certainly improvements coming as these technologies are refined. In addition several promising, new developments are on the way in the not too distant future that will make the best gas mileage cars in the next decade fairly embarrass even the best hybrids of today. In fact the vehicles that do burn fuel probably won’t burn gas at all, but some sort of biodiesel.

Until next time…….

Biodiesel is simply making diesel fuel out of biomatter. The great thing about using biomatter to make diesel fuel is that it’s renewable. Essentially, you need more fuel, you just grow more! The fact that diesel vehicles tend to get better fuel economy (not gas mileage) than their gasoline powered counterparts is just icing on the cake.

Currently there are several ways to make biodiesel. The different methods use varying materials and different processes to produce the biodiesel fuel. In a second I’ll take a look at the different ways of synthesizing biodiesel and what is needed to do it.

Can some of these be made in your garage? Ya, sure, you betcha! In fact there are complete biodiesel reactors you can buy (well, you might be able to buy them, but at around $3K, they’re still a bit too rich for me) as we speak.

Although they sound like the two aunts you had when you were a kid, methyl and ester are actually the foundation of biodiesel. Biodiesel begins as a natural plant or animal based oil. The precursor for biodiesel can be from many different sources, such as used restaurant fryer oil or plant-based oils. Crops can be grown specifically for use in producing biodiesel or waste products can be recycled to make biodiesel. Many seed or bean crops yield high quantities of oil that are suitable for making biodiesel.

The actual chemical process used to create biodiesel from these base oils involves replacing the glycerin in the base oil with alcohol through the use of a catalyst. The oil is combined with the catalyst and methanol, then heated. The catalyst is used to accelerate the reaction and speed up production. Used oils are completely filtered before being mixed. This can be avoided is virgin oils are used, although pre-filtering is still a good idea.

After the reaction is complete the mixture will stratify. The top layer will be the biodiesel. The original glycerin that was replaced by the alcohol will be on the bottom. There will be a layer of soap in the middle. The unwanted soap and glycerin are discarded, leaving only the fresh biodiesel.

One of the big attractions of biodiesel is that so many different materials are suitable to use for creating the base oil. One that is holding great promise for commercial applications is algae. Some algaes contain high quantities of high quality oil that makes great biodiesel.

Unlike many other base stocks, algae uses no agricultural land, so using it to make biodiesel doesn’t impact crop availability or prices. It also has high yield and algae can be genetically manipulated to increase efficiency even further. As an added environmental benefit waste CO2 from various industrial sources, such as that created by coal fired power plants can also be consumed in the process of growing the algae.

Here are some of the other benefits to using algae as the bas stock for biodiesel.

1. Algae can be grown on many types of land, such as deserts or near industrialized areas. This land is often unsuitable for housing or agriculture and would otherwise be unproductive.
2. Algae produces orders of magnitude more oil per acre than any terrestrial crop
3. Algae utilizes less water than traditional crops
4. Algae can grow in fresh water, brackish water, salt water and even polluted water. In fact it can be used to clean polluted water during the course of it’s growth.
5. Algae will not drain the earth’s potable water supply
6. Algae can help reduce global warming by sequestering atmospheric CO2. This in addition to above described benefits of using waste CO2 from industrial processes.

Several commercial ventures are well underway to commercialize what’s termed algecal biodiesel. Some of these are GreenFuel Technologies, PetroAlgae, Solayzme, and Redmond, WA based Bionavitas. Bionavitas uses special technology to ensure light reaches throughout the vessel used to grow the algae, compensating for the fact that as the algae grows, it tends to disrupt light infusion into the vessel.

What about making your own biodiesel? Many people do this, and the basic process as is described above. If you are trying to save money on fuel, making your own biodiesel could be just the ticket. You have to be the do-it-yourself type and be willing to play Mr. Wizard, but it is definitely possible. Depending on the source you use for the biodiesel base, it can be made for under $1.00 a gallon, certainly an attractive proposition in this day of $4.50 gallon petro diesel.

If you are ready to start making your own backyard biodiesel fuel, you first have to secure a reliable source of base stock. You can get to be good friends with the local burger joint owner and try and weasel him out of their used fryer oil, but many of these relationships have already been made.

A word of caution when making this stuff.

You can kill or injure yourself when making biodiesel, so be very careful. You’ll be using nasties such as lye and methanol. These are hazardous chemicals, and you can easily be blinded, burned, or otherwise scared for life if things should go awry. You need to wear a face shield, a respirator and gloves all rated for protection against hazardous chemicals before you begin the process of making your won biodiesel. Saving $3.00 a gallon isn’t worth losing your hand, an eye, damaging your lungs, or ending up shot to hell un dyin’.

The above cautions are one of the attractions for using self contained biodiesel reactors such as the Fuelmeister II, the $3,000 unit I spoke about at the beginning of the post. Using a commercial, self contained biodiesel production unit will give consistent results, and make the process easier, faster and safer than doing it yourself. The Fuelmeister II can make up to 40 gallons per day, which should feed all but the largest crew cab dually for a week or so, even when towing your boat.

When making your own biodiesel you’ll use a little more than a ½ oz of lye and less than a quart of methanol for each gallon of biodiesel. The largest cost variable comes from the material used for the base oil. At the beginning, if you’re making your own, you should start small, with virgin base stock, and make small batches. After you’ve had some practice, you can start making larger batches.

There are some tings to consider when using biodiesel in your own vehicle. For instance, in vehicles made before 1990, you may have to replace the fuel lines because biodiesel can corrode the lines used these older vehicles. There are also warrantee concerns to think about. In low concentrations such as B-5 (5% biodiesel / 95% petro diesel) the warrantee will be unaffected, but check with your manufacturer before using biodiesel in higher concentrations if your vehicle is still under warrantee. It can also gel in cold weather if an additive is not used, or a fuel heater isn’t installed.

Biodiesel can be a great way to save money on fuel. If you’re prepared to put up with a little more hassle than simply pulling up to the pump with the green handle, making your own biodiesel might just be the ticket.