Chevrolet

To whom it may concern:

I am a 19 year old college student currently attending Eckerd College in St. Petersburg, Florida. I am writing to you concerning the fuel efficiencies of your vehicles.
I admire the fact that you, as a company, are chasing the status as the most fuel efficient automobile manufacturer in the world. I think that it is quite a challenge to compete against foreign automakers such as Honda and Toyota, whose vehicle lineup are mostly four-cylinders.
What you have done so far is very impressive. So far three hybrids (assuming the Silverado hybrid makes it to production), vehicles equipped with E85 fuel capabilities, and the creation of Active Fuel Management. I believe that the steps you have taken and the direction you are going is showing much of America, and even the entire world, that American automobiles are not just gas guzzling tanks, but are actually being refined to environmentally friendly vehicles.
My only concern with Chevrolet’s new image is the loss of its performance vehicles. I am personally a Ford enthusiast, but I was recently fortunate enough to have the opportunity to drive a 2008 Z06 and I was awe-struck. I had shivers up my spine after driving the car. That is an excellent automobile, and I hope that Chevrolet does not lose sight of the performance it has built over the past 50 years; and is still able to build cars such as this in the future. I am looking forward to the new Camaro. Keep up the good work in both the fields of fuel efficiencies and performance.

E85 Fuel

To whom it may concern:

I am a 19 year old college student currently attending Eckerd College in St. Petersburg, Florida. I am writing to you concerning your E85 ethanol fuel. I think the fuel is an ingenious invention and can be used to benefit America greatly. I believe that it is a very efficient alternative to regular gasoline. I admire the fact that it does not strain our agricultural production of corn. What impresses me the most is that your fuel contains higher octane than regular fuel, making for better performance.
The only major drawback that I see in your fuel is that it is mainly used in Chevrolet’s vehicles; and some of its vehicles are not always equipped with E85 capabilities. Also for many people in America, they are not located near a station that supplies your fuel, so they can not take advantage of its effects. Once more stations start selling the fuel; it will have a huge impact, more so than it has already. Thank you for formulating this product and making alternative fuel a reality.

Exxon

To whom it may concern:

I am a 19 year old college student currently attending Eckerd College in St. Petersburg, Florida. I am writing to you concerning the impact of rising fuel efficiencies on your corporation. Recently automobile manufacturers have been pushed by the public and the government to make more environmentally friendly and fuel efficient automobiles. Many companies have at least one hybrid in their vehicle lineup, and more are most likely to come. I am curious has to how this will affect your business in the future. There is a very high possibility that in the next fifty years our highways will be covered in hybrids and electric cars. Will these changes liquidate the profits your company has made recently due to our high gas prices? Will your company disappear without the need for gas in automobiles, or will it adapt and invest in alternative fueling, such as electric or hydrogen? Thank you for your time.

30 Min Writing Session

For my project I analyzed the fuel efficiencies of Chevrolet’s automobiles. There are three major aspects that Chevy uses to market its vehicles and make more environmentally friendly cars. Chevy has enacted in its cars the ability to run off of E85 ethanol fuel. This is an alternative fuel that is made from corn. Chevy has also equipped many of its vehicles with its “Active Fuel Management”. AFM allows the engine to shut of half of its cylinders under no load situations. Chevy has also jumped on the bandwagon with Honda and Toyota and created a hybrid. It actual has three different hybrids, the Impala, Tahoe, and Silverado.

For my blog so far, I have posted my final draft and the drafts of my letters. The blog is not too complicated to use, but the editing skills are not great. I cannot get it to indent my paragraphs. For the three organizations to write to, I chose Chevrolet, the makers of E85 fuel, and Exxon. For Chevrolet and the E85 fuel company, I commended them on their inventions and how they are changing auto history. I also pointed out some of their drawbacks and areas I think they should work on. Such as the fact that there are so many cars capable of running E85 fuel, but there are barely any gas stations selling the alternative fuel; so the fuel is not being used to its full potential. I wrote to Exxon asking how they are going to deal with the future of hybrids and alternative fuels and if the company will survive by supplying new alternative fuels such as hydrogen.

Chevy Fuel Efficiencies

Chevrolet’s Fuel Efficiency

The fuel efficiency of Chevrolet’s automobiles can be illustrated by examining its different fuel programs and how they benefit the environment. In today’s society, an increasing amount of Americans are becoming aware of the negative effects automobile emissions are having on the environment. Whether people are genuinely concerned, or just because “going green” is the trendy thing to do nowadays, America is putting pressure on automakers to create products that are more environmentally friendly. Most of that pressure is being forced onto American automakers, since they are further behind the foreign automakers in the race for higher gas mileage and lower emissions. American automakers have always left room for their full-size trucks and SUV’s, and that is hurting them right now, especially since those vehicles barely make over 20 MPG. American companies kept those full-size vehicles in their lineup so they could offer their consumers a variety in products (Maynard). Altering these full-size vehicles so that they comply with government and consumers’ demands seems to be one of the bigger challenges for American companies. Foreign automakers do not have many full-size automobiles, so that gives them an advantage; as they can spend their research and development in other areas. All American manufacturers are reacting to these changes, but one company is pulling ahead of the pack. Chevrolet, a branch of General Motors, shows more promise in its fuel efficiency than its competitors, Chrysler and Ford. GM plans to use Chevy as the flagship for its fuel efficiency campaign (Zimmerman). Chevy has become a pioneer in alternative fuels by equipping most of its vehicles with the capability to run on E85 fuel. The automaker has also risen above Chrysler and Ford with the use of its Active Fuel Management system and an increase in hybrid usage. Equipping many of its motors with the ability to run on E85 fuel was one of Chevy’s first steps to becoming environmentally friendly.

E85 is the alternative fuel that Chevy uses in its “Flex-fuel” vehicles. This specially blended gasoline is a mixture of 85% ethanol and 15% gasoline. The vehicle can run off of regular gasoline, E85, or a mixture of both. It was first introduced in certain Chevy models in 2000. The fuel is made from corn grown in the United States, so it also benefits the agriculture industry. The amount of corn used to make E85 is 11% of the United States’ corn supply. The benefits of using E85 are a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, and a drop in the dependency on oil (General Motors). Many people may seem skeptical on the use of this alternative fuel, but it actual increases the performance of the vehicle. E85 has a higher octane rating than regular gas, which leads to more power for the engine. E85 fuel is 100-105 octane, where as regular grade gasoline is only 87 octane and premium is usually around 93 octane (Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship). The cost of E85 is similar to that of regular gas, as many would not expect; and the availability of the fuel is growing. There are over 1,300 gas stations that supply the mixed fuel, and the number will only go up. The Energy Security Act passed in 2005 gives gasoline retailers incentive to supply E85. General Motors, including Chevy, already has over 2.5 million flex-fuel vehicles on the road. For the 2007 model year, Chevy produced seven different models equipped with the ability to run E85 fuel (General Motors). In conjunction with “Active Fuel Management”, vehicles fueled by E85 can make a difference in the world today.

Chevy has instituted a system in six of its models that improves fuel efficiency by cutting the work done by the engine in half. This new technology is called “Active Fuel Management” (Chevrolet). It used to be called “Displacement on Demand”, but was renamed for 2007. AFM allows the engine to stop running half of its cylinders under zero-load circumstances. For example, an eight cylinder engine will shut off four of its cylinders and run as a four cylinder engine when no major power is needed. Once more power is needed, then the four cylinders will receive fuel and the engine will run as an eight cylinder again. This drops fuel consumption by 12% for cars, and 5% for trucks (“GM’s DoD Now Called ‘Active Fuel Management’”). Chevy currently uses three engines for this purpose. They are the 5.3 Liter V-8, 6.0 Liter V-8, and 3.9 Liter V-6 (Chevrolet). This technology helps Chevy’s campaign to go green and become a more fuel efficient company. Along with technology towards their gasoline engines, Chevy has also spent time developing hybrid technology.

For the 2008 model year, Chevy has released two hybrids, the Tahoe Hybrid and Malibu Hybrid (Chevrolet Fuel Solutions Achieves Fuel-Efficiency). The Tahoe Hybrid gained recognition at the L.A. Auto Show and received the Green Car of the Year Award. It gets 21 MPG in the city, which is a 50% increase compared to its non-hybrid counterpart (Zimmerman). The Malibu Hybrid gets 24 MPG in the city and 32 on the highway (Chevrolet Fuel Solutions Achieves Fuel-Efficiency). Chevy also revealed its Silverado Hybrid pickup at the L.A. Auto Show. It is expected to be released in 2009. The full-size truck’s fuel economy will improve 40% over the non-hybrid Silverado and is expected to be just as functional as any other work truck (L.A. Auto Show Preview: 2009 Chevrolet Silverado Dual-Mode Hybrid). Chevy’s new hybrid systems are giving consumers more options in the car market and revolutionizing the auto industry; but just as any other great inventions, there are some drawbacks.

Every positive has a negative to counteract it, and Chevy’s fuel efficiencies are no exceptions to that rule. The cars that run on E85 fuel get an increase in power, but their actual MPG is reduced. The cleaner burning fuel comes at a price. So it comes down to the choice of whether the driver wants to be more environmentally friendly, or just wants to save on gas. With today’s gas prices, the choice will most likely be the latter. The flex-fuel can be found at over 1,300 gas stations, but that is still a low number. If there is not a gas station within a comfortable driving distance for the consumer, then the consumer is not going to go out of his or her way just to fill up on E85; because that trip will just lead to more gas usage which defeats the purpose of the environmentally friendly fuel in the first place. Chevy’s flex-fuel vehicles will not meet their full potential until E85 fuel is readily available in all locations. If consumers do not want E85 compatible vehicles but still want to help the environment somehow, they may turn to vehicles equipped with Active Fuel Management.

Chevy’s new AFM technology is going in the right direction; but it may turn into a warranty nightmare down the road, causing reliability issues far before standard vehicles without AFM. When AFM is active, it does not actually stop half of the pistons inside the cylinders from moving. All of the pistons are still working and moving; they are just not being fed fuel, air, or any ignition spark because the valves are shut. Even though the cylinders that are “non-functional” are not being fed any air or fuel, there still must be some left-over air trapped inside. Since the pistons are still moving inside the cylinder, and there is nowhere for that trapped air to go, pressure must build up in the cylinder. The AFM system also may not be as reliable because it includes more parts integrated with the engine. The more complex something is; the more room there is for error. The technology used in the AFM system pales in comparison with that of the technology used in Chevy’s hybrids.

Chevy’s new Tahoe Hybrid gets better gas mileage than the non-hybrid version, but the SUV is still a tank and does not get outstanding gas mileage compared to other vehicles on the market. Chevy has not posted the price of its new hybrid, but the base price for a regular Tahoe is about $35,000. Without doubt the hybrid version will be more expensive. There are two different upgrade packages besides the hybrid package, and they only increase the price. The price can rise all the way to $50,000 (Chevrolet). Therefore, if someone buys a Tahoe it will most likely cost at least $40,000. If someone can afford to blow $40,000 on an SUV, the least of their worries is paying for gas. So a slight increase in fuel efficiency does not save thousands of dollars in gas on an SUV that started as a gas guzzler and still remains a gas guzzler. The highway mileage of the hybrid and non-hybrid differ by one MPG. Chevy is trying to do good things, but they are just in the wrong area. If someone was really trying to be more fuel efficient and had $35,000+ to spend, they would most likely invest it elsewhere. The Tahoe Hybrid is just a car for rich people to roll around in and brag about how they are helping the environment; when in actuality they could have bought two Toyota Prius’ for the price of their $40,000 Tahoe and still emitted less green house gases by driving both Prius’ (Toyota). There are pros and cons to everything, and in the end it is the consumer’s choice.

Chevrolet has improved gasoline efficiency and technology in its quest to become the most environmentally friendly automaker in the auto industry. In reaction to the harsh criticisms of the general public and the government, Chevy has jumped into gear in an attempt to set itself apart from other automakers. With the introduction of its ethanol based engines, it has made much of it fleet more environmentally friendly. Chevy’s Active Fuel Management program is an ingenious invention; and, as long as it holds up to the test of time, it will be a major step for fuel conservation. Chevy finally jumped on the band wagon, along with Honda and Toyota, and made hybrids a reality. This will attract consumers that would normally not look at Chevy due to its fuel inefficiencies of the past. All of these changes Chevrolet has made are positive steps, and there are a few kinks in the system that can be worked out, but that is the norm for any plan. There is always room for improvement and that is what keeps human ingenuity driven and will produce improvements from Chevrolet in the future.