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Hydrogen Supercar that can equal a Petrol Supercar

At the SEMA Show earlier this month a new type of super car was shown off, the RMC Scorpion, less than a year since it was displayed as a concept car. The thing that makes this car different to all the others is that it runs on a hydrogen petrol mix. Because it runs on a hydrogen mix then it will have less emissions as well as a better fuel economy that is reported to be around 40 mpg.

Before you start thinking this is going to go nowhere because there are very few hydrogen suppliers around the country so therefore if you get a Scorpion you have to find a way to access a hydrogen supply, well you are partly right because, yes the Scorpion dose need hydrogen but everyone in the country has access to a source of hydrogen, the tap. Another advantage the Scorpion has over other hydrogen based cars is that it stores the hydrogen in a 1.5 gallon tank as water, and then produces the hydrogen as it needs it, meaning if you run out all you have to do is find a tap and fill the tank up again. Other than the connivance of the tank this also means the hydrogen is a lot safer since it is not pressurised or in its raw form that is highly combustible.

Just because it’s good for the environment and fuel efficiency doesn’t mean that it has sluggish performance with top speeds and acceleration that match the Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano.

As well as the insides of the car being nice, I think the outside is also very nice with the bonnet lower than the wheel arches and the large air intake scoops on each side and Scissor doors just top the look off.

The RMC are already taking orders for the Scorpion that has a price tag of £95,000 ($140,500) for the standard version and £160,000 (around $237,000) for the HX version but with only 200 being made for next year.

Although this car is not going to be on my Christmas list this year I think that the hydrogen fuel system that is going to be produced as an aftermarket system as ‘H2GO’ may be considered if the petrol prices rise again. H2GO shall be sold for around £600 ($900) and they say you will get a 25 per cent improved fuel economy.

This report was compiled by Christopher Walker on behalf of Find-a-Part - Car Parts Search specialists since 1978.

Ford, Chrysler, GM (Vauxhall) - Survival Plan in exchange for loans

The Detroit 3 - Ford, General Motors (Vauxhall) and Chrysler, have been told to provide a survival plan in exchange for up to $25 billion in loans.

The ultimatum came on Thursday after Democratic leaders failed to persuade the White House and congressional Republicans to use part of a $700 billion financial rescue fund to prop up the auto industry.

House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a California Democrat, and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, a Nevada Democrat, told a news conference that the "Detroit 3" must develop a bailout proposal by December the 2nd and it would be considered during the week of Decemeber the 8th.

"Until we can see a plan where the auto industry is held accountable and a plan for viability on how they go into the future... we cannot show them the money," Pelosi said.
Said Reid: "We can only help if they (the car makers) are willing to help themselves."

The requirement of a survival plan seems to have been in response to growing public resentment over the bailout package.

This leaves the future of General Motors, who are best known in the UK for the Vauxhall brand, Ford Motor and Chrysler LLC hanging in the balance.  Their losses have mounted during a severe economic downturn that has prompted Americans to largely stop buying cars, as people can't get the loans that they would normally use to buy them.

Shares of GM and Ford rebounded from multi-decade lows as the developments in Washington kept bailout hopes alive.  While most of Washington is anxious to see the companies survive, Republicans have been more wary of whether the money would really help, and Democrats have been more inclined to be generous to the huge employers of unionized labor.

Both General Motors and Ford pledged to cooperate.  It could be that the big 3 are saved by a proposed $25 billion energy department loan, which they could recieve in exchange for making greener cars.

This report was compiled by Justin Woodcock on behalf of Find-a-Part - Car Parts Search specialists since 1978.

Bosch Car Parts plant - 250 Jobs Under Threat in South Wales

Car parts manufacturer Bosch said 250 jobs were at risk at one of its plants in South Wales.

The German company said it has started a 90 day consultation with staff at its Miskin plant, because of a "sharp decline in customer orders."

The plant, which makes alternators for the car industry, has already seen the number of agency workers slashed and announced an extended Christmas shutdown because of the downturn.

A Bosch spokesman said: "Due to the current difficult market environment, Bosch has experienced a sharp decline of customer orders in the last quarter of 2008."

She added: "We were hoping that 2009 would see a return in stability, but unfortunately our customer order reductions continue. As a result we will not have sufficient work to retain our entire existing Bosch workforce in full-time employment.  As of now we expect that 250 jobs spread across all areas and functions within the plant are now at risk. "

This report was compiled by Justin Woodcock on behalf of Find-a-Part - Car Parts Search specialists since 1978.

Car Parts Firm Closes - 200 jobs lost

A manufacturer of car parts in Hertfordshire is closing, 200 jobs will be lost as a result. The car parts manufacturer George W King is shutting its factory in Letchworth after a 20 year association with the town. Tony Ellingford, regional officer for union Unite, which represents workers at the site, said: "We are talking about 200 losing their livelihoods." He said it was a tragedy for Letchworth but it was hoped up to 30 workers could be found work elsewhere. No-one from George W King or its owner Amtek was available for comment.  Amteks' flagship company, Amtek Auto Limited, had recently won the best investor of the year award 2008 for UK Trade & Investment. Mr Ellingford said the firm had argued that the Letchworth site was losing money. This report was compiled by Justin Woodcock on behalf of Find-a-Part - Car Parts Search specialists since 1978.

Will you be filling up your car with tree fungus ?

A tree fungus could provide green fuel that can be pumped directly into tanks, scientists say. The organism, from the Patagonian rainforest,  produces a mixture of chemicals that is remarkably similar to diesel fuel.

The fungus, called Gliocladium roseum and discovered growing inside the ulmo tree (Eucryphia cordifolia) in northern Patagonia, produces a range of molecules that are almost identical to the fuel-grade compounds in existing fossil fuels such as diesel fuel.

Gary Strobel, from Montana State University, has been leading the work."This is the only organism that has ever been shown to produce such an important combination of fuel substances,", he said.  "We were totally surprised to learn that it was making a plethora of hydrocarbons."

If they can be proven to work on a mass-scale, then biofuels will be attractive replacements for unleaded petrol and diesel fuels.  The European Union has set biofuel targets of 5.75% of total usage by 2010 and 10% by 2020. But critics say current biofuels scarcely reduce greenhouse gas emissions and cause food price rises and deforestation, as farmers knock down trees and remove food crops to plant biofuel crops. Producing biofuels sustainably is now a target and this latest work has been greeted by experts as an encouraging step.

Details of the concoction, which Strobel calls "mycodiesel", will be published in the November issue of the journal MicroBiology - "The results were totally unexpected and very exciting and almost every hair on my arms stood on end," said Strobel.

This report was compiled by Justin Woodcock on behalf of Find-a-Part - Car Parts Search specialists since 1978.