Driving Growth - Real jobs, real stories. How strong fuel efficiency standards are fueling economic recovery.

May 8, 2013 at 6:56 am / Blog / by NRDC

Onshoring EV Components: Motors, Batteries for Advanced Vehicles Now Made in USA

by Roger Kerson, May 8, 2013 Two years ago, reports EV World, the land next to GM’s White Marsh transmission plant just north of Baltimore was an open, grassy field. Today, it’s the site of the first plant in the U.S. built specifically to supply electric motors for electric vehicles. The new 110,000 square-foot facility will supply the motors to power the Chevy Spark, a low-volume model that will go on sale later this summer in California and Oregon. The [...]

April 22, 2013 at 7:54 am / Blog / by Roger Kerson

New hires, not layoffs: Fuel Standards Drive Investment and Jobs in Ohio

“We’re hiring people, not laying them off. And it’s because of the CAFE standards.” –Dave Green, President of UAW Local 1714 (Lordstown, OH)

April 11, 2013 at 9:05 am / Blog / by Roger Kerson

Testing Turbos for Fuel Economy: Did Consumer Reports Compare Apples to Oranges?

Driving Growth looks at the numbers and talks to the experts to assess recent claims by Consumer Reports that small turbocharged engines are not delivering on fuel economy.

March 15, 2013 at 4:10 am / Blog / by Roger Kerson

U.S. Fuel Economy Continues Record-Breaking Surge

GM Lays Out Plans to Save 12 Billion Gallons of Fuel by 2017, The fuel economy of the U.S. vehicle fleet continues to increase at a record-breaking pace in 2013 ‚Äì and U.S. automakers are laying plans for continued improvements which will reduce fuel consumption by billions of gallons over the next five years.

March 5, 2013 at 7:41 pm / Blog / by Roger Kerson

“A Huge Success Story” Fuel-efficient engines and transmissions boost jobs in Ohio and Indiana

“When I took this job in 2008,” says Mike Gammella, president of UAW Local 1250 in Brook Park, Ohio, “we had the foundry announced to be closed, and Engine Plant #1 had 66 people. It looked like we were vanishing.” But instead of vanishing, Ford’s Cleveland Engine Plant #1 is now gaining $200 million in new investment, hundreds of new jobs, and a hot-selling new engine: the 2.0 liter EcoBoost, which powers several Ford vehicles and up until now has [...]

January 28, 2013 at 5:44 am / Blog / by Roger Kerson

Memo from Detroit Auto Show: “We’re hiring!”

Even during the darkest days of the U.S. auto industry, when industry giants GM and Chrysler faced bankruptcy in 2009 and threatened to take hundreds of supplier firms with them, the Detroit Auto Show was still a place to see innovative car designs and the latest in automotive technology. Back then, however, the Motor City’s annual celebration of its hometown industry wasn’t much of a place to go job-hunting. Four years later, it’s a different story.

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Videos

Driving Growth in OH: Johnson Controls

November 13, 2012

Employees of a Johnson Controls battery plant in Holland, Ohio, just outside of Toledo, discuss how their new AGM (Absorbent Glass Mat) battery design is promoting fuel efficiency and creating jobs.

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Driving Growth in MI: NextEnergy

October 11, 2012

Executives at NextEnergy, a Detroit-based accelerator for advanced-energy technologies, discuss how the current push for higher fuel economy and lower emissions fits with the Motor City’s role as “the seat of innovation, globally, for the automotive world.”

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Driving Growth in Michigan: University of Michigan

September 13, 2012

Associate Research Scientist Stani Bohac describes how mechanical engineering students at the University of Michigan are working to improve the fuel economy of internal combustion engines for passenger vehicles, as well as partnering with some major players in the industry.

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In the News

GM: 2014 Cruze diesel brings power, fuel efficiency to Chevrolet

May 24, 2013 at 1:03 pm

by Michael Wayland, MLIVE.com, May 24 2013 PLYMOUTH, MI- The 2014 Cruze Clean Turbo Diesel is now on sale in the U.S., ushering in a powerful return for Chevrolet to the diesel marketplace. The vehicle is the most powerful, yet fuel-efficient, Cruze ever produced by General Motors Co. for the U.S. lineup. Read more…

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Green Army: The tactical truck that can achieve 72 per cent better fuel economy for our troops

May 23, 2013 at 9:51 am

by Danny Hewitt MotorTrades Insight May 23, 2013 Armies across the world could soon be going green, after an analysis of a defense vehicle project has ‘proven’ techniques for reducing fuel consumption, according to Ricardo. After two years of on-the-ground testing, the Ricardo-engineered Fuel-Efficient Ground Vehicle Demonstrator (FED) has proven to be as good as the simulation models projected. The analysis released today proves that when compared to the US military’s regularly outfitted M1151 HMMWV, the FED experienced a 72 [...]

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Innovative Interior Materials Can Cut Vehicle Weight, Experts Say

May 22, 2013 at 10:13 am

by Byron Pope WardsAuto May 22, 2013 DEARBORN, MI – Auto makers looking to take weight out of the vehicle to meet looming government-mandated fuel-economy regulations should look to new technological innovations in vehicle interiors, industry experts say at the 2013 WardsAuto Interiors Conference here. Utilizing new advanced materials is one way to shave weight, but it’s imperative that the new materials are as safe, durable and cost-efficient as the ones they replace, says Robert Eller, president of consultancy Robert [...]

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More than 100,000 electric vehicles now on the roads in U.S.

May 21, 2013 at 12:04 pm

by John Upton Grist May 21, 2013 America passed a milestone on Monday, according to electric-vehicle advocacy group Plug-In America. That’s when the 100,000th EV was sold in the U.S., the group estimates… Read more…

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Ford projects rise in four-cylinder vehicle sales

May 20, 2013 at 9:28 am

by Karl Henkel The Detroit News May 20, 2013 Automobiles with four-cylinder engines already comprise more than half of U.S. new-vehicle sales, and that number could grow to two-thirds by the end of the decade, according to projections by Ford Motor Co. The shift to the smaller engines is a result of strict federal fuel-efficiency standards — known as Corporate Average Fuel Economy, or CAFE — and means a growing share of cars, SUVs and trucks will join the four-cylinder [...]

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Detroit 3 research group targets next-gen hybrid, EV batteries

May 15, 2013 at 7:04 am

by Adam Rubenfire, Automotive News, May 15 2013 With the U.S. Department of Energy’s help, a research group managed by the Detroit 3 is launching a drive to speed development of next-generation battery technologies for hybrids and electric vehicles, the department said today. The U.S. Advanced Battery Consortium will coordinate r&d and explore more efficient and cost-effective technologies for energy storage in vehicles. Read more

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