Hybrid or Electric Cars ?

Provided By: Jalopnik.com
2010 Fusion Hybrid
At an auto show that lacks "buzz", there are a couple of battles taking shape. Both of them could have major implications as to what we will be driving for years to come.
Hybrids
After dominating the gas-electric hybrid category for years, Toyota's

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Prius will soon find itself facing some legitimate competition. Ford's
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Hybrid Fusion hits showrooms this spring boasting 41 mpg and the ability to get 700 miles on tank of gas. It's styling, which is nice, but unremarkable presents a far different look than the Prius.
Honda's
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new Insight is another "Prius fighter" and is already getting plenty of attention because its styling is no longer quirky. It will get 40 mpg when it goes on sale this spring. Honda hopes to sell 90,000 annually in the U.S. For comparison, Toyota sold 159,000 Prius hybrids last year.
Don't count out the Prius. It's been re-designed, will deliver better mileage, and will be unveiled Monday in Detroit. Even though Prius sales may pale in comparison to the Toyota Camry and Corolla, it is a critical car for the Japanese auto maker. The Prius is the ultimate "halo car" in the auto world with 70% owner loyalty and a pristine image that has put Toyota above the competition. You bet they want to win this new battle in the hybrid war.
Electric and extended range electric cars
Even though these models won't be out for a few more years and only in limited numbers, the electric car competition is heating up.
GM

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cnbc_quoteComponent_init_getDatagets the most attention, largely because of how much publicity the Chevy Volt has generated. This year in Detroit GM has made it clear it is leveraging the Volt technology with plans for more electric cars. The Cadillac Converj is generating the most buzz given its aggressive look and a cock pit that looks like something out of Knight Rider. Yes, I know that it's a concept, so how much of the touch screen instrument panel become reality, is very much in doubt.
Ford and Chrysler have also announced plans to build and sell electric cars by 2011. Toyota will sell one by 2012. Exactly what those models will look like remains a big question, but the fact they are all committed is important. It shows everyone wants to tap rapidly developing technology for "zEro" or low emission vehicles.
Tesla is stepping up to the plate and has a presence on the main floor here in Detroit. Tesla has legions of fans (yes, I hear you) who believe the company does not get the credit it deserves for sparking interest in electric cars. Perhaps they're right to an extent, but Tesla also needs to roll out a greater number of models at lower price points as this electric car business heats up.
Finally, Chinese auto maker BYD is showing it e6 electric minivan. It will run on ferrous metal batteries developed by BYD. These batteries are designed to deliver better performance than lithium ion batteries. BYD plans to sell the e6 in the U.S. by 2011 at a price of $30,000 to $40,000.

Ford & GM Car Sales Plunge over 30 % , worst since 1982 ??

Ford Motor Co on Monday posted an unadjusted 30.2 percent plunge in U.S. auto sales in October under pressure across all vehicle segments amid the slowing domestic economy and weak consumer confidence.

Ford, which posted an $8.7 billion second-quarter net loss, on Friday is expected to report a third-quarter net loss and to update its plans for maintaining liquidity to cope with the U.S. sales slowdown now seen continuing through next year.

The sales declines landed hardest on the SUV and crossover segments for the Ford, Lincoln and Mercury brands combined.

For October, sales fell to 132,838 vehicles from 190,195 vehicles a year earlier, including all of Ford's brands, the automaker said.

Ford, Lincoln and Mercury brand sales fell 29 percent from a year earlier. In those brands, car sales fell 26.8 percent, crossover sales 38.8 percent, SUV sales 53.9 percent and truck and van sales 19.2 percent.

The automaker has launched a redesigned version of its top-selling F-150 pickup truck, including a new national ad campaign that started on Sunday. It also has accelerated plans to shift some truck production in North America to cars.

The automaker said it had its highest retail market share in two years, supported by its top-selling F-Series pickups, where sales fell 16.3 percent to 43,324 from a year earlier.

Among other key vehicles, Ford reported that sales of its Focus compact car fell 18.2 percent, while sales of the Fusion midsize sedan fell 3.3 percent.

The results were not adjusted for an additional selling day in October 2008 versus a year earlier.

Here we go again higher oil & gas prices !

Oil, Gas, Gasoline Rise in Special Nymex Session Before Gustav
By M. Habiby
(Bloomberg) -- Crude oil, natural gas and gasoline rose in a special trading session today as Hurricane Gustav approached the Gulf of Mexico, halting most oil and gas output and shutting local refineries.
Gustav will make landfall along the Gulf Coast sometime tomorrow as a ``major'' hurricane, according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center. It forced the mandatory evacuation of New Orleans and shut refineries operated by Valero Energy Corp., ConocoPhillips, Marathon Oil Corp. and Exxon Mobil Corp.
``It's a huge storm, and it's got the potential to cause all kinds of problems,'' said Peter Beutel, president of energy consultant Cameron Hanover Inc. in New Canaan, Connecticut. ``There's a lot of concern that this is something that could really, really damage infrastructure badly, and this could be another instance of Katria-Rita or worse.''
Crude oil for October delivery rose $2.21, or 1.9 percent, to $117.67 a barrel at 3:27 p.m. on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Prices are up 20 percent this year.
Natural gas for October delivery rose 0.7 cent to $7.95 per million British thermal units.
Gasoline for October delivery gained 9.08 cents, or 3.2 percent, to $2.945 a gallon on the exchange.
To see oil ``up two and a half dollars is a muted reaction to what they're calling the mother of all storms,'' Beutel said.
Electronic trading opened early today to allow traders to respond to Gustav. Trades will be dated Sept. 2 because of the U.S. Labor Day holiday tomorrow.
Gustav was about 270 miles (520 kilometers) from the mouth of the Mississippi River at 1 p.m. New Orleans time and was packing winds of 115 miles an hour. The storm, which may reach Louisiana as early as midday tomorrow, is forecast to strengthen as it crosses the Gulf.
Refinery Capacity
Gulf Coast refineries have cut at least 1.48 million barrels a day of production, 23 percent of regional capacity and 9.3 percent of the U.S. total. Seven refineries have announced shutdowns, and five have reduced capacity.
Personnel from more than 70 percent of the platforms and rigs in the Gulf have been evacuated as the storm approaches, the U.S. Minerals Management Service said today in a statement on its Web site. About 1.25 million barrels a day of oil, and 6.09 billion cubic feet of gas have been shut, or more than 96 percent of offshore oil output and 82 percent of gas production.
The Gulf of Mexico accounts for 26 percent of U.S. oil production and 14 percent of natural-gas output. The Gulf produces 1.3 million barrels of oil and an estimated 7.4 billion cubic feet of gas a day, according to the agency, part of the U.S. Interior Department.
``We're more prepared for this storm than we ever have been for any hurricane that I remember,'' said Phil Flynn, senior trader at Alaron Trading Corp. in Chicago. ``We're better prepared, and demand isn't that strong anyway, so I'm about as optimistic as I can be in this type of disastrous situation.''
Katrina
Hurricane Katrina, which reached Category 5 status, the strongest type of hurricane, closed 95 percent of offshore output in the Gulf of Mexico. Almost 19 percent of U.S. refining capacity was idled because of damage and blackouts caused by hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005.
``You get a couple of rigs shut down, keeled over from this hurricane, and this is going go take days or weeks to fix,'' said Brad Samples, a commodity analyst for Summit Energy Inc. in Louisville, Kentucky. ``The bigger problem is on the refining side and the potential impact on all the refineries that string along the Gulf Coast.''
Almost half of U.S. refining capacity is centered along the Gulf Coast, and refineries have been operating at less than 90 percent of capacity all year, according to the Energy Department.
Regular gasoline, averaged nationwide, rose 0.5 cent to $3.687 a gallon, AAA, the nation's largest motorist organization, said today. Prices reached a record $4.114 a gallon on July 17.
Gasoline cost $3.676 a gallon in Louisiana, up from $3.655 yesterday

When will we learn ?? cant we build more refineries and start drilling in Alaska And other coastal areas ??

Hurricane Gustav is threatening Gas prices ??

As America hits the road over the long Labor Day weekend, Hurricane Gustav is threatening to wreak havoc at the gas pump.


Gasoline prices have been falling nationwide for weeks, bringing drivers needed relief from this summer's record highs. But now Gustav has taken aim at the Gulf Coast, threatening to tear through the region's gasoline refineries and offshore oil platforms. More than one-quarter of all the oil produced in the United States comes from the gulf.
Forecasts show Gustav taking a path uncomfortably close to Hurricane Katrina's, which smashed into New Orleans three years ago and sent gasoline prices soaring throughout the country.
"It could be a big threat," said John Kingston, who directs oil coverage for the Platts energy information service.
If Gustav damages the gulf's network of oil wells, pipelines and refineries, the country could face another severe gas price spike. If Gustav veers from its expected course - a strong possibility with notoriously unpredictable hurricanes - prices will likely continue their slow slide.
"Even though the track has been pretty consistent, you just don't know," Kingston said. "Two hundred miles off isn't much for a hurricane."
California's gas prices are still falling, although the pace slowed this week. The state's average for a gallon of regular, which peaked in June at $4.61, dropped to $3.92 on Friday, according to the AAA auto club. In San Francisco, drivers pay an average of $4.10, in San Jose, $4.
The nationwide average ticked up by a penny Friday to hit $3.67, after falling steadily for weeks. But analysts blame that small increase on the holiday, not the hurricane.
"I'm not sure that's a huge worry or a signal that something's changing in the market," said Michael Geeser, spokesman for AAA of Northern California. "We usually do see a bump right before a holiday weekend."
Gasoline prices this year have followed the rise and fall of crude oil prices, which shot to record highs above $145 per barrel before tumbling. Oil sold on the New York Mercantile Exchange rose earlier this week as traders cast a nervous eye on Gustav, but by Friday, most of those fears had been factored into the price. Crude fell 13 cents on Friday to close at $115.46.
"The formation of Gustav has really put a stop to the drop in crude oil," said Denton Cinquegrana, who tracks West Coast gasoline markets for the Oil Price Information Service. "If we didn't have this storm, we could be talking about crude oil dropping below $110."
The hurricane's full effect on oil prices won't become clear until early next week. Friday's forecast from the National Weather Service showed the storm possibly making landfall west of New Orleans either late Monday or early Tuesday.
By Friday, most of the oil companies that operate in the gulf were evacuating employees from rigs and ships in the Gulf of Mexico, shuttling them to shore via helicopter. San Ramon's Chevron Corp., which has 3,000 employees in the gulf, reported Friday that it had shut some of its offshore oil fields because pipelines carrying crude from those fields had been closed.
"We don't like to say it's routine, but we've been through it many times," said Chevron spokesman Mickey Driver.
If Gustav misses the oil fields, gasoline prices may continue drifting downward, especially because prices typically drop in autumn. But they probably won't fall as low as they were a year ago, when California's average for regular gas was $2.80.
"We generally pay the lowest we pay for gas all year in the next few months, so barring a hurricane, drivers can probably look forward to that," Geeser said. "But remember, the trend of the last few years is prices never go down as far as they went up."

D. Baker