Here’s a Top 10 list you don’t want your city to be on, but it could have a silver lining if you’re looking at a zero emissions or near-zero emissions car. The researchers at Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI) compiled their annual ranking of the worst cities in the U.S. in which to try to drive somewhere. This study year (2011) they also added another metric to those of extra time expended, added cost and wasted fuel – CO₂ emissions added by congestion. Their list of the worst major cities in which to drive contains most of the usual suspects:

1.   Washington D.C.

2.   Los Angeles (tie)

2.   San Francisco-Oakland (tie)

4.   New York-Newark

5.   Boston

6.   Houston

7.   Atlanta

8.   Chicago

9.   Philadelphia

10. Seattle

The “good” news, if you can call it that, is that this year’s congestion measurements found about the same level of traffic frustration as last year, although the improving economy is expected to put that in the rear view mirror when 2012′s numbers come out.   The other bad news is the statistical significance of the difference in time spent idling in these cities is relatively little. And quite a few cities are just bubbling under the Top 10, including Miami, Dallas, Detroit, Nashville, Denver, Las Vegas and Portland. In other words, it’s slow-going out there. As TTI said in their press release announcing the report, “As traffic congestion continues to worsen, the time required for a given trip becomes more unpredictable.”  

Some cities are likely to seize on this report as a rationale to attempt to mitigate congestion and the attendant human and financial cost by introducing special zones designed to limit congestion and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. London did so several years ago and several other cities have followed suit. In London, since 2003, extra fees have been charged to drive into the downtown area, with exemptions for low or zero-emission vehicles. The charge has resulted in lighter traffic and reduced pollution while it has also raised revenue for the city.   These “Top 10″ cities are the most likely to attempt similar measures with similar goals, which could put owners of zero or near-zero emission vehicles at an advantage. Typically, they would escape any fees and/or be allowed to drive in zones that would otherwise limit traffic. It’s a logical extension of the perks extended to plug-in vehicles – some cities and states allow free parking, solo driver access to carpool lanes as well as offer financial incentives for the initial vehicle purchase.

A similar version of this article appeared in Clean Fleet Report, www.cleanfleetreport.com.

Never count the German engineers out in the modern automotive world. While they rule in the new (for the U.S.) realm of clean diesels, are renowned for their performance and luxury machines, and carry a price premium just for their nameplates’ country of origin – when it comes to EVs, the German automakers have not been seen as serious players. That may be changing.

During the past few months, I've had the chance to drive representative models from each of the German "Big Three" (BMW, Mercedes-Benz and VW). They represent slightly different approaches to the EV market but all are either already in the market or will be soon.

It must be said that the Germans were not enthusiastic about electric cars or hybrids early on. Oh, they had their concepts, but in interviews they downplayed the potential audience, performance and practicality of EVs. That was then, this is now. While not jettisoning the internal combustion engine, all three automakers are seriously engaged in the incipient electric market and their first forays are worthy of a strong look, even if they don't represent the companies' finished product.

BMW Active-E
This is BMW's last "test" before it launches its "e" sub-brand. It follows the Mini-E of a few years ago, their first step into the EV market. On the outside the Active-E is a standard BMW 1-Series sedan. But underneath is the running gear of the i3 (due on the market in late 2013), BMW's city car EV that will feature a carbon fiber monocoque and a unique body style. That running gear delivers what can only be described as BMW-like performance; it’s responsive, accelerates briskly and handles superbly. Regenerative braking is very aggressive and everything about the car says it’s ready for production. But the Active-E is only available in limited numbers on a two-year lease, part of BMW's program testing the i3 powertrain in the real world prior to its launch. The range is around 100 miles on a charge, typical of most of the EVs on the market.

Mercedes Smart ED
Full disclosure: I owned a Smart car for three years. Enjoyed it and thought it was better than its critics said it was, but fully acknowledge its limitations as a lightly-powered two-seat city car with limited (as in relatively short rides) freeway capability.

Turning the Smart into an EV is a natural. I can't tell you how many times I was asked about my own Smart's presumed electric drivetrain. My test drive was in the second generation electric Smart. First gen was a 100-unit Europe-only test with sodium-nickel chloride Zebra batteries. As a Daimler engineer told me, it was a "learning experience," that is, not very successful. The second generation I drove had a Tesla lithium-ion battery and the Tesla battery management system. The car was sluggish (it felt slower than my ICE-Smart) and seemed to offer little in the way of a positive driving experience. The governed top speed of 62 mph made the car a joke on California freeways, making one of the negatives of the ICE car even worse. Parking, of course, is a breeze, but it didn't need to be an electric model for that purpose.

Mercedes has already upgraded the second generation Smarts and has moved to the third generation aimed to correct some of the deficiencies I found in the model I drove. It will have a new electric motor and new, bigger batteries.

Mercedes also has another model waiting in the wings – an electric version of their A-Class, the smallest of the traditional Benz models. It uses the same electric drive as Mercedes' fuel cell model (which is based on the slightly larger B-Class) and Tesla Motors has also been involved in its development. The company has made no announcements about potential sale of the model outside Europe, but you can probably expect to see it migrate to the U.S.

And, literally as I was finishing off this post, Mercedes announcement of its latest E-Cell came over the wire. At the Paris Auto Show the company will reveal its latest joint project with Tesla--the B-Class electric. Previously shown as a Volt-like extended range electric, the new version of the B-Class sports electric power only and should be on the market by 2014.  

VW Golf-E
VW, as part of its quest to be the largest car company in the world, appears to want to be all things to all people. So, along with its direct-injection gasoline models and turbocharged diesels, it is now offering hybrids and soon – electric cars. The eGolf, which I've driven twice, is the test bed for its electric drivetrain. It's 26.5 kWh battery and 85 kW electric motor provide a spirited driving experience. Like the Active-E, it has fairly aggressive regenerative braking, but one which the driver can control by settings with relatively simple steering wheel-mounted controls. Its overall driving experience approximates that of an ICE Golf. VW also has Audi electric models and an Up! EV minicar in the works. While the company has made no official announcement, expect to see the eGolf late 2013 or 2014 on the new Golf platform that was just introduced.

Summary
While it may appear that German automakers are playing catch-up with electric drive cars, the slow market start of the past year may play into their timeline. The performance of the prototypes I have driven was certainly competitive with any EV on the market, so the issue may be less one of technology and more one of market strategy.

Who would have thought an odd-shaped commercial vehicle produced in Turkey would be the harbinger of the future of the automotive industry?

Believe it. The Ford Transit connect appears to be the prototype of the near-future of an automotive industry in transition. In a word, that future involves choice.

At the turn of the previous century -- the early days of the 20th century -- consumers jumping into the new automotive world had to not only choose their vehicle and its size, color, options, etc., but also the powertrain/fuel. At that time they had three basic choices -- gasoline, electric and steam. The three systems divided up the market fairly equally. Fast forward a decade as the country paved more inter-city highways and the slow, short-range electrics and fast, but complex steam machines fell by the wayside to the efficient gasoline vehicles (which actually would run on a variety fo liquid fuels). 

So it looks like the Ford Transit Connect may lead the way to a similar time 100 years later. At the Chicago Auto Show, Ford introduced the electric version of the Transit Connect (as expected), but also showed a CNG-powered version outfitted as a taxi (an upgrade to the soon to be retired Crown Vics), which also could be a propane/LPG-powered. These versions will join the existing gasoline and diesel versions of the small commercial van that are currently on the market.  

But that's not all. In their Transit Connect consumer brochure, Ford makes the point that they are working on fuel cell technology as the ultimate zero emission vehicle. Since they've been running much smaller Focus compacts as their prototype fuel cell vehicles and the Transit Connect can clearly handle a hydrogen tank (which is the same size as a CNG one), that would add another choice.

So the customer walks into a Ford dealership, ready to add this vehicles to his/her fleet. After settling on the color and options, the big choices come:

• gas (or maybe E85 capable)
• diesel (or biodiesel/renewable diesel)
• electric
• CNG
• propane/LPG
• hydrogen fuel cell

Chicago is one of the four major auto shows in the U.S. (along with Los Angeles, Detroit & New York, chronologically coming third) and has the reputation as the biggest consumer show, drawing up to a million visitors from the metropolitan area to view the latest cars and trucks. 

LA and Detroit were full of "green" cars -- electrics, hybrids, plug-in hybrids, clean diesels, fuel cells -- and featured fanciful concepts and soon-to-be on the market production versions to whet the appetite of show visitors. The media previews focused on the same vehicles and themes. The casual observer could be excused if he/she left with the impression that a major shift was on in vehicle propulsion and fuels. Not that there weren't the usual contingent of performance cars and trucks, but they tended to fade into the background of coverage.

Then we get to Chicago and it seems as those it's back to business as usual. Toyota introduces the new Avalon; Chevy a news Suburban SUV, Ford its Edge SUV and Honda its next generation Odyssey minivan.

Oh, everyone mentioned fuel economy (and how the latest models were better) and Ford also had electric and CNG versions of its Transit Connect commercial vehicle (and Kia even had a plug-in concept car), but the vibe of the press preview was decidedly deja vu. The view forward that was presented by auto makers was sharply focused on what might be sold this year and next -- and it was the good old internal combustion engine.

But in discussion with some environmentally minded friends at the show, we stumbled on an interesting statistic. A one mpg increase in the fleet average of new vehicles has an order of magnitude more positive impact (reduction) of petroleum use, greenhouse gas production and overall emissions than a million new electric vehicles on the market (a number not expected for more than a decade).

From there we got to talking about what can be done to increase the efficiency of the current fleet of vehicles (rather than just replacing them), noting one press conference at the show where Bridgestone claimed its new eco tires could increase fuel economy by 4 percent compared to traditional tires. Bridgestone Ecopia Tires 

Of course, those tires are more expensive than regular ones (just like hybrid or clean diesel cars), but the consumer who does the math will find they pay back not only their extra cost, but even the whole cost with reduced fuel use. So, are you ready to spend more to save more?