With revived concern over the cost of gasoline and the desire for increased fuel economy, clean diesels are proving to be a tempting choice for the American consumer.
Volkswagen can testify to the selling power of clean diesel vehicles–June brought in the highest sales of TDIs since the release of the current lineup. According to a recent press release, “the Jetta SportWagen once again posted its best sales month ever with sales of 1,982 units. Clean diesel TDI’s accounted for 81 percent of SportWagen sales, 40 percent of Jetta sedan sales, and 29 percent of Touareg sales.” Adding to their fleet of available clean diesels, Volkswagen plans the release of the 2010 Golf TDI this fall.
Positive sales from Volkswagen may lure more manufacturers to bring diesel technology to the American market. In fact, manufacturers such as Audi, BMW, and Mercedes already offer diesel models.
Volkwagen TDI drivers are often strong supporters of alternatitive fuels. Seen here at the Propel SLU Station is the 2007 and 2004 Jetta TDI, and 2005 Jetta TDI Wagon.
Today’s clean diesel vehicles are not the smog-belching, clickity-clacking diesel vehicles you may be picturing. New diesels have quieter engines, enhanced performance and reduced emissions. A recent segment on National Public Radio, Diesel Cars Attempt a Comeback with Clean Diesels, reports on the reemergence of diesel vehicles into the American market as a quieter, cleaner next generation.
We met Cacee filling up his rig at Propel’s Folsom Blvd location. The Flex Fuel Chevy Silverado is part of Sacramento State’s Parking Enforcement fleet.
Cacee has fueled the Sac State vehicle with Flex Fuel E85 since Propel started pumping in the Sacramento region at the beginning of this year.
Sac Sate has a number of Flex Fuel Vehicles and whenever possible they use Propel’s Folsom Blvd pump as it is conveniently close to campus.
Can your vehicle use clean, American-made fuel that is easier on your wallet?
If you look in the Propel parking lot you’ll see a common thread, clean diesel vehicles. As a fuel company working to reduce our dependence on foreign oil, we recognize the importance of providing access to both American-made fuels, as well as efficient clean diesel and Flex Fuel vehicles. Audi recently premiered its “Diesel. No longer a dirty word.” campaign with a provocative message that stuck home. The advertisement reminds us that America uses 1.5 million barrels of foreign oil each day. And with more efficient vehicles, we can send it all back. Watch the video — click here. Learn more about the Clean Diesel Movement.
America uses 1.5 million barrels of foreign oil each day.
With efficient cars and American-made fuels, we can send it all back.
U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu recommends that all cars built in the United States should have the ability to run E85 Flex Fuel. Chu maintains that Flex Fuel compatibility is smart investment that will cost the industry little due to the small incremental costs needed for each new car produced.
“I’ve been told it costs about $100 in gaskets and fuel lines to turn a car so that it can go all the way to E85,” Chu said, addressing government officials at the Des Moines Botanical Center. “But a new car, it would only cost $100 out of $15,000. Wouldn’t it be nice to put in those fuel lines and gaskets so that we can use any ratio we wanted?”
The idea has faced some opposition from manufacturers. “We oppose technology mandates of any kind,” said Charles Territo, with the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers. “Manufacturers should be allowed to choose the types of technology they invest in. There’s only so much (research and development) money to go around.”
We were excited to meet Comcast technician, Koso, filling his Flex Fuel service van at Propel’s Elk Grove location. Many of the 2009 Ford E-Series commerical vans are flex fuel capable.
Comcast makes a concerted effort to deploy alternative fuel vehicles as part of their fleet. Currently, Comcast has over 1,200 flex fuel vehicles.
According to Comcast’s 2009 Corporate Responsibility Report, it has the 2nd largest number of hybrid and alternative fuel capable vehicles in the communications industry.
Comcast pledges to “continue to purchase alternative fuel capable vehicles and use alternative fuels where it proves environmentally beneficial and operationally responsible”.
With the increased access to alternative fuels in the Sacramento area, we hope to see more of Comcast at Propel’s pumps!
Trey and Melissa frequently fill up their flex fuel-capable Ford F150 at Propel’s Rocklin, California location.
They bought the F150 without realizing it was a Flex Fuel Vehicle–able to run E85, regular petroleum gasoline or a mixture of both.
Trey noticed a label on the fuel tank door stating “ethanol fuel or unleaded gasoline only,” so he called the dealership. Sure enough, 5.4L engine Ford F150s from the model years 2006 – 2009 (8th character of VIN = “V”) are all flex fuel capable.
As regular gasoline prices climb, filling with E85 has helped Trey and Melissa save money–sometimes as much as $30 a tank!
A recent study conducted by John Lumkes of Purdue University confirms what many already know about biodiesel, it performs flawlessly. The study shows that there is zero difference in performance and durability for semitrailer trucks using B20, an industry standard blend of biodiesel and ultra-low sulfur diesel.
“In terms of performance, reliability and maintenance costs, it was basically a wash,” said John Lumkes, the assistant professor of agricultural and biological engineering who led the study. “The only differences are environmental and economic.”
The yearlong study compared two 10-vehicle truck fleets, one using the ultra-low sulfur fuel, and the other B20. The fleets had the same engines, similar miles, and drove nearly the same number of miles over the duration of the study. The study was released in the journal Applied Engineering in Agriculture.
On a quick trip out to the Folsom Blvd location, we met Lon Hatamiya, former Secretary of Technology, Trade and Commerce for Calfornia, fueling his Chevy Suburban with Flex Fuel E85.
He’s a major proponent of alternative fuels and has been filling at the Folsom Blvd and Rocklin locations since the stations opened in California earlier this year.
We met Dave filling up at our Rocklin, CA location. And couldn’t help but notice his enthusiasm for alternative fuel.
He converted his 1984 Toyota pick-up with the help of David Blume’s book, Alcohol Can Be A Gas!, to run on E85 flex fuel. It’s been four months since he made the conversion and all is going well.
Dave says, “I went from 24 miles per gallon to 22, and the last time I bought fuel, ethanol was $2.05 per gallon and regular was $2.80 at the same station, that’s a lot better miles per dollar.”
On Monday, June 1st, Propel hosted Seattle’s first Hydrogen Vehicle Show at the Downtown Seattle Clean Fuel Point. As part of the 28-city, Hydrogen Road Tour, the event previewed the latest hydrogen fuel cell vehicle designs and provided information on how fuel cells fit into our nation’s clean transportation future. All vehicles on displayed have the potential to provide the range, efficiency and performance consumers expect — with zero tailpipe emissions.
“Propel’s fueling platform delivers advanced low-carbon fuels including biodiesel from waste stream feedstocks like recycled fats and oils, and locally grown, marginal land crops like camelina,” said Rob Elam, President and Co-Founder of Propel speaking of the event on Monday. “Our fueling platform has the forward-flexibility to accommodate advanced fuels such as bio-methane, hydrogen and electric charging as these vehicle technologies gain momentum in the marketplace. Today’s event shows how close these vehicles are to commercialization.”
Fuel cell vehicles from top manufacturers, including Daimler, GM, Honda, VW, and more, were showcased at the event. Fuel cell vehicles are electric vehicles that generate their electricity from hydrogen stored in a tank, instead of recharging from the grid. Fuel cells are also used in transit buses, forklifts, airport tugs, as back-up power for data centers, and as primary power for buildings.
“The Hydrogen Road Tour showcases the progress of hydrogen programs in the U.S. and Canada,” said California Fuel Cell Partnership executive director Catherine Dunwoody.
One of the tour support vehicles, the Volkswagen V10 Touareg TDI filling with Propel B20 Biodiesel.
“These vehicles are comfortable, perform great, refuel in minutes and will travel the distance with zero tailpipe emissions, zero petroleum and greatly reduced greenhouse gases. Thousands of people will get a chance to try these vehicles for themselves.”
Propel partnered with the California Fuel Cell Partnership, California Air Resources Board (CARB), National Hydrogen Association, US Fuel Cell Council and Powertech Labs to organize the event.
Ran into Mike Bradley, owner of Nor Cal Pool Productions, filling his rig with biodiesel at Propel’s Rocklin, California location.
This was Mike’s first biodiesel fill up — low on fuel and thought he’d give it a try.
“It’s better for the Earth and it’s about the same price as regular diesel–why not?”
Located in Lincoln, California, Nor Cal Pool Productions specializes in the design and construction of custom pool and patio installations.
Find more businesses dedicated to fueling their fleet vehicles with low-carbon, domestically-produced fuel, see a list of Propel Clean Fleet Partners in California and Washington State.
The McCarthy Building still smolders across the street from Propel’s Factoria Clean Fuel Point. Fire broke out Wednesday afternoon, burning a majority of the structure with damages likely to exceed 1 million dollars. Luckily, no injuries or damage to surrounding businesses have been reported.
We met Gam filling her Chevy Tahoe with Flex Fuel at the Folsom Blvd Propel pump—located at the Shell station at the intersection of Power Inn Road and Folsom Blvd.
She usually fuels at the Elk Grove location, but as it happens, the Folsom pump is conveniently close to where she works!
Gam appreciates the fact that Flex Fuel has been significantly cheaper than regular petroleum gasoline.
We ran into Brick today at our Kenmore, Washington pump on Bothell Way located at the very north end of Lake Washington. Brick has been fueling his Jeep Liberty CRD with Propel for 2 years.
The limited release Liberty “CRD” (2005 – 2006) stands for “Common Rail Diesel,” describing the 4-cylinder 2.8 liter turbo-diesel engine. CRD systems use high injection pressure to move fuel into the combustion chamber, resulting in higher fuel economy and cleaner burning diesel.
Brick also fuels his Chevy Duramax Diesel pickup with Propel, in both downtown Seattle and here in Kenmore.
A step beyond conventional hybrids, Peugeot gears up for production of the new HYbrid4 hybrid diesel 4WD prototype. The 3008 HYbrid4 crossover vehicle is scheduled for release to the European market summer 2011. Similar to the Toyota Prius and Honda Insight concept, the 3008 HYbrid4 will use regenerative power from braking to charge a lithium battery pack for the rear wheels and the diesel engine to drive the front wheels.
Register Hardware’s Car Tech explains, that “the benefits of this system are many: the electric motor can be used either as a power boost; as sole motive power when pootling around town at low speed; to provide four-wheel drive without the usual drive shafts and differentials; or to cut fuel consumption on the open road.”
The diesel-electric technology will not only provide better fuel economy with an expect 68 mpg, but also reduce carbon emissions by up to 35%, according to Peugeot.
The State of the Air Report recently released by the American Lung Association shows biodiesel is a key factor to keeping America’s air clean. The American Lung Association in Minnesota described the report as a “wake up” call to further embrace fuels like biodiesel and is also participating in May 1 activities to kick off Minnesota’s increase to a B5 biodiesel blend. The report named Fargo, North Dakota as the cleanest city in the nation, and the lung association there gave credit to steps like biodiesel use.
Biodiesel is a sustainable, renewable alternative to diesel fuel that reduces most regulated emissions substantially, including carbon monoxide, particulate matter and unburned hydrocarbons.
“With biodiesel, America can produce its own cleaner-burning diesel alternative that helps clean up the air with existing vehicles,” said Joe Jobe, National Biodiesel Board CEO. “Biodiesel is a natural solution to help achieve lung associations’ goals to reduce air pollution and safeguard our health. We are grateful for their support and applaud their vision for a cleaner future.”
Biodiesel reduces air toxins by 90 percent, and significantly reduces the compounds linked to cancer. Breathing the smoke from diesel exhaust can trigger an asthma attack. The use of biodiesel reduces particulate matter up to 40 percent.
Propel and Enterprise Rent-A-Car have partnered to increase use of alternative fuels across Sacramento. This first-of-its-kind program aims to educate Enterprise customers on availability and benefits of alternative fuels, and fuel Enterprise’s rental cars with renewable E85.
Enterprise has the largest “Flex Fuel” rental fleet in the nation with over 73,000 vehicles able to run on standard gasoline or E85. Twelve Enterprise locations in the Sacramento region will participate in the pilot program, giving customers an opportunity to try alternative fuels when they rent a Flex Fuel vehicle. Customers will have access to Propel Flex Fuel at five locations across the Sacramento region.
“We’ve seen an increase in customers looking for more environmentally friendly options from us,” said Chris Littlejohn, Sacramento Area Manager of Enterprise. “We continue to increase our offerings of alternative technologies and environmentally friendly vehicles, and this includes Flex Fuel vehicles, but up until now there were few places for our customers to purchase E85 fuel. With Propel’s launch, and their plans to expand, we can now offer our customers more options and with better access to low-carbon fuels.”
“All it takes is a few leading companies to put a stake in the ground and say they’re going to be part of the solution,” said Rob Elam, President and Co-Founder of Propel Fuels. “Enterprise is making it easy for consumers to drive Flex Fuel vehicles while they are on business or vacation. It’s a great way for people to experience the satisfaction of purchasing clean, domestically produced fuels. Our hope is that this translates into greater consumer demand for environmentally friendly fuels and vehicles.”
Last Friday, Propel team members spent the day volunteering at the third annual DownStream Fly Fishing event. The program offers children with Down Syndrome a chance to spend a day outdoors with family and volunteers fly fishing.
Program founder, Ryan Miller, hopes “that through fly fishing, children with Down Syndrome can improve coordination, fine tune motor skills, boost social skills and attain a sense of accomplishment while having fun.”
We certainly had a great time — kids and volunteers alike!
The program hosted other activities in addition to fishing — we tied flies, practiced casting and made watercolor art.
We look forward to participating in DownStream 2010.
Learn more about DownStream Fly Fishing and how you can be a sponsor or volunteer, here.
Propel joined Whole Foods Market Roseville at the first annual Everyday is Earth Day celebration. It was an afternoon chalked full of activities for kids, organic food tasting, and eco-friendly information.
We met several Propel customers at the Earth Day event and informed many future customers of our near-by location in Rocklin, CA.
Whole Foods was happy to share great ways to help the planet (and body) by eating organic, using green cleaners, reducing packaging, and more.
On an uncharacteristically sunny spring afternoon in Washington, we met Nicki at the Bellevue/Factoria station. Nicki, proudly displays her son’s 1995 Jetta TDI.
A native of Germany, Nicki is a big fan of the TDI platform, the Jetta is one of three she has at her home in Mercer Island, WA. “I fill all three of them with Propel biodiesel,” she says proudly. We certainly appreciate her love of TDIs and her support of clean fuels!
Della and Mike have been waiting nearly 5 years to fill their flex fuel capable Ford Ranger with E85.
They’re thrilled to have a Propel pump in Sacramento providing Flex Fuel access.
Della and Mike’s truck has an identifying FFV “leaf and road” badge on the tailgate, though Flex Fuel-ready Ranger pickups can also be identified based on the model year and VIN.
The 3.0L Ford Ranger, model years 1999 – 2000, and the 3.0L Supercab Ranger, model years 2001 – 2003, with a “V” as the 8th character of the VIN, are Flex Fuel capable. To see a list of all FFV models, click here.
Chrysler’s new Pentastar V6 engine lineup debuted at the New York Auto Show in the 2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee. The new V6 engine, designed for Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep models, will be flex fuel capable.
Chrysler announced, “the Pentastar V6 is designed to run on regular gasoline, offering a 10 percent reduction in fuel cost compared with premium fueled engines. The engine also is fully flex fuel capable, offering consumers the choice of gasoline or E85 fuel without any degradation in performance or emissions.”
Overall, the new V6 engine is said to improve fuel efficiency on average by eight percent over the previous model.
To learn about Chrysler’s current lineup of Flex Fuel E85 compatible vehicles, click here.
Yes! Solar Solutions, a Propel Clean Fleet partner, regularly fills up their rigs with biodiesel. This Tuesday, we met Robert filling the Ford F350 in Citrus Heights. The truck sported a super-sized fleet biodiesel bumper sticker.
As a renewable energy company, Yes! Solar Solutions is glad to have access to an alternative fuel product for their current fleet of vehicles. As Robert put it, “anything to help the environment, right?”
The Audi Q7 TDI will be available in U.S. dealerships later this month. Buyers of the new 2009 diesel will qualify to receive a $1,150 Alternative Motor Vehicle Credit from the IRS — which may take a little of the edge off the hefty price tag. The premium package starts at $50,900, while the base price is a slightly more palatable $43,500.
With an EPA fuel mileage rating of 17 city and 25 miles per gallon highway, the Audi Q7 provides a 30% better fuel economy than gasoline engines of a similar size according to Audi of America.
Propel Clean Fleet partners Port Supply and Tree Cycle were filling up with biodiesel at Propel’s South Lake Union location in Downtown Seattle.
Port Supply Seattle is a local wholesale marine products supplier that’s been doing business on Lake Union for years. They are seeing more interest in marine applications for alternative fuels, and are currently fueling their land-based Sprinter fleet with biodiesel.
Also met up with Tree Cycle, an innovative Seattle company committed to safety, high quality tree care and environmental stewardship. Their owner Peter Gruenwoldt is deeply committed to preserving the health of our urban forest. More information about arborist services is available at www.treecycleseattle.com.
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Volkswagen can testify to the selling power of clean diesel vehicles–June brought in the highest sales of TDIs since the release of the current lineup. According to a recent press release, “the Jetta SportWagen once again posted its best sales month ever with sales of 1,982 units. Clean diesel TDI’s accounted for 81 percent of SportWagen sales, 40 percent of Jetta sedan sales, and 29 percent of Touareg sales.” Adding to their fleet of available clean diesels, Volkswagen plans the release of the 2010 Golf TDI this fall.
Positive sales from Volkswagen may lure more manufacturers to bring diesel technology to the American market. In fact, manufacturers such as Audi, BMW, and Mercedes already offer diesel models.
Today’s clean diesel vehicles are not the smog-belching, clickity-clacking diesel vehicles you may be picturing. New diesels have quieter engines, enhanced performance and reduced emissions. A recent segment on National Public Radio, Diesel Cars Attempt a Comeback with Clean Diesels, reports on the reemergence of diesel vehicles into the American market as a quieter, cleaner next generation.
We met Cacee filling up his rig at Propel’s Folsom Blvd location. The Flex Fuel Chevy Silverado is part of 
U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu recommends that all cars built in the United States should have the ability to run E85 Flex Fuel. Chu maintains that Flex Fuel compatibility is smart investment that will cost the industry little due to the small incremental costs needed for each new car produced.
A recent study conducted by John Lumkes of Purdue University confirms what many already know about biodiesel, it performs flawlessly. The study shows that there is zero difference in performance and durability for semitrailer trucks using B20, an industry standard blend of biodiesel and ultra-low sulfur diesel.
Propel community members share their stories. 
On Monday, June 1st, Propel hosted Seattle’s first Hydrogen Vehicle Show at the 
Ran into Mike Bradley, owner of 
We met Gam filling her Chevy Tahoe with Flex Fuel at the Folsom Blvd Propel pump—located at the Shell station at the intersection of Power Inn Road and Folsom Blvd.
A step beyond conventional hybrids, Peugeot gears up for production of the new HYbrid4 hybrid diesel 4WD prototype. The 3008 HYbrid4 crossover vehicle is scheduled for release to the European market summer 2011. Similar to the Toyota Prius and Honda Insight concept, the 3008 HYbrid4 will use regenerative power from braking to charge a lithium battery pack for the rear wheels and the diesel engine to drive the front wheels.
The 
Chrysler’s new Pentastar V6 engine lineup debuted at the New York Auto Show in the 
