In early September, we reported on the government’s proposed “symbolic change” to the fuel efficiency standards and asked you to contact your representatives asking for real changes. Many of you did (thanks to those that copied us on your letters and mentioned us) as did countless others that read our article thanks to bloggers spreading the word. It is good to see the government responding to the pressure from voters and not listening to lobbyists on this topic, but this is only a first step.

Even with these small required improvements, the U.S. will still be well behind other nations in average fuel efficiency. Automakers claim that this will be difficult and costly, but that should not be the case.

Improvements in powertrain efficiencies over the past 15 years would have shown large improvements in gas mileage in the States, but U.S. automakers have drastically improved the weight of vehicles during this same time, resulting in a net zero effect from these (and other) efficiency improvements.

Many people generally buy much larger vehicles than they need because 1) they have a false belief that they are safer 2) they feel that they may need the extra room at some point 3) marketing programs have done a great job of convincing people that they are “hip” if their vehicle can do something even if they will never use the vehicle for that purpose.

On safety topic, one common example heard is that “I will be crushed if I am driving a Civic that gets hit by an Expedition or Hummer”. There is an increased risk to smaller vehicles due to the ever increasing size of trucks/SUVs, but these larger vehicles have many additional risk factors that make them as dangerous, if not more (e.g. rollovers). Every vehicle has pluses and minuses in terms of risk, and in the case of the potential impact of larger vehicles causing more damage, insurance companies are beginning to raise rates even high on these vehicles, so the actual cost is increasing even more than by gas prices.

The next two desires that lead to people buying larger vehicles than they need go together. Most SUVs will never be taken off road (and pulling off a paved road into a grass parking lot or field does not count, since even a Dodge Neon can do this). Yet, SUVs and trucks have become “cool” because they could go through rugged trails if the desire (and time) was there. There are times when being able to load six to twelve people, with bags, will need to be done, but these are rare. Almost all consumers could save large amounts of money (purchase price, maintenance, fuel) by buying a smaller vehicle and renting or borrowing a larger one for those few instances.

The higher fuel prices seen in the States is quickly causing consumers to rethink vehicle choices. Automakers have responded by increasing the marketing and talk of hybrid vehicles, but major financial journals have said that the extra cost of hybrids do not make sense for most consumers and likely will not for a number of years.

Automakers are businesses and should be run as such, but they have a responsibility to the community at large to make vehicles for consumers’ actual needs. This means improving fuel efficiency technologies, lowering the weight of vehicles and anticipating consumers’ future needs. With the ever increasing shift from automakers to larger vehicles, this has not happened. Free market forces work well in the long-term, but sometimes it takes the government to step in and give a gentle nudge. The first automaker (foreign or domestic) to offer a real solution for consumers will see a definite improvement in sales and loyalty.

Northrop Grumman, known as a world leading defense company, currently employs around 1,200 people in the Huntsville, Alabama area near Redstone Arsenal. In a continued commitment to the community, Northrop Grumman will be building a new five building, $80 million complex in Huntsville to consolidate its various offices, laboratories and R&D centers.

Crestview Aerospace, based in Florida, plans to open a new facility in Fairhope, Alabama to build and modify rotary wing aircraft for existing contracts. Much of Crestview Aerospace’s growth can be attributed to an increased demand for the high-tech modification of military aircraft and a partnering with Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, Bell Helicopters and others.

When looking for a U.S. home for its expansion, European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company (EADS), based in France, was recently drawn to Alabama’s aerospace industry. EADS’s new facility in Mobile, Alabama will produce aerial refueling tankers. The state’s incentives and Mobile’s easy access to a deepwater port made the decision to move to Mobile an easy one, according to EADS representatives.

GKN Aerospace announced in July that it will expand its Tallassee, AL facility by 120,000 square feet by 2007. GKN is known for designing, testing, manufacturing and assembling a wide-range of composite structures for civil, military and commercial and space programs. As part of the incentive package for the expansion, the state contributed $1.5 million and the city of Tallassee contributed $250,000 towards the expansion, with GKN investing $250 million. In an Expansion Management article, Paul Crocker, VP and General Manager of GKN Aerospace in Alabama, said “The work force in Alabama is about the best I’ve worked for in 35 years.” And “The work ethic of the whole work force is tremendous. They work hard and they work well.”.

With offices located near Huntsville and Birmingham, The Technology Suits is well associated with Alabama’s growing position in the technology, defense and aerospace industries. Many in the country view Alabama as the deep South and behind the times, but this could not be further from the truth. Alabama does have a strong cultural heritage but has seen huge advances in higher education and technology related business in the past few decades.

The aerospace and defense industries have been in north Alabama for decades. However, the relatively recent entrance/expansion of the automotive industry by Honda in Talladega, Mercedes Benz in Tuscaloosa and Hyundai in Montgomery has helped to really push the next-generation industries in the state. This new wave of aerospace and defense expansions will help to ensure that Alabama keeps its new position as a leader in technology.

Recommended Resources:

• How to Start a Business in Alabama (Smart Start Series)
• Alabama Investment and Business Guide (US Business and Investment Library)
• Alabama Business Directory (Alabama Business Directory)
• Business Alabama(Magazine)
• Smartstart Your Alabama Business (Smartstart (Oasis Press))

For those unfamiliar with CAFE requirements, these rules govern the minimum average fuel standards that each automotive company must meet with the vehicles it creates. While the government has made minor adjustments to the requirements for each category of vehicles, these rules are far out of sync with the original intentions.

The most substantial changes in the auto industry have come from the type of vehicles purchased by consumers. The CAFE rules originally offered minimal fuel requirements for trucks and vans to minimize the financial impact on businesses, while increasing requirements for consumer vehicles. At the time of creation, these classes of vehicles amounted for only a small percentage (single digits) of total vehicles on the road, with consumers purchasing almost entirely cars. Since then, the consumer market has made a drastic shift towards trucks and vans. As a result, the lower standards allotted for these “business class” vehicles have now become the dominant vehicles on the roads.

In addition, the overall fuel economy trends have essentially hit a plateau over the past 12+ years. Green Car Congress recently issued a report summarizing the most recent findings on the area. The most interesting take away from their research is that at a time when the automobile industry claims it is spending tremendous amounts of money on R&D into new fuel sources all research into gas powered engine efficiency seems to have stopped.

The release of many of the hybrid vehicles the attempts at creating fuel cell vehicles should be applauded, but these advances simply are not large enough, and they do not offer enough of a benefit to consumers. Most hybrid vehicles on the market today cost several thousand dollars more than their counterparts on the market. Even with the current high gas prices, it still takes regular driving for more than three years for consumers to begin to see any real benefit from ownership of a hybrid.

Given the additional cost of most hybrid vehicles, consumers have been reluctant to purchase these vehicles in real numbers. Not to mention, that the new mini-SUV hybrids, such as the Ford Escape, appear to offer only minimal fuel efficiency improvements under the driving conditions of many of their owners (e.g. less stop-n-go traffic).

Hydrogen power vehicles do hold the promise of a best case scenario, with zero pollutants and long distances between refills. Automotive companies promise that these vehicles will begin to be rolled out in the next five to ten years, and the State of California is hoping to have small numbers on their roads as early as 2007. However, industry experts do not believe that we will see significant volumes for much longer due to the lengthy time to build the refueling infrastructure, and that assumes that the safety concerns can be overcome.

Will hybrid vehicles be the way of the future? Will consumers be forced to live with a continuing of the current fuel efficiency technology?

Without a real catalyst, the market is likely to see more of the same until hydrogen vehicles hit the market. The drastic increase in gas prices recently may serve as such a spark to the market by pushing consumer demand, but this is unlikely. The restructuring of the CAFE standards have the possibility of accelerating innovation in fuel efficiency. Unfortunately, the government has not announced specifics for the proposed restructuring, and industry analysts expect the changes to only amount to a splitting of current categories with little overall impact.

The time has come for our politicians to drastically increase the CAFE requirements on new vehicles. The technology is available for at least a 10% to 20% increase in current standards. A significant increase in the standards would encourage the core parts of the industry to further increase funding in engine technologies and would offer a real opportunity for new technology firms.

Most consumers have never contacted their elected officials for anything more than contesting a local parking ticket. If you are feeling the “pinch at the gas pump”, please contact your congressmen/woman and encourage them to increase the CAFE standards and fuel efficiency requirements that automakers must follow (an email only takes 2 minutes, and a call only take 4 minutes – be sure to include your home address for you opinion to count). For those that work in mechanical engineering and technical fields, the opportunity exists for you to make your mark.

Please post back with links to advancements and technology available today. We are also interested in hearing about fuel efficiency projects currently underway.

Lawmakers continue to read outdated research that only evaluate mobile devices and new technology in isolation. Are cellphones distracting? Yes. Does using a headset with a cellphone reduce the driver’s distraction. No. In fact, using a headset generally makes a user feel more comfortable while talking on the phone, which causes them to use the phone even more.

The more complete research on driver distraction have looked at the level of driver distraction for a wider range of activities often performed in the care: adjusting the radio, talking/dialing the phone, talking to passengers in the vehicle, writing notes, reading directions, putting on make-up, eating, etc. Almost across the board these studies have shown that the level of distraction among these activities is very similar.

Now as the Government’s own studies begin to show that hand-held cell phone usage is no greater danger than other activities, what do you think will be the future of driver distraction laws? Will we see these laws removed from the books and the topic be over or will we see broader driver distraction laws (e.g. covering eating while driving)?

NHTSA finds driver distraction is still a problem, even with hands-free devices.