June 23, 2010

Jack Kazmierski

Tomorrow’s Technology Today

Industry experts who spoke at the recent Fleet Challenge and Green Fleet Expo, held in Toronto on June 9 & 10, painted a picture of a future where electric vehicles and complex public transportation systems abound, leaving us with clean air, pristine streetscapes and lots of green spaces.

Whether or not this vision will become reality still remains to be seen. In the meantime, fleet managers are left wondering what options they can explore today when looking for affordable, clean and fuel-efficient modes of transportation for their organizations.

Hybrid or hype

While hybrids have been touted as the panacea for our growing green concerns, fleet managers are finding out that they’re not appropriate for all fleet needs. Hybrids are ideal for urban fleets with lots of stop and go driving, but put them on the highway or run them in colder parts of Canada, and hybrids simply don’t make sense.

Recently, hybrids have moved out of the spotlight, making room for electric vehicles - the next step in our never-ending quest for cleaner and more energy-efficient vehicles. Although not yet available for sale here in Canada, electric vehicles are coming and they’re sure to attract the attention of fleet buyers looking for greener modes of transportation.

While we are all excited about the promise of electric propulsion, in all honesty these battery-powered cars still fall into the “future” category since we still don’t know what kind of infrastructure will be needed to keep them charged and running, how reliable and practical these vehicles will be, how they will function in our Canadian winters, or what the total cost of ownership will be.

Diesel

With so many uncertainties, many fleet managers are turning their attention to an old favourite - diesel. An affordable alternative to hybrid technology diesel vehicles are not a futuristic dream. They’re available today, and with new ultra low emission clean diesel standards, these vehicles are not only fuel-efficient, but very clean and very green.

Forget everything you know, or think you know, about diesel vehicles. If you still think they’re noisy, anemic and smelly then you’re clearly living in the past. Today’s clean diesels are refined, quiet, and powerful.

“The technology is long proven and the emissions speak for themselves,” says Bruce Lindsay, CPO and Fleet Manager, Volkswagen Group Canada Inc. “The government agencies keep looking at clean technologies - electric and hybrid - but they forget about what is already in front of them today: clean diesel technology.”

Corporate fleets with a green mandate are looking for vehicles that fit the needs of their drivers while offering clean technology that will help them minimize their carbon footprint. Diesel vehicles address all of the above, and with new clean diesel technology, emissions are no longer a concern.

“We like to do what we call the ‘white rag test,’” says Lindsay. “We run the engine with a clean white shirt over the tailpipe. Pull the shirt off and the shirt is clean. There’s no soot, no smell. This is not your uncle’s old Jetta from twenty years ago.”

Government fleets

While most government fleets have jumped on the hybrid wagon, many are starting to explore diesel as an alternative or as an adjunct. “Hybrids have their own place, and we will continue to buy them, but I’m looking at diesel for other applications,” says Shaf Khan, Manager, Fleet Management Centre, Ministry of Transportation. “Diesel engines are very comparable when you look at fuel consumption numbers.”

Khan is very impressed with the new clean diesel technology available today. “Diesel vehicles are more efficient than gasoline, and with new standards in place, emissions from diesel engines are very low - including NOx, CO2 and greenhouse gas emissions. Moreover, diesel engines last longer. If you look at the lifecycle of a diesel engine, you can put a half million kms on them, and they will still go. So overall, if you do a lifecycle analysis - gasoline vs. diesel - with diesel the payback comes a lot sooner, and it’s more economical to own a diesel.”

While diesel is not the answer to all fleet applications, the efficiency of these vehicles has some fleet managers wishing there were more diesel vehicles available here in Canada for sale.

“If there were an application for police vehicles, I think diesel would be the way to go,” says Brian Cowan, Manager of Fleet Services for the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP). “If someone were to build a turbo-diesel pursuit car we would certainly look at it.”

Cowan knows how efficient diesel-powered vehicles are from personal experience. “ I owned a  diesel sedan myself for many years and I thought it was a great car, very efficient.”

Although the OPP likely won’t have diesel cruisers on their fleet in the near future, they have invested in diesel for other applications. “We actually have a lot of diesel light-duty trucks on our fleet, and that has allowed us to extend the lifecycle by about 100%,” Cowan adds. “The engines are more robust, they last longer, and typically the rest of the drivetrain on diesel vehicles is more robust because of the high torque. So overall, these are better vehicles.”

While we all look forward to a greener future with electric vehicles that consume zero fossil fuels and emit zero emissions, this utopian vision is still years, if not decades away. In the meantime, fleet managers looking for a practical, cost-effective, fuel-efficient and clean alternative today are taking a closer look at clean diesel technology - tomorrow’s technology, available today.