ipro 356: plug-in hybrid electric vehicle - Community List - Illinois ...

Isopomoto IIT EnPRO-356, Fall 2006
While table 12 above shows the overall nationwide average prices for
conventional and alternative fuels on a per gallon basis, table 13, shows the same on an
energy-equivalent basis.
Table 13: The cost of conventional and alternative fuels on an energy-equivalent basis, June 2006 12
Fuel Average Price,
(gasoline gallon
equivalents)
20
Average Price,
(diesel gallon
equivalents)
Average Price
($ per 10 6 BTU)
Gasoline (Regular) $2.84 --- $24.58
Diesel --- $2.98 $23.13
CNG $1.90 $2.12 $16.50
Ethanol (E85) $3.43 $3.83 $29.74
Propane $2.88 $3.21 $24.95
Bio-diesel (B20) $2.67 $2.97 $23.10
Bio-diesel (B2 –B5) $2.67 $2.97 $23.10
Bio-diesel (B99-B100) $3.71 $4.13 $32.10
It is seen that the prices for alternative fuels in terms of energy-equivalent are
higher than their cost per gallon because of their lower energy content per gallon.
However, consumer interest increases as the price differential per gallon increases, even
if that differential does not translate to savings on an energy-equivalent basis.
Outsourcing of Component Manufacturing / Sharing of Parts and Designs
The return on the billions of dollars invested by the Big Three in acquiring foreign
carmakers may be found in the increasing amounts saved by the outsourcing of design
and engineering to overseas offices along with the sharing of component designs across a
wide range of models. A growing manufacturing trend is for American carmakers to
gather design work and components from foreign plants and manufacture or assemble
vehicles domestically. Achieving the ―American look‖, which may include significant
changes in bodywork and interiors, is of major importance to car sales in the U.S.
Attempts to market the same car, identical in every detail, across global markets have
resulted in dismal failures.