There are 10 cars which are eligible for the grant for plug-in cars. Five of these cars are available since 2011 while the other half will be rolling out to showrooms this year. During the its first year of implementation, there were 1,052 registrations of vehicles eligible for the purchase assistance. The manufacturers of the vehicles are the one applying for the grant so there will be a lag between the registration and the application for the grant.

The purpose of the program is to help consumers purchase vehicles with ultra-low CO2 emissions which without the grant might not be affordable. The owner will also make most of the vehicle as these green vehicles have lower running cost.

The grant for plug-in vans qualify vehicles which pass certain and strict criteria with regard to emissions, safety, and performance. The application for the grant has been opened and manufacturers are encouraged to send in applications so their vans will be part of the assistance scheme. The government expects to release a list of vans which qualify for the grant in the near future.

The government of UK allocated around $614 million to push for the purchase of green cars and vans with very low emission. The funding includes around $123 million which will be used for research and vehicle development, roughly $46 million for infrastructures, and around $460 million for consumer incentives.

The UK has around 2,500 charging points installed thru efforts of the government and other private institutions. The private sector plants to put up 4,000 more charging stations around the United Kingdom by this year.

The Obama government has cleared a path to take so the goals will be achieved to meet the deadline. The plan will require carmakers to improve the fuel economy of their fleet by as much as 5% every year, just like what is being done in several states and in California. The stricter government requirements on fuel mileage standardize the rule from the east coast to the west coast.

The target for the 2012 to 2015 models was not yet clear for the auto makers until the suggested framework came out. The 5% increase with the 2011 models translates to 27.3 mpg on average according to the EPA and the Transportation Department.

The levels of improvement for the production cars of 2012 to 2016 will be leveled up from 33.6mpg to approximately 38 mpg. Light trucks are expected to have fuel mileage figures jump to 28.33 from 25.0 mpg.

The 2016 models will also need to meet the emission standards that will be in effect. The law dictates that the average carbon dioxide emission should have a combined figure of 250 grams per mile.

Consumers are on a win-win situation, aside from the cleaner air, they can get as much as $3000 savings in fuel spending over the expected years of their vehicles. According to government studies, it will take three years for consumers to recover the higher cost of spending for the new vehicles that will meet the stricter fuel economy and emission standards.

The total economy of the U.S. is also looking at an equivalent savings of taking about 58 million cars off their roads. The air will also be 900 metric tons of emissions cleaner.

Audi will introduce several technologies by mid of 2009. This will include a stop and start feature and energy recovery through the brake system.

The stop start system will just be like what others have developed. The system of the car will be off when the vehicle stops and the clutch is released. The engine will be turned on again once the driver engages the clutch. This technology is not yet available for the automatic transmission coupled engine.

The stop start system aims to reduce the carbon dioxide emission by 5g/km and about 0.2L of fuel for every kilometer. Audi will first use this technology on the A3 TFSI 1.4, 2.0L A4, and the A5.

The brake system with energy recovery will be first seen on the manual transmission Audi A3 1.4 TFSI, A4, and the A5 both on the basic and Cabriolet. It is also used on Q7, Q5, and the Audi A6.

The car manufacturer will also make use of a modular efficiency system which basically will encourage drivers to be more efficient while behind the wheels. This will be done through a series of feedback channels that will give the driver relevant data about fuel consumption.

The new Audi cars will also give the driver a cue when to shift the gears. About 30% of  fuel efficiency can be attributed to the different driving habits of different individuals.

The proposal urges automakers to have a fleet average of 35.5 mpg when the proposal is set into law, a standard which is 10 mpg higher that today’s rules. Obama also proposed a cut on carbon emissions from vehicles which play a major factor in worsening global warming.

Car manufacturers hear the gunfire at the starting point of a race to make lighter vehicles and efficient car engines like diesels and hybrids to meet the new guidelines. Experts point out though that the new call for better standards will have a $600 top up in the cost of production of every vehicle.

Looking from another vantage point, the US will be able to save 1.8 billion barrels of oil by 2017. The assumption is based on the average daily consumption of the US market of as much as 20.7 million barrels per day. The savings is equal to about 87 days of US oil usage.

Under the Bush administration, the 35 mpg mark is a goal set to be achieved at least by 2020. The call for better fuel economy comes on top of the March 2009 standards. The March guidelines set the 2011 vehicle models to have at least 27.3 mpg fuel mileage which is 8% better than today’s standards.

Car manufacturers have been opposing new fuel efficiency standards but have settled to agree to the new goals as they will have guidelines effective in all states with California included. Currently, automakers follow a separate guideline for the standards by the state of California. Legislators from California have agreed to follow the proposal from the federal government.