Filed under: Government/Legal, Safety
The last time we checked in on the battle of refrigerants, France had enacted a registration ban on some Mercedes-Benz vehicles because their air-conditioning systems were loaded with R134a, which was found to be harmful to the environment by EU tests. Now, other EU states are considering banning the substance, according to Automotive News, as they push for a new refrigerant, R1234yf, to be used in new vehicles across the board.
EU testing has shown that the new chemical refrigerant, R1234yf, is safe to use in automobiles and less harmful to the environment than R134a. But after testing it independently, Daimler claimed that R1234yf could be the primary source of a vehicle fire in certain crash scenarios, if the pressurized refrigerant line broke and leaked onto the hot exhaust system. Germany, going against the EU ban, still allows vehicles with R134a to be sold within its borders.
In a meeting in Brussels with the EU’s Technical Committee on Motor Vehicles on Wednesday, representatives from the 28 member states discussed the issue and agreed that all vehicles sold within the EU must conform to the law. They stated vehicles that have already been sold with R134a must be withdrawn, just as France did by not allowing the registration of Mercedes-Benz A-class, B-class and SL cars built after June.
More talks between France and Germany will be organized to find a solution to the problem. But in the meantime, according to Automotive News, Daimler said that the vehicle ban in France alone could detract two percent from its global sales. Read the official EU press releases from the meeting in Brussels after the jump.
Continue reading More EU states may block Daimler cars as refrigerant battle heats up
More EU states may block Daimler cars as refrigerant battle heats up originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 20 Jul 2013 09:04:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Continue reading “Report: More EU states may block Daimler cars as refrigerant battle heats up”
If you have even a passing interest in the world of two-wheeled transportation, you likely already know all about Ace Cafe. The place started as a roadside diner, but quickly evolved into a haven for young London bike nuts after World War II. As a result, the name is now synonymous with the café racer phenomenon. Mark Wilsmore took the reins at Ace in 1993 and completely restored the structure in 2001. Now, the little diner serves as a hub for thousands of riders from around the world every day.
Van Petten was kind enough to give us some insight as to what it has been like living with a hydrogen vehicle for the past several months. Long story short, the F-Cell’s three high-pressure hydrogen gas cylinders (holding about 8.2 pounds of fuel) are good for about 150 “real world” miles between fill-ups in the Los Angeles basin, says Van Petten. While that operation circle isn’t bad (especially compared to the pure-EV offerings), consumers will likely demand at least 250 miles between fuel stops if the technology is to replace combustion engines. Van Petten says his F-Cell (thankfully painted silver, not fluorescent green like the World Drive models) has been fun to drive and perfectly reliable. It also gets more than its share of attention – he spends a lot of time explaining the difference between his F-Cell’s fuel cell technology and hydrogen vehicles that consume liquid hydrogen via combustion (like the BMW Hydrogen 7).
