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Comment by Michael Thies on April 10, 2013 at 8:59pm

On today's show we will feature Richard Scott of Prowler Boy Productions on a variety of topics including their Seasonal Twisted Tavern's Cavalcade of Car Shows Series 2013!  

The second featured person will be from Ford Motors:

Birgit Sorgenfrei, Ford Motor Company’s Auto Start-Stop Program Manager. 

Every year, traffic congestion in Atlanta produces 1.2 billion pounds of excess CO2 emissions and leads to more than 63 million gallons of excess fuel consumption.  Those findings among others originated in the Texas A&M Transportation Institute’s annual “Urban Mobility Report,” a study that also identified Atlanta as one of the ten most congested cities in the United States.

 

Auto Start-Stop technology addresses the issue and saves consumers fuel when the car is standing and running at idle.  When a vehicle comes to a stop, this feature will automatically switch the engine off, reducing gas consumption and exhaust emissions to zero. As soon as the driver releases the brake pedal, the engine restarts and is ready to go by the time the driver presses the accelerator pedal. 

 

If even just one out of every 10 commuters in the Atlanta area utilized auto start stop, traffic congestion would result in 2.8 million fewer pounds of CO2 emissions and 140,440 million fewer gallons of fuel consumed for the entire metro area every year. 

 

While this technology has the potential to bring significant benefits to the Atlanta community and around the country, it is not widely available at the moment.  In fact, outside of luxury vehicles, only the 2013 Ford Fusion 1.6 liter EcoBoost offers drivers the option of adding Auto Start Stop technology.  Even within the incredibly competitive and growing mid-size sedan segment, which includes the Toyota Camry, Honda Accord, Nissan Altima and others, the 2013 Ford Fusion 1.6 liter EcoBoost is the only vehicle where the technology is available.  And while luxury vehicles typically price this feature at several thousand dollars, Ford offers it for only $295. 

 

The potential impact of this technology, both in terms of the reductions in greenhouse gases for the community and the fuel consumption of Atlanta-area commuters, is a critical and compelling story for the Atlanta community.  Birgit Songenfrei, Ford Motor Company’s Auto Start Stop Program Manager, is available to discuss efforts to bring this technology to the marketplace in the Ford Fusion and the potential impact it can have here in Atlanta.