With regular gasoline prices fast approaching $4 a gallon in Northeast Ohio, a lot of people going to the annual Cleveland Auto Show that opens today will have fuel economy on their minds as they ooh and aah at the latest cars and trucks.
They’ll have plenty of fuel-sipping cars to look at — many of the displays in the I-X Center place gas-saving vehicles front and center.
Creating more fuel-efficient engines is also helping jobs in Northeast Ohio. Ford announced Friday at the show that it will be retaining 250 jobs at its nearby Brook Park engine plant to build a powerful but economical engine for its cars and popular F-150 pickup truck.
Some of the vehicles at the show don’t use gasoline at all. There are a handful of new electric cars, including a high-end Karma from specialty California-based manufacturer Fisker Automotive, and the more readily accessible Nissan Leaf.
Hybrids abound. Chevrolet has a couple of its new Volt cars alongside a display showing how its unique battery and gasoline-charging engine system work.
And with shale-derived natural gas becoming ever more plentiful, driving prices down to the lowest in at least 10 years, manufacturers and other vendors are showing off models that can run on either gasoline or compressed natural gas.
“The oil shale stuff is going crazy,” said Terry Karges, vice president of sales and marketing for Venchurs Vehicle Systems, a Michigan company that converts gasoline-powered vehicles to run on natural gas.
Natural gas is about $2 a gallon cheaper than the equivalent in gasoline, Karges said.
Venchurs is converting Ford trucks to run on either compressed natural gas or gasoline at the flip of a switch, he said. There’s no loss in power or driveability while running on natural gas, he said.
The cost of the conversion is high — about $10,000, Karges said.
But payback comes at about 100,000 miles at current fuel prices, he said.
Right now the conversions are popular with owners of fleet vehicles, such as airport shuttles, that typically put 500,000 to 600,000 miles on a vehicle and have a central location where they can easily refuel, Karges said.
Whereas four or five years ago people sought to convert a car or truck to compressed natural gas largely because it is environmentally cleaner than gasoline, now “it’s all cost. It’s all savings,” Karges said.
“We used to reach out to [prospective buyers]. Now they’re calling us,” he said.
Ford transfers jobs
Ford announced that 250 hourly employees, members of United Auto Workers Local 1250 now at the company’s Engine Plant 2, will be added to a new shift at Engine Plant 1 to build EcoBoost engines.
“Plant 2 closes down in May,” said Michael Gammella, president of the UAW local.
Ford uses turbochargers on its EcoBoost four- and six-cylinder engines to boost performance while getting good fuel efficiency.
“These are 250 Ohioans who will get to keep their jobs,” Lt. Gov. Mary Taylor said as part of the announcement.
The state gave Ford a $9 million jobs retention tax credit as part of the engine plant production change.
Dodge Dart returns
Elsewhere at the show, Chrysler has a 2013 Dodge Dart on display. The compact four-door sedan goes on sale in a couple of months, with a base price of $15,995, said spokeswoman Wendy Orthman. People will be able to choose three different engines, three transmissions and numerous other options, she said.
The car will be built in Illinois.The Dart is really the first child of the Fiat-Chrysler “marriage,” she said, referring to the Italian automaker that owns a majority share of Chrysler.
Chrysler is resurrecting the Dart name, which first appeared in the 1960s. The new Dart will replace the Dodge Caliber.
General Motors is showing off a new Chevrolet Malibu, a subcompact Spark, a redesigned GMC Acadia SUV and a couple of new high-performance Cadillacs. The company also has a compact Buick Encore crossover that will go on sale next year.
The annual car show, sponsored by the Greater Cleveland Automobile Dealers’ Association, typically kicks off the spring selling season for dealers in the region.
Jim Mackinnon can be reached at 330-996-3544 or jmackinnon@thebeaconjournal.com.
