(May 16, 2010) It appears that new-vehicle buyers this year have been selecting a higher proportion of models with smaller, more fuel-efficient 4-cylinder engines than one year ago, according to Power Information Network (PIN) retail transaction data from J.D. Power and Associates.

According to PIN data, nearly one-half (46.5%) of the new vehicles purchased in the first quarter of 2010 were equipped with 4-cylinder engines, up almost 5 percentage points from 41.9% in the same quarter of 2009.

(May 16, 2010) NASHVILLE -- Automotive News reports that Nissan North America expects to recall 48,700 U.S.-built light trucks next week to fix a suspension part that may not have been welded properly.

The recall, which was still under discussion with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration late Friday afternoon, would involve some but not all 2010 Nissan Armadas, Frontiers, Titans, Pathfinders and Xterras and Infiniti QX56 models, said Nissan spokesman Colin Price.

The problem concerns a lower suspension control link that might not have been welded correctly, Price said. Under some conditions, a bushing collar could crack as a result. Nissan does not know of any accidents as a result of the problem.

(May 15, 2010) WARREN, Mich. — More than half of the 1,300 patents filed by General Motors Co. in 2009 are green innovations, proof of the rapid development of groundbreaking technology by GM researchers and engineers.

“The move toward electrification is requiring us to reinvent the DNA of the automobile, requiring massive amounts of innovation,” said Alan Taub, vice president of GM Global research and Development.  “There’s almost no component on the vehicle that is not being reinvented.  As a result, our green patent portfolio is helping us achieve world-class technological breakthroughs in the energy and environmental space.”

A study of the patent activity of the top-15 global automakers released by the Intellectual Capital Merchant Banc firm Ocean Tomo, LLC, hailed GM’s leadership in the development of green technologies.

(May 13, 2010) HONOLULU — Abundant hydrogen is available on the island of Oahu to power a ramp up of fuel cell vehicles through a General Motors collaboration with The Gas Company (TGC), Hawaii’s major gas energy provider, the two companies announced Tuesday.

TGC produces hydrogen along with synthetic natural gas and delivers it in its utility gas stream, with more than 5 percent hydrogen content today. Through a proprietary separation process, TGC plans to tap into its 1,000-mile utility pipeline system at key locations and separate the hydrogen for use by local fueling stations for fuel cell vehicles.

“This is the type of enabler that a hydrogen transportation infrastructure needs because it addresses both the source of the hydrogen and a feasible way to deliver it for fuel cell vehicle use,” said Charles Freese, executive director of GM Global Fuel Cell Activities. “The Hawaii infrastructure could eventually support tens of thousands of fuel cell vehicles.