Green Fleet Roundup: Chevy, GMC, Tesla, Subaru, Kia, Ford

Chevrolet and GMC will offer bi-fuel versions of the 2015 Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra heavy-duty trucks and dedicated compressed natural gas versions of the 2014 Chevrolet Express and GMC Savana full-size passenger vans next year. The bi-fuel versions of Silverado HD and Sierra HD are equipped to run on either gasoline or natural gas.

The Oct. 3 Tesla Model S fire was caused by a piece of road debris that hit the front of the sedan, damaging the battery pack and starting the blaze, reports AutoBlog. In an email to the blog, Tesla says the battery packs did their job by isolating the fire and limiting damage to a small section in the front of the car.

Butamax Advanced Biofuels, a joint venture between DuPont and BP, and Highwater Ethanol have begun to retrofit Highwater’s ethanol plant in Lamberton, Minn. for the production of biobutanol. Butamax and Highwater have also entered into definitive agreements for license of Butamax’s patented corn oil separation technology.

Ryder System has signed a new Flex-to-Green Lease agreement for 10 diesel-powered refrigerated straight trucks with Pennsylvania Macaroni Company. With a Flex-to-Green lease, Pennsylvania Macaroni receives the maintenance and service benefits of a Ryder full-service lease with the option to convert the vehicles to natural gas after one year. With an existing fleet of eight Ryder lease and six company-owned vehicles, Pennsylvania Macaroni will begin to take delivery of the new leased vehicles in the fall, to replace four of their company owned and six current Ryder leased vehicles.

Truck and bus manufacturer Scania has launched its Eco-roll system, which calculates when a truck should use gravity to roll in neutral downhill. The system can lower customers’ fuel costs by up to 2 percent, the company says.

Subaru of America’s first-ever production hybrid vehicle, the XV Crosstrek Hybrid (pictured), will arrive in dealerships in late 2013. The 2014 XV Crosstrek Hybrid pricing starts at $25,995.

Kia Motors has also announced plans for its first all-electric vehicle in the US. The carmaker says it will offer the Soul urban passenger vehicle in select markets in 2014.

Ford has begun mailing checks to C-Max Hybrid owners as compensation for the vehicle’s lowered fuel economy rating, the New York Times reports. In August, Ford lowered the 2013 C-Max Hybrid’s rating to 43 miles per gallon in city and highway driving from 47 mpg.