New Launches
Show Report: CV Show 2012
What a cracking event the 2012 Commercial Vehicle Show turned out to be, thanks in no small part to Ford… Read More
Mitsubishi L200 4x4 Long-Term Test 1
We has just taken delivery of a Mitsubishi L200 4x4 Club Cab for long-term appraisal… Read More
Ford Transit ECOnetic Brief Test
We’ve been putting a SWB 100hp 2.2TDi Euro 5 Transit 280 ECOnetic through its paces… Read More
Renault Kangoo ZE 2011 European Launch
Renault is at the forefront of manufacturers offering a mass produced factory-built electric van… Read More
Fuso Canter 2011 European Launch
Fuso has completely revamped its range of light and heavy truck Canter chassis and chassis crew cabs… Read More
Iveco Daily 2011 European Launch
Iveco has introduced new, latest generation diesels to its Daily range, along with detail changes inside and out… Read More
Ford Transit 2011 European Launch
Ford takes the iconic Transit to the next stage with an all-new range of 2.2-litre Euro 5 diesels… Read More
Volkswagen Crafter 2011 UK Launch
VW’s large panel van has undergone a serious makeover with changes to the front-end styling and the cab interior, as well as new Euro 5 diesels… Read More
Ford Transit Connect Electric Brief Test
We spent a day with the battery-powered Connect to get a better idea of what it’s like to live with in its natural, urban environment. Read More
Mercedes-Benz Vito E-CELL Brief Test
Currently undergoing trials with selected fleet customers in the UK, we managed to get behind the wheel of a battery-powered Vito E-CELL… Read More
Volkswagen Crafter 2011 European Launch
Volkswagen’s Crafter has undergone a midlife makeover and gets a new front-end along with new Euro 5 engines… Read More
Santa slips into new Ford eco-sleigh
With tongue firmly in cheek, the elves in the Ford communications department have put together the following festive press release, and it’s a cracker.Lapland, Finland, 24 December 2011
Ford is offering to make it a greener Christmas with a concept sleigh that would dramatically downsize Santa’s carbon footprint. Santa’s new ride, packed with cutting-edge Ford technology, would allow Rudolph and friends to enjoy a well-deserved retirement while Santa makes his annual deliveries with style in an environmentally friendly new sleigh.
“They may look cute, but Santa’s team of nine reindeer create a staggering 214,670 tons of CO2-equivalent emissions each year, so something had to be done to help him re-discover his greener roots*,” said Ford car designer Paul Wraith.
The benefits of switching to the concept sleigh go beyond the environmental. Travelling such huge distances — some 200,237,360km — means Santa currently spends in excess of £122 million on carrots to fuel his reindeer each year. The impressive fuel efficiency of the 1.0-litre EcoBoost would reduce Santa’s fuel costs by 90 per cent to just £12 million.
While Santa himself was unavailable for comment, Mrs Claus explained: “I am not looking forward to telling Donner and Blitzen the news, but the polar bears in the North Pole will certainly welcome the Ford EcoBoost-powered sleigh.”
Mrs Claus continues: “l would of course back anything that means my husband can get home that bit quicker. Getting presents in a shorter amount of time to all the good children each year may even give him time to reconsider a few names on the naughty list. But I can’t promise.”
Innovative engineering means the new EcoBoost engine delivers performance to rival a traditional 1.6-litre engine, but with significantly improved fuel efficiency and lower CO2 emissions of just 114g/km.
The 1.0-litre EcoBoost cylinder block also fits onto a single sheet of A4 paper, but still delivers up to 125hp and 170Nm peak torque (with 200Nm overboost), giving it the highest power density of any Ford production engine to date.
“Our tongue may be firmly in cheek as we launch this sleigh design, but our heart is in the right place,” Wraith said. “At Ford, we’re dreaming of a Green Christmas. We’re already thinking of the concept sleigh mark II. With electric vehicle battery technology developing all the time, we are keen to get to work on a zero-carbon version of our sleigh.”
Calculations & Assumptions
Reindeer emissions: The approximate size of Earth is 150,000,000km2 and Santa will have to visit an estimated 267,300,000 houses. In order to successfully deliver a toy to every child, Santa and his team of reindeers will need to travel 200,237,360km on Christmas Eve. A single reindeer travels on average 3,000 miles (4,827km) per year and emits 25 kg of methane (CH4).
Using a conversion factor of 0.005kg CH4/km, results in an estimate a total 9,335 tonnes CH4 per reindeer team. This figure is equivalent to 214,670 tonnes of CO2. Figures developed by sharing assumptions developed by environmental group Green500.
1.0-litre EcoBoost emissions: The above compares to total CO2 emissions for the 1.0-litre EcoBoost (125hp version at 114g/km CO2) of 22,827 tonnes. Opting for the less powerful, but more fuel efficient 99hp version (109g/km CO2), would save Santa an additional 1,000 tonnes of CO2, but admittedly means his deliveries are likely to take him longer to complete.
Cost of food for reindeer: Average reindeer travel 4,827km a year, divided by 365 (days of year) equals 13.2km travelled per day. Divide 200,237,360km travelled on Christmas Eve by 13.2 equals 15,169,497 days to travel that distance. Multiplied by 12 lb (the average amount of food a reindeer eats a day) = 182,033,964 lb of food. This multiplied by £0.67 (average cost of 1 lb of carrots) equals £121,962,756 to fuel the reindeer.
Cost of petrol for EcoBoost emissions: 110hp EcoBoost engine travelling 200,237,360km on Christmas Eve, divided by 100 (km) and then multiply by 5.0 (litres) equals 10,011,868 litres of fuel and at £1.218 per litre it equals £12,194,455.
* Before the now infamous red snowsuit , created by Thomas Nast and popularised by Coca Cola, Santa Claus was more often associated with a green snowsuit.
