News analysts have been talking about a “tipping” point when drivers have had enough with the ever rising price of gas and begin to change their driving habits. Many say that we have reached or that we have just passed that “tipping” point.
But what about the rich? Are they unaffected simply because their pocketbooks appear to be full?
One way to discover whether the rich have reached the breaking point is to see what those who cater to them are doing. One major icon for the rich in the field of automobiles is Bentley. Well, reports are coming out that Bentley’s chief executive officer is talking about developing more fuel efficient vehicles for its line.
Franz-Josef Paefgen, Bentley’s CEO, said at the recent Geneva Show that all Bentley vehicles will be able to run on renewable fuels by 2012. The first Bentley with an engine that can burn ethanol will be on the market in 2009. And Bentley will be adding new technologies to its cars featuring 12 and 8 cylinder engines to reduce fuel consumption.
Moreover, he said that the Bentley cars will also achieve 15 percent reductions in carbon dioxide emissions.
Paefgen also mentioned that Bentley will be offering a new powertrain that improves fuel efficiency by 40 percent. Experts say that with that much improvement, they believe Paefgen is talking about a hybrid system. It just so happens that VW has hybrid systems in development for VW and Audi models that will be released in late 2008 or early 2009.
Volkswagen owns Bentley and it is expected that much if not all of the technology referred to by Paefgen will be coming from VW and Audi. So, expect to see Bentley’s carry direct fuel injection, smaller displacements with turbo or supercharging and dual clutch transmissions. Some expect Bentley to be using diesel engines, too. If that’s the case, VW has them.
Our take? We guess the rich are not immune! Or is Bentley reacting to the more stringent laws being passed by the European Union, European countries and the U.S. concerning fuel economy and carbon dioxide emissions?