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I just missed out on joining Dr. Bob of Rentech on a cross country rode trip from California to Washington D.C. Still I'll be following his progress daily. Here is the travel log and Washington Auto Show details. The Audi A3 TDI had no modifications done except the addition of the 100 Percent synthetic RenDiesel fuel. This fuel can be made from waste products including table scraps, grass clippings, human and industrial waste.
The Rentech, Audi, and Diesel Power Cross Country Travel Log
Driving on 100% synthetic RenDiesel, Dr. Bob left Santa Monica, CA on Wednesday, January 12th for a 300 mile drive to Las Vegas, NV. He refueled in Las Vegas in preparation of a 285 mile drive to Richfield, UT the next morning. He arrived at his home in Aurora, CO on the Friday afternoon, and slept for the next 12 hours.
On Thursday, January 20th, Dr. Bob will leave Denver at about 6:00 a.m. He’ll drive 600 miles to Kansas City, KS where he’ll refuel at Molle Audi Friday morning. He plans to leave Kansas City on Friday and drive to Louisville, KY for about 506 miles. He then plans to refuel at Blue Grass Audi on Saturday morning. He’ll leave Louisville on Saturday and drive 577 miles to Washington DC.
Day 1: Santa Monica to Las Vegas
We shipped RenDiesel to Santa Monica Audi where Chris Navarro put in 10 gallons of RenDiesel.
I left Santa Monica at 2 p.m. and drove up the 405 to the 5 and then the 14 to Palmdale in moderately heavy traffic. Once in the desert, driving was smooth along 138 to Victorville where I picked up the 15 to Las Vegas.
Caption: Refueling the A3 at Santa Monica Audi
On Hwy 8, which is slightly rolling, the Audi got between 44 and 57 MPG on the dashboard monitor.
Once on Hwy 15, I was able to cruise at 75+ MPG all the way into Vegas. The car averaged 37.6 MPG for this nearly 300 mile drive.
Day 2: Las Vegas to Richfield, UT via Zion National Park Desert Audi in Las Vegas was very helpful. I didn’t have a funnel to refuel the car yet, so I asked them for assistance and if they would help store fuel for future drives. Julie Aleman was very excited to contribute to this drive and she, Rick and Art of the service team assisted in the refueling effort.
Refueling at Desert Audi in Las Vegas
We put in 10 gallons of fuel and the gauge showed about 7/8 of a tank.
I drove to St. George, UT at just over 75 MPH and averaged 39 MPG during the climb from Las Vegas to the high desert. After St. George, I went through Zion National Park, where I used to hike when I was a graduate student at UC Irvine.
Caption: At the Virgin River loop in Zion National Park
Caption: Near Checkerboard Mesa in Zion National Park
Next stop was in Richfield, UT where I spent the night before continuing to Green River, UT. The A3 averaged 40.2 MPG during this 329 mile leg of the journey.
Day 3: Richfield, UT to Aurora, CO
I continued to Green River along Hwy 70. This is a very long, desolate road with essentially no services between Richfield and Green River. I was essentially empty (0 miles to empty) when I got into Green River. This was a 450 mile drive with an average speed of 48 mph and an indicated 38.0 MPG for the leg from Richfield to Green River.
In Green River, I purchased a funnel (finally!) and added the remaining 15 gallons of fuel I had in the vehicle (the amazing back areas of the Audi held five 5 gal cans in DOT shipping containers). The car was essentially full, but I still didn’t see fuel in the filler spout, so it could have taken a wee bit more diesel.
The drive to Denver over the Rockies was uneventful. The Audi pulls the hills in 6th gear without downshifting. This is a testament to the torque of the engine and the energy content of the fuel which does not limit the Audi’s torque output.
I arrived home in Aurora, CO after 1148 miles of driving and consumed under 30 gal of fuel for a minimum fuel economy of 38.2 MPG. We shipped 30 gal of fuel to Santa Monica and I refueled the first time with the tank less than 1/8 full and ended up in Aurora with 3/8 tank remaining.
Overall, this was a very comfortable drive in an excellent vehicle getting outstanding fuel economy and producing fewer emissions than other vehicles. Audi and Rentech, a great combination.
Caption: A very dirty car at my home in Aurora, CO. 1100 miles on synthetic fuels with no issues and good fuel economy.
Washington Auto Show Details Wednesday, Jan. 26, 2011: Capitol Hill
Thursday, Jan. 27, 2011: Walter E Washington Convention Center
Two days that unite automotive industry leaders with public policy makers to address the critical issues of the day for a smarter, greener, cleaner and safer automotive future.
Jan. 26: "Green Car Summit"
Caucus Room, Cannon House Office Building: 1:30-3:30 p.m.
Produced by The Washington Auto Show® and Green Car Journal, the Green Car Summit convenes industry veterans and visionaries to address realistic pathways toward achieving higher fuel efficiency, energy diversity and, of course, the urgent need for U.S. energy security.
This year's illustrious panel of experts features:
• Max Baloga, Vice President, Engineering US, BMW Group;
• Susan M. Cischke, Group Vice President, Sustainability, Environment and Safety Engineering, Ford Motor Company;
• D. Hunt Ramsbottom, President and CEO of synthetic fuel producer Rentech;
• Michael O'Brien, Vice President of Product and Corporate Planning, Hyundai Motor America;
• Don Hillebrand, Director, Center for Transportation Research, Argonne National Laboratory;
• Dr. Joseph Romm, Senior Fellow at the Center for American Progress; and
• Arun Boskata, President, EV Services, NRG Energy.
The Green Car Summit will be co-moderated by Ron Cogan, editor and publisher of Green Car Journal and editor of greencar.com and Warren Brown, automotive columnist for The Washington Post.
A full day of news-making events featuring keynote speaker Mark Reuss, North American President of General Motors. The day offers a private preview of The Washington Auto Show to government, industry and media officials and culminates in an evening Sneak Peek Reception highlighted by a special tribute to legendary automotive designer Carroll Shelby.
8:00 a.m. - 8:55 a.m. Breakfast sponsored by Mazda:
Rebecca Lindland, IHS Automotive; Ron Stettner, Mazda VP of Sales
9:00 a.m. - 9:15 a.m. New Research Briefing on Gas v. Diesel - Total Cost of Ownership:
Lester Lave, Tepper School of Business, Carnegie Mellon University
9:20 a.m. - 9:35 a.m. "Baltimore Grand Prix Goes Green" Jay Davidson, President of the Baltimore
Grand Prix, and Scott Atherton, President/CEO of the
American Le Mans Series
9:50 a.m. - 10:00 a.m. Golden Quill Award, Washington Automotive Press Association
10:00 a.m. - 10:30 a.m. Keynote: General Motors North American President Mark Reuss
10:35 a.m. - 10:50 a.m. Press Announcement
10:55 a.m. - 11:15 a.m. Ford: Susan M. Cischke, Group Vice President, Sustainability,
Environment and Safety Engineering;
Paul Mascarenas, Chief Technical Officer and Vice President
of Research and Advanced Engineering
11:30 a.m. - 11:50 a.m. BMW: Jim O'Donnell, North American President
11:55 a.m. - 12:15 p.m. Toyota: James H. Colon, Vice President,
Toyota Product Communications, Toyota Motor Sales, USA, Inc.
12:20 p.m. - 1:20 p.m. Volkswagen: Jonathan Browning, President and CEO
LUNCH sponsored by Volkswagen
1:25 p.m. - 1:45 p.m. 2011 Launch of the Advanced Technology SuperHighway
1:50 p.m. - 2:00 p.m. Electric Drive Transportation Association (EDTA): Brian Wynne, President
2:05 p.m. - 2:15 p.m. Li-ion Motors: Leilani Münter, race car driver and prestigious
environmentalist, and Steve Goldberg, Director of Media Relations
2:20 p.m. - 2:35 p.m. Novozymes: Adam Monroe, North American President
2: 40p.m. - 2:55 p.m. Auto Data Direct: President Jim Taylor
3:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m. SAE International Plenary Session
Moderator: Karl Simon, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Panelists: Ronald Medford, Deputy Administrator, NHTSA;
Scott Miller, CEO, North America, Synovate; Margo Oge,
Director, Office of Transportation and Air Quality,
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency; Michael J. Stanton,
President and CEO, Association of International Automobile Manufacturers,
Inc.; Edward C. Tonkin, 2010 NADA Chairman and Vice President,
Ron Tonkin Dealerships
5:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. Sneak Peek Reception
7:30 p.m. Reception Keith Crain/Automotive News Lifetime Achievement Award
8:15 p.m. Dinner Tribute to: Carroll Shelby
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