Boating Industry Canada December 2015 - (Page 4)

INSIGHT BY ANDY ADAMS expect this CAFE to Serve Up Both tasty treats and Problems for Boaters THIS CAFE is not a restaurant, it's an acronym for Corporate Average Fleet Economy, (CAFE). It is a programme of the American Environmental Protection Agency, (EPA) and it applies to all the automakers who want to sell their vehicles in the United States. Basically the Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) target is for the automakers to reach a combined vehicle fuel economy average target of 54.5 mpg by the 2025 model year. In other words, based on the individual fuel economy ratings of each vehicle produced by a given manufacturer, the mathematical average will have to reach 54.5 mpg or better to reach the target. If you're reading this magazine, it's almost certain that you are something of a "gearhead"; a person who loves engines, technology and the mechanical bits that now power our lives in ways that our ancestors could never have dreamed of. Actually, have you ever dreamed of a vehicle that gets 54.5 mpg? Does a Smart car get 54.5 mpg? Perhaps it does but consider this - the CAFE rating is 54.5 mpg for US gallons which are smaller than our Imperial gallons and that's an average across every vehicle. An auto producer will need to have large production volumes in vehicles that do much better than 54.5 mpg in order for them to average out at 54.5 and still sell any full-size sport utility vehicles for example. I'm a positive guy and a believer, so I'm betting that the car manufacturers can achieve that CAFE target of 54.5 mpg, but they'll have to do a number of things to get there. First, cars will have to be much smaller and lighter to still deliver at least suitable performance levels with much smaller and more efficient engines. Another certain bet is that these new little engines will be either turbocharged or supercharged to really boost the horsepower per litre of displacement ratios, to generate sufficient power to get the job done. Tiny, high-revving, boosted engines may not adapt well to marine use like big American V8s have in the past, and they will certainly be expensive engines too. Then, the 10-year CAFE time frame doesn't leave our North American population much time to adjust our expectations for safe, luxurious, spacious vehicles. So, to push us in the right direction as consumers, I expect the car companies will have to take those big, luxurious and powerful vehicles and really shove the price up. History has proven that we all vote with our wallets. So, is this all negative? I promised a few "tasty treats" that the CAFE targets will force the automakers to develop. Maybe smaller engines developing higher horsepower may be good for boats and boating but in the past, large numbers of boat engines have been adapted from car or truck use because the big production volumes gave us big cheap horsepower. In the marine industry, the outboard motor manufacturers have done a simply brilliant job in the last decade or so, of creating high horsepower outboard engines of their own design and manufacture that may reduce or even eliminate the need to be adapting gasoline engines from cars. Maybe the purposedesigned and built marine outboards will be the solution to let us keep on boating - to heck with converted car engines. Among the various ways the vehicle manufacturers will help to save energy and meet the CAFE requirements is to move to things like LED lighting which consumes much less energy than conventional light bulbs, and higher efficiency HVAC systems saving the engine loads of big alternators. There is even technology being implemented in things like waste exhaust heat recovery systems that could warm your boat cabin or power your water heater. But clearly, there will be problems. For people who want to trailer a boat, even if they have the horsepower to pull, the vehicles may not have the actual size, weight or braking capability to safely pull the boat and trailer loads that cottagers and anglers can easily pull with current vehicles. Overall, one thing is certain - big changes are coming! Andy Adams - Editor To read the digital version of Boating Industry Canada anytime visit www.BoatingIndustry.ca and click on Digital Magazine in the menu bar. 4 Boating Industry Canada DECEMBER 2015 http://www.BoatingIndustry.ca

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Boating Industry Canada December 2015

Insight
Industry News
Ad Nauseam
Impact - Mark Mattson: Meet the man behind the mission to keep Canada’s waters clean, from coast to coast to coast. – by Elizabeth Kerr
Feature - Legend Boats CRM: Jamie Dewar details for us how the use of a customer relationship management (CRM) tool at Legend Boats has elevated their already top notch customer service and sales efforts to the next level. – by Jamie Dewar
Made In Canada - Waubaushene Pump and Welding: Andy visits Waubaushene Pump and Welding and discovers how they have become a Canadian-made solution with an International reach for vacuum pumpout systems. – by Andy Adams
Made In Canada - Acuva Technologies: Making safe onboard drinking water commonplace. – by Glen Cairns
Made In Canada - Seaweed Marine: Seaweed Marine Products introduces us to their Tend'r Roller® system, a marine roll on davit system. – by Glen Cairns
ABYC - Ethanol and Biobutanol: Biobutanol as a substitute for ethanol in marine fuel is closer to becoming a reality than you might think. – by Jeff Wasil

Boating Industry Canada December 2015