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Bentley has been awarded the Carbon Trust Standard for reductions of carbon, water use and waste production in manufacturing. The Carbon Trust is an organization that helps groups such as businesses and governments reduce carbon emissions, use of energy and resources, and waste output. From 2011 to 2013, Bentley reduced CO2 emissions by 16 percent per car manufactured, curtailed water use by 35.7 percent, and saw significant waste reductions. Darran Messem of Carbon trust says, "Bentley is clearly passionate about continuing to improve its environmental performance, which is reflected by the fact the company has consistently invested in new technology." Read more in the press release below. Chevrolet is giving 12 Volts to MBAs Across America. The organization will use the range-extended electric cars in its efforts to help MBA students learn from and work with small business owners. As part of the MBAs Across America program's first year, four students drove 8,000 miles to provide entrepreneurs with free business counseling. The program has expanded, and this year, teams of MBAs will use the Volts to travel to 25 cities to offer their services. Learn more about the partnership between Chevrolet and MBAs Across America in the press release below. A professor from the University of Michigan has found fuel cycle analysis to be too flawed to be relied upon for measuring CO2 impacts of transportation fuels. Professor John DeCicco of the university's Energy Institute feels that the flaws in calculating the carbon footprint of liquid fuel production and combustion make such lifecycle analysis impractical. He suggests, instead, to focus to carbon capture. Since capturing CO2 directly from a vehicle is probably never going to happen, DiCicco believes the solution is to capture carbon from the atmosphere in sectors outside of transportation. Says DiCicco, "Research should be ramped up on options for increasing the rate at which CO2 is removed from the atmosphere and on programs to manage and utilize carbon fixed in the biosphere, which offers the best CO2 removal mechanism now at hand. Such strategies can complement measures that control the demand for liquid fuels by reducing travel activity, improving vehicle efficiency and shifting to non-carbon fuels." Read more at Green Car Congress. Global transportation energy consumption is expected to increase by 25.4 percent by 2035, according to a report by Navigant Research.

Bentley spreads its wings, hires jets to fly car bodies to Britain under Brexit

FRANKFURT — Bentley, the luxury carmaker owned by Volkswagen, has booked five Antonov cargo jets to help overcome potential supply bottlenecks in the event of a disorderly exit of Britain from the European Union, the carmaker said on Wednesday. Car manufacturers are securing additional supply routes as policymakers in Brussels and Westminster seek to strike a deal to determine the future trading relationship with continental Europe after Britain exits the European Union. Bentley, which makes high end sports cars, buys 90% of its components from continental Europe, and sells around 24% of its cars into Europe, Chief Executive Adrian Hallmark told the Financial Times' Future of the Car summit. "We have spent two years planning. We have five Antonovs that we have on reserve to fly bodies to Manchester," Hallmark said, adding that in addition to shifting car bodies by air, Bentley has hiked the level of spare parts stored for production. "We used to run just-in-time with two days stock. Now we have 14 days stock. That's 14 working days, so that's three weeks of stock," he said. The company has booked additional warehouses and planned new logistics routes in case traditional supply methods are hampered by bottlenecks. If Britain fails to secure a negotiated trade agreement with European policymakers, Bentley would be able to absorb 10% import tariffs by raising prices and cutting costs. This would be less damaging than supply disruptions. "It is not existential as long as everything flows. Stopping flows is far more dangerous than Brexit tariffs," Hallmark said, referring to supply bottlenecks. This year Bentley expects to sell more than 10,000 luxury cars and to reach breakeven, mainly thanks to a rebound in demand in China, Hallmark said. China sales are up 35% when compared with before the COVID-19 crisis. Sales in Europe and the United States up 15% Hallmark said. "Overall we are in a position where we will do well over 10,000 sales this year," he said via Webcast. "We are on the cusp of going beyond breakeven."

The myth and mystery of The Bentley Cocktail

The other day, we were trying to find ways to delight a visiting relative who requested a cocktail made with apple brandy (don't ask), and after poring through Mr. Boston and The Playboy Bartender's Guide we were fortunate enough to come across a recipe. This particular concoction piqued our interest not just because it was a means to get rid of that bottle of Calvados that had been malingering on our bar cart, drawing fruit flies and quizzical scorn, since it was gifted to us at the launch of the Peugeot 407 in 2004. It was because of the automotive connection. (Duh.) The cocktail is called The Bentley, and it has a sexy, if probably apocryphal, origin story. According to the legend, the Bentley Boys – rich, Jazz Age, car-loving, British playboy racers – invented the drink after their first of five Le Mans victories, in 1924. Canadian-born WWI hero and Olympic swordsman John Duff and local English Bentley test driver and Bentley 3-Liter Super Sport owner Frank Clement were the only British team and vehicle in this second-ever endurance race, surrounded by more than three dozen French drivers and cars (and a couple of Germans). But despite typical British maladies ­– broken shocks, seized lug nuts, and a dysfunctional gearshift – and a slew of fires, punctures, and chassis-snapping wrecks amongst the field, they persevered. Arriving at their celebratory party at their club near their adjoining apartments in London's exclusive Mayfair neighborhood, they discovered that all of the alcohol had been consumed, with the exception of Calvados and Dubonnet. Mixing these together in equal parts, and adding some bitters, they allegedly invented a drink to settle their affluent nerves. Like most folkloric explanations for the existence of some gross cocktails – the wisecrack-inspired Tom Collins, the whole-cloth-concocted Seelbach – the tale seemed as compelling to us as it was ridiculous. Fortunately, among our friends are many with mastery in mixology, so we decided to put the mystery (and recipe) to them. "To be honest, I'd never even heard of the cocktail," said Tokyo-based international beverage expert Nick Coldicott, the most skeptical of our potation pundits. "And that story smells fishy to me. It seems unlikely that a party venue would have enough of a booze collection to have Calvados and Dubonnet, but not enough whisky or gin or champagne to see the party out.