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We've seen the BMW's extraterrestrial i8 winter testing before, but that was nothing but a concept car frolicking in the snow. This time it looks like the real deal, gullwing doors and all. More »
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Amongst Ford's numerous powertrain choices for the 2013 Ford Fusion is the the 2013 Ford Fusion Energi plug-in hybrid, a vehicle that may actually be the world's most fuel efficient car. WIth an anticipated EPA mileage of more than 100 MPGe it will be more efficient than the Volt and potentially even the Prius plug-in hybrid. It also looks like a real car. More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5874136&view=rss&microfeed=true The $95,900 Fisker Karma plug-in hybrid set to launch last year, then this April, now won't roll into U.S. customers' driveways until June, and then only for "VIPs." Lesser Fisker owners will get theirs after July. More »
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This video of the BMW i8 caught winter testing in Sweden proves a few things: The $150,000 plug-in hybrid sports car is radically short. And cold weather can do a number on your bladder. More »
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"The [Volvo V60 Plug-in Hybrid] as you see it today won't make its way to these shores" due mostly this country's diesel laws and buying habits. We're taking his comments to mean a non-diesel version isn't out of the question. More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5768200&view=rss&microfeed=true The Volvo plug-in hybrid wagon's offering 285 diesel+electric AWD hp. Maybe we do care... [Volvo] More »
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After saying the $95,000 Fisker Karma luxury plug-in hybrid would launch in February, Fisker has pushed production back to March, and dealers say don't expect a car before April. Oh, and it's key tech supplier missed a debt payment. More »
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The three-wheeled Can Am Spyder's done well by porting the jet ski experience to the roadway. Now the company's working on a plug-in hybrid version they say will match the Rotax 998cc V-Twin powered model. Green triangulation anyone? More »
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An Indiana man who runs the largest Prius recycling center in the country wanted a plug-in Prius that could match the utility of his first car, an El Camino. The results may disturb you. More »
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Fisker, the plug-in hybrid startup that's won $828.7 million in government and private backing but delayed production of its Karma plug-in three times, has managed to assemble the first Karma commercial. If it's on video, it must be real, right? More »
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Yeah, OK, so it's a horrible joke. And yeah, we kind of already used something like it for the first crash of the new Lotus F1 car. And yeah, the 414E is pretty cool. Just call us slaves to tradition. More »
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There's a lot we don't know about the hybrid Porsche 918 Spyder concept. Is its 500 HP combined or gas-only? Does performance really tail-off as charge runs down? So what do we know? Porsche might actually build this. More »
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The plug-in hybrid Porsche 918 Spyder supposedly makes over 500 HP and returns 78 MPG thanks to a 3.4-liter V8 and three electric motors. We're guessing that's been figured the same way as the Chevy Volt's 230 MPG fuel economy. More »
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There's some concern the pending crop of plug-in hybrid vehicles will put a strain on the US power grid. Relax, they're not going to sell enough of them for it to matter. More »
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Among the eco-minded set there's been a lot of speculation over a possible Toyota Prius Wagon. Is this photo from Woody's Car Site it? We'll let GreenCarReports untangle the rumors. More »
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The DoE just gave Fisker a $528 million loan, part of which will bring the Fisker Karma to market in 2010, while most will go to Project NINA, a $39,900 (after tax credits) plug-in hybrid. [Fisker] More »
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In order to get that 230 MPG city mileage, GM expects Chevy Volt owners to recharge at home every single night. Here's how you'll do that. More »
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Volvo is joining GM in confusing customers by promoting a car they can't buy until 2012 right now. Unlike the Chevy Volt, the Volvo isn't an EREV, just a PHEV with a diesel engine. More »
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We took to the Detroit Auto Show basement to drive the 120 MPG Ford Escape Plug-In Hybrid. Our impressions below. More »
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Johnson Controls released their iPod-inspired RE3 Lithium-Ion battery-powered RE3 Concept today at the Detroit Auto Show. More »
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Apparently, even in light of Chrysler's announcement this morning, Honda thinks all this plug-in hybrid stuff is nonsense...at least until battery technology is up to the task, reports Bloomberg News. Masaaki Kato, head of Honda's research unit, said "For battery-powered vehicles to become more widespread, more popular in the market, we feel battery technology needs to advance further." Kato considers the rapid release of a plug-in hybrid when technology isn't quite up to the task could be a PR disaster, and he hints at such, remarking that the expectations for plug-ins are big and "we don't know that that could be sustained right now." Instead, Honda will continue work on its hydrogen fuel-cell FCX Clarity, which the company considers less technologically challenging than developing advanced batteries. More »
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As everyone in the automotive media was crawling over the production Volt yesterday, Automotive News reports that Toyota was complaining to congressional leaders about the vehicle. Namely, about pending legislation that seems to benefit the new Chevy plug-in to the detriment of others, particularly the upcoming Prius plug-in. At issue is a tax package that would make tax credits available to plug-ins with at least 6 kilowatt-hours of stored electric power — a level the Volt would reportedly reach but other plug-in hybrids currently planned would not. More »
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Toyota, teaming up with EDF Energy, begins road trials today of the first plug-in hybrid vehicle in the UK. The trials will give Toyota real-world driving test data on its PHEV, while EDF will get to test its public charging stations, 40 of which have already been installed throughout the country — as well as provide yet another marketing win for the automaker by making them the first major manufacturer to test plug-ins in the UK. Plug-in test cars will be given to EDF employees to drive in the company fleet, ensuring the vehicles will get the crap beaten out of them and that any major problems can be discreetly rectified by the partner organizations. Full release after the jump. More »
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Remember when the first shots of the Chevy Volt dropped yesterday? It was like a pinup calendar of hunky GM engineers; you could barely see the car itself for their chiseled features and toothy grins. Well here’s the Volt de-hunkified, courtesy of Edmunds Inside Line. We’re still waiting for Edmunds to call us back, so we don’t know if GM slid them this shot under the table or if they spent hours photoshopping all the man-on-Volt action out. Either way, this is the Volt as it will be when it’s officially unveiled later this week. More »
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These shots of a production Chevy Volt interior have leaked from a GM internal presentation. Immediately apparent is the glossy white iPod-esque IP with flip-up nav/charge status display. There’s also a prominent center-mounted computer-like on/off button, but we don’t know if this will start the car or just the computer system. The 2011 Chevy Volt will be GM's first plug-in hybrid and a huge risk for the company; so does this interior make the grade? More »
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Even before he saw today's new Chevy Volt pictures, New York neurologist Lyle Dennis liked the idea of the 2011 Chevy Volt. In fact, he liked it enough to start GM-volt.com more than a year ago, in the process collecting the names of more than 33,000 prospective buyers for the Chevy electric car. The greatest interest comes from California, Texas, Florida and Michigan — no surprise there. What is surprising is that General Motors has apparently been watching Dennis' activities closely, even meeting with him and a handful of other Volt enthusiasts at the New York Auto Show this year. So what's the good doctor's motivation in all this? More »
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A new study by the Institute of Transportation Studies at UC-Davis reveals only one-third of US car buying households have both the necessary charging infrastructure and the desire to purchase a plug-in electric hybrid. The comprehensive study, designed to determine more about the early plug-in market, found that most consumers know very little about plug-in hybrids or think that existing hybrids on the market are already plug-in capable. But, it's not all bad news for lovers of the slide toward electrics. More »
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The Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) is planning to install 200 electric car charging stations during fiscal 2009, with an additional 800 stations planned within the next three years, according to a report today on the Nikkei Net Interactive service. The stations, expected to cost $36,500, will utilize a TEPCO-developed quick-charge process that after a five minute charge provides enough juice for 25 miles, or 37 miles using a ten minute charge. Mitsubishi and Subaru are expected to release electric vehicles in the Japanese market next year, so dealers for both companies have signed on to receive charging stations, along with Japanese retailer and flux manufacturer Aeon. [Nikkei via Green Car Congress] More »
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Plug-In Supply Inc. has just introduced a $4,995 Toyota Prius plug-in conversion kit which uses a pack of twenty PbA20-12 lead-acid batteries. Good for 5kWh, the battery pack should last more than 800 charge cycles, or about two years. As you would expect from something with the word "lead" in it, the batteries weigh 360 lbs — over twice as much as the standard batteries on a Prius. But the system does make it possible to drive a deadly silent 10-15 miles on pure electric power and achieve mileage of up to 100 MPG. So, is this the ultimate Prius? More »
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Motor maker Raser Technologies will team up with utility provider PG&E for a pickup truck that can get 100 MPG, according to the company's press release. The plug-in hybrid utilizes full battery power for the first 40 miles, then lets a gas-powered generator kick in enough juice for another 300 miles. Through the process of simple arithmetic, the truck has a total range of 340 miles on a full tank/charge. More »
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Andy Grove, retired CEO of chipmaker Intel, apparently has grown bored of sailing the South Pacific and decided to insert himself into the debate over the future of transportation. A proponent of electric vehicles, Grove wrote, "The beauty of electric power is its ability to be produced through multiple sources...and its 'stickiness' — it can be transported only over land." This statement, showing Grove thinks AA batteries arrive from China over a distant land-bridge, tell us Andy may not have all the facts he needs. More »
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The combination of a fuel-sipping diesel engine with plug-in hybrid technology is something that hasn't really been utilized — until now. This is the Volkswagen Golf Twin Drive Concept, and it looks even more promising than VW's late Golf TDI Hybrid from Geneva. Evidently, the Twin Drive can be run in electric-only mode for a range of up to 30 miles using an 82 HP electric motor. But, there's also a 2.0-liter turbo-diesel that makes 122 HP which can take over once the batteries have been drained. When the two powerplants combine, you become Captain Planet have a parallel hybrid with about 174 HP. The range is aided even further by regenerative braking to charge the batteries, and start-stop technology that shuts the engine off when idling in traffic. But is all of this just a techno' showcase? Or will it actually be made available for normal people to save fuel with? More »
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GE's looking to play with some new hybrid battery technology in the automotive space, so what better man for them to reach out to than former GE executive Bob "The Builder" Nardelli — the current CEO of Chrysler? That's exactly who the company all about the light bulbs and bringing good things to life is reaching out to. According to Automotive News GE's teaming up with Chrysler on a project to demonstrate a technology they're calling a "dual-battery energy storage system." What this one-time project means, after the jump. More »
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Toyota appears to be starting the expectations-management game for its upcoming plug-in hybrid vehicles after being stung in the past by complaints from Prius owners of lower-than-advertised mileage. Bill Reinert, national manager of Toyota U.S.A's advanced technology group, yesterday told a Brookings Institution/Google conference panel, "when we see the (claims of) 100 mile-per-gallon stuff, not everybody's going to get 100 miles per gallon." Mark "The Mullet" Fields, Ford Motor Co. president for the Americas, made what we think was the most important point to be made at the conference — that plug-ins need to be a "national priority." However, that message was lost when he next asked for a government handout, saying "significant government funding is needed for development of domestic production of advanced batteries and for retooling of plants." Sorry Mark, John McCain doesn't have any money to hand out yet — even if your battery can go 100 miles per charge. More »
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Remember when we ran the spy photos of that not-so-much-sexy Chevy Volt mule yesterday? Remember how there was a certain assumption this one carried that all important E-flex powertrain? Well, according to GM E-Flex spokesman Rob Peterson, what we saw was only a ride and handling mule — this is the E-Flex equipped Malibu. Okay, so the color is different. This proves nothing! Regardless, the Chevy Volt is still pretty far out on its timeline — so far out that Popular Mechanics doesn't even know GM is working on exactly what they're asking for in their latest opinion piece. True, the Volt's got a second powertrain in there, but for the most part it does what they're asking for. Hmm, maybe they should just stick with getting Wert to lobby for better concept cars or, you know, rendering flying cars every other month. More »
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One of the advantages of the internal-combustion engine (or the external-combustion engine, for that matter) is that you get vast amounts of waste heat for use in making the vehicle's passenger area nice and toasty when it's cold out. However, an increasingly large group thinks that an engine technology that squanders two-thirds of its energy on waste heat leaves something to be desired, so legions of engineers are now working on plug-in hybrids and full electric cars. Thing is, without all that hot water coming out of the engine all the time, how do you keep the vehicle's occupants from freezing their tuchuses off while at the same time refraining from sucker-punching the batteries by making heat in the same manner as your toaster? Antarctic-grade parkas will do the job, but the engineers seem to think that the next generation of thermoelectric semiconductors are the way to go. [MIT] More »
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"Holy shit, my boss just drove into the auto show" When I went down to the booth of BYD Auto, a Chinese car maker trying to break into the US market, all I hoped for was a few honest answers to my questions. The motto of the company is "Build Your Dream," but that last thing I'd dream was that BYD's Chairman would drive me through someone else's press conference during an illegal, surreal and American-media first test drive around the floor of the Detroit Auto Show. Breaking all the rules of proper auto show behavior, BYD Auto's chairman Wang Chaunfu hopped in the driver's seat of his prototype hybrid and took off with me in the passenger's seat, thus proving to the world that he's ready to show that his company's car works. The story of how one small upstart Chinese automaker turned our Detroit Auto Show upside down with the turn of one key below. More »
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Ford has gone through on its promise to lead on technology that other automakers have already developed, delivering the first of 20 Plug-In Escapes to Southern California Edison. The Plug-In Escape achieves 120 mpg when the lithium-ion batteries are full charged (for the first 30 miles at least). The little hybrid gets the Ford advanced technology livery, which sort of flies in the face of the "I didn't feel the need to talk about hybrids" theme in their commercials. All things considered, this is a step forward, if only a small one. Press release below the jump: More »
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Aptera announced today that it would be producing both an all-electric and hybrid version of the 300 MPG prototype we told you about in July. The Aptera Typ-1 plug-in hybrid uses an all-electric drive train coupled to a small diesel gas engine and will achieve 300 MPG, while the all-electric version has a total range of 120 miles. The company claims that the car (categorized as a motorcycle by the Dept. of Transportation) in either form will be available for under $30,000! Aptera is Greek for "Wingless Flight," so let's hope this isn't a flight-of-fancy. The company will take a $500 reservation deposit if you live in Southern California (and has taken 400 already), with the rest of us SOL for now. Full press release below.
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