Italdesign shows off world’s fastest hybrid in Geneva
Mar 7, 2009 Auto Tech, Green Technologies
Namir
Green becoming the buzzword most autoshows nowadays, design house Italdesign Giugiaro decided to reveal its new hybrid sports-car concept called the Namir (meaning “Tiger” in Arabic). The 2 door coupe with scissor style doors, developed in cooperation with British carmaker Frazer Nash, is claimed to be the fastest hybrid ever.
Power comes from a 814cc Wankel rotary engine and 4 electric motors providing a combined 362 horsepower, good enough for a top speed of 187 mph and 0-60 mph time of less than 3.5 seconds. Equally impressive are the Namir’s green credentials: a projected to deliver fuel economy of around 90 mpg (35 kmpl) and solar cells on the roof. Of course, those numbers are all theoretical since the Namir is simply a concept currently, but Fisker, you are warned! Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: Geneva Motorshow 2009, hybrid, namir
Nissan to bring diesel electric hybrid sports saloon to Europe
Mar 7, 2009 Auto Tech
Nissan Infinity Essence
There is always a debate going on whether hybrids are really leagues ahead in efficiency stakes compared to modern turbodiesels. Are they worth the extra costs in battery and complex management of the two motors?
Now Nissan has decided to put an end to the debate by plonking a diesel engine in its upcoming Infiniti Essence concept car on show in Geneva, which may go on sale in Europe from next year.
The concept car on display at the 2009 Geneva Motor Show had a twin-turbo, direct-injection 3.7-liter V6 with 434 bhp and a new electric drive design dubbed “3D Motor” contributing a further 158 bhp and backed by lithium ion batteries, giving a combined 592 bhp. But a Nissan spokeswoman said that the European market may get a production version with a V6 diesel hybrid system.
New York police gets hybrid patrol cars
Feb 26, 2009 Auto Tech, Stars, Policy and Finance
NYPD Nissan Altima
The New York Police Department is rolling out 40 Nissan Altima hybrids as patrol cars. The vehicles get around 35 miles per gallon, compared to the 16 mpg of the current fleet of Chevy Impalas and Ford Crown Victorias. The cars will be in operation within the next week and will be a small but significant greening step for the 3200 strong NYPD patrol fleet.
The NYPD will shell out more than $1 million, with 18 of the vehicles will be regular patrol cars costing 30 grand each, while the rest will be unmarked and come for 25 grand per car. More significant than the top speed of 113 mph will be their ability to cruise at speeds under 40mph solely on electric power, without consuming a drop of gas, ideal for inner-city driving conditions. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: hybrid, Nissan Altima, NYPD
Honda Insight goes on sale in Japan as cheapest hybrid
Feb 6, 2009 Auto Tech
Honda Insight
Honda Insight is now on sale in Japan at a price of 1.89 million yen (~$21000), making it the cheapest hybrid on the market, undercutting the Toyota Prius. The Insight is scheduled to go on sale around March is US and Europe., with US prices reportedly less than $20000.
With the new Toyota Prius expected to cost even more than the current model, the increased price gap will only help Honda achieve its 200000 per year sales target to this baby. With a hatchback bodystyle and a claimed 43 miles to the gallon, this car would have been a sureshot hit in the world of high fuel prices few months back. But it remains to be seen if this car will expand the falling market for hybrids with its aggressive pricing or merely cannibalise the sale of Prius and other hybrids. Read the rest of this entry »
Honda powers billboard ads on solar energy
Jan 7, 2009 Green Technologies
Honda ads
Honda has launched bilboards advertising its Accord Euro model illuminated by solar power and with green energy electric backup. Honda has partnered up with APN Outdoor to create Australia’s first eco-friendly outdoor advertisements. The solar panels provide power when possible and a backup electrical connection that gets its power from a green feed is there to pick up the slack.
Honda has invested in solar technology itself, with its Soltec subsidiary supplying solar panels for residential or commercial use. Few days back, we also heard rumors of Toyota working on a car to be powered by just solar energy. And last month saw a Japanese company launching a ship that used solar energy to power a small percentage of its needs.
Tags: australia, Honda, hybrid, Solar Energy
Hybrid-non hybrid divide in US
Jan 7, 2009 Auto Tech, Green Technologies
Ford Fusion Hybrid
More cities in US are showering small incentives on owners on hybrids, so as to encourage other people to follow their lead. Adding to hybrid-only HOV lanes and tax credits that are prevalent for hybrid owners, many cities are designating special parking spaces, reports USA Today.
According to USA Today, the parking “perks” can be found as widely as in Illinois, California, New York, and New Jersey. Few restaurants provide free valet parking for drivers of hybrid vehicles. Parking is reserved for hybrids at the more comfortable parking spots. Hybrids sometimes get free parking.
All this may have left many owners of non-hybrid but fuel-efficient cars fuming. And they may have a point. Hybrids are not always the nost fuel efficient under all conditions, with a few diesel minis on sale in Europe besting their mileage, especially on highways. And there is no logic of a lumbering hybrid SUV like Lexus RX400h or Ford Escape getting preferential treatment than a more efficient Honda Civic or Ford Fiesta.
London had last year changed its “congestion tax” laws to effectively make it a carbon tax, so all cars, irrespective of engine type, with emissions of less than 120gm of CO2 per km were treated equally i.e. were exempt from the 25 pounds charges.
With more and more manufacturers unveling hybrids in the coming months, let us see how long these incentives stay and do they really help in keeping people from gas guzzlers in low gasoline price situation.
Tags: carbon tax, fuell efficiency, hybrid
Lotus planning a hybrid sports car?
Jan 3, 2009 Auto Tech
Lotus Evora
Financial Times reports that Lotus, the highly regarded British makers of light, and fast sports cars may be planning to launch a hybrid sports car in near future. Reports speculate that the concept may be shown as early as the Geneva Motor Show in March. Lotus already builds the rolling chassis for the all-electric Tesla Roadster.
Though FT dubs it an electric sports car, it will actually be a serial-hybrid like the upcoming Chevrolet Volt, where the internal combustion engine will just be used to extend the range of batteries powering the electric motor and are not connected to the wheels directly. This may be based on the upcoming Evora platform, which is bigger than the Elise (on which the Tesla is based). But all the heft due to the batteries and the hybrid system will force Lotus to rethink its policy of lightness and agility of its cars. Read the rest of this entry »
First mass produced plug-in hybrid on sale — and guess what? it is from BYD, China
Dec 18, 2008 Auto Tech
BYD F3DM
While GM is still showing off its Chevy Volt prototypes, China’s BYD has gone ahead and launched the world’s first mass-produced plugin hybrid, the F3Dm. Though the design won’t win any beauty pageants, its cost of 149,800 yuan ($22,000) will surely help, when you compare it with Toyota’s Prius, which costs from 259,800 yuan.
A plug-in hybrid has an electric motor and a conventional (like gasoline) engine, just like the Toyota Prius or Honda Civic or other current hybrids on sale, but its batteries can be charged by connecting it to an electric socket at your home or office and this can be used to extend the range of the vehicle. The Chevy Volt is supposed to be a plugin hybrid, to be on sale in US from 2010, but amidst the current financial crisis, GM faces an uncertain future and has just announced temporary halt of construction at the factory scheduled to produce the Volt’s engine.
The F3Dm can run upto 100km on batteries only. It operates in three distinct modes: a battery-powered EV mode,a series-hybrid mode whereby the gas engine recharges the batteries while the electric motors drive the wheels, and a parallel-hybrid mode whereby both motor and engine drive the wheels. BYD Auto’s parent company is making lithium batteries for the car using lithium iron phosphate cathodes–a safer design than the lithium cobalt oxide cathodes used in cell-phone batteries. BYD is China’s largest maker of rechargeable batteries and it recently got investments from famed investor, Warren Buffet. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: BYD, China, hybrid, plugin hybrid
Big 3 honchos driving green vehicles for the Congressional hearing in US
Dec 4, 2008 Auto Tech
Ford Escape Hybrid
After being ridiculed during US Congressional hearings for bailout proposals for arriving in private jets, the CEOs of GM, Ford and Chrysler have had the good sense of planning their next arrival in Washington in greener cars.
Alan Mullaly of Ford is scheduled to drive down from Detroit in a Ford Escape Hybrid, a model which was used by Barack Obama. GM head honcho Rick Wagoner will drive from Detroit to Washington in a Chevrolet Malibu hybrid and then make the intra-city trip in a Chevrolet Cruze with the upcoming Chevrolet Volt underpinnings.
That leaves the people from Chrysler, which is yet to make public its choice for the CEO trip to Washington.
Fisker unveils more details about Karma hybrid sedan
Dec 3, 2008 Auto Tech
Fisker Karma
More juicy details have emerged from Fisker about its upcoming sports sedan, the Karma. First is a new rear image, which looks great. It is clean and classy, much better looking than other 4 door coupes like Mercedes CLS or Porsche Panamera.Next, as reported here earlier, the powertrain comes from GM.It is a 2.0L turbocharged Ecotec four-cylinder engine which develops 260 HP. This will be paired with a “Q-Drive” hybrid system which features two electric motors and a lithium-ion battery pack. The Karma will have enough battery storage onboard to power the vehicle 50 miles on battery power alone. Total power of the Ecotec engine combined with the two electric motors will be an impressive 408 HP. Enough for 5.8 second 0-100 kmph sprint and a (conservative in my opinion) top speed of 205 kmph.
Pricing for the Fisker Karma is set at $87,900 for the base model. According to Fisker, the first deliveries of the sedan will take place in November 2009. The pricing looks attractive, considering the looks and the technology. I just hope Fisker is more punctual than Tesla Motors, an electric car startup, that has been skidding from one problem to another (and which recently lost an arbitration against Fisker, where it had accussed Fisker with stealing its secrets). With a timely launch, the Karma could pip the Chevrolet Volt and get all the press coverage.
With the power output and torque figures disclosed, it should give the Porsche Panamera and the Aston Martin Rapide a run for their monies. Read the link to know more!
Tags: Fisker, Fisker Karma, hybrid