Subaru Introduces New Plug-in Electric Concept At Hokkaido G8

Subaru introduced a new electric concept vehicle at the G8 Summit in Hokkaido. The vehicle is being called the Plug-In Stella Concept and is based on the R1e that the company has been testing for nearly a year. The four-seat Plug-In Stella offers a top speed of 80 km/h and a range of 80 km on a single charge, and is powered by a 40 kW electric motor.

The Plug-in Stella features the quick-charge Li-ion batteries that were developed for the R1e, and enables the batteries to be charged to 80% capacity in about 15 minutes. The batteries do not develop a memory and will not be damaged by receiving a less-than-full charge. Drivers can plug the vehicle in for about eight hours to receive a full charge, and the car’s charging system ties into regular household current.

Last Fall, Subaru introduced a zero-emission electric concept at the Tokyo Motor Show that featured a 65mW electric motor and a range of about 200 km. That concept, the G4e, also featured the quick-charge Li-ion batteries borrowed from Subaru’s R1e development platform. The G4e, which seats 5, eliminated side-view mirrors in favor of rear-view cameras to reduce drag on the vehicle and increase the vehicle’s range.

Source: Motor Authority
Photo: Subaru

PennDOT Inks Deal To Put Ten Hybrid Buses On The Road In 2008

The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) has placed an order for ten hybrid buses. The gas-electric hybrids seat 18 passengers each and will take delivery of the vehicles in 2008. PennDOT has an option to purchase an additional 15 buses.

The Aztec/StarTrans Citibus offers a 40% increase in fuel efficiency and a 30% reduction in carbon emissions. The CitiBus uses stop-start technology, which cuts the engine when the vehicle is idling, and features regenerative braking technologies that recharge the vehicle batteries by recapturing energy from the vehicle when the brakes are applied. Air conditioning, power steering and braking are all still supported while the engine is off at idle.

As an added benefit, the hybrid power train also reduces engine maintenance by 25 percent and brake maintenance by 75%. Overall maintenance costs can be reduced by as much as 30%. The CitiBus has passed its 200,000 mile test regimen, and qualifies for federal funding programs.

The first ten buses will operate in York County, PA and will be used to augment PennDOT’s ride-share program. PennDOT has not indicated where the other 15 buses will be deployed, should it exercise its option to buy them.

Source and Photo: Azure Dynamics

US Driver Interest In Hybrid Drops When Technology Premium Is Factored In

US drivers are looking for ways to increase fuel efficiency, but a recent survey conducted by JD Power and Associates shows that while nearly three-fourths of potential new car buyers were interested in purchasing a hybrid vehicle, one third of respondents said they were no longer interested in hybrid vehicles when the cost difference between a conventional model and a hybrid exceeded $5,000. While the overall cost of operating a hybrid vehicle drops as the price of gasoline rises, consumers are still sensitive to the impact of a vehicle’s cost on their bottom line.

In the same survey, consumers also noted that they were interested in in-vehicle entertainment systems and advanced safety technologies. JD Power and Associates noted that there was a sharp increase in interest for in-vehicle electronics among respondents under 30 years of age. Blind-spot detection, backup assist and navigation were indicated as the features respondents were most interested in.

At the same time, buyers in this age range were most concerned about the price of vehicles, leading to speculation that the most popular vehicles for this segment would be those that offered the most number of built-in electronics at the lowest price.

Source: JD Power and Associates

McCain Proposes EV Battery, ZEV Competition

Presidential hopeful Senator John McCain is calling for a $300 million prize for the development of an innovative battery that will help the US decrease its reliance on foreign oil. The senator is expected to describe his proposal while campaigning on the campus of Fresno State University. The winning battery should have “the size, capacity, cost and power to leapfrog commercially available plug-in hybrids or electric cars.” The winning device should also deliver at 30% of the current cost of HEV and EV batteries

In addition, McCain is calling for a Clean Car Challenge, hoping to spur US automakers into developing zero-emission vehicles. That plan includes offering a $5,000 tax credit to ZEV buyers.

McCain’s rival, Senator Barack Obama pledged to close a loophole in trading regulations that exempts most over-the-counter energy trades from oversight and is believed to be fueling increased prices for the per-barrel cost of oil. Closing the loophole would give the Commodity Futures Trading Commission full oversight of the oil futures market. The Obama campaign estimated on Sunday that speculation could be adding between $20 and $50 per barrel to the cost of oil. Oil closed on Friday at $135 per barrel.

Photo Credit: Craig Jewell

Hot Wheels: Prius PHEV Goes Up In Flames

The Cooperative Research Network is reporting that a Toyota Prius that was retrofitted with a plug-in hybrid vehicle kit made by Hybrids-Plus exploded earlier this month. The vehicle was part of a test fleet being evaluated by the Central Electric Power Cooperative. The vehicle had been in service since 2007, as part of UC Davis’ Institute of Transportation Studies’ Plug-In Hybrid Center program, which put 100 retrofitted Priuses on the road in northern California.

Researchers had reported charger-related malfunctions on the vehicle but continued to operate it as part of the test vehicle fleet. The vehicle caught on fire while it was being driven. The driver pulled to the side of the road, exited the vehicle and shortly thereafter, the car exploded.

CRN reports that the A123 Li-ion battery pack, which was all but ruled out as the source of the fire, performed well during the event and showed little damage. The researchers may have difficulty determining the exact failure mode, since the vehicle had no data logger at the time of the accident.

Source: Daily Tech

Photo Credit: Ossian Engmark

Chrysler Announces Pricing For Full-Size Hybrid SUV, Truck

Chrysler, LLC announced yesterday that it would be pricing its full-size hybrid SUVs and trucks to move.

The vehicles are rated to achieve a best-in-class 20 mpg, a 40-percent improvement in fuel economy when city driving, and an overall fuel economy improvement of 25 percent. The full-size Durango and Aspen have towing capacities of 6,000 pounds and feature dual mode hybrid operation, allowing the vehicle to optimize fuel economy based on the type of driving. Each vehicle is equipped with a 5.7-liter HEMI V-8 engine with a total power output of 385-hp.

The company has priced the base model 2009 Dodge Durango Hemi Hybrid at $45,340 and the 2009 Chrysler Aspen Hemi Hybrid at $45, 570. Customers who purchase either vehicle will also be eligible for a tax credit estimated at about $1,800. The 2009 Dodge Durango is in dealer showrooms now. The Aspen will debut later this summer.

Ford Exec Promotes Government R&D Help, Tax Breaks For PHEVs

Mark Fields, President of the Americas at the Ford Motor Company, suggested that Washington, DC should subsidize the accelerated development of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles. Fields also expressed the need for a domestic battery supply for electric vehicles and PHEVs manufactured in the US.

Fields suggested that the government should provide tax breaks and other incentives for consumers who wish to purchase these vehicles, to help offset their higher sticker price. He also indicated that the infrastructure to support electric vehicles would need to be modified to support widespread use. In a speech delivered at a PHEV conference sponsored by the Brookings Institute and Google, Fields said that PHEVs can only succeed in the open market through a “shared commitment to innovation and collaboration” among automakers, electric utilities and legislators.

Ford is currently developing a PHEV and is testing the vehicle in a cooperative partnership with Southern California Edison. Ford has not indicated when it plans to bring the PHEV into production, but will introduce two additional hybrid models - the Mercury Milan Hybrid and the Ford Fusion Hybrid, bringing Ford’s hybrid line to five. Additionally, Ford will offer EcoBoost, a turbo-charged, direct-injection engine that promises to deliver a fuel economy increase of up to 20% and a 15% reduction in carbon emissions.

Earlier this year, Chrysler President and Vice Chairman Jim Press touched off a firestorm of controversy by suggesting that the Japanese government had subsidized the development cost of Toyota’s Prius hybrid model. Press, who worked in Toyota’s upper echelon for thirty years, later issued a clarification of his statement, indicating that the Japanese automaker “worked closely” with the Japanese government, and that the US auto industry would benefit from such cooperation.

Chrysler To Introduce Hybrid Durango, Aspen

Chrysler will join the stream of automakers planning to introduce hybrid vehicles to their lineups. First out of the gate for Chrysler will be a hybrid version of the Dodge Durango SUV and the Chrysler Aspen. Both vehicles will feature a Hemi hybrid engine and power train. The hybrid 5.7L two-mode Hemi engine used in the Durango gets about 25% better gas mileage than its conventional cousin and is expected to hit dealer showrooms in the 2009 model year.

The company is also examining the possibility of designing a series of hybrid vehicles for the Dodge brand, including the Dodge Journey SUV, the Dodge Ram and Dodge Avenger programs. The company has not made any firm commitment to the Dodge hybrid series beyond the Durango.

Toyota, Honda, Ford and GM offer regular production hybrid models, and plan to increase the number of hybrids in the vehicle lineup. Kia, Nissan, Subaru and luxury maker BMW have already made plans to add hybrid vehicles to their lines in the next one to two model years. Toyota’s Lexus line will also add hybrids. The vehicle makers are turning to hybrid designs largely to comply with new CAFE regulations and to appeal to buyers who are being hit hard by rising fuel costs.

UK Company To Produce All-Electric Luxury, SUV Conversions

Liberty Electric Cars, Ltd in the UK will spend £30 million to re-engineer large sport utility vehicles and luxury cars with the goal of creating emission-free high-performance vehicles. The company will develop an all-electric drive train platform that can be used in a number of vehicles. One of the company’s first targets is an all-electric drive Range Rover. Liberty Electric Cars is predicting that annual conversion volume will be in the tens of thousands of vehicles.

The company promises that its conversions will deliver quiet, emission-free vehicles that have less impact than a small subcompact, while preserving the luxury design of larger vehicles. The conversions will provide better performance and acceleration, offer a longer driving range between charges and a shorter recharge time than most current all-electric vehicles.

Consumers can expect to see an 80% drop in operation costs for the converted SUVs and luxury vehicles, largely due to the high efficiency of the vehicles’ electric motor. The company has not yet determined where its production facility will be, but is considering a number of location options. Locating a site that will help the company limit its environmental impact is important. Once a site is located, the company expects to create about 250 jobs.

European Union Announces Fuel Cell Joint Technology Initiative

The European Parliament has approved the creation of the Fuel Cells and Hydrogen Initiative, European Union’s fifth such joint technology initiative. The goal of this initiative is to accelerate the development and introduction of cost-effective fuel cell and hydrogen technologies for a wide variety of applications, including automotive, stationary and portable power systems.

The FCH joint technology initiative will extend the work of the Hydrogen and and Fuel Cell Technology platform, an industry initiative. That plan calls upon industries to provide commercialization of fuel cell technologies for small applications, like handheld mobile phones and other devices by 2010; larger stationary applications should be ready for market by 2015 and automotive applications should be widely available by 2020.

The venture will have a 10-year budget of €1 billion. The Fuel Cell and Hydrogen initiative will be formally launched in October at a conference in Brussels. This JTI represents the first public-private JTI partnership for the EU. Other JTIs are focused on the development of embedded computing systems, nanotechnologies, aeronautics and air transport, and new medicines.

Photo Credit: Svilen Milev

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