plug-in hybrid

DETROIT--The future of autos is electric. Or is it?

Even though the new big thing in the auto industry is electric cars, there is not a clear consensus on how big of a role electric vehicles will play in the coming years.

Auto and utility industry executives at the Business of Plugging In conference here today took pains to point out the significant hurdles to adoption that plug-in vehicles face in becoming mainstream.

In addition to the higher cost of components, such as batteries, there is also the question of building a charging infrastructure in public places and the customers' … Read more

General Motors has invested in electric vehicle company Bright Automotive, marking the first investment by the auto giant's venture-capital arm.

The companies said Tuesday that the investment by recently created GM Ventures for an undisclosed amount will give GM a minority stake in Anderson, Ind.-based Bright and accelerate Bright's plans to manufacture a plug-in hybrid van that can get up to 100 miles per gallon.

Bright designed the hybrid gas-electric utility van, called the Idea, specifically for fleet vehicle operators. The company was spun out of the Rocky Mountain Institute think tank and co-founded by John Waters, … Read more

How many miles a Chevrolet Volt can travel on a single gallon of gas is still up for debate. The EPA rejected the formula that General Motors used to calculate its 230 mpg estimate for the extended range vehicle. In GM's defense, it used a draft formula that the EPA developed for testing plug-in hybrid vehicles.

Using those calculations, GM has been promoting a 40-mile range on a single charge of the battery when driving the Volt in EV mode. Yet when using its gasoline-powered engine generator to propel the vehicle, the Volt would be able to extend its … Read more

TOKYO--The Chevrolet Volt extended-range plug-in hybrid could hit Japan's shores as early as next year and go head-to-head with the country's hybrid and electric vehicles.

Sumito Ishii, managing director of GM Asia Pacific Japan, told reporters that General Motors is studying a Japan launch for the Volt in 2011 or 2012.

The car, which is powered by an electric motor and has a small gasoline engine to recharge the battery, goes on sale in the United States late this year. Ishii said last month that Japan was not part of the Volt's initial global rollout plan, but … Read more

Toyota Motor will begin selling "affordable" plug-in hybrid cars in 2011, upping the ante on General Motors and Nissan Motor as they aim to take the lead in the field of rechargeable cars.

Toyota's first plug-in model, the Prius Plug-In Hybrid (PHV), will add an external charging function and more batteries to the popular Prius to enable longer-distance driving on electricity alone.

Because it can also run on gasoline, plug-in hybrids--such as GM's upcoming Volt due for sale next year--eliminate the "range anxiety" seen as one of the main shortcomings of battery-powered pure electric … Read more

BOSTON--Ford Motor expects to manufacture as many as 2 million all-electric and gas-electric vehicles in the next 10 years, betting that rising oil prices and consumer interest will sustain a long-term transition to new technologies.

The company has set a goal of making 10 percent to 25 percent of its fleet "electrified" by 2020, which represents somewhere between 800,000 and 2 million cars, said Nancy Gioia at a media event here on Wednesday. Ford announced on Wednesday that Gioia will hold a newly created position of director of global electrification, which covers hybrids, plug-in hybrids, and battery-electric vehicles.

Plug-in electric vehicles promise to offer a much lower cost-per-mile than gasoline cars and deliver substantial environmental benefits. But in the near term, hybrids will likely represent the largest volume in the mix of technologies, said Gioia at the event.

"We've finally demonstrated the technology, the life, the durability, the safety (of hybrids)--all of that has reached a comfort zone to make it viable. Now it's going to be affordability that will drive mass market adoption," she said. … Read more

Suzuki is an automaker that we don't hear too much from in the U.S. However, when we do hear from it--such as with the two SX4s we've tested--we generally like what it has to say. So when we got word that a plug-in hybrid version of one of the smallest Suzukis, the Swift, would be on display at the 2009 Tokyo Motor Show, our interest was piqued.

The Suzuki Swift plug-in hybrid can be classified as a series gas-electric hybrid or an extended-range electric vehicle, depending on who you ask. The front wheels are turned by … Read more

American start-up Fisker Automotive may be about to unveil the first truly affordable plug-in hybrid for the U.S. market.

Ray Lane, managing partner at Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, told an audience at the Always On Going Green conference in Sausalito, Calif., on Tuesday that there could be a big announcement within the next week about a $39,000 plug-in hybrid. Though he would not say who, he mentioned that it was a car for the U.S. market and that it was not strictly electric, according to a report from Cleantech Group.

While Kleiner Perkins has investments in … Read more

Ford is backing a federal ban on texting while driving--well, of course they are! Do you need a nanny to hang up the phone for you? GM thinks its cars and technology are good enough for a money back guarantee. And we roll in the Mercedes that looks more expensive than it is.

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