Concepts

Schwarzenegger test drives a plug-in hybrid Hummer

The Toyota Prius is great and all, but try carrying sheets of plywood or a soccer team around in it. Oy.

Kraig Higginson, Chairman of Raser Technologies, believes there should also be hybrids that can handle some heavy lifting. His sentiment was echoed by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, who invited the energy technology company to California last week to demonstrate its 100 mpg plug-in hybrid Hummer H3 as part of a monthly series promoting alternative-fuel vehicles in the state.

Higginson showed off the series hybrid SUV, which uses a 2.0L EcoTec engine to charge its battery. The 4WD vehicle is powered by a 200kW advanced-AC induction motor, which on an empty battery achieves 33 to 35 mpg. The 2008 Hummer H3 with a conventional gasoline power train receives a combined fuel economy of 15 mpg.

"At its worst it already meets the new CAFE standards announced by Obama," said David West, vice president of marketing for Raser.

However, West said that drivers would be able to achieve unlimited gas mileage if they charged the vehicle's battery using electricity from a standard 110-volt or 220-volt outlet, and drove less than 40 miles per day; 75 percent of all drivers typically drive this far or less daily. … Read more

Will Volvo's 2012 plug-in hybrid also be a diesel?

The maker of some of the world's safest vehicles will soon be the maker of one of the world's most fuel-efficient vehicles. Volvo announced today plans to produce a plug-in hybrid vehicle that will be available in 2012.

"Most car journeys are short trips, for instance to and from work. We will be able to offer a product that fulfills this transportation need. In order to cover longer distances as well, the car will also be equipped with one of Volvo's fuel-efficient diesel engines," Volvo President and CEO Stephen Odell said in a press statement.

The new development will be a joint venture between Volvo and Swedish energy company Vattenfall. Volvo plans to create a plug-in version of an existing model rather than create a new one, and its charging systems will be developed and supplied by Vattenfall.

Volvo has previously stated its plans for a fleet of 10 plug-in hybrids. The Swedish car company did not name which of its existing cars will be the first to go plug-in, but last year Volvo road-tested the ReCharge Plug-in Hybrid, which is based on the C30 coupe platform and uses a diesel engine to power the lithium ion batteries. … Read more

Concept car flashback: Ford 021c (1999)

Way back in 1999, Ford put Marc Newson, a furniture designer who'd never designed a car before, in charge of developing a concept for the Tokyo Motor Show. The resulting vehicle, the 021c Concept, was hated by all. It was just too quirky, too unlike anything else on the road, and most importantly, not designed by a car guy.

Looking back on the vehicle some 10 years later, perhaps the 021c was just ahead of its time. Perhaps the candy-colored concept would be more at home on the road with today's Minis, Smarts, and Cubes.

The concept featured … Read more

BYD may supply VW with batteries for plug-ins

Volkswagen may be late to the gate with hybrids and electric cars, but its recent partnership with Chinese automaker and lithium ion battery producer BYD shows that the German car company is a serious contender in the race to supply the masses with an electric car.

Volkswagen has already signed letters of intent with Sanyo and Toshiba as suppliers for electric batteries, and the company is currently exploring an arrangement with BYD to supply VW with lithium ion batteries for its upcoming plug-in and all electric vehicles, according to an article in the Wall Street Journal.

BYD is one of the largest manufacturers of lithium ion batteries. High demand and cost has made these batteries one of the road blocks to building affordable plug-in and electric vehicles.

However, the battery-maker-turned-car-manufacturer has been able to make stable and durable lithium ion batteries at half the cost of batteries produced in the west and Japan due to its safer, most cost-effective iron-phosphate-based lithium-ion technology. … Read more

Taking the Dodge Circuit prototype electric sports car for a spin

Autoblog Green takes the Dodge Circuit prototype electric sportscar for a spin through downtown Detroit. Chrysler's John Myers says the says the company is developing "several" electric vehicles, but didn't reveal any details.

Sneak peek: VW's next gen infotainment system

Far from corporate headquarters in Wolfsburg, Germany, the engineers at Volkswagen's Electronic Research Laboratory (ERL) take advantage of their proximity to high-tech companies such as Apple, Intel, and Google to develop new infotainment systems and interfaces for VW cars. We got a look at ERL's latest work, a system developed with Intel called the Global Open Research Infotainment Architecture, or GLORIA.

ERL Senior Engineer Eric Jensen walked us through the latest interface built on GLORIA. The test system we saw relied on a touch screen for all input, although a production system might use some hard buttons on … Read more

An electric motorcycle powered by the sun

Richard Gryzch has developed what he believes to be the first completely solar-charged electric motorcycle.

The Solar Flyer--named after the famous Radio Flyer red wagon--is a modified motorcycle covered in solar panels that generate enough electricity to power the vehicle for 50 miles, at a top speed of 90 mph.

Grych has been working on this project for the past 2 years, and he sold his house and other motorcycles to finance his dream.

But the hobbyist from from Apache Junction, Ariz., isn't finished tinkering with his zero-emissions bike--ultimately, he'd like the Solar Flyer to have a 300-mile … Read more

This plug-in Prius gives back good energy

A common argument against electric vehicles is that they'll increase demand for carbon-producing electricity and cause brownouts during peak times. But what if plug-ins could actually prevent these outages by sending electricity from their batteries back to the grid?

It's an interesting concept dreamed up by engineers at the University of Technology Sydney. Combining their research on plug-in hybrids and electrical grids, they've developed "Switch," a plug-in Toyota Prius that acts as a sort of an energy reservoir that can give back to the grid whenever needed.

The Switch uses a 4.1 kWh lithium ion battery stored in the trunk to store extra electricity that is theoretically purchased during cheaper off-peak times. The extra battery also helps power the Prius' existing NiMH battery pack and raises fuel economy to 118 mpg. … Read more

Flying car reaches sky in Holland

What seemed to be yet another fantasy flying vehicle may have moved closer to reality this week when a test version of the three-wheeler PAL-V One took off publicly in Holland.

Accelerating just some 500 feet along the A1 highway near the city of Amersfoort, the three-wheeler took off easily in front of the Dutch Minister of Traffic Safety and Water Affairs, Camiel Eurlings, and a massive group of curious journalists.

According to the Digital Journal, many had hoped to see a real prototype of the flying-and-driving vehicle, which is aimed at consumers. What actually took off was a proof-of-concept vehicle, to show that the tiny three-wheeler could both drive and fly for real, which it apparently could.

On the other hand, as the autogyro technology it's based on was invented in 1919 by the Spaniard Juan de la Cierva, and flew for the first time in 1923, this was no hugely sensational news. Minister Eurlings, whose ministry is involved in the project, also said that despite some people's hopes, the vehicle would not be a solution to traffic congestion, but a possible alternative to helicopters for emergency services. … Read more