California-based Home builder KB Home will begin offering an option to have homes pre-wired to handle charging stations for electric vehicles, the San Jose Business Journal reported.

KB said the option is designed to ease the future installation of a station to charge an electric or plug-in hybrid vehicle conveniently at home.

According to the San Jose Business Journal, California has the highest percentage of plug-in hybrid cars registered in the country.

Despite recent excitement about a type of electric car called a plug-in hybrid, such vehicles are unlikely to arrive in meaningful numbers for a few more decades, according to new analysis by the National Research Council.

The study, released on Monday, also found that the next generation of plug-in hybrids could require hundreds of billions of dollars in government subsidies to take off.

Even then, plug-in hybrids would not have a significant impact on the nation’s oil consumption or carbon emissions before 2030, the report estimated. Savings in oil imports would also be modest, according to the report, which was financed by the Energy Department.

Several carmakers, including Toyota and General Motors, are developing plug-in hybrid models, which will appear in showrooms next year. Toyota just announced on Monday that it planned to begin selling “tens of thousands” of plug-in hybrid Priuses in two years.

Plug-in hybrids are cars that would be built to run primarily on an electric battery, but if extra power were needed for a long drive, a gasoline engine would kick in. Users would recharge the cars by hooking them to electric power outlets at home or work, meaning they could cover most or all of a daily commute on battery power, not gasoline.

The report found that plug-in electric vehicles could number 40 million by 2030 — provided that rapid progress was made in battery technology, and that the government provided large subsidies and incentives. However, the study suggested that a “more realistic” number would be closer to 13 million vehicles. That would represent 4 percent of the 300 million vehicles projected to be on the road by then.

The main reason for the slow rollout is the potential cost of batteries. Manufacturers are betting on lithium-ion battery technology similar to that in laptops and cellphones. While the technology has evolved rapidly, the report noted that declines in cost would not be steep enough over the next few decades to crowd out other types of cars.

Under the report’s most optimistic assumptions, 6.5 million plug-in hybrids could be sold annually in the United States by 2030, out of total sales of 19.4 million vehicles. Under the more realistic assumptions, 1.8 million plug-in hybrids would be sold that year.

Michael P. Ramage, who headed the study, said that its assumptions — and results — were more conservative than other studies. “Over the next 20 years, we felt that a 50 percent reduction in battery costs would take place,” he said in a telephone interview. “Other people have assumed a lot greater battery cost reductions.”

Building a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle that could run for 40 miles on electricity would cost $18,000 more than for a similar conventional car, including a $14,000 battery pack, according to the report. While each mile driven on electricity costs less than a mile powered by gasoline, “it is likely to be several decades before lifetime fuel savings start to balance the higher first cost of the vehicles,” the report stated.

More recharging outlets, as well as other infrastructure improvements, must also be in place for plug-in hybrids to reach large numbers of American households, the report said.

The National Research Council, in Washington, provides scientific and technical advice to the federal government under a Congressional charter.

SOURCE: New York Times

AFTER 12 YEARS of speculation and the odd jibe from cynics, Toyota’s Prius is finally getting a plug.

The car that brought hybrid technology to the attention of the mainstream masses has always offered a mix of petrol engine and battery electric power. However, the electric charge has always been created from either spare energy in the engine or recouped through gathering the brake-force energy.

Now, with the third generation of the car – in full family guise – on our roads, Toyota has finally added the option of recharging the battery directly from the mains.

While the additional power source will be available only on 500 prototypes at first, all signs are that Toyota is preparing to roll out the plug-in option to the general public once electricity suppliers and governments get their acts together on providing recharging points.

Of the initial batch, 150 will come to Europe, with 20 destined for the British market. These will be leased to people who will then feed back their views and reports to the development team in Japan.

So what is different from the current Prius? Well, nothing much in terms of the appearance, except for what looks like a secondary filling cap on the front left wing. This is the plug-point for the car. Bootspace is also slightly compromised by the larger battery. And it’s here, under the boot floor, that the most significant changes have been made, with Toyota finally moving to a 5kW/h Panasonic lithium-ion unit.

Lithium is regarded as the future saviour of battery technology for electric cars, allowing more power to be stored for less weight. While this new battery does add 110kg to the car, it’s a worthwhile trade-off in terms of power.

Where the regular hybrid Prius with its nickel-hydride battery can power the car up to 50km/h on electric power for short bursts, the plug-in lithium battery version can reach speeds of 100km/h without needing to call on the petrol engine for support, and the car can run on battery power alone for between 12km and 20km.

Combine the extended speed range and distance and you see that for city or urban driving, this plug-in Prius is effectively an electric car. The big difference is because it’s hybrid, it also offers the chance to call upon a petrol engine for extended range. While we await batteries that can challenge combustion engines for range and the introduction of a proper recharging infrastructure, it’s the best combination on offer.

On a brief test drive we cruised along at 80km/h completely on electric mode and it was only when we floored the accelerator on the test track that the petrol engine kicked in. Lift off slightly and the engine gives way again to electric power.

On the most gentle of obstacle courses we also got the chance to test the car’s handling and though the Prius has never been dynamically enthralling, the added weight of the battery at the back made little difference to its ability.

In terms of recharging, Toyota promises it will fully recharge from the mains in 100 minutes. With a 12km range if you are pushing the car on, you can expect it to cut your fuel bill, particularly for short commuter runs.

If you take that away from an average journey and run the rest of the time on a mix of regular engine and Prius’s current hybrid system, it’s not unrealistic to suggest you could achieve figures in the realms of 70-80mpg. The estimated emissions level of 65g/km will certainly reap rewards in terms of motor tax.

It has been long overdue and admittedly Toyota lost some of the electric buzz to the likes of Opel’s Ampera, which for all the media attention is still a couple of years from delivery.

Mitsubishi will have its fully electric plug-in city car, the i-Miev, on sale in Ireland next year. For now we’ll have to wait and see if any of these plug-in Priuses make it to Ireland under the test programme.

First impressions behind the wheel suggest it will be another string to the Prius’s bow, making a car that remains something of an icon of green motoring even more attractive.

After several months of bad news about recalls and the loss of its leadership in electric car development, it could offer a much-needed boost to the brand, if they can get it into showrooms.

SOURCE: Irish Times

Toyota will start leasing 150 of its Prius plug-in hybrids in the United States this winter and plans retail sales of tens of thousands in two years.

The North American arrival, scheduled for around February, is part of a global rollout of 600 units.

With a longer electric-only cruise range than the standard Prius, the plug-in is Toyota’s answer to the Chevrolet Volt extended-range hybrid being launched next year by General Motors Co.

The plug-in Prius gets a lithium ion battery and will have an electric-only range of 14.5 miles before the gasoline engine kicks in and the car drives like the standard Prius hybrid.

The Volt also uses a lithium ion battery pack to power an electric motor for about 40 miles. After that a small gasoline engine recharges the battery but never runs the car.

Executive Vice President Takeshi Uchiyamada said Toyota plans retail sales of several tens of thousands of units in two years, after leasing them in the United States, Japan and Europe.

In the meantime, Toyota may tweak the technology and the design, especially for overseas markets where drivers may need bigger batteries to travel longer distances.

“We will see what happens in the field,” Uchiyamada said at the launch of leasing in Japan. “We may have to adjust the number of batteries carried on board. So please stay tuned.”

The plug-in Prius is nearly identical to the third-generation Prius launched earlier this year. It has the same electric motor and 1.8-liter gasoline engine as the standard Prius.

But the plug-in gets lithium ion batteries, instead of nickel-metal hydride ones. That allows for higher voltage and more energy storage.

Toyota said the retail plug-in Prius would be “affordable,” but the company didn’t give details on its retail or lease pricing. The leased cars will be used by governments and businesses.

SOURCE: Autoweek.com

Toyota Motor Corp. will release a plug-in hybrid vehicle that can be charged at home beginning in late 2011, the company has said.

The carmaker said it hoped to initially sell about 15,000 vehicles of the new model annually in the United States, and was considering releasing the model in Japan around the same time.

The vehicle likely will be priced at about 3 million yen (46,200 Singapore dollars) or more.

Amid fierce competition among automakers worldwide to develop next-generation eco-cars, Toyota concluded that a plug-in hybrid vehicle, which has better mileage than a car solely powered by electricity, will become the market mainstream.

The carmaker hopes the new model will attain market penetration with its lower price tag than electric cars.

With its fully charged high-power lithium-ion battery, Toyota’s new plug-in hybrid vehicle can operate for about 20 kilometers powered only by its motor.

Even after the battery runs out, the vehicle continues to run as a hybrid car powered by its gasoline engine.

The longest operating distance achieved by existing electric cars is about 100 kilometers or more. The carmaker is expected to further take the lead in eco-car development due to the new hybrid model’s greater efficiency than electric cars.

Toyota plans to launch sales of the model in the United States because California regulations to require carmakers to sell a certain percentage of eco-cars will likely become tougher.

SOURCE: Asia One

Fisker Automotive is buying the old General Motors factory in Wilmington, Delaware, to produce an affordable, family-oriented plug-in hybrid sedan to cost under $40,000 after federal tax credits.

Fisker expects the production facility will create or support 2,000 factory jobs plus more than 3,000 jobs for vendors and suppliers when the factory goes on-line in late 2012.  Plus thousands more consctruction jobs between now and then to retrofit and upgrade the factory, which dates from 1947 and used to produce Pontiacs, Saturns and Chevrolets.

Right now, Fisker is calling the project to build an affordable plug-in hybrid car Project NINA. But it is unlikely the model itself will be called Nina. Fisker’s other plug-in electric car is the Karma, an $80,000 beauty that looks and acts like a sportscar. It should. Company founder Henrik Fisker used to be design director for Aston Martin. The Karma is being produced in Irvine, California, where company headquarters are located.

Fisker expects to produce 75,000-100,000 fuel efficient PHEV hybrids a year at this former GM factory, which was chosen for its size, production capacity, world-class paint facilities, access to shipping ports, rail lines and available skilled workers, according to a statement by Henrik Fisker at the ribbon cutting.

Access to shipping is important, because Fisker expects to export more than half of the sedans it produces in the USA..  Fisker Automotive announced today, Nov. 4, that it is partnering with the  Emil Frey Group one of Europe’s most prestigious auto groups, to import, market and service Fisker hybrids in Switzerland, Germany, France, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland will provide Fisker with a strong operational base in Europe.  .

The Wilmington Assembly plant has a proud history. It was built by General Motors in1947 and over the years it churned out more than 8.5 million cars, including the Pontiac Streamliner, Chevrolet Impala, Chevrolet Malibu, Saturn L-Series and the Pontiac Solstice/Saturn Sky/Opel GT roadsters.

SOURCE: Examiner

Toyota Motor Corp. is on track to start testing the prototypes for its first crack at plug-in hybrid cars later this year, a spokeswoman said yesterday.

By Jan. 1, the company expects to release 500 plug-in versions of its Prius onto American, European and Japanese roads, said Toyota spokeswoman Cindy Knight. The cars will use lithium-ion batteries, not the nickel-metal hydride packages seen in Priuses today.

The pilot will kick off a three-year effort by the Japanese auto giant to get data on how these cars fare in the real world: how they’re charged, how their batteries perform, and what sort of mileage they get. In recent years, Toyota has resisted pressure to develop a plug-in, even using commercials suggesting that plugging in hybrid vehicles is a bother.

Engineers will use the new plug-in data to design a more widely produced plug-in version of the Prius, but they don’t intend to copycat other companies’ plug-in efforts, said Tom Stricker, director of the energy and environmental research group for Toyota North America.

The Chevrolet Volt, which General Motors Co. has slated for release late next year, would get a range of 40 miles on all-electric power before firing up its gasoline engine. GM says it based the range on statistics showing that 75 percent of American commutes are less than 40 miles.

Early forecasts are that Toyota will aim for an all-electric range of 10 to 15 miles instead.

Batteries are the most expensive part of any electric-drive vehicle, Stricker said, and Toyota has decided that a 40-mile range is too much.

Trying to keep GM in the rearview mirror

“That might not be the right number if it costs you $15,000 a battery and nobody buys it,” he said.

He pointed to research from Carnegie Mellon University suggesting that about half of U.S. miles driven are for trips shorter than 20 miles.

In its three-year pilot, Stricker said, Toyota will try to find a sweet spot — a balance between all-electric range and the pricey batteries needed to power it.

“The key question for plug-ins, from a design perspective, is how much of an electric range is really necessary, and what will that cost,” he said.

It’s not a bad strategy, according to Andrew Frank, a professor of mechanical engineering at the University of California, Davis, whose students once built a plug-in SUV with a 50-mile all-electric range.

Lithium, the main ingredient in the batteries, is hard to come by. So “for the amount of lithium available today, you can build three times more Priuses that are plug compatible than Chevy Volts, since the battery packs are one-third the size. And you make money by selling cars and not batteries!!” Frank said in an e-mail.

Frank said the more cars Toyota sells, the more the price of its batteries will fall, enabling it to make cheaper, longer-lasting cars.

An ‘oddly conservative’ strategy?

The shorter all-electric range for the Prius means that under some conditions, it would use more gasoline than the Volt.

“From an environmental perspective, the more [electric] range the better,” said Roland Hwang, transportation program director at the Natural Resources Defense Council, in an e-mail.

He said Toyota’s strategy on plug-ins “seems at first oddly conservative,” and that the company risks “being seen as a technology and environmental laggard, and losing their current perceived pole position on environmentally friendly cars.”

Toyota currently leads the U.S. clean car market with the Prius, a regular hybrid that sold almost 160,000 models last year. Including its Camry and Highlander models, the company sold more than 240,000 hybrids.

Automakers remain unsure which clean-car technology will catch fire with the public — and through what channel. Major manufacturers are developing vehicles powered by batteries, fuel cells and biofuels, but costs remain high, thanks to technical hurdles.

Smaller companies such as Tesla and Fisker are angling for niche markets, with the eventual goal of reducing price and selling to the mass market.

Driving toward an uncertain market

Meanwhile, carmakers face uncertainty about future market conditions — namely, the price of gasoline and a possible price on carbon emissions.

Toyota is moving toward low-range plug-ins because they make it easier to promise low cost and durability from the get-go, said Bruce Belzowski, an assistant research scientist at the University of Michigan’s Transportation Research Institute.

“They’re just not convinced that they have the lithium-ion battery in the right spot to be able to do the things that GM says they wanted to do,” he said. “Toyota is much more conservative when it comes to this.”

The company knows it’s walking the tightrope of public reputation, Belzowski said. Past examples show that a single, high-profile failure can be enough to sink an entire line of cars.

That’s a lesson General Motors knows well — in the 1980s, its efforts to market diesel engines floundered thanks to performance flaws (ClimateWire, June 22).

Instead of going with a smaller all-electric range, Belzowski said, GM will simply sell fewer Volts, improving the defects from year to year. “They’re trying to manage the risk by not promising high volumes to start with,” he said.

SOURCE: New York Times

Electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids are two technologies that automakers are trying to develop for mainstream use, but two upstart California companies are leading the alternative vehicle world. Tesla Motors already sells the only electric vehicle legal for highway use, while Fisker Automotive stands to be the first to bring a plug-in hybrid to market.

The Fisker Karma is a stylish sedan with a plug-in hybrid drivetrain. Also known as a series hybrid, it differs from the hybrids on the roads today in that the gasoline engine acts as a generator only. It has no mechanical connection to drive the wheels. The Karma will drive the first 50 miles on electric power only, after which the gasoline engine will start up as needed to make electricity.

The Karma captures energy used to slow the car down via regenerative braking. Sound familiar? Yes, it’s the same idea as the Chevrolet Volt. In fact, the Karma will use some General Motors parts, including the four-cylinder engine to supplement the hybrid electric drive provided by partner Quantum Technologies. The vehicles will be assembled in Finland by Valmet Automotive, builders of the Porsche Boxster

Designer and Chief Executive Officer Henrik Fisker styled cars for BMW and Aston Martin. Fisker showed the production version of the Karma at the 2009 North American International Auto Show in January, along with a concept version of a hardtop convertible. The Karma sedan made its first public “driving debut” earlier this month at the Laguna Seca Raceway.

Orders are being taken for both models, with deliveries of the Karma sedan scheduled to start in 2010. Prices start at $87,900. Fisker Automotive has chosen the Patrick and Fields dealer groups to market the Karma in the Chicago area. For now Fisker has decided to work with established dealers with experience in selling luxury brands rather than building new dealerships. They are also not requiring their dealers to stock vehicles beyond demo and display units.

The Tesla Roadster is a two-seat electric car with a stated range of 244 miles and 0-to-60 acceleration of 3.9 seconds. Lotus builds the chassis in England and assembles the bodies. It has a family resemblance to the Lotus Elise, though it actually shares very few parts. The electric motor, controller and lithium ion battery pack are installed at Tesla’s headquarters in San Carlos, Calif. The Roadster base price is $109,000 and qualifies for a $7,500 federal tax credit. Tesla also offers an even faster, more performance-oriented Roadster Sport.

Tesla Motors has already delivered more than 500 Roadsters. “We are opening our first stores based on the number of current customers we have in each market. We already have several dozen Roadsters on the roads in Chicago and the Chicagoland region,” said Rachel Konrad, Tesla spokesperson.

Tesla is opening a stand-alone store at 1053 W. Grand Ave. in Chicago, with a VIP customer reception on Sept. 10 followed by a public open house the next two days. Tesla wants its locations, which are all company owned, to be more like Apple stores or Starbuck’s than a traditional car dealership.

The master plan is to launch a new car, built in California, in 2012.

“In addition to having numerous customers in the area for the Roadster, we anticipate that the region will be an excellent one for the Model S sedan [below], which is our next car,” Konrad said. “The Model S has half the sticker price of the Roadster and will also be offered in all-wheel drive, which a lot of customers want in the upper Midwest.”

When asked how the sporty alternative Roadster might fare in our climate, Konrad said, “It’s important to note that we do our cold-weather testing literally on a frozen lake in Sweden near the Arctic Circle. We do our hot-weather battery testing in south Texas. Two of our best national markets outside of the United States are Canada and Norway. So it’s very safe to say that we do not have problems in cold weather.

Also, we offer two hard-top options on the Roadster and as you can imagine they are very popular in northern climates, while the standard soft-top is popular in California, Texas, Florida and Hawaii.”

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.

A video on YouTube.com (posted by thecarfanatic.com) shows interviews with Volvo and Vattenhall executives explaining the partnership and features a diesel plug-in hybrid Volvo V70 that can travel up to 50 km (31 miles) on a single charge and be charged from a standard wall socket, which would cost Swedish owners approximately 3 euros per 100 kilometer (60 miles). Based on current currency exchange, that works out to approximately 7 cents per mile. The diesel engine uses 2 liters per 100 kilometer m (.5 gallon per 60 miles), according to the video.

Volvo also announced plans to debut three demonstration plug-in Volvo V70s this summer that will be used to gather information on customer driving habits and technology preferences. Vattenfall will be testing various concepts for high-speed home charging and developing a public charging and billing system infrastructure. The power company is also tasked with accelerating the vehicle’s charging time. The video shows a 8 kw battery being charged in 5 hours from a standard wall socket.

Source: CNET

The California Air Resources Board gave the nascent plug-in-hybrid-car industry a reprieve when it rejected a proposal that would have put small conversion companies out of business. The board voted 6-2 on Thursday to allow small companies, such as 3 Prong Power of Berkeley, to convert up to fifty Toyota Priuses into plug-in hybrids before having to undergo expensive emissions testing. The board’s staff had recommended that small companies such as 3 Prong Power could only convert ten cars to plug-ins before having to pay for the tests, which can cost up to $200,000. But the board rejected that proposal out of hand after hearing testimony from business owners who said it would bankrupt them, because it wouldn’t give them enough time to raise money for the tests. “Overall, we were impressed that we actually made a difference and people saw our side,” said Paul Guzyk, co-founder of 3 Prong Power. “It could have been a lot worse, and probably couldn’t have gone much better.”

Guzyk and his business partner Daniel Sherwood had proposed that the air resources board allow them to sell up to 100 conversion kits before paying for the tests, but the board deadlocked on that proposal 4-4. Air board staff was concerned that converted Priuses could cause more air pollution and urged for stricter standards, even though all sides agreed that they lower greenhouse gas emissions. Plug-in hybrids can get in excess of 100 miles per gallon because they can run on battery-powered electricity for around-town driving. Small conversion companies contended that they had found simple solutions that would not increase air pollutants.

Guzyk also credited the Express for its coverage of the plug-in hybrid issue, saying the paper’s stories stimulated a “whole movement” to keep the air board from killing the plug-in-hybrid industry, just as it had done with electric cars earlier this decade. After an Express cover story in January, the air board rejected a staff proposal that would have forced small conversion companies to begin paying for expensive tests right away.

SOURCE: East Bay Express

Chrysler is seeking up to $224 million from the U.S. Department of Energy to support rapid development of electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles. The automaker plans to provide a demonstration fleet of PHEVs based on the Dodge Ram 1500 pickup and the Chrysler Town & Country minivan.

Last month, Chrysler said it would supply the U.S. Postal Service with a fleet of 165 Town & Country EV cargo minivans.

Its latest effort involves two DOE programs, called the Transportation Electrification Initiative and the Electric Drive Vehicle Battery and Component Manufacturing Initiative, which are designed to speed up the development and manufacturing of PHEVs and EVs. If approved, the DOE would provide up to $224 million, with Chrysler matching the federal funds.

Chrysler said it would construct an $83 million “electrification technology and manufacturing center” in Michigan as part of the initiative. The center would be operational by 2010 and would be designed to build more than 20,000 EVs each year.

Chrysler also would build a demonstration fleet that would include 100 Dodge Ram PHEV pickups, 100 Town & Country PHEVs and the previously mentioned Town & Country EVs.

Through April, sales of the full-size Ram pickup were down 31 percent from a year ago, while sales of the Town & Country were down 37 percent.

SOURCE: Edmunds

Toyota is recognized as one of the leaders in hybrid technology, so it may come as a surprise to some that the company is not terribly keen on selling hybrid plug-ins to consumers. Even though the company is planning to build 500 plug-in Prius cars for test fleets, there are no immediate plans to develop plug-in hybrid technology for consumers.

At first, it may seem counter-intuitive for Toyota to shun plug-in hybrids. After all, GM plans to release the Chevy Volt — its plug-in hybrid — next year. But it makes a little more sense after you read Toyota’s reasoning, reported by AutoMonster.ca:

Toyota estimates sales of hybrids that can be recharged at household outlets may be 50,000 units a year at most and could be as few as 3,500, Bill Reinert, U.S. national manager for advanced technology, told a National Academy of Sciences panel today in Washington. Sales of Toyota’s Prius, the best-selling gasoline-electric vehicle, were almost 159,000 last year.

A market for the plug-in electric hybrid vehicles “will emerge, but their success depends on advantages over existing hybrids,” Reinert said in prepared remarks. “There is a great deal of variation on how current PHEVs perform in real-world conditions.”

Clearly, Toyota think it already has a good think going with its current Prius — no plug needed. Plug-ins are considered somewhat inconvenient right now by many consumers. They have to be charged regularly, and there needs to be the proper infrastructure to support plug-ins so that commuters can charge up their cars while at work.

Of course, the fact that 75% of Americans live within 20 miles of their work means that the 40-mile range of the Volt may be sufficient. Besides, the Volt also has an electric-gasoline hybrid engine that can switch to gasoline when the battery runs down. So at least there isn’t the fear of being stuck. Current electric-gasoline hybrids don’t have the plug-in factor. They are desirable because they don’t require consumers to make any significant changes in their behavior. Although, technically, the Volt wouldn’t require a change, either. But its battery is more expensive (adding to the cost of the car).

Honda is also reluctant to introduce plug-in hybrids. The company says it’s studying the matter to determine whether it is worth the investment in plug-ins. The reluctance of the Japanese automakers to get involved may pave the way for American carmakers to lead the way for plug-ins. But with Honda and Toyota offering a product consumers are already comfortable with (and may prefer), does it even matter?

SOURCE: PhysOrg.com

The California Air Resources Board is scheduled to again take up the issue of regulating hybrids today, May 28, in Sacramento. The air board told its staff to go back to the drawing board after small businesses that convert Toyota Priuses to plug-in hybrids said that proposed regulations would put them out of business. However, the staff’s new proposed regulations would still effectively bankrupt small companies.

The new rules would allow small companies to sell up to ten conversion kits before having to undergo extensive emissions testing, which can cost up $200,000. But Daniel Sherwood, president of 3Prong Power of Berkeley, says that the new rules will bankrupt him and other similar companies because they can’t make enough money from selling just ten conversions to finance the tests. “It effectively adds $20,000 to the cost of each of those first ten conversions,” he said.

Currently, 3 Prong Power sells conversions, including installation, for about $6,700. As a result, if Sherwood’s company tried to pass the $20,000 emissions tests costs on to his customers, no one would buy them. After the conversion, a Prius becomes an electric-only vehicle when driving around town and can get more than 100 miles per gallon, thereby significantly reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

Sherwood wants the air board to change the rules to allow small companies to sell up to 100 kits before having to undergo the expensive tests. That way, the cost of the tests will be about $2,000 per conversion – still a high price, but possibly doable. “CARB should be supporting California’s plug-in hybrid conversion companies, not squashing us,” he said.

SOURCE: East Bay Express

GM announced its development of a new, more efficient internal combustion engine that will eventually be used to power its lineup of hybrid and extended-range plug-in vehicles.

In the homogenous charge compression ignition engine (HCCI), the air and fuel mixture is compressed to ignite rather than using a spark. When combined with other advanced technologies, the HCCI engine provides up to 15 percent better fuel economy, according to GM.

Its fuel savings are achieved from reduced pumping losses, burning fuel faster at lower temperatures and reducing the heat energy lost during the combustion process.

This advancement is significant because it approaches the efficiency of a diesel but doesn’t require the more expensive exhaust system required to meet California’s and other “clean state” emissions standards. In other words, GM now has an engine that provides the fuel efficiency of a diesel but can be sold in all 50 states.

It will also play a key role in GM’s ability to provide even better fuel economy in its fleet of hybrid and extended-range vehicles, which still require a diesel or gasoline engine to operate.

“We’re working on a range of technologies, including vehicles powered by fuel cells, but in the mean time, we still need the internal combustion engine,” says Susan Garavaglia, spokesperson for GM.

“We’re not fully set up for plug-in electric vehicles or fuel cell vehicles. Until we get the infrastructure in place, we have to have a variety of solutions available. There will be some cities that can accommodate these new technologies, but for the rest of the public, we don’t want to leave them stranded,” she explained.

Further testing is still needed to ensure its stability in a range of operating climates, such as extreme temperatures and thinner air. Although she wouldn’t disclose a firm date for competitive reasons, Garavaglia said it should be in production vehicles in “sooner than 10 years.”

SOURCE: CNET

Ford Motor Company has developed some interesting new innovations for its Escape Hybrid SUV. One is called Easy Fuel, which now comes standard on every new Ford Escape Hybrid. This means there is no gas cap involved when fueling the SUV.

Everything about this SUV is nice. For example, the vehicle actually uses no fuel when you’re stopped in traffic or driving at lower speeds. The electric mode will activate, at speeds up to 40 mph, which will turn off the gasoline engine automatically.

The electric vehicle has an EPA estimate of 34 city and 31 highway. This is a far more MPG rating that most standard automobiles. The Escape is powered by a 2.5L Atkinson-cycle I-4 engine and it handles seamlessly when converting to electric mode operation.

Ford uses a nickel-metal-hydride (NiMH) battery which is stored under the flat rear cargo area. It is completely sealed and encased in the load floor. The Escape has a new Hybrid component which recharges the NiMH battery each time you apply the brakes.

While the Regenerative Braking System will recharge the battery, the energy gets stored for later use. When you hit the brakes in a conventional automobile, the energy is lost as heat. However, the electric motor on the Escape Hybrid captures this energy and sends it back to the battery pack to be stored for later use.

The AdvanceTrac with Roll Stability Control (RSC) is also introduced in the Ford Escape. This is a stability control system that measures the yaw and roll motion on the vehicle. If the driver turns a corner too quickly, or swerves to avoid an object, the RSC will automatically apply brake pressure while adjusting the power to the engine to maintain control.

Another great feature in the Ford Escape is called the in-car voice-activated communications system. This allows you to operate most popular MP3 players, Bluetooth-enabled phones and flash drives with simple voice commands. Ford now includes 911 Assist and a Vehicle Health Report feature.

Ford’s Navigation System is also available, which can provide detailed freeway exits, turn and ramp transition lane guidance, and street name announcements. The system includes a 10GB hard drive for storing photos, ripping CDs, and managing music with the Jukebox function.

Ford Motor Company is one of the first automakers to unveil eco-friendly seats in its Escape Hybrid SUV. The seats are made up of bio-based polyurethane foam derived from the oils of various plant seeds. Most of the material is made up of soybeans.

SOURCE: NewsOXY