Posts Tagged ‘hybrid cars’
Report shows mandate, not prices pushing improvements.
by Michael Strong on Apr.29, 2013
Consumer acceptance of electric vehicles will help automakers reach the 54.5 mpg fleet mandate, according to a new study.
Federal mandates requiring automakers to reach a 54.5 mpg fleet average by 2025 is the reason behind the surge in consumer preferences for more fuel efficient vehicles, not a perceived rise in gas prices, according to a study released today.
The team authoring the report ran several econometric models to determine that the price of gas, while a minor factor, was not the biggest push for the public’s acceptance of the mandate and willingness to buy more efficient vehicles.
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The mandate requires automakers to average 34.5 mpg by 2017 and to achieve the 54.5-mpg average by 2025. According to the study, which was released today by the Consumer Federation of America, the mandates are universally endorsed by Americans.
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Tags: TheDetroitBureau.com., electric vehicles, four-cylinder cars, four-cylinder engine, fuel economy, fuel economy standards, gas prices, hybrid cars, hybrid vehicles, hybrids, michael strong, thedetroitbureau
Posted in Automobiles | 2 Comments »
Automakers looking for alternatives to batteries.
by Paul A. Eisenstein on Jan.28, 2013
A cutaway showing the internal layout of the Peugeot Hybrid-Air system on one of its subcompacts.
If you’ve been to an auto show lately you’re undoubtedly aware of all the new products using batteries, whether conventional hybrids, more advanced plug-ins or state-of-the-art battery-electric vehicles. That said, with all the problems that even the most advanced lithium-ion batteries suffer from it’s no wonder manufacturers are looking for alternatives.
The new fuel cell alliances announced by Toyota and BMW, and by Daimler, Nissan and Ford, show one potentially promising technology. Now, PSA Peugeot Citroen is exploring another. The French automaker is studying a compressed air hybrid system that it might soon offer in one of its subcompact hatchback models.
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Peugeot isn’t the only manufacturer looking at hybrid-air technology. Ford explored the concept for use on some of its bigger truck models. But as a statement from Paris indicates, the European maker is seriously moving ahead on a technology that would skip costly batteries and, it contends, might be able to deliver fuel economy nudging into the 80 mile per gallon range.
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Tags: air hybrid, auto news, car news, hybrid air, hybrid cars, paul a. eisenstein, paul eisenstein, peugeot air hybrid, peugeot hybrid, psa peugeot citroeen news, thedetroitbureau
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Can passion and hybrids co-exist?
by Paul A. Eisenstein on Sep.27, 2012
The Lexus LF-CC Concept appears to be very, very close to production-ready.
Lexus has been dropping a number of surprises in recent months – all meant to demonstrate that it’s serious about pumping more “passion” into the brand.
The latest effort, the LF-CC Concept, may be the most aggressive example of that to date, taking the maker’s L Finesse design language to new extremes — with a bold new iteration of the Lexus spindle grille that has become the symbol of the brand’s new direction.
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Likely to return in production form, the Lexus LF-CC is making its formal debut at this year’s Paris Motor Show. And it also emphasizes that the Japanese brand’s love affair with hybrid technology isn’t cooling down.
The brand’s U.S. boss, Mark Templin, told TheDetroitBureau.com last month that by mid-decadeLexus will have eight, possibly even nine, gas-electric offerings in its line-up.
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Tags: 2012 paris motor show, Lexus hybrids, auto news, auto shows, car news, concept cars, hybrid cars, hybrid concepts, lexus design, lexus lf-cc, lexus news, lexus paris, lexus spindle grille, paul a. eisenstein, paul eisenstein, thedetroitbureau
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Two new studies show growing interest in alternative power.
by Paul A. Eisenstein on Sep.13, 2012
Ford will offer both hybrid and plug-in hybrid versions of its new C-Max "people-mover."
A growing number of Americans are demanding not only more fuel-efficient cars but those that run on cleaner alternatives to gasoline – and they’re willing to pay, according to a pair of new studies.
That could be good news for manufacturers fretting about the cost of meeting the government’s strict new Corporate Average Fuel Economy, or CAFE, mandates requiring an average 34.5 mpg by 2016 and 54.5 mpg by 2025.
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“Cost is a key issue,” especially with more radical alternatives such as electric propulsion, said Phil Murtaugh, the head of California-based Coda, a start-up in the emerging market for electric vehicles.
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Tags: alternative fuel, auto news, battery cars, car news, clean fuel, coda, diesel cars, electric vehicles, ford fusion, hybrid cars, hybrid vehicles, paul a. eisenstein, paul eisenstein, phil murtaugh, plug-in hybrids, thedetroitbureau
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Launches new EV car sharing program, but predicts marginal battery car sales.
by Paul A. Eisenstein on Aug.22, 2012
San Franciscans can now rent a BMW ActiveE using a smartphone app.
BMW is plugging into the nascent electric vehicle market. But that doesn’t mean it’s all that charged up about the technology’s opportunities, especially in the U.S., near-term.
Perhaps the best opportunity to create a market, the maker appears to be betting, is through non-traditional marketing efforts, such as the new DriveNow car-sharing service it has partnered with in San Francisco.
Without significant new incentives, senior BMW executives caution, direct EV sales to consumers will likely remain little more than an asterisk on the sales charts.
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With little fanfare, BMW quietly began letting DriveNow begin renting out its new 3-Series-based ActiveE battery-electric vehicle in late June. At a growing number of automated locations in the city – with a center coming at San Francisco International Airport – motorists can pick up an ActiveE and use it for as little as a half hour or keep it for several days.
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Tags: BMW ActiveE, battery cars, bmw battery cars, bmw drive now, bmw electric vehicles, bmw hybrids, bmw i3, bmw i8, carsharing, electric vehicles, hybrid cars, paul a. eisenstein, paul eisenstein, thedetroitbureau
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by Paul A. Eisenstein on May.18, 2012
The calculator shows most drivers will need 5 years to recover the added cost of the Toyota Prius C.
The recent run-up in fuel prices led to a surge in demand for hybrids like the Toyota Prius, which has been selling at record levels. Yet sales of gas-electric vehicles still lag well behind what proponents keep forecasting, accounting for barely 3% of the overall U.S. new vehicle market.
Why? Well, that’s a matter of some debate, but for many potential buyers the issue is one of cost. While there are a few models that carry no premium for their advanced powertrains – such as the Lincoln MKZ – most hybrids are more expensive than comparable models using gas power alone. In some cases, the premium can be substantial, $5,000 or more.
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And so, while those hybrids might quickly save you money on gas, it can take years to break even on your up-front investment – what industry types call the “payback period.”
Or will it? A new calculator created by the National Transportation Research Center at Oak Ridge National Laboratory is designed to make it easy to calculate your fuel savings – and determine the payback period.
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Tags: Ford Fusion Hybrid, auto news, buick lacrosse eassist, car news, escalade hybrid, hybrid calculator, hybrid cars, hybrid payback, hybrid savings, hybrid vehicles, paul a. eisenstein, paul eisenstein, thedetroitbureau, toyota Prius C
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Motorists look for cleaner, cheaper options.
by Joseph Szczesny on Apr.18, 2012
Porsche's Cayenne is the latest model to go diesel.
Sales of vehicles that run on something other than gasoline climbed significantly during the first quarter of 2012, with an especially big surge in demand for hybrids and high-mileage diesel products. The increase mirrors the rapid run-up in the price of gasoline – and has been buoyed by the increased availability of new diesel, battery and other vehicles able to use alternative energy sources.
The Toyota Prius, the world’s best-selling gas-electric model, set an all-time U.S. sales record in March. And during the first quarter, American hybrid car sales overall increased 37.2%. The emerging plug-in electric car market saw a sales increase of 323% after a slow and shaky start in 2012. By comparison, the overall automobile market increased 13.4% in 2012, according to new sales information compiled by HybridCars.Com and Baum and Associates.
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“With higher fuel prices, Americans are seeking more fuel efficient cars so it’s understandable that diesel and hybrid cars are showing such impressive sales increases,” said Allen Schaeffer, the Executive Director of the Diesel Technology Forum.
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Tags: Porsche Cayenne diesel, Toyota Prius, alternative energy, auto news, battery cars, car news, car sales, diesel car sales, diesel cars, ford c-max energi, hybrid car sales, hybrid cars, joe szczesny, thedetroitbureau, toyota rav4 ev
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Crossover-like model aims to expand appeal of $90,000 plug-in commuter car.
by Paul A. Eisenstein on Aug.05, 2011
Fisker Automotive founder Henrik Fisker with his plug-in hybrid, the $87,900 Karma.
With sales of the new Karma battery car unofficially underway, California battery-car start Fisker Automotive will roll out an additional variant of the costly commuter car at the upcoming Frankfurt Motor Show.
The sleek combination of a sports car and a plug-in hybrid commuter car is initially being offered in hardtop form, with a convertible version soon to be added to the line. A third body style, which sources say could be “loosely described” as a crossover vehicle, will follow.
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“It is a new variant and we will be showing it at Frankfurt,” Fisker spokesman Roger Ormischer confirmed to TheDetroitBureau.com, though he declined to provide more specific details beyond noting, “We will be putting it on sale next year.”
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Tags: Frankfurt Motor Show, auto news, battery cars, car news, electric vehicles, extended-range electric vehicles, fisker automotive, fisker frankfurt motor show, fisker karma, fisker news, henrik fisker, hybrid cars, hybrid vehicles, paul a. eisenstein, paul eisenstein, plug-in hybrids, tesla news, thedetroitbureau
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Different directions on battery-car technology.
by Joseph Szczesny on May.19, 2011
JCI and Saft provide battery car technology to makers including Mercedes-Benz, which launched the S400 Blue Hybrid.
Johnson Controls Inc., a leading vendor in electric car technology, is suing to break up its joint venture with Saft, a French battery maker.
“Johnson Controls and Saft have a fundamental disagreement about the future direction and appropriate scope of the joint venture,” said Alex Molinaroli, president of Johnson Controls Power Solutions.
Though perhaps best known for interiors and other conventional automotive components and systems, JCI has aggressively moved into the battery car space, working with makers like Ford on hybrids and even more advanced systems. Saft has also pushed into what some anticipate to be a critical and fast-expanding automotive niche.
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“The industry is evolving rapidly and the investments needed to achieve market leadership require us to do more than the joint venture has done or can do,” Molinaroli explained, after JCI filed a lawsuit in the Delaware Chancery Court to dissolve the Johnson Controls-Saft joint venture.
The joint venture was formed in 2006 to develop and manufacture lithium-ion automotive battery solutions and lined up major customers, including Mercedes-Benz.
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Tags: auto news, battery cars, car news, electric vehicles, hybrid cars, jci battery cars, jci mercedes, jci saft, jci sues saft, joe szczesny, thedetroitbureau
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Stuttgart maker pushing three different hybrid technologies.
by Paul A. Eisenstein on Mar.02, 2010
The plug-in powertrain in the Porsche 918 Spyder Concept could see production, possibly in a Boxster, within a couple years.
Look for Porsche to put its first plug-in hybrid into production something during the 2013 model-year, the sports car maker’s CEO told TheDetroitBureau.com during a conversation at the 2010 Geneva Motor Show.
The lithium-ion based system is making its debut on the Porsche 918 Spyder Hybrid concept, one of three different hybrid offerings gracing the German maker’s stand at this year’s Geneva show. What’s particularly significant is Porsche’s use of three different hybrid technologies, one for each of the models debuting at PALExpo.
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That includes a “full” hybrid system that will debut in the second-generation Porsche Cayenne SUV, which launches next autumn. The Cayenne will be able to drive for brief distances – at speeds of up to 98 mph – solely on battery power, but like other current hybrid systems, it is intended to run primarily on a mix of battery and gasoline power.
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Tags: 2010 geneva motor show, 2011 Porsche cayenne hybrid, Porsche 918 Spyder Concept, Porsche Hybrid, auto news, auto shows, car shows, geneva motor show news, hybrid cars, paul a. eisenstein, paul eisenstein, porsche 911 gt3 r hybrid, porsche news, porsche reviews, thedetroitbureau
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