World of Automobile: Hybrid

Showing posts with label Hybrid. Show all posts

Wednesday, December 12, 2012

Nissan to introduce 15 hybrid models

Tokyo, Dec 12 (IANS)

Japan's Nissan Motor Co. is expected to introduce 15 models of hybrid vehicle by the end of fiscal 2016, as it aims to boost its lineup of green cars, the company said Wednesday.

Nissan will update versions of existing vehicles as well as introduce new models. It plans to sell a total of 1.5 million units of electronic vehicles globally together with its French alliance partner Renault SA by the end of 2016, the Japanese news agency Kyodo reported.

The global cumulative sales of the automaker's Leaf electric vehicle have already topped 46,000 units as of the end of November since the model was launched in December 2010, reported Xinhua.

--IANS

View the original article here

Sunday, June 19, 2011

2014 Range Rover Mule has Jaguar Dial Shifter—and Possible Diesel-Electric Hybrid Powertrain

With us since the 2006 model year, Land Rover’s current Range Rover flagship is palatial and iconic and capable. But we expect its replacement within a couple of years, likely with simple evolutionary styling changes covering a slew of new technologies—including some intended to help it slurp less fuel. This particular Range Rover–bodied mule, snapped at a facility of a technology partner, contains at least a few of those technologies, the most obvious of which is the dial-type electronic shifter like that used by its sister brand, Jaguar. It certainly isn’t the sportiest shift device in the world, but it is rather in keeping with the Range Rover’s wafty personality.

It’s clear that much more has changed beneath that current-gen Range Rover body, and there are a few possibilities as to what this vehicle might actually be. Among them is a new, super-high-performance version of the Range Rover, a swan-song model with a unique front clip for, say, the 2013 model year. More likely is that this is a powertrain/chassis mule for the next-gen Range Rover, due for 2014, with the fender flares hinting at increases in front and rear track width. Though we can’t see any of it here, a more aerodynamic body likely will need to be adopted if Land Rover hopes to raise fuel economy from “atrocious” to “just plain awful.” Also telling are the twin outboard bumper intakes, which show off what appear to be grilles for twin intercoolers, suggesting that a turbocharged engine—likely a diesel-powered V-6 or V-8— sits up front.

A close look at a mysterious box located between the mufflers suggests one further exposition: that this mule is testing Land Rover’s new “Range_e” plug-in diesel-electric hybrid system announced at this year’s Geneva auto show, with the box presumably containing some of the battery components. Intended for Land Rover’s larger vehicles, Range_e was shown installed in the Range Rover Sport and combines electric power with a 3.0-liter diesel V-6 and an eight-speed automatic. It surely will work in the larger Range Rover, too, although we shudder to think of the curb weight of a Rangie with a heavy diesel engine and a battery pack containing enough energy capacity to propel it 20 miles on a single charge.

Land Rover has said in the past that a diesel hybrid will be ready by 2012 and on sale by calendar-year 2013—just in time to debut in the 2014 Range Rover.

View the original article here

2013 Toyota Prius C Hybrid Spied: Aww, Look, It’s a Baby Prius!

2012 Toyota Prius C Spy Photos - Future Cars - Auto Reviews - Car and Driver #pallet {margin:0;}#echoice li.category {margin:0;}Car and DriverIntelligence. Independence. Irreverence. VehiclesReviewsNewsFeaturesBuyer's GuideFollow UsSubscribeSearch Car and DriverHome › News › 2012 Toyota Prius C Spy Photos - Future Cars

Shopping Tools

2012 Toyota Prius C Spy Photos - Future CarsNifty-looking concept gives way to drab-looking price-buster. BY STEVE SILER, PHOTOGRAPHY BY BRENDA PRIDDY & CO. AND THE MANUFACTURER
June 2011

Pages:1Photos

2012 Toyota Prius C Spy Photos

Photos (18)Visit Our Buyer's Guide »Toyota Prius› Overview› Specifications› Price with Options› Photos & 360° View› Get a Free QuoteNews & Reviews2012 Toyota Prius V Hybrid - First Drive ReviewToyota Prius c Concept - Auto Shows2012 Toyota Prius v Hybrid Official Photos and Info - Auto Shows2012 Toyota Prius MPV Spy Photos - Future Cars2012 Toyota Prius Plug-In Hybrid - First Drive Review2010 Toyota Prius Plug-In Hybrid Concept - Official Photos and Info2010 Toyota Prius Tested - Video2010 Toyota Prius Pricing Announced - Car News2010 Toyota Prius - First Drive Review

We’ve known for some time that Toyota’s Prius family would expand to include a smaller, lower-priced model, and this year’s Detroit auto show provided a vague idea of what it might look like in the form of the cool Prius C concept.

Based on these spy photos, it seems that the budget Prius is going to look less like the low-slung concept hatch and more like, well, a budget Prius. Gone are the high-set headlamps and razor-sharp front-end sculpting, replaced by conventional polygonal headlamps, a bland trapezoidal scheme for the air intakes, and the Prius’s trademark hood lump. The rear end is somewhat more interesting, chopping the Prius shape off behind the C-pillar to allow an overall length some 18 inches shorter than the standard model’s. Like the Prius C concept, the car sits rather squat between the flared rear fenders, although it is hard to tell if the rear window dips below the wiper and down toward the license plate, which would mimic the concept. In any case, most of the zest of the show car appears to be gone.

We expect that the Prius C will share at least a few—if not most—of its chassis components with the next-generation Yaris. That car’s 1.5-liter four could take over the internal-combustion role in its hybrid powertrain in place of the 1.8-liter currently installed in the Prius. As the price leader (and based on this prototype’s stark interior), we don’t expect many frills to accompany this fuel miser. We also don’t expect much in the way of fun behind the wheel, but we’d love to be proven wrong. Watch for the production Prius C to appear in showrooms within a year, likely priced about $5000 less than the Prius’s $24,280 base sticker. Such pricing would line it directly up with Honda’s equally boring Insight, which starts at $18,950.

Subscribe to Car and Driver magazine

Pages:1Photos

Stumble ItYahoo! BuzzCommentsJoin the Discussion

Saturday, June 18, 2011

Ram Begins Deliveries of 140 Plug-In Hybrid Pickups to Local Governments for Testing

May 31, 2011 at 3:15pm by Steve Siler

This week, Yuma, Arizona, became the first of 12 U.S. cities to receive a fleet of Ram pickups that have been equipped with plug-in hybrid electric powertrains. The trucks are part of a three-year, $100m demonstration program sponsored by Chrysler and the U.S. Department of Energy. Each one of the 10 trucks arriving in Yuma—like the 130 more to be distributed elsewhere— is equipped with Chrysler’s tried-and-true 5.7-liter Hemi V-8 under the hood and a liquid-cooled, 12.9-kWh battery pack tucked beneath the second row bench. In case of a local power outage, the powertrain is capable of a “reverse power flow” to keep the lights on—at least in City Hall.

The trucks also feature a two-mode transmission “based upon two-speed transmission technology that was readily available from a previous vehicle electrification project,” Chrysler’s press release said. (Reading between the lines, Chrysler has finally found something to do with a hunk of leftover transmissions from the ill-timed previous-gen Dodge Durango and Chrysler Aspen hybrids.) Also along for the ride are regenerative brakes, cylinder deactivation, and a 240-volt/30-amp four-prong power outlet and 120-volt/20-amp outlet power strip in the cargo bed to power tools, cell phones, and margarita blenders.

The municipalities earmarked for the plug-in pickups are scattered from coast to coast and from Arizona to North Dakota, for use in both cities and rural areas, in order to gather a wide range of usage data and to see where and in which circumstances big-battery technology does best. Needless to say, the usage data collected will be markedly different than that which Toyota is gleaning from its Prius plug-in hybrid program. But unlike the Prius plug-in, which goes into production in 2012, the Ram plug-in hybrid program is strictly experimental, as is an upcoming endeavor to build 25 Chrysler Town & Country plug-in hybrids, and there are no plans for a production version.

Tags: Dodge, Dodge Ram, plug-in hybrid, Ram, Ram 1500, Ram 1500 PHEV |

View the original article here

Friday, June 10, 2011

2012 Porsche Panamera S Hybrid – First Drive Review

May 23, 2011 at 11:12am by Juergen Zoellter

2012 Porsche Panamera S hybrid

The sports sedan that’s both a Porsche and a hybrid.

As we exited a gas station in Capetown, South Africa, we left behind four confused and disappointed service attendants. When we had pulled in, one of ?the guys exclaimed, “Wow, it’s a Porsche!” Immediately, we were surrounded by three of ?his co-workers, all jockeying to help gas up the car. (Apparently Porsches don’t come through here very often.) What we didn’t tell them was that this Panamera is the upcoming S hybrid model and that we had pressed the “E-POWER” button on the center console when we stopped. So instead of pulling away trailing some ripping, Le Mans–racer exhaust note, we slipped away silently under electric power.

Keep Reading: 2012 Porsche Panamera S Hybrid – First Drive Review

Tags: German, hybrid, luxury, Porsche, Porsche Panamera, Porsche Panamera S hybrid, sedan, supercharged |

View the original article here

Tuesday, May 17, 2011

2013 Cadillac SRX Plug-In Hybrid Spy Photos – Future Cars

April 25, 2011 at 6:34pm by David Gluckman

A plug-in powertrain will power the touch-sensitive interior of Caddy’s crossover (and the rest of the car, too).

Cadillac can’t seem to settle on a powertrain for its hot-selling SRX. The second-gen crossover was introduced in 2010 with Saab’s turbocharged 2.8-liter six as an option (it was sacked early this year; no big loss) and a 3.0-liter V-6 as the base engine (also gone for 2012). Both are being replaced by GM’s 3.6-liter V-6, which will be the only available motivator for now. A plug-in hybrid version—caught here by our covert photogs—should join the lineup soon enough. The 2013 model year also will bring a mild interior update with touch-sensitive controls.

Keep Reading: 2013 Cadillac SRX Plug-In Hybrid Spy Photos – Future Cars

Tags: American, Cadillac, Cadillac SRX, Cadillac SRX plug-in hybrid, crossover, hybrid, luxury, plug-in hybrid, spy photos, SUV |

View the original article here

Monday, May 2, 2011

2013 Cadillac SRX Plug-In Hybrid Spy Photos – Future Cars

April 25, 2011 at 6:34pm by David Gluckman

A plug-in powertrain will power the touch-sensitive interior of Caddy’s crossover (and the rest of the car, too).

Keep Reading: 2013 Cadillac SRX Plug-In Hybrid Spy Photos – Future Cars

Tags: American, Cadillac, Cadillac SRX, Cadillac SRX plug-in hybrid, crossover, hybrid, luxury, plug-in hybrid, spy photos, SUV |

View the original article here