(1 votes, average: 5 out of 5)
Loading ...NPR Science Friday to Spotlight Plug-In Cars (PHEV)
Posted on November 20, 2008
Filed Under Education | Comments
While politicians and economists argue over what should be done to shore up the American auto industry, we’ll take a look at progress towards a plug-in cars. Could the current financial crisis help provide the jolt needed to get electric cars and advanced hybrids into widespread production?
Some industry observers have suggested that energy efficiency conditions be set on any government-financed aid to the automobile industry. Can Detroit automakers do it themselves? Or will smaller, more flexible companies have to innovate and show the bigger companies the way? In this hour, we’ll talk about the technology and politics involved with getting to electric and plug-in hybrid cars. Teachers, find more information about using Science Friday as a classroom resource in the Kids’ Connection.
Guests
Sherry Boschert
Vice-president, Plug In America
Author, Plug-In Hybrids: The Cars that Will Recharge America
San Francisco, California
Daniel Sperling
Professor of Engineering and Environmental Science and Policy
Director of the Institute of Transportation Studies
Member of the California Air Resources Board, Automotive seat
University of California, Davis
Davis, California
JP Straubel
Chief Technical Officer
Tesla Motors, Inc.
San Carlos, California
Tony Markel
Senior Engineer
National Renewable Energy Laboratory
Golden, Colorado
The NPR Science Friday Plug-In Cars Website is located here.
You are be able to listen to the show, download the MP3 or subscribe to the podcast!
Toyota Testing Plug-In Hybrid (PHEV)
Chrysler Circulating Plug-In Hybrids (PHEV) to Dealers
Johnson Controls-Saft Wins U.S. Grant To Research Plug-In Hybrids (PHEV)
Plug-in Hybrid Vehicles Get Real-World Testing
Ford Gets $10M Federal Grant for Plug-In Hybrids (PHEV)
(2 votes, average: 4.5 out of 5) Loading ...Father of Hybrid Engine is an American
Posted on October 29, 2008
Filed Under General News | Comments
When you think of a hybrid engine, likely the first thing that comes to mind is the Toyota Prius or Honda Insight, two of the most memorable model names featuring this type of technology. But, what you might not know is that hybrid technology was invented by an American, a Soviet immigrant who launched his inventions at the A. James Clark School of Engineering at the University of Maryland in College Park.
Now, the university is planning to honor Severinsky by inducting him into the Clark School Innovation Hall of Fame on October 30th. For Severinsky the honor underscores what many people fleeing aggression have discovered: the United States is truly a land of opportunity.
From Bread Lines to Gas Lines
Arriving in the US in 1978 as a refugee, Severinsky found his adopted country in the middle of a national oil crisis of that era, a problem he believed he could help resolve. “I’d just come from bread lines and now I was in gas lines,” says Severinsky. He decided to tackle the problem of gasoline consumption.
With a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from Moscow’s Institute for Precision Measurements in Radioelectronics and Physics, Severinsky started analyzing the Periodic Table, searching for possible alternatives to internal combustion. In his study he concluded that a fully-electric vehicle would never be practical, but an electric/internal combustion hybrid could work.
From there, he took a job in power electronic engineering, where he was able to engross himself in the field of high-voltage semiconductors that was critical to his ideas for a hybrid powerplant.
Hyperdrive and Hybrid Technology
Beginning in 1992, Severinsky began filing numerous patents for the Hyperdrive power train system. He received additional help from Mtech in arranging a meeting with staff from the National Institutes of Standards and Technology, the U.S. Department of Commerce, and Lockheed Martin.
He made a physical prototype of his technology and, on October 14, 1999, demonstrated the PAICE system in Detroit. Severinsky proved that the system could effectively reduce the gas consumption of a Cadillac Coup de Ville by half in city driving while retaining its driving performance.
Engineers at U.S. and Japanese automakers were interested in Severinsky’s invention, but top management resisted. A staff engineer at Toyota later developed the same idea as Severinsky for hybrids. When the Toyota Prius was introduced, Severinsky fought to protect his patent rights and after a drawn out legal battle with Toyota, he won the civil case in 2005.
Alex Severinsky will be inducted into the Innovation Hall of Fame at a Clark School ceremony on October 30, 2008. The ceremony will be immediately followed by the Charles and Helen White Symposium on Engineering Innovation, “Intellectual Property: How Well Does the System Protect the Individual Innovator?”
Toyota to Put Hybrid Engine in All Models
NASCAR, Meet the Electric Chevy Volt
Ford Receives $10 Million Hybrid Grant
Toyota, Ford to Bolster Hybrid-Engine Options; Honda to Aim at Prius
Chinese BYD to Sell Plug-In Hybrid in U.S. by 2010
(1 votes, average: 4 out of 5) Loading ...Chinese BYD to Sell Plug-In Hybrid in U.S. by 2010
Posted on October 29, 2008
Filed Under Car Show, Future Speculation, PHEV, Prototypes | Comments
At last year’s North American International Auto Show in Detroit, Chinese automaker BYD surprised industry pundits by bringing an advanced concept for a dual mode hybrid to its stand. Now the battery specialist (BYD’s parent company is also one of the world’s biggest suppliers of rechargeable batteries) claims to be moving the game on even further, saying that it will bring a plug-in hybrid vehicle to the U.S. market by 2010.
BYD chairman Wang Chuanfu has said that the new hybrid, which is most likely to come in the form of the F3 sedan pictured above, will be able to travel up to around 68 miles on electric power alone.
In addition to its previous hybrid concept experience, the plug-in plans are also being greatly bolstered by an alleged investment of $230 million from rich guy Warren Buffet, which should go a long ways towards developing the safety features needed for U.S. regulations. BYD is reportedly getting help with the safety standards via “third-party consulting and engineering companies.”
Despite the fact that BYD doesn’t currently sell any hybrid in its home market, the company has lofty sales goals for the plug-in already—hoping to make the car available not only in the U.S. and China, but eventually in Europe as well.
Source: NextAutos.com
Plug-In Hybrid (PHEV) From G.M. Is Nearly Ready for Testing
Tesla Confirms Model S Plug-in Hybrid Sedan
Hyundai Eyes First US Sonata Hybrid in 2010
Electric Hybrids Gaining Ground
GM Gives First Look At PHEV Chevy Volt
(1 votes, average: 5 out of 5) Loading ...New Fuel Economy Record Set - The 100 Plus Miles Per Gallon Avion
Posted on October 14, 2008
Filed Under General News, Industry News, Prototypes | Comments
The Avion was developed as a lightweight and aerodynamic and very fuel-efficient sports car. The prototype was completed in 1984 and set the Guinness world record for fuel economy in 1986 at 103.7-mpg average driving from the Mexico border to British Columbia Canada border.
The plan at that time was to manufacture the Avion but at the time fuel economy was not as big a concern 20 years ago and we lacked the expertise and the money to tool up and produce the cars.
The car has been designed to be manufactured in small volume using recycled components from the automobile recycling yards. Utilizing standard engines and drive trains installed in the Avion’s light weight and aerodynamic body we can achieve significant improvements in fuel efficacy and performance making the Avion both fun to drive and while getting great mileage. In our testing the car we were able to achieve 80mpg At 70 mph and an astonishing 114mpg at 55mph driving from Eugene Or. To Portland OR.
An Idea twenty years before its time.
On Saturday, October 11 2008, Craig Henderson smashed his old World book record (103.7MPG) and set a new world record in fuel economy (113.1MPG) when he drove his lightweight and aerodynamic automobile - the Avion -from the Canadian border to the Oregon border.
This time, he started at the Canadian border (Bellingham Wa.) at 7:25 morning of October 11 and ending at the Oregon border at Fort Vancouver at 1:00. Henderson traveled 263.1 miles and used 2.326 gallons of diesel averaging 113.1 miles per gallon, even getting stuck twice in Seattle traffic
Henderson is a contender in the $10 million Progressive Insurance Automotive X PRIZE. He is among more than 120 teams from 28 states and 17 countries who signed a letter of intent to compete for their share of a $10 million prize purse, which will be awarded to those that can design and build production-capable, 100 MPGe (miles per gallon energy equivalent) vehicles that people will want to buy and that meet market needs for price, size, capability, safety and performance. “The Avion is fun to drive, and it gets great mileage,” says Henderson with understated pride. “Our car has achieved 113.1 mpg, driving on I-5 from Canada border to the Oregon border. That’s pretty amazing, especially considering we designed and built it over twenty five years ago.”
“I am thrilled to be able to break our old record. This was a personal goal achieved for me and now we set our sites on the Progressive Automotive X PRIZE. We are in the process of building another car to compete and hopefully win the X PRIZE and we are seeking corporate or personal sponsorship to help us meet or goals,” Henderson said.
Since setting his first world record in 1986, Henderson and his co-designer Bill Green, a professor at Virginia Tech University, have found ways to manufacture their fuel-efficient cars-which run on diesel gasoline- in limited production, using standard engine parts and drive-trains that are innovative only when teamed with the lightweight, aerodynamic Avion chassis and body.
More InformationL Avion
Chevy Volt Debuts to Enthusiasm in California
More Hybrid Drivers Installing Conversion Kits
Mercedes Announces Hybrid S-class for 2009
New Honda Hybrid Priced Lower Than Toyota Prius
Citroen C-Cactus 97.4 mpg Hybrid Edges Towards Production
(1 votes, average: 3 out of 5) Loading ...Automakers Warn Against Using Hybrids as Taxicabs
Posted on October 14, 2008
Filed Under General News, Government, Industry News, Modifications | Comments
The TLC has confirmed that it does not crash test hybrid taxicabs modified with partitions and says it relies, in large part, on federal testing to assert the safety of hybrid taxicabs. However, it has also been established that there are no federal crash tests for hybrid taxicabs modified with partitions — nor are there front or rear crash tests in unmodified hybrids for adult rear occupants, which comprise the majority of taxi passengers. Hybrid automakers explicitly warn against any modifications to hybrid vehicles in the owner manuals. And indeed, according to automotive engineer C. Bruce Gambardella, partitions in hybrids are a “crude modification” that “changes the entire interior environment and takes us back about a half a century in automotive safety.”
Every New Car Will Be A Hybrid By 2020
Hyundai Eyes First US Sonata Hybrid in 2010
Can Toyota Maintain Lead on Hybrids?
NPR Science Friday to Spotlight Plug-In Cars (PHEV)
Plug-In Hybrid (PHEV), Electric Car on Toyota Agenda
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