Archive for Hybrids, Electric vehicles, fuel cells, alternative fuel

This is the car Toyota Australia will be exhibiting at the 2009 Melbourne International Motor Show, probably in commemoration of the announcement last year that Australia will be building the Toyota Camry Hybrid, in addition to Thailand.

“The hybrid Camry – which will share some key design features with the HC-CV – will play a key role in bringing the future to the Australian automotive manufacturing sector. It is a future that uses less fuel while delivering better performance,” says Toyota Australia head Max Yasuda. The first Camry Hybrid to roll out of Australian production lines will be in 12 months time from the HC-CV’s unveiling.

Other than the pointless large chrome blings, other design cues are actually more purposeful. The lack of much air intakes on the front end helps with the car’s aerodynamics and fuel efficiency. The weird pattern of the small lower intake grille on the bumper is quite interesting as well, it has a very tribal pattern rather than the regular mesh pattern we’re used to. The tribal pattern continues inside with a totally random streak of blue on the front seats that is supposed to look like the Hybrid Synergy Drive logo, and some random embossing here and there that’s supposed to look like tree bark though you have to look at the hi-res photo to actually see it.

Under the hood is an inline-4 engine paired with an electric motor and there’s no reason why this won’t most likely be the 2.4 liter Atkinson cycle inline-4 that the American Camry Hybrid (and recently the Lexus HS 250h) has. Mated to a CVT, it’s got a combined total output of 187 horsepower thanks to the 40hp electric motor, with the combustion engine alone putting out 147 horsepower at 6,000rpm and 187Nm of torque at 4,400rpm.

Look after the jump for a full photo gallery.

Click here to read the rest of Toyota HC-CV (Hybrid Camry Concept Vehicle) by Toyota Australia for the Melbourne 2009 show

A new teaser image of Tesla’s latest product; the Model S has emerged on the Internet. We were recently teased with another image which gave us a bellow-shoulder line sneak peak. Looking at the teaser above which reveals a glass roof, you can definitely tell that the four-door fully electric sedan will be a pretty handsome automobile. The sexy side profile reminds me of the Aston Martin Rapide four-door coupe.

The Model S will make its debut on March 26th next month in California and potential buyers should be able to place orders with a US$ 10,000 deposit. Selling price should be figured at US$ 60,000 (approximately RM 220,000) while it should be able to deliver 386 kilometers in terms of driving range.

Volkswagen’s American division has announced that it has shipped 16 Passat-Lingyu fuel cell cars over from China for a demonstration run at the California Fuel Cell Partnership event. These fuel cell cars with zero harmful emissions which are based on the VW Passat were jointly developed in China by a partnership between Volkswagen Shanghai, Volkswagen’s Research Group and the Tongji University.

With the hydrogen fuel cells located on the floor of the Passat, it is able to produce 55kW of power by simply converting hydrogen into water and electricity with the help of oxygen. The energy produced is then channeled to a 376 Volt lithium-ion battery pack. The Passat-Lingyu is able to reach a top speed of about 145 km/h, and is able to deliver 235 kilometers in terms of range will a full tank of fuel. These environment-friendly cars were first presented at the Olympic Games in China last year.

Chinese auto manufacturer Chery claims the new Chery S18 (it’s not wrong for you to see a resemblance to the Suzuki Splash) to be Chery’s first self-developed electric car, capable of hitting a top sped of 120km/h and a maximum range of 150km on a full charge. The Chery S18 uses iron-phosphate-based lithium-ion batteries which can be charged in between 4 to 6 hours, and 80% charged in half an hour.

This makes Chery the 2nd Chinese manufacturer to unveil an electric car after BYD unveiled its plug-in hybrid BYD F3DM last year. Chery also demonstrated its hybrid systems as part of the Beijing Olympics fleet. Hybrid versions of the Chery A5 with electric motors and hybrid systems developed by supplier Ricardo were used as part of transportation arrangements. Its rival BYD on the other hand, has the confidence, support and investment of Warren Buffet’s Berkshire Hathaway.

Look after the jump for a rear shot of the S18.

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The future of Tesla and its upcoming Tesla Model S sedan is still doubtful, but that doesn’t stop us from getting excited about this new teaser image that the company have released, leading up to the official unveiling scheduled to be held on the 26th of March 2009. The profile shows a 4-door sedan but with sporty proportions, perhaps what an enlarged Mazda RX-8 would look like.

This will be interesting as we’ll get to check out what design language path Tesla is treading down, because its first model the Tesla Roadster has too much influence of its base model in it, the Lotus Elise. The Model S was first referred to as Project WhiteStar, and is expected to have a range of about 386km, with a price tag of US$60k, much cheaper than the Roadster’s US$109k pricetag.

Volkswagen has signed a letter of intent with Japanese company Toshiba Corporation to work together on the development of electric drive units and power electronics for the upcoming Volkswagen New Small Family range of cars. Also in development are battery systems with high specific energy density for a next generation of electric cars such as the VW NSF or even other VW Group cars like the Audi A1 Sportback Concept.

Volkswagen’s Dr Martin Winterkorn said there is still a considerable amount of R&D to be done until Volkswagen can produce an electric vehicle, one that is emissions-free, affordable, and safe, not to mentioned ready to be produced large-scale.

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The facelifted Honda Civic is now in Malaysia, first in Honda Civic Hybrid form. Honda Malaysia Sdn Bhd has finally announced the new pricing for the Honda Civic Hybrid. It now retails for RM 129,980, a small premium of RM1,180 over the Honda Civic 2.0S.

It’s now also available in two colours – Premium White Pearl and Neutron Blue Metallic (new colors shown above), while the pre-facelift version only had one bluish-silverish metallic colour. For those waiting for the facelifted regular Civic, according to Honda Malaysia it will be coming in mid-March 2009.

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When the new Volkswagen Touareg debuts in 2010, it will get a gasoline-electric hybrid powertrain, in addition to the petrol and diesel options that it currently has. Volkswagen has released preliminary details on the hybrid powertrain, which reveals a few interesting things about what’s going into the next generation of Volkswagens. Firstly, this is the first time the new supercharged Audi 3.0 liter V6 is installed in a Volkswagen. By itself it produces 333 PS at 5,500rpm and 440Nm of torque from 3,000rpm. With the help of the E-Motor, this is boosted up to 374 PS and 550Nm of torque, which can take the Touarag up to 100km/h in 6.8 seconds.

By itself, the E-Motor puts out 52 PS and 300Nm of torque, which is what powers the vehicle in pure electric mode during city driving at speeds of up to 50km/h. This E-Motor is installed between the engine and the transmission, which is another new bit of equipment in a Volkswagen. It now has a total of 8 ratios, up from the previous 6-speed box.

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This 8-speed box has been tuned for hybrid usage. It has a special torque converter with larger lock-up system, an auxiliary electric oil pump (to maintain a supply of oil when the V6 TSI is switched off), a transmission heater to reach optimal operating temperature faster, and a modified transmission controller.

To make up for the additional hybrid equipment including NiMH batteries, some weight reduction had to be done in other areas of the car. Hence, the 4Motion all-wheel drive loses the center transfer box with the lockable differential and the offroading low ratios. In its place is a lighter Torsen differential from the Audi Q7, which has no low ratio capabilities.

Look after the jump for many diagrams showing the different hybrid operation modes.

Click here to read the rest of Volkwagen Touareg V6 TSI Hybrid Prototype

The next generation Ford Focus due in 2010 will spawn an electric-only version that will share its platform. This new Focus platform is important for Ford as it will be a global platform, which means the ancient platform American market Focus (shown above) will also be updated. The Ford electric vehicle project has its roots back when its supplier Magna International secretly converted a Focus into an electric car without Ford’s knowledge and surprised them with it. Ford loved the car, and Project M began, a joint venture between Magna and Ford. The new Focus-based electric vehicle which is set to launch in 2011, a year after Chrysler and Nissan unveils their own pure electric vehicles, and after GM launches its Chevrolet Volt extended-range EV.

Unlike EREVs like the Volt which move with an electric motor on pure electric mode but use an on-board internal combustion engine to generate electricity for the electric motor to go further (rather than drive the car directly through a gearbox), the Ford EV will not have a range extender and will be able to go about 160km on a single charge, which Ford says is enough for the average American motorist.

Peugeot attempts to define what a crossover is with the new Peugeot 3008 crossover, previously internally known as the T84, built on the 308’s platform. Peugeot says basically a crossover is a vehicle that has a combination of qualities that are usually deemed incompatible, such as driving pleasure inside a “tall” vehicle, etc. It says the 3008 is a fusion between a SUV, an MPV and a hatchback.

On the inside it presents to you a possible future design direction for Peugeot interiors. The dash is now quite driver-centric and gives you the feeling of a “cockpit”, especially the horizontal row of switches below the center air conditioning outlets. If this is where Peugeot dashboard is headed to then I definitely approve!

Peugeot says it has engineered the 3008 to have a comfortable sedan-like driving position despite being a tall vehicle. That means feeling like you’re sitting snugly in the seat instead of on it like a stool. It also means an optimum sedan-like steering wheel position, and Peugeot has equipped the 3008’s steering column with 3 joints instead of the usual 2 to ensure this “perfect position”.

There are also some nice driver-air gadgets such as an automatic parking brake, hill assist, distance alert to the car in front of you and finally a heads-up display. You will find near the gear lever a knob that allows you to select between 5 “Grip Control” modes – Standard, Snow, Off Road (Mud/Dirt/Wet Grass), Sand and ESP off.

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Under the hood are a range of both petrol and diesel engines, with the petrol units as expected being from the Prince family co-developed with BMW. The 1.6 VTi is available in 120hp and 160Nm form with a 5-speed manual, while the 1.6 THP comes in two slightly different variants. One is a 150hp, 240Nm version with a 6-speed manual that puts out 176g/km of CO2 while the other is a more powerful yet less polluting 156hp and 240Nm Euro 5-compliant version that puts out only 170g/km of CO2.

The diesel versions are from the HDi FAP range with either 1.6 liter or 2.0 liter displacements and outputs ranging from as low as 110hp and 240Nm with a 6-speed manual or a 6-speed automated manual (AMT) to a 2.0 liter with 163hp and 340Nm of torque mated to a 6-speed automatic transmission.

While these regular engines are available from various times this year onwards, from the year 2011 onwards, the 3008 will be equipped with Peugeot’s HYbrid4 technology which uses a diesel engine to power the front wheels but goes into all-wheel drive mode with an electric motor powering the rear wheels. The HYbrid4 can also turn the vehicle into a rear wheel drive vehicle in an all-electric mode with zero emissions.

Check out a whole photo gallery with a video after the jump.

Click here to read the rest of Peugeot 3008 Crossover – details and photos