Chrysler’s co-president continued to talk up his employer’s plans for electrically-driven vehicles this week at a media luncheon in California. Press told the gathering that he had driven three different producible prototypes of plug-in hybrid vehicles recently. The vehicles have been developed by the new ENVI unit that was established in late 2007 specifically to work on electric vehicles. According to Press, the vehicles can accelerate from 0-60 mph in four seconds and have a range of over 300 miles. Press hasn’t said when these vehicles would be built, but earlier this summer, company officials indicated a 3-5 year timeline to produce such vehicles. If so that would put the company at least 1-2 years behind the expected launch of the Chevrolet Volt and a potential plug-in version of the Toyota Prius. For production, it’s likely that the performance of the cars would be dialed back significantly in order to increase electric range although a higher-performance Dodge vehicle is not out of the question.

Popularity: 1% [?]

By the middle of the next decade Mercedes-Benz wants its entire lineup to be able to operate entirely free of petroleum. The German giant is working on a variety of technologies that will help provide crude oil free transport such as battery electrics, fuel cells and highly efficient internal combustion engines that can operate on biofuels. Mercedes has recently been letting European journalists sample some of these new powertrains at a test facility in Spain.

The F700 concept that debuted last fall in Frankfurt is powered by a turbocharged DiesOtto engine. The DiesOtto is Mercedes’ branding for a combined HCCI and spark ignition engine that provides nearly the same efficiency as a diesel without the need for the expensive after-treatment systems. This and conventional diesel engines can run on biofuels and Mercedes hopes to launch the DiesOtto in production by 2010. Mercedes is also currently field testing electrically-driven vehicles with both batteries alone and fuel cells each of which they also plan to launch at the beginning of the decade. While it may well be that all Mercedes models in 2015 will be capable of running petroleum free, the reality is that many - if not most - will still be using fossil fuels much of the time. That may come in the form of coal for electricity, natural gas reformed into hydrogen, or petroleum fuels blended with biofuels. But you have to start somewhere.

Popularity: 2% [?]

Every major carmaker in the world has had its attention drawn, forcibly in some cases, to the issues of fuel efficiency, carbon emissions and sustainability. As the industry moves forward, these concerns are staged to take even greater importance in the overall design and planning of new cars. Mercedes-Benz has released an outline of how it will accomplish this task in the years ahead.

By applying technologies currently in existence and developing them further, Mercedes hopes to combine several angles of engineering and design to yield a line-up of efficient and green cars that still offer Mercedes’ trademark mobility and luxury. Under the BlueEFFICIENCY label, which includes aerodynamic upgrades, lightweight design and energy management and the BlueTEC label, which focuses on the mechanical improvements to be made, like forced induction, direct injection and smaller displacement engines, Mercedes will work to make conventional cars that place environmental sustainability at the forefront of design. The combination of these technologies can yield over 12% improvements in  Fuel consumption.

The company also has plans for hybrid drivetrains, zero-emissions battery-powered vehicles and cutting-edge combustion engine technologies that marry the best of diesel and petrol engine design, like Diesotto.

Mercedes’ F700 ‘research vehicle’ (pictured) equipped with a Diesotto engine has shown it can offer 238hp and 400nm of torque while still delivering fuel efficiency of 44.4 US mpg (5.3L/100km) on standard petrol. Carbon dioxide emissions are similarly low at 127g/km, about 20g/km higher than a significantly less powerful Toyota Prius Hybrid.

The company’s pure electric offerings are still in the distance, but its S400 BlueHYBRID is due for release in 2009, and will use high-tech lithium-ion batteries to help it achieve greater fuel efficiency while still remaining a suitable executive sedan.

The new S400 Hybrid will feature a 279hp (205kW) petrol V6 combined with a hybrid module delivering an additional 20hp (15kW) and 160Nm of torque. Fuel consumption is expected to average 30mpg (7.9L/100km) and CO2 emissions stands at 190g/km, which are quite low for the class of car.

Popularity: 1% [?]

In these days of nearly nonexistent profits for every one of Detroit’s Big Three automakers, R&D funds must be allocated very carefully. In contrast, Japanese manufacturers such as Toyota and Honda have been earning profits on a yearly basis. Not long ago, a mild spat arose regarding whether or not the Japanese government helped fund the development of Toyota’s Hybrid Synergy Drive. Even if they didn’t do it in the past, Ford’s President of the Americas Mark Fields indicated that they are doing it now at a conference held today in Washington, D.C. by Brookings and Google.org titled Plug-In Electric Vehicles 2008: What Role for Washington?

Fields called on the U.S. government to step up to the plate, mentioning tax breaks and incentives as one option to aid consumers who’d like to purchase these ultimately expensive vehicles one day. On the manufacturing side, Fields suggests that plug-in hybrids should be a “national priority”, with Washington needing to allocate funds for research and development. Another area singled out is a domestic supply of batteries, since most of the units used in today’s hybrids are being manufactured overseas.

It should be noted that General Motors already has a head start towards PHEVs with its upcoming Chevy Volt. As far as we’re aware, the development costs for this vehicle and its batteries has been moving forward without direct assistance from the government. Feel free to read Field’s entire speech after the break.

Continued

Popularity: 1% [?]