Hybrid Vehicle - Volvo's 124 mpg V60

The 124mpg is not as high as the XL1 from Volkswagen, but this hybrid vehicle from Volvo is designed for more than just two people.

In that aspect the engineers of Volvo did a great job at getting such a rather large vehicle (European standards) to run so efficient! Also the 50km full electric range must be one of the longest in hybrid cars currently known, it must pack quite a battery in there.

Volvo's 124 mpg V60 plug-in hybrid diesel to debut in Geneva
http://www.gizmag.com/volvo-v60-plug-in-hybrid-diesel-geneva/17712/

Volvo will introduce a “virtually production-ready” plug-in hybrid version of it’s V60 sports wagon at the upcoming Geneva Motor Show. Expected to hit showroom floors in 2012, the hybrid V60 splices together a 2.4-liter D5 turbodiesel driving the front wheels with a 70 horsepower electric motor at the rear axle. According to Volvo this configuration delivers incredibly miserly fuel consumption of 124 mpg (1.9 l/100 km) along with the ability to cover 31 miles (50 km) using only the electric drive.

(via Instapaper)

Have a nice weekend!

- Roelof

Drive safe, drive sustainable

Hybrid Vehicle - B-Class F-CELL was accepted

Good news if you like the way Mercedes is pioneering in the hybrid vehicle market with their B-class F-cell; it got approved by the people of the National Organisation for Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technology in Germany.

This not just confirms they have a technically solid product, but also can boost the trust in hydrogen powered vehicles by the public.

B-Class F-CELL was accepted by the National Organisation Hydrogen ...
http://infogreenglobal.com/b-class-f-cell-was-accepted-by-the-national-organisation-hydrogen-and-fuel-cell-technology-in-germany/

“Electric cars featuring fuel cell drives have the potential to revolutionize our mobility again. The fuel cell drive in the B-Class F-CELL is efficient, clean and highly suitable for everyday use. It enables local zero-emission motoring with a range of around 400 kilometres, and this is with a refuelling time of just three minutes. In addition, the vehicle really comes into its own in terms of driving pleasure”, explained Dr. Thomas Weber.

(via Instapaper)

- Roelof

Drive safe, drive sustainable

Hybrid Vehicle - VW Diesel-Electric Gets 261 MPG

Wow! That is the word to describe this hybrid vehicle from Volkswagen. They have really gone to the max in terms of lightweight construction and super efficient power trains, while still keeping it (at least a bit) practical. 

This 2 seater might just reflect the type of vehicle we might be driving in the not so distant future, achieving 261 mpg or over 100km on a liter of gasoline and can travel as fast as 100 miles per hour (160 km/h). Just wow! Go check out the full story below;

Sexy Futuristic VW Diesel-Electric Gets 261 MPG
http://www.wired.com/autopia/2011/01/vw-xl1-concept-car/

The mad scientists at Volkswagen have wheeled out a bullet-shaped diesel-electric plug-in hybrid that gets a stunning 261 mpg. VW claims it is the most fuel-efficient hybrid ever, and it shows what’s possible when you let your engineers run wild.

(via Instapaper)

- Roelof

Drive safe, drive sustainable

Electric Vehicle - Around the World in Two Hours

This may sound very SF for an electric vehicle just yet, though for some the EV in the first place is SF and not reality yet (check your local EV dealer and step into the future)

The system under discussion here by Wired could enable high speed personal travel across the globe in a fraction of the current time, just imagine the look on Jules Verne his face if he would find out about this one.

Around the World in Two Hours on a ‘Traffic Internet’
http://www.wired.com/autopia/2011/01/drive-around-the-world-in-two-hours-on-the-traffic-internet/

Building a “traffic internet” of vacuum tubes that zip drivers to anywhere on earth in under an hour and circumnavigate the globe in two hours might sound like science fiction, but work on vehicles capable of tube-travel is already underway.

(via Instapaper)

- Roelof

Drive safe, drive sustainable

Electric Vehicle - Should Shared Cars Be Electric Cars?

Great article on an opportunity for car rental companies to focus on the electric vehicle is a business case. The technology is new, lots of incentives and lotscof curious people who would like to try or buy one.

Should Shared Cars Be Electric Cars? | PluginCars.com
http://www.plugincars.com/should-shared-cars-be-electric-cars-106689.html

Logistical Challenges

Shared electric vehicles present a slew of logistical challenges for car sharing providers, from acquiring and installing charging equipment to scheduling charge times, when the vehicle won’t be available for booking and won’t be generating revenue. Yet for a service like Connect by Hertz (a lesser known brand within a large corporation) or a regional nonprofit like City CarShare, there may be no better time to start offering EVs: The technology is new, advertising campaigns and media coverage are ramping up, incentives are available, and consumers are curious enough to rent an EV for an hour or two, if not buy it outright.

(via Instapaper)

- Roelof

Drive safe, drive sustainable

Electric Vehicle - Tesla likes a challenge

Tesla CEO Elon Musk announced the plans to have an electric vehicle with a price tag below $30k by 2015.

Overly ambitious, or very realistic given Tesla's current track record? Tesla is known to be good at making electric vehicles (look at the Tesla Roadster) and has highly anticipated plans for the sedan Model S and the SUV type, Model X. The only real enemy here might be time; 4 years is something even the big car manufacturers might have trouble with to meet such an ambitious target. Go Tesla! 

Tesla's Challenge: Build $30k Mainstream Electric Car by 2015
http://www.allcarselectric.com/blog/1053971_teslas-challenge-build-30k-mainstream-electric-car-by-2015

Just to make things clear, Musk told the audience that Tesla’s Model X SUV would be one of the vehicles released. He added that it would be “Cooler” than any other vehicle of its type on the market. 

(via Instapaper)

- Roelof

Drive safe, drive sustainable

Electric Vehicle - As long as it is black...

Ford has a unique approach to manufacturing their electric vehicle and hybrid vehicle range. They use the same vehicles and provide various options on the drive train, so either hybrid or fully electric. It reminds of the old Henry Ford his comment on the T-Ford;

"

• Any customer can have a car painted any colour that he wants so long as it is black.

• Remark about the Model T in 1909, published in his autobiography My Life and Work (1922) Chapter IV, [p. 71-72]

"

(Wikipedia: http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Henry_Ford)

Though this time the cars will look the sam, but with a different drive train. As explained in the referenced article this has enormous cost savings potential, a smart move from Ford.

Ford’s Electric Cars: Same on the Outside, Different Under the Hood | BNET
http://m.bnet.com/blog/auto-business/ford-8217s-electric-cars-same-on-the-outside-different-under-the-hood/2204

That approach saves Ford lots of money compared to the cost of building a unique auto platform — and related assembly line — for each type of engine. Nissan (NSANY.PK), for instance, will build the battery powered Nissan Leaf in a dedicated factory that won’t build anything else without expensive alterations.

(via Instapaper)

- Roelof

Drive safe, drive sustainable