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Toyota looks set to launch two new Prius models in Detroit, one's a mystery
It's a sure-fire bet that Toyota will unveil its upright Prius MPV at the North American International Auto Show in a couple of weeks, a rather more roomy and practical version of the hybrid that really started it all. And, of course, the plug-in model we tested in October will be surely rocking the floor. Now we're hearing that another as of yet unreleased Prius will be on display, simply referred to as a "Prius concept vehicle." Concept cars of course range from the mundane to the insane, and knowing Toyota we're guessing this one will fall squarely into the former category. Just the same we're hoping for a tire-shredding, slalom-eating, RWD hybrid Prius Supra model. We'll be there in Detroit when the unveil happens and we'll be sure to bring some tissues to wipe away our tears of disappointment.
The Urbee Hybrid is the first car to come out of a printer, presumably a big one
3D Printers are getting ever more advanced and, apparently, ever bigger too. Proof to that is the Urbee Hybrid, the result of a partnership between transportation company Kor Ecologic and Stratasys, who we've already seen shamelessly rebranding its 3D printers as HP Designjets. Kor provided the concept and the underpinnings of the thing, a design that amazingly has its roots in the early '90s but has been given a new, teardrop body 100 percent printed by Stratasys. Underneath is a plug-in hybrid powertrain that manages up to 200mpg on the highway and 100mpg around town running on ethanol or plain 'ol gasoline. No, there are no plans for the three-wheelin' Urbee to actually see production, and beneath that luscious shape rolls something that looks rather more like a work in progress, which you can see in an early video below.
Toyota Prius PHEV preview: three days in plug-in paradise
The future of modern transportation awaits us. By 2012 we expect to have multiple proper, reasonable choices for fully electric vehicles, but check your calendar and you'll see it's still 2010, leaving us still waiting for cars like the Leaf and the Volt to make their proper appearances. Toyota would like to remind you that the Prius is still here, celebrating an amazing tenth year of availability in the US and teasing us with the upcoming plug-in model, offering a taste of EV with the practicality of a hybrid. We just spent three days with one and managed a quite impressive 91mpg average -- no hypermiling required. Click on through for our detailed impressions of this five-door eco-warrior. %Gallery-105286%
Bright delivers hybrid van for U.S. Army testing, won't be hitting a battlefield soon -- or ever
Usually when we cover military gadgets it's things like super-strong robots or skateboard tanks. But, even the U.S. Army needs practical, sensible transportation (apparently), and heaven forbid it buys some standard car from a standard dealership. Instead in this case it went to Bright Automotive, who whipped up a custom version of its Idea plug-in hybrid van, a 10kWh battery pack offering 30 miles of purely electric driving before spinning the internal combustion engine under the hood. On top of that, the Idea can actually act as a generator, exporting 3.3kW of power continuously at either 110 or 220v. What can't it do? Well, look cool on a battlefield for one, or intimidate our enemies, for another -- nothing a roof-mounted ball turret and a coat of olive drab can't solve.
Looking back at Ford's EV past, forward to the 2012 Focus Electric and a 2013 plug-in hybrid
Did you know that Ford's first electric car, the Comuta, was released way back in 1967? It was a perfectly goofy looking thing, with a top speed of 37mph and a range of 40 miles -- if you didn't go near that top speed. More of a concept than anything, only a handful were made available for sale, and at this point it certainly looks like the company's immediate plans for EVs are similarly conservative. DailyTech pulled together an analysis of Ford's future offerings in the electric and plug-in hybrid space and it's obvious the Blue Oval is taking its time making sure the EV water is warm before jumping in. First up is the Transit Connect, a 100 mile range electric van intended for fleet use and, with a price well north of $30,000, not expected to sell in droves. Next will be the Focus Electric, due next year and, while this one will be substantially cheaper and more consumer-friendly, Ford execs expect it too will have low demand. The primary reason for this is that Ford still believes that pure EVs are not ready for mainstream adoption, with battery technology unable to provide reliable power at the range of temperatures people actually want to go somewhere. The Focus Electric mitigates this with both liquid heating and cooling, but for now the company thinks the best mix is a traditional, power-split hybrid, where the gas engine can drive the wheels if the batteries can't cope. That's unlike the Chevy Volt, which is only driven by batteries. To this end Ford has a new, mystery plug-in hybrid vehicle coming in 2012. What kind of car? All we know is it's "not a Focus." That can mean only one thing: F-350 Super Duty PHEV edition. [Photo credit: Ford Motor Company]
The state of the electric automobile, in pictures
You've heard the announcements. You know the specs. You may even be able to guess how the showdown will play out. But unless you were in San Jose, California, this week for Plug-In 2010, you've probably never seen six contenders for our future electric vehicle dollars all in one room. We hopped in our late-80s gas guzzler and hit the show floor in your stead, snapping enough pictures of the Leaf, Volt, Focus, Prius PHEV, fortwo Electric Drive, and the i MiEV to give you a virtual tour. See what we saw after the break.
Porsche 918 Spyder plug-in hybrid headed for production
What once seemed to simply be a ridiculously extravagant concept for a plug-in hybrid has now become a ridiculously extravagant reality -- Porsche has just announced that it's putting the 918 Spyder into production. First unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show earlier this year, the car (in concept form, at least) packs a 500-horsepower V8 and a pair of 109-horsepower electric motors that should let you get about 78 miles per gallon, or a total of 16 miles of driving straight from the lithium-ion battery back. The cost? That hasn't been officially announced yet, but estimates peg it around the $650,000 mark. Don't worry, though -- it'll be eligible for the $7,500 federal tax credit. Head on past the break for the full (but brief) press release.
Honda will bring plug-in hybrids, full EVs to United States in 2012
Though they probably won't look anything like Honda's adorable EV-N, the Japanese automaker's got some new technological vehicles up its sleeves -- in a speech today, Honda CEO Takanobu Ito formally announced plans to produce a plug-in hybrid competitor for Toyota's flashy new PHEV Prius by 2012, which rumor has it will sport an estimated fuel economy (when it's using fuel, we assume) of roughly around 140 miles per gallon. Better still, a completely battery-powered electrical vehicle will also go on sale by 2012, and you won't have to fly to Japan to try them out, as they're slated for the States as well. Hydrogen fuel cells are apparently still Honda's long-term solution, though the FCX Clarity received only a passing mention. In the short term, Honda's still circling the wagons around part-gasoline systems like the Civic (which will receive a Li-ion battery pack) and the Fit Hybrid, destined for Japan this fall.
Google working to make electric vehicles charge more efficiently
The idea to make plug-in electric vehicles charge more efficiently and reduce strain on the grid is hardly a new one, but it looks like none other than Google thinks it can do things better, and it's now reportedly doing some "preliminary work" in the area. As you might expect with all things "Google" and "preliminary," however, there's virtually a complete lack of details at the moment, with the company's director of Climate Change and Energy Initiatives, Dan Reicher, only going so far as to say that it has "done a little bit of work on the software side looking at how you would write a computer code to manage this sort of charging infrastructure." As Reuters notes, however, this isn't the first time Google has dabbled in the electric vehicle waters, with it previously forming a partnership with Toyota and Ford back in 2007 to test some gasoline-electric hybrid vehicles converted into plug-ins that run mostly on electricity, which Google says it has been testing "pretty intensely" over the last few years.
Toyota's plug-in hybrid Prius gets pictured, detailed further
The future, kids -- we're living in it. Sensationalism aside, we are pretty jazzed to hear that Toyota's long-awaited, much-teased plug-in Prius hybrid will be making its bona fide debut to the public next week. The image above is expected to be near-final, though we're reserving judgment until we see if the actual model on stage is plastered with 80s era stick-on graphics. Of note, the Hybrid Synergy Drive system has been upgraded for this whip, enabling it to slowly rocket from 0 to 62 without using a drop of gasoline. Once there, it can cruise for up to 12.5 miles in electric mode, and should you need to juice it back up, it'll take 1.5 hours when charged from a 230V source. Further details are expected to flow as Frankfurt heats up, though the whole "not shipping to retail until 2012" kind of puts a damper on our excitement.
Mercedes-Benz Vision S 500: it's the plug-in hybrid for old people
Look, you won't find a bigger bunch of fans of the C63 than this here crew, but man, that massive "plug-in hybrid" logo might as well say "70+ aged drivers only, please." For everyone not interested in scooping up a Tesla Roadster, Chevy Volt or some other eco-friendly whip that they can't afford, there's the Mercedes-Benz Vision S 500. Made official this week during the run-up to the impending Frankfurt auto show, the 3.5-liter PHEV aims to grab the eyes of those who value class, comfort and luxury, and while this whole "gas mileage" thing is still very much in the air with this type of vehicle, early estimates peg the MPG rating at around 70. M-B has gifted the car with an 18-mile electric range, but most everything else is being veiled in secrecy until the full reveal next week.
BMW's Vision EfficientDynamics concept won't look a tenth this wild when it hits the streets
We hate concept cars. Year after year we see new concept cars more fantastical and amazing than the last, and year after year we see cars hit the market that have had all the magic ripped out of them by safety regulations and market realities. The newly unveiled Vision EfficientDynamics car from BMW is mainly here to show us BMW's new diesel-based plug-in hybrid drive system. But it's also here to annoy us. Video is after the break.
Ford's vehicle-to-grid communications system charges plug-in whips on command
If you're dreaming of always plugging your future AC-friendly hybrid in during the wee hours of the morning in order to juice up for the lowest price, you're certainly using your noodle. But what about instances where you can't choose when exactly you'll be plugging in? Fret not, as Bill Ford and Company has you covered. The automaker, in collaboration with a slew of utility partners, has today introduced an intelligent vehicle-to-grid communications system that would theoretically enable vehicle owners to plug their ride in and tell it precisely when to begin and / or end charging via the navigation screen. Users could also define the completion time for charging or the desired rates in order to better control spending, though all that planning could be ruined by some random prankster who decides to yank your cable when you're not looking. And really, who cares about saving a penny or two on charging when you can get two hundred and thirty miles per gallon? Oh, wait...[Via HotHardware]
GM says bankruptcy won't affect the Volt, but how much say does it have?
As General Motors finally caved this morning, waved the white flag and filed for bankruptcy, those following electric cars immediately wondered what this all would mean for the long-awaited Volt. For years now, GM has steadfastly affirmed that it was moving forward with production regardless of what else was going on within the company and the economy at large. According to Technology Review, a GM spokesperson confirmed again this morning that "the filing will have no impact on the company's plans to start selling the Volt at the end of next year." That said, we have to wonder how much such a statement really means; reports have stated that the US government may up holding as much as 60 percent of the company, and if the primary goal is to bring the outfit back to profitability as soon as possible, Obama and Company may not feel that pouring even more into the high-priced Volt is a good idea. In related news, we hear Tesla is still taking orders...Update: GM has pushed out an official statement that (in a few words) also suggests that the Volt is still on track.
Subaru yanks concept label, begins testing Stella plug-in EV
Anyone that follows the automobile sector with any semblance of regularity would know that quite a few concepts never make it beyond the drawing board. Thankfully, Subaru's Stella is one of the lucky ones. Fuji Heavy Industries, parent company and maker of Subaru automobiles, has just announced its plans to begin testing prototypes of its Subaru plug-in Stella electric vehicle, which will be introduced in Japan this summer. Furthermore, the company has managed to boost power output from 40kW in the previous iteration to 47kW, and it also stripped away some unnecessary weight and fine-tuned the output management system. There's no mention of a price or expected launch date in North America, but you'll never stop us from hoping the answer to the latter is "soon."
Automakers agree on common plug to recharge electric vehicles
Just hours after General Motors put forth a proposal for a standardized plug for electric vehicles, in flies this. German energy firm RWE has stated that a cadre of respected automakers and energy firms have all come together in agreement on a three-point, 400-volt plug that will enable electric cars the world over to be recharged anywhere, regardless of which recharging station they stop at. Caroline Reichert, an RWE spokeswoman, noted that the idea here is to ensure that "a car can be recharged in Italy in exactly the same way as in Denmark, Germany or France." We're told that the agreement includes nods of acceptance from the likes of Volkswagen, BMW, Ford, General Motors, Fiat, Toyota, Mitsubishi, Eon, Vattenfall, EDF, Npower, Endesa and Enel, and while there's no time frame for when it'll be introduced, we're pretty stoked to hear that at least something has been decided upon.
Fisker already working on lower-cost vehicle to rival Volt, Model S
While Fisker Automotive isn't making too much of a stir at the New York Auto Show this week, it is scheming to deliver a vehicle that will purportedly compete with Chevrolet's Volt and Tesla's Model S. 'Course, it should probably look to get its Karma onto US streets before it starts looking too far ahead, but you won't find us kvetching about the promise of a lower cost plug-in hybrid. Company spokesman Russell Datz insinuated that the outfit was jonesing to release a model that would be priced somewhere below its Karma ($87,900) and above the Volt (around $40,000) and Model S (somewhere in the $50,000s), though it wasn't close enough to production to hit the show floor of any expos in 2009. Oh, what a tease.[Via AutoblogGreen]
Hyundai BLUE-WILL plug-in hybrid concept debuts in Seoul
Hyundai recently broke a few molds with its dolphin-inspired cellphone, and it now looks to be doing the same with its latest plug-in hybrid concept, which is set to make its public debut at the Seoul Motor Show next week. Of course, Hyundai isn't just letting the car, dubbed the BLUE-WILL, get by on those eye-catching lines alone, with it also cramming a direct-inject 1.6-liter gas engine with a CVT transmission and a 100kw electric motor under the hood, and taking a number of other measures to make the vehicle even more eco-minded. That includes some solar cells on the panoramic roof, which you can still see through, and some eco-friendly plastics throughout, including headlamp bezels made from recycled plastic bottles, and other plastics derived from plant extracts. No word about it actually going into production, of course, but you can get a bit of a closer look by hitting up the link below.
Piaggio MP3 Hybrid trike hits the streets in early 2010 for around $9k
digg_url = 'http://digg.com/autos/Weirdest_looking_motorcycle_ever'; It's certainly an odd beast, but Piaggio's "MP3 Hybrid" scooter / trike / whatsit has itself a ship window and a vague pricetag. Piaggio hopes to start selling the vehicle in the US by Q1 2010, with a price ranging around $8,000 or $9,000. The plug-in hybrid can run off of a standard charge for 40 miles, and has a gas-powered generator (like the Volt) for extra power, with a promised 141 mpg overall. It's packed in with some regenerative breaking, a high-performance battery-boosted mode to make one pretty hot scooter -- if you can get over those looks and the extra wheel.
GM's Opel Ampera plug-in hybrid hits the carpet in Geneva
As expected, GM just officially unwrapped its new Opel Ampera, the European rebadge of its Voltec-powered Chevy Volt. It's looking pretty "fit," as they say overseas, and will go into production late 2011. Internals are just what we're used to with the Volt, with a 16kWh lithium-ion battery that takes the car 60km (about 37 miles) and a gas powered generator for recharging the battery once depleted, that can extend the range to more than 500km (about 311 miles). Videos galore are after the break.%Gallery-46220%
