Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Hybrids in 2009 Races - Formula One & Le Mans

2009 Formula One
Beginning with the 2009 season, the Formula One regulations allow for the use of hybrid technology to increase the power & efficiency of the race cars.

The BMW Sauber F1.09 will be equipped with a hybrid system consisting of a combination of electric motor & generator, with power electronics & an energy storage module.
Regenerative braking boosts the power in the energy storage module so the electric motor, in combination with the V8 provides extra power.


Le Mans

Peugeot has revealed a hybrid race car for the 2009 Le Mans competition. Approval is pending.
Read more at: AutoBlogGreen 9/2008,



Toyota is reportedly planning re-entering Le Mans racing - this time with hybrids
. Read more at: Automobile 4/2008, Left Lane 3/2008,



HYBRIDS AREN'T WIMPY! A Personal Story On a personal note, I was shocked at the tremendous power & speed available when the electric motor & gas engine in our Toyota Hybrid Highlander kicked in together. We wanted better gas mileage in a SUV, but I thought that hybrids were wimpy.

So when we drove our Highlander on an interstate with four adults, two children and all our luggage, I was being careful about being stuck behind a semi on a hill. I just gave a little extra on the accelerator to get around the semi and return to the slow lane.
Well, both the electric and gas engines kicked in. Even with four adults, two kids, all our luggage & GOING UPHILL - I was at 95 miles per hour very quickly. I'm glad everyone else was asleep so I wouldn't hear a commentary on my speed burst, but Wow - HYBRIDS AREN'T WIMPY!

Wednesday, November 5, 2008

Wild Vehicles at SEMA Show in Las Vegas

Do you recognize this vehicle, seen at the 2008 SEMA Show?


The first one to correctly identify it wins a DriveUSA t-shirt.

Hint:  It's featured in an exciting series on the Discovery channel.

All Electric Ford F-150 Delivers 600hp!

November 5, 2008 (Las Vegas, NV)
This all electric concept vehicle, built by UK-based PML Flightlink in partnership with Ford, is on display at the 2008 SEMA Show.


Using the F-150 Pick-up, the mechanical engine, transmission, gearbox, drivetrain, differential, gas tank and exhaust were replaced with the Hi-Pa Drive system.


The four electric in-wheel motors that power the fully-electric Hi-Pa Drive F-150 will deliver more than 600 horsepower as well as more torque than the 320 horsepower V-8 engine it replaced.

2008 SEMA Show in Las Vegas

November 5, 2008 (Las Vegas, NV)
The SEMA (Specialty Equipment Market Association) Show is spread over one million net square feet of exhibit space hosts 2,000 exhibitors and over 125,000 at the Las Vegas Convention Center.


It's the premier auto accessories trade show in the world, and is an industry-only event, so we came here to cover it for you.

We'll be interviewing some builders with vehicles that are competing in the Progressive Insurance Automotive X-Prize competition. What is the x-Prize? It's a TEN MILLION DOLLAR prize to the winner of a cross-country race in 2009 for vehicles that can exceed 100 Miles Per Gallon (or 100 MPG equivalent).

Wednesday, September 3, 2008

The Race Is On!

There are increased efforts  for Electric Vehicles (EV) & Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles (PHEV).  For instance...

Actual Tests of PHEV Conversions at 90+ MPG
Utility company Pacific Gas & Electric, search giant's Google.org, & A123 Hymotion (builder of the conversion equipment) continue the evaluation.  Follow the results HERE.

GM Selects the Battery Maker for the Volt
GM intends to begin production of the Volt at the end of 2010, and has been evaluating potential vendors for the lithium-ion batteries.   GM's VP, Bob Lutz announced that the selection of the vendor has been made, but he did not specify the manufacturer yet.

Tuesday, July 22, 2008

Electrics in the Pipeline

These are exciting times for electric vehicles. Major auto manufacturers are refining plug-in systems and testing them in fleets.

Toyota has announced that it will sell plug-in electric hybrid vehicles (PHEV) in the US in 2010.

Tony Posawatz, Vehicle Line Director for the Chevy Volt says that though "we haven't said exactly when the Chevy Volt will come to market, we've set our internal targets to complete the vehicle by the end of 2010."

Today Tesla Motors opened a new showroom for their 100% electric cars, & the cars are now in production.

Manufacturers are talking with Utility companies to be sure that the path is ready for cars to be plugged into the electric grid. There are many interesting prospects here:
  • Intelligent electric meters (already in development) will give lower rates during low power demand periods -when most people will plug in their PHEVs.
  • Possible the electrical grid (and customers like you and me) could benefit from selling power from the hybrid's electrical system back to the utility.
Later I'll have some news from the Plug-in Conference held in Silicon Valley this week.

Friday, July 4, 2008

Plug-In Hybrid Conversion Alert

Less than a month ago a Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle (PHEV) caught fire and was destroyed. No one was hurt. The vehicle was a Toyota Prius with an after-market conversion to make the Prius a PHEV. The maker of the conversion kit (Hybrids Plus, of Boulder, CO) and several other organizations are investigating.

Hybrids Plus said, "After the incident we notified all owners of Hybrids Plus conversions, described to them the sequence of events in the incident, advising them not to drive until further information was available, and to call Hybrids Plus if there was any sign of a problem with their vehicle.

Over the past week we have conducted two extensive forensic examinations of the vehicle and of the battery pack using a team of experts that included Hybrids Plus technical staff, our cell manufacturer, and experts in electric vehicles." Read the complete statement.

This report from CRN (Cooperative Research Network, A Service of the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association):

On June 7, 2008, the converted Prius plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) owned by Central Electric Power Cooperative in Columbia, SC, was destroyed by an internal fire that occurred during a routine drive. Thankfully, there were no injuries. But the converted Prius was destroyed. The cause of the fire is not known.

Until further investigation, CRN has advised grounding all test vehicles in the PHEV demonstration and is undertaking a detailed investigation. CRN has employed Electric Transportation Engineering Corporation (ETEC) of Phoenix, AZ, to perform an initial investigation on the PHEV. This firm has come highly recommended due to its experience with failure analysis and electric cars. The firm will work to determine the cause of the fire and make recommendations if more specialized forensics experts are needed to complete the investigation. The six other vehicles in CRN’s PHEV demonstration program have experienced only minor technical issues to date.

General Motors is expects to have the first OEM Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle available in 2010.
Read Toyota's perspective on the challenges of commercially viable OEM PHEV's.

The PHEV has a lot of promise, and it's good to know that studies are being made to learn how to use this exciting technology in a safe manner.





Thursday, July 3, 2008

Straight Vegetable Oil Fuel Running Afoul of Law?


In 1895, when Rudolf Diesel invented the diesel engine, it could run on variety of fuels-even vegetable oil! Bio diesel is becoming increasingly popular, with more stations around the nation having it available at the pump.


Some people, are installing conversion kits (www.greasecar.com), & using SVO-straight vegetable oil, which they pick up from restaurants. It seems like a win-win situation, waste is put to use, the restaurant saves money on disposal, and the driver saves money on fuel.

However the US Environmental Protection Agency is raising concerns about not having tested the vehicles or fuel. On top of this, some government agencies are worried about losing out on tax revenue. Hmmm. What do you think about this?

Thursday, June 26, 2008

Will Dyson Vacuum Motor Drive New Solar Car?

Celebrity inventor, James Dyson, (most known for his innovative vacuum) is rumored to be working on an engine for an electric car, reports UK's Daily Mail. The British billionaire isn't satisfied with the low miles per charge for which drivers must settle.

Electric cars in the UK include the tiny G-Wiz (made in India by the Reva Electric Car Comp
any). It costs about £9,000 (under $18,000 US), has a maximum speed of 50mph, and has a range of 48 miles before it needs recharging. Once you find a charging station, it can take 2-8 hours to "fill-up." While there are only 100 electric charging stations currently in the UK, there are plans to increase that number to nearly 1,000 before 2010. Electrified Brit's can pay a fee for access to the charging station, but receive free perks (parking & such) for having an electric vehicle. France has hundreds of such stations already, and is working on more.

The facts of driving range & charging station availability make the rumored technology applications in Dyson's version so appealing. As the story goes, in addition to being able to charge conventionally, the Dyson system will have solar panels on the top of the vehicle to help improve the range and power of the engine. A version of the Dyson Digital Motor, used in the vacuum cleaners may be the power plant. It weighs half what an engine of similar power does, yet spins at 10,000 rpm (five times faster than a Formula One racecar).

Reports are that he isn't looking at a complete car, but providing the system to be used by existing car manufacturers. He is rumored to be putting nearly one billion dollars towards the efforts. I say best wishes to Sir James and his engineers.

Monday, June 23, 2008

RESEARCH: Road Robots Develop

New Developments from DARPA's "Robot Driving Competition:"

(June 2008) "The Boss", first place winner of the DARPA Urban Challenge was the result of joint work of General Motors Research & Development and Carnegie Mellon University's School of Computer Science and College of Engineering. The GM-Carnegie Mellon Autonomous Driving Collaborative Research Lab is being established as an extension of GM's Global Research & Development network and will be located at Carnegie Mellon in Pittsburgh.


(June 2
008) "Stanley" the first winner of a DARPA Challenge, is heading to the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC, as an example of technological pioneering. This driverless car was developed jointly with Stanford University School of Engineering and Volkswagen Research in both California and Wolfsburg, Germany. Stanford and VW will continue to collaborate at the Volkswagen Automotive Innovation Lab (VAIL) on the universitys campus.


It is really awesome to see several vehicles driving on a course without drivers, making decisions about when to safely proceed at a stop-sign or where to park. In November 2007 I traveled to Victorville, California to cover the 2007 DARPA* Urban Challenge.
Eighty-nine teams applied, and thirty-five were chosen for the National Qualification Event.

The vehicles were designed and built to drive entirely on their own with no driver in the vehicle and no remote control. The vehicle determined its environment with sensors and positioning systems, to carry out assigned tasks in certain areas completely on its own.

These vehicles packed a lot of computing power to complete the task while evaluating the environment
to control steering, brakes, and acceleration. There were different courses in the 55 mile event - some involving driving in a course with turns, stop signs, cross-traffic, rough terrain, and suburban streets. It was really strange to see driverless vehicles coming up to stop signs, waiting for traffic to clear, signalling (why can't human drivers do this), turning into the proper lane, and parking in the right spot in a parking lot.

I don't expect auto-pilot functions anytime soon in your car, but besides reducing risks to our troops, one of the team members said that there are possible safety improvements to our driving in some situations.
Larry Burns, GM vice president of R&D and Strategic Planning said, "Imagine being virtually chauffeured safely in your car while doing your e-mail, eating breakfast and watching the news." Now I know some people try this now, but we're looking at this happening SAFELY in the future.



*
DARPA is the acronym for The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency - the central research and development organization for the Department of Defense (DoD).

POLICY: New Silent Vehicles Bring Safety Concerns

On June 23, 2008 the National Federation of the Blind asked the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration of the Department of Transportation to review potential safety issues posed to the blind and other pedestrians by silent engine technology used in hybrid and electric automobiles.

Without visual cues, the blind must depend on hearing to determine where running vehicles are as well as their direction. The National Federation of the Blind advocates the establishment of a minimum sound standard for all new vehicles sold and licensed in the United States.

Saturday, June 21, 2008

Push to Bring Plug-in Hybrid Cars to Market

Will 2010 be a big year for plug-in hybrid vehicles?*

General Motors plans to bring the Volt to market in 2010. Although a concept model was shown at car shows around the world, the exterior is being re-crafted to lower the wind resistance.

Mitsubishi is working to bring its iMiEV electric vehicle to market in 2009 for fleets, and 2010 for the public. They report that a prototype can run for 80 miles with a full charge on their innovative lithium-ion batteries.


Toyota will supply plug-in hybrids to commercial customers by 2010.

Daimler AG plans to launch two electric models in 2020: a Mercedes-Benz and a model from Daimler's Smart car division.

Hyundai Motors is reportedly testing a plug-in hybrid to bring to market in 2009 or 2010.