24hcar: Hybrids

Showing posts with label Hybrids. Show all posts

BMW ActiveHybrid 7 gets $900 tax credit, but still costs $100K +

Posted by Mr Dung Monday, June 7, 2010

[BMW USA]

The U.S. government has announced that the BMW ActiveHybrid 7-Series qualifies for a $900 federal tax credit under the Alternative Motor Vehicle provision. The Internal Revenue Service certified the tax credit for the model today.

But that still keeps the price for the 2011 BMW ActiveHybrid 7-Series at over $100,000. Starting price for the model, including destination charges but not including the tax credit, is $103,125. The long wheelbase version begins at $107,025.

The certification now adds the ActiveHybrid 7-Series to the ActiveHybrid X6, the 335d and the X5 xDrive35d to the set of BMW models which qualify for the tax credit.

The ActiveHybrid 7-Series features the same 4.4 liter V8 engine with 455 PS (335 kW) and 516 lb-ft (700 Nm) as the 750i, only with a mild-hybrid system (electric motor powers only the electronics of the car) and stop/start technology to improve fuel economy by around 15%. The power train coupled to the 8-speed transmission takes this BMW flagship model from 0 to 60 mph (96 km/h) in 4.7 seconds.

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100 Fisker Karma test vehicles to be built in Finland this year

Posted by Mr Dung Friday, May 28, 2010

[Automotive News Europe]

Fisker Automotive Inc., the California electric-car start-up, will be building 100 units of its Karma plug-in hybrid model this year to be used for testing, according to an investor in the firm.

The company has contracted Finnish manufacturer Valmet Automotive to build the Karma at its plant in Finland where Valmet also builds the Porsche Boxster and Cayman models, and the electric City car for Think, the Norwegian automaker. According to investor Ray Lane, production will be ramped up next year to a volume of 15,000 units annually.

Lane is a managing partner at Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, a Silicon Valley venture capital firm which has previously invested in successes such as Google and Amazon.com.

"These will be tested internally, crash tested and used for other testing purposes," said Lane. Some units will be delivered to customers for real-world testing too.

The Karma is a premium 4-door sport-sedan coupe and plug-in hybrid model with two electric motors producing a total of 300 kW (402 bhp / 408 PS) and 1,300 Nm (959 lb/ft) of torque. It has a range of around 50 miles/80 km running on electric-current alone. In hybrid mode, with an internal-combustion engine charging the 200kW lithium-ion battery pack, its range is extended to 300 miles/482 km. The drive wheels are solely powered by the electric motors.

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Audi A9 Hybrid Sports Sedan Concept by Daniel Garcia

Posted by Mr Dung Friday, May 21, 2010

[Diseno-Art]

This is the A9 sports sedan study, a look at BMW's Vision concept through Audi's eyes (unofficially of course) that was created by independent designer Daniel Garcia from Spain.

Just as BMW tried to invent a new market with its 5-Series GT, the Audi A9 would aim to be in a league of its own: over-styled (in a good way) über-luxury hybrid sports saloons. A technologically-advanced Panamera killer.
Garcia says some of the lines were inspired by architect Santiago Calatrava's buildings in Valencia. As for that opaque front wind-ceiling, it's made of "as-yet undiscovered nanotechnology material" that can fix itself and be color/tint adjusted.

By the time a market for something like this existed, it's very likely that Audi could have the gasoline engine / in-wheel electric motors Garcia is suggesting.
The only thing I'd rectify is that Insight-y front end.

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VIDEO:Porsche 918 Spyder in demand with 900 potential customers

Posted by Mr Dung Tuesday, April 27, 2010

[Bloomberg]

Porsche is reporting that is has more than 900 potential customers for the upcoming 918 Spyder hybrid.

The 2-seater 918 Spyder hybrid was unveiled at the Geneva auto show last month and is an entirely new model for Porsche, which is aiming to expand its sales volume to around 150,000 units a year by developing new products.

The hybrid drivetrain on the 918 Spyder features a V8 with 368 kW (500 PS / 493 hp) coupled to three electric motors totaling 160 kW (218 PS / 215 hp). Doing the math on that gets you 528 kW (718 PS / 708 hp). The 0 to 100 km/h sprint comes in at 3.2 seconds and top speed is 320 km/h (198 mph).

Even more impressive are the consumption and emissions numbers - the 918 Spyder hybrid, Porsche claims, will have a remarkable fuel economy rating of 3 liters/100 km (78.4 mpg-US) and a CO2 emission rate of only 70 g/km.

"I'm confident that we will soon reach the threshold of 1,000 [potential customers]. We need 1,000 seriously interested people to make a sound business case," said Wolfgang Duerheimer, head of development at Porsche, in an interview at the Beijing auto show on Saturday.

The 918 Spyder hybrid is due to make its production-ready debut sometime in the next 5 years.

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2011 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid Teaser Image Released

Posted by Mr Dung Monday, March 29, 2010

[Hyundai-blog]

Here is a teaser image of the U.S. market 2011 Hyundai Sonata hybrid, which Hyundai will be debuting at the upcoming New York Auto Show.

The 2011 Sonata hybrid will have a somewhat different design than the standard model. As is evidenced from the image published here, the hybrid variant will feature its own distinct front fascia. That new face includes a new large-mouthed grill, new headlamps, sporty front bumper with bigger air intakes, as well as new fog lights.

Hyundai's Blue Drive hybrid system for the Sonata consists of a 2.4 liter, 4-cylinder gasoline/petrol engine, a 30 kW electric motor with 205 Nm (151 lb-ft) of torque, and a six-speed automatic transmission. The electric motor is powered by lithium-polymer batteries but Hyundai doesn't say what kind of range they provide the Sonata hybrid. Power figures for the gasoline/petrol engine are also not included, although Hyundai's standard 2.4 liter engine rates 201 bhp (150 kW / 204 PS) and 252 Nm (186 lb-ft) of torque.

The 2011 Hyundai Sonata hybrid will premiere at the New York Auto Show on Wednesday March 31. Prices for the US market will be revealed then.

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Lincoln to Reveal MKZ Hybrid at this Week's New York Auto Show

Posted by Mr Dung

[Detnews]

The Detroit News reports that FoMoCo will be revealing the MKZ Hybrid in New York, the Blue Oval's "first luxury hybrid".What you can expect is a Ford Fusion (or Mercury Milan), but with whatever passes for upscale Lincoln trim.

Chris Lemley, owner of dealerships in the Boston metro area, says, "I thought they should have done it before." Obviously, but as for getting people out of Lexus dealerships and onto Lincoln lots, "It depends on how fast they can get it to us...I'm also hoping that it will be priced competitively."

The MKZ Hybrid will have to be priced competitively, otherwise you'll have the same issue Lincoln dealers have been having with Ford and its SHO: same car, less money for the Blue Oval.

Sure, the MKZ Hybrid is all fun and good, but if Lincoln could get its act together design-wise, that would be great. The MKZ looks outdated as-is, and the Navigator stands out like a sore thumb. Oh well, I guess a hybrid in the lineup can't hurt.

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Lexus CT 200h Hybrid Announced for US

Posted by Mr Dung Thursday, March 25, 2010

Both North America and Europe have an evolving premium compact segment and the first hybrid variant from the category, the Lexus CT 200h will make it to the US market in early 2011. The hybrid commuter is scheduled for a debut at the upcoming 2010 New York International Auto and it is a likely Audi A1 contender. The front wheel driven CT 200h will come with a combination of a 1.8 liter four-cylinder VVT-i gasoline engine and a magnet synchronous electric motor powered by nickel-metal hydride batteries. The exact performance details are not yet available but it is expected to better the 134bhp that the Prius puts out.

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Mercedes-Benz S-Class Plug-In Hybrid Could Do 81mpg

Posted by Mr Dung Tuesday, March 16, 2010

The Next Generation Mercedes Benz S-Class lineage will also have a plug-in hybrid version is no secret and now Mercedes is touting the S Class plug-in hybrid to fetch a whopping 81mpg. Daimler has already achieved 78 mpg (3.0 L/100km) with its Mercedes Vision S 500 plug-in hybrid at the Frankfurt event last year so therefore 81mpg for the S-Class plug-in is a step ahead. The S-Class plug-in will fetch 81mpg courtesy of a combination of 3.0-liter V-6 gasoline engine-direct injection and piezo injectors-integrated with a 44 kW electric motor. Singly, on the batteries, the semi-electric commuter will have a range of 20 miles with speeds up to 68mph. The only drawback as far as the next-generation S-Class plug-in hybrid is concerned will be its pricing.