Chevrolet Volt:
For as much flak as I give GM I must admit that seeing the Volt in person, albeit naked, certainly gives a different perspective of what they are trying to accomplish.
All of its innards exposed and laid out in open air under stadium lighting for the public to ogle, the complexity of their E-Flex Propulsion System is obvious.
With the help of A123Systems, the designer of the Volt's lithium ion battery, the Volt is projected to deliver 40 miles on plug-in power alone before needing to switch to fuel-powered electrical generation.
And when you do need a charge while out on the open road, this system allows the Volt to be configured to run off of gasoline, E85 or biodiesel.
This car is slated for a 2010 release with a $35,000 tag. But, as I said before, I'll believe it when I see it sitting in the car lot.
Ford Airstream Concept:
A sleek, if not slightly awkward, design from the folks at Ford, the Airstream's appearance caused quite a ruckus at this years show.
Powered by what Ford has dubbed the HySeries Drive, the Airstream is a plug-in hydrogen hybrid fuel cell vehicle that operates on electric power at all times giving the test bed vehicle an equivalent fuel economy of 41 mpg.
Is it likely we'll see a car this outrageous on the roads anytime soon? Probably not-- though it would be pretty impressive. . . but, as you can see from the pictures, the Airstream does its job of generating public interest in alternative, fuel-efficient drive lines quite well.
Smart ForTwo:
Slathered in eye grabbing metallic red, the Smart Fortwo had a legion of of fans, ranging from young to old.
With an estimated 45 mpg average, the Fortwo is powered by a 1-liter, 3 cylinder engine that gets this fun little, though surprisingly spacious, car to 60 mph in about 12 seconds.
K-1 Attack Hybrid:
Built by West Philadelphia High School, this gorgeous super car weighs 2,500 lb., makes 350 hp, does 0-60 in under four seconds and gets 55 mpg, all while looking fantastic. Watch out Tesla and Toyota, these kids know what they're doing. . .
And finally, of course, is the tried and true Toyota Prius, still attracting admirers after over a decade of production. But, it's no wonder it still attracts admirers with its 60 mpg in the city and 51 mpg on the highway.
The Losers
Lexus LS 600h L:
One hell of a car... but at the same time one hell of a stupid hybrid.
Sure, this behemouth has a total of 430 hp and every possible gadget and gizmo any car that costs more than $100,000 should.
But with 20 mpg city and 22 mpg highway, this hybrid is all about the image, and does nothing a hybrid should.
Chevy Tahoe Hybrid and Cadillac:
I understand we all have different needs. But the bottom line is, when oil is at $300 a barrel, it won't matter what you need to do. A 25% increase in fuel economy sounds good, however, when that gain only pushes mpg to 22.7, well, thats just not enough... nice try though GM.
Well thats it for the Philadelphia Auto Show folks. Thanks to our photographer Crystal Dunn for lugging all of her equipment around a massive convention center, fighting her way through the crowd to get these shots.
As always, keep your hopes in the future but your sense in the present...
Field Palmer
Subscribe to
I want one of those!!
and 51mpg hwy? could the numbers be reversed??? i do like the K1 attack. the high schools s/b given kudos...
====================================
Good question...
The reason why the numbers seem flip flopped is because when a hybrid is sitting in city traffic the engine shuts off completely and the car is powered by the motor until the charge is depleted to a certain level, at which point the engine kicks back on to help move the vehicle and to recharge the batteries . But out on the highway, to maintain higher speeds, the engine stays on for longer periods of time, thus using more fuel and reducing mpg.
It seams to me that not any of the car manufacture are realy looking to reduce contamination, because with does prices on the Hybrids no one that work with a vehicle or delivery car, will buy this expensive cars, the manufactures don't care for the global warming, they just care to sell luxury expensive vehicles.
The article on the MDI Air car, is grteat because is a Hybrid as well as Air engine. the vehicle moves from 0 t0 10 with electric motor, then from 10 to 60 with compressed air and 60 to 100 with fuel for the road, and guess what it refills with air buy it self consuming fuel in road conditions, it also takes advantage to refill with inertia down hill and breakin up to 10% of energy is gain.
Listen carfully, if you fill the the air tank at night to full 100% the next morning when the tempeture begins to rice you will gain 10% on the pressure of the tank because of the temperature change:
I never heard of a vehicle that after filling up you will gain energy, allways losses.
Hope you keep a close eye on this French Monsiur Guy Negre looks like he haves the right idea for the low cost, low operative cost and ecology vehicle.
Aplause to Mr. Negre
thank you
Starting in large metropolitan areas where pollution and congestion is worst, such a private/public hybrid model would have many advantages. Among them:
- An increase in the speed and safety of transportation, in the end virtually eliminating 40.000 fatalities/year and more than 3 million injuries/year due to a guidance system and electronic safety features and speed control. As well as adding to life expectancy and quality of life due to reduced air-pollution.
- Lower costs of insurance (including healthcare and life) and of car maintenance.
- Lower fuel costs for consumers. e.g. it takes only 8 KWh for a 1000 kg car going 50 miles/hour. That's the equivalent of 42 cents/gallon gasoline. (assumes 15 % transmission losses, 25 miles/gallon for conventional gasoline cars, 9 cents/KWh, regenerative braking back into the grid and no improvement in aerodynamics and rolling resistance).
- the creation of jobs and of value-added local markets for biomass and windfarmers.
- Lower risks of price volatility, inflation and (inter)national geopolitical tensions.