MiniCooper lithium 65k hybrid on Sams cover

A fun set of wheels for the ** Cashed up Greenies ** trend setters.

Click on the Photo once and get a full sized view.=TG

Prius Hybrid 52 MPG battery assist

Prices for a good used Prius are quite reasonable. Using one of the auto shopping finder service sites, you can use 98401 for a zip code and see what is selling from 11K to 22K in the WA area not too far south of Vancouver. BC.

Ideally, Evs like the Phoenix SUT [ Sport Utility Truck ], [Scroll down a few], are perfect since they allow you to remain mobile even when gas at the pumps is reserved, during a crisis, for police and emergency only.

A newer used Prius is an excellent interim choice. The money you save on gas can go toward a new EV, [ Electric Vehicle ] when they are easier to get.

Government t Gas or Hybrid compare pages

For your next new car . . .
Canada Government Gives you great Info Value Free!

oee.nrcan.gc.ca/transportation/personal/pdfs/most-efficient-vehicles-2006.pdf
http://tinyurl.com/2cmz24
There are 12 car photos per page for each year from 1999 to 2007. Each photo and specs in order of gas efficiency.
============ Check the year page for your car
[Photo]
Honda Insight
1.0 L, 3 cylinder hybrid
5 speed manual
Annual Fuel Cost: $504
Annual Fuel Use: 720 L
CO2 Emissions/Year: 1728 kgTwo-
Fuel Consumption City: 3.9 L/100 km (72 mi./gal.) Hwy: 3.3 L/100 km (86 mi./gal.)


[Photo]
Volkswagen Jetta
TDI Diesel Wagon
1.9 L, 4 cylinder
5 speed manual
Annual Fuel Cost: $791
Annual Fuel Use: 1180 L
CO2 Emissions/Year: 3186 kg
Fuel Consumption City: 6.6 L/100 km (43 mi./gal.) Hwy: 5.2 L/100 km (54 mi./gal.)


[Photo]
Volkswagen New Beetle
TDI Diesel
1.9 L, 4 cylinder
5 speed manual
Annual Fuel Cost: $737
Annual Fuel Use: 1100 L
CO2 Emissions/Year: 2970 kg
Fuel Consumption City: 6.2 L/100 km (46 mi./gal.) Hwy: 4.6 L/100 km (61 mi./gal.)


[Photo]
Pontiac Vibe [When 35MPG standard arrives, all below this disqualified]
1.8 L, 4 cylinder
5 speed manual
Annual Fuel Cost: $980
Annual Fuel Use: 1400 L
CO2 Emissions/Year: 3360 kg
Fuel Consumption City: 7.9 L/100 km (36 mi./gal.) Hwy: 5.9 L/100 km (48 mi./gal.)

No need for hybrid unless you want bigger car w/ lower MPG. Most Hybrids are no gas = no go. To be free of gas pumps and sudden gas outs, you need an Electric Vehicle. [EV]


I like the Phoenix short box p/u EV.. Scroll down to white p/u photo. =TG

Toyota hybrid sport power Demon

The June '07 print edition of Automobile casually drops a bit of a bombshell in page 30. They report that Toyota has given the FT-HS hybrid sports car the green light for production. You should remember the FT-HS concept from this year's Detroit Auto Show, where it was one of the most significant unveilings. The Calty-designed production version will make its debut in 2009.

[Photo credit..thanks AutoBlogGreen. com ]

EV Battery Charge Range Compared

Remember, that while 250 miles can seem limited at first glance, every last owner of the 135 mile range EV1 loved their EV and would have bought it from GM if GM had allowed sales instead of reclaiming them all back off lease.

Escape Hybrid is HARD, saves $250,000 in gas

[Credit = Autoblog.com photo gallery]

Ford is killing off the * Fix or repair daily* curse.

One of the concerns people have about hybrid vehicles is the durability of the complex drivetrains. Ford is helping to put some of that concern to rest. Less than two years ago a fleet of eighteen Escape Hybrids joined the ranks of New York City taxis. In that short span of time each one of them has now completed over 175,000 miles of service and saved an estimated $250,000 in fuel costs.

If a vehicle can survive the constant stop and go traffic of New York city streets while accumulating the same mileage as an average driver collects in 11 years, it's probably doing okay.
============ Thank you, Autoblog.com

Prius Escape Accord Hylander Civic Camry Hybrid

[Credit = Autoblog.com photo gallery]


This is the first diagram you see when you go to GreenHybrid.com

GM and lithium-ion battery begging

[Credit = Autoblog.com photo gallery]

By NORIHIKO SHIROUZU
April 13, 2007; Page B1

Wall Street Journal

General Motors Corp. executives -- blue over their company's less-than-green reputation and envious of eco-darling Toyota Prius -- began searching the world for advanced batteries they hoped would power a new generation of gas-electric hybrid cars.

Most roads led them to Japan, the leader in battery technology and #HYPERLINK *http://online.wsj.com/quotes/main.html?type=djn&symbol=tm*

WSJournal

Toyota Motor Corp.'s home turf. Several GM engineers and executives describe their experience at Panasonic EV Energy Co. Ltd., one of the top makers of hybrid-car batteries, as typical of the reception they received there: When GM team members asked for detailed information about the company's most sophisticated automotive lithium-ion batteries, Panasonic EV refused.

A Panasonic EV spokesman says that as a matter of company policy it only discloses that kind of information to its parent company, Toyota.

Facing growing pressure to curtail greenhouse-gas emissions, U.S. auto makers are increasingly worried that the critical battery technology they'll need to compete is getting locked up by Japanese rivals who moved more quickly to develop gas-electric hybrid vehicles.

*It's important to have the knowledge base on advanced automotive battery technology and manufacturing capacity right here locally in the U.S.* says Beth Lowery, GM vice president of Environment and Energy.
======== Wall Street Journal

Guess crunching the EV-1 in 1993-95 was not too smart.
Now GM is worried about Toyota killing off the new GM Volt with an EV that will go twice as far for less money. = TG

Escape, Prius, Honda Civic Hybrid winners

[Credit = Autoblog.com photo gallery]

The 2007 Escape Hybrid in front-wheel drive form is the most fuel-efficient SUV on the market. As such, it is one of just three current model-year vehicles to qualify for the federal government's maximum $2,000 EcoAuto incentive.

Toyota's Prius and Honda's Civic hybrid also qualify.

The 2008 Escape Hybrid is even more fuel-frugal.

That improvement should qualify the new 4WD model for the full $2,000 rebate as well. Its 2007 counterpart is eligible for a $1,500 incentive.

Those incentives should help offset the price of the Escape Hyrbid, which is listed as $31,499 for the FWD version and $33,899 for the 4WD version.

For those who may worry about the longevity of such relatively new technology, the Hybrid's CVT, battery pack, and electronic power controller are covered by a special eight-year, 160,000 km warranty. More at TheStar.com = TG

Al Gore warming guilt

Looking at the picture and AlGoreWarm*s oratory, we hear his sermon. . .

Suspect ye not the GM of auto who were shocked that their rudimentary electic car of 1993, the EV1, was a wild and addictive public success. Indicating the death of the ICE engine. So much so, that they gathered every last one and crushed them in a secure GM compound.

Suspect ye not the Chevron / Esso / Texaco of oil who gained control of patents for the large format NiMH battery. The ideaL BATTERY FOR AUTO-MOTION. For nay, they have no wish to keep us dependent upon products of their 8 to 12 Billion$ refineries and distribution networks.

Suspect ye not the governments who, [at the moment], have no idea how to bring in tractor trailer loads of money on the 8 to 16 cents of charge demanded by EVs that can plug in anywhere anytime.

No, ye sinners. Look within thyne own black souls, guilty of tossing tetra-packs and disposable razors with no sense of guilt.= TG
Graphics H/T SmallDeadAnimals.com

GM and Cobasys sign Battery Contract

Cobasys Confirms Production Contract for 2008 Chevrolet Malibu Hybrid Sedan

Orion, MI, March 13, 2007–Cobasys, a leading supplier of advanced integrated energy storage solutions, today confirmed that they have been chosen to provide their NiMHax® Nickel Metal Hydride (NiMH) battery system for General Motors’ redesigned 2008 Chevrolet Malibu Hybrid Sedan unveiled at the 2007 North American International Auto Show in Detroit.

The Chevrolet Malibu arrives in showrooms in fall, 2007 and will feature the same hybrid system that powers the Saturn Vue Green Line SUV and 2007 Saturn Aura Green Line mid-size sedan. The Malibu hybrid combines sophisticated controls and a unique electric motor / generator mated to their 2.4L Ecotec four-cylinder engine and the Cobasys NiMHax®battery system, leading to substantial fuel economy gains.

Coabasys website

Toyota NiMH Nickel Metal Hydride Battery

Newly developed modular metal casing for compact packaging and improved cooling
The Ni-MH battery used in Highlander Hybrid is packaged in the newly developed metal battery casing.

Although it is only 0.014? (240 cells) in volume, it can deliver high voltage of 288 V. The improved cooling performance reduces loss of efficiency due to heat generation, ensuring that the battery can supply required electric power to the motors at all times.

The battery Monitoring Unit manages discharge and recharging by the generator and motors to keep the charge level constant while the car is running.

Toyota Prius Toyota Highlander and more . . . .

Gas engine vs Electric Motor or EV [vehicle]

Gas engines lose efficiency at every junction from drilling crude, pumping, refining, storage, tanker loading, transport, unloading , pumping at retail sales points and it burns at about 22% energy efficiency. [Ethanol has much lower efficieny and costs more, but does help displace some barrels of crude imports.]

Not so with electric engines:

[ Hydro power is derived from gravity pull of water through a turbine spinning a generator and fed directly by wire to your wall plug. Battery charging normally occurs from 1 to 6 am during off peak demand.]

When the power gets flipped on, the engine goes. Delivery of power to the engine is not as big of an issue. Most electrics also only have two gears, forward and reverse, so drivers don't get stumped by a mis-shift. Additionally, very little of the energy gets lost.

Mr. Wright, engineer of the X1-EV said . .
*Of the energy you take out of the wall, almost all of it ends up on the road,* he said. *They are so close to nearly perfect that there is no point in inventing anything else.*

This is the link


Electricity is also comparatively cheap. The X1 consumes about 220 watt-hours per mile in city driving. That's the equivalent of 170 miles per gallon: The vehicle's vanity license plate reads 170 MPGE.[+-42 MPl.]

It can be charged from a 110-volt wall socket and will be compatible with the faster chargers Tesla will bring to market.

The problem is the batteries, which effectively serve as the gas tank on an electric car. The 538-pound battery in the X1 can hold about the same amount of energy as three liters of gas.
As a result, electric cars can only travel so far without recharging. The EV1 from General Motors could only go 130 miles before it needed a recharge, and it needed a special charger. [ All drivers LOVED their EV-1s in spite of the short range. =TG]

The all-electric Xebra from ZAP doesn't go on the freeway. The Tesla Roadster, an electric sports car coming from Tesla Motors, can go 200 miles before its 6,831-cell lithium ion battery peters out.
The X1 can go around 100 miles under regular conditions and might only go 25 miles in racing conditions before it needs a recharge.

*Batteries are also intrinsically expensive things,* Wright said. *There's a lot of R&D involved.*

The *Better Battery* could come from Chevron , as they hold the patents [from Ovonics], for the *Large Format NiMH battery*. But, I suspect Chevron bought the rights in order to keep the efficient battery from cutting into fuel sales.

Rumours mention that the secretive German based firm, Eestor is onto a *Super Battery*. Question is; will the designer of the better new battery sell the rights to Exxon or Chevron for quick profits, or will they actually go into production? = TG

GM volt EV plug-in

General Motors will roll out its new Chevrolet Volt Concept later today. The sedan is powered by GM’s new E-flex hybrid system. The plug-in four-seater has a brace of lithium-ion cells that can be fully charged in six hours using a standard 110-volt outlet, giving the Volt a range of 40 city miles.

When the batteries are depleted, it then employs its turbocharged, 1.0-liter three-cylinder engine to replenish the cells, theoretically giving the Volt up to 150 miles-per-gallon. According to GM’s car czar Bob Lutz, “More than half of all Americans live within 20 miles of where they work (40 miles round trip). In that case, you might never burn a drop of gas during the life of the car.” Like seemingly every new GM car these days, the Volt’s tri-banger is also amiable to running on E85, giving it even greater credibility among the environmentalists.

http://news.windingroad.com/concept-cars/naias-gm-rolling-out
-volt-plug-in-hybrid-concept-today/

Winding Road Mag

=== Winding Road Magazine = TG