Hybrid

Future cars: Auto bodywork composite doubles as a battery

By Tannith Cattermole

18:41 February 7, 2010 PST

The problem is clear. Hybrid cars and EVs rely on batteries for power, but batteries are bulky and heavy, causing the car to use up more energy. But what if a car's bodywork was made of a strong, lightweight material that could store and discharge electrical energy just as a conventional battery does? In pursuing this goal, researchers at the Imperial College London are developing a key building block for the hybrid car of the future, and the implications go way beyond automobiles - think wafer thin mobile phones and laptops that don't need a separate battery because they draw power from their casing. Read More

Tilting 'bullet-proof’ 150mph 3-wheel EV … Urban Jet or urban myth?

By Jeff Salton

22:36 February 2, 2010 PST

The race to produce a narrow, tilting, hybrid motorcycle/car/EV continues with another boutique manufacturer throwing its hat into the ring. This time, its Cherban who has released plans of its concept Urban Jet, a 150mph three-wheeler EV that is said to be able to accelerate from 0-60mph in less than 3.5 seconds. It’s a two-seater (bobsled style – though hopefully not as scary) that leans up to 45° into corners, and is reminiscent of the Dutch Carver (see it briefly in our video on the Nissan Landglider and other narrow track vehicles). Read More

The appropriately named Bright IDEA hybrid delivery van

By Ben Coxworth

13:34 January 30, 2010 PST

If you were a hybrid vehicle manufacturer, and you wanted to lower the world’s CO2 emissions, would you first...

• a) Try to replace all the privately-owned gas vehicles, that mostly just drive to and from workplaces, one vehicle at a time, or...
• b) Replace entire corporate fleets of gas delivery vehicles, that typically spend all day, every day, on the road?

Well, you’re supposed to answer “b”. That’s what Indiana-based Bright Automotive wants to do with their plug-in hybrid delivery van, the IDEA. And now that they’re close to signing a pact with an unnamed major automaker, they’re one step closer to realizing that vision. Read More

Jaguar's Gas Turbine Electric Vehicle Project wins funding

By Paul Ridden

12:37 January 27, 2010 PST

The UK government-backed Technology Strategy Board recently announced the recipients of carbon reduction technology research project funding which sees a consortium made up of Jaguar Land Rover, SR Drives and led by Bladon Jets taking a GBP 1,103,392 (about US$1,790,000) slice of the multi-million GB-pound cake to develop "the world’s first commercially viable - and environmentally friendly - gas turbine generator designed specifically for automotive applications." Read More

Future Vehicle Technologies to market eVaro high-performance hybrid

By Ben Coxworth

17:06 January 14, 2010 PST

As the electric/hybrid auto revolution gathers speed, it’s becoming more and more apparent that green vehicles don’t need to be slow. First, of course, came the Tesla Roadster. Then, just this month, Revenge Design Inc unveiled their Verde. Now, or at least not long from now, you can add another green dream to your list: The Future Vehicle Technologies eVaro. The Canadian-made hybrid gets up to 275mpg, has a top speed of 135mph, and can go from 0 to 60 in a butt-clenching five seconds. Read More

Hyundai brings future-sexy Blue Will concept to Detroit

By Loz Blain

21:53 January 13, 2010 PST

Hyundai's tasty Blue Will concept car turned up at the Detroit NAIAS this week for its first showing on American soil. We got to take a close-up look at the Korean company's blue-sky plug-in hybrid and were impressed by some of the details - headlamp surrounds made from recycled PET bottles, a full undertray for sleek aeros, a glass roof impregnated with solar cells, drive-by-wire steering column and a thermal generator to turn waste heat from the combustion engine into electricity. Read More

Subaru's treat for the eyes: the Hybrid Tourer Concept

By Noel McKeegan

10:40 January 12, 2010 PST

Subaru rolled-out its Hybrid Tourer Concept this morning in Detroit and what a feast for the eyes it is. Featuring gullwing doors, an array of screens including one integrated into the steering wheel and a wide open interior facilitated by a flat floor design, the Hybrid Tourer first seen at the 2009 Tokyo Motor Show is a showcase for the company's planned development of a gas/electric hybrid system based on the boxer engine set to hit the market in 2012. Read More

Honda’s CR-Z hot production hybrid takes a bow

By Jeff Salton

15:52 January 11, 2010 PST

Honda made the first commercial hybrid and cut the path for the rest of the world’s auto makers more than a decade ago. Now it is in the process of trailblazing the path for desirable hybrids with the release of its all-new CR-Z which made its world premiere at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit today. The ingredients are all top shelf: a six speed manual gearbox, a 1.5 litre i-VTEC engine coupled to Honda’s IMA hybrid system, a flexible 2+2 seating arrangement, 3-mode drive system, 56.4 mpg from a sports car, light good handling chassis … but the package is integrated and that’s what makes the Honda CR-Z hot, hot, hot! We are very impressed! Read More

Toyota's FT-CH Concept - a smaller and lighter hybrid than the Prius

By Darren Quick

11:19 January 11, 2010 PST

As part of its theme of "electrification" Toyota revealed at the 2010 North American International Auto Show it is planning a Prius family of vehicles. One model that is being considered for adoption into this family is the FT-CH (concept hybrid) vehicle. The FT-CH would have a lower price point than the Prius and is 6" shorter than the current Prius on the outside, but only 1" shorter in the interior cabin. It is also half an inch thinner and is lighter than the current Prius, which also helps make it more fuel efficient. Read More

Volkswagen unveils Compact Coupe Concept in Detroit

By Noel McKeegan

09:39 January 11, 2010 PST

Volkswagen kicked-off what it promises will be a big year in Detroit this morning with the world premiere of the Compact Coupe. Described as a car that appeals to the "head and heart in equal measure", the four-seat, front wheel drive hybrid concept combines miserly fuel economy of 45 mpg (combined) and CO2 emissions of 98 g/km with performance figures of 0-60 mph in 8.6 seconds and a quoted top speed of 141 mph (227 kmh). Read More

Lenovo IdeaPad U1

By Paul Ridden

13:31 January 8, 2010 PST

There has been a lot of pondering about exactly which niche the tablet PC will fit into in today's tech-centric mobile world. At this year's CES trade show in Las Vegas, Lenovo hopes to answer many of those questions by merging the familiarity of a laptop and the convenience and portability of a tablet PC into one package. The main innovation in the IdeaPad U1 is a detachable tablet PC screen which has its own operating system and processor but when docked in the laptop body shares both battery and processing power. Read More

The bewildering Minitopz PC from Artopz

By Paul Lester

15:31 December 28, 2009 PST

We’ve seen some weird and wacky PC designs in our time, but few are as surreal as the Minitopz range from US firm Artopz Technology. The fusion of art and computing is entirely a subjective one, so we won’t cast too many opinions on the actual design, but what is intriguing here is that the Minitopz range has chosen the humble desk lamp as the subject of its hybrid. Read More

VW's UP! Lite Concept Car – the world’s most efficient four wheeler

By Gizmag Team

21:29 December 9, 2009 PST

Volkswagen’s L1 narrow-track tandem Concept was one of the stars of the Frankfurt Motor Show in September, but a more conventional vehicle using a similar hybrid electric turbo diesel powertain was on show at the Los Angeles Auto Show this week which will be the world’s most efficient and economical four-door when it, or something very close to it, goes on sale in 2011. The UP! Lite is capable of carrying four adults in comfort, delivers 115.7mpg, emits just 65g/km of CO2 and is capable of 100mph. The UP! Lite heads down the same road as the smart phone, with one central computer display controlled by touch screen and hand movement sensors – this handles such systems as active thermal management, passive park ventilation, Internet, telephone, MP3, video, telephone, trip computer and radio. Read More

Capstone CMT-380 electric hybrid supercar with microturbines

By Jeff Salton

22:04 December 3, 2009 PST

Capstone Turbine Corporation has shown off its high performance hybrid electric car, the CMT-380, at the LA Auto Show. The car features a 30kW microturbine that extends the range of its traditional EV batteries, and which the company likens to having an ultra-clean and quiet jet engine under the hood. Capstone adds that the supercar, still in its test phase, reaches 0-60mph in 3.9 seconds, has a top speed of 150mph, and a range of up to 500 miles on a single tank of fuel - all with ultra-low exhaust emissions that rival any hybrid on the market today. Read More

HH2 hydrogen technology purports to turn any gas-guzzler into a hybrid

By Darren Quick

23:24 December 2, 2009 PST

When the promoters of the HH2 Hydrogen Generator Clean Air Combustion System made an appearance at last year’s LA Auto Show they attracted their fair share of skepticism. Hardly surprising given their claims of boosting the horsepower, performance, and mileage of existing vehicles through the addition of an aftermarket device that mixes hydrogen and oxygen extracted from water with existing fuel. But the naysayers haven’t discouraged the system’s developers as they are fronting up to the LA Auto Show again this year with even loftier claims thanks to improvements to their system. Read More

Narrow track vehicles - the convergence of the car and the motorcycle

By Mike Hanlon

01:22 November 19, 2009 PST

Since Nicholas Negroponte first came up with his landmark teething ring visualization of the coming together of communication, computing and content, the term convergence has become the uber buzzword. Now there’s convergence going on in the personal transport industry, with the car and the motorcycle morphing as car makers attempt to downsize their vehicles to make them better suited to the world’s increasingly crowded roads. This article begins with Nissan’s tandem two-seat, half width tilting car, the Landglider, and examines all the other work being done around the world as narrow track vehicles seriously begin to make their case. Read More

Mercedes-Benz Citaro FuelCELL-Hybrid bus previews in Hamburg

By Jeff Salton

20:14 November 18, 2009 PST

The first of ten new Mercedes-Benz Citaro FuelCELL-Hybrid buses has appeared in Hamburg, Germany as part of a large-scale fleet trial taking place there and in other European cities. Two major features of this latest-generation fuel cell hybrid bus are that it emits no pollutants while in motion and is virtually silent, making it ideal for use in highly congested inner cities and metropolitan areas. From next year, ten of the 30 vehicles that Daimler Buses is producing for European transport operators are destined for the Hamburg transport authority. Hamburger Hochbahn will take delivery of the remaining 20 buses. Read More

Piaggio shows high performance hybrid two wheeler

By Mike Hanlon

15:03 November 14, 2009 PST

Piaggio's MP3 was the world's first hybrid three-wheeler and at EICMA this week, it showed what is likely to be the first two-wheeled hybrid – the Piaggio USB (urban sport bike). The combination of a highly efficient, low-emmission GDI (gasoline direct injection) two-stroke motor and an electric motor, the USB is much smaller than it looks in the images and weighs in at just 130 kg. The USB runs 50km (30 miles) on electric only, and returns 1.5 l/100 km (156 U.S. mpg and 188 imperial mpg). Read More

Are EVs risking or saving the planet?

By Jeff Salton

19:05 November 12, 2009 PST

“Electric cars should be rewarded for their energy efficiency, not for moving emissions from exhaust pipes to powerstation chimneys” says the UK's Environmental Transport Association (ETA). In a report titled "How to avoid an electric shock - Electric cars: from hype to reality", the ETA has taken a close look at electric-powered vehicles (EVs) and their associated technologies. In what could be a shock to some commuters – and governments - the report states that EVs could potentially speed climate change, rather than reduce it, and might not be as good for the planet as some of the spin suggests. Simply put, it’s not necessarily the cars themselves that will cause the damage, but the way the electricity is generated to power them and how often we drive them. For instance, EVs powered by “green energy” - wind or solar - are obviously superior, but if the electricity comes from coal, hybrids perform better. Read More

Peugeot previews another hybrid three wheeler - the Hybrid3 Evolution

By Mike Hanlon

13:10 November 12, 2009 PST

Peugeot looks to be getting serious about its 3WD hybrid design which we first saw last year at the 2008 Paris Motorcycle Show with the HYbrid3 compressor. Debuting at the Milan Motorcycle Show will be a roofless version named the HYbrid3 Evolution which replaces the 21bhp 125 cm3 supercharged motor with a 41bhp 300 cm3 supercharged engine giving it a total of 49bhp when combined with the two 3 kW (4.1bhp) front wheel motors. The Evolution comes with stop-start engine technology and returns 2.0 liters/100 km (117 U.S. mpg or 141 Imperial mpg) and just 48 g/km of CO2! Read More

Axon Automotive shows off lightweight plug-in hybrid

By Jeff Salton

19:42 October 29, 2009 PDT

UK car manufacturer Axon Automotive has used the Milton Keynes Science Festival to preview its plug-in hybrid lightweight passenger car. The car combines carbon fiber composite construction with a full electric mode for short-run local travel and a petrol or bioethanol-powered engine for longer distances or highway travel. Read More

Ultra Motor dumps pedals for new A2B Excel electric scooter

By Jeff Salton

10:04 October 16, 2009 PDT

Ultra Motor, known for its A2B electric assist bicycles has thrown out the pedals and replaced them with footrest platforms in its latest offering - the A2B Excel electric scooter. Weighing in at 90lb (41kg), the Excel uses an 800W hub motor at the rear wheel to achieve a range of around 28 miles (45km) and a top speed of 28mph (45kmh). Read More

France to spend US$2.2 billion on network of electric car charging stations

By Jeff Salton

19:15 October 11, 2009 PDT

As France’s car-makers push their plans to increase sales and give motorists more electric and hybrid-powered vehicle choices, the French Government has added its support by announcing it intends to spend €1.5 billion (about US$2.2 billion) on creating a battery-charging network for electric vehicles across the country. Part of its spend will also go towards further encouragement of clean vehicle technology and battery manufacturing. Read More

West Philly Hybrid X high school team in race for Auto X Prize

By Mick Webb

04:04 October 10, 2009 PDT

The Automotive X Prize is a competition aiming to “inspire a new generation of viable, super – efficient vehicles that help break our addiction to oil and stem the effects of climate change”. With a $10 million prize pot and over 100 teams from 12 countries contributing entries, an unlikely contender has emerged in the form of West Philadelphia High School’s Hybrid X Team, which is applying its experience and knowledge to two entries including the Factory Five GT based EVX GT sports car. Read More

Google investigating smart charging solution for electric vehicles

By Paul Ridden

02:52 October 5, 2009 PDT

A lesser-known fact about the operator of the world's most popular Internet search engine is that it's been running a small fleet of hybrid vehicles for the past few years to support its effort to reduce CO2 emissions, cut oil use and stabilize the electrical grid by accelerating the adoption of plug-in electric vehicles. Google engineers have put the cars through numerous tests to both prove and improve electric vehicle technology whilst publishing the results on the Internet. More recently, Google has confirmed that the fleet is currently running smart software to enable communication between the grid and the vehicles. Read More