Hybrids With a Power Cord: Plug-In Vans Put to the Test

[RedEarth]

Green Tech
Hybrids With a Power Cord: Plug-In Vans Put to the Test
By JIM MOTAVALLI
ARE there plug-in hybrid vehicles in America’s future? Such hybrids could travel 10 to 20 additional miles on battery power alone, but until recently automakers have said — more or less unanimously — that it was not practical to add a larger battery pack and plug-in chargers to hybrid vehicles because of the added weight, complexity and cost.

The public is already confused about hybrids, they say, with many people still believing that these cars (whose batteries are charged by their internal-combustion engines) need to be plugged in. So now hybrids really will have a power cord?

Maybe, says DaimlerChrysler. The company recently showed in New York the first vehicle in its small test fleet of Dodge Sprinter delivery vans with plug-in-hybrid powertrains. The Sprinters can drive 20 miles on batteries alone, powered by a 70-kilowatt electric motor. The three Sprinters currently in the United States (built in Germany with either diesel or gasoline engines) are the vanguard concept vehicles in a four-truck fleet; another three dozen will enter service around the world.

This does not necessarily mean that DaimlerChrysler will make plug-in production Sprinters for sale, but the company appears to be warming to the concept.

Other companies are mulling the idea, too. Ford Motor’s chairman, William Clay Ford Jr., said in May that his company was “keenly looking at” the technology. At Toyota, Dave Hermance, executive engineer for advanced technology vehicles, confirmed that the company has started a research and development program for plug-ins. “But we believe the batteries are not ready for production,” he added.

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/01/automobiles/01PLUG.html?pagewanted=print

[TlalocW]

1. Okay, Ford, you and the other big two

"keenly look at" the technology. While you flounder around with diminishing sales, unable to understand why Americans aren't buying what you're telling them they should buy, we'll keep moving to other car companies that understand the importance of hybrid technology.

TlalocW

[spag68]

2. These statements are just BS about battery power.

The new battery tech. is much better, the main problem is cost. The cost issue could be improved by mass production. Don't be fooled, I see the hand of big oil here.

[skids]

3. If EEstor turns out to be for real...

...the cost issue goes away -- their stated target price is about the same as lead acid, much cheaper than the new Lithiums. Not that the new lithiums won't hold their own in the market, just they will have price pressure (they always have the power tool, appliance, and electronics market to fall back on, as the smallest EEStor ultracap seems to be 400lbs which would make for one heavy laptop :-)