series hybrid
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As European countries continue to crack down on emissions from road vehicles, automakers are stepping up with solutions to reduce levels of smog-causing nitrogen oxides, especially in city centers. Ford identified the commercial vehicle segment as one it believes is ripe for electrification, and earlier this month it revealed its Ford Transit Plug-In Hybrid van. Notably, the electrified powertrain does not use the gasoline engine to power the front wheels—ever. DON'T MISS: Ford to test plug-in hybrid Transit Custom van in London Instead, the lithium-ion battery pack and Bosch electric...
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Nissan Gripz Concept uses Note e-Power series-hybrid systemThe series-hybrid powertrain, in which motive power is provided exclusively by one or more electric motors that run on electricity produced by a combustion engine, has been popular in trains and boats for many decades. In cars, it's been confined to the BMW i3 REx and the Fisker Karma (now Karma...
John Voelcker -
Mazda's electric car gets patents for rotary range-extender engine
Recent patent filings suggest Mazda’s next Wankel engine will equip a battery-powered car, not a rear-wheel drive heir to emblematic sports coupes like its RX-7 and RX-8. Mazda has invested more time and money into the rotary engine than any other automaker, so executives are reluctant to let...
Green Car Reports -
Nissan e-Power series hybrid builds on electric-car expertise
This morning, in Japan, Nissan unveiled what its lineup has long been missing: strong hybrid technology. The company's new e-Power hybrid system, demonstrated in a Nissan Note hatchback, contains a gasoline engine and an electric traction motor. But unlike the power-split hybrids used by Toyota and...
John Voelcker -
Volvos A La Volt: Swedish Carmaker Tests Range Extenders In C30, V60
Swedish carmaker Volvo now operates a test fleet of all-electric C30 hatchbacks, and it's also rolling out another experimental car, a V60 wagon with a diesel engine driving the front wheels, and an electric motor powering the rear. The two cars are now spawning a second generation of test...
John Voelcker -
Fisker Karma In Monaco: Winner Of Owner Royalty Award?
According to startup plug-in hybrid maker Fisker Automotive, production of its 2011 Fisker Karma luxury sports sedan recently started in Finland. The company says it is focusing on delivering cars to dealers, so aside from giving a very small handful of journalists some quick driving time within...
John Voelcker -
The history of the auto industry is littered with the carcasses of the cars and companies that didn't make it. Modern hybrid-electric vehicles were first commercialized by Toyota, with its 1997 Prius (sold in the U.S. starting in 2000). But many concepts, development vehicles, one-offs, and other technology experiments preceded that first Prius. Hybrid history on eBay Now an arcane piece of hybrid history has turned up on eBay UK, representing major names in the waning British car industry that came together to create an experimental concept car that cost, according to the literature, 1...
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Plug-In Hybrid MPGs: Is Parallel or Range-Extended Better?
These are exciting times to be a car shopper, as the choices in every possible category just keep getting better and more fuel-efficient. The options for ecologically sensitive hybrid buyers have taken a major step forward with the introduction of the 2011 Chevrolet Volt and the imminent arrival of...
George Parrott -
BMW Hires Lead Electric-Car Engineer From Chevy Volt Team
Not so long ago, the notion of luxury German brand BMW hiring an engineer from General Motors might have been a stretch. The company prefers to promote engineers from within its Munich engineering headquarters. But reports that Frank Weber, the lead engineer of the 2011 Chevrolet Volt team, has...
John Voelcker -
Porsche Recreates The Original Hybrid Car, 111 Years Later
The name Porsche has traditionally been associated with fast, rear-engine sports cars, and more recently with fast heavy SUVs and fast heavy four-door luxury sedans. But it all goes back to pioneering engineer Ferdinand Porsche. He also designed the prototype for what became the Volkswagen Beetle...
John Voelcker -
2011 Chevrolet Volt: First Impressions, Tech And Questions
If you follow AllCarsElectric with any regularity, you might just be familiar with a certain new Chevrolet known as the Volt. We've probably mentioned it at some point... Well, the 2011 Chevrolet Volt is now here and our partner site GreenCarReports has been putting the car through its paces at the...
Antony Ingram -
Five Questions: Nancy Gioia, Ford global electrification director
Ford was the first U.S. automaker to offer a hybrid, introducing the Ford Escape Hybrid crossover in 2004. It recently expanded its portfolio with the well-received 2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid. More recently, the company has announced plans for limited numbers of plug-in hybrids, as well as electric...
John Voelcker -
Back in April, startup company Bright Automotive unveiled its design for a plug-in hybrid light delivery truck. Now, we've had a chance to drive the prototype, briefly, just as Bright raised its electric range to 40 miles. Our test vehicle was the only Bright IDEA van prototype built thus far by the Anderson, Indiana, firm. We were able to do precisely one low-speed loop on the roof of a Detroit parking structure. Drives...like a hybrid Due to an overnight charging problem, the vehicle's battery was largely depleted and it was running in range-extending mode with the engine on. Remembering...
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2010 Fisker Karma: 67 MPG AND 0-to-62-mph In Under 6 Seconds
The 2010 Fisker Karma will be the world's first production series hybrid, or extended-range electric vehicle, when it comes off the line late this year. Customer deliveries will start next May. Just prior to the Karma's German debut at next week's Frankfurt Auto Show, the company released emissions...
John Voelcker -
Let the Range Extender Wars Begin: Lotus Unveils Tiny Engine
We've written before about upcoming tiny, powerful engines that perform like much bigger versions but get far better gas mileage. Now, British sports-car maker Lotus has used those lessons in an engine designed just for the extended-range electric vehicles of the future. At next week's Frankfurt...
John Voelcker
