Category Archives: Electrics and Hybrids

New Volkswagen XL1 gets 261 mpg

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Volkswagen, with a complete lack of modesty, claims it is now building the most fuel-efficient production car in the world. The company says its new XL1, which will be built at VW’s plant in Osnabrück, Germany, will get about 261 miles per gallon in the European testing system. While that number would be lower in the EPA system, it’s still pretty impressive.

The XL1 is the latest in Volkswagen’s program to develop a car that can that burns one liter per 100 kilometers (235 miles per U.S. gallon) and bring it to production. They’ve been working on it for more than a decade. The first car was shown in 2002 and the second in 2009. The XL1 is the first of the cars green-lighted for production.

Volkswagen’s sleek two-seater is powered by a plug-in hybrid system consisting of a two-cylinder, 800 cc (52 CID), 47-horsepower TDI diesel engine, a 27-horsepower electric motor, a seven-speed dual clutch gearbox and a lithium-ion battery. The car can run in pure battery mode for about 30 miles.

Volkswagen says greenhouse gas emissions are ultra-low. With the diesel running, the XL1 emits just 34 grams per mile of CO2. In electric mode, of course, there are no CO2 emissions.

VW engineers and designers also worked over the body to hit that mileage figure. The XL1 is 153.1 inches long, 65.6 inches wide and just 45.4 inches tall. That’s shorter and narrower than a Ford Fiesta and lower than a Porsche Boxster. The drag coefficient is 0.189. The front wheel covers have relatively small slots to cut down drag, while the rear wheels are so open they look almost like they are spoked; this allows sufficient wheel cooling under the fairing.

The scissor-style doors open upward and are cut deeply into the roof to make it easier to enter and exit the car. The door glass is bonded into the door to cut down on drag. Small panels in the glass can be opened to permit paying tolls, grabbing the take-out, or just enjoying some fresh air.

One big change from the earlier cars is the passenger accommodations: In the 2002 and 2009 cars, the driver and passenger were seated in tandem, like a bicycle built for two. In the XL1, they sit side-by-side, but the placement of the battery pack required that the passenger’s be positioned seat a few inches aft of the driver. Seems like it would make conversation awkward, but it beats talking to the back of someone’s head.

The car tips the scales at just over 1,750 pounds, which is about 613 pounds less than a Fiat 500 with a manual transmission.

While the sleek styling makes the XL1 look like it should be able to run with the supercars, there is a tradeoff involved with having an engine with a total displacement approximately equal to one cylinder of a muscle car V8: the car doesn’t actually accelerate; it accumulates velocity and does so in its own good time. Volkswagen says that “if necessary” the XL1 can do 0-62 in “just” 12.7 seconds, which is about the same acceleration rate as a Smart ForTwo. On the other hand, the XL1′s electronically limited top speed of 99 is higher than the ForTwo’s.

Volkswagen hasn’t said how many of the largely handcrafted XL1 will be produced or how much they will cost. It’s probably of academic interest in the U.S., however; it’s highly unlikely that Volkswagen will even try to certify the car for this market.

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SAE boosts EVs with new charging standard

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SAE International has adopted a new standard that it hopes will help jump-start sales of electric and plug-in electric vehicles. The group, formerly known as the Society of Automotive Engineers, has addressed one of the key weaknesses of electric cars: charging time. The new standard could reduce recharge times to around 20 minutes.

At the present time, manufacturers have adopted various charging systems, which are both expensive and incompatible with other systems. Revised standard SAE J1772, which received formal approval on October 2, is the only worldwide standard for DC charging.

“If you don’t have appropriate standardization,” said Gery Kissel, General Motors’ Technical Specialist and Chair of the SAE J1772 Task Force, “you’re going to see continued fragmentation in the industry. That will lead to, I think, great confusion in the market and perhaps reduce customers’ appetite for this type of technology. Standardization really helps anchor things.”

The centerpiece of the new standard, and the key to rapid charging, is the “Combo Connector.” The former version of J1772, adopted in 2010, contained the specifications of the basic J1772 Connector used for AC recharging at comparatively low levels (AC Level 1 for 120-Volt charging and AC Level 2 for 240-Volt charging). The J1772 connector is compatible with current Chevrolet Volt, Mitsubishi i and Nissan Leaf automobiles.

The revised standard calls for the addition of two extra pins to the basic connector for the optional delivery of direct current for fast charging. This is the Combo Connector shown in the photo above. The new plug is not compatible with any electric vehicles or plug-in hybrids on the market today, but it can be added to future cars, allowing them to use either the standard basic connector or the Combo Connector.

While SAE calls J1772 the only worldwide standard, there are other systems in use such as the CHAdeMO protocol used by Japanese manufacturers. The Leaf and i actually have two vehicle receptacles: one for the basis J1772 connector and one for the CHAdeMO connector.

According to Kissel, Europe is behind the U.S. in the pace of standardization. The European Community uses various IEC/ISO standards to approximate the same end result as the single J1772. In addition, European connectors vary from their U.S. counterparts in having two extra pins to accommodate the three-phase electrical system (the U.S. uses single-phase AC power) but the communications and control architecture is identical because the regions cooperated on a single combo charging system approach.

China uses a system that is unique to that market.

The new standard comes with a bonus: The latest version of J1772 allows digital communications over one of the pins in the legacy portion of the combo connector. The benefit is larger bandwidth allowing large files, like movies, to be downloaded quickly.

New Lexus concept; new Lexus powerplant

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Lexus will present the LF-CC, a new, mid-sized coupe concept, at the 2012 Paris Motor Show that opens at the end of this month.

The rear-wheel drive, full hybrid LF-CC integrates various design cues from the LF-LC, showing another example of Lexus’ new L-finesse styling language, complete with the new signature spindle grille. In this iteration, the grille is framed by the leading edge of the hood, the deep lower spoiler and projecting front fender tips, the grille mesh has a metal-finish surround, creating a 3-D effect.

The side profile is tight between the fenders and the rear fender flare is less pronounced than the front, with a character line arcing down from the rear spoiler to the rocker panel that reinforces an image of weight over the rear driving wheels for extra traction.

In contrast to most current designs, the triple LED-projector headlamps are housed in a narrow gap between the lower and upper fender surfaces and don’t have an aerodynamic cover.

The LF-CC is equipped with an all-new, highly efficient, 2.5-liter, four-cylinder, DOHC, Atkinson-cycle, full-hybrid powertrain offering the performance of a sporting, D-segment coupe and low CO2 emissions, producing two horsepower per gram of CO2.

While the car is a concept, Toyota says the engine is slated for production.

Carmakers embark on Hydrogen Road Tour

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September 13 marks an extraordinary milestone in the history of fuel cell vehicles (FCV). Mercedes-Benz, Honda, Hyundai and Toyota will team up for the European Hydrogen Road Tour 2012, a special, one-month, nine-city European tour to show that hydrogen-powered FCVs are not technologies of the future, but are ready for today.

A total of seven fuel-cell cars will participate in the tour, showcasing each automaker’s hydrogen fuel cell system.

Starting in Hamburg, Germany tomorrow, the FCVs will visit Hannover, Bolzano in northern Italy, Paris, Cardiff, Wales and Bristol, Swindon and London, England. The tour will finish in Copenhagen. The tour will be supported by local organizations in each city with H2 Logic Denmark providing mobile refuelling stations in some stopover cities.

The tour offers the public an opportunity to experience fuel cell technology. This year’s tour marks the first chance for people in several of the stopover cities to actually drive a FCV.

The goal of the tour is to raise awareness of FCVs among politicians, industry leaders, the press and the public and demonstrate that fuel-cell technology exists today and the only thing holding it back is the need to improve the hydrogen distribution infrastructure.

The European Hydrogen Road Tour 2012 is part of the “H2moves Scandinavia” project, the first European Lighthouse Project for hydrogen funded by the European Fuel Cells and Hydrogen Joint Undertaking program established by the European Commission and European industry stakeholders.

The experience that has beeen gained from operating 19 FCVs in Oslo and Copenhagen shows that the technology is reliable now even in harsh Scandinavian winters.

Michel Gardel, Vice-President Communications for Toyota Motor Europe commented: “Toyota has been active in fuel cell technology for the last 20 years and we are working to commercialise our next-generation fuel cell car by 2015. The European Hydrogen Road Tour is a great opportunity for our company and partners to demonstrate the readiness of the technology to European consumers.”

Dr. Christian Mohrdieck, Daimler AG’s Director of fuel cell drive development points out the importance of this technology: ”On our way to zero-emission mobility fuel cell electric vehicles – with their great range while at the same time short refueling times – will play a central role for the future. However, the success of this technology depends crucially on certain conditions being in place, such as the availability of a nationwide hydrogen infrastructure.”

Thomas Brachmann, Automobile Engineering & Research, Honda R&D Europe GmbH remarked that “Honda believes fuel cell electric vehicles are the ultimate mobility solution, providing a practical, clean and near silent answer to transport requirements. The European Hydrogen Road Tour offers a great opportunity to give the public, the media and government officials a chance to experience this zero emission technology for themselves.”

Allan Rushforth, Senior Vice President and COO of Hyundai Motor Europe describes their reasons for joining the tour: “Hyundai is proud to be playing an integral role in the European Hydrogen Road Tour 2012. The Hyundai ix35 FCV clearly demonstrates not only our commitment to producing hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles, but also the benefits of FCV. As the availability and performance of this technology improves, we can look forward to FCVs providing sustainable mobility to future generations while dramatically reducing climate change.”

Best Sellers

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Toyota is on its way to dominating another niche in the alternative-fuel segment. The company says its Prius Plug-In Hybrid has set a new sales six-month U.S. sales record for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEV). At the end of August, 6,061 cars had been delivered to customers. By comparison, Chevrolet sold 2,510 Volts and Nissan had turned 2,186 Leaf electric cars in their first six months.

Incidentally, other reports on the Prius’ record may have incorrect sales figures for the Volt and Leaf. The folks at Toyota apparently forgot the Volt and Leaf went on sale in December 2010, so their first six months would have covered the period from December to May. Toyota used the figures for the first six months of 2011, January to June.

Audi reported 11,527 U.S. sales in August, bringing its year-to-date total to 88,392, good enough for sixth place in the premium segment.

On the world stage, the picture is a bit different. In August, Audi was the best-selling luxury brand in the world, beating BMW by 5,370 sales. For the first eight months of 2012, Audi trails BMW by just 2,110 sales. Mercedes-Benz is in third place.

The U.S. is Audi’s third-largest market, after China and Germany.

BMW could still remain the worldwide leader, based on current trends, but Audi has a hot new model in the 2013 A3 (shown above) that the folks in Ingolstadt believe will boost sales past those of the guys from Munich in the remaining months of the year.

Experian Automotive today announced that, contrary to all the talk of small cars and hybrids, midsize cars were the hottest vehicle segment in the first half of 2012.

The company’s findings are based on its latest vehicle registration analysis.

Experian’s numbers said that the Toyota Camry was the best selling light vehicle with the Ford F-150 as a close runner-up. Last year, the positions were reversed: the F-150 was the sales leader, with the Camry coming in second.

The analysis also showed that the F-150 was the best-seller in 19 states with Texas, not surprisingly, being the top market claiming more than 17 percent of total sales. The Camry was the leader in 13 states with California accounting for lion’s share of 13%.

“The first half of 2012 showed a significant increase (11.9 percent) in vehicle registrations compared to the previous year,” said Jeffrey Anderson, director of consulting and analytics for Experian Automotive. “Lower interest rates and dealer incentives have certainly been great motivators for consumers in need of a new vehicle to purchase one. Additionally, higher gas prices and new model redesigns could be pushing consumers to look at small to midrange cars, instead of the larger vehicle segments.”

Experian’s top ten list includes the Toyota Camry, Ford F-150, Honda Civic, Nissan Altima, Honda Accord, Toyota Corolla, Honda CR-V, Chevrolet Silverado 1500, Ford Fusion and Chevrolet Malibu.

Hybrids were the fastest-growing market segment; sales were up 61% compared to the first six months of 2011. growth comparing the first half of 2012 with the first half of 2011, the fastest-growing segment was hybrid cars, with a 61 percent increase. On the vehicle level, the Kia Optima saw a 92.7 percent increase in registrations in the same time frame.

Note: According to manufacturer’s reported sales, the Ford F-Series had a 22,918-unit lead over the Toyota Camry at the end of June and the Chevrolet Malibu was 4,588 sales ahead of the Ford Fusion. The top ten by sales volume for the first six months of 2011 were the Ford F-Series, Toyota Camry, Chevrolet Silverado, Honda Civic, Nissan Altima, Honda Accord, Toyota Corolla, Honda CR-V, Chevrolet Malibu and Ram Pickup.