DCX will test models in U.S.
By making the electric motor instead of the regular gas-powered engine the primary source of energy, hybrids would use a lot less gasoline than they do now, and that's the primary appeal of what are generally called "plug-in" hybrid vehicles.
Of course, they would also have greatly reduced range and would need overnight recharging (that's the "plug-in" part), their costs would skyrocket because of their larger batteries, and the energy load would shift from gasoline to electricity, which can come from coal and nuclear power and not everyone's crazy about that.
Essentially, plug-in hybrids are electric vehicles that can also use a gasoline engine to keep moving when their batteries go flat, which would probably happen a lot given the state of batteries today.
But it's undeniably true that plug-in hybrids (current hybrids don't plug-in, though apparently a lot of consumers think they do) use a lot less gasoline to cover their limited range, and that does directly address the tailpipe emissions issue that legitimately concerns so many people.
Car companies have known about plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEV) for some time but have shown them little enthusiasm, especially the firms who spent billions not so many years ago trying to make pure electric vehicles work only to have the public reject them.
But here comes DaimlerChrysler with a plan to test 40 PHEV Dodge Sprinter commercial vans that will travel about 30 km on electric-only power around California, Kansas and New York before switching to a five-cylinder diesel engine. This makes the German firm "the only auto manufacturer to investigate the feasibility of plug-in hybrid technology in real world tests," and whatever glory there is in that could be one of the test's major attractions.
DCX also makes it clear that PHEVs have limited consumer appeal by noting that "plug-in technology lends itself to commercial applications in which the vehicle returns to base after each shift to be plugged into the power grid, but also works well in urban traffic situations for daily commuters."
This was essentially the exact situation with pure electric vehicles, of course, and they didn't prove popular with either consumers or the car companies. The PHEV test vehicles will however have that internal combustion engine as a backup, and that makes all the difference.
In the PHEV Sprinters, the driver can switch from the diesel engine (a V-6 gasoline engine will be tested later on) to the electric motor by throwing a switch on the dash.
Proponents of PHEVs are enthusiastic about their ability to reduce tailpipe emissions immediately, and that tends to make them dismiss any argument against the viability of such vehicles.
But on the environmental front there is the question of moving the pollution problem from the tailpipe to the neighborhood of the facility generating the electricity, or indeed a larger area with coal and nuclear power.
The car companies aren't enthusiastic because the hybrids on the market today aren't priced to recover their costs, and adding a bigger battery would only exacerbate that financial issue. If the car firms tried charging more for PHEVs consumers would probably stay away, since the public has made it clear many times that they aren't willing to pay much more (if anything) for cars that pollute less.
photo:DaimlerChrysler
By making the electric motor instead of the regular gas-powered engine the primary source of energy, hybrids would use a lot less gasoline than they do now, and that's the primary appeal of what are generally called "plug-in" hybrid vehicles.
Of course, they would also have greatly reduced range and would need overnight recharging (that's the "plug-in" part), their costs would skyrocket because of their larger batteries, and the energy load would shift from gasoline to electricity, which can come from coal and nuclear power and not everyone's crazy about that.
Essentially, plug-in hybrids are electric vehicles that can also use a gasoline engine to keep moving when their batteries go flat, which would probably happen a lot given the state of batteries today.
But it's undeniably true that plug-in hybrids (current hybrids don't plug-in, though apparently a lot of consumers think they do) use a lot less gasoline to cover their limited range, and that does directly address the tailpipe emissions issue that legitimately concerns so many people.
Car companies have known about plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEV) for some time but have shown them little enthusiasm, especially the firms who spent billions not so many years ago trying to make pure electric vehicles work only to have the public reject them.
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| (Photo: DaimlerChrysler) |
DCX also makes it clear that PHEVs have limited consumer appeal by noting that "plug-in technology lends itself to commercial applications in which the vehicle returns to base after each shift to be plugged into the power grid, but also works well in urban traffic situations for daily commuters."
This was essentially the exact situation with pure electric vehicles, of course, and they didn't prove popular with either consumers or the car companies. The PHEV test vehicles will however have that internal combustion engine as a backup, and that makes all the difference.
In the PHEV Sprinters, the driver can switch from the diesel engine (a V-6 gasoline engine will be tested later on) to the electric motor by throwing a switch on the dash.
Proponents of PHEVs are enthusiastic about their ability to reduce tailpipe emissions immediately, and that tends to make them dismiss any argument against the viability of such vehicles.
But on the environmental front there is the question of moving the pollution problem from the tailpipe to the neighborhood of the facility generating the electricity, or indeed a larger area with coal and nuclear power.
The car companies aren't enthusiastic because the hybrids on the market today aren't priced to recover their costs, and adding a bigger battery would only exacerbate that financial issue. If the car firms tried charging more for PHEVs consumers would probably stay away, since the public has made it clear many times that they aren't willing to pay much more (if anything) for cars that pollute less.
photo:DaimlerChrysler