The fact that DaimlerChrysler and General Motors will soon be selling vehicles with a hybrid system that's superior to anything on the road today from Ford, Honda, Toyota or anyone else pretty much got lost in the U.S. media coverage of the competitors' announcement of their decision to work on a common two-mode system.
Also lost in the U.S. media clamor about the fact that the two companies have of late changed their minds about the importance of hybrids is the fact that the hybrid technology that currently exists is already outdated and will likely be gone in a couple of years.
But for consumers willing to spend more for hybrids so they can reduce their fuel use, the most important points coming out of the announcement by DCX and GM is that they'll be offering a system that's less expensive, more fuel-efficient and more versatile.
DCX and GM agreed to work together after discovering that they were both working toward the same end -- the ''two-mode'' full hybrid system. Joining forces made sense for the two firms, since developing systems like this is one of the most expensive undertakings in the car industry.
On top of that, the economies of scale involved with using variations on a common theme across different cars might actually allow them to make money on a hybrid, which is not an easy task. Toyota is now believed to be selling each Prius for more than it costs to build, for example, but that doesn't begin to recover the huge research and marketing costs involved.
The primary appeal of GM's Advanced Hybrid System 2 (AHS2) to the companies involved is clearly its versatility. GM's group vice-president of powertrain, Tom Stephens, says ''the ability to offer a common full hybrid architecture with the flexibility to configure in rear-, and front-wheel-drive packages, for both gasoline and diesel engines, gives us the best opportunity for expanding the technology globally.''
The first use of the two-mode hybrid system will come late in 2007, inside the Chevrolet Tahoe and GMC Yukon full-size SUVs. Sometime after that, it will appear in the Dodge Durango.
When combined with technologies like Displacement on Demand, says Stephens, AHS2 will enable the V-8 powered SUVs to deliver a fuel efficiency improvement of at least 25 percent. ''Significantly, large economy gains are realized in urban driving, the type of daily commuting, stop-and go driving that is the most common driving scenario of these vehicles,'' he adds. ''AHS2 also delivers the acceleration capability expected of a full-size SUV, whether in the city or on the highway.''
Though GM has more than 60 patents filed or in progress on what Stephens calls ''critical new technology'' for AHS2, he also makes it clear that GM is anxious to share the system with other partners if they're interested. More scale means more economy, after all.
Stephens was quick to point out that people should not interpret GM's increased interest in hybrids as a diminution in the company's dedication to fuel cells. ''Long-term, GM is committed to delivering commercially viable fuel cell technology.''
Stephens says a two-mode system allows for more compact packaging because its compact and powerful electric motors are designed to fit within the approximate space of a conventional automatic transmission, which is ''an efficiency advantage compared with today's typical single-mode systems that rely on much larger electric motors.''
This is the ''optimal merging of full hybrid and state-of-the-art automatic transmission technologies,'' says Stephens. ''The system is essentially an electrically variable transmission with two hybrid drive modes. Single-mode systems can't provide the range of operating efficiencies that our two-mode system can. Our system reduces fuel consumption at highway speeds much more effectively."
Also lost in the U.S. media clamor about the fact that the two companies have of late changed their minds about the importance of hybrids is the fact that the hybrid technology that currently exists is already outdated and will likely be gone in a couple of years.
But for consumers willing to spend more for hybrids so they can reduce their fuel use, the most important points coming out of the announcement by DCX and GM is that they'll be offering a system that's less expensive, more fuel-efficient and more versatile.
DCX and GM agreed to work together after discovering that they were both working toward the same end -- the ''two-mode'' full hybrid system. Joining forces made sense for the two firms, since developing systems like this is one of the most expensive undertakings in the car industry.
On top of that, the economies of scale involved with using variations on a common theme across different cars might actually allow them to make money on a hybrid, which is not an easy task. Toyota is now believed to be selling each Prius for more than it costs to build, for example, but that doesn't begin to recover the huge research and marketing costs involved.
The primary appeal of GM's Advanced Hybrid System 2 (AHS2) to the companies involved is clearly its versatility. GM's group vice-president of powertrain, Tom Stephens, says ''the ability to offer a common full hybrid architecture with the flexibility to configure in rear-, and front-wheel-drive packages, for both gasoline and diesel engines, gives us the best opportunity for expanding the technology globally.''
The first use of the two-mode hybrid system will come late in 2007, inside the Chevrolet Tahoe and GMC Yukon full-size SUVs. Sometime after that, it will appear in the Dodge Durango.
When combined with technologies like Displacement on Demand, says Stephens, AHS2 will enable the V-8 powered SUVs to deliver a fuel efficiency improvement of at least 25 percent. ''Significantly, large economy gains are realized in urban driving, the type of daily commuting, stop-and go driving that is the most common driving scenario of these vehicles,'' he adds. ''AHS2 also delivers the acceleration capability expected of a full-size SUV, whether in the city or on the highway.''
Though GM has more than 60 patents filed or in progress on what Stephens calls ''critical new technology'' for AHS2, he also makes it clear that GM is anxious to share the system with other partners if they're interested. More scale means more economy, after all.
Stephens was quick to point out that people should not interpret GM's increased interest in hybrids as a diminution in the company's dedication to fuel cells. ''Long-term, GM is committed to delivering commercially viable fuel cell technology.''
Stephens says a two-mode system allows for more compact packaging because its compact and powerful electric motors are designed to fit within the approximate space of a conventional automatic transmission, which is ''an efficiency advantage compared with today's typical single-mode systems that rely on much larger electric motors.''
This is the ''optimal merging of full hybrid and state-of-the-art automatic transmission technologies,'' says Stephens. ''The system is essentially an electrically variable transmission with two hybrid drive modes. Single-mode systems can't provide the range of operating efficiencies that our two-mode system can. Our system reduces fuel consumption at highway speeds much more effectively."