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There are a lot of deer where I live and the most popular vehicles are full sized trucks. These typically have poor braking and handling characteristics. So I guess a lot of people feel that they can forego handling if they have a vehicle that can smash whatever it runs into.
DO NOT SWERVE TO MISS A DEER.
I have a cousin who did that in his police cruiser at about 80 mph, was thrown out of the vehicle, suffered brain damage and almost died.
My sister hit a deer in her 2007 Saturn Aura just last week. Broken windshield, blood and guts inside the car, but no humans were injured.
People who swerve to miss deer put their lives in more danger than just hitting the animal.
Best choice in deer country is indeed a large pickup with a large steel brushguard. But if you must drive a car, it does not matter what car you drive - just watch for deer and if you are going to hit one, just HIT YOUR BRAKES and do not swerve to avoid it.
Just yesterday there were two people killed in an accident here. They swerved to miss a deer and went right into the path of a semi. Even without any traffic around, sudden moves can be dangerous. Staying under control and hitting the deer is likely a better choice than veering off the road into a tree or some other object, or losing control, rolling your vehicle, etc.
And now, back to our regular programming...
The recent victory of the Toyota Supra HV-R in Japan's 24-hour Tokachi endurance race suggests that ultracapacitors will replace batteries in cars, according to industry analyst Strategy Analytics.
The Supra completed 616 laps during the endurance race, 19 more than the second placed car.
The vehicle was equipped with ultracapacitors instead of rechargeable batteries for power storage.
The analyst firm noted that the car was able to store large quantities of energy quickly from regenerative braking and apply this stored power quickly to its advantage.
German car maker BMW has also demonstrated this ability in its 'syncap' concept whereby two-thirds of total vehicle torque is generated by the syncaps enabling heavy SUVs to accelerate more quickly than before with improved fuel economy.
The Toyota 1/X concept vehicle
It seems like every other day now that a car company announces a new concept that is redefining what it means to be an environmentally friendly vehicle. However, when Toyota says it, we tend to take a closer look. It was Toyota, after all, that created the Prius, the standard to which all subsequent hybrid vehicles are measured. The Toyota 1/x concept, which recently appeared at the Chicago Auto Show, is Toyota’s latest attempt at redefining what a green vehicle means. And to them, it is all about making it weigh less.
The name 1/X refers to the reduced amount of weight, emissions and fuel consumption that the vehicle has compared to that of other similar vehicles in its class. It is made from a carbon fiber reinforced plastic frame, that is quite strong but much lighter than conventional framing system. The shape of the vehicle is a result of a desire by Toyota’s designers to create a smaller space, that would have a feeling of openness. It has the same amount of space as a Prius, yet weighs about a third.
The roof is transparent, heat and noise insulating, and made from a bio-plastic derived from kenaf and ramie plants. The seats of the vehicle are extremely light, yet, according to Toyota, quite comfortable. The entire front of the vehicle is clad in an LED lighting system that provides a soft glow, illuminating the entire front surface of the vehicle. And, due to the light weight of the vehicle, the 1/X’s wheels are smaller and thinner than those of a regular vehicle. They have even reduced the amount of water splashed by the tires when traveling on wet surface.
The 1/x is meant to operate at a fuel efficiency that is double that of the Prius. It comes with a plug-in hybrid unit and a small fuel-engine. This design, combined with the lightness of the car means that it can travel for over 600 miles on a four-gallon tank of fuel. Overall, a pretty impressive technology package from Toyota.
There is a legitimate scientific reason for raising the issue. The flow of electrical current to the motor that moves a hybrid vehicle at low speeds (and assists the gasoline engine on the highway) produces magnetic fields, which some studies have associated with serious health matters, including a possible risk of leukemia among children.
With the batteries and power cables in hybrids often placed close to the driver and passengers, some exposure to electromagnetic fields is unavoidable. Moreover, the exposure will be prolonged — unlike, say, using a hair dryer or electric shaver — for drivers who spend hours each day at the wheel.
Some hybrid owners have actually tested their cars for electromagnetic fields using hand-held meters, and a few say they are alarmed by the results.
Their concern is not without merit; agencies including the National Institutes of Health and the National Cancer Institute acknowledge the potential hazards of long-term exposure to a strong electromagnetic field, or E.M.F., and have done studies on the association of cancer risks with living near high-voltage utility lines.
NY TIMES
What powers the "Killacycle" is a novel lithium-ion battery developed by A123 Systems, a startup in Watertown, MA--one of a handful of companies working on similar technology. The company's batteries store more than twice as much energy as nickel-metal hydride batteries, the type used in today's hybrid cars, while delivering the bursts of power necessary for high performance. A radically modified version of the lithium-ion batteries used in portable electronics, the technology could jump-start the long-sputtering electric-vehicle market, which today represents a tiny fraction of 1 percent of vehicle sales in the United States. A123's batteries in particular have attracted the interest of General Motors, which is testing them as a way to power the Volt, an electric car with a gasoline generator; the vehicle is expected to go into mass production as early as 2010.
If this battery performs as expected - WHEW !!!
As Easy As A123
www.hfactorfs.com
Toyota plans Prius with solar panels
Posted by Steven Musil 29 comments
Toyota plans to install solar panels on the roof of the next generation of Prius hybrid cars, according to a report in Monday's edition of the Nikkei newspaper.
The panels, which are expected to begin appearing on the high-end version of the gasoline-electric hybrid car as early as next spring, will supply part of the 2 to 5 kilowatts needed to power the air conditioning, MarketWatch cited the Japanese business daily as reporting. Kyocera will reportedly supply the panels.
The move would make Toyota the first major automaker to incorporate a solar-power generation system into a mass-produced car.
Here Comes The Sun
If you ask none other than IBM, we are twelve years away from an "all hybrids ALL THE TIME" future.
High-Efficiency Generators for Hybrid Vehicles. Free-piston engines could be used to generate electricity as efficiently as, and less expensively than, fuel cells.
An unconventional engine design is attracting attention as a potential alternative to hydrogen fuel cells or conventional engines in some hybrid vehicles. Called the free-piston engine, it could be used to generate electricity as efficiently as fuel cells yet cost less.
Free-piston engines aren't new: they were invented in the 1920s. But the increased recent focus on hybrid cars has led a growing number of research groups and automakers to start research programs to develop the technology. Unlike in conventional engines, there is no mechanical connection between the piston and a crankshaft (hence the name free-piston). Since the design allows for improved combustion and less friction, the engines could be far more efficient in generating electricity than either conventional generators or newer fuel-cell technology.
Having a cheap and efficient way to generate electricity is becoming more important as automakers develop electric vehicles with onboard generators for recharging the battery pack and extending range. Such vehicles, called series plug-in hybrids or extended-range electric vehicles, are to be sold starting in late 2010. (Click here for a comparison of different hybrid and electric vehicle types.) The first will use generators based on conventional engines. But later models could incorporate fuel cells or other unconventional generators, such as free-piston engines.
The potential high efficiency of free-piston engines gives them an advantage over conventional generators, and their ability to use a variety of fuels is an advantage over hydrogen fuel cells. What's more, free-piston engines don't require expensive materials such as the platinum catalysts needed in fuel cells, so they could be cheaper too.
Automakers such as GM, Lotus, and Volvo have started to investigate the possibility of using such engines in future vehicles. Meanwhile, in the past couple of years, an increasing number of academic research teams have started developing the engines. So far, most have focused on computer simulations. An exception is a research group at Sandia National Laboratory led by Sandia researcher Peter Van Blarigan that has been testing physical components of free-piston engines. He is assembling a complete free-piston engine prototype, a project that he expects to complete within a year.
This is a very efficient way and easy way to do a hybrid, and with the torque production, you get neck-snapping acceleration quite easily on demand. This also works fantastic in UPS trucks (and similar, like garbage trucks, city delivery, etc.). No batteries or transmissions, no electric motors either!
Thanks,
Chintan
Corporate Communications
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The 2010 Insight is a Prius look-alike with the mild hybrid powertrain from the Honda Civic hybrid.
The technological equivalent of when you've caught the bus you can stop running.
Unless there is going to be serious outside competition it seems that Honda and Toyota have decided on a risk averse posture.
No more to see here. Move on people.
T2
I learned last Monday that Honda was replacing its CEO. Part reason was the 7,000 orders for the new Insight against the 50,000 demand for the 2010 Prius.
It appears this is may be due to the Insight being an assist hybrid while the public is calling for a full hybrid.
Clearly Honda wants to do something about being #2.
If this is so maybe we will soon be seeing twin servomotor hybrids coming from Honda.
It will be interesting to see how they build a partially decoupled engine system without violating the HSD patents, unless of course, they adopt the fully decoupled engine topology known as the series hybrid.
Within the series hybrid approach lies the opportunity to forgo the usual 'boutique' energy source, in the name of economy, and place the emphasis on being the electric transmission instead.
Advantage could be taken of adopting one of Honda's motorcycle engine powerplants since one would be an excellent choice for a directly coupled drive into a high speed alternator-generator.
Ability to handle high rpms when needed for those occasional peak power demands should serve to keep size and therefore mass down for a given specified peak power.
Correctly executed, expectations are that the somewhat reduced mass of the resulting powertrain would translate further into substantially diminishing the so-called hybrid premium.
T2
GM managed it with the Tahoe hybrid, unless they licensed the technology from Toyota (which I have not heard).
Ford developed their platform independently and ended up swapping patents with Toyota; they do not license the HSD like Nissan.
So it can be done.
The number is 27 right now, so my guess is that I was a lot closer to the number than Gary was.....
WASHINGTON -- A tiny car company backed by former Vice President Al Gore has just gotten a $529 million U.S. government loan to help build a hybrid sports car in Finland that will sell for about $89,000.
The award this week to California startup Fisker Automotive Inc. follows a $465 million government loan to Tesla Motors Inc., purveyors of a $109,000 British-built electric Roadster. Tesla is a California startup focusing on all-electric vehicles, with a number of celebrity endorsements that is backed by investors that have contributed to Democratic campaigns.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125383160812639013.html?mod=WSJ_hpp_MIDDLTopStor- ies
Honda Insight Gen. 1 (Automatic)
Honda Insight Gen. 1 (Manual)
Honda Insight Gen. 2
Honda Civic Hybrid Gen. 1 (Automatic)
Honda Civic Hybrid Gen. 1 (Manual)
Honda Civic Hybrid Gen. 2
Toyota Prius Gen. 1
Honda Accord Hybrid
Nissan Altima Hybrid
Toyota Camry Hybrid
Ford Fusion Hybrid
Lexus GS 450h
Mercury Milan Hybrid
Toyota Prius Gen. 2
Toyota Prius Gen. 3
Lexus LS 600hL
Ford Escape Hybrid
Mercury Mariner Hybrid
Mazda Tribute Hybrid
Toyota Highlander
Lexus RX 400h
Chrysler Aspen Hybrid
Dodge Durango Hybrid
Cadillac Escalade Hybrid
Chevrolet Tahoe Hybrid
GMC Yukon Hybrid
GMC Sierra Hybrid
Chevrolet Silverado Hybrid
25, 26, or 27, depending how you count.
A lot, anyway.
Honda Insight Gen. 2
Honda Civic Hybrid Gen. 2
Nissan Altima Hybrid
Toyota Camry Hybrid
Ford Fusion Hybrid
Lexus GS 450h
Toyota Prius Gen. 3
Ford Escape Hybrid
Toyota Highlander
Lexus RX 400h
Chrysler Aspen Hybrid
Chevrolet Tahoe Hybrid
Chevrolet Silverado Hybrid
That makes 13 hybrids with various sheet metal changes. You could stretch the truth way out with 2WD and AWD in every category.
Only about 3 models are doing well in sales:
Prius
Fusion
Escape