Chevy Volt sales have been stagnant to say the least, with inventory at double the healthy level at a 140-day supply of Volts just lying around waiting for owners. To combat this and get the car selling again, Chevy has announced that the 2014 model of the Volt will see a 13% price drop compared […]
BMW’s i3 concept has been kicking around for quite awhile, and so far we’ve seen the carbon fiber chassis, a you-wish prototype, many of the specs and even the price. All that remained was to see an actual car, and BMW has finally pulled the covers off of it today. The $41,350 (US pricing) vehicle will run for 80-100 miles on a charge while going from 0 to 60 MPH in seven seconds, thanks to the 22kWh battery, 170-horsepower electric motor and relatively slight 2,600 pound heft. If you opt to pay $45,200, you’ll be able to nearly double the range, thanks to an optional 34-horsepower two-cylinder backup motor. That’s pricier than the $39,145 Chevy Volt (which also has a backup gas motor), but BMW has equally high hopes for its premiere EV. It launched a dedicated sales channel for the i3 and future i-branded EVs, and even created a division dedicated to creating mobile apps for such cars. It’ll arrive in Europe in November and we’ll see it stateside during the second quarter of next year. Check the source or video after the break for more.
Gallery: BMW i3 Press Gallery
Filed under: Transportation
Source: BMW (International), (USA)
Honda has announced that its 2014 Fit Hybrid has beat out all other hybrid models in Japan with a mileage rating of 36.4 km/L, which works out to about 85MPG in the United States. The small car, among other things, features three driving modes that are automatically engaged depending on the environment in which the car is being driven.
The 2013 Honda Fit Hybrid is the first to utilize a SPORT HYBRID Intelligent Dual Clutch Drive, more easily referred to as an i-DCD. This is a one-motor system that the auto maker says is best suited for small cars, and works with the EV drive by “disengaging the engine and the motor”. It falls within the company’s Earth Dreams Technology category, which aims at achieving high gas mileage.
Inside, there’s an inline 4-cylinder 1.5-liter Atkinson cycle engine, as well as the i-DCD’s 7-speed DCT integrated high-output motor. In addition, there’s also an Intelligent Power Unit (IPU) with a lithium-ion battery built into it. Further expanding on the system to achieve a high gas mileage rating is the braking system.
Braking is done via an electric servo brake system, which is said to increase electrical regenerative efficiency. There’s also an all-electric compressor to lessen the load on the engine. All of this, when combined, results in a system that Honda says results in a fuel economy in excess of 35-percent better than the IMA hybrid system that is currently being used.
As mentioned, there are three driving modes, each of which is triggered automatically, comprised of EV Drive Mode (motor-only), the Hybrid Drive Mode (engine and motor driving), and the Engine Drive Mode (engine-only). Sales, said Honda, will start in Japan in September.
SOURCE: Honda
Images via World Car Fan
2014 Honda Fit Hybrid scores highest MPG among Japanese hybrids is written by Brittany Hillen & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2013, SlashGear. All right reserved.
Ford will patch its 2013 hybrids with a software fix to address fuel economy, addressing EPA concerns late last year that cars like the Fusion and C-Max weren’t seeing anything like their quoted mileage ratings when in the real world. The EPA opted to investigate the two cars in December 2012, after third-party testing indicated they were missing the suggested 47 mpg rating by as much as 10 mpg. The fixes are “calibration updates” the car company says, and will be offered to drivers of three of the company’s 2013 hybrids.
The EPA’s suspicion was that Ford had designed its engine mapping and other systems specifically to suit the agency’s testing practices, rather than what might necessarily be the best settings for real-world use. That given, when owners took the wheel, they discovered the hybrids were not as frugal as they had been led to believe by the advertising.
Ford’s new software addresses several areas. The cars will now be able to drive in fully-electric mode at up to 85mph, rather than it being limited to 62mph as it is today, as well as making use of the electric-only system more rapidly by shortening the engine warm-up time by as much as half.
Meanwhile, the Active Grille Shutters will become more intelligent, cutting drag during cold weather, during use of the air conditioner, and when engine coolant temperature is higher. The air-con system will also be optimized to reduce use of the compressor, plus how much energy it uses when conditions are cold. Even the engine’s electric fan speed will be cut as coolant temperature drops.
“Customers should see the most improvement at highway speeds, during air conditioner use and operation in colder climates” Raj Nair, group vice president of Global Product Development at Ford, said of the changes.
Ford has been attempting several different ways to address economy and encourage drivers to use their cars in more efficient ways. The Ford Fusion Energi, for instance, has a “gamification” system which challenges owners to beat a numerical high-score by optimizing their driving style.
Ford efficiency “gamification” demo:
Ford will be contacting owners of the 2013 Ford C-MAX Hybrid, 2013 Ford Fusion Hybrid, and 2013 Lincoln MKZ Hybrid to alert them to the update, installation of which will be optional.
Ford boosting 2013 hybrid economy with patch after EPA suspicions is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2013, SlashGear. All right reserved.
Apparently the window stickers of Ford’s hybrid line didn’t tell the whole story when it came to gas mileage. After a series of class-action lawsuits regarding fuel usage estimates and Consumer Reports noticing the vast disparity between what was advertised and what was possible, the blue oval company is finally paying the piper. To make it right, the Dearborn automaker is offering a free software update for C-MAX, Fusion and Lincoln MKZ models starting this August. There are a slew of fixes beyond supposedly better fuel efficiency, but perhaps the most dramatic is an increase in electric-only top speed. After the patch, the gas motor kicks in when the power plant reaches 85MPH, instead of the previous 62MPH threshold. No, your 88MPH joke won’t work here, so don’t even try it.
Filed under: Transportation
Source: Reuters
It’s taken McLaren almost 15 years, but they’re about to finally release the F1′s successor, the P1. Like a few of the new supercars, it will feature a petrol engine mated with an electric motor to boost its power to even more. The maximum power output of the P1 is 903 HP!
The McLaren P1 is a hybrid supercar, with rear-wheel drive, and a mid-engine design which is combined with lots of carbon fiber to make it as light as possible. It comes with a 3.8 liter twin-turbocharged V8 tuned to 727hp. This engine is combined with a KERS electric motor producing an extra 176 horses. You can use it just with the petrol engine, with both, or just with the electric engine. Granted, you’ll only be able to drive 12 miles, but hey, it’s the thought that counts!
It was revealed that McLaren will produce just 375 P1s, each one costing $1.44 million (USD). In May 2013, McLaren announced that it had already sold 250 units, so you’d better hurry up if you want one. Production started in July, with the first cars to be delivered on August 22nd.
[via Autoblog]
Samsung released a plethora of shiny new products at its Premiere 2013 event last month, but the company didn’t exactly dive into too many pricing and availability specifics. One of these novel devices was the ATIV Q, a 13.3-inch, 3,200 x 1,800 slider that runs both Windows 8 and Android (4.2). Now, if German retailer ARLT Computer is to be believed, Samsung’s intriguing machine could come with a hefty €1,599 price tag in Europe — a figure the company hasn’t confirmed yet. Furthermore, the listing on the pre-order page suggests the ATIV Q could go on sale as early as July 8th, though according to Notebook Italia, the outfit has said the dual-OS device won’t be available until sometime in August. Either way, it won’t be too long before it hits shelves, so it looks like you may need to break that piggy bank soon enough.
Filed under: Laptops, Tablets, Samsung
Via: Notebook Italia
Source: ARLT Computer
Ford CEO Alan Mulally took the stage today during the opening presentation of the company’s Further with Ford conference and answered questions about going green and electric vehicles. As for what Ford has planned for its future, Mulally says that the company is “really committed” to electric and hybrid vehicles, as well as alternative fuels.
The products keep coming. The latest announcement from Samsung is a new addition to its ATIV range and it’s a hybrid in more ways than one. Similar to the ASUS Transformer Book Trio, announced earlier this month at Computex, Samsung just introduced its own dual-OS portable. It’s called the ATIV Q, and it combines Android 4.2 and Windows 8. Under the hood, the device is powered by a Haswell-series Intel Core i5 processor and manages to fit a 13.3-inch, 3,200 x 1,800 touchscreen into a 1.29kg package that measures just 13.9mm thick. Other notable specs include an S Pen with 1,024 degrees of sensitivity. There’s space for the stylus to be stored in the bottom corner of the device. Hardware considerations have also been folded into the design, with the processor housed inside the ATIV Q’s hinge. Samsung says that this ensures that heat dissipates from the back of the device.
A software highlight from this particular Windows 8-Android team-up is the ability to share files (photos, documents… seemingly anything that can be opened with programs on the other OS) and share folders across the operating system divide. We can certainly see the usefulness in this approach — sharing images to your favorite Android social app and generally unifying how you use the hybrid, regardless of OS. The ATIV Q will launch globally in Q3, and we’ve been told “in time for the back-to-school season”, which sounds like sooner rather than later. We’ve managed to spend a bit of time with the new multi-talented slider: check out some first impressions after the break.
Update: We just added some video.
Gallery: Samsung ATIV Q hands-on
How’s about this for a coincidence? We’ve just benchmarked the Snapdragon 800 reference tablet, with some very nice results, and now Bloomberg is reporting that Microsoft will use a Qualcomm chip in its next refresh of the Surface RT. The report, based on insider sources, doesn’t stretch to detailing whether we’ll be looking at the flagship 800 processor specifically, but such a choice would tally with a previous statement from Qualcomm, and it’d also seem like a logical upgrade for the current hybrid which runs on NVIDIA’s Tegra 3 and already feels underpowered. As for NVIDIA, the same unconfirmed report suggests that the company will still have a role to play as a supplier “for some versions” of Microsoft’s product. That’s a curious notion, because it implies we might see multiple iterations of the Surface RT to suit different price points or markets (e.g., those with or without LTE), and at least one version of those could house a Tegra 4. Or it could simply be a diplomatic way of saying that the existing RT products will continue to be sold and supported for a while. Either way, if Microsoft doesn’t implement the full force of Snapdragon, someone else hopefully will.
Filed under: Tablets, Microsoft
Source: Bloomberg
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