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Following AFS Trinity's 150 mpg SUV's recent Earth Day Tour (and, of course, the vehicle's presence at the Detroit Auto Show), there's a bit of potential good news regarding how this vehicle might actually make it to customers' hands. Today, AFS Trinity Power Corporation and Ricardo plc announced the creation of something they're calling Extreme Fleet, which is a joint program to offer Extreme Hybrid vehicles to fleet operators. Interested operators can check out the plug-in SUV at the 2008 NAFA Institute and Expo in Salt Lake City, Utah starting Sunday. Neither company announced when the Extreme Fleet program would commence.

Remember, though, the way AFS Trinity calculates that "150 mpg" number is not how most people would figure this vehicle's mpge. Some more standard numbers are that this PHEV can go 40 miles on an overnight charge and up to 87 mph in EV mode, which are both pretty nice. More details after the jump.

With the arrival of spring, many of us have been busy preparing our gardens for the upcoming growing season. The soil needs to be tilled, fertilized and well hoed to ensure a bumper crop. And speaking of bumpers, the folks over at AFS Trinity have been polishing theirs (you see what I did right there?), getting ready for an epic cross country trip from the gritty streets of San Francisco to the gleaming metropolis of Washington. With their D.C. arrival to correspond with that of Earth Day, they have hopes of finding some politicians on the Capitol Mall in search of a good green-tech photo-op with their XH-150. One thing is certain, with a gas hitting $4.00 a gallon in some places, the semi hauling their hi-tech hybrid, with a glossy picture of an SUV and "150 miles per gallon" in big letters should get them lots of attention from the gathered masses.

Since they have two weeks to complete the journey, there are plans for several stops along the way. There will be a detour through Austin, TX to give a demonstration of their miracle machine to municipal utility, Austin Energy as well as Plug-in Partners, "a consortium of electric utilities and others supporting the development and introduction of new plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) technologies", according to a press release published at The Earth Times. There will even be an opportunity for a select few to take their 40 mile PHEV SUV FATD (for a test drive) in one of several communities along the way. We wish them a bon voyage and await their invitation. See pictures of XH-150 and the billboard disguised as a semi-truck in the gallery below. Hit the jump for a press release full of details and remember that the way AFS Trinity defines "150 mpg" is slightly skewed.

Near the cutaway BYD F6-DM hybrid in the depths of the Detroit Auto Show, AFS Trinity Power Corporation is displaying a new hybrid SUV (actually a converted Saturn Vue) that gets more than 150 mpge thanks to something AFS calls the Extreme Hybrid (XH). The SUV recently achieved "more than 150 miles per gallon of gasoline based on the EPA Combined Urban/Highway Driving Cycle with 6 days per week of 40 miles per day in all electric mode and one day at 100 miles with assistance of the gas engine." The test reportedly returned mpge numbers of around 170, but AFS wants to use 150 so as not to leave people disappointed if they drive more aggressively or under different circumstances than the test was run in. How do you like them apples?

The XH-150, AFS' name for the SUV (the sedan there is the XH-250), can go 40 miles in EV mode and has a range of 400 miles with gas. Since AFS is making a point by outfitting these standard vehicle with the ultracapacitor-based hybrid system, they are looking for carmakers who want to license the technology and put it into production. AFS Trinity CEO Edward W. Furia said in a release (pasted after the jump) that, "If carmakers decide not to take advantage of this offer, AFS Trinity intends to raise the funds to begin modifying existing hybrids or manufacture its own 150 mpg SUV's and, eventually, 250 mpg sedans. We believe such production models could be available for sale in three years. The SUVs that we just completed that were outfitted with the XH(TM) drive train could have been any SUV made by anyone. The XH(TM) is a new generation of plug-in hybrid drive train ready to multiply the gas mileage of any SUV or any standard sedan." Furia also said that XH vehicles will be the first to pay for themselves in gasoline cost savings. While we like the idea and would most assuredly not be against an SUV that get 150 miles to the gallon, as we asked the other day: does this technology deserve the hype?

[Source: AFS Trinity Power Corporation]

The video above is a news report about AFS Trinity Power's new hybrid from CNN. The New York Times has an article about the hybrid which will be at the Detroit Auto Show. Grist, a popular green blog, says they were interviewed for a report by CBS New that will air this weekend. Some of our readers have sent tips and commented on the hybrid as well. AFS Trinity converted a Saturn Vue hybrid and says the vehicle now gets 150 miles per gallon for just $8,700 extra. Is this a break through? I don't think so.

I have posted not-so-positive things about conversion companies before. I honestly admire their work and think they are doing great things. The only problem is the automakers want to make hybrids now and I see little possibility conversion companies can compete with them by converting cars that automakers plan to convert themselves. For example, one of our readers commented about AFS in a post I wrote about GM's CEO hinting of big news on the plug-in Saturn Vue, almost exactly the same kind of car AFS Trinity is showing.

You tell me readers, do you think AFS Trinity made a better hybrid than GM with "off the shelf parts"? Even if they did, GM will have many good come-backs like, we make the VUE and AFS voids your warranty, if a reporter asks them about it. I simply don't see how AFS Trinity wins here. A little advice for conversion companies: don't convert GM's hybrids. GM plans to release a hybrid every 3 months for the next 4 years. A little advice for the popular press too: read AutoblogGreen :D

[Source: CNN, New York Times, Grist]