GM thinks that it has learned the lesson not to fall behind on technology and won't make that same mistake again. It's for this reason that the Volt is such a big deal for the automaker. Depending on how the next few years play out, though, we will either look back on Ford and realize just how smart the company was or just how deeply its head was stuck in the sand. It seems that Ford believes it has a solid position in hybrid technology and doesn't see an immediate need to be a leader in the development of a plug-in.

Instead, the Blue Oval is content to sit back and let cross-town rival GM and Toyota take the lead. In the meantime, Ford will continue to churn out hybrid versions of its Escape SUV and will introduce a new Fusion hybrid shortly. Hopefully, Ford will be able to play catch-up if the PHEV technology proves popular, otherwise, it could find itself in the same position as GM currently finds itself: as a technology-laggard.

[Source: Bloomberg]

By the middle of the next decade Mercedes-Benz wants its entire lineup to be able to operate entirely free of petroleum. The German giant is working on a variety of technologies that will help provide crude oil free transport such as battery electrics, fuel cells and highly efficient internal combustion engines that can operate on biofuels. Mercedes has recently been letting European journalists sample some of these new powertrains at a test facility in Spain.

The F700 concept that debuted last fall in Frankfurt is powered by a turbocharged DiesOtto engine. The DiesOtto is Mercedes' branding for a combined HCCI and spark ignition engine that provides nearly the same efficiency as a diesel without the need for the expensive after-treatment systems. This and conventional diesel engines can run on biofuels and Mercedes hopes to launch the DiesOtto in production by 2010. Mercedes is also currently field testing electrically-driven vehicles with both batteries alone and fuel cells each of which they also plan to launch at the beginning of the decade. While it may well be that all Mercedes models in 2015 will be capable of running petroleum free, the reality is that many - if not most - will still be using fossil fuels much of the time. That may come in the form of coal for electricity, natural gas reformed into hydrogen, or petroleum fuels blended with biofuels. But you have to start somewhere.

[Source: The Sun]

The first known instance of a plug-in hybrid car going up in flames occurred on June 7 in Columbia, South Carolina to a 2008 Prius that had been converted to plug-in capability for the Central Electric Power Cooperative. The conversion was performed with a Hybrids-Plus PHEV15 conversion kit that uses an A123 Systems lithium ion battery pack. The incident is still under investigation by Phoenix, Arizona-based Electric Transportation Engineering Corporation. Initial information indicates the fire may have been triggered by something related to the on-board battery charger and the car had previously experienced some mechanical issues related to that.

Unfortunately, the car didn't have a data logging system installed which might have helped to isolate the cause. No one was injured and the battery pack sustained some damage but was apparently intact and functional - implying that it was not the cause of the fire. What this points out is that before plug-in hybrids and EVs are brought to market a lot of engineering and validation testing needs to be done to ensure that all systems in the car are safe, durable and properly integrated. This is actually the part of vehicle development that often takes the most time. It's not just the batteries that have to work, but all the bits and pieces around it. That's why it's taking almost four years from concept to production for the Volt and why Toyota is in no rush to bring the PHEV Prius to market.

[Source: Cooperative Research Network, thanks to the un-named reader for the tip!]

According to Ford's President of the Americas, Mark Fields, plug-in hybrid vehicles need to be a "national priority" and the United States government should be offering assistance for their development. Fields goes on to say that the governments of competing nations are funding the development of the technology needed to introduce PHEVs, especially batteries. As it stands, most hybrid batteries are produced in factories overseas by companies outside the U.S. If this trend continues, Fields suggests that a continued purchase of these batteries would merely be shifting our foreign dependence on oil to a foreign dependence on batteries. For this reason, the Ford executive calls on increased funding from Washington for high-tech batteries as well as tax breaks and incentives in order to give consumers additional reason to purchase the fuel-saving technology. We would think that high gas prices are effectively doing just that, but it is true that the tax breaks for hybrid vehicles may have contributed to some early sales.

Field's speech, which was made at the Plug-In Electric Vehicles 2008: What Role for Washington? conference on July 11, is a pretty interesting read, and you can find the entire thing pasted after the break.

Click on the photo for a gallery of high-res images of the Hybrid-X Concept

So, we already know that Toyota will be showcasing its new third-generation Prius hybrid sedan at the upcoming Detroit Auto Show early in 2009. It's long been assumed that this new third-gen Prius would spawn a Lexus vehicle using the same platform and a similar hybrid system. Differences would include a higher price, obviously, and lithium ion batteries in place of the nickel metal hydrides installed in the Prius. What may be more interesting to some, though, is news that Toyota will also be displaying a third hybrid vehicle at the same show. Without giving away too many details, Masatami Takimoto, a VP in charge of research and development, indicates that this third hybrid will be a totally new car based on a larger platform than the current and next Prius. As has been widely reported, including on this very blog, Toyota's first plug-in hybrid is expected to debut in 2010.

In other green news, Toyota will be adding new gasoline-burning 1.3 liter and 2.5 liter engines along with stop/start technology, which is becoming increasingly popular in these days of high gasoline prices. Also on the docket is a new six speed manual transmission which will be kept compact for use in small cars. We look forward to seeing what else Toyota's got up its corporate sleeves.

[Source: Automotive News - sub. req'd]

While Toyota CEO Katsuaki Watanabe was in Tokyo talking up plans to start production of lithium ion batteries at the Panasonic EV Energy joint venture late next year, an American Toyota Exec was dampening expectations for the PHEVs in Washington. Bill Reinert, national manager of the Advanced Technology Group participated in a panel at the Google.org Plug-In Vehicle Conference. Reinert reiterated that while many plug-in proponents emphasize the potentential for 100mpg performance from PHEVs, not everyone will approach that.

Just as with current hybrid vehicles, the fuel efficiency of plug-ins will vary greatly depending on driving conditions. Reinert mentioned that acts like accelerating onto freeways and general real world driving will cut into the theoretical electric only range and the maximum mileage. This will be particularly true with so-called conversion PHEVs like the Prius, the Ford Escape and the upcoming Saturn Vue plug-in hybrid. These electric drive systems in these vehicles don't have sufficient power to propel the vehicle through the full spectrum of real world performance conditions. That means the engines will be starting up relatively frequently. Only when dedicated plug in vehicles with motors designed for full speed drive operation arrive will those kinds of mileage expectations be met more consistently. For more on this subject check out the interview we did with GM's Pete Savagian a few months ago.

[Source: Automotive News - Sub. req'd]

The non-profit branch of the an obscure web-search company that goes by the name of Google.org has been investing in a lot of green technology over the last few years. Next week in Washington, D.C., Google.org is sponsoring a conference to discuss what the US government's role should be in promoting plug-in electric drive vehicles. The Brookings institution will be the co-sponsor for the event that begins on Wed. June 11. The event will include a series of panel discussions on various aspects of electric drive vehicles such as the current state of the vehicle technology, the effect on the grid, and federal policy towards EVs. Senators Orrin Hatch and John Kerry will both address the gathering at the Thursday morning breakfast. Mark Fields, Chelsea Sexton, Troy Clarke and Felix Kramer are among the participants. There should be some interesting discussions going on, particularly considering that Congress is currently considering tax credits for plug-in hybrid vehicles.

[Source: Google.org]

Enova Systems has been collaborating with IC Bus for the past couple of years to build a series of plug-in hybrid school buses for testing purposes. Enova recently had an independent CARB-certified lab conduct dynamometer tests on a pair of PHEV school buses to compare the fuel consumption and emissions against conventional models. Enova's system is designed to be installed downstream of the transmission so that it can be easily adapted to buses and drivetrains from different manufacturers. One 2007 and one 2008 IC Bus Series CE bus with different engines and transmissions were tested on a West Virginia University Suburban Test Cycle designed to emulate a typical school bus duty cycle. In the tests, the PHEV buses saw a 70 percent reduction in diesel fuel consumption. Carbon dioxide emissions were cut by 40 percent while soot and NOx were reduced by 30 and 20 percent, respectively. IC Bus has also decided to cut the $200,000+ of the hybrid buses by $40,000. Currently there are 19 of the Enova equipped buses running in eleven states.

[Source: Enova]

EnerDel's lithium-titanate battery has been independently tested by the Center for Transportation Research of the
Illinois-based Argonne National Laboratory. For the tests, a stock Toyota Prius had its nickel metal hydride battery pack replaced with a new 1kWh lithium ion unit from EnerDel. No problems were reported, despite the fact that no additional cooling modifications were made to the vehicle or battery pack. Additionally, a test was run which was intended to predict what the battery pack would be capable of if the Prius were converted to a Plug-In Hybrid Electric Vehicle (PHEV). Test results were promising, with the EnerDel-equipped Prius achieving 77.41 miles per gallon on the city test. Although these results are just an approximation of what a PHEV Prius could offer, they are still promising. Also of note is the fact that internal resistance of the pack was reduced by sixty-seven percent over the stock Prius pack.

According to the press release pasted after the break, EnerDel's pack could be half the size of the Prius' stock pack while still offering the same performance, meaning that a similar-sized pack as stock would offer twice the power potential. Thanks for the tip, Jan!

Click on the image for more high-res shots

What in the world is a plugless plug-in? That's the question we were asking ourselves as we read over the press release pasted after the break. It seems that MIRA, a design, development & certification consultancy in the UK, has created three removable battery packs which fit in the trunk of a car and can be removed separately for recharging. This scheme has a few benefits, especially for those individuals who do not have access to an outlet where they park, as the batteries can be moved to a better location. Also, those batteries could be used in other applications, for instance as power when you're camping or for other outdoor applications like quads or electric bikes.

MIRA calls its system H4V, which stands for "Hybrid 4wd Vehicle," and it uses lithium ion phosphate batteries. The current test-bed is a Skoda Fabia, which normally returns 39 mpg in the combined cycle. After the H4V system was added, the vehicle was able to attain 64 mpg on the same driving loop, which represents a 61 percent improvement. Equally as important, tailpipe emissions were reportedly reduced 39 percent. MIRA projects a price of approximately £2000 for a retrofit H4V system.

The Toyota Prius needs no introduction to any reader of AutoblogGreen. The hybrid has gained iconic status and is the poster-child for the green automotive movement. While we appreciate the current Prius, we're really excited at the prospect of plugging in the next-generation version. Even better would be a plug-in Lexus Prius with lithium ion batteries and all the best bells and whistles that accompany the Lexus name.

Check out Number 3.

A new four year plug-in hybrid test program is kicking off this spring in Quebec City, Quebec with involvement from battery supplier EnerSys, financial cooperative Desjardins and Laval University. EnerSys is a supplier of industrial batteries and its subsidiary ModEnergy will be supplying lithium ion packs to Laval researchers. The team will work to optimize the performance and durability of packs when installed in vehicles. Ultimately, if the initial phase of the project is successful, between 10 and 50 privately-owned plug-in hybrids will be put into service. The participants will evaluate the performance and efficiency as well as the financial aspects of operating plug-in hybrids. This will be a very interesting study to watch over the next few years because it may tell a lot about the real viability of plug-in hybrids and electric vehicles in cold climates. My own personal experience with hybrids in cold temperatures has been less than exceptional. Quebec City in the winter is one of the coldest major cities in North America.

[Source: EnerSys]

Tuesday night the PBS science program NOVA will feature an Earth Day look at "the Car of the Future." WGBH, the Boston PBS station that produces NOVA sent us an advance copy of the show to take a look at. Tom and Ray Magliozzi, who are perhaps better known to fans of the NPR show Car Talk as Click and Clack, travel the world from Iceland to China and back to their alma mater at MIT. The "Tappet Brothers" are definitely an acquired taste and not everyone is fan of their shtick on the radio show. However, those who have not acquired that taste need not worry as their presence in Car of the Future is actually fairly minimal. John Lithgow does most of the narration tying the various segments together.

For those that are regular readers of our little corner of the web, most of what is discussed in the show will be familiar territory. Nonetheless the show is still a good primer on all of the various technologies that are being worked on including cellulosic biofuels, batteries, plug-in hybrids, weight reduction and more. The guys visit with Amory Lovins at the Rocky Mountain Institute, Martin Eberhard at Tesla (while he was still there), Andrew Frank at UC Davis and plenty of others. During a segment filmed during the introduction of the Chevy Volt last year, Tom and Ray speak with GM VP Energy and Environment Beth Lowery about choice. Keep reading after the jump.

Update: Check your local listings for time, but NOVA typically runs at 8 or 9 pm on most PBS stations.

Last year, Google made some waves when they announced the RechargeIT project to convert a fleet of Toyota Priuses and Ford Escape hybrids to plug-in capability. The company has just issued their first progress report on the program, and the results may be disappointing for those promoting plug-in conversions. Right now the only way to get a plug-in hybrid is to buy an off-the shelf model like the Prius or Escape and than install a $10-15,000 conversion kit. Unfortunately, as we learned from a recent interview with GM's Pete Savagian, a conversion PHEV provides a limited additional benefit over a conventional parallel hybrid because the motors typically don't have enough power to drive the vehicle under most conditions without the engine turning on.

The other issue is that as fuel efficiency increases, the incremental savings in fuel use actually decrease. This is more apparent if you use the European units of fuel consumption which is measured in L/100km. If consumption is reduced from 12L/100km (19.6mpg) to 6L/100km (39.2mpg) you would save 6L on a 100km trip. Doubling mileage again going to 3L/100km (78.2mpg) only saves an additional 3L. This is apparent when you take an already efficient car like the Prius which starts at 44.6mpg and increase it to the 66.2mpg that Google saw. The result over 12,000 miles of annual driving is 88 gallons of fuel saved. At $3/gal, that's $158/year (after factoring in electricity costs). At that rate the $15,000 conversion would take 95 years to recover the cost. Ouch.

Google points out that most of the driving was on short runs where the engine often runs early in the drive to power certain vehicle subsystems. Longer runs would increase the mileage further, but you still have the issue of diminishing returns. With gas at $5/gal and a conversion cost of $10,000, the payback drops to a mere thirty years. Until vehicles are actually engineered from the ground up as PHEVs and mass produced to bring down cost, the cost benefits simply won't be realized by people doing conversions. Reduced emissions and oil use, though, should still take place.

[Source: Google.org via CNet]

The National Research Council (NRC) has finished conducting research into the possibility of powering vehicles using hydrogen fuel cells and other alternatives. Despite mixed reviews, the report suggests that even without ready solutions to quite a number of major issues, taxpayer-funded research into hydrogen "is justified by its potentially enormous benefits to the nation."

Also in the report was a suggestion that too much money is being spent on reducing the cost of lightweight materials, and some of it "should be redistributed to areas of higher potential payoff." Interesting ... like what? Could be plug-in hybrids, which they suggest are not being researched with enough verve. Not surprisingly, the target date being thrown around for hydrogen cars (2020) is now seen as a bit unrealistic; the NRC sees 2030-2035 as a more likely possibility. The question that remains is whether we'll even need hydrogen fuel cells by then, what with battery technology potentially getting good and cheap enough. View the entire press release after the break.

[Source: NRC via Automotive News (sub. req'd)]