Fully electric as well as gasoline/electric hybrid vehicles have received ridicule for being unproven and expensive. However, dedicated electric automakers such as Tesla, Coda and Fisker as well as even established car manufacturers Toyota, General Motors along with Ford are banking that they are taking short-term losses for a long-term gain. The perils that face all modern technologies, it takes ingenuity and practical rethinking to make electric vehicles a more common sight on roadways. Fortunately due to the stronger than ever interest in alternative automotive powertrains, the incentive for developing new electric vehicle technologies exists. A level of technology advancement have begun to detract the naysayers of electric vehicles as breakthroughs and new ways to seamlessly integrate systems into modern cars. Lithium-Iron Phosphate Battery Exotic materials involved in electric vehicle components has been and continues to be a challenge for controlling costs as well as supplying the new automobile market. Creating an affordable lithium-ion battery, a research group for the University of Texas first approached the theory of a lithium iron phosphate-based rechargeable battery pack. Referencing the cathode material used, the use of plentiful iron immediately confronts the issues of manufacturing costs for large lithium-ion batteries. Along with being an comparably inexpensive solution, lithium iron phosphate batteries have brought some very redeeming performance advantages over standard lithium-ion batteries. Compared to conventional lithium-ion using other forms of construction, the lithium iron phosphate enjoys a higher cycle life allowing the battery to recharge up to twice the amount of times. Containing no toxic elements as well as possessing a high thermal and chemical resistance, the lithium iron phosphate battery environmental consciousness. While power capacity is believed to be lagging as the electrical storage technology is still being realized, lithium iron phosphate batteries is growing in usage and is already seen as attractive enough for upstart electric car maker Coda to employ. Rumours of the Chevrolet Volt using this battery construction has also been swirling but General Motors elected for manganese spinel cell design. Regenerative...

Updated with video One word: HOT! The production version of the BMW Vision EfficientDynamics Concept was spotted during a photoshoot in Abu Dhabi. A member of Teamspeed paid a visit at the Abu Dhabi F1 race track and came across this gem. Back in November, we were one of the very few and fortunate people to receive some co-driving time in a similar production vehicle, but the car was sporting the usual psychedelic camouflage. The car spotted at Abu Dhabi seem to feature a matte gray paint with a blue shade on the sides. Developed under the Project i umbrella, Vision EfficientDynamics will make its debut as a production car at the end of 2013, with deliveries beginning in early 2014. The EfficientDynamics Concept features a 1.5 liter three-cylinder turbocharged engine producing 163 hp and 214 lb-ft of torque all on its own. According to Dr. Philip Koehn, Head of Vision EfficientDynamics project, his engineers were looking for the smallest engine produced by BMW and fortunately, an experimental unit was found on the premises. The diesel engined is aided by two electric engines. First one, in a rear-end placement, produces a constant 33 horsepower and 214 lb-ft of torque. The second electric motor sits at the front of the car for a perfect weight distribution. The electric unit outputs 80 horsepower and 162 lb-ft of torque. A temporary boost feature meant that for 30 seconds it could produce 112 horsepower or as much as 139 horsepower for just 10 seconds. The 1,450 kg sports car runs from 0-62 mph in only 4.8 seconds, performance that brings it at the same level as the current M3. The car will charge from a conventional power socket in just 2.5 hours, and BMW indicated its fuel efficiency will approach 90 miles per gallon The car will have an electric-only driving range of about 31 miles, while diesel power extends the total range of the vehicle to up to 435 miles. In every recent conversation we had with BMW, the company continued to emphasize that their hybrids and full-electric cars will carry over the sporty spirit that characterize the brand, and these vehicles will continue to deliver the emotional driving experience the customers expect, and judging by these photos, they might be on the right track, despite the rumored $200,000 price tag. Thanks...

A big population of auto enthusiasts surely waited with eagerness for the coming of the sports coupe 2011 Honda CR-Z hybrid. The two-seater and its sporty line pumps some blood to the hybrid territory. The car is expected to be delivered as early as this summer. The CR-Z hybrid will be powered by the 4-cylinder i-VTEC 1.5L engine that makes use of the Integrated Motor Assist(IMA) by Honda. It looks like that this car shares most of its DNA with the recently rolled out Insight Hybrid. The CR-Z makes use of a 10 kilowatt electric motor which accelerates the car and recaptures power as it coasts and decelerates. The energy is stored in a 100 volt battery pack made of nickel metal hydride. The fuel economy is not the best as we expect for small hybrids. The electric engine is paired with six speed manual transmission or via a continuously variable transmission. The CVT version rates 36/38 mpg which is just like the Ford Fiesta while the manual hits worse at 31/37 mpg. Though the fuel economy is not impressive the CR-Z still makes it as a AT-PZEV or Advanced Technology Partial Zero Emission Vehicle as per CARB standards. The Honda CR-Z hybrid has an output of 122 horsepower at 6,000 rpm with 128 lb-ft of torque at 1,000 to 1,500 rpm. The car will be sold with a base and EX versions. The base comes with the usual standard features of stability system, climate control, ABS, and cruise control. The EX will add HID headlamps, leather trim, fog lamps, Bluetooth, and a 360-watt entertainment system. More:  2011 CR-Z Hybrid spells excitement as it was unveiled at the 2010 Detroit Auto Show

BMW is predisposed to develop the very finest, always riding the knife-edge of what is technologically possible for the given time. BMW’s new-found focus on EfficientDynamics is yielding new alliances in the field of green tech, and we’re happy to announce that BMW has found a worthy ally in SB LiMotive. As the world moves toward a new age of Environmental responsibility and resource conservation, all automakers are scrambling to develop new product lines which adhere to new standards of efficiency and emissions. Well… not all automakers. Since 1990, BMW has been on a crusade of efficiency. Most notably, they have been winning awards for the impressive gains in fuel economy and reduction of CO2 emissions from their fleet of cars. In the 15 year span from ’90 to 2005, BMW has improved their average fuel economy by a dramatic 14% and reduced CO2 emissions by 12.3%. The next greatest reduction by another automaker was only 3%. The remaining 10 automakers included in the study increased their average emissions. The BMW Group was one of only two automakers in the study that reduced its per-vehicle CO2 emission rates. The non-profit environmental protection agency “Environmental Defense” awarded BMW as the “Car Manufacturer of the Year” for its EfficientDynamics program. The awards’ judges stated, “BMW has demonstrated class leading engineering development to manage down CO2 emissions in the difficult executive fleet segment,” and further added that BMW has established a “benchmark in green solutions” – high praise indeed. Of course the ‘early bird gets the worm’ and BMW is never resting on it’s laurels. Enter SB LiMotive. My biggest concern fear for BMW’s new hybrid drives was in its batteries. Nickel Metal Hydride batteries are antiquated and do not belong on a BMW. I was very disappointed to learn of their use on current BMW Hybrids such as the new X6 hybrid (though still the most powerful hybrid in the world with 480 hp and 575 lb-ft of torque!). On the positive, it looks like BMW’s partnership with SB LiMotive (a German/Korean company backed by Bosch and Samsung) is yielding awesome results as the Vision Efficient Dynamics concept is powered by Lithium Polymer battery technology – the very latest and greatest...

Soon to face a rare metal shortage? By next year, the Prius hybrid car could help Toyota sell 1 million hybrid cars per year, if there are enough rare metals available for such an output. According to reports , the supplies of rare metals needed for the electric motors and batteries of hybrids is beginning to tighten. And, eventually, China – the biggest supplier of such metals – is going to reduce its exports. Fortunately, however, new mines in Canada and the US are set to open. View post: Prius: Biggest rare metal guzzler

How have you dealt with your hybrid problems? Most hybrid owners are pretty happy with their hybrid vehicles . 90-some percent of Toyota Prius owners, for instance, would buy another Prius. Still, there are consumers that are unhappy with the performance, usually fuel economy, of their hybrids. Sometimes these hybrid problems are bugs. Sometimes these hybrid problems are based on a misunderstanding of hybrid technology. For instance, many hybrid drivers will start a cold hybrid and baby it a on a few mile trip and wonder why the fuel economy isn’t better. In such conditions, I use more aggressive acceleration followed by coasting until the engine warms. While such a tactic seems counter-intuitive, it does lead to better short trip fuel economy. Yet, many dealers – from the complaints I’ve read – never seem to discuss such tactics. Does your dealership and service department fully understand hybrid technology? Read the original: Does your dealership / service department understand hybrids?

Time to go shopping soon If you’ve been out shopping for a Toyota Prius recently, you might have noticed that supplies are thin, or that haggling for a better price was a wasted effort. Now that Cash for Clunkers is over, however, traffic in dealer showrooms should wind down significantly. And, since many Clunker drivers traded in for Prius hybrids, demand for for the king of hybrid cars should also decline. Nonetheless, if Toyota cannot secure more batteries to meet production capabilities soon, Prius supply issues could become far worse, not better. Read more from the original source:  Clunker hangover good for Prius buyers?

General Motors has again delayed its upcoming hybrid. Initially, it was slated to be a new full-hybrid version of the Saturn Vue, using a smaller, lighter version of the two-mode hybrid system. It was also originally supposed to be GM’s first plug-in hybrid electric vehicle, potentially preceding the Chevrolet Volt by about a month. When the company declared bankruptcy this summer, it abandoned its Saturn division and announced that the two-mode, plug-in Vue would become a Buick—a move that would delay its introduction by as much as a year. (Read: " Preview: Buick plug-in hybrid SUV .") Now GM says the car was not well received in a preview of upcoming models . Consumers and media writers apparently told the company the car didn’t have “the premium characteristics customers have come to expect from Buick.”   Now the company says it will cancel the model, and apply the hybrid powertrain to another unspecified model.   Whenever, and whatever that is, we’re eager to sample it. We were impressed with the two-mode hybrid system when we tested it in the Chevrolet Tahoe in 2007. It boosted the Tahoe’s fuel economy by almost 36 percent. Unfortunately, we found basic Tahoe features and underpinnings uncompetitive with other full-sized SUVs.   Meanwhile, we like the Chevrolet Malibu . But when we tested the Malibu Hybrid, we were unimpressed with its rudimentary hybrid system; it yielded a mere 8 percent improvement in fuel economy over the basic four-cylinder Malibu—and none on the highway. So, how will the new plug-in eventually measure up? We look forward to finding out, and before then, discovering what vehicle will receive the orphaned powertrain. — Eric Evarts More here:  GM pulls the plug on Buick plug-in hybrid

Cooper Lifeliner SLE – The best tire for Prius hybrid cars? There is nothing worse than buying a hybrid car to save money on fuel only to have to use that savings to buy new tires many hybrid buyers have complained. Unfortunately, many hybrid cars were outfitted with low resistance tires that simply haven’t performed well. In the post Toyota Prius hybrid and unusual tire wear , Prius owners have provided a number of tips for buying and maintaining tires. Inevitably, however, it just seems that many of the Goodyear and Michelin tires that have rolled out with many hybrids simply aren’t up to the task. Certainly, there might also be weight and alignment issues, but substandard tires appear to be a primary problem. Nonetheless, some Prius owners have had great results with Cooper Lifeliner SLEs and there is a lot of hype around the Bridgestone Ecopia EP100, a low resistance tire largely designed for hybrid vehicles. What are your favorite hybrid tires? Here is the original: Help: Best and worst tires for hybrid cars

For the past several years, BMW and Daimler have been working closely on the new two-mode hybrid system that was recently unveiled in the new ActiveHybrid 6 . The partnership consisted of sharing costs and technologies that could help the two companies develop one of the best hybrids out there. But last month, ahead of the BMW hybrids unveiling, the German magazine Auto Motor und Sport cited a BMW spokesperson who mentions a possible “break-up” between the two brands. One of the reasons mentioned, which we still classify it as a rumor, is that BMW is currently holding talks with other car makers as well who might yield a better solution for the Munich based automaker. AMS states that Daimler has no interest in seeing this partnership dissolved and they would like to continue since the cost savings are significant.  While the two-mode hybrid is only used, so far, by BMW in the X6, Mercedes-Benz will feature it in their S400 and ML450 models. There is also another partnership between BMW, MB and Continental which involves the mild-hybrid technology seen in the 7 Hybrid and current S-Class models. Same as BMW, Daimler is also working on a full-electric vehicle in the future, but at this moment, the “green” comes from the hybrid models. The two-mode hybrid technology is quite remarkable. The system featured in the X6 runs either on its electric motors alone at low speeds, internal combustion or a combination of both. Compared to the 7 Hybrid, the X6 makes use of not one, but two electric motors which deliver 91 hp and 86 hp, respectively, with peak torque values of 192 lb-ft and 206 lb-ft. Top speed in the electric mode is 37 mph, maximum range is 1.6 miles. The maximum output is 480 horsepower and 575 lb-ft of torque, enough to be crowned as the most powerful hybrid vehicle ever offered for sale. The ActiveHybrid X6 runs from 0 to 60 mph in only 5.4 seconds and still increases efficiency by 20%. Will the two giant premium automakers part ways? Time will tell, but for now, we’re very anxious to drive the most powerful hybrid in the world. Original post:  Hybrid Collaboration between Daimler and BMW uncertain

Should plug-ins be the only path to foreign oil dependence? TheStreet.com asked me to be a guest contributor recently, so they published Foreign Oil Versus the GM Volt this morning (although I didn’t pick the title). Ultimately, I’ve become very critical of the Chevy Volt compared to a year ago, when I was a fairly strong advocate. While I agree that it’s important to bring this technology to market, such vehicles are decades away from making a major impact on America’s energy paradigm. More important, while GM can hype the petroleum-free driving of the Volt, such hype can’t hide the fact that the Volt will be a limited production vehicle for most of the next decade and it won’t be cost-effective and profitable until well into the 2020s. Thus, it will be 30 to 40 years before such plug-ins can provide a dramatic impact on ending foreign oil dependence. So, I can’t help but ask, how many more decades before foreign oil dependence leads to another bin Laden, another 9/11, another major gas spike? Ultimately, the Volt isn’t the source of my angst, my focus is purely on foreign oil dependence. Unfortunately, as the Volt moves closer to reality, it has become a tool for illustrating just how far away America is from tackling foreign oil dependence. Read more from the original source:  Foreign oil dependence on TheStreet

Running out of NiMH batteries Toyota is running out of batteries. Consequently, in Japan, the wait for a new Toyota Prius can be as much as 8 months. According to Toyota, Panasonic EV just can’t keep up with demand, although plans are in place to increase production to 1,000,000 units per year by next year. In the interim, however, Toyota is investigating the possibility of using batteries from other battery manufacturers. Moreover, according to reports , Toyota has already procured 10,000 lithium-ion batteries from Sanyo for use in 2011. Of course, that procurement is probably for plug-in versions of the Toyota Prius. Nonetheless, might not Toyota need to consider putting lithium into some of its conventional hybrid cars as soon as possible? Why not put lithium into all Lexus hybrids, for instance? More: Will Toyota need lithium faster than planned?

100% ActiveHybrid. 100% Pure Joy. This is the punch line that BMW is using to promote their first hybrid vehicles available for the general consumer. At least on paper, the two BMW hybrids seem to maintain the sportiness that characterizes the BMW brand while still being more efficient than the standard models. The X6 Hybrid and 7 Hybrid, while share the same core ideas on fuel efficiency, they are still using quite different technologies. The ActiveHybrid 7 uses a different electric drive setup from the X6 Hybrid and it’s being considered a mild hybrid. BMW ActiveHybrid X6 features a two-mode hybrid system which allows the X6 to run either on its electric motors alone at low speeds, internal combustion or a combination of both. The ActiveHybrid 7 uses its V8 twin-turbo with a 3-phase synchronous electric motor which is positioned between the engine and the torque converter. If you’re interested in finding out more about the differences between these two hybrids, feel free to check out our previous article. In the mean time, we’re going to share with you some high quality wallpapers and also some links to the Multimedia interactive websites that focus on these two hybrid models. BMW ActiveHybrid Experience BMW ActiveHybrid X6 BMW ActiveHybrid 7 Original post:  Wallpapers: BMW ActiveHybrid 7 and ActiveHybrid X6

Everyone wants to be a part of “green” efforts in building a gas sipping EV or hybrid vehicles. So here comes a new SAV or SUV, whatever way you interpret it, by BMW, the new 2010 X6 ActiveHybrid. This will be by far the most powerful hybrid ever produced on an assembly line. The BMW X6 ActiveHybrid will pack 480 horsepower and 575 lb-ft of torque. Those are astonishing numbers very reminiscent of what a diesel engine would output. To accomplish this high horsepower delivery, the BMW X6 Hybrid is coupled with twin electric motors that put out about 91hp and 86hp while tied into BMW’s twin turbo 4.4-liter V8 engine. The power will be directed through a seven-speed dual-mode transmission and laied down to the ground through BMW’s xDrive all-wheel-drive system. This will make the new X6 ActiveHybrid good for a 0 to 60mph run in 5.4 seconds with a limited top speed of 130 miles per hour. Now for the fuel numbers. Instead of boasting crazy three digit numbers like the Chevy Volt’s claimed 230mpg, BMW is estimating that the X6 ActiveHybrid will get about a 20% gas mileage improvement over the normal twin-turbo V8 BMW X6. We are thinking this may yield about 19 to 20 miles per gallon combined average for US based X6 ActiveHybrids. Look for the 2010 BMW X6 ActiveHybrid to be on sale late 2009 but first showcased at the upcoming Frankfurt Motor Show in September. Press Release for the 2010 BMW X6 ActiveHybrid [source: BMW] BMW announced today the production version of the BMW ActiveHybrid X6. The BMW ActiveHybrid X6 will make its world premiere at the Frankfurt Motor Show (IAA) in September and will reach US BMW Centers in fourth-quarter 2009. ActiveHybrid technology provides a glimpse into the future, achieving outstanding driving dynamics with equally impressive efficiency. It melds both of these qualities to offer a truly unique driving experience. The world’s first Sports Activity Coupe with full hybrid drive capitalizes on the options offered by combining the combustion engine with electric motors to create a powertrain with new levels dynamic performance and efficiency. BMW ActiveHybrid technology offers a significant increase in driving dynamics and at the same time reduces fuel consumption by approximately 20 percent versus a comparable...

BMW has taken center stage to let us know that they will be showcasing two of their forthcoming ActiveHybrid vehicles at this year’s Frankfurt Motor Show . First up is the X6 ActiveHybrid that features 478HP from its dual electric engines coupled with a 4.4 liter V8. Second is the 7 Series ActiveHybrid which itself will feature 459HP and 561 pounds-feet of torque from its hybrid V8 engine. As for fuel efficiency (which these hybrids are all about) BMW says that both vehicles will get an estimated 20% increase in fuel efficiency over their standard non-hybrid counterparts. via Autoblog Related Posts 2010 Hybrids: Ford Fusion and Mercury Milan to Get You 38 MPG in the City GM stops production of 2010 Chevrolet Malibu Hybrid Tahoe, Yukon, Escalade no more? 2009 Chevrolet Silverado Hybrid Porsche testing 911 Hybrid? Tags: 7 series , active hybrid , BMW , x6 Related posts BMW to showcase 7-Series ActiveHybrid and X6 Actice Hybrid in Frankfurt? (1) Would You Buy an Apple Electric Car? (0) Wiesmann Roadster MF4 (1) Volvo Stays with Ford (0) Volkswagen and BMW Feeling the Pressure with Predicted Losses (0) Original post: BMW: X6 Hybrid will be word’s most powerful hybrid SUV Here is the original post: BMW: X6 Hybrid will be word’s most powerful hybrid SUV