Ford Fusion Paces NASCAR at Homestead-Miami Speedway
Ford Fusion will lead the NASCAR Sprint Cup field for the Ford 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Sunday, November 16, 2008
The first of two 2010 Ford Fusion Hybrids sporting camouflaged graphics will pace the drivers at the start of the NASCAR race at Florida’s Homestead-Miami track this Sunday. The other, a 263hp sport model of the Fusion, will lead during race cautions.
Carl Edwards, driver of a competitive version of Ford’s Fusion and a contender for this year’s championship with 8 wins already under his belt, was quoted in the NASCAR press release saying, “I just hope that I can be on the pole next week at Homestead, so I can be running up right behind it at the start of the race.”
Ford is overtly proud of the Fusion and is excited about showing off the car to race fans at the track and those in the television audience. It is said the 2010 Fusion will set the bar for fuel economy among all cars in its class, boasting 5 mpg more than Toyota Camry in city driving.
Gil Portalatin, Hybrid Applications Manager explains, “Because our hybrid can run at a much higher speed in electric mode, you can do so much more in city-driving…”
The 2010 Ford Fusion will share some of the same battery technology as the 2009 Ford Escape Hybrid allowing it to operate in electric mode at speeds up to 47 mph with a range of more than 700 miles of city driving on a single tank of gas.
“Under the right conditions,” says Portalatin, “you can drive in your neighborhood or mall parking lots without using a drop of gasoline.”
The 2010 Ford Fusion will be officially unveiled at the Los Angeles International Auto Show on November 19, 2008 Consumers can expect it in Ford dealer showrooms in Spring 2009.
Mark Fields, Ford’s president of The Americas, will wave the green flag at the start of Sunday’s Ford 400. Says Fields, “…pacing the Ford 400 showcases exactly what our customers want, fuel economy and fun - and we’re pleased to be able to offer racing fans a glimpse of what’s to come at Sunday’s race.”
Chevy Volt Receives Preliminary Electric Rating, May Mean 100 mpg
The Chevrolet Volt will use electricity to move the wheels at all times and speeds and so General Motors is asking the EPA to certify the Volt as an electric vehicle. But the volt has a 1.4 liter naturally aspirated gasoline engine as well as a plug-in battery pack, and is therefore a hybrid.
CARB, the California Air Resources Board, has already given the Volt preliminary certification as an electric. The reason it matters is that the Volt would become the first vehicle rated at 100 mpg, a huge marketing edge for GM.
Electric vehicles have no emissions so their fuel ratings are calculated on the basis of mpg equivalents, hence the possibility of exceeding 100 mpg. However, if the plug-in battery technology of the Volt is not used consistently or correctly, the Volt will run on its 1.4 liter engine for both driving power and to recharge the battery.
For trips up to 40 miles, the Volt is powered only by electricity stored in its 16-kWh, lithium-ion battery. When the battery’s energy is gone, a gasoline/to E85-powered engine generator seamlessly provides electricity to power the Volt’s electric drive unit while simultaneously sustaining the charge of the battery. This mode of operation expands the range of the Volt for several hundred additional miles, until the battery can be charged. Unlike a conventional battery-electric vehicle, the Volt eliminates “range anxiety,” giving peace of mind that the driver will not be stranded by a depleted battery. Continue Reading >>
Crash Tests Determine Toyota Prius Expensive to Repair
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety rated Toyota Prius among the most expensive small cars to repair after a low-speed impact. Eighteen of twenty cars subjected to the same series of tests boasted less expensive repair costs than the Prius.
The world’s most popular hybrid car, Toyota Prius, didn’t fare so well in a recent series of crash tests performed on small cars by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS). Of the twenty cars tested by the Institute the poor performance of the Prius netted it a spot at the bottom of the roster, just ahead of the VW Rabbit.
What the test confirmed for Prius owners is this … if a Prius suffers a minor bump, such as a light tap in a parking lot at less than six-mph, bills at the auto body repair shop could be staggering – higher than they would be if the owner had chosen to drive any of the other small cars that were tested, sans the Rabbit.
Hybrid Car Owners Show Manufacturer Loyalty
Owners of hybrid cars are a loyal bunch according to a recent report from Experian Automotive. Experian, best known to consumers as a VIN history retailer similar to Carfax claims the market for hybrid cars has increased 130 percent from 2005 through the first six months of this year. Consumers having previously purchased a hybrid often choose another. In fact, 47 percent of consumers choose another hybrid car from the same manufacturer, while 18 percent choose the same hybrid make and model they previously owned.
Of all hybrid car brands, Toyota owners are most loyal, particularly Prius owners. 51 percent of Toyota owners stay within the Toyota brand when shopping for another hybrid vehicle. One in four replaces a Prius with another Prius.
Additionally, the study finds that full-size pickup truck buyers remained the most loyal in terms of choosing a new vehicle from the same segment, even if it wasn’t from the same manufacturer. Thirty-three percent of pickup buyers chose another full-size pickup. The average loyalty rate within a segment was 21 percent.
Data for this report considered vehicle sales in January 2007 to March 2008. Experian research concluded that hybrid car manufacturers have a clear advantage in reaching and keeping the more loyal vehicle buyers on the road today.
2008 Chevrolet Tahoe Hybrid Lightened Using Aluminum
The 2008 Chevrolet Tahoe Hybrid is the perfect example of a vehicle lightened by an expansive use of the lightweight material, aluminum.
There is little question about the high use of lightweight materials in the manufacturing of hybrid cars and trucks. Statistics show that when a vehicle’s weight is cut by 10 percent, fuel economy can improve by as much as 8 percent. The staple of hybrid cars is their fuel economy.
The 2008 Chevrolet Tahoe Hybrid is the perfect example of a vehicle boasting a weight savings as a result of an expansive use of a lightweight material - aluminum. This material was chosen for the hood, tailgate, drive shafts, wheels and bumper structures. Use of aluminum allowed General Motors to shave nearly four-hundred pounds from the body of the hybrid over the conventional Tahoe, an amount significant enough to allow for carting of the hybrid’s 300 volt battery pack and two-mode drive system without increasing the weight of the finished hybrid product over that of the gas version Tahoe.
I think it is safe to say that we will be seeing much more use of aluminum in hybrid car manufacturing. Vehicles lightened with aluminum can achieve quicker acceleration and braking. Additionally, there is a notable increase in stability and turning response, as well as less vehicle noise, vibration and harshness.
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Hybrid Car Repairs Cost Consumers More Money
If you want to drive a hybrid car, the latest nationwide Mitchell Industry Trends Report (Q3 2008) says you will have to dig deeper into your pocket to pay for repairs than you would if you drove an equivalent car in a gasoline version. Jamison Day, Mitchell’s Senior Director of Information Services cautions that the differences in costs are, “consistent across different states and true for both parts and labor dollars.”
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