Archive for April, 2010
ALTe Wants to Park an Electric Pickup in Your Driveway
Posted on 29. Apr, 2010 by admin.
By Mark Williams for PickupTrucks.com
It makes perfect sense that all electric cars coming to market are two- and four-door microvehicles, but what if you want to do some real work? Is electric technology off-limits to pickup trucks?
One small company with big ambitions is hoping to turn the electric and pickup truck markets on their heads. ALTe, a new company exploring plug-in and range-extending hybrid powertrains, has been working with some big manufacturers, as well as various large fleet sales companies, to find out if there’s a market for its battery technology. Put simply, ALTe — a shortened wording of “alternative energy” — has developed a powerful drive system similar in design to the upcoming Chevy Volt. In this case, a 2008 Ford F-150 crew-cab two-wheel-drive pickup uses a late-model Ford Focus 2.0-liter I-4 engine to power an electric motor that also can charge two stacks of lithium-ion batteries.
ALTe was founded by a group that broke from the current leaders of Tesla Motors (makers of the short-range electric Tesla Roadster sports scar), deciding instead to address the very real hurdle most consumers report they have with electric vehicles: What do I do if I run out of juice?
Range anxiety is what drove ALTe designers toward the tandem power system. A small four-cylinder engine is used after the battery pack runs out for simple electricity generation and battery charging. In the test-bed F-150 application, the factory fuel tank was reduced from 27 gallons to eight, filling the remaining tank space with lithium-ion batteries. Another battery pack sits on the other side of the driveshaft (mostly for weight balance) and provides another 10 kilowatts of juice.
Top View" border="0" src="http://blogs.cars.com/.a/6a00d83451b3c669e20134803ec5e5970c-800wi" title="ALTe Range Extended Electric Pickup Chassis Top View" />
The range in the F-150 is over 50 miles in full electric mode, with an extra 300 miles provided when the gas motor kicks on to keep the electric motor supplied with power, said John Thomas, ALTe’s co-founder and CEO. (Of course, range will vary depending on load.) If you find yourself having traveled less than 50 miles at the end of the day, simply plug the vehicle into a wall socket, and the batteries will be charged by morning.
This Gen III powertrain system (four-cylinder engine, dual battery packs, electric motor and much more) weighs about 200 pounds more than a comparably equipped 5.4-liter V-8 Super Crew F-150 with a full tank of gas. “There’s no reason why we couldn’t have used a small diesel with this project,” Thomas said, “but with all the after-treatment requirements to keep the emissions down, it was much more cost effective for us to grab the Focus four.”
ALTe predicts the truck’s actual towing capacity would likely go down a bit, partly because of the inherent pulling power of the electric motor when operating at higher speeds and very likely at warmer temperatures. Practically speaking, this will means a 7,500-pound towing capacity instead of 10,000 pounds. Payload would be down by 200 pounds as well. All in all, a pretty small capability cost for a much lower overall cost of ownership.
For now, ALTe is targeting companies that are more likely to understand the long-term cost benefits of a powertrain swap, but we’re guessing that as more people begin to see that the tradeoffs are minimal, we wouldn’t be surprised if GM, Ford and Chrysler come knocking on ALTe’s door pretty soon. And as soon as we get a chance to test-drive one of these vehicles, we’ll have the complete road test. Stay tuned.
Continue Reading
Ford Teams With Funkmaster Flex For Custom 2011 Fiesta
Posted on 29. Apr, 2010 by admin.
Tapping the world of hip-hop for official car customization isn’t a new thing at Ford–the Blue Oval’s relationship with Funkmaster Flex has been going on since at least 2006, when Flex tricked out an Expedition for SEMA. It continued in 2008 when Flex took on the Ford Flex alongside Chip Foose, and paired up with Nelly to promote it. So the…
Continue Reading
Audi R15 TDI Preps For Le Mans At Spa-Francorchamps
Posted on 29. Apr, 2010 by admin.
Le Mans has one of the greatest–and most terrible–histories in all of motorsports, and it’s not an event that any team, even the eight-time winning Audi team, takes lightly. To prepare for this year’s event, Audi has already run a 30-hour test at Le Castellet, and is now gearing up for a 1,000-kilometer race at Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium, just…
Continue Reading
As Population Ages, Driving Issues Will Increase
Posted on 29. Apr, 2010 by admin.
We already know that baby boomers could destroy Social Security and Medicare as they rapidly age the U.S. population in the next 40 years, but this will also mean more elderly drivers on the roads.
This can be quite a tricky subject because the abilities of elderly drivers constitute such a wide range. Some can drive fine well into their 80s (and probably a lot better than their teenage counterparts), but others who suffer from ailments, take medication or have physical or mental conditions could pose a danger to themselves and other drivers.
Knowing when it’s time to put down the keys can be a difficult subject to broach with a parent or grandparent, but knowing when that time has come and what alternatives exist will be key for families tackling this issue.
There are several great resources that can help people reach their own decisions. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety keeps statistics and answers questions on elderly drivers. The National Center on Senior Transportation, AAA and AARP have resources that can help families and individuals deal with the transition or decide when it’s time to make that choice.
On the state level, motor vehicle departments are looking for ways to aid public safety. Some of these methods include restricted licensing, in-person renewals and even some kinds of retesting. These methods will certainly not come without controversy, though, as people will no doubt fight to hold onto a privilege like driving, which they’ve enjoyed most of their lives.
Older Population = Older Drivers (Consumer Reports)
Continue Reading
Report: Chrysler Sebring Replacement To Be Called Nassau
Posted on 29. Apr, 2010 by admin.
Few who’ve driven the Chrysler Sebring have much in the way of kind words to say about it. A coarse engine, an interior that wouldn’t pass muster at Fisher-Price and dated exterior design combine to make a car that’s destined for a myriad of “worst of” lists. And Chrysler realizes that, according to a new report. The solution? Kill the Sebring…
Continue Reading
Toray To Supply Carbon-Fiber To Daimler, First Up 2013 Mercedes-Benz SL-Class
Posted on 29. Apr, 2010 by admin.
Carbon-fiber is seen by many in the auto industry as one of the most effective ways of reducing vehicle weight and thus improving fuel economy and emissions levels, but the relative expense of the material means that it’s still reserved for only a handful of high-end production cars. BMW has effectively used carbon-fiber roofs for its M cars to…
Continue Reading
IndyCar To Crown Road, Oval Champs In Addition To Overall Winner
Posted on 28. Apr, 2010 by admin.
IndyCar is no stranger to bifurcations. Splits in the league, splits in the driving style, and now, splits in the championship. Rather than crowning a single champ at the end of each season, IndyCar is planning to move to a three-crown system, awarding trophies for top road course, top oval, and top overall drivers. The move is intended to…
Continue Reading
Video: 2011 Ford Mustang V-6 American Idol Results Show Ad Preview
Posted on 28. Apr, 2010 by admin.
The 2011 Ford Mustang is generating a lot of buzz, and not just for the return of the 5.0. The V-6 is the first to be rated over 30 mpg and 300 horsepower, and Ford is making sure the world knows it–in part, with this spot, due to air tonight during the American Idol results show. A longer, 60-second version of the spot was posted briefly to the…
Continue Reading
500+ HP 2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT8 Coming This Summer
Posted on 28. Apr, 2010 by admin.
Once upon a time, the Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT8 laid claim to being the fastest SUV in the world. Since then, Porsche’s Cayenne Turbo and BMW’s X5 and X6 M have nabbed the title away. Jeep doesn’t look to be content with that scenario, however, and our sources within the company have confirmed that the 2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT8 is indeed still…
Continue Reading
Driven: 2010 Jaguar XFR
Posted on 28. Apr, 2010 by admin.
I’m on the plane writing this, so forgive me for comparing the superb, $80,000 Jaguar XFR to Apple’s newest must-have toy, the iPad. It’s just that, both at the swanky Heathman Hotel where I was recently staying near Microsoft’s HQ, as well as at the airport, pre-flight, the Jaguar and the iPad each attracted equal levels of coo’ing, oohing, and…
