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I just wanted to stop by and offer up some info on Chryslers announcement last week and get some concensus of your opinions on the matter, good, bad, or indifferent if your willing to share...

Last week Chrysler announced in a press release the introduction of its new ENVI team, which is a cross-functional team within Chrysler, strategically intended to develop electric-drive production vehicles and related advanced-propulsion technologies.

The intent behind creating the ENVI team is to establish a small, nimble team that will be able to move quickly and have access to the vast resources within Chrysler to allow rapid proliferation of electric-drive vehicles and to permit Chrysler LLC to develop a new generation of environmentally responsible Chrysler, Dodge, and Jeep vehicles.

To read more and see video of the unveiling on CNBC, check out the ChryslerGoesElectric (http://www.chryslerllc.com/en/innovation/envi/overview/?pid=Forum&adid=CLLCENVIGRN) site.

Also if you would like to see specifics on EV for each brand visit ChryslerLLC (http://www.chryslerllc.com/en/?pid=Forum&adid=CLLCHomeENVIGRN) blog home page.

Some key points tied with the introduction of ENVI, Chrysler LLC plans to have:

- At least one model to be produced in 2010 for consumers in North American markets, and European markets after 2010
- More than one hundred electric vehicles on the road in government, business, and development fleets in 2009
- Electric-drive technology applied to front-wheel-drive, rear-wheel-drive, and body-on-frame four-wheel-drive platforms

Cheers,

Will
Chrysler Online Dialogue Representative
Chrysler Information Center
ChryslerForum@bbdodetroit.com
1-800-CHRYSLER / 1-800-247-9753

That extended range electric town and country would win for sure. I mean as long as the price is right.

Hi Will:

___Welcome to CleanMPG!

___I saw you sign up the other day and wondered when you were going to post ;)

___Can I ask why you decided to add CleanMPG to your daily blog hits as it makes for an interesting discussion about what you or your team found attractive about CleanMPG?

Chryslers Battery Electric Vehicle plans revealed. (http://www.cleanmpg.com/forums/showthread.php?t=16082)

___Some specific questions with regard to the EV/PHEV’s. Who are your battery suppliers for the test mules? How far along is your battery testing and electric componentry implementation? Is your Inverter/Transverter being designed in house, by a Detroit supplier or other (Nissan as an example).

___Some other questions… Why have you not brought over that Diesel Town and Country as Tier-II/Bin5 is achievable as evidenced by VW/Audi and MB. The 2.0 you are running in the Jeeps in Europe would do wonders vs. the in-efficient SI-ICE’s you have in them here :(

___The Durango Two-Mode was toast before it was launched as 95% of CleanMPG’ers could have told you 18-months ago. You have plenty of small diesels available to you vs. the large Cummins stuff at outrageous prices. Any thoughts?

___Lastly, I would like to take a Viper w/ that wonderful 6-speed stick out for a 3-Day preview as I suspect it might be worth 35 + mpg vs. the 15 mpg or less most reviewers probably receive. Send me a PM about contact as I have never worked with Chrysler for a review vehicle :)

___I almost forgot… The next time you want to do a Fuel Economy promotion for your diesel powered Jeeps in Europe, give us a call. The Taylor team you hired to drive this past summer are good but they are not as good vs. the people you are communicating with here!

___Good Luck

___Wayne

There was no mention of fast charge capability, i.e. less than 10 minutes. For a BEV this would seem to be a major promotional and selling point. Both the Mitsubishi iMiEV and Subaru R1e, (expect Nissan to also follow) do this through a separate connector.

Good Luck
Andrew

I know my wife and I would love the Town and Country...I'm hoping its the first one produced.

I am a little disappointed that GM wants to change the vocabulary. The range extended is a type of PHEV. I'm not sure why GM denies that in the FAQ. If it can run on power from an electric outlet and it can run on fuel (gas, hydrogen, etc) that can be pumped....its a PHEV. Its sort of like deying a square is a rectangle just because it can also be called a square.

Its sort of like deying a square is a rectangle just because it can also be called a square.

Wonderful analogy!!!

Hi Will:

___Welcome to CleanMPG!

___I saw you sign up the other day and wondered when you were going to post ;)

___Can I ask why you decided to add CleanMPG to your daily blog hits as it makes for an interesting discussion about what you or your team found attractive about CleanMPG?

Chryslers Battery Electric Vehicle plans revealed. (http://www.cleanmpg.com/forums/showthread.php?t=16082)

___Some specific questions with regard to the EV/PHEV’s. Who are your battery suppliers for the test mules? How far along is your battery testing and electric componentry implementation? Is your Inverter/Transverter being designed in house, by a Detroit supplier or other (Nissan as an example).

___Some other questions… Why have you not brought over that Diesel Town and Country as Tier-II/Bin5 is achievable as evidenced by VW/Audi and MB. The 2.0 you are running in the Jeeps in Europe would do wonders vs. the in-efficient SI-ICE’s you have in them here :(

___The Durango Two-Mode was toast before it was launched as 95% of CleanMPG’ers could have told you 18-months ago. You have plenty of small diesels available to you vs. the large Cummins stuff at outrageous prices. Any thoughts?

___Lastly, I would like to take a Viper w/ that wonderful 6-speed stick out for a 3-Day preview as I suspect it might be worth 35 + mpg vs. the 15 mpg or less most reviewers probably receive. Send me a PM about contact as I have never worked with Chrysler for a review vehicle :)

___I almost forgot… The next time you want to do a Fuel Economy promotion for your diesel powered Jeeps in Europe, give us a call. The Taylor team you hired to drive this past summer are good but they are not as good vs. the people you are communicating with here!

___Good Luck

___Wayne


Thank you Wayne!

Those are some excellent questions and not to make anyone here feel like I just posted and ignored anyone's comments from that point forward, I want to first give a brief background on who I am and what I work towards.

My name is Will, and I do work for the marketing/ad agency of record for Chrysler LLC. I work specifically with a small group dedicated to communicating updates and relavent information in forum communities such as your own, as well as gathering feedback from them... as I stated above, good, bad, and/or indifferent. We have been active for the past 3-4 years in mainly Auto Enthusiast forums and as communities pop up, we try to expand our coverage.

With that said, I will never post anything here sales like in nature or anything that doesn't pertain to your community. And in return, I hope to gain insight that will be used to help drive future Chrysler product decisions. Also like I mentioned, we are a small group, so in order to cover large area's, we can't always respond right away... So please give me a little time and I will have these answers for you.

P.S. I might also add that for me personally, this is very exciting as I am myself a big green advocate who managed to spark a recycling initiative within the agency...So thank you all for the warm welcome and I will get some answers for you shortly.

Will
Chrysler Online Dialogue Rep
Chryslerforum@bbdo.com

Hi Will:

___Thanks for getting back to us with the reply and I look forward to your future answers to questions, participation and revealing Chrysler's future announcements.

___Until your EV/PHEV solutions are streetable or your 2.0L diesel is released into the US in any of the sedan/minivan Dodge/Chrysler platforms, what about the Viper review and contact ;)

___Good Luck

___Wayne

I'd like to see them make the PT Cruiser go electric. Sadly, I think the last PT will roll out about that time :(

Thanks again, Will for contacting Clean MPG. I'll fill out any surveys/test products if you'd like.

WOW! Boy am I sorry I missed this thread until now.:( A very hearty welcome to CleanMPG from me as well. I have been a Mopar fan for most of my life and it's exciting to hear news about electric drive from them. As long as they are as bullet-proof as the 318ci 4-speed drivetrain they will be a huge success.