Right Lane Cruiser
05-01-2009, 07:25 AM
http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/2/AmericanFlag.jpg There's a lot of focus on how lithium-ion batteries are paving the way for cars with a longer range. (http://news.cnet.com/8301-11128_3-10231123-54.html)
http://www.youtube.com/v/3yIdzbjQKio&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en|Martin LaMonica - CNET (http://news.cnet.com) - May 1, 2009
That excessive regen will hurt range. --Ed.
It's not every day that you get to drive an all-electric car and a brand new gas-electric hybrid. But that's just what I did last week when I took both the Electric Mini Cooper and 2010 Ford Fusion for a spin.
The two cars represent two technical approaches to gaining fuel efficiency through bigger car batteries.
Like the Toyota Prius, the newly released Ford Fusion is a gas-electric hybrid that drives primarily on the gas engine, supplemented by a nickel-metal hydride battery. By contrast, the Mini Electric, which will start to be leased to drivers next month as part of a trial, runs entirely on lithium-ion batteries, the latest battery technology.
The trade-offs of both approaches are pretty apparent. The Fusion gets over 40 miles per gallon and it's more or less like any other car you've driven: you fill it up with gasoline and it goes.
The Mini Electric, on the other hand, sacrifices the entire back seat for its battery pack. That allows it to go 100 miles on a charge--sufficient for most daily driving. But two of its advantages are that you never go to a gas station and there are no emissions from the car itself.
Meanwhile, there's yet another technology in the mix--what General Motors calls a range-extended electric vehicle or what engineers call a series hybrid (as opposed to a parallel hybrid). In that case, an internal combustion engine does nothing but... http://news.cnet.com/8301-11128_3-10231123-54.html
http://www.youtube.com/v/3yIdzbjQKio&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en|Martin LaMonica - CNET (http://news.cnet.com) - May 1, 2009
That excessive regen will hurt range. --Ed.
It's not every day that you get to drive an all-electric car and a brand new gas-electric hybrid. But that's just what I did last week when I took both the Electric Mini Cooper and 2010 Ford Fusion for a spin.
The two cars represent two technical approaches to gaining fuel efficiency through bigger car batteries.
Like the Toyota Prius, the newly released Ford Fusion is a gas-electric hybrid that drives primarily on the gas engine, supplemented by a nickel-metal hydride battery. By contrast, the Mini Electric, which will start to be leased to drivers next month as part of a trial, runs entirely on lithium-ion batteries, the latest battery technology.
The trade-offs of both approaches are pretty apparent. The Fusion gets over 40 miles per gallon and it's more or less like any other car you've driven: you fill it up with gasoline and it goes.
The Mini Electric, on the other hand, sacrifices the entire back seat for its battery pack. That allows it to go 100 miles on a charge--sufficient for most daily driving. But two of its advantages are that you never go to a gas station and there are no emissions from the car itself.
Meanwhile, there's yet another technology in the mix--what General Motors calls a range-extended electric vehicle or what engineers call a series hybrid (as opposed to a parallel hybrid). In that case, an internal combustion engine does nothing but... http://news.cnet.com/8301-11128_3-10231123-54.html