All new design of a Two Cylinder opposed more efficient engine, designed by former Volkswagen executive.  This is coming soon to the automobile industry and not soon enough for our fuel consuming readers.

Bill Gates and other investors have just added a much needed boost to bring this engine dubbed the OPOC^TM (Opposed Piston Opposed Cylinder) in to production.  According to a CruchBase article regarding the $23.5 Million invested by Gates and Khosla Ventures it appears as though we will be seeing this predicted 100 MPG engine in production.

The simple process of how this engine works by using four pistons all linked together within two cylinders that automatically balance each other out thereby increasing efficiency and power.

The company that will be building and marketing this engine is named EcoMotors and you may watch the descriptive videos by going to their website.  Prof. Peter Hofbauer, EcoMotors CEO provides the video.

We wish them great success.

For the American market the hybrid minivan is still elusive. But there is hope. Hyundai presented their newest model at the Paris Auto show. This Korean manufacturer presented the world with a hybrid minivan named the Santa Fe. It will be available in Korea the summer of 2009 with possible expansion to America later in the year.

For those of us that think Green, this little hybrid minivan only produces just over ½ lb of CO2 emissions per mile driven. Reports have the fuel mileage being between 38 and 44 mpg.

This entire savings comes from a 2.4 L conventional engine joined with a 40 horsepower electric motor. The electric motor is capable of 151 pounds of torque. This power train is managed by a six speed automatic transmission with an additional 30 kW electric motor.

Since this is a new hybrid vehicle, the engineers developed it with the latest technology available. This includes the best battery system now in use. The new 270V lithium polymer batteries have an increase in density, which helps them hold a charge longer than the conventional nickel-lead batteries.

To help with the fuel efficiency friction was reduced in all areas of the drive train and cooling system. In addition, just like the GM 2-mode hybrid system, when the car is at idle, only the electric motor is running. The conventional engine is switched off to conserve fuel.

The Santa Fe’s all new features and drive train are packaged in the same body and frame as its conventional counterpart. This can only mean all of the increases in fuel mileage and improvements were engineered into the new systems.

So look for the first hybrid minivan in the American market in late 2009.

Consider the New Hybrid Vehicles, are you going to purchase one?

There are 6 official new hybrid vehicles in the year 2009 for the American market. Five are from domestic manufacturers and one from European origin.  The Toyota Sienna is still being postponed. The list is:

1) The Cadillac Escalade hybrid. This full size SUV is only available in 2-wheel drive and comes standard with a 6L 8-cylinder engine and automatic transmission. A combined fuel mileage of 20 mpg and a suggested retail price of $73,135-$87,435.

2) The Chevrolet Silverado 15 hybrid. This full size truck is available in both 2 and 4 WD. Standard 6L 8-cylinder engine with an automatic transmission. A combined fuel mileage of 21 mpg for the 2-wheel version and 20 mpg for the 4-wheel version. Suggested retail price of $38,020-$47,305.

3) The Chrysler Aspen HEV. This full size SUV comes standard with a 4.8L 8-cylinder engine and automatic transmission. A combined fuel mileage of 21 mpg and a suggested retail price of $45,270.

4) The Dodge Durango HEV. This full size SUV comes standard with a 4.8L 8-cylinder engine and automatic transmission. A combined fuel mileage of 21 mpg and a suggested retail price of $45,040.

5) The GMC Sierra 15 hybrid. This full size truck is available in both 2 and 4 WD. Standard 6L 8-cylinder engine with an automatic transmission. A combined fuel mileage of 21 mpg for the 2-wheel version and 20 mpg for the 4-wheel version. Suggested retail price of $38,390-$47,675.

6) The Mercedes-Benz ML450 hybrid. This medium size SUV comes standard with a 3.5 liter V6 engine that produces 340HP. The fuel mileage is forecast to be 30.5 mpg and the suggested retail price is in the neighborhood of $50,000.

All six new models utilize the same technology that was developed in a cooperative effort of GM and Daimler Chrysler called Two-Mode Hybrid. This hybrid system reduced fuel consumption by supplying some of the energy of the drive train from the battery.

We would love to hear some reports from people that have purchased any of these new hybrid vehicles.  Are they worth the money?  Did you buy one to save money on fuel or just to help the environment?

Some company’s talk about the future and some of them embrace it. Coca Cola announced on March 4, 2009 that they would increase their hybrid electric truck fleet by 185 vehicles. This brings the total number of hybrid electric trucks in the Coca Cola fleet to 327.

This is in line with the corporate strategy that Coca Cola has followed. They lead by example of being ecologically responsible and use sustainable practices. There are different areas of focus now employed by Coca Cola to make the company eco-friendly. This includes being environmentally conscious by conserving energy, a packaging/recycling program and being a good water steward.

Conserving energy is where the hybrid electric truck fleet comes into the picture. With 142 delivery vehicles that weigh 16.5 ton gross that have been switched to hybrid electric propulsion, the energy conservation is significant. Each hybrid truck produces a third less emissions and operates solely on electric power at speeds less than 30 mph. The hybrid system is developed and supplied by Eaton Corporation and uses a parallel hybrid system that utilizes both the electric and conventional engines to get the most fuel-efficiency out of them.

This idea was initiated back in 2001. After an extensive testing and evaluation period the fleet grew to 142 by 2008. Now up to 327 across the nation, this hybrid electric truck fleet is reducing emissions and setting an eco friendly corporate standard that should be followed by others.

Coca Cola was awarded the “Orion Energy Systems Environmental Stewardship Award” in early January of this year. I just hope more corporations will follow the example of Coca Cola and introduce a fleet of hybrid electric trucks of their own.

Thanks to Greenhybridelectricvehicle.com for the basis of this story.

Enjoy a drive in a high performance hybrid electric car. For some reason that just does not sound right, but it is true. They are out there and soon to be available to you, if you have the money.

Ferrari has been developing their cars since the beginning of the company. Ferrari has been winning in Formula One consistently starting in 1951. Since that first win there have been 208 more wins with 203 pole positions and 218 fastest laps. All of these are records for any one team. Since Formula One is the most advanced form of racing with the stiffest competition in the world, this all-time leading winner knows how to get the most performance out of a car. Now they are developing systems for hybrid electric cars.

The leak came out early this year from the Geneva Motor Show. The Ferrari 599XX may have some form of the Kinetic Energy Recovery Systems (KERS) system deployed on the car. It is not a surprise since the Ferrari Formula One team is currently developing and using this system on their race cars.

If that was not inspiring enough there was additional news from the Paris Motor Show.
The Peugeot RC Hvmotion4 concept car claims 52.3 mpg from this hybrid electric vehicle. The performance part is 62 mph in 4.4 seconds. This is from a 1.6L conventional engine with 218 hp and 206 lb of torque powering the rear wheels. From the front wheels is a 70 kW electric motor that supplies an additional power of 132 lb-ft of circular motion.

This is all being developed because it helps the cars go faster and perform better. The side effect is that the vehicles produce fewer emissions and use less fossil fuel. So going green is beneficial for performance. I really like this trend. I cannot wait till my hybrid electric car reaches this better level of performance. I hope it will be soon.

When features like KERS start to be used in the racing world you can be sure that commercial developments in this area will be following right along.