The drop in oil prices—more than $50 off the record high price of $147.27 a barrel on July 11—raises questions about how soon auto companies will deliver on exciting plans for “game-changing” alternative vehicles.
As the auto industry scrambles to produce vehicles with greater efficiency, each firm is developing its own strategy and its own way to market its tactics. BMW uses “Efficient Dynamics” to describe its approach, which has a nice ring but has lacked much substance. A sneak peek of BMW's upcoming 2009 7-Series sedan reveals a few more details.
Toyota announced today that it will show two new hybrids at the 2009 Detroit Auto Show. One of the hybrids will be sold as a Toyota and the other as a Lexus. Masatami Takimoto, executive vice president research and development, said the Toyota hybrid will be "a totally new car.”
PSA/Peugeot-Citroën will make so-called “micro-hybrids” standard equipment in its small and medium cars in Europe. The French company’s move toward applying a basic form of hybrid technology to the majority of its vehicles could be a much bigger deal than more dramatic but less feasible eco-friendly concept cars recently on display at the Geneva Motor Show.
Get ready for a wave of hybrid press releases coming from Detroit’s North American International Auto Show, running from January 13-27 January. The first two announcements to hit the wire are about “two-mode” hybrid SUVs from General Motors and BMW. If these vehicles seem familiar, it’s because the underlying technology has been in development for years—and has been trotted out at previous auto shows. In fact, a hybrid Saturn Vue was first announced at the Detroit Auto Show in 2003.
January 6, 2008
As the price of fuel indefinitely heads skyward, big automakers are approaching the need for greater fuel efficiency from several angles. Chrysler’s latest endeavor on this front is to begin offering “start-stop technology” on some of its not-too-distant future vehicles. This system is designed to shut off the engine when the vehicle is stopped and starts it back up when the brake pedal is released.
via Automotive News
November 27, 2007
![BMW and the "H" Word](http://test.hybridcars.com/files/imagecache/teaser_thumbnail/files/bmw-1-series-275.jpg "BMW and the "H" Word")
BMW's use of an auto-stop function could help the company meet tougher greenhouse gas standards in Europe.
The belt system, Belt Alternator Starter (BAS) is the least a carmaker can do, and still claim the hybrid badge. It's the answer when cost is the major decision factor.
