Ford C-Max Solar Energi Concept can go off the grid

Ford has unveiled a new concept car based on the C-Max plug-in hybrid vehicle. The concept car is called the Ford C-Max Solar Energi Concept. Ford says that the car was built to deliver the best aspects of a plug-in hybrid with the ability to go off the electric grid and still operate optimally.

The concept car has a large solar panel array on the roof that is designed to get power from a solar concentrator lens. That solar concentrator lens is similar to a magnifying glass according to Ford. The concentrator lens is able to deliver intense solar rays to the solar panels on the roof of the car.

Ford claims that the result of the solar concentrator and roof solar panels is that the concept car is able to deliver the same performance as the normal plug-in C-Max without having to be plugged into an electric outlet. The normal C-Max provides 108 MPGe in the city and 92 MPGe on the highway.


Ford will have the C-Max Solar Energi concept on display at the CES 2014 show kicking off next week. Ford says that the tech the concept uses would allow 75% of all trips made by the average driver to be powered by solar energy. Ford has been in trouble with owners of the C-Max and offered small refunds for fuel efficiency that was less than promised in the real world.








SOURCE: Ford

[Continue reading...]

2014 Honda Fit Hybrid scores highest MPG among Japanese hybrids

Honda has announced that its 2014 Fit Hybrid has beat out all other hybrid models in Japan with a mileage rating of 36.4 km/L, which works out to about 85MPG in the United States. The small car, among other things, features three driving modes that are automatically engaged depending on the environment in which the car is being driven.

easily referred to as an i-DCD. This is a one-motor system that the auto maker says is best suited for small cars, and works with the EV drive by “disengaging the engine and the motor”. It falls within the company’s Earth Dreams Technology category, which aims at achieving high gas mileage.

Inside, there’s an inline 4-cylinder 1.5-liter Atkinson cycle engine, as well as the i-DCD’s 7-speed DCT integrated high-output motor. In addition, there’s also an Intelligent Power Unit (IPU) with a lithium-ion battery built into it. Further expanding on the system to achieve a high gas mileage rating is the braking system.

Braking is done via an electric servo brake system, which is said to increase electrical regenerative efficiency. There’s also an all-electric compressor to lessen the load on the engine. All of this, when combined, results in a system that Honda says results in a fuel economy in excess of 35-percent better than the IMA hybrid system that is currently being used.

As mentioned, there are three driving modes, each of which is triggered automatically, comprised of EV Drive Mode (motor-only), the Hybrid Drive Mode (engine and motor driving), and the Engine Drive Mode (engine-only). Sales, said Honda, will start in Japan in September.

SOURCE: Honda

[Continue reading...]