Paccar's fuel-saving hybrid trucks aimed at nation's distribution industry

Meet the workhorse cousin of the Toyota Prius — a medium-duty truck running on a hybrid diesel-electric engine that could save distribution and utility companies plenty of expensive fuel and be easier on the planet, too.

Kirkland-based Kenworth Truck, a subsidiary of Paccar, plans to begin full production of its T270 and T370 hybrid trucks in early September.

Like the increasingly popular hybrid cars, these vehicles come with an electric motor that assists the main engine during acceleration and can capture the energy produced from braking, storing it in a battery for later use.

Medium-duty trucks are the backbone of the distribution industry. They are used, mostly in city traffic, to deliver anything from furniture to beer, and about 39,000 are operating just in Washington state, according to Kenworth.

Kenworth chief engineer Mike Dozier said hybrids are ideally suited for such delivery fleets, because stop-and-go driving allows the electric motor to operate and recharge its batteries more frequently.

Hybrid motors can also vastly reduce the fuel consumption of trucks with accessories that rely on the engine for power.

An aerial truck equipped with a lift, such as those used by utilities to maintain power lines, can burn 2 gallons of diesel per hour while the engine idles, spewing pollution and noise, said Steve Van Sickle, assistant equipment supervisor with the King County Department of Transportation.

But the Kenworth hybrid truck the department has been trying for the past six months can power its equipment with the electric motor. What's more, "it eliminates a lot of noise," making it good for work in residential areas, Van Sickle said.

Businesses, particularly those with distribution fleets, are feeling the pinch of rising fuel prices — especially since the cost of diesel, which powers most U.S. trucks, has outpaced the cost of gasoline. Diesel recently topped $5 per gallon in some Seattle area stations.

Commercial trucks use 14 billion gallons of gasoline and 23 billion gallons of diesel annually, according to a report by the U.S. Department of Energy's Argonne National Laboratory. The high cost of transporting goods gets passed on to consumers in the form of more expensive merchandise.

The trucking fleet's environmental cost is also large. Freight trucks accounted for 19 percent of greenhouse-gas emissions by the U.S. transportation sector, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. Light-duty trucks, a category that includes SUVs, accounted for an additional 28 percent.

Mindful of increased environmental concerns among consumers and governments, companies such as big-box retailers are adopting strategies to reduce their carbon footprint, said Paccar Vice President Robert Christensen.

Atlanta-based Coca-Cola Enterprises bought 120 of the initial, limited-production Kenworth hybrids for its distribution fleet and began deploying them in April.

Spokesman Fred Roselli said the trucks increased fuel efficiency by 32 percent while reducing emissions by 37 percent and adding luster to the company's environmental reputation.

"It's really a triple bottom line — good for the environment, good for the community and the people who live in it, and also good for the company," Roselli said.

Seattle-based Dunn Lumber, a much smaller, family-run business, has been using a hybrid truck to deliver lumber in the metro area. "It's been great," said fleet manager Mark Geyer. "We'll probably buy some more."

With the latest version of the battery, the truck gets up to 10 miles a gallon, while a similar, diesel-only truck would get less than 6, Geyer said. At current diesel prices, the savings are impressive, especially since the company currently spends about $250,000 annually on fuel.

Like the Prius, the trucks' dashboard is equipped with a color screen that indicates when the vehicle is running on electric, the current battery charge and what mileage the driver is getting out of the system. That allows drivers to look for the "sweet spot" that would guarantee maximum savings, said senior design engineer Josef Tarp.

Kenworth's hybrid system, developed in partnership with components manufacturer Eaton, relies for power on lithium-ion batteries — the type also seen as most promising for electric cars like the Chevy Volt and Toyota's upcoming plug-in Prius.

While car manufacturers struggle to make a battery small enough to fit in a passenger car, truck makers don't have that problem, said Dozier. In Kenworth's models, the battery hangs from the underside of the truck, making it easier to cool off, he said.

Corporate mandates for greener fleets, combined with higher fuel costs, have greatly strengthened the case for hybrid trucks, according to a report by Dan Kratz, truck-operations manager for GE Capital Solutions Services.

Besides Kenworth, companies like International Truck and Engine and Sterling Trucks are going into the hybrid business.

"Truck manufacturers have been listening to fleet operators, and are responding by increasing their production of medium and heavy-duty hybrids this year," the report said.

Kenworth's trucks have more than the hybrid engine in common with the yuppie Prius: They come at a premium.

A hybrid truck can cost $40,000 more than its more traditional peers, which can sell for around $60,000 for the chassis alone; final costs vary widely according to specifications.

But Kenworth says the trucks pay for that premium in four to five years. When used for deliveries, a hybrid truck can reduce fuel consumption by 30 percent; in its utility version, by 50 percent, said Dozier.

The typical truck consumes about 6,000 gallons of diesel a year, said Christensen. At $4.50 per gallon, savings could range from $8,100 to $13,500 per year.

In addition, buyers of the trucks can apply for federal tax credits of up to $12,000, depending on the model, the company said.

The company is studying how to apply the technology to heavy-duty trucks, the eighteen-wheelers that carry goods long distances at freeway speeds.

"This is just the start," said Dozier.

“Plug-in" hybrid cars -plus- Green roofs

Gasoline-electric hybrids now, like Toyota’s popular Prius, don’t need to plug in — you just fill their tanks with gasoline and the battery keeps charged by the internal combustion engine and by energy generated from the wheels when braking (a feature known as “regenerative braking”). The battery then powers the electric motor when it is called into service during idling, backing-up, crawling in gridlock, maintaining speed while cruising, and for extra uphill power when needed. As such, the electric motor is essentially a back-up engine while the hybrid relies mainly on the gasoline engine.

Plug-in hybrids take the concept further by plugging into a regular electric outlet to enable the vehicle to operate solely on its electric motor for ranges of 40-50 miles or more on a single charge. This has profound implications for commuters who need only drive short distances to and from work every day and who may be able to do so solely on electric power. The gasoline engine then becomes the supplemental one for when the car needs to travel farther than the electric engine can take it.

According to researchers at the University of California Davis, the electricity cost for powering a plug-in hybrid is only about one-quarter of the cost of powering a like-sized gasoline vehicle. Other benefits include far fewer fill-ups at gas stations and the convenience of recharging at home.

Toyota, currently the world’s largest producer of hybrid vehicles by far thanks to the success of its Prius, announced that it expects to have a commercially viable plug-in hybrid available to consumers as early as 2010 and is now testing prototype versions of plug-in hybrids at two California universities.

Felix Kramer of the California Cars Initiative (CCI), a non-profit dedicated to promoting plug-ins, called Toyota’s announcement “stunning and very welcome,” and says that these vehicles will be the cleanest practical cars on the road in a world where gas stations dot just about every intersection. The promise of such cars, says CCI on its website, is that drivers will have a “cleaner, cheaper, quieter car for local travel, and the gas tank is always there should you need to drive longer distances.”

U.S. automakers are also jumping onto the plug-in bandwagon. General Motors says that it will have mass-market plug-in hybrids — modifications of its Saturn Vue and Chevrolet Volt — on the road by 2010. Ford has also developed a small fleet of plug-ins, but is not yet ready to offer them to the public. Fisker, a U.S. start-up focusing on the creation of high performance, energy efficient vehicles, plans to sell an $80,000 plug-in hybrid sports car by late 2009. Chrysler’s Sprinter van was the first plug-in from a major U.S. manufacturer, but it is only presently available to a limited number of institutions as a fleet vehicle.

Plug-ins have also caught on elsewhere. Chinese carmaker BYD plans to sell a plug-in hybrid sedan in the U.S. within five years. And Volkswagen hopes to have a plug-in hybrid Golf ready to roll by 2010.

Road Test Special Report

A couple of years ago I drove a Toyota Camry hybrid on an extended run of a whirl-wind trip from Niagara Falls to the Road America Racetrack in Wisconsin. We wanted to get there as fast as possible and return even quicker. To that end we succeeded in averaging 36.3 mpg [6.7 L/100km] during our hour upon hour of highway driving at or in excess of 70 mph for the vast majority of the trip. To say I was impressed would be an understatement – not just with the fuel economy, but also with the car as a whole.

Since that eventful trip, I’ve tested quite a number of hybrid vehicles, but no other hybrid impressed me like the Camry – in fact, most didn’t even warrant the extra expense of purchasing a hybrid over the tradition vehicle, because the fuel saving were less than impressive.

A lot has changed in the past two years with regard to the cost of fuel. Looking back to my last big trip in the Camry hybrid, the price of gas was $2.04 - $2.40 per U.S. gallon [82.9 cents/litre]. Having just returned from California I can confirm that gas was selling there for $4.15/gallon and our local prices are $1.32 per litre [$5.08/U.S. gallon]. That’s double in only two years!!

Time to re-visit the Camry hybrid me thinks!

There are a couple of reasons for this week’s road test:

1) Originally we were going on a long-ish road trip. First to Mont Tremblant in Quebec for a race, and then down to New Jersey to pick up our new puppy. Approximate mileage: 1,243 [2,000 kms]

2) My wife, although having Canadian/Polish/Ukranian background - is in fact the cheapest Scotsman I’ve ever encountered besides my dad. Therefore a very economical vehicle had to be employed for this trip.

3) Most importantly, with the price of gas being what it is, and more people are travelling for their summer holidays – fuel economy is of utmost importance to the majority of North Americans.

I figured all of this made for a good story and an even better road test for a hybrid …. So I contacted Toyota and asked for the Camry hybrid for two weeks.

The trip was all planned out. But that all changed the week I picked up the Camry. Our puppy was ready to go a week early, so we decided to pick him up before going the Mont Tremblant! This made the trip an even more important story. What was to be one trip, now had to be turned into two long trips – in less than a week.

So here’s the new plan…

Monday: Pick up the Camry from Toyota’s Canadian head office on the far-flung outskirt (for me) of Toronto and come home. Round trip time of about 3 hours. Then we would head off to New Jersey sometime around 6 pm, stopping overnight near the New York/Pennsylvania border (travel time approximately 4 hours).

Tuesday: Continue trip to New Jersey (3 hours) to pick up our new family member and make a sprint back to the border (approximately 7 hours).

Wednesday & Thursday recover.

Friday night, head off to Quebec in the evening to arrive very early Saturday morning (approximate time 7+ hours).

Saturday & Sunday – shoot the Atlantics race.
Monday: Head home (approximately 8-10 hours, depending on traffic jams around Toronto). Should be home around midnight Monday/Tuesday.

I picked up the Camry on the Monday morning and had to make a pit-stop on the way home to test drive the new Subaru WRX STI car that was being launched that day. Usually these types of things last ½ an hour to an hour. Not this time – 2 ½ hours of driving the car down twisty back roads at break-neck speeds was the order of the day!! We had a blast driving the Subaru, but it set us back a couple of hours for our road trip – not only that but with all the driving ahead of me – the last thing I really needed was more time behind the wheel of a car!!! Anyway……

We left around 9pm and got to our destination at 1am. One thing I didn’t figure into the driving equation was road work. Fortunately, in the U.S. they know how to plan and execute road construction with the least amount of inconvenience to the driver. (In Ontario the goal is to piss-off as many people as is possible).

Our main goal for this excursion was to achieve the best possible fuel mileage in the Camry. To that end I came up with a plan. A plan that may be simple for some people, but excruciatingly painful for yours-truly: drive at or very close to the speed limit whenever possible. When I drive, my whole point is to get to the destination as quickly as possible. It doesn’t matter if I’ve got 1 hour to make a 30 minute drive – I HAVE to get there as soon as possible – it’s just me. To concentrate on driving slow would be a major challenge for me, but I had to do it for this experiment to work!!

In Ontario the speed limit is 100 kilometres per hour (62 mph) on the freeway –I usually travel at 130 kph (80mph). You can see how this is going – don’t you? On U.S. Interstates it’s 65mph, so they are very close to Ontario. I set my goal of 110 kph or 70 mph. I know you get better gas mileage driving at 60 mph or thereabouts, but I’m not going to push it that far – besides the truck drivers are generally limited to 60 mph by governors and I didn’t want to get in their way. Most families puttering around my area on vacation are usually clogging up the freeways doing 60 mph or less – I couldn’t bring myself to be one of them for this experiment.

The trip to our overnight stay in Binghamton, N.Y. was uneventful and we crashed into bed at 1:30am. For this part of the trip I kept to my pre-determined/self-punishing speed limit. It took a little longer than anticipated, but the Camry is a terrific car to spend hours upon hours of mindless freeway driving. It’s extremely quiet, with just a whisper of wind coming off the outside mirrors. The more than adequate stereo system kept the journey livable as we sang along to songs we hadn’t heard in a while.

One of the reasons I chose the Camry for this journey was how comfortable the seats were on our trip to Wisconsin a couple of years ago. They were so comfortable we raved about them for weeks afterwards. Unfortunately, Toyota provided us with the base model which consisted of cloth seats which translated to a barely passable seat in the comfort department. The seatback – at least for the driver - was very comfortable, but the bum became numb very quickly. The driver gets a 6-way power seat with lumbar adjustment, while the unfortunate front passenger has to make do with manual adjustments and no lumbar adjustment of any kind (the Premium Package gives the passenger 4-way power seats). At first I thought it was just due to the amount of seat time I was getting, but after living with it for more than a week, it wasn’t me it was the car that was the problem. Bummer. This issue is easily resolved if the Premium Package model with leather seats was the chosen vehicle (that’s the model I asked for, but didn’t get. It’s also the version I had before when I raved about how comfortable the seats were – I’m assuming that the premium seats have not changed since our last test).

The only other complaint I have about the Camry is with the automatic climate control. I usually hate them at the best of times, but this one is infuriating. No matter what the settings were before you turned the car off, they have to be re-set when you start it up again. This may not seem like a big deal, but think about this. The car has been sitting in a 95 degree sun for several hours. You start the car and the climate control starts blasting the hot air that’s been trapped inside the car for the past couple of hours!! The recirculation part of the A/C system ALWAYS comes on whenever you start the car. Unlike the seating issue, I don’t know if there is a way around this problem other than just having to live with it. Considering I could only come up with two complaints, you have to consider the Camry hybrid a fantastic car.

The next morning we were up at 5:30am and headed off to our destination of Bloomingdale, N.J., a nice little town only 50 miles or so from New York City. We spent a few relaxing hours by the lake bonding with our new puppy and his family. After saying goodbye, we stopped in the town to fill the car for our return journey. Although we had travelled a very impressive 847 kms/526 miles, we still had just under a ¼ of a tank of fuel left!! I also found the cheapest gas yet, at $3.939/gallon. The fill-up cost us $50 and we got 12.7 (U.S.) gallons for that amount, making our journey an average of only 5.8L/100 kms or 42 mpg (U.S.)!!! Remember though, that was from Toronto – not our home. We live 130 kms from Toronto. This could make it a decidedly different mpg factor on the return trip – read on.

Since we stayed a little longer in Jersey than planned and I was so impressed by our fuel economy, I decided to amend the plan for the return trip. The trip back was going to be the same distance, but now I was going to make it back on my terms – as soon as I possibly could! What better way to see if driving conservatively versus aggressively would really affect the fuel economy?

On the way down, our trip through the Poconos Mountains certainly made the hybrid work for its money. Unlike other hybrid vehicles, Toyota’s Synergy system can use the engine in combination with the battery to drive the Camry, as well as use the electric motor/battery on its own – it’s a true hybrid. Ford’s system uses the electric motor/battery up to 30 mph and after that its 100% engine for all of your propulsion. The battery/electric motor doesn’t come on at all if you use the A/C or heating system. The GM “hybrid” vehicles aren’t really hybrids – they are just hybrid transmissions.

Since the last part of our journey down was the most taxing in the fuel savings department, it became more obvious at the beginning of our return trip. We used well over ¼ of a tank of gas in just the first couple hours of our journey home. Unfortunately my plan to return as fast as possible hit a snag when large chunks of the journey were spent below the actual speed limit due to construction. Still, whenever I could,I drove at 80 mph instead of the 70 mph we did on the way down. I also spent more time burying the throttle instead of gradually letting the speed build – like a normal driver would.

So how was the fuel economy after I returned to my normal driving style? I didn’t fill up when I got home – I wanted to wait and fuel up as close as possible (distance-wise/tank level) to when we did on our first tank. The next day we went to my wife’s sister’s to show off our new family member and that helped get the mileage closer to a return trip to Toronto. The tank was as empty as I dared push my luck when I finally re-fueled the Camry and here are the results…

The return trip was only 734.7 kms/456.6 miles – including side trips to my sister-in-law’s. The fill up consisted of 50.45 litres at $1.322/L (13 gallons @ $5.14/gallon (U.S.)) making it 6.8L/100 kms or 35.75 miles per (U.S.) gallon. Wow! That was way better than I’d imagined it would be! Remember too that in general a hybrid gets the same mpg whether on the highway or in the city, including traffic jams where it uses very little if any fuel in stop and go traffic. Although the return trip was shorter I have one caveat: I abandoned my self-imposed 70 mph and we returned as fast as possible – that meant my usual driving style. Although we hit a lot of road work, we did travel at 80+ mph for extended periods.

Obviously, driving conservatively saves fuel – that much we’ve proven, but in the case of the Camry hybrid you aren’t unduly punished at the pumps if you get carried away with your right foot. Over the years I’ve found that most cars tend to achieve their city government mpg ratings while on the highway – which is usually considerably worse than the highway ratings. The Camry hybrid is rated at 5.7L/100 kms (42.7 mpg) by Transport Canada in both city and highway cycles. When was the last time you heard of ANYONE getting remotely close to the actual ratings? Well, shockingly, I got 5.8L/100 (42 mpg) on the trip down to New Jersey, and that included a lot of driving through the Pocono Mountains.

This raised one very big question….. could I beat my previous best?

Part two of the test is the trip to Mont Tremblant in Quebec. The big difference in this trip is the mountains. There are far fewer on this trip and it’s a more leisurely climb into them, so the gas mileage should be better than the New Jersey trip.

Our second trip was just as long, but had less time in the mountains as well as a less strenuous climb into them. The vast majority of the trip would be quite flat, but we would also be carrying an extra body as well as luggage for three – plus a dog and his extra stuff. The trunk was filled to capacity with weekender bags and a very heavy cooler. Also, the spare seat in the back was also fully utilized - we were fully laden. I figured this would be a very good comparison to an average family heading off on summer holiday.

We left home at 1am and I kept to a steady 110 kph or 70 mph for the entire trip – just like my original plan. I didn’t fill the car before departing, so there were a few city miles as well as highway miles (90 mi/144 kms) included in the first fuel stop. Stopping for gas with the gauge registering between ¼ and ½ tank, the fill up came to $51.86 [10.2 gallons/39.7 litres] with 344 miles/554 kms on the odometer. That works out to an average of 34.7 mpg [7.0L/100 km]. What the??? How could that be? I was being very good with my right foot – staying at my self-imposed limit for virtually the whole trip!!!

We arrived in Mont Tremblant at 10am Saturday morning, and the remainder of the day and evening was spent doing what most tourists do on holiday. Although it isn’t very far between points in the area, a lot of the trips are up and down steep hills, such as the one our condo happened to be near the top of. The hybrid handled these climbs with ease, but when fully loaded it was a little wheezy on the very steep inclines. I expected this would also affect our fuel economy come fill-up time.

When it was time for our trip home on the Monday afternoon, the fuel gauge was still at the ¾ mark. When it finally came time for a fill, I still had a quarter-tank left, but was hoping to make it home in one shot without stopping again. Our second fill up of the weekend came to $58.22 (11.5 gallons/45 litres) and a total of 440 miles/707.5 kms on the trip computer. That works out to 38.6 mpg [6.3 L/100 km]. Thus far we’d averaged it out to 36.3 mpg [6.7 L/100km] which is still pretty good. I dare anyone to find a comfortable mid-sized sedan that could come close to beating the Camry hybrid’s average mpg.

The added weight of another adult, the cooler and all the additional luggage took its toll on the fuel economy on our second trip. I expected a bit of drop, but not this dramatic. Have a look in your own vehicle – do you have anything in the trunk that doesn’t have to be there? A bowling ball, hockey equipment, mother-in-law? If so, how about leaving it out – it all adds up over the course of a year – less weight, better mpg.

So how’d we do in the fuel-savings department over the course of two weeks?

My best average was 42 mpg [5.8L/100 kms] with a relatively empty car and two people on board. My worst average was 34.7 mpg [7.0 L/100km] with three adults, plenty of luggage and a heavy cooler on board. But that’s not the whole story. For my entire 2-week road test we travelled a grand total of 2,244 miles (3,611 kms), used 60 gallons (233 litres) of regular fuel, shelling out $293.40 in the process. That works out to an average of 38 mpg (6.4 L/100 kms).

The Conclusion

I set a tough goal for myself – controlling my right foot in order to get the best possible fuel economy. In the grand scheme of things I didn’t compromise a lot. What I originally thought was going to be a painful exercise didn’t turn out to be so bad. It was actually a real eye-opener. In the end I probably went at speeds closer to my everyday driving than I should have, but one thing is clear – I know I could still do better in the mpg challenge than actually I did – I would just have to be less eager to push the speedometer past 65 mph.

As a 4-door sedan – at any price-point - this is one very tough car to beat. Its price and fuel mileage are superb and I can’t think of any real downsides to the Camry hybrid other than it takes a while to go from 0-60 mph (but it’s not so bad that you’d be better off getting out and pushing it). The price of gas going to increase, and the hybrid will help pay for itself even quicker if the prices climb as quickly as they have in the past two years. Right now as I write this, oil has just hit $165/barrel, but the talking heads are saying that $200 by 2009 shouldn’t be discounted. That’s a minimum of a 25% increase over 2008 alone. It’s never coming back down to $100/barrel so start preparing now. Considering the Camry hybrid is at least $1,000 cheaper than it was two years ago, plus it has added content (moonroof for one) and various governments are now kicking in rebates – how can you go wrong?

NOTE:

With various levels of governments offering incentives on the purchase of hybrid vehicles, significant tax refunds could be involved. For example, at present the Canadian Federal Government offers a rebate of $2,000 and the Ontario Provincial Government offers $2,000 back. The U.S. Government gives you up to $3,000 back on your income tax*. All rebates are subject to change at any time and depend on when you make the commitment to drive green. These incentives lower the cost of purchasing/leasing any hybrid vehicle to within a very close margin of comparable non-hybrid vehicles on the market - this mustn’t be overlooked if you want to have the benefits of a new vehicle, yet save money at the pumps.

*USA - If you meet the requirements, you may qualify for a federal income tax credit of $3,000 on the purchase of a new Hybrid. That's a credit, not a deduction. Your tax obligation may be reduced by the award given. Complete information is available at www.fueleconomy.gov . In addition, many States and companies offer special incentives, allowances and exemptions for hybrid buyers.

By The Numbers…

For a comprehensive Road Test of the 2009 Toyota Camry hybrid check back in a couple of weeks….

Powertrain: 2.4 Litre, Hybrid System, 4-Cylinder, DOHC, 16-Valve, Variable Valve Timing with Intelligence (VVT-i); Electronic Throttle Control System with Intelligence (ETCS-i); Hybrid Synergy Drive (HSD); Permanent magnet AC synchronous motor
Horsepower: Net: 187 [147 @ 6,000 rpm engine]
Torque: 138 @ 4,400 rpm – gas engine / Electric motor: 199 lb.-ft @ 0-1,500 rpm

Pricing for the 2009 Toyota Camry Hybrid

Base price/ As tested: $25,650 [$30,660 Cdn] (that’s $1,000 LESS than the 2007 model!)
The equivalent optioned V-6 Camry XLE is approximately $28,470 [$35,020 Cdn]
The equivalent optioned 4-cylinder Camry XLE is approximately $25,350 [N/A in Canada]
Destination & Delivery: U.S. $660 / Canada $1,240

Warranty:

Basic 3-year/36,000-mile [60,000 kms] warranty and 5-years/100,000 mile [100,000 kms] Powertrain warranty. Hybrid-related components for hybrid vehicles are covered for 8 years/100,000 miles. The HV battery may have longer coverage under emissions warranty. (Some states have a 10 year/150,000 mile limited hybrid battery warranty - CA, ME, MA, NY and VT and Canada has a 10-year/240,000 km Battery warranty). Roadside assistance is included for 3 years.

Towing is NOT recommended with the hybrid.

For more details and options go to: www.Toyota.com or www.Toyota.ca

Fuel Consumption: [Regular/Electric]

The hybrid is rated at 42.7 mpg City [5.7 L/100 kms] and Highway.
My best average was 42 mpg [5.8L/100 kms] and my worst average was 34.7 mpg [7.0 L/100km].

Comparison: The 4-cylinder is rated at 21mpg [11.5 L/100kms] City / 31mpg [7.8 L/100kms] Highway and the 3.5 litre V-6 is rated at 19 mpg [12.8 L/100kms] City /28 mpg [8.7 L/100kms] Highway.

Immediate Competition (Hybrid):

Chevy Malibu, Ford Escape, Honda Civic, Mazda Tribute, Toyota Highlander, Saturn Vue.

Copyright © 2008 by Iain Shankland - ishankland@gmail.com
This review may NOT be used in whole or in part in any way whatsoever without the written consent of the author.

VW May Produce 282 MPG Two-Seat Car

Volkswagen has a new car in pre-production that, the automaker estimates, could get up to 282 mpg.

That's not a misprint.

The catch? If produced, this would unquestionably be the strangest-looking car on the road.

Autoblog explains, "A few years back, Volkswagen introduced a concept vehicle," known as the VW 1L, "which derived its name from its stated goal of using just one liter of fuel per one-hundred kilometers traveled." The concept "actually beat its lofty goal rather handily as it managed to achieve a miserly 282 miles per gallon in testing. Much of its amazing fuel-saving capability stemmed from its 660 pounds (300 kilograms) curb weight. The concept also featured a single cylinder engine and a 1+1 seating arrangement down the center of the car."

The 1L looks something like the canopy of a jet, with headlights and wheels nearly as thin as bicycle tires. Its body is made from carbon fiber. Its canopy opens to one side, revealing a sparse interior that seats two, with the passenger riding behind the driver. Jalopnik reports, "The car was originally powered by a one-cylinder, one-liter engine, but speculation places a two-cylinder, mild-hybrid turbodiesel under the bonnet of this carbon fiber fuel-sipper. On top of that, the power would be transmitted to the wheels via a motorcycle-style sequential transmission."

That sparse interior doesn't allow for many creature comforts. Autoblog notes, "Safety features like airbags, anti-lock brakes and stability control aren't lacking, but convenience items like air conditioning may be optional."

The U.K.'s Car Magazine reports, "At the time the chairman of VW's supervisory board predicted that the super-economical two-seater would go into production…in 2012. Now the VW 1L will hit the market two years ahead of schedule, in 2010."

Whether the 1L would be sold in the U.S. market isn't yet clear. Not much about this strange car is clear. But Flattrack claims, "It meets all US safety standards."

Because of its light weight, VW says the car doesn't need power steering or brake assist to perform up to the standards of a typical car. In order to streamline the profile, it also doesn't use mirrors -- cameras show the driver what is beside and behind the car.

Are production rumors realistic? Maybe. Multiple sources say production would be limited, and the price is not yet known. Car Magazine notes, "Expect a large amount of subsidy from VW, which hopes to reap a slew of headlines in the current climate."