Honda Insight Hybrid: Inexpensive to buy, very easy on fuel

After a week and nearly 400 miles in a new Honda Insight Hybrid, the most appropriate word I can find to describe it is “surprising.”

It is surprising that the Japanese manufacturer could bring hybrid technology to market so close to the price of a standard compact car and surprising that, along with its many virtues, it has a few vices that have not been typical of Hondas over the years.

Let’s start from the beginning.

As you approach the Insight, you might think that the car’s designers were guilty of grand theft auto for stealing the profile of Toyota’s hybrid Prius. The Insight has the same general shape and the same four doors plus a rear hatch. Then, again, you can’t deny that it also has a strong family resemblance to Honda’s own hydrogen-powered FCX Clarity.

In any case, there is one very important difference between Insight and Prius. The Insight is a compact, while the Prius has grown to mid-size. That means the Insight has room for four average-size adults (Honda claims five) and the rear-seat passengers will find headroom a bit pinched.

To achieve its EPA-rated fuel mileage of 40 mpg city/43 highway, Honda has employed an updated version of the Integrated Motor Assist system that first came to the United States in another Insight, a tiny-two seat coupe that maximized fuel efficiency (more than 50 mpg) at the expense of practicality.

In the new car it teams a 1.3-liter, 88-horsepower, four-cylinder engine with an electric motor sandwiched between engine and transmission that produces 13 horsepower. Together, they generate a total of 98 horsepower and 123 pound-feet of torque.

The power is dispatched to the front wheels through a continuously variable transmission.

The nickel-metal hydride battery pack and electronic unit fit under the rear cargo floor, leaving 16 cubic feet of cargo room. Fold the rear seatbacks into the floor and the cargo space jumps to 31 cubic feet.

Buyers interested strictly in the Insight’s fuel-sipping ability (which, no doubt, imost of them are) will not be disappointed. Driving with care, they probably won’t have much trouble exceeding the EPA figures.

I managed to average between 36 and 46 mpg, and I did not go to any extreme measures to exceed it. I did, however, make use of Honda’s built-in helpers.

On the left side of the instrument panel there is an “ECON” button. Push it in, as I did much of the time, and it modulates engine and transmission functions, minimizes air conditioner usage and maximizes the electric motor’s assist.

In addition, the speedometer’s background color changes from blue to green as the driver operates the Insight more efficiently and a score-card type leaf graphic reports the driver’s current-trip and lifetime fuel efficiency.

On the open road, with the ECON function on, I used the paddle shifters that come with the premium EX model to keep the Insight in its most fuel-efficient “seventh gear.” That didn’t leave me with a lot of passing power, but I managed to keep up with 75 mph traffic on New Jersey’s Garden State Parkway.

In urban and heavy traffic areas, I avoided the ECON button to take advantage of passing situations and found the Insight peppy enough for most situations

However, the continuously variable transmission brings out a raspiness in the four-cylinder powerplant that makes a driver want to avoid heavy acceleration whenever possible.

A couple of other surprises I couldn’t help but notice were a suspension that combined a rather harsh ride quality with mediocre handling, and electric steering that felt wooden and offered little feedback from the road. The front-disc/rear-drum brakes worked fine.

None of these faults is major in a car designed primarily for economical commuter travel, but they are surprising coming from Honda, which has built its reputation by building sharp responses and a sporty demeanor into its automobiles.

As always, Honda’s pricing is simple. The base LX is $19,800, the EX is $21,300 and the EX with navigation is $23,100. Delivery charges are extra. Before opting for the LX, prospective buyers should know that it is not available with cruise control and, more importantly, it lacks stability and traction control.

In addition to the standard features and navigation system, the top-of-the-line model I drove came with a comprehensive list of safety equipment; paddle shifters; stability and traction control; automatic climate control, six-speaker, 160-watt sound system with Ipod connectivity; Bluetooth hands-free phone connectivity; alloy wheels; and more.

While the Insight might not be one of the more exciting vehicles to drive, it accomplishes its primary mission –- superb fuel efficiency at a reasonable price – flawlessly.

During my time with the car, I sandwiched nearly 100 miles of urban and suburban driving between two 150-mile trips. With gas priced at $2.599, my fuel tab was less than $26.

Those numbers alone tell a pretty compelling story.

Toyota To Launch Hybrid Lift Truck

Toyota Industries Corporation (TICO) has revealed its plan to launch internal combustion hybrid lift truck, which is expected to enter the Japanese market in December 2009. The timeline for launching in the US is not yet decided.

Toyota Group claims that hybrid technology, Geneo-Hybrid 8,000 lb counterbalanced diesel lift truck come together with an electric motor, 2.5-liter diesel engine and nickel-metal hydride battery (NMHB).

According to Toyota the NMHB reduces fuel consumption and CO2 emissions by 50%, while delivering the performance equivalent to conventional diesel-powered lift truck. NMHB does not require plug-in recharge as it gets recharged with the engine operation, making it available for multi-shift operations.

Company claims that Hybrid lift trucks provide economic benefits for customers due to lower fuel costs and improved environmental performance.

Ford Fusion Hybrid

Vital Stats

The 2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid recently set a world record for mileage from a gasoline-powered, mid-sized sedan. Using fuel-efficient driving tips, a team of drivers averaged 81.5 miles per gallon - nearly doubling the vehicle's U.S. Environmental Protection Agency rating for fuel economy.

► Assembled in Mexico.

► New 2.5-liter four-cylinder engine (155 hp/136 lb.-ft. of torque) running the Atkinson cycle, mated to an electronically controlled continuously variable transmission (c-CVT).

► An added variable voltage converter boosts the voltage to the traction battery to operate the motor and generator more efficiently.

► Climate control system monitors cabin temperature and only runs the gas engine as needed to heat the cabin. It also includes an electric air conditioning compressor to further maximize engine use.

► Regenerative brake system captures energy normally lost through friction and stores it. Nearly 94 percent energy recovery is achieved by first delivering full regenerative braking followed by friction brakes during city driving.

Putting a plug-in hybrid car to the test

Experts say plug-in hybrids are likely to be the Next Big Thing in automobile technology. I wanted to see how they work in the real world.This would be a test: I’m a driver who never looks under the hood, hates spending money on cars and/or gasoline and can’t handle any automotive problem more complicated than adding Drygas to the tank.First came a neon-green 2006 Toyota Prius emblazoned with the Green Mountain Power emblem. It’s one of two the electric utility added to its fleet, spending $10,000-a-car to have a stock Prius hybrid modified by adding a big second battery. (Solar panels on the utility’s roof generate enough electricity to recharge the batteries.)

My first reaction when I turned on the car was like that of many new Prius owners: This thing isn’t working.No hum of a gasoline engine. Dead silence at every stop sign. I kept reaching for the starter button, assuming the car had stalled. Lesson One: An electric motor is silent. Unlike stock Priuses, the GMP car supposedly can travel up to 40 miles on electric power alone. For someone who lives in the center city, as I do, that could mean a lot of nearly all-electric driving.But in the four days I drove the car, it never came close to 40 miles of all-electric driving.I could watch the car’s computer monitor as the charge in the added battery dropped quickly. On day one, the battery ran out at about 17 miles. The car smoothly switched to running on its gasoline engine, assisted by the stock Prius battery. I was back to 50 miles a gallon instead of 100.
Learning the tricks As I learned the tricks of driving a hybrid, the battery took me somewhat longer distances. To keep the gasoline engine off, my right foot began to push more slowly on the gas pedal. Any sudden acceleration switched on the gasoline engine. As I drove Shelburne Road, I would push down gently on the accelerator, then let up so the car would glide.The Prius’ dashboard computer screen registered every little change, telling me my miles-per-gallon had plummeted from 99 mpg to just 12 when I tried to accelerate really fast.Jim Harding, a Green Mountain College professor who drove an identical plug-in Prius last year as part of a research project, found his driving style also changed.“You become hyper-aware of how you are using the vehicle because the feedback is so immediate and detailed. I found myself not pressing the accelerator as quickly as I would have, and coasting through turns,” he told me.Recharging the add-on battery was a snap. At bedtime each night, I plugged one end of an extension cord into an outlet on the back wall of our house. The other end fit a plug on the back end of the Prius. Red tail lights went on, alerting me that the battery was charging.
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When I came out in the morning, I unplugged and drove off.One morning I drove around Burlington, looking for places I could recharge during the day. The charging stations at City Market and the intersection of Church and Main worked fine. The three outdoor plugs on the waterfront were dead. Later, I learned that a number of Burlington parking garages have at least one plug-in station.Vermont-made plug-in After I returned the GMP hybrid, I borrowed a second one from EVermont, a nonprofit consortium that studies electric vehicles.This was definitely a homemade version. It had little quirks. The gasoline engine cycled off and on at stop signs, for no reason I could discern. The dashboard warning light was permanently on.“The car is still a work in progress,” research director Harold Garabedian said.Instead of adding a battery to the off-the-lot Prius, EVermont pulled out the car’s original battery and replaced it with one capable of being recharged from the electric grid.This battery was bigger than the one in the GMP Prius and it showed. I drove the car 30 miles one afternoon and still had juice in the battery. Garabedian said he’s gone as far as 50 miles relying mostly on the electric motor.Paradoxically, this car got better mileage on the highway than in the city, the opposite of most hybrids. That’s apparently because EVermont is still working out the bugs that turn on the gasoline engine at slow speeds, when it isn’t needed.
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Once on the open road, the electric motor carried me most of the way to Charlotte. My average miles per gallon soared to 74.3.Paying the price I loved driving both cars. They were quiet, I wasn’t burning much fossil fuel, my carbon footprint shrank, and I was using a cheaper fuel than gasoline.Charging the GMP Prius took 4½ hours one night. A special meter told me the car had drawn 5.23 kilowatt-hours of electricity.A call to Burlington Electric Department informed me that I pay 12.5 cents per kilowatt hour for my electricity (not including the customer service charge, which I pay however much juice I draw).Cost to power the Prius for a day: 65 cents, plus a few tablespoons of gasoline.Of course, that doesn’t include what it would cost me — north of $30,000 — to acquire a plug-in Prius.That’s the only reason I’m back today, driving my ordinary Honda Civic.Contact Candace Page at 660-1865 orcpage@bfp.burlingtonfreepress.com

When I came out in the morning, I unplugged and drove off.One morning I drove around Burlington, looking for places I could recharge during the day. The charging stations at City Market and the intersection of Church and Main worked fine. The three outdoor plugs on the waterfront were dead. Later, I learned that a number of Burlington parking garages have at least one plug-in station.Vermont-made plug-in After I returned the GMP hybrid, I borrowed a second one from EVermont, a nonprofit consortium that studies electric vehicles.This was definitely a homemade version. It had little quirks. The gasoline engine cycled off and on at stop signs, for no reason I could discern. The dashboard warning light was permanently on.“The car is still a work in progress,” research director Harold Garabedian said.Instead of adding a battery to the off-the-lot Prius, EVermont pulled out the car’s original battery and replaced it with one capable of being recharged from the electric grid.This battery was bigger than the one in the GMP Prius and it showed. I drove the car 30 miles one afternoon and still had juice in the battery. Garabedian said he’s gone as far as 50 miles relying mostly on the electric motor.Paradoxically, this car got better mileage on the highway than in the city, the opposite of most hybrids. That’s apparently because EVermont is still working out the bugs that turn on the gasoline engine at slow speeds, when it isn’t needed.

Once on the open road, the electric motor carried me most of the way to Charlotte. My average miles per gallon soared to 74.3.Paying the price I loved driving both cars. They were quiet, I wasn’t burning much fossil fuel, my carbon footprint shrank, and I was using a cheaper fuel than gasoline.Charging the GMP Prius took 4½ hours one night. A special meter told me the car had drawn 5.23 kilowatt-hours of electricity.A call to Burlington Electric Department informed me that I pay 12.5 cents per kilowatt hour for my electricity (not including the customer service charge, which I pay however much juice I draw).Cost to power the Prius for a day: 65 cents, plus a few tablespoons of gasoline.Of course, that doesn’t include what it would cost me — north of $30,000 — to acquire a plug-in Prius.That’s the only reason I’m back today, driving my ordinary Honda Civic.

Hyundai Blue-Will Hybrid Concept to Debut in Seoul

Hyundai hybrid uses Lithium Ion Polymer batteries

Hyundai has announced that it will be debuting a new plug-in hybrid concept car at the Seoul Auto Show called the Blue-Will. The car's design has some very unorthodox and interesting lines, and adds in green features other than the plug-in hybrid power train.

Hyundai reports that Blue-Will has a 1.6-liter, direct injected gasoline engine and a 100 kW electric motor in its parallel hybrid drive design. Electric power for the motor is stored inside lithium-ion polymer battery packs using the same technology that Kia is using in its Forte LPI DailyTech reported on yesterday. The Hyundai version of the Forte will be called the Elantra LPI Hybrid.

Among the green touches integrated into the Blue-Will concept are recycled PET soft drink bottles used to make the headlamp bezels and the use of organic plastics in the interior and engine cover. Organic plastics are made from plant extracts rather than fossil fuels.

Both the gas tank and the batteries used in the concept are placed under the rear seat to maximize cargo volume. The panoramic glass roof of the vehicle features dye sensitive solar panels that can generate electricity that is sent to the batteries without blocking the view out of the glass panels.

The official unveiling of the Blue-Will concept is set for April 2.

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2009 Lexus GS 450h

Econo-box traits at a premium price

Lexus has applied its trademark quality and high-tech to its middle-of-the line-up sedan with the GS (if you want to picture the available sedans as a flowchart in your mind, it would go: IS, ES, GS and LS)

My Autonet tester was the hybrid GS450h, which brings extra power to the platform along with decreased fuel consumption. The car can be had as a gasoline-only model as well, in RWD or all-wheel.

Search for a used Lexus GS

Wrapped in characteristically understated outward design - don’t get me wrong, it’s not an unpleasant looking car, it just doesn’t grab your attention - the 450h competes well against Euro-lux brands with a package of superior build quality, fit-and-finish and high end electronics.

Under the hood, the 450 combines a 3.5 litre gasoline V6 with the maker’s Hybrid Synergy drive system (from parent company Toyota) to pull together sporty performance and cleaner emissions than a similarly-displaced gasoline model.

It brings a combined output of 339 horsepower to the vehicle (along with 267 lb.-ft. of torque) that allows the 450h to reach cruising and passing speeds in a blink; and the powertrain can be sharpened further with selectable driving modes.

Operated by switches mounted on the center console near the shifter, the driving modes modify how the engine’s torque is put to the wheels. Choices are “snow” mode for slippery conditions, “normal” for everyday use, and “power” mode, which turns the car into a responsive and racy machine.

The ponies are channelled through a CVT, which shows none of the “lag” that dogs some continuously variable trannies; and while it’s not a manumatic, the shifter can be used to provide engine braking with six levels of downshift.

The suspension can be tailored to a driver’s taste in similar fashion as well, with a “sport” option that tightens up the car noticeably in quick turns and on winding roads (it will also make the ride harsher, obviously) and works with the variable gear ratio power steering to keep the driving experience enjoyable and engaging.

In any of its custom modes, steering in the GS is very good, providing responsive feedback and a feel of confidence through the wheel; and all the power is backstopped with very good braking.

There is a host of other onboard features, as you would expect from a car at this price - intelligent cruise control, backup camera and parking assist, and obstacle detection via front and rear mounted sensors, among others.

The interior of any GS is an opulent affair of leather seating surfaces and flawless quality components. The dash is a clean and uninterrupted flow, featuring a prominent multi-function display screen at top-center, with tastefully conceived backlighting for all gauges and switchgear.

It’s a tight cabin, though, and Lexus has reduced clutter by hiding a number of the car’s less-used functions (adaptive headlight controls, side mirror adjuster, park assist switch) in a pop-out compartment to the left of the steering wheel.

Interior space is the only complaint I can muster about the GS, the car is skimpy on headroom, particularly with the power sunroof. In both front and rear seats, the ceiling feels a bit too close to passenger’s heads and I found I had to lean the driver’s seat back farther than I like in order to keep my head from touching it.

That aside, the cockpit is mighty quiet and the ride extremely smooth, particularly in normal-suspension mode. The test vehicle was equipped with a Mark Levinson sound package (part of the “Ultra premium” option package that also added a backup sensor, DVD navigation system and added six grand to the price tag).

Stereo and nav system were operated through the multifunction display, and the large touch-screen interface is relatively easy to understand and use without cracking the owner’s manual.

The display can be turned off as well, which is a good thing, as it defaults to a large diagram displaying how the hybrid system is operating when you don’t have it in navigation mode.

Naturally, hybrid fuel economy will be at its best in city driving, where the GS450 can maximize its gas-sipping by turning off the V6 engine when stopped at lights. The GS will also operate on electric power alone, at low speeds.

I put a lot of highway kilometres on the tester and found that even with the gasoline engine engaged for most of my time in it, the car still managed a respectable average of 10.0 litres per 100 km.

The GS450h is available basically as one well-equipped trim, with a few option packages available to further round out the trappings of luxury; and it comes with a fairly steep MSRP (it is obviously positioned against similar sedans from Germany but not so much against lower priced North American offerings like Cadillac’s CTS, which offers similar performance numbers and overall size).

AUTOSHOW-Nissan aims to launch luxury diesel hybrid in 2010

GENEVA, March 3 (Reuters) - Nissan Motor Co (7201.T) unveiled on Tuesday a concept car under its Infiniti luxury brand that it plans to adapt for production as a hybrid car twinned with a diesel engine for the European market next year.

Japan's third biggest automaker unveiled the Essence concept, a sporty coupe equipped with luggage in the trunk custom-designed by Louis Vuitton (LVMH.PA), at the week-long Geneva International Motor Show which opened on Tuesday.

The concept car is fitted with Nissan's proprietary hybrid system that twins a 3.7-litre, turbocharged V6 petrol engine.

But a Nissan spokeswoman said Nissan's priority for the European market was to launch a production version of the car with a V6 diesel hybrid system in what could be one of the world's first cars to hybridise a diesel engine.

Nissan gave no indication of the car's price range. A diesel hybrid would theoretically be more fuel-efficient than a petrol hybrid but is more expensive to build.

"Customers willing to pay for a diesel hybrid would be in the luxury segment," the spokeswoman said.

Toyota Motor Corp's (7203.T) Lexus luxury brand is also due to unveil a new hybrid car, the RX450h, at the Geneva show. (Reporting by Chang-Ran Kim; Editing by Greg Mahlich)

Flying a Reusable Space Plane Directly to Orbit

When Luke Skywalker jumps into an X-wing fighter and flies off into space in the Star Wars movies, he's performing a feat that is impossible today. Current orbital launchers are large, multistage affairs that combine the thrust of a series of throwaway rocket stages to escape Earth's gravitational clutches and send a small payload into the void above.

How much simpler and cheaper it would be if one vehicle could accomplish the same task and return intact, again and again. Such a reusable single-stage-to-orbit (SSTO) craft might finally enable regular, truly affordable access to space. But a practical SSTO vehicle is no easy objective. For decades it has been the holy grail for the many rocket scientists and engineers who have tried—and failed—to develop one.

The main difficulty lies in designing and building a vehicle light enough and powerful enough to reach orbit with a viable payload, explains Alan Bond, one of the more persistent of the latter-day grail questers. "Existing technology can't hack it," Bond asserts, "but it's not off by much."

Almost two decades ago, Bond and two veteran research colleagues formed a small R&D firm in Oxfordshire, England. Their company, Reaction Engines, Ltd., set out to develop an SSTO space plane called Skylon. The ambitious design is based on a novel hybrid jet–rocket engine concept that just may provide the necessary boost. Today, a dozen Reaction researchers are working to perfect the engine's key technologies.

Although many aerospace observers consider the effort altogether quixotic given the daunting technical and economic barriers involved, others are cautiously hopeful. "The hybrid engine concept goes back almost a half century, and no one could make it work efficiently," says David Whalen, chair of the space studies department at the University of North Dakota (U.N.D.). "But make it work and you have a new era in access to low Earth orbit space."

Most conventional launch boosters employ weighty cryogenic propellants—liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen—but Bond realized back in the 1980s that atmospheric oxygen might feed a jet engine for the lower-altitude part of the journey.

The fundamental problem, he says, is that conventional jets become impractical at velocities exceeding about Mach 2.7 (2.7 times the speed of sound); the inflowing air slows rapidly on entering the engine and generates more heat than most available materials can withstand.

In addition, at speeds above Mach 2.7 the incoming air is so hot that "you can't do any useful work on it," Bond says. A standard jet engine employs spinning compressor fans to pressurize inflowing air so that it releases large amounts of energy when mixed with fuel and burned. "Hot air won't do the job," he continues, "so you must precool the air before it enters the compressor, a concept that had been lurking around since the 1960s." Bond conceived the idea of using the ultracold liquid hydrogen fuel as a heat sink to take the excess heat out of the incoming air and use some of the hot air to support fuel combustion. At the fringes of space, the dual-mode power plant would switch to a conventional rocket engine, drawing on the liquid hydrogen and a small supply of liquid oxygen to propel the winged craft into orbit at a final speed of Mach 25.

The hybrid propulsion concept was attractive enough that in the mid-1980s Britain's BAE Systems and Rolls-Royce seized on it for an SSTO space plane project called HOTOL (horizontal takeoff and landing). But after HOTOL was canceled in the late 1980s, Bond, Richard Varvill and John Scott-Scott established Reaction Engines to carry on. Bond serves as the firm's managing director, Varvill is technical director and chief designer, and Scott-Scott is engineering director.

Soon the team will begin a series of milestone ground tests using a scaled-down precooler unit and a Viper turbojet engine. If the trials are successful, they could open the way for full-scale development of the air-breathing rocket engine.

As currently envisioned, Skylon would cost an estimated $10 billion to develop, but Bond claims its operational cost per kilogram of orbital payload would be one fiftieth that of current vehicles. So far, the project has consumed about $7 million in private and public funds, and this week the European Space Agency kicked in another $1.25 million. "We hope to complete demonstrating the critical technologies in three years," Varvill states. After that, Reaction Engines will seek to establish a public–private partnership to build the prototype.

Pablo de Leon, Whalen's colleague at U.N.D., shares his co-worker's views: "The concept might work. If it does, Reaction Engines will reach an SSTO vehicle before anybody else." And, he says, the engine's development seems to have advanced of late. But financing high-altitude tests will be extremely difficult, de Leon notes: "Funding to reach that level of maturity will be a challenge as difficult as the technical ones, or even greater."

A green Escape

Cam and Lisa Clayton are, like many of the rest of us, middle-class parents trying to balance work and family. Somewhere in that mix, you'll also find concern for the environment that needs to find a balance with real-world transportation needs and a real-world budget.

And so buying a new 2008 Ford Escape Hybrid was not easy.

"It was nearly $40,000, which is a lot," says Cam Clayton, a geotechnical engineer whose profession has taken him face-to-face with environmental issues. "But we decided that we could afford it and it was the right thing to go."

Yes, but $40,000 is $40,000, and in a marketplace where comparable, non-hybrid crossover utility vehicles sell for $10,000 less, $40,000 took a big bite out of the Clayton family budget. Raising two teenagers is expensive and demands on the family finances will only become greater when university arrives for their two sons.

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Batteries are recharged as the Escape is driven; you won’t need to plug in your Escape every night. (FORD)

"But as I said," Cam repeats for emphasis, "it was worth it. We think we should do our part."

The Claytons are somewhat early adopters of hybrid technology. I say "somewhat" because Ford introduced the first-generation Escape Hybrid as a 2005 model and Toyota and Honda have been selling hybrids for a decade now.

Nonetheless, gasoline-electric hybrids are hardly mainstream yet, accounting for less than 2 per cent of all new vehicle sales in Canada.

A bigger hybrid push is coming, though, and that should mean prices will come down. In that vein, Honda is strongly suggesting its 2010 Insight hybrid subcompact will sell in the $20,000-range.

But even at that, there is no denying the hybrid premium. The Honda Fit, which shares some of its mechanical underpinnings with the Insight and is about the same size, starts at less than $15,000; the 2009 Prius lists for $27,710, while a Toyota Matrix with more total passenger volume than a Prius starts at less than $16,000.

The Clayton's Escape Hybrid, a four-wheel-drive compact CUV equipped like my recent tester, starts at $36,799, compared to $27,499 for the least-expensive gasoline-only Escape with four-wheel drive. The base Escape Hybrid, front-drive only, goes for $34,399, versus $23,999 for the starter version of the gasoline Escape.

In fairness, all the hybrids listed here are better equipped than the comparable gasoline model models listed here. Nonetheless, going hybrid typically adds $4,000-$6,000 to the price of a new vehicle.

At least hybrids also qualify for government rebates worth up to $3,000 in parts of Canada. That takes some of the sting out of the sticker.

Here's the rub. My tester, with the $2,700 navigation system package, $100 federal excise tax and the $1,300 destination and delivery charge, ended up at $39,399 plus taxes. That's a big financial commitment for significantly lower emissions and a modest fuel economy gain.

Look at the numbers. The Escape Hybrid AWD is rated at 7.0 litres/100 km city and 7.4 on the highway, versus 10.9 city/7.9 highway for the four-cylinder, gas-only Escape AWD.

According to Natural Resources Canada's calculations, you can expect to save about $500 a year on fuel with the hybrid. You'll also reduce the amount of CO2 you blow into the environment by 1,152 kg each year.

It's hard to put a price on CO2 just now, but unless fuel prices jump dramatically, the Claytons will need to drive their Escape Hybrid for seven to 10 years before they have recovered the hybrid premium in reduced fuel costs.

They have put real money behind their environmental commitment, but not everyone can afford to do so.

For those who can, the five-passenger Escape Hybrid is a nice little rig. The hybrid basics include a 2.3-litre, 155-horsepower, four-cylinder engine assisted or temporarily replaced by an electric motor. Together, they are rated at 177 hp.

The electric motor is, indeed, powerful enough to move the hybrid on its own. Batteries are recharged as the Escape is driven; the Claytons will not need to plug in their Escape every night.

The transmission is a continuously variable automatic, which means there are no steps in the gears, but rather a belt-and-pulley system finds optimal engine speeds at all times — which itself delivers a 2- to 5-per-cent fuel economy gain.

Ford updated the whole Escape lineup for 2008, installing more fuel efficient powertrains, retuning the suspension, updating the exterior and completely redoing the interior.

Ah, the interior. Ford has gone Earth-friendly here. The standard seat upholstery is made of recycled materials. Ford recently won a CAA Pyramid award for delivering the first North American application of seating surfaces made entirely of recycled materials.

Ford estimates these recycled seats save about 600,000 gallons of water, 1.8 million pounds of CO2 equivalents and more than seven million kilowatt hours of electricity. (Full disclosure: I was one of the judges who voted to give Ford this award.)

The seats feel comfortable enough, and while the cabin looks nice and all the controls and instruments make sense, there still is a lot of hard plastic in there.

Nice touches include a 110-volt, 150-watt console power outlet for a computer; readings on top of the dashboard for time, date, temperature and direction; cellphone/iPod holders in the centre console; cargo-hold access through the rear window or lift-open tailgate; and rear seats that fold flat, providing you remove headrests. There's a cap-less fuel-filler nozzle, too.

The real story, though, is the hybrid powertrain. The lower emissions and improved fuel economy come from using a small engine boosted by an electric motor when more power is needed. When the rig inches along in traffic, the Escape can also run in electric-mode only.

The interaction between the gas and electric drive systems is pretty close to seamless. Most drivers will need to pay attention or the electric motor's comings and goings will go entirely unnoticed.

Still, this hybrid weighs 1,721 kg and most of the giddy-up comes from the 153-hp, four-cylinder engine. It works pretty hard at times; when pushed for passing or to go up a hill, the four-banger climbs beyond 4,000 rpm and stays there despite the electric boost that makes for combined horsepower of 177.

Green as it is, the Escape Hybrid is also safe, earning full five-star U.S. Government crash test scores for both frontal and side impacts. In addition to the full array of airbags, the hybrid comes standard with electronic stability control to help keep drivers out of trouble in the first place.

The list of standard equipment is long — power windows, stereo, automatic climate control and the like — while the optional navigation system in my tester was easy to use. It takes directions via Ford's Sync system. Sync allows you to literally ask the system for directions, search for hotels or restaurants and so on. Sync is not difficult to use, either.

The Claytons didn't say, but I will suggest that the powertrain could use a bit more off-the-line vitality and the Escape gets noisy at higher speeds. I also found that on cold mornings, the gas engine had to get everything going; the batteries snoozed until warmed up.

But in the long run — and you'll need to keep it for the long run to recover the hybrid premium — the Escape Hybrid delivers on its promise of lower emissions and better fuel economy in a practical package.

UPDATED: Swiss develop cheaper, alternate Hybrid-like technology

Zurich (Switzerland) - Swiss engineers believe they've developed an alternative, competitive technology to electric hybrids such as the popular Toyota Prius which could someday make hybrids more globally affordable. They are referring to something called a pneumatic hybrid.

Pneumatic hybrid technology is being developed by professor Lino Guzzella and his team through the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich (ETH). Guzzella describes the pneumatic concept as being similar to that of electric, but with the engine having a compressed air tank connected instead of a battery unit. "When required, e.g. when starting from rest or after changing gear, compressed air flows into the engine through an electronically controlled valve. If fuel is also injected, the engine responds quickly," he said.

The research engine utilizes air power to supplement the gasoline engine's power. While this makes it a hybrid engine, there is no battery or electric motor and the number of gasoline engine pistons is reduced from four to two.


The ETH reports this compressed air supply allows for engine downsizing, halving the number of cylinders from four to two. This is said to reduce frictional losses by half as well as increase average overall efficiency. Power loss is compensated for by an installed turbocharger, which "exploits the exhaust gas enthalpy as an energy source."

Initial tests in the European Test Cycle reportedly show the engine's average efficiency increases from 18 to 24 percent, resulting in a fuel savings of one-third. It is said that, although the fuel savings achieved by the pneumatic hybrid are not as large as that of an electric hybrid, it offers a better price-performance ratio - since it does not require expensive batteries which decrease in efficiency over time.

ETH reports that their new engine concept has aroused the interest of several major motor companies and automotive suppliers, who have obtained information from on-site visits.

UPDATED: Swiss develop cheaper, alternate Hybrid-like technology

Zurich (Switzerland) - Swiss engineers believe they've developed an alternative, competitive technology to electric hybrids such as the popular Toyota Prius which could someday make hybrids more globally affordable. They are referring to something called a pneumatic hybrid.

Pneumatic hybrid technology is being developed by professor Lino Guzzella and his team through the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich (ETH). Guzzella describes the pneumatic concept as being similar to that of electric, but with the engine having a compressed air tank connected instead of a battery unit. "When required, e.g. when starting from rest or after changing gear, compressed air flows into the engine through an electronically controlled valve. If fuel is also injected, the engine responds quickly," he said.

The research engine utilizes air power to supplement the gasoline engine's power. While this makes it a hybrid engine, there is no battery or electric motor and the number of gasoline engine pistons is reduced from four to two.


The ETH reports this compressed air supply allows for engine downsizing, halving the number of cylinders from four to two. This is said to reduce frictional losses by half as well as increase average overall efficiency. Power loss is compensated for by an installed turbocharger, which "exploits the exhaust gas enthalpy as an energy source."

Initial tests in the European Test Cycle reportedly show the engine's average efficiency increases from 18 to 24 percent, resulting in a fuel savings of one-third. It is said that, although the fuel savings achieved by the pneumatic hybrid are not as large as that of an electric hybrid, it offers a better price-performance ratio - since it does not require expensive batteries which decrease in efficiency over time.

ETH reports that their new engine concept has aroused the interest of several major motor companies and automotive suppliers, who have obtained information from on-site visits.

Flint Journal Editorial: A reason to hope - North American International Auto Show offers future view, Genesee County's role

Times may be dire, but a few glimmers of hope deserve to be noted, if for no other reason than that dwelling on the negative will do nothing to improve our community's situation.

Trying to build on the positive, however, just might.

With that in mind, take a peek inside the 2009 North American International Auto Show in Detroit. The engines for two of the vehicles General Motors is banking on to survive and win back market share will be manufactured in Flint.

They are the backup 1.4-liter engine for the battery-operated Chevy Volt and the 1.4-liter turbocharged engine for the Chevy Cruze. The 1.4-liter turbo engine is essential for the company to meet higher fuel-efficiency standards, industry experts contend.

Both vehicles represent the future for GM. As such, the production of these engines locally will play a part in our area's future as well.

Fuel prices may have dropped in recent weeks, but the likelihood of them staying low is slim. Already, they are inching back up. Vehicles that are fuel-efficient, as well as those that are environmentally friendly, will be in demand.

Which brings us to another reason for optimism. State lawmakers recently passed a bill that Gov. Jennifer Granholm says will help position Michigan as "the battery capital of the world."

At present, Asia leads in developing battery technology. GM has already announced that it will import lithium-ion cells for the Volt and other battery-powered vehicles from a South Korean company.

The new legislation offers tax incentives for GM and others to buy their lithium-ion cells in Michigan, which should in turn ensure the state a leg up on production of the cells in the future.

In tough times, it's sometimes hard to look ahead with optimism. But these developments, with their long-term ramifications, hint at a brighter future.

The auto show continues through Saturday at Cobo Center in Detroit. On a related note, Granholm also recently signed legislation to allow updates to Cobo, as well as the addition of 166,000 square feet -- changes that should help guarantee the center remains the home of the auto show, which pumps half a billion dollars into that area's economy, for years to come.

Finally, the ‘Lexus Prius’ Is Coming

Since 2000, Toyota has offered only one hybrid-electric car designed from the wheels up to be a hybrid: the Toyota Prius. But late this summer, Lexus will get its own dedicated hybrid, the HS250h.

Toyota introduced the HS250h on Sunday at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, calling it the “world’s first dedicated hybrid vehicle.” Or, as some car buffs have named it, “the Lexus Prius.”

Mark Templin, the general manager of Lexus, insists that his vehicle is not simply tarted up Prius. “If all you care about is m.p.g., go buy a Prius,” Mr. Templin said in an interview.

What Lexus customers want in their hybrid is the “Lexus experience,” said James Lentz, the president of Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A. He and Mr. Templin defined that as a quiet car, filled with the latest technology and creature comforts like heated seats. The company will also offer owners free loaner cars, a free car wash and other extras at Lexus dealerships.

Mr. Lentz said Toyota aims to sell about 30,000 HS models a year. The HS is the fourth model with a hybrid engine to be sold by Lexus, but the first that was conceived purely as a hybrid. At Lexus, it will fit into the lineup between the IS, a small performance sedan aimed at younger buyers, and the ES, which is its bread-and-butter luxury car and one of the two original Lexus models.

The HS will be equipped with a 2.4-liter, 4-cylinder engine — the first to be offered at Lexus — which generates 187 horsepower. The model name, by the way, stands for “hybrid sedan” with the little “h” on the end because every Lexus hybrid has a little “h” at the end, Mr. Templin said. (He agreed that it didn’t make a whole lot of sense.)

Although it does not share a body style with any other Toyota model, Mr. Templin said it has some underpinnings from the Toyota Avensis, a car sold in Europe. Matt Hardigree on Jalopnik.com called it a “Prius for the country club set.”

Toyota didn’t estimate the HS’s fuel efficiency, but Mr. Templin said it will get better miles per gallon in city driving than the Smart car, which is a fraction of the size of the HS. That’s in the neighborhood of 33 m.p.g. Its price probably also will be in the $30,000-plus range, although Toyota isn’t saying yet what it will cost.

The need for a dedicated Lexus hybrid became apparent over the past few years, when sales of the Prius began to climb as gasoline prices set new records.

Prius customers included many Lexus owners (including me) who were eager for better gas mileage, but weren’t satisfied with the fuel economy ratings on vehicles like the 400h, the hybrid-electric version of the Lexus RX. “Had a Lexus hybrid existed, they would have bought a Lexus instead,” Mr. Lentz said.

Mr. Lentz said that in the past, Toyota stressed the performance of its Lexus hybrid models — almost to a fault. In 2006, it claimed the Lexus LS 600 hL, an ultra-luxury hybrid sedan, would take the brand “where it had never been.”

That stratosphere apparently is too high for many potential hybrid customers, a reason why Lexus finally is adding a 4-cylinder engine to its offerings. (Car buffs may recall that the original Lexus LS featured a V-8 engine that Toyota then claimed was equal to the engines developed by German manufacturers.)

Still, it may be a challenge for Toyota to lure some Prius owners back. Mr. Lentz said 70 percent of them buy another Prius, the highest owner loyalty rate at Toyota and in the car business.