360 DEGREES Weblog

When it comes to the world of hybrid vehicles, we can safely assume that Toyota is clearly the market leader with their Prius. The Prius does seem to be the perfect choice for a family car that also helps you save in the long run (not only for your kids’ college fund, but the environment as well) since it boasts of a hybrid engine. Of course, if you were to compare it to a true blue electric car, then the electric car needs no gas at all, but driving range might be a problem once you go beyond 100 miles. Hyundai Motor, on the other hand, is a relatively new name to the hybrid scene as the South Korean automotive giant has yet to throw its hat into the US ring – but they have just announced that this situation will change in 2013, where the company will be rolling out a plug-in hybrid in an attempt to usurp the Prius when 2013 turns around.

According to an official from Hyundai Motor, “We plan to launch a plug-in hybrid model which is in the same segment as Prius in 2013.” Yes, please release us from the ugly Prius and have some fluid Hyundai design surprise us!!

Hyundai unveiled its new mid-size hydrogen powered fuel cell electric vehicle (FCEV) concept this week at the 2011 Seoul Motor Show. Powered by a 90 kW (120 hp) electric motor that delivers fuel economy of 34.9 km/L (82.1 mpg), the Blue2 (pronounced “Blue square”) is intended as a “blue” print for the automaker’s future sedans.

Hyundai Motor is currently developing their very own plug-in hybrid vehicle with a 2013 launch date being targeted, intending to bring this eco-friendly four-wheeler to both folks at home as well as others living abroad. So far, Hyundai has paraded a prototype Sonata plug-in hybrid from its plant, where said prototype took a good three years and more to build, only to be ready to face some real life world testing this time around. Basically, full electric vehicles still have some distance to go before they can be commercialized for the masses simply because of the lack of long distance support as well as scarce charging facilities. This is why Hyundai went ahead with their plug-in hybrid electric vehicle first before taking the next big step forward.

The Fisker Karma’s official production date is set for March 21st. Yeah. That’s right. Fisker now claims that the luxury plug-in hybrid will roll off assembly lines in Finland near the tail end of March, with deliveries set to commence in April. So we’re told.

The oft-delayed Karma missed its initial November 2009 launch, failed to hit the market in time for its September 2010 debut and was delayed again, slipping past its February 2011 production date. However, the buzz on the interwebs seems to indicate that Fisker may actually deliver on its promise this time around.

Fisker claims 3,000 eager buyers have forked over $5,000 to reserve the $95,900 Karma and still insists that it aims to sell 15,000 of them a year, but not in 2011. The Karma’s delayed launched has forced Fisker to revise 2011 production numbers. The company now says that 1,500 Karmas will come charging off the assembly lines per month beginning in October. We’re ready.

A new peanut-shaped NutMobile is the latest in the line of eco-friendly rides. Mr. Peanuts’ new vehicle boasts of being environmentally friendly from its structure to fuel, and to usage of sustainable sources of energy to power lights and radio.

Starting this March, the new marketing campaign by Planters will have the peanut-shaped vehicle take a tour across the US not only for promotional purposes but also for promoting the Planters’ Groves program by transforming waste land into peanut-shape play area.

The NutMobile is a modified version of an Isuzu NPR box truck that is powered by turbo-diesel of 5.2L capacity that can run on biodiesel made out of peanut oil. The fiber glass body of the Nut Mobile is crafted out of non-toxic epoxy, organic compounds and vinyl.

The doorframes, headlamps and glass are taken from old vehicles – hence, recycled. Wind turbine and solar panels are attached onto the vehicle producing energy for powering the LED lights and radio. The wooden flooring inside is also made out of recycled wood from an 18th century barn.

Prius this ain’t. Take a gander at Porsche’s 918 RSR, which just rolled onto the company’s stage at the 2011 North American International Auto Show. It has a 563hp traditional gasoline engine mounted amidships, with a pair of electric motors powering the front wheels that bring the total power up to a whopping 767. The electric motors are not powered by a set of batteries, as in a traditional hybrid, rather they take their power from an inertial flywheel mounted where the passenger seat would be on a road car and spinning at up to 36,000rpm. That’s spun up by momentum when the car brakes and, when the driver hits a button, that momentum is converted to give an acceleratory boost.

That’s the same setup as the 911 GT3 RSR Hybrid, which ran reasonably successfully last year. Its styling is obviously an extension of the 918 Spyder, with a number of cues taken from the incredibly successful Porsche 917 racer of the early ’70s (dig the endplates that look like the 917′s iconic fins). At this point Porsche hasn’t indicated when this car will make its debut on the track, nor in which classes it will run, but one thing’s for clear: this isn’t for the road.

We’re told this Model S is the first proper prototype the company produced, hand built and worth a couple million but fully drivable and testable — though still very much a prototype. Early or final it’s gorgeous, looking a bit like an Aston, a little like a Jag XK (which, admittedly, looks a little like an Aston), a little like the Fisker, but honestly it just looks like a Tesla.

The path to availability for cars of the future is one wrought with roadblocks, potholes, and indeed IEDs — increasingly expensive developments. This was most recently seen with Fisker’s Karma getting a price boost up to $95,900, a hefty jump over initial $80,000 estimates, but Tesla is taking this chance to give new reassurances that its Model S sedan’s price of $57,000 is comfortable. That’s largely thanks to smaller Li-Ion batteries, which are similar to those used in laptops and, according to Musk, will be swappable as a single unit. This type of batteries are much less expensive to produce than the large, monolithic packs used in the Nissan Leaf or Chevy Volt, about $200 per kWH vs. $750 for Nissan’s. That’s cheap enough for Tesla to assure that it can still make a profit on the Model S, despite its cost being set at roughly half that of the Roadster. Will that still be the case when it hits production in 2012? We can’t wait to find out.

While plug-in electric vehicles (EVs) like the Nissan LEAF and Chevy Volt are currently making a play for eco-conscious consumers’ attention, some automobile manufacturers believe hydrogen fuel cell vehicles are the way of the future as they can be filled-up in minutes as opposed to the hours it takes to recharge EVs. One of the companies set on bringing Fuel Cell Electric Vehicles to showrooms is Hyundai, which has just completed development of its  ix35 (Tucson) Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle (FCEV). Hyundai will begin testing the vehicle next year, with the goal of starting mass production in 2015.

The world’s most watched sporting series, Formula One, is set to announce a new greener formula later this week, which will take effect in 2013. The rule changes are expected to see the introduction of 1.6 liter turbo engines with more powerful energy recovery systems, reduced maximum rpm (from 18,000 rpm to 10,000 rpm) and fuel (flow and capacity) restrictions, and can be expected to further the sport’s objective of encouraging R&D relevant to road cars. While the targeted 30% initial improvement in gas mileage will only improve the current obscenely wasteful 3 mpg to 4 mpg (approx 70 liters/100 km) in 2013, it will enroll the brightest automotive technicians on the planet in a quest for greater efficiency from our automobiles and that’s a wonderful outcome.

No official announcements have yet been made, but indications leaking from the teams indicate that the new formula allows for a reduction of engine capacity from the existing naturally-aspirated 2400cc to twin turbocharged 1600cc four-cylinder engines with 3 bar boost and 10,000 rpm limit (currently 18,000), targeting a power output of between 500 and 550 bhp. The output from the Kinetic Energy Recovery System (KERS) is expected to be increased to 112kw (150 HP) for a total of 650 to 700 bhp.

The energy storage (battery, super capacitor or flywheel) capacity for the KERS is expected to be set at 2200 kJ, which will mean roughly 150 bhp extra for 24 seconds a lap.