Americans "need" big trucks, says Sen. Hatch, and the Raser Hummer EV is just right
by Jeremy Korzeniewski on May 22nd 2009 at 3:45PM 
Raser Technolgies plug-in HUMMER H3 - Click above for a high-res gallery
Worried that the Obama Administration's latest CAFE requirements will put the hurt to big trucks? Fret not, Senator Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) has got your back. At an event held in the nation's capital, Hatch got the chance to pilot the extended-range electric HUMMER H3 from Raser Technologies that was debuted at the SAE World Congress earlier this year.
According to Hatch (via Green Car Advisor), "[This electric H3] is specifically designed for America's best-selling vehicle class -- SUVs and trucks," and he further states that efforts to help the U.S. auto industry recover "must address our real need for larger vehicles."
Ignoring the comment about SUVs and trucks being the most popular class of vehicles, which isn't entirely accurate, we agree with Hatch's assessment that there are some Americans that really do need these large vehicles, though that number is likely extremely small.
That said, Raser's HUMMER EV is an impressive piece of engineering. Using a 2.0-liter GM-supplied turbocharged and direct injected four-cylinder engine driving a 100 kW generator, this particular H3 can travel 40 miles at a time without using a single drop of gas and another 400 miles after the gas tank runs dry. For what it's worth, if driven 60 miles per day – 40 miles on the battery plus 20 miles with the range-extender humming away – Raser estimates its H3 will return 100 mpg.
Still, the simple truth is that the same drivetrain combination in a more efficient vehicle platform will return even better figures, or, alternatively, the same figures with a smaller battery pack. In fact, assuming the Fisker Karma and Chevy Volt hit the market as planned, that's exactly what will happen. Click past the break for a video of Raser's H3 in action.
[Source: Green Car Advisor]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
Throwback 3:53PM (5/22/2009)
If you go by sales, I believe light trucks are outselling cars again this year. Whether or not we "need" SUVs is another story
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augustus 4:12PM (5/22/2009)
Well Detroit has huge legacy costs due to UAW contracts so it is good when they can make $5k profit on selling someone a SUV compared to a ~1k profit selling them a small car. So where you can debate which Americans need a SUV, you can't debate if the UAW needs them- it desperately does because they generate revenue.
Kumar 8:18AM (5/23/2009)
Right right, we all know the profit margin is greater on SUVs, but the last year has revealed to everyone that Detroit didn't do anything constructive with the fat profits. If the goal was to reduce pension liability, they failed to make a dent during the heyday years of SUV sales.
paulwesterberg 3:56PM (5/22/2009)
Does anybody proofread these posts to make sure they make sense?
Using a 2.0-liter GM-supplied turbocharged and direct injected four-cylinder engine driving a 100 kW generator, this particular H3 can travel 40 miles at a time without using a single drop of gas and another 400 miles after the gas tank runs dry.
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optntrader 4:07PM (5/22/2009)
So what I want to know is this: How many miles per gallon on a full tank and charge?
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augustus 4:09PM (5/22/2009)
I believe it depends on how far you drive, just like the Volt. Either way it is better than a normal hummer.
On a side note the EPA MPG stats are becoming useless and unusable. I'd prefer a table of MPG per MPH and max miles driven before the engine is used. This way intelligent consumers could look at their commute and figure out what they will get. Unfortunately we base our CAFE standards on the MPG numbers :(
Evan 8:50AM (5/25/2009)
You can bet the car companies will not only continue to advertise useless EPS MPG numbers, but will tune their products to produce the best possible stats even at the expense of real-world performance! Like:
- Television specs advertise response time, but never color gamut. Response times exceeded human perception years ago, but differences in color gamut between models remains very visible.
- Cameras extol mega-pixels, but never any real information about the lens. The difference between 8 and 10 megapixels on a point-and-shoot camera means nothing when the lens can only resolve 2~3 megapixels.
Now we can add to that cars that can advertise an average MPG under a specific set of conditions, but real performance could be a 1/4 of the advertised number on long trips where the battery is empty for most of the journey.
augustus 4:07PM (5/22/2009)
Counting down to when The Faithful tell us we only need a Prius.
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GoodCheer 4:30PM (5/22/2009)
You mean like this guy? Man does he sound cynical....
"Well Detroit has huge legacy costs due to UAW contracts so it is good when they can make $5k profit on selling someone a SUV compared to a ~1k profit selling them a small car. So where you can debate which Americans need a SUV, you can't debate if the UAW needs them- it desperately does because they generate revenue."
I kid, I kid....
GoodCheer 4:32PM (5/22/2009)
You mean like this guy? Man does he sound cynical:
"Well Detroit has huge legacy costs due to UAW contracts so it is good when they can make $5k profit on selling someone a SUV compared to a ~1k profit selling them a small car. So where you can debate which Americans need a SUV, you can't debate if the UAW needs them- it desperately does because they generate revenue."
I kid, I kid....
augustus 5:03PM (5/22/2009)
As much as I wish the (American) Big 3 could be profitable selling small cars, they can't so they won't. There isn't enough profit there for them to sustain themselves in light of their legacy costs. For GM and Chrysler it is no big deal as the government will just keep writing them checks.
paulwesterberg 6:04PM (5/22/2009)
People who drive hummers wont pay extra to save fuel or to save the planet.
This car has no market.
Chris M 11:25PM (5/22/2009)
Westerberg, you may be right about the market for the "E Hummer", but it isn't just that. The same system will also work in small trucks, too, and the market for a plug-in hybrid pickup will be huge - especially since it comes with a big battery and powerful generator that contractors can use for onsite power needs. Businesses tend to be more pragmatic than the typical Hummer owner, they'd be willing to pay extra for a good PHEV truck if the benefits outweighed the additional costs.
Noz 4:19PM (5/22/2009)
This egotistical attitude Americans have over everyone else about "needing" anything is precisely why so many people despise this culture.
Once that stupid attitude is dropped, perhaps things will be a little more pleasant for Americans in general.
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Throwback 4:30PM (5/22/2009)
I don't know any culture that is universally loved. If some some people despise us, so be it that is their choice. It doesn't bother me nor does it seem to bother the thousands of people who come here to stay every year. Both legally and illegally.
augustus 5:01PM (5/22/2009)
Noz you bring up excellent points. While we are at it we NEED the Chinese, Indians, Vietnamese and anyone else thinking of prosperity to go back to their agrarian ways so that they don't consume energy and destroy the planet. Try pushing those needs off on people and see how they like you.
Snoopy 6:37PM (5/22/2009)
Hey Noz,
While I don't disagree with you about the people who "need" large vehicles, some people actually do need – note the lack of quotes – larger vehicles than others.
People with large families and people who need a lot of space in their vehicle on a regular basis, for work or other reasons, actually need and make use of larger vehicles. I'm sure you already knew that. But the fact that you don't make mention of them is a bit unfair.
JDred 8:24PM (5/22/2009)
If one thing is a constant here, it's Noz and his self-loathing. I guess people like him can't handle the fact that we lead, others follow. I could give a crap if others in the world hate us. It isn't because they're superior, it's because they're jealous of what we have.
If we were so hated Noz, people throughout the world wouldn't be busting down the door to get in!
Chris M 11:30PM (5/22/2009)
Noz, your arrogant and condescending attitude to the nation and people who pay your wages is noted. Hmm, I'm wondering - do you get along with anybody at work, or do you just look down your nose at everybody here?
Noz 2:06AM (5/23/2009)
SNOOPY:
I agree with you...some people do need them and that's fine. But in general, as a culture, Americans are second to none in trying to hype up their egos with the toys they feel they have some sort of God given right to.