SeriesHybrid

When we last heard from Ian Wright, he was working on a battery-powered version of the Ariel Atom known as the Wrightspeed X1. The X1 has been used as a development platform for batteries, motors and electronics, which is what ...

As we suspected recently when we heard that Proton would be showing a hybrid concept car next week at the Geneva Motor Show, the propulsion system has been developed by Lotus. Malaysian automaker Proton owns the British engineering consultancy and sports car builder. While we might have ...

The Suzuki Swift is a competent subcompact that the Japanese marque sells both in Japan and Europe. In the latter, the little hatchback is available with a solid 1.3-liter diesel dubbed DDIS. To make things even cleaner, ...

Before sitting down to write this story, I asked a professional bus driver about the average fuel consumption for such a vehicle. As it turns out, a standard Agora bus on the roads of any European city burns about 60 liters of fuel per 100 kilometers, which equates to about 4 mpg. So the claim from ...

Getting better efficiency out of a bus than a Smart fortwo is no easy task. However that's what the latest startup to emerge out of Silicon Valley is claiming. Adura Systems has announced that its new MESA powertrain architecture using lots of claims and buzzwords but little in the way of actual ...

Ever since the debut of the Chevrolet Volt concept in January 2007, the arguments have come fast and furious abut whether it is a hybrid or an electric vehicle. Technically, its actually both. There are those who insist on calling the Volt and similar vehicles from Chrysler, series or serial ...

Mercedes-Benz has begun demonstrating its new Citaro G BlueTec hybrid bus with what is claimed to be the world's largest lithium ion battery pack application. The new Citaro G is an 18-meter articulated bus with a series hybrid drive system. A smaller 4.8-liter diesel engine replaces the typical ...

Click above for more shots of the Erockit electric bikeThe debate over serial and parallel hybrid rages on, with Toyota and Honda placing their bets on the parallel model where both the gasoline engine and electric motor power the wheels directly. General Motors has placed a huge bet on the serial ...

If there is any type of vehicle that would seem ideally suited to a hybrid drive application, it is a garbage truck (right, Volvo?). With the continuous stop and go driving involved with collecting the detritus of modern civilization there is plenty of opportunity for regenerative braking and ...

This week at the SAE World Congress in Detroit, Raser Technologies will be displaying their new plug-in series hybrid powertrain designed for application in full size trucks and SUVs. Raser is working with FEV, who are doing systems integration work on the design. The Raser configuration uses an AC ...