Remember a few years back, when all of the sudden the market was flooded with hybrids? I’m not talking about the Prius or the Insight, genuine hybrid cars, but rather the “half-hybrids” cranked out by GM and Chrysler prior to their bankruptcy proceedings. There was the Saturn Vue Green Line, Cadillac Escalade Hybrid, the Chrysler Aspen Hybrid, even the Chevy Silverado Hybrid. Rather than running on electric engines at low speeds, some of these systems (like those in the Vue) used stop-start technology to save fuel when at a stop sign. Kinda half-hearted if you ask me.
After canceling all their hybrids, GM is set to return with their “mild-hybrid” system sometime next year. So will it meet with more success than the first time around?
With the Volt on its way, GM knows it has to offer more hybrid options. With the Volt clocking in at $41,000 ($33,500 after federal tax rebates) it is simply out of reach for many Americans desiring a fuel efficient full-size car. The mild-hybrid system is cheap (though GM won’t put a price on it yet) and relatively simple. When your car stops moving, the engine shuts off. Batteries get it going again when you need to drive, and provide an acceleration boost when you need it.
GM hasn’t specified what cars will get this mild-hybrid system, though apparently one of the models will be a Chinese-built Buick LaCrosse. Other likely candidates include the Chevy Malibu, and perhaps even a Cadillac. Personally, I’d like to see some of GM’s bigger trucks get a mild-hybrid system. I am tired of walking past empty trucks idling in parking lots with the A/C going full blast. More likely though it will end up on cars like the new Chevy Cruze, which can already get 40 mpg. At least it is something (and should be more affordable than the Volt).
Source: Automotive News | Image: GM
Chris DeMorro is a car enthusiast, blogger, and all-around crazy man who is as passionate about hybrids as he is about Hemis. You can follow his constant misadventures at Three Months In A Mustang.
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I’ve often thought the stop-start technology shouldn’t really be thought of as “hybrid” technology, but just as another fuel economy and/or emissions reduction feature. Kind of like overdrive-geared transmissions, or electronic fuel-injection were decades ago when they came out.
That should just be on every car and I’m betting eventually it will be. Imagine the emissions/energy savings during a traffic jam if all the cars turned themselves off when they stopped and then seamlessly restarted when needed. Now multiply that by thousands of traffic jams every day all over the world.
I’ve often thought the stop-start technology shouldn’t really be thought of as “hybrid” technology, but just as another fuel economy and/or emissions reduction feature. Kind of like overdrive-geared transmissions, or electronic fuel-injection were decades ago when they came out.
That should just be on every car and I’m betting eventually it will be. Imagine the emissions/energy savings during a traffic jam if all the cars turned themselves off when they stopped and then seamlessly restarted when needed. Now multiply that by thousands of traffic jams every day all over the world.
I’ll try to stay open-minded, but my impression of the whole weak-hybrid or mild-hybrid design platform is that it’s an awful lot of expense, weight, and complication to add to a vehicle for remarkably little increase in fuel efficiency.
I’ll try to stay open-minded, but my impression of the whole weak-hybrid or mild-hybrid design platform is that it’s an awful lot of expense, weight, and complication to add to a vehicle for remarkably little increase in fuel efficiency.
How would mild hybrid designs solve the problem of the interstate trucker in Arizona, who leaves that the engine has to run to power an A/C compressor?
Also, did you know that some of the people in those trucks are living in them? The engine is running as an all-around power source, isn’t it?
How would mild hybrid designs solve the problem of the interstate trucker in Arizona, who leaves that the engine has to run to power an A/C compressor?
Also, did you know that some of the people in those trucks are living in them? The engine is running as an all-around power source, isn’t it?
I think this artcle is pretty erroneous, and that the author needs to go back and do some research.
Pre-bankruptcy GM had two hybrid lines. One was the belt-driven engine restarter that basically turned the engine off at stop lights. This gives noticeable savings at small cost. The first Saturn “hybrids” used this. But this was NOT the only hybrid that GM made, nor was it the more common one.
There was another line, introduced in 2007 or 2008, used in the Escalade and some others (including later Saturns), that was a full parallel hybrid, giving a 50% mileage boost in stop-and-go (12MPG becomes 18MPG). This is pretty typical for full hybrids when compared to gas-only versions of a vehicle. People disliked it not because it wasn’t a hybrid, but because it still resulted in a gas hog.
In any event, the mild hybrid is cheap and boosts mileage by several MPG in city driving (it does utterly nothing on the highway, but neither does any other hybrid). Rather than laugh at it, one should consider what we might gain if it was mandatory minimum equipment.
I think this artcle is pretty erroneous, and that the author needs to go back and do some research.
Pre-bankruptcy GM had two hybrid lines. One was the belt-driven engine restarter that basically turned the engine off at stop lights. This gives noticeable savings at small cost. The first Saturn “hybrids” used this. But this was NOT the only hybrid that GM made, nor was it the more common one.
There was another line, introduced in 2007 or 2008, used in the Escalade and some others (including later Saturns), that was a full parallel hybrid, giving a 50% mileage boost in stop-and-go (12MPG becomes 18MPG). This is pretty typical for full hybrids when compared to gas-only versions of a vehicle. People disliked it not because it wasn’t a hybrid, but because it still resulted in a gas hog.
In any event, the mild hybrid is cheap and boosts mileage by several MPG in city driving (it does utterly nothing on the highway, but neither does any other hybrid). Rather than laugh at it, one should consider what we might gain if it was mandatory minimum equipment.
“electric engines”? No such thing.
I think you mean motors.
“electric engines”? No such thing.
I think you mean motors.
A mild hybrid car/truck does two things:
(1) electric boost gives a smaller engine for given acceleration, for higher mileage all the time, and
(2) Electric boost permits running the engine at its most economic setting all the time, with excess power being tapped to charge the battery, and insufficent power being boosted by the battery. Using DC motors permits using the same hardware to charge the battery as you use to accelerate.
Bonus: For trucks, accessories would use DC generators, DC compressors, and a Rectifier/transformer to get AC as needed for household services (ie the AC alarm clock, microwave)
A mild hybrid car/truck does two things:
(1) electric boost gives a smaller engine for given acceleration, for higher mileage all the time, and
(2) Electric boost permits running the engine at its most economic setting all the time, with excess power being tapped to charge the battery, and insufficent power being boosted by the battery. Using DC motors permits using the same hardware to charge the battery as you use to accelerate.
Bonus: For trucks, accessories would use DC generators, DC compressors, and a Rectifier/transformer to get AC as needed for household services (ie the AC alarm clock, microwave)