Lincoln MKZ Hybrid
By Larry E. Hall
How does 41 city mpg/36 highway sound for a midsize luxury sedan that provides a extended checklist of interior bells and whistles? If that grabbed your consideration, then test drive the 2012 Lincoln MKZ Hybrid. Or, if you can wait until late fall, an all-new 2013 model ups the fuel economy numbers to an expected 47 city/44 highway.
But let’s get back to the 2012 model, a automobile that gets far better fuel financial system than anything else in its class.
Final year, Ford officials had been quoted as saying it would like as a lot as 25 percent of its global fleet to be powered by motors and batteries by 2020. The business expects 75 % of individuals autos to be standard hybrids – and the rest built up of pure electrical automobiles or plug-in hybrids.
The 2012 Lincoln MKZ Hybrid is a great example of how Ford is scaling up to attain its target—by spreading its greatest electric-drive technology across frequent platforms. Instead of dreaming up a brand new purpose-constructed fuel-electric car for its Lincoln luxury nameplate, Ford migrated the technological innovation from its award-winning Ford Fusion Hybrid to the MKZ.
Following in Tracks of Ford Fusion Hybrid
Toyota unveils Hybrid racer for Le Mans
Toyota Racing is creating very good use of its prolonged-phrase investment in hybrid engineering with the advancement of two TS03 HYBRID vehicles for competition in this year’s FIA Globe Endurance Championship.
So far, Toyota has sold much more than 3.five million hybrid vehicles globally, and is the first automobile producer to confirm entry into the championship race series employing a hybrid powertrain.
The TS030 HYBRID is a successor to the TS010 and TS020 cars of the 1990’s, which gained podium spots at Le Mans. The latest Toyota Sport vehicles will also run at Le Mans, as well as in the Six Hours of Spa-Francorchamps.
The bespoke THS-R (Toyota Hybrid Method – Racing) engine is an all-new 3.four-litre V-eight usually aspirated petrol unit with a hybrid technique and capacitor storage by Nisshinbo.
Laws restrict braking recovery to a maximum of 500kj between braking locations, and deployment of that energy is restricted to two wheels only.
Infiniti M35h beats Porsche Panamera in world record hybrid sprint
The 2012 Infiniti M35h is officially the fastest accelerating full hybrid in the planet.
The new Japanese luxury sports hybrid claimed the title by pipping the Porsche Panamera S Hybrid in a sprint from -100mph (-161km/h). The Infiniti M35h hit 100mph in 11.54 seconds and covered the quarter mile (402 metres) in 13.41 seconds. The Panamera’s times have been not exposed.
Infiniti has obviously learnt a handful of tricks from parent company Nissan, which has not been shy in producing comparisons amongst its GT-R supercar and the Porsche 911 in the past.
The Infiniti M35h combines a naturally aspirated 268kW/350Nm 3.5-litre V6 petrol engine with a 50kW/270kW electrical motor. Regardless of all the energy, the Infiniti M hybrid makes use of just eight.one litres per 100km on the US combined cycle.
The Porsche Panamera S Hybrid’s three.-litre six-cylinder engine creates 245kW and 440Nm and its electric motor helps make 34kW and 300Nm – combining for a total energy output of 279kW and 580Nm of torque.
Infiniti will relaunch in Australia in the 3rd quarter of 2012 with 4 models: the FX crossover, G37 convertible and coupe, and the M luxury overall performance sedan. At this stage, Infiniti Vehicles Australia has not confirmed the make-up of its M variety. Overseas, the line-up contains the M35h, M25, M30d (diesel), M37, and M56.
VW E-Bugster Concept Could be Built, if You Want It
VW had two big debuts at the this month’s 2012 Detroit Auto Show, the 2013 Jetta Hybrid and the E-Bugster concept. While the Jetta Hybrid is already slated to be introduced this fall, there is a chance that the E-Bugster concept could also be produced as the third variant of the Beetle, after the upcoming Beetle convertible.
Autocar recently spoke to the E-Bugster’s designer, Mark Lichter who stated “This is a serious proposal for a speedster Beetle and I am sure it will come for production. We just need to find the business case.”
Lichter found inspiration for the concept from his own 964 Porsche 911 Speedster. He also stated, “A Beetle Speedster is the perfect car for the US.”
The E-Bugster concept looks almost identical to the production Beetle, but with three inches chopped off the roof and slightly tweaked front and rear fascias. The concept was powered by a 114 horsepower electric motor and a lithium-ion battery pack.
Honda Accord Plug-In Hybrid Prototype Drive: A Highway Hybrid?
While in Japan for the 2011 Tokyo Motor Show, we visited Honda’s Twin Ring Motegi racing facility to see some of the company’s future products. Among them was a plug-in hybrid system, a prototype of which was installed in a current-generation Accord. While the car we drove is just a development mule, we can confidently say that a hybrid like this one will be part of the lineup when the next-generation Accord debuts for the 2013 model year.
Honda’s new plug-in system is totally different from the single-motor IMA drivetrain found in the Insight, CR-Z, and Civic hybrids. The main powertrain components are a 2.0-liter Atkinson-cycle inline-four and two electric motors—one to charge the battery pack and one to spin the wheels. The gas engine puts out 134 hp and 111 lb-ft of torque; the drive motor is good for 161 hp, and the generator is rated at 100 kW.
We first saw this system previewed at the 2010 L.A. auto show, and the specifications are largely unchanged. EV mode works up to 62 mph for 10 to 15 miles. The gasoline motor can spin the drive wheels directly, bypassing the electric motor and returning highway fuel economy closer to that of conventional cars, which typically fare better than hybrids at high speeds. How this works is the curious part. My exchange at a powertrain display stand with a Honda engineer who was barely conversant in English:
“So how does the transmission work?”
“No, no transmission.”
Toyota Le Mans Hybrid Race Car Revealed
Auto News, Motorsports — By Chris on January 21, 2012 at 9:11 am — No Feedback
Back in October it was announced Toyota would return to the world’s most popular endurance race ‒ the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Now the initial photos of Toyota’s Le Mans hybrid race car has been revealed.
The new Toyota new LMP1 car will be constructed by Toyota Motorsport in Cologne, Germany. The engine is formulated and produced by the Toyota Motor Corporation in Japan. The Japanese automaker will enter les 24 Heures du Mans with the skilled drivers Alexander Wurz, Nicolas Lapierre en Kazuki Nakajima, who tested the car Toyota hybrid on the Paul Ricard circuit in southern France.
The final time Toyota entered Le Mans was in 1999 with the spectacular looking GT-1. The greatest result was a second location overall, following a tire failure in the final hour of the race.
Report: Hyundai to introduce lifetime warranty for 2012 Sonata Hybrid batteries, confirms 10-speed automatic
The concern evolving about hybrid cars has constantly been the existence and durability of their battery packs, which stemmed from the reality that batteries inevitably die out at some point. And regardless of Toyota’s Prius and Ford’s Escape proof that hybrid batteries can stand the test of lengthy-term use and time, Hyundai even now insists on delivering prospective purchasers some piece of thoughts by offering a lifetime warranty for 2012 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid batteries.
“We can afford the program simply because the failure rate is so very low,” stated Hyundai’s CEO, John Krafcik. And in the identical sentence, Krafcik also claimed that Hyundai has tested the Sonata Hybrid’s drivetrain for a lot more than 300,000 miles with no obvious signs of degradation.
Krafcik didn’t clarify the specifics of the warranty, but in the very same interview, his crew apparently confirmed that Hyundai is functioning to up the ante with transmissions by introducing, not a nine-speed cog swapper, but ten…TEN gears.
“We confirmed that it (the 10-speed) is a ‘go project’ for growth,” stated an undisclosed Hyundai representative.
Other than the confirmation, no other details had been offered.
