This isn't a comparison test, not really. The 2012 Fisker Karma and 2012 Chevrolet Volt are not really the same kind of car.
Except, for the time being, at least, they're the only two plug-in hybrids on the market. And both have been rated by the EPA at levels somewhat below what their manufacturers were promising/hoping before the window stickers were printed.
Last week I piloted a 2012 Fisker Karma around the Orange County city fuel economy loop we invented awhile back to compare traditional hybrids. Once I saw those results I figured I had better take our 2011 Chevrolet Volt around the same course for a bit of perspective. A couple of days later I did just that.
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Categories: Chevrolet,Electric Vehicles,Fisker,Green Tech,Hybrids,Sports Cars
When Fisker first started talking about the 2012 Fisker Karma and what it could do, the stuff they were saying was pretty incredible.
They said it'd be good for 50 miles of electric range, and once the battery wound down it would return 23 mpg city and 30 mpg highway (about 25 mpg combined) on the way to 250 miles of total range on a tank of gas. Conversely, in Sport mode, where the charged battery and gasoline engine/generator set work together for maximum effect, it could scoot to 60 mph in 6.3 seconds and top out at 125 mph.
No EV or plug-in hybrid (the Karma is the latter) discussed previously had ever put together such mutually exclusive performance numbers. Not too shabby for a series hybrid with no connection between the gas engine and the drive wheels except for power cables.
Meanwhile, every plug-in hybrid and EV range claim made to date has gone down in flames after the EPA conducted their own certification tests and printed up the window stickers. Chevrolet's initial claimed range of 50 miles for the Volt sagged to 35 miles when all was said and done. The Nissan Leaf's range came in at 73 miles instead of the claimed 100 miles.
Alas the same thing recently happened to the Fisker Karma. After the EPA got done its 50-mile electric range plummeted to 32 miles and it's gasoline fuel economy dropped to just 20 mpg combined.
Yeesh.
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Categories: Electric Vehicles,Fisker,Green Tech,Hybrids,Sedans,Sports Cars
You asked for it, you got it. Our very short stint in the 2012 Fisker Karma didn't allow time to produce a full video of the pedestrain warning sound it makes, but we did have time to shoot a short clip with something better than a camera phone.
Here I'm entering our shop in electric mode or, as Fisker calls it, stealth mode. The sound you're hearing is somewhat louder than it comes across outdoors in real life because I'm entering an enclosed space where it can reverberate off the concrete block walls.
Two speakers emit the noise: one under the front bumper (not inside the grille, but under and behind it) and another under the center of the rear bumper. Those two diamond-shaped rear bumper cutouts LOOK like they should be the speakers, and they're even labelled "hybrid Hz", but they're fakes.
To me the sound has elements of a P-51 Mustang squadron flyover, Tron lightcycle, 2001: A Space Odyssey monolith and that Droid phone commercial noise.
This only happens in EV mode at speeds under 25 mph. Volume and pitch rises and falls with speed to a subtle yet effectve extent, and it fades down, but not out, at idle. (Or whatever you call "idle" when an electric car or plug-in hybrid such as this stops at a red light.)
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Categories: Car Tech,Electric Vehicles,Fisker,Green Tech,Hybrids,Sedans,Sports Cars
We finally managed to snag a couple days in a 2012 Fisker Karma engineering prototype. There's no time in the schedule to take this plug-in series hybrid to the track -- plug-in testing requires a trailer or overnight parking at the track to make sure we start with a full battery. We have no time to arrange any of that.
Besides, we'll soon get a production car to do a full workup and write a detailed story. In lieu of that we've been taking this opportunity to play with the electric range and fuel economy of this unique plug-in series hybrid. We're almost done collecting our numbers and we'll have more to report on that tomorrow.
We have but 24 hours left with the car. What else would you like to know about it? I have some ideas, but I'd like to hear yours.
While you're mulling that over, here's a couple more pictures.
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Categories: Electric Vehicles,Fisker,Green Tech,Hybrids,Sedans
To house a hybrid powertrain as comprehensive as that found in the Mitsubishi Concept PX-MiEV II, you need something as sizable as, er, the Mitsubishi Concept PX-MiEV II. This five-passenger plug-in hybrid SUV concept made its debut here in Tokyo. It's a prelude to a similar vehicle that will, according to Mitsubishi boss Masuko, be introduced "sometime in the 2012 fiscal year."
So, really, the Concept PX-MiEV II is just an incidental wrapper for the hybrid propulsion bits that will probably end up in the Outlander. That fancy hybrid system works like this. Hit the jump.
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Categories: Car Tech,Concept Vehicles,Crossovers,Future Vehicles,Green Tech,Hybrids,Mitsubishi,SUVs,Tokyo Motor Show
For most of us, refueling is as simple as finding a gas station with decent prices at the pump, and maybe a good cup of joe and a clean windshield squeegee. But if you're one of the brave early adopters driving an electric or alternative-fuel vehicle, getting from Point A to Point B becomes a challenge of connecting the refueling dots.
Fortunately, there's a $1.99 GreenFuel iPhone app for that. Unfortunately, the results that GreenFuel turns up can be as spotty as finding a hydrogen-powered vehicle on the highway.
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Categories: Car Tech,Electric Vehicles,Green Tech
Honda Civic owners who want less convenient, less frequent filling stations (or the convenience of an in-home fueling station) will have to shell out some real money for the 2012 Honda Civic Natural Gas as it is the most expensive Civic in the range.
When it goes on sale on October 18, the 2012 Honda Civic Natural Gas will cost $26,905. Want a Civic Natural Gas with nav that includes a map of filling stations? Be prepared to shell out $28,405. The cheapest Civic currently available, the Civic DX, is $10,350 less expensive.
Unlike the last-generation natural gas Civic which was available in only four states -- Utah, California, New York and Oklahoma -- the new Civic Natural Gas will be available in 200 dealers in 35 states. The EPA rates the fuel economy at the equivalent of 27 mpg city and 38 mpg highway which is a 12.5 percent improvement over the outgoing model.
So, how much is avoiding oil worth to you?
Categories: Green Tech,Honda
You can talk in general terms about lighter bodies in white and reduced frictional losses, but there's a lot going on with the new Skyactiv chassis architecture and gasoline/diesel engine family that's launching in the 2013 Mazda CX-5. So part of Mazda's advertising strategy is to release videos (and eventually apps) that try to explain all of it (well, some of it) to us.
Here are the first couple, as Mazda's lead chassis man Norihiro Tomita and powertrain expert Susumu Niinai spend about a minute and a half each describing some of thinking behind the new chassis and engines.
First Drive: 2013 Mazda CX-5
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Categories: Crossovers,Future Vehicles,Green Tech,Mazda
While we're busy worrying about the possibility of having to fuel up with 15-percent ethanol-blend gasoline (E15) at some point in the future, many Germans have already put their collective foot down: They won't even put 95-octane E10-blend gasoline in their cars. Ah, well, it's not really the owners of mint-condition Viper Green '78 Sciroccos who are the roadblock, rather the masses who drive modern-day VW Polos and BMW 1 Series hatches.
The 10-percent ethanol blend was phased in around Germany this year as part of a government initiative to help reduce carbon emissions, but local refineries have cut production because German consumers aren't buying it. And whenever motorists are surveyed, the number one reason for not using E10 95 octane is apparently that they love their cars (as shown in above photo... you can tell by his shoes that this happy man is German) and fear that the ethanol content will the harm the engine.
E10 gas, of course, is commonplace in the Midwest and, depending on the season, California. It's an oxygenate -- and a more appealing one than MTBE, which has been linked to cancer -- but we've yet to see any research that shows it actually reduces emissions. And no one's arguing that these blends are better for your car's engine, much less better for performance.
It's a little late for us to join the Germans in protesting E10. But assuming E15 eventually arrives at U.S. gas stations, do you think American will boycott it? Or do we not love our cars enough to notice or care?
(NPR, Bloomberg)
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Categories: Green Tech,Miscellaneous,Trends
The 2012 Hyundai Accent was released at the 2012 New York Auto Show with the promise of 40 miles per gallon with NO asterisks. That means no special fuel economy trim, no special transmission, nothing. Just 40 mpg on the highway with no asterisk required.
And that's the point of the nearly three-minute ad featured at the event which Hyundai recently uploaded. Follow the jump to see some happy astkerisks and to let us know if this sort of smiley-cartoony ad featuring very few cars has an impact on you.
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Categories: Green Tech,Hyundai,New York Auto Show,Sedans
Inside Line's parent company, Edmunds.com, is presenting Breakthrough Awards to Subaru and General Motors at the 2011 New York Auto Show. So what exactly have these automakers done to revolutionize the auto industry?
Well, GM is the recipient of our annual Green Car Breakthrough Award for the Voltec plug-in, series-parallel hybrid drivetrain in the Chevrolet Volt.
"Voltec is a game changer for the electric vehicle community and it offers a blueprint for commercial manufacturers to build upon as these types of vehicles continue to develop," said John O'Dell, our Green Car Advisor in chief. "Applied to a broader base of vehicles, Voltec and other automakers' versions of the extended-range plug-in hybrid technology can have a tremendous impact on U.S. fuel consumption."
The game-changing aspect of the Voltec drivetrain is that it takes a realistic approach to EV technology given our current lack of infrastructure to support these vehicles. Right now, true EVs put you on a very short leash -- if you forget to plug in at night, you're not driving in the morning. The Volt, on the other hand, offers limited EV functionality and drives like any other hybrid the rest of the time, and that's why the thinking behind the Voltec technology is right on. Last year, by the way, we gave this award to Coulomb and Better Place, two companies working on a recharging infrastructure for EVs and plug-ins. And we now recharge our long-term Volt on a Coulomb ChargePoint in our office garage.
Subaru, meanwhile, is receiving the Edmunds.com Marketing Breakthrough Award for its compelling marketing efforts in 2010. And those efforts translated to its biggest U.S. sales year ever.
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Categories: Auto Industry,General Motors,Green Tech,New York Auto Show,Subaru
Turns out there may be reason to doubt the Department of Energy's monitoring of the $25 billion Advanced Technlogy Vehicle loan program -- the program that's helping to fund various manfacturers' forays (Ford, Nissan, GM, Tesla, Fisker) into EV and hybrid car production. The Detroit News' David Shephard has drawn everyone's attention to a 39-page government report released by the General Accountability Office (GAO), and the report has various disturbing observations.
Rather worrying is the repeated contention that Energy Department staffers lack the engineering expertise to monitor the viability of the various manufacturing programs.
"Although ATVM program procedures call for sufficient expertise to help oversee borrowers’ compliance with the loans’ technical requirements, the ATVM program has not yet engaged such engineering expertise and without it, cannot be sure that the projects are being
delivered as agreed."
Detroit News, GAO via Jalopnik
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Categories: Electric Vehicles,Future Vehicles,Green Tech,Hybrids
General Motors issued a press release today with personal success stories from early 2011 Chevrolet Volt owners. Curiously, all of them wax on about the big mpg numbers they're seeing, but none appear to be factoring in the cost of the car's electricity consumption -- which is a definite consideration when you're plugging in your Volt regularly.
"Mike DiPisa is averaging 231 miles per gallon of gasoline. It's because his 26-mile daily commute allows him to run almost gas free. 'I haven't filled up my Volt since I took delivery,' the Lyndhhurst, NJ, resident said. Of the 1,485 miles DiPisa put on his Volt, 1,391 have used using grid electricity."
"Mike McCarver, a retiree from Los Altos, CA, has traveled nearly 800 miles since he bought his Volt on Jan. 28, and he's averaging 93 mpg. McCarver uses his Volt to travel around town, to the local country club, and occasionally to his vacation home in Carmel about 80 miles away."
IL Long-Term 2011 Chevrolet Volt: How We Measure Electricity Consumption
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Categories: Chevrolet,Green Tech,Hybrids,Sedans
Like Tesla, Volvo was keen to convey a sense of progress on its battery-electric car, in this case the C30 Electric. We've seen this car before, but never like this. In December the company conducted an offset frontal 40-mph crash test of the car and decided to show off the result as its main event here at the Detroit auto show.
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Categories: Car Tech,Coupes,Detroit Auto Show,Electric Vehicles,Green Tech,Volvo
Speaking at a technical university in Valencia, HRT engineer Antonio Cuquerella slammed F1's Kinetic Energy Recovery Systems (KERS) as inefficient greenwashing of F1 designed to sell road cars.
"It is a fashionable green technology that helps to sell more cars." according Spanish site, motor21.com. "It's inefficient but the large manufacturers want it to sell their cars." He added, "A lot of the manufacturers want KERS as a tool of their marketing departments to justify their investments in Formula One."
HRT, however, is not backed by a major manufacturer and is not looking to sell cars. They've also, for what it's worth, never used a KERS system. Or won a constructor's championship. Or a race.
( ESPN F1 )
Categories: Green Tech,Motorsports
If you're a regular reader, you know that we often link over to the deeper analysis on Edmunds.com's Green Car Advisor. The blog is edited by John O'Dell, one of the foremost writers in the field of alternative vehicles and green technology. This week O'Dell was appointed to serve on the National Research Council's Committee on Transitions to Alternate Vehicles and Fuels.
This committee will advise the U.S. Congress on developing policy that could reduce dependency on foreign oil and decrease greenhouse gases.
"Not everyone has the opportunity to actually get on one of these committees to not only see how they function but also to bring ideas to the table," said O'Dell. "I hope to be able to share some insights about consumer attitudes toward alternative vehicles and fuels, gleaned from the millions of interactions Edmunds.com has with consumers each month."
O'Dell has written for Edmunds.com since 2007, following a 25-year career as a reporter and editor at the Los Angeles Times.
Inside Line News
Categories: Electric Vehicles,Green Tech,Hybrids,Trends
In the battle for the luxury EV sedan market, you might think that the Tesla Model S was out in front. It seems to get all the press these days thanks to the company's recent IPO and high-profile founder, Elon Musk.
In reality, the Fisker Karma appears to have a far greater chance of actually coming to market. The company unveiled the first factory-built version of its Karma luxury sedan at the 2010 Paris Auto Show. And as you can see from these pictures, the car looks very much finished.
There's a real suspension underneath the car and a very functional looking Ecotec 2.0-liter under the hood. The Karma uses a setup similar to the Chevrolet Volt where the batteries are charged by the gasoline generator engine after the initial charge is depleted.
The interior looked nearly complete as well. There were a few odds and ends that still looked like they had some finishing work still left, but for the most part everything seemed functional. The doors opened and closed with a standard clunk and the buttons and switches were clearly production units and not concept show pieces.
With the Tesla Model S still two years away, the Fisker Karma S looks like it will have quite the head start. We'll see if that means a first mover advantage, or if the Karma merely paves the way for the less expensive Tesla sedan.
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Categories: Future Vehicles,Green Tech,Luxury Cars,Paris Auto Show,Sedans
There is a fair bit of debate happening re: the two new DOT and EPA proposed window stickers. On the one hand, you have the fear of alarmist consumers refusing to buy something with a B- or C rating even though said vehicle would be the median in terms of environmental impact. And then on the other hand you've got people who think consumers can't understand sliders and big, clear numbers.
So, think it over-- big scary letter, or lots of scary numbers-- read this excellent synopsis over in Edmunds advice section, and then cast your vote here. And while you're at it, cast a text-based vote here, just for fun.
Categories: Auto Industry,Green Tech
Nissan has been taking "reservations" for the 2011 Leaf for several months, but now the automaker says it's just about ready to start taking orders from U.S. customers. If you have a reservation for a Nissan Leaf, this will involve negotiating the final price with a dealer, which as we've seen with the Chevrolet Volt, can result in various digits getting switched around.
So that you don't go in blind, Nissan has released the destination charge ($820) and equipment and pricing for both the base SV and high-line SL trim levels. The only option is quick-charge compatibility for the Leaf SL, so you can charge up the car in 30 minutes at quick-charge public charging stations. Right now, there's undoubtedly one of these stations at Nissan HQ in Tennessee, but for most Leaf customers, this will probably be like buying an HDTV was 5-10 years ago -- it'll come in handy one of these days.
2011 Nissan Leaf SV: $33,600 ($820 destination charge included)
- 3.3 kW onboard charger
- Standard charge port (240V)
- Cloth seats (made of recyclable material, of course)
- CARWINGS (telematics) roadside assistance (36-month subscription)
- 5 exterior colors (blue, plus 4 colors to be named later)
- Portable trickle charge cable (120V)
- Navigation system
- 16-inch alloy wheels
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Categories: Electric Vehicles,Future Vehicles,Green Tech,Hatchbacks,Nissan
The EPA and DOT are looking to shake up the traditional window sticker. A 2007 energy dept. law states that for 2012, new window stickers must put new vehicle in "fleetwide context" for greenhouse gases, fuel economy, and smog production. The context must also include plug-in hybrids, diesel cars and pure EVs.
Under the plan, vehicles scored would be ranked from A+ to D (What, no gold stars?) with the median grade being a B-. EVs-- Nissan Leaf. Mini Cooper E-- would see a grade of A+ while plug in hybrids would be relegated to a sub-superlative A. Good hybrids like the Ford Fusion and Honda Insight would score an A-.
The letter grade system is the more extreme of the two proposals and the one the auto industry is most strongly against. The simpler reevaluation of the sticker (below) keeps the traditional bar graphs with MPG, greenhouse gas production, air pollution score, annual cost and city / highway range. There would be specific labels for EVs, standard fuel (gas or diesel) Vehicles, Plug-In Hybrid and CNG Vehicles.
Both of the options offer interactive scan-points for smartphone users to learn more or compare it on their phone and a new 'gallons per 100 miles' metric.
The EPA is looking for input on which to use, and so are we. The A-D rating just seems to smug, we can already picture the Plug-in Prius drivers keeping the window stickers on eternally just to show off the A. Sort of like kids who keep the sticker on their flat-billed Starter hat. Similarly, it fails to take into account the energy required to produce the electricity (coal? Nuclear? Children on a big wheel?) and relies only on tailpipe emissions. Giving EVs a straight A is simply sweeping the pollution under the rug right?
Alternate window information stickers after the jump.
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Categories: Auto Industry,Green Tech
