EVLN(HEVs:GM Isuzu Diesel/stretched EV1, Honda J-VX using IMA in spades)

[Bruce EVangel Parmenter <brucedp@YAHOO.COM>]

EVLN(HEVs:GM Isuzu Diesel/stretched EV1, Honda J-VX using IMA in spades)
[The Internet Electric Vehicle List News. For Public EV informational
 purposes. Contact source for reprint rights.]
 --- {EVangel}
Published Friday, January 30, 1998, in the Contra Costa Newspapers
Green not just paint for vehicles of the future
By Bob Hagin PACHECO AUTOMOTIVE NEWS SERVICE
It used to be that green was a new car or truck's color, but the word
now symbolizes a vehicle that has little or no pollution and makes
maximum use of the energy it consumes. "Green" now equates to clean.

All the major and minor members of the vehicle producing community are
involved, from the Big Three's Partnership for a New Generation of
Vehicles (PNVG) in which Ford, GM and Chrysler share high-mileage
technology, down to the >>electric<< >>bicycle<< that former auto-icon
Lee Iacocca is developing.

Over the months, we've compiled a file on "green machines" and these
are the ones that are most note-worthy:

Ford Ranger >>Electric<< Pickup: As part of a complex deal with the
State of California, Ford has gotten into the >>electric<< >>vehicle<<
business with a modified Ranger pickup truck. The agreement is that if
Ford will produce 300 >>electric<< vehicles, it will not be required
to match two percent of its total vehicle sales with zero-emissions
machines as the state wanted it to do by 2000.

The standard-cab >>electric<< Ranger packs its 39 sealed batteries
under the bed and is programed to go around 60 miles on a charge. If
the truck is used hard or in hilly areas, the miles between charges
drop dramatically but downhill runs recover a bit of the lost charge
by turning the >>electric<< motor into a generator.

It requires three to four hours to recharge its batteries if they are
fully discharged, but it takes a 220-volt, 30-amp charger to do the
job, so don't try to use your breadbox-sized trickle charger. All 300
>>electric<< Rangers are finished in IP (Industrial Plain) trim
(rubber mats, hand-crank windows, etc.) and retail for around $33,000,
the price of two or three gas-powered jobs.

Toyota Prius: Although it won't be available in the U.S. in the near
future, the Japan-only Toyota Prius sedan is scheduled for a
production run of 1000 units in 1998. It's a hybrid, rather than a
pure >>electric<<, and uses a four-cylinder, 1.5 liter internal
combustion engine, a large generator, a power splitting transmission
unit and an >>electric<< motor.

The gasoline engine is specially designed for lightness (it only has
to turn 4,000 RPM) and is virtually pollution free. Under light load
or stop-and-go traffic, only the >>electric<< motor is in operation.
On the highway, part of the engine's power drives the wheels and part
runs the generator, which charges the large battery pack as well as
operating the >>electric<< motor.

The two power units work together during this phase but during
deceleration, the >>electric<< motor becomes a second generator that
puts a little extra recharge into the special nickel-metal hydride
batteries.

This complex combination of high-tech devices is computer-controlled
to shift the power requirements between the various parts of the
system. In addition, the internal combustion engine can be altered to
run on either of the common alcohols or a gaseous fuel. It's not cheap
at $42,000, but Toyota is said to consider it an investment in the
future. Its publicity value is pretty high, too.

GM Diesel-Electric Hybrids: With its all-electric EV1 >>electric<<
coupe stalled in the showroom (customers aren't lining up at the front
door), General Motors is currently showing its latest hybrid "concept"
Greenmobile. Visually, it resembles a stretched EV1 coupe but
underneath it's a whole different vehicle.

It uses an Isuzu-built 1.3-liter, turbocharged direct-injection diesel
engine that drives the rear wheels, while an >>electric<< motor drives
the front wheels. On deceleration, the system can partially recharge
the battery pack and the diesel engine or the >>electric<< motor can
be used independently.

The system overcomes the low-range curse of the EV1 and the
diesel/electric goes over 500 miles on whatever it uses for fuel. GM
is also experimenting with the EV1 coupe and hybridizing it with a
>>fuel<< >>cell<< (converts methanol to hydrogen then directly into
electricity) which pumps up the range to 80 MPG. Its performance isn't
bad either, with a 0-to-60 time of nine seconds.

Another EV1 has been converted with a three-cylinder 1.0 liter engine
(maybe a Chevy Metro engine?) that runs on CNG (compressed natural
gas) to get 60 mph and 400 miles between refills.

Honda J-VX: Honda is canny enough to realize that the best way to
catch the attention of the press with a new engineering concept is to
wrap it in an attractive "sporty" body. It did just that at the recent
Tokyo auto show when it introduced its J-VX two-seater sports coupe.

Several buff magazines voted it "Star of the Show" in spite of the
fact that it's environmentally and politically correct. The company
states that the car is an ... "environmentally responsible sports car
that doesn't abandon the idea of spirited driving."

The nuts-and-bolts of the J-VX is its Integrated Motor Assist (IMA)
system; a 1.0 liter, front-mounted, three-cylinder engine that uses
Honda's famous VTEC variable cam-timing system and direct fuel
injection. The system uses the gas engine to power a state-of-the-art
slender >>electric<< motor-cum-generator which in turn drives the
front wheels. On deceleration, the system converts forward motion into
electricity and stores it in a half-dozen space age capacitors.

Old-time auto shop students can equate to the concept of a capacitor
when they remember carefully charging an ignition condenser (actually
a capacitor) in the shop class and putting it on the chair of their
English teacher before the next period. The Honda IMA uses this
principal - but in spades.

As things are going, the new cars that our kids will be buying in the
future will all be "green" - regardless of what color they're
painted.
 ...
 http://www.hotcoc.com   cctletrs@netcom.com  gga@cctimes.com
Copyright 1998, Contra Costa Times.  All rights reserved.
Editorial Tel# 510-943-8227, Fax# 510-943-8362
Attn: Editor.  2640 Shadelandes, Walnut Creek,CA  Tel# 510-935-2525
 ---
  BruceDP@iname.com  http://user.aol.com/BruceDP/
_{Statements may not be my Employer's}_      ____
EAA: 800-537-2882  http://www.eaaev.org    ~/__|o\__
'Electric cruis'n the Santa Clara Valley'  '@----- @'---(= Get Amp'd
{EVangel}: messenger bringing good news    132V S-10 Blazer
EAA San Jose EVents Officer        http://user.aol.com/sjeaa/
Electric Vehicle List Editor       http://crest.org/ev-list-archive/
EV Newsgroup contributing Editor   news:alt.binaries.electric-veh
Renewable Energy News contributing Editor, EV & AE List sysop
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