MINI News - MINI E regenerative brakes will turn on brake lights without hitting the pedal

MINI E regenerative brakes will turn on brake lights without hitting the pedal

Filed under: EV/Plug-in, MINI

An interesting question came up the other day regarding my quick drive review of the new battery powered MINI E. I noted that the MINI uses much more regen than other electrically-driven vehicles that I’ve tried, with deceleration on the order of about 0.4 g. That’s actually pretty heavy braking. The deceleration from most braking by drivers in typical operation is less than 0.2-0.25g. With conventional friction brakes, as soon as the brake pedal is applied, a switch on the pedal arm turns on the brake lights, warning following drivers that you are slowing down. Since most cars with regenerative braking usually don’t give that much decel without applying the brakes, it’s not a problem. We checked MINI spokesperson Nathalie Bauters who told us the brake lights come on when the deceleration tops about 0.15-0.2 g, or just a bit more than you might get from engine braking. So with the MINI E you need to adjust your driving to modulate light braking by adjusting pressure on the accelerator instead of the brake pedal.

[Source: MINI]
Photos Copyright (C)2008 Sam Abuelsamid / Weblogs, Inc.

MINI E regenerative brakes will turn on brake lights without hitting the pedal originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Wed, 26 Nov 2008 14:21:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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[tags]mini cars, mini news, mini models[/tags]

Ford News - Big shift: Ford plant produced last truck today, will start making small cars in 2010

Big shift: Ford plant produced last truck today, will start making small cars in 2010

Filed under: Manufacturing/Plants, MPG, Ford

It’s no secret that Ford is shifting production capability of its plants from large vehicles to smaller, more sensible rides. Workers at the Michigan Truck Plant, long the birthplace of the Expedition and Lincoln Navigator SUVs, produced their last vehicle of the behemoth variety today at 1:30 in the afternoon. The plant will now be shut down and retooled - at a cost of $75 million - to build small, fuel-efficient C-Cars (think Ford Focus) starting in 2010.

Pardon the possible pun, but this is a big shift. Since opening over 50 years ago, the plant has built the iconic F-Series trucks and the Ford Bronco. The smaller cars coming in two years aren’t as obviously iconic, but could be a strong rebranding contender if Ford wants to turn the oval green. Ford will still make large vehicles at its Kentucky plant.

[Source: Ford]

Big shift: Ford plant produced last truck today, will start making small cars in 2010 originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Wed, 26 Nov 2008 17:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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[tags]ford cars, ford news, ford models, ford[/tags]

Chevrolet News - Should the feds buy flocks of Volts for their fleet?

Should the feds buy flocks of Volts for their fleet?

Filed under: EV/Plug-in, Chevrolet, GM, USA

Lyle Dennis, one of the world’s biggest Chevrolet Volt fans, has an idea on how to help the new halo car roll off the assembly lines at high numbers and help General Motors out of its current economic programs. The idea was inspired by the effort the US made during the Depression and World War II and would make the US General Services Administation, which is responsible for procuring government vehicles, buy massive quantities of Volts to replace the current government fleet. These Volts would be sold to the government at premium and without a battery warranty. This would be a very symbolic move, and would really help GM’s bottom line while also boosting the car’s development. For one thing, the critical batteries would be massively promoted and publicly tested. Dennis thinks 100,000 vehicles would be a good number for the US fleet. According to the Federal Fleet Report for 2007, the government operates a fleet of 231,213 vehicles. About 22,000 are replaced each year, so this is a five-ish year plan. Now, is it a good one?

[Source: GM-Volt]

Should the feds buy flocks of Volts for their fleet? originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Wed, 26 Nov 2008 12:52:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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[tags]chevrolet cars, chevolet news, chevrolet models[/tags]

Honda News - Honda president pooh-poohs BYD, electric cars in general

Honda president pooh-poohs BYD, electric cars in general

Filed under: EV/Plug-in, Hybrid, Honda

Honda president Takeo Fukui has been known to downplay the future role of plug-in cars in the automotive marketplace even as his company plays up the fuel cell technology that he claims will be available for the masses by 2018 (even if it will be somewhat expensive). In a recent interview to Chinese website auto.163.com, he said that EV tech is still “immature” with the main problem being the batteries. He thinks that current electric cars can only achieve a 100 km (62 mile) range and that makes mass production and commercialization difficult. Not dissuaded by the CEO’s position on EVs, the interviewer went on to ask what he thought of BYD’s electric vehicle R&D efforts, Fukui replied that they weren’t very good. Ouch.

While it’s possible that Fukui-sama hasn’t been informed about the 244-mile range achieved by the Tesla Roadster or, indeed, of the 120-mile range achieved by an efficiently-shaped Aptera, we suspect that his mind is made up and Honda will stick with its hydrogen hopes and upcoming hybrid. At least while he remains at the helm.

[Source: Gasgoo]

Honda president pooh-poohs BYD, electric cars in general originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Tue, 25 Nov 2008 14:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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[tags]honda cars, honda news, honda models, honda[/tags]

Volkswagen News - Volkswagen 2-seat city car possibly on the fast track

Volkswagen 2-seat city car possibly on the fast track

Filed under: Volkswagen

When Volkswagen announced its trio of up! concepts in 2007 even the smallest model was considerably larger than the diminutive Smart ForTwo. The first up! concept was (nominally, at least) a four seater, while the Smart is strictly for two. AutoCar is reporting that VW has decided to green light the development of a shorter two-seat variant to directly compete with the Smart. Unlike the upright ForTwo, the VW is expected to be lower and narrower, resulting in better aerodynamics than the Smart. The most efficient version of the VW should handily beat its competitor with a rating of 117 mpg (US) and CO₂ emissions of just 60 g/km. The actual fuel savings going from the Smart’s 72 mpg to 117 mpg are almost inconsequential. At this level its like acceleration numbers or Nurburgring lap times; more about bragging rights than real benefits. Power is expected to come from a direct injected 1.2L four cylinder with a deactivation that allows it to shut down two cylinders at light load.

[Source: AutoCar]

Volkswagen 2-seat city car possibly on the fast track originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Tue, 25 Nov 2008 17:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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[tags]volkswagen cars, volkswagen news, volkswagen models[/tags]

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