Word: prius
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...government incentives are not as developed, but consumers are starting to demonstrate a new awareness of environmental issues. Consider the popularity of the Toyota Prius and other hybrid cars. And design advances are winning converts: see-through solar panels installed in place of regular window glass are a classy upgrade from black rooftop arrays...
...government incentives are not as developed, but consumers are starting to demonstrate a new awareness of environmental issues. Consider the popularity of the Toyota Prius and other hybrid cars. And design advances are winning converts: see-through solar panels installed in place of regular window glass are a classy upgrade from black rooftop arrays...
MEET GREG HANSSEN, A PARTNER IN A SMALL BATTERY-prototype testing firm in California called EnergyCS. Hanssen was approached last year by Felix Kramer for help in building a dashboard monitor for a Prius that he and CalCars, his group of plug-in advocates, had converted into a crude plug-in. (The original Prius' batteries charge up when the car brakes.) Hanssen was inspired. He enlisted the support of another privately held firm, Clean-Tech, to devise a more sophisticated version of the plug-in Prius. Hanssen recently showed off his prototype at the 2005 Tour de Sol, a green...
EnergyCS and Clean-Tech have launched a start-up called E-Drive Systems, which plans to sell by next year kits to convert the Prius into a plug-in (though the modifications will void the warranty). At speeds below 35 m.p.h., Hanssen's Prius sails along on its 18 lithium batteries for up to 30 miles at a go--well within the range envisioned by Gaffney. The conversion cost isn't cheap: $15,000, which Hanssen hopes to cut to around $10,000. "It won't pay for itself in gas savings," Hanssen admits, "but neither does the Prius. People...
...handful of gas and diesel-powered Mercedes Sprinter vans into plug-ins, which will be tested as early as this fall by commercial partners in the U.S., such as utilities. Chrysler says the vans can run 20 miles on batteries charged both via the socket and, like the Prius, by braking. Cost will matter, says Rolf Bartke, head of the Mercedes-Benz van division. "In the end it should be viable and economic for our customers." Bartke says the aim is to bring the battery cost down below $10,000 within four years...