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In the future, all VW cars will have hybrid option
Volkswagens are just asking to be made more environmentally friendly: we've already seen an electric Microbus that uses solar power, and even this high schooler was able to make his 1971 Beetle electric. We were pleased when the head of development for Volkswagen said in an interview with Automobilwoche that all of the company's future models will have either full or partial hybrid engine options. We're not sure exactly what he meant by "future models," but at least some hybrid VW's should be available by next year. The company has also talked about making some of its smaller cars fully electric. We're looking forward to that, but not expecting it next year.
By mediumsteve at 3:34 AM ON 09/26/07
"Partial Hybrid"?
That's what they make in Detroit, ain't it?
By spacecoonass at 11:43 AM ON 09/28/07
'"Partial Hybrid"?
That's what they make in Detroit, ain't it?
Posted by: mediumsteve at September 26, 2007 03:34 AM'
It's also what Toyota makes - their larger hybrid vehicles are actually driven by the electric and gasoline engines simultaneously.
By contrast, a "pure" hybrid would be propelled only by its electric motor or motors, while the gasoline engine provides electric power for the car's electric motor and battery stack.
The batteries allow both pure and partial hybrids to get much better performance from a small gas engine than a non-hybrid vehicle would by supplying surge power during acceleration or sustained high-speed driving. They also allow energy recovered by regenerative engine braking (in which an onboard computer temporarily rewires the motor to act as a generator when the car's brakes are applied) to be stored for later use, increasing the hybrid's efficiency still further.
You can actually watch this process in action on the Toyota Prius' dashboard data screen, which when not telling you what the radio and climate control are doing constantly figures your gas mileage and even provides a real-time animated drawing showing where energy is flowing at any given time.
If anyone in Europe can provide hybrid engine options across their entire product line in a year's time, my money would be on VW. The spirit of Dr. Porsche still walks the halls at Wolfsburg.
By Marcus at 3:02 PM ON 02/21/08
Props to Spacecoonass :D very good follow up. 3 Cheers for Dr. Porsche!
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Marcus:
Props to Spacecoonass :D very good follow up. 3 Cheers for Dr. Porsche!...More »