http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll...705010331/1148
{GM and BMW are partners with DCx on this technology}
That hybrid got a Hemi?
Chrysler plans to link V-8 with electric motors in 2008 Chrysler Aspen and Dodge Durango. Josee Valcourt / The Detroit News
Chrysler Group will power hybrid versions of the 2008 Dodge Durango and Chrysler Aspen SUVs with its brawny 5.7-liter Hemi V-8 engine, the automaker said Monday.The vehicles -- the first-ever gasoline-electric hybrids from Chrysler -- are slated to hit the market next year and will feature a two-mode hybrid technology that improves fuel efficiency for both city and highway driving.While Aspen and Durango SUVs equipped with conventional Hemi engines get 13 miles per gallon in city driving and 18 mpg on the highway, the new Hemi hybrid engine is expected to boost fuel economy 25 percent overall and nearly 40 percent in stop-and-go-traffic.It's the first time that DaimlerChrysler AG's U.S. division has revealed specific plans to combine hybrid technology with its popular Hemi engine. Chrysler is doing so through its partnerships with General Motors Corp. and BMW. The automakers are developing two-mode hybrid systems at the Hybrid Development Center in Troy."We know that our customers really like the Hemi for providing them with the utility and capabilities they need in normal driving," said Andreas Truckenbrodt, executive director of hybrid programs for DaimlerChrysler. "That means that if we combine (hybrid) with that engine we could really offer substantial fuel economy, but not force the customers into giving up on what they're used to as far as performance."The hybrid technology will add weight to the SUVs, but that shouldn't compromise the Hemi's performance, which has wowed consumers, Truckenbrodt said.The two-mode hybrid combines a pair of electric motors with a gasoline engine and a transmission with high- and low-speed modes. The design will allow the hybrid Aspen and Durango to run on all-electric power, all gasoline power or a combination.The Hemi hybrid engine will feature the multi-displacement system currently offered on the gasoline Hemi engine that pumps out 340 horsepower. Known as MDS, the fuel-saving feature shuts off four of the engine's eight cylinders under certain driving conditions that require less power."The MDS and hybrid are two different technologies, which do not require each other but they complement each other at the end of the day very nicely," Truckenbrodt said.Chrysler's dual-mode systemThe dual-mode hybrid technology that will equip the Durango and Aspen is significantly different and more advanced than single-mode systems available, said Jack Nerad, executive editorial director and market analyst at Kelley Blue Book."It really kind of leapfrogs the current hybrid technology out there," Nerad said."One of the key advantages is the current hybrid systems provide by far the bulk of their benefits in city driving and don't really do much for you at all when you're driving on the highway. This one is a much more sophisticated system that allows better fuel economy in both city and highway driving."Among hybrids in the market are the Toyota Prius car, the midsize Toyota Highlander SUV and the small Ford Hybrid Escape SUV. Hybrid SUVs could resonate with consumers who are fuel conscious but need the room these larger vehicles provide to haul families and tow big items such as boats."I don't know if you can necessarily class these people as environmentalists," Nerad said, "but certainly I think they would like to help the environment as much as anybody else and at the same time save some money."From a volume standpoint, the hybrid segment is growing "pretty substantially," said Jeff Schuster, executive director of global forecasting at J.D. Power and Associates. Last year, roughly 250,000 hybrids were sold in the United States.For 2007, hybrid sales are estimated to jump to roughly 350,000 and around 2013 should account for 5 percent of U.S. auto sales, or more than 1 million vehicles, Schuster said.You can reach Josee Valcourt at (313) 222-2575 or jmvalcourt@detnews.com
{GM and BMW are partners with DCx on this technology}
That hybrid got a Hemi?
Chrysler plans to link V-8 with electric motors in 2008 Chrysler Aspen and Dodge Durango. Josee Valcourt / The Detroit News
Chrysler Group will power hybrid versions of the 2008 Dodge Durango and Chrysler Aspen SUVs with its brawny 5.7-liter Hemi V-8 engine, the automaker said Monday.The vehicles -- the first-ever gasoline-electric hybrids from Chrysler -- are slated to hit the market next year and will feature a two-mode hybrid technology that improves fuel efficiency for both city and highway driving.While Aspen and Durango SUVs equipped with conventional Hemi engines get 13 miles per gallon in city driving and 18 mpg on the highway, the new Hemi hybrid engine is expected to boost fuel economy 25 percent overall and nearly 40 percent in stop-and-go-traffic.It's the first time that DaimlerChrysler AG's U.S. division has revealed specific plans to combine hybrid technology with its popular Hemi engine. Chrysler is doing so through its partnerships with General Motors Corp. and BMW. The automakers are developing two-mode hybrid systems at the Hybrid Development Center in Troy."We know that our customers really like the Hemi for providing them with the utility and capabilities they need in normal driving," said Andreas Truckenbrodt, executive director of hybrid programs for DaimlerChrysler. "That means that if we combine (hybrid) with that engine we could really offer substantial fuel economy, but not force the customers into giving up on what they're used to as far as performance."The hybrid technology will add weight to the SUVs, but that shouldn't compromise the Hemi's performance, which has wowed consumers, Truckenbrodt said.The two-mode hybrid combines a pair of electric motors with a gasoline engine and a transmission with high- and low-speed modes. The design will allow the hybrid Aspen and Durango to run on all-electric power, all gasoline power or a combination.The Hemi hybrid engine will feature the multi-displacement system currently offered on the gasoline Hemi engine that pumps out 340 horsepower. Known as MDS, the fuel-saving feature shuts off four of the engine's eight cylinders under certain driving conditions that require less power."The MDS and hybrid are two different technologies, which do not require each other but they complement each other at the end of the day very nicely," Truckenbrodt said.Chrysler's dual-mode systemThe dual-mode hybrid technology that will equip the Durango and Aspen is significantly different and more advanced than single-mode systems available, said Jack Nerad, executive editorial director and market analyst at Kelley Blue Book."It really kind of leapfrogs the current hybrid technology out there," Nerad said."One of the key advantages is the current hybrid systems provide by far the bulk of their benefits in city driving and don't really do much for you at all when you're driving on the highway. This one is a much more sophisticated system that allows better fuel economy in both city and highway driving."Among hybrids in the market are the Toyota Prius car, the midsize Toyota Highlander SUV and the small Ford Hybrid Escape SUV. Hybrid SUVs could resonate with consumers who are fuel conscious but need the room these larger vehicles provide to haul families and tow big items such as boats."I don't know if you can necessarily class these people as environmentalists," Nerad said, "but certainly I think they would like to help the environment as much as anybody else and at the same time save some money."From a volume standpoint, the hybrid segment is growing "pretty substantially," said Jeff Schuster, executive director of global forecasting at J.D. Power and Associates. Last year, roughly 250,000 hybrids were sold in the United States.For 2007, hybrid sales are estimated to jump to roughly 350,000 and around 2013 should account for 5 percent of U.S. auto sales, or more than 1 million vehicles, Schuster said.You can reach Josee Valcourt at (313) 222-2575 or jmvalcourt@detnews.com