Chrysler is in the process of setting up an engineering division to design and build electric and hybrid vehicles. Called ENVI, the new division will setup shop at Chrysler's headquarters near Detroit and will be headed by Lou Rhodes, a Chrysler veteran who has worked in the company's advanced vehicle engineering organization and product design office.

"The creation of ENVI allows us to focus on the development of a new generation of environmentally responsible Chrysler, Jeep and Dodge vehicles," Chrysler CEO Bob Nardelli said in a statement today. Chrysler says ENVI will be staffed with specialists in engineering, manufacturing, procurement and supply. According to Automotive News, Chrysler will debut its first hybrids — the Dodge Durango and Chrysler Aspen — in 2009. Both vehicles will use a transmission developed with General Motors and BMW. [/align]

 

About time......

Dusty

 

Nice. Hope they do all the R&D they can possibly do, and release a quality product for us consumers.

 

We have had it for a while now. Its just been partnered with gm and bmw. But it has been at a gm location in Ypsilanti. This is just moving and separating a bit from the other two.

 

Waste. Of. Time.

 

Why do you say that?

 

Because hybrids are a farce. Dont take my word for it, do a little research on the subject. There's a lot of dirty secrets about these things. Pretty much unless you own a cab company or are delivering pizzas in a a metropolitan area you cant reap the benefits of them. And talk to me in a few years when those batteries have lost a good portion of their performance and need replacement. Talk to me again when you're having problems with one and cant get it fixed. And hopefully you wont find out the hard way that if you're ever in a wreck with one, the EMTs arent required to get you out with the jaws of life, since the batteries pose a severe danger of electrical shock. I know this, since a friend of my dad's is a volunteer EMT. He was advised not to come near one of them if its been damaged to that degree. I hear the argument about how well insulated the electricals are, and I believe that. So's that big humming transformer outside your house. Probably moreso, but would you go stick a metal object into it with the power still on? No way, but at least you can cut the power from one of those. I wouldnt touch a hybrid for any amount of money.

 

While I have concerns over battery life as well, as well as disposal costs if/when they go bad, and also concerns about the price of production versus cost of operation saving over the vehicle lifetime, everything you mention is an engineering hurdle that like all engineering hurdles takes nothing but time, money, talent, and good management and proper execution to overcome. Things a business in the business of doing business does every day.

--Matt

 

I'm personally not a huge fan of hybrids, I do think they have a place in the market though. Also, from a marketing standpoint, there's enough demand for them that every automaker should be thinking about making some if they aren't already. There is money to be made there plus the hybrid vehicles will help their overall lineup mileage that the government holds them to.

My friend's parents have a prius, honestly if you don't care how long it takes you to accelerate (way too long) it's not a bad car. Fits what they need pretty well, I'll be interested to see how it treats them as the years go by.

 

Well altair and minnesota both of you guys make some interesting points. My thing is this: Hybrids were kind of a band aid to fix the fuel thing. And theyve done nothing to alleviate the problem. you mention engineering being able to overcome some of the problems. Why not turn that research back into proven technology such as conventional engines? Things like turbochargers, direct injection, and simply fine tuning the engine to enhance both economy AND performance (remember performance?) these are 'right now' things that are proven to work. Adding more junk that only complicates a vehicle can only be bad.

And altair, the government's standards are just the problem. We live in a free-market economy. The government needs to pack its **** and get out of the automotive industry. Aside from a few common-sense based safety regulations they have no business dicatating anything to the automakers. We as consumers have the buying power so what WE say goes.

Government red tape has conspired to stamp out most anything worth having in the automotive world. The corvair: dead. The muscle car near death for nearly 30 years. The V-8 powered Jeep CJ: Dead. Whenever our choices are reduced, its usually the options that enthusiasts really want. The government, insurance companies, and lawyers are going to get behind ugly hybrids, lame midsize sedans and minivans, and high mileage weenie cars. Theyre not going to advocate anything to get excited about, and the late 70's thru most of the 80s is proof.