Electrify your petrol car

Ford has applied for patent on a technology that will power all of a vehicles electrical systems using a large capacity battery with a plug-in system. Now what would this mean for an average consumer? All the electrics in a regular petrol (og diesel, for that matter) car will be powered by a battery that you can charge from an electric outlet at home, increasing the fuel efficiency by 15-20 percent.

Will there possibly be a kit I could install on my grotesquely thirsty SUV?

Too little, too late, Audi

Apparently Audi are aiming to launch a Q5 hybrid in 2011. That's two years from now, and way too late to jump on the hybrid-wagon. Who will buy a car with old hybrid technology when there are plugin-hybrids available or right around the corner that will take you to and from work on battery power alone (in a time when fuel prices will probably be soaring again, like they did in 2008)?

Volvo seems to have understood this, and have abandoned their plans for a V70 hybrid, focusing on launching some kind of plugin hybrid model in the V70 size range in 2012.

So, Audi, could we hope for a Q5 plugin-hybrid, or will it be a hopelessly outdated hybrid with marginally lower fuel consumption than its diesel counterpart?

Photo: Captain Nandu Chitnis, Master Mariner

Infiniti G35 Hybrid

The Infiniti G35 is a great car, and the news that Nissan plans a hybrid version of it is good news indeed. Lithium-ion batteries and everything, I read excitedly, thinking this car could maybe be some kind of plugin-hybrid that could travel at least small distances on battery power alone. Unfortunately, Nissan's press release states the following:

The dynamic characteristics of the clutches are as follows: Idle-stop: The battery is used to power the motor to save on fuel.
Regular driving: The engine is used to power the motor as well as regenerate the battery.
Acceleration: Both the engine and battery (power assist) is used to power the motor to achieve smooth acceleration. Deceleration: Energy from braking is conserved and re-routed back to regenerate the battery.

In other words, the G35 Hybrid will be just another Toyota Hybrid or Lexus GS450h, with slightly better fuel economy as opposed to a regular petrol car, but that's it. Why does Nissan aim so low with a car that's not supposed to be on sale until 2010? If this is all I want I could just go ahead and buy myself a BMW 330d, with start/stop technology and regeneration of battery while braking.

No Audi Q7 Hybrid

According to sources, the production of the long-awaited Audi Q7 Hybrid, shown as a concept car as early as 2005, has been put on ice. Apparently this decision is based on a "lack of interest" from the customer base. Although Audi hasn't verified this, they did verify in March that the Q7 Hybrid wouldn't be coming to the US. The problem at that time was the low value of the dollar.

Now, I'll tell Audi about "lack of interest": I'm definitly not interested in buying a conventional petrol car today that guzzles 13 l/100km, and I can't see how the Q7 sales will rise without the introduction of hybrid technology, or other technology that will make the car independent from oil (such as ethanol or bio-gas, for instance). The oil won't become cheaper, you know, and people want to be liberated from the greasy paws of the oil industry.

On the positive side, Audi will be focusing on hybrid technology for the new A4, A5 and Q5, and this will probably involve lithium-ion batteries. Do we dare hope for an Audi Q5 Plugin Hybrid, with a range of 70-80 kilometers on battery power alone?