Govt to field-test Proton hybrid car first

The mass production of a Proton hybrid vehicle will be decided after it has been tested through government use in Putra jaya and Cyberjaya next year.

Proton managing director Datuk Syed Zainal Abidin Syed Mohamad Tahir said the company needed to get positive feedback from the Government before marketing the car on a large scale.

He added that Proton would produce 50 to 200 units of the hybrid vehicle, and would start to deliver them in January.

“If we go straight to mass production, we fear we might find problems. So let the Government use the hybrid and we’ll get feedback.

“We hope we can make a decision to market them in a big way by the middle of next year,” he said yesterday at the family fiesta and Proton Innovation and Creation 2010 competition, which was attended by company chairman Datuk Seri Nadzmi Salleh at Shah Alam Stadium.

The price of the hybrid vehicle is expected to be 50% higher than that of an ordinary car, he said.

But people could be encouraged to buy the hybrid with indirect incentives from the Government.

It was the same in other countries, Syed Zainal said, where government incentives spurred people to buy a hybrid car. — Bernama

Mazda8 launched in China

Earlier today the Mazda8 officially launched in China and is set to make a big splash in the MPV segment. The MPV market has increased by over 60% in 2010 alone, the Mazda8 will be competing against the Buick GL8 in the higher end MPV segment, until now the GL8 has had a free run of the business use MPV market, but the 8 will change this. The Mazda5 will also launch in China in early 2011 and will be produced by Chang’an Mazda.

The Mazda8 pricing has yet to be announced, the Mazda8 will be powered by a 2.3L and will be using a 4 speed gearbox to power the front wheels.-chinacartimes.com

Proton in talks for charging stations

PROTON Holdings Bhd is currently in talks with the government as well as highway operator PLUS Ex pressway Bhd on the possibility of setting up electric charging stations in the country, to help drive its soon-to-be-launched hybrid vehicle.

"We know that in order for the project to take off on a big scale, we need to have the infrastructure in place, infrastructure like charging station for the electric car," said Proton lead engineer and head of electric vehicle project Ilham Shamsul Ibrahim in Cyberjaya yesterday.

The company plans to launch its hybrid vehicle sometime next year. Unlike most hybrid cars where engines are powered by either petrol or electricity, or both at the same time, the ones by Proton will be slightly different.

The car's engine will be electric-powered, but there will be a petrol-powered motor, which will be used to charge the battery. 

"This is what we call series hybrid, or in another term, range-extended electric vehicle (REEV)," Shamsul said. 

The electric car, on its own without another motor to charge the battery, can only run about 140km. But with the motor, its mileage can increase to over 500km, said Shamsul. 

Currently, the REEV system is being tried out on the Exora. 

There are about 10 of these REEV-version of Exora on the roads now for test runs and trials. Tests have been ongoing for about two months. 

"We are currently in prototype stage 1. Once stage 1 is completed, we will get feedback on all the prob lems we faced, and solve it, and then move on to stage 2 and so forth," said Shamsul. In total, there will be at least three stages of tests. 

According to Shamsul, the REEV will be very en vironment-friendly and will help ease the burden of rising fuel prices. 

A full charge of the REEV would cost less than RM8, based on the current power rate. With that full charge, the car can go about 140km (without the help of the fuel-powered engine). This means, for RM40, the car can travel more than 500km, the common mileage a car can achieve on a full tank. 

So far, Shamsul said there are still some issues with the system. However, he stressed that it is common as it is still in the first stage of testing. -btimes.com.my

Porsche’s new 911 (2011) shows off its pop-up rear spoiler

Another week and yet more spy shots of Porsche’s all-new 911. And this time Porsche’s next-gen 911 is showing off its new pop-up rear spoiler.

The bigger rear spoiler, which is now wider than ever before, and extends beyond the intakes atop the engine and out across the flanks – it’s there to make the 911 both more slippery and stable at speed.

Ignore that Turbo-aping disguise, too. And as we close in on the launch of the new 911, the rest of the disguise is slipping away, revealing the familiar silhouette but a Panamera-influenced snout.

What else can you tell me about the new 911?

Slung out the back will be a marginally downsized 3.4-litre flat six for the 345bhp Carrera, while a 394bhp 3.8-litre flat six will power the Carrera S. You’ll be able to mate either to a seven-speed dual-clutch PDK ‘box, or (yes, really) a seven-speed manual transmission. There’s some eco sops too, with stop/start, intelligent decoupling alternators, and for the first time (and rather worryingly) electric power steering.

Porsche boss Matthias Müller also recently confirmed to CAR at the LA Auto Show that the company was working on flat four engines based on the architecture of the current flat six. The new motors are earmarked for the next-generation of Boxster and Cayman, but although Müller ruled it out for the 911 in the near future, we hear it will be deployed in the rear-engined icon in around five years time.

The new Porsche 911, internally dubbed 991, will be unveiled at the next Frankfurt motor show in September 2011.-carmagazine.co.uk

BugE – the DIY three-wheel electric vehicle

Electric vehicles are beginning to spread onto the mass market, but one of the limiting factors in these early days is a high-cost compared to their gas-burning equivalents. Electric scooters and motorcycles are considerably cheaper, but not everyone is comfortable on two wheels, or likes being exposed to the elements. Here's an alternative type of EV that costs less than six thousand dollars, is stable on the road and will protect you from wind and rain. It’s called the BugE, and there’s just one catch to it – you have to put the thing together yourself.

The almost-fully-faired three-wheeler was invented by Mark Murphy, of Creswell, Oregon. In the past, he has worked as a designer on concept projects for companies such as GM, Chrysler and BMW. He has sold about 50 of his BugE kits to customers around the U.S. since 2007, and has now started exporting them to Japan and Europe. His design criteria was for “a simple, low cost personal mobility vehicle that could function in a four-season environment on city streets.” If that philosophy sounds at all familiar, it might be because Murphy thinks of his vehicle as “a Model T for the 21st century.”

The BugE is propelled by a 17 bhp DC series motor, which is powered by four M34 lead acid batteries that take around eight hours to recharge. It has a steel box chassis with a composite body, an acrylic Lucite canopy, and has an empty weight of about 350 lbs (159 kg). The vehicle’s top speed is 50 mph (80 kph), with an approximate range of 30 miles (48 km) at 30 mph (48 kph) – Murphy noted that this can be expanded considerably if users swap in lithium batteries.

“The BugE is an entry level street legal EV suitable for errands, school or work commutes within the community,” Murphy told Gizmag. “It needs no special infrastructure since it plugs into 110V outlets using the existing electrical grid... it offers basic stability, performance, wind and rain protection and capacity for local use at a price comparable to a Vespa motorcycle. Four BugE's can fit in one parking space.”

Buyers can choose between three kit options, depending on how much they would like to tweak their vehicle with custom parts. For US$3,850, they’ll get the parts necessary for a rolling chassis. An additional $325 will get them the lighting and controls, while the power train will cost an extra $1,412. It adds up to a total of US$5,587, plus shipping.

“By selling kits we can reduce the cost of the vehicle, allow for hobbyist experimentation and modification, and create a local build and sell opportunity without requiring a factory and the high start up costs,” said Murphy.

“The BugE has huge potential and we are only scratching the surface.”-gizmag