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Toyota and Ford teeming up to build hybrid system

Discussion in 'Prius, Hybrid, EV and Alt-Fuel News' started by clickerman, Aug 22, 2011.

  1. clickerman

    clickerman Junior Member

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    This is from today's WSJ

    It looks like GM and Chrysler will be left in the dust.
     
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  2. JC Prii

    JC Prii New Member

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    GM and Daimler Chrysler should have fallen off when they went bankrupt the first time...Only the strong survive, baby. Though a pretty awesome collaboration. I'll buy a hybrid Ranger.
     
  3. DeadPhish

    DeadPhish Senior Member

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    To be fair, GM ( and maybe TM and F also ) have another 'hybrid' option under development for heavy RWD trucks.

    It's a hybrid fuel mixture of diesel and natural gas that's already being used by Cummins, Volvo and the largest Chinese truck producer in large diesel vehicles - but only on limited basis as yet. It cuts the usage of liquid diesel by as much as 90%. IOW at it's maximum efficiency it would allow heavy duty trucks and SUVs to cut their emissions by 90% and to increase their fuel ratings from 8-12 mpg to upwards of 60-80 mpg! :eek:

    This isn't the oft-mentioned secret carburator of the 20th Century. It's new cutting edge technology with one of the leaders being a Vancouver, BC company called Westport Innovations [NYSE:WPRT].

    I think that it would be safe to say that every vehicle maker in the world is now investigating this technology because of the sudden increase in discoveries of NatGAs throughout NA and other regions of the world. It allows the current trucks and SUVs of today simply to be converted as OE's using this new technology without any redesign, downsizing, loss of capability or massive increase in cost/price.

    It's first being implemented in delivery vehicles as large as trash haulers, buses and dump trucks. But it's perfect for FedEX, the USPS, sea containers at the ports of NA and all service vehicles in our towns.

    The main drawback today is the lack of a retail delivery infrastructure. But it's perfect today for vehicles that have to return home to the same garaging point every night in order to refuel.

    Again to be fair to GM, it recently signed an agreement with WPRT to develop these diesel/NatGas 'hybrids' for it's trucks of the next decade.

    What if every truck in our towns was 90% cleaner by the end of the decade than each one is today - using fuel from our own borders thus cutting out OPEC entirely? You also might want to investigate a bill in Congress right now, HR1380.
     
  4. cyclopathic

    cyclopathic Senior Member

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    Isn't Chrysler is working on hydraulic hybrid with EPA labs? Technology when fielded provided 60% economy for UPS trucks?

    Don't GM have Volt?
     
  5. David Beale

    David Beale Senior Member

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    To be more correct, this isn't the "first time" that Ford and Toyota have collaborated on hybrid powertrains. Ford asked Toyota for help with the Escape Hybrid (partly to avoid patent infringement, partly because they needed help from someone with experience). They have been running on their own since then on smaller hybrids.

    I suspect Toyota sees the writing on the wall re the Tundra. They need to green it up a lot! That big V8 is an Albatross around their neck re fuel economy averages. Ditto for the larger SUVs and vans.

    Oh, and I don't believe those fuel economy figures for trucks with NG injection one bit! Nice story though.
     
  6. usbseawolf2000

    usbseawolf2000 HSD PhD

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    How much NG does it consume in order to cut down Diesel by 90%?

    The hybrid truck and SUV that Toyota and Ford are working on do not require additional "fuel". It cuts down the consumption simply by being more efficient (extracting more energy from gasoline).
     
  7. DeadPhish

    DeadPhish Senior Member

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    From what I've been able to discover from WPRT's site and Google, it appears that the liquid fuel tank is reduced dramatically by as much as 90% and replaced by a second, separate, CNG tank. As the vehicle is being driven the two fuels are mixed using WPRT's technolgy to power the diesel engine.

    Current Cummins engines of 5.9L and 8.3L are on the roads now using this 'hybrid' mixture. What the efficiencies are currently I don't know and I don't think that they are saying.
     
  8. billnchristy

    billnchristy Active Member

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    This could be a good deal. I know its not cost effective but what would happen with an ecoboost hybrid?
     
  9. usbseawolf2000

    usbseawolf2000 HSD PhD

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    Does it mean Diesel HSD for trucks and SUVs?
     
  10. billnchristy

    billnchristy Active Member

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    Either diesel or ecoboost I would imagine.

    There is going to be a lot of cool options in the near future.
     
  11. austingreen

    austingreen Senior Member

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    Hopefully. I don't think the THS scaled well in the Lexus LS and GS, it is heavy and expensive. Similarly the GM two mode is heavy and expensive. Part of the problem may be parts volume needed to bring the costs down, and Toyota and Ford together should have the volume to do this.

    I wonder if they will be going for something like the drive of the Infiniti M hybrid which could let them drop any engine in they wanted. I would expect higher capacity batteries than toyota is currently using and a lighter easier to manufacture system.
     
  12. eldiee

    eldiee Member

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    About a month ago I bought an Escape hybrid for my wife. So far she loves it. It is an electronic 4 wheel drive model. It works very simular to our Prius drive system. So far she average around 31mpg and it is an improvement from her Buick that barely made 18mpg. I think that Toyota and Ford could make a great hybrid pickup and SUV together.
     
  13. ItsNotAboutTheMoney

    ItsNotAboutTheMoney EditProfOptInfoCustomUser Title

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    What country are you planning to move to?
     
  14. JC Prii

    JC Prii New Member

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    One where giant corporations are responsible for their own finances and pay attention to the strength of their own company instead of always having the, "The government won't let us fail", comfort in their mind. I love the country I live in. I just get disappointed seeing these big businesses being taken care of when smaller businesses fail every single day.
     
  15. UsedToLoveCars

    UsedToLoveCars Active Member

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    The market will be teeming with hybrids!

    (sorry, couldn't resist)
     
  16. Rybold

    Rybold globally warmed member

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    NOTICE THE FORD C-MAX ON THE LEFT
    [​IMG]
    Ford and Toyota to work together on hybrid system for trucks - The Globe and Mail

    Hopefully SUVs and gas guzzlers will be extinct before the end of "this decade" arrives.

    .
     

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  17. David Beale

    David Beale Senior Member

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    So it'll be like new drugs. 20 years before we see anything on the market. I wonder if there will even BE cars in 20 years. ;)
     
  18. wwest40

    wwest40 Member

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    EcoBoost, gas-guzzling, gas-hoggish, technology (TWINFORCE back then) was originally developed when Ford was of the thinking that the HP race (Mustang...) was back on..

    Then gas prices happened and TWINFORCE became environmentally conscious EcoBoost.

    I'm virtually certain that just as soon as it becomes PC then EcoBoost will die a relatively silent DEATH.
     
  19. wwest40

    wwest40 Member

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    The most important news that I see here is the new attention to...

    RWD.
     
  20. billnchristy

    billnchristy Active Member

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    Hmm...

    225ci v-6- 302hp 278ft lb torque 17/22 mpg
    213ci v-6EB- 365hp 420ft lb torque 16/22 mpg
    302ci v-8 - 360hp 380 ft lb torque 15/21 mpg
    379ci v-8 - 411hp 434ft lb torque 13/18 mpg

    It also tows 5k more than the v-6, 2100lb more than the 5l and 100lbs more than the big V-8.

    Absolutely horrible...how dare the smallest engine develop almost the same power and torque as the largest and get almost the same economy as the bigger V-6 in the stable.

    What a horrible horrible engine....I have seen the error of my ways.

    BTW 1l ecoboost 4cyl will be coming for Fiesta and still make over 100hp and get >40mpg...I am sure that will be a guzzler too eh?
     
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