Fiat to Own 35% of Chrysler in Return for Small Car Platform
January 19, 2009 by admin · Leave a Comment
Chrysler and Fiat are joining forces. Chrysler’s majority owner Cerberus will give thirty-five percent of its stake in Chrysler to Fiat. Fiat will will not pay Cerberus any cash in this deal. Instead Fiat will provide its small car platforms, powertrains and other systems to Chrysler with the hope that a small car model range will give it greater sales and profitability. Read more
Dodge Circuit EV on the Stand: Detroit 2009
January 12, 2009 by admin · Leave a Comment
Technical details and press pics of the new Dodge Circuit are in an earlier post, but now we’ve had a chance to see the car in the flesh.
Whereas Tesla took the Lotus Elise and mad it fugly, the Circuit EV does actually look a lot better than the Lotus Europa which it’s based on. And the only thing that Dodge added to the exterior is the crosshair grille and the Tangoreen color (WTF?). Take note Lotus designers.
The all-electric guts - with A123 battery pack and 200 kW motor - are cool, and if Chrysler wasn’t in so much financial trouble, we’d be optimistic about driving on of these. Sure it may be a quick’n'easy way to get to an electric sportscar, but we’re happy that electric drive is the way that companies are chosing to go.
Another pic of the live reveal and video of the Circuit being driven around after the jump. Read more
Chrysler Unveils Beautiful Electric Car Concept 200C EV
January 11, 2009 by admin · Leave a Comment
The 200C EV is a plug-in hybrid sedan that uses ENVI’s Range-extended Electric Vehicle technology, and is a rolling test bed for Chrysler’s future uconnect in-car computer and communication device. It also connects directly to an iPhone, allowing you to pre-program the temperature, lock the doors, view an in-car camera remotely and track the car’s location live via GPS – all straight from the iPhone.
It uses Chrysler’s ENVI’s Range-extended Electric Vehicle technology. It has a 40-mile all-electric range, a 400-mile range with a full charge of the lithium-ion battery and a full tank, and a top speed of over 120 miles-per-hour. Read more
Dodge Unveil New Electric Sportscar the Circuit EV at Detroit
January 11, 2009 by admin · Leave a Comment
Based on the Lotus Europa the Dodge Circuit EV features styling inspired by the powerful Dodge Viper with its distinctive crosshair grille, wide track and low hood. The rear also gets a new more sporty look with a small diffuser. Special alloy wheels and a lick of orange paint that Chrysler calls “Tangoreen” look. Read more
Hybrid Sales Drop 42.7% in December
January 6, 2009 by admin · Leave a Comment
Reported sales of hybrids in the US dropped 42.7% in December 2008 year-on-year to 17,698 units—the lowest December figure since 2004, when there were only four hybrid models on the market. Overall light-duty vehicle sales in the US dropped 35.5% in the month. For the full year, total reported hybrid sales dropped 10% to 313,781 units, while total light duty vehicle sales were down 18%.
The hybrid percentage share of new vehicles sold dropped to just below 2% (1.97%) in December. For the year, hybrids held a 2.4% share of the new vehicle market. Read more
$4B in Bridge Loans Given to GM and Chrysler
January 5, 2009 by admin · Leave a Comment
GM and Chrysler have each received $4 billion in federal bridge loans.
GM received its first tranche of $4 billion from the Federal Government on 31 December. Chrysler received its $4 billion on 2 January. Read more
US Hybrid Sales Down 50 Percent in November
December 9, 2008 by admin · Leave a Comment
US sales of hybrids dropped 50% in November to 16,571 units from November 2007—a volume slightly above that of November 2005. Overall light duty vehicle sales in the US in November dropped 36.7%. (Earlier post.) For November, hybrids represented 2.22% of the new vehicle light duty market; year-to-date, hybrids hold a 2.4% share of new vehicle sales. November 2007 and 2008 had the same number of selling days. Read more
Chrysler Plays Electric Vehicle Catchup
October 1, 2008 by admin · Leave a Comment
Chrysler is now throwing it’s hat into the electric drive ‘ring’ and is rolling out three different vehicles that it’s working on. They are badged simply as Dodge, Chrysler and Jeep EV. Like the Dodge ZEO, the Dodge is a lithium battery powered sports car that begins with a Lotus Europa and ditches the 2.0L four cylinder engine and transmission in favor of a 268 hp electric motor. In much the same way as a certain Silicon Valley based start-up, the only way to fuel up the EV is with a plug. It will take 4 hours to charge up from a 220V outlet or twice that long if only half the voltage is available. Read more
Chrysler Begins Hybrid Electric Vehicle Production
August 26, 2008 by admin · Leave a Comment
Chrysler has started production of hybrid electric vehicles at its Newark assembly plant in Delaware, US.
The company said that it is offering a two-mode hybrid powertrain on both the vehicles being built at the plant, the Dodge Durango and the Chrysler Aspen.
There are some other components associated with hybrid electric vehicles production that are installed at the plant including 300V battery, two-mode transmission, torque power inverter module, electric air conditioning, auxiliary power module, high-voltage cables, and hydro-electric power steering pump.
The company claims that that its advanced two-mode full hybrid system, developed in partnership with General Motors, Daimler and BMW, integrates automatic transmission technology with a hybrid-electric drive system to deliver the world’s first two-mode full hybrid.
Joe Ozdowy, plant manager of Chrysler’s Newark assembly facility, said: “The implementation of this new manufacturing process was done intelligently, with both quality and cost in mind. I would like to congratulate and thank the team for their dedication while bringing these important new products to market to help satisfy the changing needs of our Dodge and Chrysler customers.”
