Our good friends over at Popular Mechanics have been on a fuel-saving tear as of late, putting the brand-new Jetta TDI up against the reigning mileage champ, the Toyota Prius, and following that comparison up with a test of Chevy's Cobalt XFE. What's the next obvious choice for a mileage run? None other than the Dodge Challenger. Wait... excuse me? The Challenger was created to burn rubber and gas, right? Sort of, as one of the reasons people will buy one is for that "I live my life one quarter-mile at a time" Vin Diesel image, but that doesn't mean that all Challengers are equipped with a gas-guzzling Hemi V8 engine. In fact, there is a perfectly decent 3.5-liter V6 engine option for the base-model, though it's saddled with an ancient four-speed automatic transmission.

So, if there is a Challenger out there that isn't exactly being marketed towards the racer crowd, how does it rate on its fuel mileage merits? Eh, we've seen worse. It's EPA rated at 17 mpg in the city, 25 on the highway. All right, we've seen better. But, how did it do in real-world testing? After 669-miles of mostly highway driving, the pony car managed 23.4 mpg. For what it's worth, we got 24 mpg in our own testing. While that's certainly better than what you're likely to get in a V8 powered model, it's not exactly miserly. In any case, now you know.

[Source: Popular Mechanics]

We've taken a good look at each of the three electric vehicle concepts that Chrysler took the wraps off of last week, plus one extra for good measure. For various reasons, none of these vehicles really seems quite ready for prime time - one is based on a Lotus sportscar chassis, two require huge battery packs and the last is limited to 25 miles per hour. Tough bring those to market. Still, Chrysler says it plans to launch one of them by 2010 in the U.S. with European delivery scheduled a bit later. We'll see. If that does happen, Chrysler's EV would join the Chevy Volt as the first mainstream(-ish) cars in the States not powered by gasoline in a very, very long time.

If Chrysler's predictions are accurate, though, don't expect the market to stay petroleum-dependent for long. In fact, Chrysler's executive vice president of product development, Frank Klegon, has said that half the cars sold here in 2020 will feature electric power. That's a long way to go in just a decade. In any case, the future promises lots of interesting things for the domestic auto market.


[Source: Automotive News Europe - sub. req'd]

When Chrysler introduced us to its EV line-up the other day some of us were a little taken aback. Although they hadn't explicitly said so prior to the unveiling, the fact that they had shown off two ER-EVs and an all-electric concept at the last Detroit Auto Show led some to assume that one or more of these might be involved in this new unveiling. Obviously this was not the case. Instead we we're treated to the somewhat dowdy Chrysler mini-van mainstay, a Jeep of SUV-like proportions and a freshly painted Lotus Europa with a UQM electric set-up. Oh yeah, there was also the peculiar Peapod.

That got us to thinking, what if Chrysler had of reached into its closet and pulled out some of its previous concept vehicles and presented them with electric drivetrains installed instead. Recycling is pretty green, no? They must have something from the not-so-distant past that had decent aerodynamics or some other quality that might give it an advantage as an EV over the ones they actually chose. We decided to take a look for ourselves and humbly share our choices after the jump.

Along with all the photos of its new battery-powered vehicles, Chrysler yesterday also provided some video footage. The clips after the jump include Chrysler VP for ENVI, Lou Rhodes, discussing the electric vehicle program, and running footage of the Dodge, Chrysler and Jeep EVs. There isn't much new here but you might want to see these vehicles in action, silently humming along as they do their business. Although Chrysler has made some bold claims, it will be interesting to see which if any of these ever make it to mass production. The Jeep in particular is interesting because if Chrysler can build a commercially viable Jeep EV it could also presage a similar RAM.

Related:

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[Source: Chrysler]

As we wrap up Chrysler EV day, Vice-Chairman Tom LaSorda, EVP-Product Development Frank Klegon and Chief Innovation officer Peter Arnell held a conference call to discuss their new offspring. As one might expect, the trio were deliberately vague on a lot of details but they did tell us a few things. Given Chrysler's partnership with General Motors on the Two-Mode Hybrid system (along with Daimler and BMW), it seems reasonable to ask if the cooperation extends to the ER-EV platforms. Klegon made it clear that Chrysler has done all the development of these vehicles in-house and with their suppliers. GM played no part in creating these vehicles, other than maybe some inspiration.

Development started in early 2007, and then moved into the ENVI group when it was formed one year ago. LaSorda emphasized that no production battery supplier has been selected and Chrysler is working with a number of vendors, including A123 Systems. Given that the Jeep and Chrysler have significantly larger battery packs than the Volt, that also points to a higher price. None of the officials would talk about potential pricing at this point but they did acknowledge that they are looking at some different models. They couldn't say which vehicle would be the first to be produced, that will depend on performance during development. They also said that these three will almost certainly not be the only such vehicles produced. The Dodge will likely get some styling tweaks to give it more of a family look before production. We'll be looking for a lot more details in the coming weeks and months.


[Source: Chrysler]

Now that we've had some time to find the spec sheet for Chrysler's new EVs on the company's media site and then perusing it, we can answer some of the questions that initially came to mind from the press release. You might have noticed that Chrysler is claiming the same 40-mile electric range for its T&C and Wrangler ER-EVs that GM claims for the Chevy Volt. And yet GM had to completely redesign the car to minimize drag in order to achieve that range. How is Chrysler doing it with a brick shaped Jeep and a maxi-sized minivan? Why, more batteries of course. The Volt is spec'ed out with a 16 kWh battery pack. The Chrysler uses a nearly fifty percent larger 22 kWh pack while the Jeep goes all the way to 27 kWh. The Jeep actually has a larger pack than the Dodge/Lotus sports car which only has a 26 kWh pack. That raises both questions and answers. At 26 kWh, it only takes 4 hours to charge from a 220V / 30A outlet. That kind of charge time with a Tesla Roadster is only available with an 80A outlet. The question is how do they get the 150-200 mile range with a pack roughly have the size of the 53 kWh unit used by Tesla? You can read the full spec sheet here.


[Source: Chrysler]

Chrysler is playing a massive game of catchup in the electric drive sweepstakes right now and today is rolling out four different vehicles that it's working on. Three of the four take ideas from the company's 2008 Detroit Show concepts and are currently badged simply as Dodge, Chrysler and Jeep EV. Like the Dodge ZEO, the Dodge is a lithium battery powered sports car. The EV begins with a Lotus Europa and dispenses with the 2.0L four cylinder engine and transmission in favor of a 268 hp electric motor. In much the same fashion 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.

The other two concepts that Chrysler showed were both ER-EVs. The EcoVoyager used a fuel cell to keep a sufficient quantity of electrons available while the Jeep Renegade used a small diesel engine driving a generator. Since neither of these vehicles is ready for production yet, Chrysler's ENVI team has chosen the closest analogs they have as the basis for production models. Both the Town and Country and Wrangler Unlimited EVs are supposed to be able to move their occupants up to 40 miles without any direct combustion. Once the battery packs have reached depletion level an range extender kicks in to keep the fun going. Read on after the jump for more information.


[Source: Chrysler]

Ahead of a dealer video conference later today, Chrysler CEO Bob Nardelli spoke with CNBC this morning and unveiled the first product of its ENVI electric car division. Nardelli pulled the covers off of the Dodge EV which is based on the Lotus Europa. Like the Tesla Roadster which has a chassis derived from the Lotus Elise, the Europa is also based on an extended Elise chassis. ENVI has created the Dodge EV by adding electric drive and lithium ion batteries to the Europa for a plug-in range of 150-200 miles and 0-60 time of under 5 seconds. Like the Zeo concept unveiled at the Detroit Auto Show, the Dodge EV is a pure electric sports car. Paralleling that, Chrysler is also showing a pair of extended range EVs based on the Town and Country Van and Jeep Wrangler. Like the Volt, both of these are expected to have a 40-mile battery range and 400-mile total range. The Jeep at least is also using four hub motors to provide individual torque control at each corner. The fourth vehicle in the lineup is the Pea-pod NEV. During the interview, Nardelli and Tom LaSorda indicated they are targeting a late 2010 launch for at least one of these vehicles. Chrysler will be making a more detailed announcement today at 1 p.m.

[Source: CNBC]

Chrysler's most desirable vehicles are all large, heavy cars with rear-wheel drive. The smallest engine in the Charger and 300C displaces 2.7-liters and has six cylinders, hardly the recipe for a frugal and efficient sedan. This being the case, anything the Pentastar or Ram brand can do to help the situation is both completely necessary and appreciated by consumers. This being the case, we're happy to see that Dodge has been able to improve the fuel efficiency of its Charger sedan for 2009. This car makes the most sense when equipped with the available Hemi engine, and it's this powertrain that has seen the most significant tweaks. Despite seeing a bump in horsepower from 340 hp and 390 lb-ft. to 368 horsepower and 395 lb-ft torque, fuel efficiency on the highway reaches 24 mpg with rear-wheel drive. For all-wheel drive models, Chrysler has added a new Active Transfer Case and Front-axle Disconnect which allows the front wheels to freewheel when not needed for traction. We've pasted the entire (lengthy) 2009 Charger press release after the break.

[Source: Chrysler]

It appears as if they small-bore diesel wars are set to swing into full motion come next year. We already know about the 4.4-liter Ford diesel V8, which comes from Ford's Euro side, and the 4.5-liter Duramax V8 from the General. Now, we find that the upcoming 2010 Dodge Ram - rumored to get a small-bore oil-burner of its own - may very well come with an optional 5.0-liter V8 from Cummins. This revelation comes courtesy of Mike Levine and his minions over at PickupTrucks.com who noticed an underhood sticker for the proper refilling of refrigerant on the air-conditioning unit. It takes real dedication to notice such a thing, but it has definitely paid dividends this time. Along with what is sure to be a fairly sizable increase in cost, the smaller-displacement diesel engines should each offer well over 500 lb.-ft. of torque along with a 25-percent improvement in fuel consumption. That's what we like to hear.

[Source: PickupTrucks.com]

Chrysler's co-president continued to talk up his employer's plans for electrically-driven vehicles this week at a media luncheon in California. Press told the gathering that he had driven three different producible prototypes of plug-in hybrid vehicles recently. The vehicles have been developed by the new ENVI unit that was established in late 2007 specifically to work on electric vehicles. According to Press, the vehicles can accelerate from 0-60 mph in four seconds and have a range of over 300 miles. Press hasn't said when these vehicles would be built, but earlier this summer, company officials indicated a 3-5 year timeline to produce such vehicles. If so that would put the company at least 1-2 years behind the expected launch of the Chevrolet Volt and a potential plug-in version of the Toyota Prius. For production, it's likely that the performance of the cars would be dialed back significantly in order to increase electric range although a higher-performance Dodge vehicle is not out of the question.



[Source: Los Angeles Times]
Photos Copyright ©2008 Sam Abuelsamid / Weblogs, Inc.

General Motors has proven that it's not all that difficult to eke a bit more efficiency out of already-finished models with its XFE line. By waving a magic wand over the engine's computer, subtle reprogramming tweaks can make a big difference. Other tricks involve altering transmission gear ratios for improved efficiency. Chrysler has gone ahead and made changes such as this to its minivans equipped with the top-level 4.0-liter SOHC V6 engine and six speed automatic transmission combo. The biggest changes seem to be to that auto gearbox, which sees a lower first gear for better take-off and more closely-spaced ratios the rest of the way up. The newly-optimized engine features 251-horsepower and 259 lb.-ft. of torque. The end result is an improvement in fuel mileage of up to eight percent. For the number crunchers out there, that puts the Dodge Caravan and Chrysler Town and Country at 17 mpg city and 25 mpg highway.

[Source: Chrysler]

The trend away from gas guzzlers, as well as the need for cash, is causing GM to search for a new home for its Hummer brand and now in a stroke of mad genius, Chrysler has realized it could probably get some cash for its long time sports car superstar, the Dodge Viper. Chrysler has been getting its zoom on with the eye-catching model since back in '92 and although they have managed to keep it fresh enough for the potential buyers in that market, the question about what to do after you've reached 600 hp eventually arises. Of course, most sports car enthusiasts would answer that with the quick retort of "give it 700 hp" but seriously, unless you're using as a track car, more hp is pointless, no? A better response might be to make it easier to drive (like GM has done with the ZR1 Corvette) but that kind of work takes a certain kind of dedication and specialization that might be better suited to a smaller, more performance focused firm. Since the car is now put together at a largely independent plant in Detroit, perhaps Chrysler can find someone willing and able to buy the whole kit and Viper cache kaboodle for a boatload of bills and add some sweetness to the sorrow of parting. Let's just hope the break-up is over quickly because Chrysler needs to concentrate their efforts on cars people can afford to drive if they are to survive.

[Source: Just-Auto]

Click the Aspen Hybrid for a high-res gallery

This week Chrysler launched full scale production of the new Aspen and Dodge Durango hybrids at the Newark, DE assembly plant. The SUVs are Chrysler's first production hybrid vehicles and they use the same Two-Mode hybrid system that's installed in GM's full-size SUVs. The plant began building pilot production vehicles earlier this year to iron out any production issues and hybrid Durangos and Aspens should start appearing at dealerships in the next few weeks. Chrysler isn't indicating how many hybrids they plan to build but they have priced the SUVs very aggressively compared to the GM equivalents. The Chryslers are only available as four wheel drives and those are priced $8,000 below the four wheel drive GM models. The Durango has a sticker price of $45,340, including $800 for destination, while the Aspen runs $45,570. Check out our first drive of the 2009 Chrysler Aspen/Dodge Durango 2-Mode hybrids.

[Source: Chrysler]

For Chrysler, the future is looking green(er). Company vice chairman Tom LaSorda recently announced a bunch of new fuel-efficient offerings. In 2010, an unibody Jeep Grand Cherokee will be introduced that will be mated to a new V6 fuel efficient engine. The automaker plans to spend $1.8 billion to refit its Jefferson North (Detroit) Assembly Plant to produce this Grand Cherokee (2008 model pictured above) and other products off the same platform, which was initially co-developed with Mercedes. LaSorda also had confirmed a hybrid powertrain and a clean diesel for the Ram pickup truck. No news on the possible minivan hybrid.

Then there's the subcompact model that Chrysler is co-developing with Chery. LaSorda said that it is in the last phases of the design process and that Chery Automotive is making a number of engineering changes to the small car, which could be ready by the end of this year and on sale in 2009.



[Source: Automotive News (subs. req'd)]