Audi's well-known A3 family car will be the luxury automaker's first to employ an electric powertrain. The plug-in hybrid version of the car will launch in 2014. (Source: Audi)
I'm from Detroit, Went to GMI and the U of M. I resent all of the attacks that we have endured and the false "proper" approach and the nasty and dead wrong cartoons.
So I know saved when I see it.
You should see all of the Cafe Racers buzzing around town. Wonder where all that came from... Actually I do know.
And though an Archtect who is very conscious about energy and energy losses.
I am absolutely clear that the boat was missed in the realm of Wind energy.
A National Laboratory for testing an development should have been established to perfect the wind engines rather than be lemmings copying that 1946 design found in the bowels of the drawing files of NASA.
Efficiencies of 59% can be had with a different approach.
Those 3 bladed fans are very low efficiency wise, maybe 20% if lucky. T Boone is correct given the ubiquitous, antiquated and bad design.
So I am not green agenda guy at any cost by any means, particularly when it is represented by bum engineering.
But GM taught me that efficiency is important so I would cast my lots with those who believe in fine engineering.
So please don't categorize me as a green-at-any cost agenda guy.
Proper, modern engineering has not been conducted in this realm.
And I am not running around advocating a quick switch to electric powered vehicles, but I do know it is coming, having covered the Progressive X-prize for Electric vehicles despite the fact that all of the EV manufacturers eschewed the contest.
January's NAIAS showed that EV is coming, even in pickup trucks.
We are very close to an election and I will stick with Bob Lutz's reflections and conclusions because he was there.
Integrity is always the real issue that we should guard and prize.
Will you please resit the urge to polarize yourself and fellow readers on this forum by making such political fodder. Namely making inflamatory fodder by inferring that all Republicans are eco-hating liars? I know it's hard for you to fathom but their are some liberal left-leaning folks like yourself who also disagree with a green-at-any cost agenda who are liars also. We are divided enough as a country, let's not take it to the office. Thanks for keeping it civil.
Charles, if battery cooling is do important, how energy efficient are these cars? Seems like they are wasting as much energy in electricity as we waste in gas. Maybe they waste more energy over all. Any facts?
When Bob Lutz set GM on the road to EV's he established himself as the father of the rebirth of electric powered vehicles and placed GM in an envieable position despite all the lies that the Republicans came up with.
The Volt is Great! The powertrain was designed by a woman engineer. They have figured out ways to get the costs down and this winter at the NAIAS we will see the Converj although some of the stupids have renamed it with some alphabet soup.
Good to see Audi playing ketchup, and that it is. So much for vaunted German Engineering. Time and again American Engineers have shown their superiority.
If GM can muster up some fantastic Colors the Converj will be seen as one of the great cars of all time, like the 20 Grand or the XK or the 300 gull wing. And it will be far more widely available.
Thank goodness for Obama! Otherwise we'd have a real mess and no Converj, no Volt and we'd be forever playing ketchup and it would look like real blood.
I agree that the approach makes a lot of sense, especially with high-end car brands like Audi, which have devoted buyers who often move from one model year to another in whatever time frame they are ready to buy a new vehicle. In that way, the buyer ready to upgrade can opt to go hybrid route if the technology is evolved enough.
Cost likely won't play too much of an issue here as well. Audi commands a higher price tag than many of the competing luxury brands so it's likely its buyers won't flinch too much at premium pricing.
I agree that it's sensible for a lot of reasons, Naperlou. One big reason is that Audi makes luxury cars. That means the cost of the battery can be more easily absorbed into the overall cost of the vehicle. Up to now, electrics and plug-in hybrids have been targeted at Chevy, Nissan and Toyota. Up to now, plug-ins have appealed to high-income buyers. The average Chevy Volt buyer is said to have an annual income of $170,000.
I'm surprised that Audi is really just beginning to fully explore this market and technology. Volkswagon has had flexible fuel, all electric and hybrid cars available for years, worldwide.
I'd expect Audi to take it to a higher level over it's sister brand VW but this is a slow, albeit good, beginning.
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