Ford Builds Only FWD Hybrid Transmission To Be Made in North America

Published August 2, 2012

By Philippe Crowe

Ford’s hybrid strategy involves creating its own transmission and it will be built in the U.S.

The automakers and suppliers are investing $220 million to transform Van Dyke Transmission into a modern operation capable of producing Ford’s new hybrid transmission – known as HF35 – as well as other fuel-efficient transmissions. The investments are part of a $632 million commitment Ford and its suppliers are making to increase capacity and flexibility at three North American transmission facilities by 2015.

Ford's Van Dyke Transmission Plant is located in Sterling Heights, Mich.

The HF35 transmission, which incorporates two electric motors, is the first hybrid transmission to be designed and built by Ford. Previously, hybrid transmission production was handled by a supplier in Japan. By bringing the development work in-house, Ford reduced development costs 20 percent.

Investments at Van Dyke include manufacturing, capital equipment, launch and engineering costs, and supplier tooling upgrades. New flexible equipment allows the plant to build both HF35 and 6F, a conventional six-speed automatic transmission, at the same time.

Ford engineered the HF35 and upgraded the controls with a goal of creating the industry’s highest-performing, smoothest-operating hybrid transmission. Ford lists the following among this hybrid transmission’s innovations:

• Electric motors capable of operating at higher electric speeds

• A super-efficient new cooling system that enables higher speeds in electric drive

• Optimized gear ratios enabling improvement in fuel economy

• More precise controls to deliver higher levels of refinement as the powertrain transitions between engine and electric drive

• Reduced weight to help increase fuel economy

A lot revolves around this transmission as the HF35 will be used in five electrified vehicles being introduced this year: the C-MAX Hybrid; the C-MAX Energi plug-in hybrid; the 2013 Fusion Hybrid; the Fusion Energi plug-in hybrid; and derived from the Fusion, the Lincoln MKZ Hybrid.

---

Read More

Chevy Volt Leads Growing Plug-In Vehicle Market

Published August 2, 2012

By Jeff Cobb

The Volt is now entering its third model year. Shown is the first pre-production 2011 model that rolled off the line March 31, 2010.

For July, the Chevrolet Volt again led the small-but-expanding North American market of all-electric cars and plug-in hybrids, with 1,849 sales representing an uptick of 89 units more than June, and the Volt’s second-best month since selling 2,289 in March.

Following the Chevy was Toyota’s Prius PHEV with 688 units sold. It stayed very consistent next to its 695 sold in June. Nissan’s ailing Leaf – with yet-to-be answered questions about heat-induced battery degradation – saw sales decline to 395 units from 535 in June.

After the Leaf comes the Misubishi i-MiEV at 33 units – the exact same number reported in June. Mitsubishi is now selling this car through certified i-MiEV dealers in all states except Alaska, Wyoming, Idaho, Montana, Nebraska and North Dakota, with no plans for U.S. territories at this time.

After Mitsubishi comes Honda Motor Co. which dipped its toes in with its first seven California-lease-only Fit EVs sold to retail customers.

We’re still waiting for July numbers for Ford’s Focus Electric, BMW Active E and Smart ForTwo EV and hope to have them soon – or by the time the monthly Dashboard's data is in and we compile stats there.

In June, Smart delivered 127 ForTwo EVs, Ford delivered 89 Focus EVs, and BMW delivered 79 Active Es.

Fisker and Tesla have chosen not to report sales on a regular monthly basis, but if we're able to get that info later we will post it.

More competition is on its way, including the $33,745 Ford C-Max Energi plug-in hybrid due this fall. It will have 20 miles all-electric range and a combined rating of 95 mpg.

---

Read More

Audi AS7 by ABT

V8 / 3.993 cc / 520 PS / 479 ft/lb (650 Nm) @ 1.400 - 5.200 / twin turbo / quattro AWD / 0 - 62 mph (100 km/h): 4,4 s / Vmax: 180 mph (290 km/h)

(click images for a larger view)

<iframe allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" src="http://www.facebook.com/plugins/like.php?href=http://onlycarsandcars.blogspot.co.uk/2012/08/audi-as7-by-abt.html&amp;layout=standard&amp;show_faces=false&amp;width=100&amp;action=like&amp;font=arial&amp;colorscheme=light" class="c6">></iframe>

Read More

How does a 700-HP twincharged Ariel Atom sound?

Related Gallery DDMWorks Ariel Atom 700

Show full PR text
700HP DDMWorks Twin-charged Ariel Atom - Creates most powerful Ariel Atom in the World

Piedmont, SC August 1st, 2012 – DDMWorks is pleased to announce the first Ariel Atom 700 conversion. The Ariel Atom 700 conversion is based on the Ariel Atom 2 using the 2.0L Ecotec engine. The Ariel Atom 700 combines both a supercharger and a turbo on one engine to produce 700hp, which is an amazing 350hp/liter. Even with the amazing power per liter, the twincharged engine offers great low end response with high end power, all in only 2.0L of displacement.

To accomplish this amount of power per liter safely, extensive modifications are done to the stock Ecotec 2.0L. The engine is fitted with many upgrades including Darton Mid sleeves, custom ceramic coated Wiseco pistons, H-beam Carrillo connecting rods, and ARP hardware. Then the original M62 supercharger is re-installed along with a Garrett GTX 3076 turbocharger to supply the airflow required to reach the 700hp goal. Fueling is supplied by 1100cc injectors and a massive Aeromotive 1000 fuel pump. A custom air-to-water heat exchanger is used to cool the supercharger output along with a gigantic air-to-air intercooler in the rear to cool the air from the turbo, both units custom made for the conversion by Griffin Thermal Products. The conversion uses a pair of boost controllers to control the boost feeding the engine from the supercharger and turbo. One of the controllers is hooked up to a Tial MV-R water cooled wastegate to keep the turbo boost at 35psi on high boost. A second boost controller is used to turn the supercharger off once the turbo pressure exceeds the output of the supercharger, increasing efficiency and allowing more power to get to the ground.

Exhaust, intercooler tubing, and tubular exhaust manifold are all custom made in house by DDMWork's talented fabricators and fitted to the car by hand, then finished off with ceramic coating. Final custom tuning of the ECM and boost controllers is also done in house on our load bearing Dynocom dyno to verify the 700hp before delivery.

To handle the power of the conversion, 225mm wide Toyo R888's are mounted on custom 16x7 wheels up front and 275mm R888's mounted on custom 17x9 wheels in the rear.

The end result, the 1450 pound Ariel Atom 700 achieves a Power to weight ratio that exceeds most all production cars, including exotics, with only 2.07 pounds per horsepower! Along with this amazing power to weight, the power is selectable by the driver while driving, with 3 selectable power levels of 450, 575 and 700hp.

With the power of the Atom 700 conversion, we strongly suggest our customers take a specialized driving course for their safety, like the Ariel Atom experience offered at Virginia International Raceway by TMI.

The Atom 700 Twin-charged and other custom Ariel Atom conversions of many power levels are currently available with installation and tuning at our facility in South Carolina. Pricing is dependent on options and power requested, please contact us for an individual price quote.

DDMWorks is located near Greenville, SC and produces custom performance upgrade parts for

the Ariel Atom and other vehicles.

News Source: DDMWorks

Category: Aftermarket, Convertible, Performance, Specialty, MISC

Tags: aftermarket, ariel, ariel atom, ariel atom 700, ariel motor company, atom 700, ddmworks, ddmworks ariel atom 700, performance, twincharger

Read More

Toyota Announces Recall of 2010 Lexus HS 250h Models

Published August 2, 2012

By Philippe Crowe

Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc. announced yesterday that it will conduct a voluntary safety recall involving 2010 model year Lexus HS 250h vehicles sold in the U.S.

The recall touches approximately 18,000 cars.

Toyota has determined that if the nuts on the rear suspension arm are not tightened following the proper procedure and torque specification during a rear wheel alignment service, excessive play may occur at the threaded portion of the arm, followed by rust formation. If this were to occur, the threaded portion of the rear suspension arm may wear and cause the arm to separate.

The same recall also touches approximately 760,000 2006 to early 2011 model year RAV4.

Toyota is currently developing a remedy. Once the remedy is available, Toyota will send a notification letter by first class mail advising owners to make an appointment with an authorized Toyota or Lexus dealer to have the remedy performed at no charge.

---

Read More

4.1 Million EV Charging Stations by 2017

Published August 2, 2012

By Huw Evans

As policymakers and the industry rush as fast as they can into the electrified vehicle future, eyes will be on a number of potential paradigm shifts.

Among these were factors revealed by a recent report by global consultancy firm Frost & Sullivan which predicts a massive increase in EV charging units in the U.S. from just 10,000 or so today to 4.1 million by 2017.

Although public charging units are expected to crest to around 500,000 installations, the biggest growth is likely to come from residential units; 3.5 million according to the report.

What’s more, because of cost considerations, it’s believed most of those residential units will be level 1 charging devices, which– unlike level 2 units – do not require installation by an approved electrician. Level 1 chargers in fact use only 120-volt household current, and merely plug into the standard wall receptacle while providing a cord to reach the vehicle's charging socket.

For most EV owners this would mean overnight charging at home will be essential for operating their vehicles. In many cases, a full charge will take 10-12 hours.

But, given the emphasis on a modern 24/7 culture, that could pose an inconvenience, although automakers and technology companies are also working to reduce down time via new-generation batteries and improved charging devices.

Utility companies are also keeping their eyes open to prevent over-burdening local grids and it's believed electricity supply challenges will be met as needed.

The predicted rise in EV charging stations further represents an interesting juxtaposition against conventional gasoline filling stations, which in most Western countries have been on the decline in recent years.

According to data from the National Petroleum News Survey, the number of gas stations in the U.S has been dropping significantly in the last two decades. From 202,878 in 1994, there were 164,292 in 2007 (the most recent year we could obtain figures).

Although it’s still far too early to predict, there is a possibility that sometime in the future, driving an EV could actually prove far more convenient that filling up at the pump.

Green Car Reports via DOE

---

Read More

July 2012 - Not Enough Time Edition

Category: Car Buying, By the Numbers

Tags: by the numbers, comparisons, featured, ford, general motors, honda, toyota

Read More