Lawsuit filed in hybrid bus hullabaloo

The 2004 decision by the city of Elk Grove to purchase refurbished buses with gasoline/electric hybrid drivetrains from ISE and Complete Coach Works sure hasn't panned out as well as had been hoped. With the noble intention of being the first U.S. city with an all-hybrid bus fleet, Elk Grove officials purchased 21 of the buses for around $10 million. According to a spokesperson for the city's contract maintenance company, MV Transportation of Fairfield, "Those buses immediately began having problems." After experiencing leaking in the rain, loss of air conditioning, and some buses that completely stopped working, the fire that happened in September of 2007 was the last straw. It was then that the buses (pictured above) were pulled from service and parked behind a grassy knoll.

Although hotly contested by the manufacturers, the city claims there were actually four fires and 25-30 "thermal incidents." Vice President Justin Spragg of ISE Corp contends that there were only three fires and that they were not all related to the ultra-capacitor used in the hybrid design. According to the article in the Sacramento Bee, he also stated that there were far fewer than the 25 "thermal incidents" claimed by the city. President Macy Neshati of Complete Coach Works is quoted as saying, "I think we're aware of a couple of instances that would be properly described as a thermal incident but 'fire' is like flames and evacuation and buses burning to the ground. We certainly haven't had that." The manufacturers place the blame at the feet of the maintenance company while the city appears to have plans to try to recoup their initial $10 million investment from all parties through legal action. For all the details on this refurbished hybrid bus hullabaloo click "read".

By autobloggreen

Toyota loses hybrid patent appeal case

Toyota finally seems to be out of options now that the U.S. Supreme Court has allowed a lower court's ruling to stand which will award Paice LLC roughly $4.3 million in an hybrid technology lawsuit. That amount works out to $25 for every vehicle that Toyota has sold which uses the Hybrid Synergy Drive. According to the lawsuit, Toyota made use of a microprocessor which accepts torque information from the electric motor and internal combustion engine. Fortunately for Toyota, though, the ruling does not preclude the Japanese auto-giant from continuing production and sales of their super-popular hybrid vehicles, which would, of course, include the Prius. There were three patents in question, though only one of Paice's patents was ruled to be infringed upon. For the record, there are two other possible hurdles for Toyota and their hybrid technology, one from Solomon Technologies and the other from a seventy-five year old engineer in Seattle named Conrad Gardner.

By autobloggreen

Hybra-Drive hydraulic hybrid to undergo HTUF testing

It's not often that a Hummer is pictured here on AutoblogGreen but this particular brute, owned by hydraulic hose and belt supplier Gates, is being converted to a hydraulic hybrid using a system developed by Hybra-Drive. We introduced them to you in '07 and now that they're making some news, we wanted to bring them back. Their set-up, you'll remember, uses a conventional engine to pressurize a hydraulic system to send power to the wheels which is said by the company to reduce fuel consumption by more than half and reduce emissions as much as 90 percent.

It seems this small Deerfield, MI business has been chosen over some of the more established firms like Eaton to "negotiate with the Parcel Delivery Working Group of the Hybrid Truck Users Forum (HTUF) in Pasadena, Calif. for validation and testing of hybrid hydraulic power on parcel delivery vehicles," according to the Great Lakes IT report on WWJ Newsradio 950. HTUF is a branch of Calstart that, through forums and working groups, works to help commercialize hybrid designs for trucks. So maybe we'll be seeing hydraulic hybrid systems used in vehicles besides the Peterbilt garbage truck at some point in the future.

By autobloggreen

Another day, another award for the Prius, Green Engine of the Year

For the eighth time in the last five years, the powertrain of the Toyota Prius has been recognized by jury of the International Engine of the Year competition as one of the best. This time around Engine Technology International magazine replaced the previous best fuel economy category with Best Green Engine. The change was done to recognize the desired for both reduced fuel consumption and emissions. The Prius engine and hybrid transmission combo achieves tank-to-wheel efficiency of 34 percent compared to 14-15 percent for most internal combustion engines. The Prius has also been rated at 104g/km of CO2 on the European driving cycle. The 76hp 1.5L four cylinder combines with a 67hp electric motor/generator to achieve these results. The points spread from the 65 member jury of automotive journalists from 32 countries was actually pretty close for the top two spots with the Prius getting a narrow victory over BMW's single turbo 2.0L diesel with start/stop capability.

By AutoBlogGreen

Minnesota boy rides bike into Prius he didn't hear

Eight-year-old Owen Erickson has some scrapes and bruises but is otherwise no worse for wear after he found himself on the hood of a Toyota Prius this week. Owen had turned his bicycle onto the road in front of the car, which his mother says he didn't hear. The event, which thankfully ended well for all involved, brings additional attention to the debate regarding hybrids and the lack of noise they make under electric power. Owen's mom notes that the noise matter is, in her opinion, a big safety concern. That said, had her son looked before turning into the street, he would have likely avoided his accident entirely.

The blind can't simply look, however, and they rely on their ears to know when a vehicle is approaching. This is a matter that's garnered coverage here in the past. Legislation that addresses the noise-for-hybrids issue now sits before the U.S. House of Representatives. Whether it'll lead to anything is anyone's guess, but when you consider that hybrids are now part of the mainstream and not the novelties they were a few short years ago, someone's probably going to do something soon. It'd be nice to see the automakers proactively address this and eliminate the need for additional federal regulation. Politicians are experts at overcomplicating matters, and when you boil this one down, it's pretty uncomplicated: just add noise. After all, hybrids and electrics are likely to become an increasingly common presence on our roads as automakers bring the next generation of green vehicles to market. The whole idea's not that ridiculous, anyway. Don't forget that Henrik Fisker plans to pipe noise out through speakers on his Karma hybrid...and he's promoting it as a desirable feature.

By AutoBlogGreen