Thursday, February 3, 2011

Chrysler working on hydraulic minivan hybrid with the EPA's help

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Chrysler Group CEO Sergio Marchionne and Lisa Jackson, Agency Administrator for the EPA, announced a new research project to bring hydraulic hybrid technology to the marketplace. The new hybrid will be based on Chrysler's Town & Country minivan, although this shouldn't be confused with the other minivan hybrid Chrysler is working on for 2013.

Hydraulics in vehicles have been tested in larger vehicles by FedEx, Ford (with its hydraulic-launch-assist) and others. What Chrysler and the EPA plan to do is produce a running demonstration vehicle (yes, just one) in 2012 using a hydraulic hybrid system the EPA developed in Ann Arbor, MI. The T&C will use a 2.4-liter, inline four-cylinder gasoline engine that will share motivation duties with a 117cc engine pump, a 45cc drive electric motor and a two-speed automatic transmission.

The hydraulic fluid will be stored in a 14.4-gallon high pressure accumulator that can reach pressures as high as 5,000 psi. If there's enough energy in the accumulator, the motor will shut down until it's needed again. If it all works as advertised, then overall fuel economy will be improved around 30-35 percent, while city miles per gallon will be improved by up to 60 percent. Although we've heard rumors of a hybrid Chrysler minivan for years, it sounds like something real will finally arrive - in one form or another.

[Source: Chrysler, Detroit News]

Continue reading Chrysler working on hydraulic minivan hybrid with the EPA's help

Chrysler working on hydraulic minivan hybrid with the EPA's help originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 19 Jan 2011 16:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://www.autoblog.com/2011/01/19/chrysler-working-on-hydraulic-minivan-with-the-epas-help/

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