The next big 'green thing' ??
Wow. Just found this: China is ready to import a 'green cherry' of a
vehicle: the Chery A3 ISG diesel hybrid, unveiled at Shanghai motor
show. Looks decent, and it seems to have everything that the 'green'
crowd wants, including less sticker-shock.
http://www.globalautoindex.com/news.plt?no=1829
The hybrid vehicle combines an 'independently developed' [not sure
independence is a plus for them] 1.3-liter diesel engine with a 30kW
permanent magnet synchronous motor and a CVT - a continuously variable
transmission which is an efficiency standard that even the Prius lacks.
It will be able to burn biodiesel without alteration and is said to
significantly lower cost than the Prius, but that has not yet been
announced.
**If only** - this car arrives without the bugs of first-time auto
introductions, it should have a ready market. One of the best things
about the Prius is the Toyota reputation. The Chery company OTOH is a
youngster - founded in 1997 and sold 305,000 vehicles in 2006 and
estimates sales of 392,000 in 2007. It has subsequently built plants in
Iran, Russia and Malaysia with one of its models - the Chery QQ -
selling for only $5400. General Motors has been in talks in Shanghai
with the company. They would be real smart to be the importer.
It has a dual-clutch parallel diesel strong hybrid design. When the
vehicle is stopped, the system will enter “auto idle stop” mode and the
engine will stop if the batteries are fully charged; when the vehicle is
started, the electric motor will provide the drive power; then when
necessary, the diesel engine will be started rapidly and the vehicle
will enter into parallel type combined torque drive mode; when the
vehicle is decelerated or braked, the ISG motor operate to recover some
of the lost energy.
It is a fabulous desig --- ON PAPER.
Jones
