While Toyota dominates global hybrid production, Ford was the first company to launch a hybrid SUV: the Ford Escape Hybrid, in 2004.

Now, Ford is pioneering another hybrid model: the small minivan, or as Europeans call it, the people carrier.

Hybrid mini-minivan

Between 10 and 10:30 am today at the Detroit Auto Show, Ford will pull the wraps off a pair of hybrid 5-seat small minivans: the C-Max Hybrid, and the plug-in hybrid C-Max Energi.

They will be launched roughly three hours ahead of another hybrid small minivan, the Toyota Prius V, which will be unveiled shortly after 1 pm the same day.

Plug-in hybrid for sale

The two cars will go on sale in North America during 2012, and in Europe the following year. That puts Ford neck and neck with Toyota, which plans to put a production version of its Prius Plug-In Hybrid on sale midway through 2012.

It’s important to note that the C-Max concepts shown at the 2011 Detroit Auto Show are a shorter version of the C-Max than the one that will go on sale in the U.S. as the 2012 Ford C-Max.

Five seats, with or without plug

With its longer wheelbase, the gasoline 2012 C-Max offers seven seats, whereas the hybrid concepts each hold just five people. Nonetheless, the hybrid C-Max models clearly sketch the outlines of Ford’s expanding hybrid program.

Not only is the C-Max Energi the first plug-in hybrid Ford will sell, but both vehicles use a lithium-ion battery pack, Ford’s first. That technology is expected to be used in all future Ford hybrid models as they’re redesigned, including a new Fusion in 2012.

Lithium cells are both more powerful and lighter than the nickel-metal hydride technology used to date in all Escape Hybrids and Fusion Hybrid sedans. Ford says they’re up to 30 percent smaller and 50 percent lighter those used in its older packs.

Better mileage than the Fusion Hybrid …

Ford stresses that it wants to offer buyers a choice of fuel efficient vehicle technologies, from high-mileage gasoline engines to its hybrid range. Now, it will add a plug-in hybrid that can recharge its pack from grid power (as well as an all-electric Focus sedan).

So for gas mileage, the all-important proof of a hybrid’s efficiency, how will the new C-Max hybrids do when they go on sale?

Ford says the C-Max Hybrid will deliver better gas mileage than the 2011 Fusion Hybrid sedan, which the EPA rates at 41 mpg city, 36 mpg highway.

And it says the C-Max Energi plug-in hybrid will travel more than 500 miles on a single tank of gas, the longest range of any plug-in vehicle on the market.

… AND single-occupancy HOV Lane access!

Ford also tweaks Chevrolet by noting that the C-Max Energi will qualify for California’s AT-PZEV status, meaning it can get the single-occupant HOV Lane access sticker denied to the 2011 Chevy Volt.

Moreover, it will deliver better fuel efficiency in gasoline mode than the Volt, which the EPA rates at 37 mpg when the range-extending gasoline engine switches on.

Ford promises that the C-Max Hybrid will operate in all-electric mode at even higher speeds than the Fusion Hybrid’s 47-mph maximum, itself usefully higher than the 30-mph maximum in Toyota’s various hybrid vehicles.

Common components

To keep costs down and make production of the two hybrid variants possible, Ford has attempted to reuse as many components of the Hybrid in the Energi as possible–among them the hardware for the control system circuitry.

On the outside, excluding the badges (and a charge door on the Energi’s left-front fender), the C-Max hybrids are similar styled to the standard C-Max. If you didn’t notice the shorter wheelbase, or count the seats, you might never notice the difference.

That charge door carries a little visual cue for its function, however: As in the Focus Electric, the light ring around the charging port flashes twice when connectivity is achieved.

As the C-Max Energi charges, quadrants of the ring illuminate, flashing to show charge in progress and showing solid when that stage of charging is done. Owners will know their C-Max is fully charged when the entire ring is lit.

See C riders

Both C-Max hybrid concepts are built on Ford’s global platform for compact cars, which now hosts the 2012 Ford Focus (in four-door sedan and five-door hatchback bodies), the 2012 C-Max, and several vehicles yet to be announced.

Among those is an anticipated replacement for the aging Escape crossover SUV that may be announced at the same press conference.

The two C-Max hybrids, the Transit Connect Electric small commercial delivery van, and the just-announced Focus Electric sedan are four of five electrified vehicles Ford says it will introduce by 2012; the fifth is expected to be an Escape Hybrid replacement.

Built in the U.S.A.

The C-Max and its hybrid variants will be built for U.S. sale at Ford’s Wayne, Michigan, assembly plant. The same plant now builds the 2012 Focus, and will also build the Focus Electric that was launched Friday at CES in Las Vegas and also in New York.

For Europe, the pair of hybrid C-Max models will be built in Valencia, Spain. They will be the first hybrids Ford has built and sold outside North America.

Stay on top of all of the happenings at the 2011 Detroit Auto Show through our show page, where we’re bringing you the latest news, previews, live photos, videos, and more straight from Cobo Hall.

[Ford Motor Co.]

This story originally appeared at Green Car Repor

General Motors announced today that it has licensed lithium-ion battery technology developed at Argonne National Laboratories, the research institution that’s funded largely by the U.S. Department of Energy.

The agreement allows GM to use the technology throughout its supply chain, and covers a suite of patents that includes and builds on the technology used in the 2011 Chevrolet Volt.

“The Argonne license is going to allow GM to continue to work on next-generation battery systems, to reduce cost, and improve performance of those systems,” said Jon Lauckner, president of GM Ventures. “And you have to go back to the basic chemistry of battery cells to get those kind of improvements–and that’s what makes the Argonne intellectual property so valuable.”

Return of taxpayer investment, additional Michigan jobs?

The agreement “represents a really important return on taxpayer money, an investment in energy technology research both for Argonne and the Department of Energy,” said Argonne director Eric Issacs, in a conference call held for the announcement.

It also results in U.S. jobs: The technology will also be applied at LG Chem’s battery assembly facility in Holland, Michigan, which will open in 2012 and employ 400. 

In 2008, the U.S. manufactured just two percent of the world’s advanced batteries, but it’s expected to make up to 40 percent of them–or enough for 500,000 electric vehicles annually–by 2012.

GM said that there’s still a lot of development work and validation to be done for this technology, which would be used not in current electrified vehicles but next-generation ones–such as the next-generation version of the Volt, or a future plug-in hybrid.

Volt has it now; but open to other automakers

The license to use Argonne’s patented composite cathode technology will be granted both to GM and to LG Chem, which builds the large-format lithium-ion cells used in the Volt’s 16-kilowatt-hour battery pack. LG Chem confirmed that the company’s battery technology is open to license by other automakers. 

The new technology is already being used in the 2011 Chevrolet Volt, the world’s first mass-produced range-extended electric car (or plug-in hybrid, if you prefer). First deliveries of the Volt took place last month, kicking off in New Jersey.

Argonne’s cathode–a nickel-manganese-cobalt material–offers increases of 50 to 100 percent in energy storage over previous generations of cathode material. It uses a mixed-metal oxide containing both lithium and manganese to extend operating time between charges, lengthen the cell’s life span, and improve safety.

For Volt buyers, this means the battery will last longer between recharges and can be charged at higher voltages (on an individual cell level, not at the plug)–meaning shorter recharge times–than it otherwise would have. LG also confirms stronger safety and a longer life as potential advantages of these materials advances.

[General Motors, Argonne National Laboratories]

This story originally appeared at Green Car Repor

A couple of years from now, it’s likely there will be a lot more electric vehicles and hybrids on the road. And while the typical EV might not be making the sound of a vuvuzela or a Tie-Fighter, you’re going to hear it coming—perhaps with just a little more wow and flutter.

Today President Obama signed the Pedestrian Safety Act (S. 841), which aims to help protect the blind and other pedestrians from “silent vehicle technology,” as it was worded in a press release from the National Federation of the Blind.

Introduced by John Kerry, the bill passed the Senate last April but wasn’t passed until last month.

The legislation applies to pedestrians, bicyclists, runners, and small children as well, who might benefit from hearing electric and hybrid vehicles make more noise on low-speed city streets.

The worry: That blind or hearing-impaired people might be hit by electric vehicles because they’re so quiet. The electric motor systems and direct-drive systems in EVs simply don’t generate much of an audible sound at low speeds—other than a whine that varies by model from very subtle to almost

It might still be a while before the particulars of the bill are determined and EVs are expected to make a particular noise when they’re traveling at less than 20 mph. The bill calls for a study to be completed, then a new standard will be issued within 90 days of that. The new standard will apply to vehicles made or sold beginning two years after the issuance of the new standard.

Several hybrid vehicles that have been for sale for many years—like the Toyota Prius, of course—run in a near-silent EV mode when coasting or cruising at low speeds. But as we’ve reported, there’s no data set that conclusively shows an issue with hybrids, more than other types of vehicles, hitting pedestrians. That’s even considering that hybrids are driven more in cities congested with pedestrians.

It’s a topic that we’ve covered extensively on our green-car sites All Cars Electric and Green Car Reports. General Motors early on started working directly with the National Federation of the Blind, while Nissan has come up with several potential solutions and told GreenCarReports that such a sound is only needed up to about 12 mph; above that point tire noise is enough. Nissan presented its solution to NHTSA back in September 2009.

[National Federation of the Blind]

This story originally appeared at The Car Connecti

If you’re in the habit of reading obscure press releases, you might have seen one recently announcing that Dallas-based Green Automotive Co. had signed an extension to its agreement with China’s Zotye Auto.

Green Automotive now has rights for 10 more years to distribute Zotye’s electric sport utility vehicles in the U.S. market.

It may not take a decade, but you probably won’t have the chance–and you may not have the desire–to buy a Made-In-China car in the near term.

Picky buyers

When it comes to cars, be it electric or gasoline-powered, American buyers are a very picky bunch. That’s why, despite several optimistic press releases by companies aiming to import cars from China, there aren’t any on sale here yet.

In the case of Zotye, though its small electric SUV looks okay, its fit and finish are far from that required by American drivers, says Bill Fisher, COO of AmAsia International. His Florida consultancy helps Chinese and U.S. companies understand each others’ markets.

Its ultimate goal is to import Chinese vehicles. Fisher checked out Zotye’s vehicles at out at last year’s Auto China in Beijing.  “Their fit and finish is not up to U.S. standards,”  says Fisher.

‘Trying very hard’

Green Auto did not return my calls. But last July I talked with Steven Fly, who was CEO of Green Automotive at the time (he is no longer with the company). He admitted that the early versions of the electric SUV were not impressive. But Zotye was making a lot of improvements, said Fly.

Just a few days ago, I talked to Wu Aibing, special assistant to the general manager of overseas projects at Zotye. Wu said Zotye was “trying very hard to get the car compliant and localized for the American market.”

That includes meeting safety standards and consumer fit and finish demands.  Wu wouldn’t predict when the cars would be ready. “We have a lot of things to do,” he said.

Zotye is a very small automaker: It sold fewer than 90,000 light vehicles in the first 11 months of 2010, according to J.D. Power and Associates. But even mcuh larger automakers in China have trouble meeting the high bar set by U.S. consumers.

Bigger BYD delays too

BYD Co. has repeatedly delayed launching its e6 electric vehicle here in the U.S. Among other reasons, it said, is to make the car more palatable to American buyers.

It plans to hire industrial engineers here in the U.S. to work on the design, says Michael Austin, vice president of the BYD America subsidiary of BYD Auto. Meanwhile, BYD has already re-tooled the U.S. version of the e6 chassis after complaints that there was not enough leg room in the rear seat, he said.

An industry executive here in the U.S. who is familiar with BYD’s cars added: “Suspension-wise, they don’t understand U.S. consumer needs.”

Revisions coming

BYD already has a few cars on the road here, and it will show a revised version of its 2012 BYD e6–called the Premier–at next week’s 2011 Detroit Auto Show.  “We have been very careful to listen to consumer and fleet feedback,” said Austin. “We won’t launch if there are concerns that are not addressed.”

Bottom line: If your heart is set on a car made in China, electric or otherwise, get ready for a long wait. And even when the two of you do get together, don’t let the thrill overcome your usual caution.

Make sure the car you’re considering is built well, has all the features you want, and feels solid. In other words, is it competitive with the best-in-class from other carmakers? When Made-in-China cars and crossovers get to that stage, you’ll hear more about them.

This story originally appeared at Green Car Repor

If you’ve ever crept along in gridlock and noticed the floor of your car getting a little warm, or ‘seen’ all the heat energy escaping from a hot exhaust pipe on a cold day, you know that exhaust systems send a lot of heat right out the tailpipe—heat that could potentially be put to use.

What if you could recapture that energy and turn it back into electricity that could be used by vehicle accessories?

As automakers look for incremental improvements in fuel economy, that’s one of the potential uses of an advanced thermoelectric material that’s being researched by physicists and engineers at the University of Michigan. They’ve studied the material that could potentially be wrapped around a vehicle’s exhaust system and would produce energy that could supplement the vehicle’s electrical system—therefore allowing higher mpg.

Such a system could make the most difference in low-speed stop-and-go driving, where exhaust pipes typically heat up and the mechanical load from vehicle alternators has a greater impact on fuel economy; supplemental power from these materials in the exhaust system, along with the newer smart-alternator systems already used in some vehicles, could together significantly ease that load.

The research was funded through a grant from the university’s Center for Solar and Thermal Energy Conversion, which is funded by the U.S. Department of Energy, has found that recent advances in the materials—including mechanically strong skutterudites combined with barium, can improve the efficiency of existing thermoelectrics by 15 to 20 percent, making them practical for some automotive applications.

As MotorAuthority has reported, GM and Purdue University have been working on a project that aims to cut fuel use by five percent with its first prototype, and BMW is working on a similar system. Both use materials that are more common than those being developed at Michigan.

Because these newly developed materials are expensive, automakers would initially be looking at hot spots where the greatest temperature differentials exist—such as between the engine and catalytic converter—although they could be used in a number of other spots to cumulatively recover more energy.

While electric cars such as the Nissan Leaf have shown that internal combustion engines are no longer necessary for some uses, gasoline- and diesel-burners will be common for decades. With as much as 70 percent of the energy in a gasoline vehicle is lost to waste heat, there’s a lot of progress yet to be made.

[University of Michigan]

This story originally appeared at The Car Connecti

It’s the end of another year—in this case, a year when we’ve slogged through countless recall updates, worrisome issues like driver distraction in the spotlight, and confirmed the demise of several major automotive brands, hundreds of dealerships, and overall, some of the worst-ever economic conditions.

That said, it’s not worth dwelling on these. There’s been a lot of good news, too. Page through the following and celebrate some of the positive headlines of 2010:

40 mpg. Through the 2010 model year, there still weren’t any non-hybrid gasoline-powered vehicles that reached the 40-mpg mark. That’s all changed for 2011, with the addition of the 2011 Ford Fiesta, which hits 40 mpg when specially equipped, and the 2011 Chevrolet Cruze Eco, which earns a 42-mpg highway rating. Then Hyundai pulled a coup, with its entire 2011 Hyundai Elantra lineup carrying a 40-mpg EPA highway rating. But with 40 mpg expected from some 2012 Ford Focus models, Hyundai’s Veloster sporty compact, and probably several other models, expect to recalibrate what you think of as fuel-efficient. The news was good all around, though, with mileage mattering even in muscle machines like the 31-mpg Ford Mustang.

Electric cars make it to production. All-electric cars—of the sort that are fully highway-legal, plug in, carry no internal combustion engine, and have no gas tank—made it to production for the first time just as 2010 wrapped up. Although there was some ceremony worth noting in the first deliveries of the Nissan Leaf—including those that we covered in San Francisco and Portland—very few Leafs have actually been made thus far. What makes the Leaf’s production start such a milepost in the automotive world is Nissan’s grand plans for this electric car: CEO Carlos Ghosn is betting the company’s future on the powertrain tech in the Leaf and hopes to build—between Nissan, Infiniti, and Renault—half a million EVs yearly by 2013.

Tougher safety ratings. Thanks to tougher crash-test requirements from both the insurance-supported IIHS and the federal government (run through NHTSA), it’s become much easier over the past year to separate the merely safe from the safest. The new IIHS roof-strength tests have helped sort out vehicles that might not protect as well in the event of a rollover, while recalibrated NHTSA testing—including a new side pole test—and a much tougher federal ratings system has already helped provide much better differentiation for shoppers.

New commitments to Made In America. Ford is building the new Explorer in Chicago and the Focus in the Detroit area, and it’s slated the Ford Escape’s replacement for a renovated St. Louis plant. GM ramped up production of its Cruze compact sedan outside Cleveland this past year, and the company is going to start building its upcoming Chevrolet Sonic (Aveo replacement) in suburban Detroit, not South Korea. But the Korean brands have upped their U.S. production in the past year, too, with Hyundai beginning production of the 2011 Sonata in Alabama and the Kia Sorento and both the 2011 Hyundai Santa Fe and 2011 Kia Sorento made in Georgia.

The rise of Hyundai and Kia, and Ford’s surge to the top. Whether we’re talking about resale values, reliability, quality, perceived quality, or any number of other qualifications, Hyundai and Kia are on the rise. And Ford’s been doing a great job improving its products for many years in a row, so it was about time the consumer (and media) tide started to change. Looking at sales data and market share, Hyundai and Kia were deemed the most recession-proof, while just recently we reported that Honda and Ford lead in customer retention while Kia was most improved. There’s no doubt Toyota lost some of its halo this year, but the recalls likely weren’t entirely to blame. Take a look at excellent products like the 2011 Ford Explorer, 2011 Hyundai Sonata, and 2011 Kia Optima and you’ll see why.

The beginning of a recovery. Looking back at the past year, cautiously optimistic headlines have prevailed with respect to auto sales. But by the end of the year it was a bit better than it sounds, with the auto market definitely finishing stronger than it started—and stronger than a number of analysts had predicted at the beginning of the year. But all year it had been tough to size up, with the market still very much out of whack at the beginning of the year due to the federal government’s 2009 Cash for Clunkers program. And
there were some persistent questions that lingered through the year: Such as, why weren’t luxury-vehicle shoppers feeling the recession as much as family-car shoppers?

GM bounces back from the bailout, earlier than expected. The federal government’s bailout of General Motors and Chrysler, saving them from bankruptcy in 2009, hasn’t produced the headaches in 2010 that were feared. Rather, GM started making payments earlier than expected. What’s more, New GM stock is up from its IPO levels and many analysts are bullish about the automaker. As for Chrysler, it’s wait and see, but with Fiat there are big plans in the works.

This story originally appeared at The Car Connecti