The Chrysler EV, An Electric Hybrid Town & Country

Introduced in conjunction with Chrysler ENVI’s electric hybrid 3-vehicle line-up, the Chrysler EV is a hybrid version of Chrysler’s current minivan offering, the Chrysler Town & Country. Ipso facto, the Chrysler EV is also a vehicle that no one, save for that overzealous mom who runs the local PTA, could ever possibly want. Fortunately, although Chrysler has admitted that only one of the three extended-range electric vehicles will make it to production, it hasn’t revealed which one, allowing us the glimmer of hope that it won’t be the Chrysler EV.

Despite the fact that its official classification as a minivan earns it our scathing ire, like the other two Chrysler ENVI vehicles, the Chrysler EV’s fuel-efficient engineering and innovative technology is actually pretty impressive.

Chrysler EV photo gallery after the jump

With the same electronic drive train application as both the Dodge EV and the Jeep EV, the Chrysler EV minivan is powered by a gasoline-powered small displacement engine that is integrated to function in tandem with an electric generator, both of which provide additional power to the Chrysler’s electronic drive system. The motor itself produces a zippy 9 second 0-60 mph acceleration time and produces 255-hp and 258 lb-ft of torque. It also provides zero tailpipe emissions, and like it’s two ENVI siblings, features a fuel consumption average of approximately 50 mpg, or 400 miles per every 8 gallons of gasoline.

In addition to serving as a preview of what could possibly translate into a production model, the Chrysler EV also serves as a rubric for future, as yet unreleased vehicles. According to Chrysler, the knowledge and experience gained from engineering the Chrysler EV “will be applied to other front-wheel drive applications in Chrysler’s portfolio.”

We say: Chalk the Chrysler EV up to experience, and give us the Jeep EV.

[Photo Cred: Jalopnik]

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2009 Honda Pilot Debuts, Honda Says, “Jump Up Off Our Nuts About The Design Now, Would You? Damn.”

Back in April, Motor Trend ran a feature on the new 2009 Honda Pilot asking whether consumers thought the new body style was refreshing or revolting. Perhaps I need to work on my game, or maybe I’m mellowing in my old age, but whatever the case, I just wasn’t able to work up my usual ire for the little Asian invader. I can attribute this to several reasons, chief among them the telltale symptoms of depression I’ve been feeling as I witness my beloved domestic auto industry suffer one beating after another. The new Honda Pilot itself has also played a rather large hand in softening my rage, thanks mostly to its ubiquitous SUV styling.

At first glance the new Pilot appears to have taken some cues from the Jeep Commander, but the view from the rear quarter panels also indicate a heavy Nissan Pathfinder influence. Essentially, Honda learned the difficult way that the chicken who sticks his neck out is often the first to be served with a side of slaw, or something snarky to that effect…At any rate, the redesigned Honda Pilot is clearly indicative of a battle weary automaker who is frankly tired of executing catastrophic design missteps/fruity little cars [here's to looking at you, Honda Ridgeline]. While still aggressive enough with 250-hp to avoid the fate of the subservient [read: bitch car] Kia, the 2009 Honda Pilot still manages to blend safely into the woodwork, allowing its mediocre EPA fuel estimate rating of 16 mpg city/22 hwy to escape the unwanted attention of environmentalists/hybrid car enthusiasts.

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The 10 Sexiest Police Cars

After committing a spelling error during my daily google image search for “erotic spanking from cop”, I happened upon a Lamborghini Gallardo police interceptor, an “exotic cop” car custom-fitted for the Italian Polizia that “spanked” the Holden Commodore on the test track. My interest sufficiently piqued, I went on in search of other bigger, badder cruisers and was surprised to find that the police around the globe are riding surprisingly phat these days.

1. Lamborghini Gallardo, Italy

List Continues After Jump
2. Techart Porsche 911 Carrera, Germany

3. Chevrolet Corvette Z06, Bloomfield Hills, MI, USA

4. BMW M3, Netherlands

6. Lamborghini Murciélago, London

7. 612 Ferrari Scaglietti, UK

8. Lotus Exige, East Sussex, England

9.Brabus CLS Rocket, Germany

10. Dodge Viper, South Carolina, USA

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Ultra Light Electric Roadster from Evisol brings ThoRR to the Streets

…But a rather quiet “God of Thunder” ThoRR has become (comic book reference… could not resist).

Evisol is yet another Scandinavian company that is looking to provide EV solutions to the growing problem of global high fuel costs. Unlike like the Norwegian company TH!NK that is bringing cost effective budget rides to North America this Fall, the Netherlands based Evisol is dishing out a bit more wind-in-the-face fun with their all electric ThoRR roadster.

Inspired in design by the Lotus 7 roadster chassis the ThoRR roadster is what a primitive roadster is all about, except it derives its motive power from electric motors fueled by lithium batteries and not V8 engines fed on gasoline. The electric powered motors give the ThoRR a rather ominous, erie quiet as it propels down the road (as evidenced in the video that follows).

We use the term primitive because the ThoRR roadster does not have any of the refined attributes of cars today. The concept behind the ThoRR roadster is simplicity, but it is best described on the website itself:   “This concept stands for high performance through simplicity and light weight. Because of the absence of ABS, power assisted braking, power assisted steering, any form of sound absorption, even a roof and a windshield, only the basics of a car remain.” [ThoRR.eu]

That simplicity holds true when you look at the weight of the car and its maximum power output. (more…)

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Video: 5th Gear Gives the World its First Double-Decker Smart ForTwo… “Smashing!”

From the Creative minds at the British show 5th Gear comes the idea of stacking two two seaters to make a four seater. Four bolts, a small lift and some iron… uh… nerves gives us the worlds first double-decker Smart ForTwo. But how will we know of its capabilities without some very thorough testing? Well they are steps ahead and have acquired a new Mitsubishi “I” car with its 4-doors and room for four seating to provide some “scientific” comparisons.

Just as everything that glitters is not gold… Not everything on four wheels is destined to stay on them. Check out the video below for a taste of what makes the British so Brilliant!

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GM Third Row Seats have become Hot items for Thieves

It has been reported out of Long Beach, California that GM’s removable third row seats in SUV’s such as the Tahoe and Yukon have become a hot commodity with thieves. The fact that the seats are unmarked and general interchangeable makes them rather appealing. It also helps that they are built to be easily removed despite their weight.

When purchasing your GM SUV the seats are a factory add-on that costs a mere $460. However, on the re-sale market the fold-down seats can run over twice that amount.

The Long Beach Police Department is offering up a solution to owners who wish to protect their investment. The Department is offering to engrave the third row seats for owners to provide some form of tracking if the seats were to be stolen. As it is now GM seats do not come with any registration or factory tracking numbers. The engravings will be placed in a number of hidden locations on the seats to help prevent thieves from removing them.

GM may not have any identification numbers on their seats now, but maybe that is something they will be looking into if the occurence of these third row seating thefts becomes an epidemic.

Source[edmunds]

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Ponies a’Plenty: Which new Ford Mustang is right for you?

So you have finally decided to head on out and get that new Ford Mustang you have always wanted? Or maybe you have an slightly older Mustang and you want to upgrade? Ofcourse it is quite possible you are a Pony Collector and you just want to add some young blood to your stable. Whatever your reason deciding that you want to purchase a new Mustang is only the first step in getting one. The next phase is in deciding which variation of the new Mustang do you want to buy?

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