New Hybrids Get Test Drive in Sacramento Region
More than a dozen brand-new hybrid work pickups will be tooling around Sacramento as part of a special testing project.
The Sacramento Municipal Utility District gets four of the electric gas hybrid Dodge 1500s. The trucks have outlets for power tools and a braking system that recharges one of the two batteries on board. David Hatfield with SMUD says the utility is already preparing for increased energy demand once more vehicles like the Dodge Hybrid come on line..
HATFIELD: “We’ve been doing a lot of studies on what we call grid impact. The demand of the vehicles that we expect to see well into the 2030 era, we can manage with the power that we’ve got available. We won’t have to build any new power plants to charge up battery electric vehicles.”
Reg Modlin with Chrysler says the company believes it has a truck ready for the retail market.
MODLIN: “To find a pickup truck owner that wants to buy an electric vehicle is hard. We’re trying to make that combination by giving utility to the owner that they can’t get by buying their currently conventional pickup truck.
Chrysler projects it will cost half as much to run the hybrid compared to their traditional model. The company plans to test a similar fleet of 25 hybrid minivans next year.
Besides SMUD, six local cities and Sacramento International Airport will also take part in the testing. The project is funded by Chrysler, the California Air Resources Board, and the Department of Energy.
http://www.capradio.org/
Related Websites - The US Braces for the Diesel Hybrid Congress has made a offer to car manufacturers which has the auto makers scrambling. They are working to create a short term plan for the release more fuel efficient vehicles into the market in order...
- Green Electric Hybrid Vehicle In this day and age, especially with cities becoming so clogged with buildings, homes and people, having a vehicle is a necessity. Being able to get around is difficult without some method of transportation, and...
- Hybrid Diesel Auto Insurance This post is a guest blog written by Travis Overby. In recent years, the popularity of âgreenâ cars has been steadily increasing across the country. When people think of fuel efficient cars, the first thing...
- Ford Has Hybrid Electric Cars in Works Recently, Ford automotive submitted to congress a business plan of attack, covering all angles, detailing the automobile manufacturer's plans for profit. The most notable of features for the plan involves the company's dedicative approach to...
- Alternative And Natural Energy Solutions Alternative energy is energy derived in such a way that it does not harm the environment or the fuel sourced that it relies on. The debate against common energy solutions such as fossil fuels (petroleum,...
