SMUD gets 14 plug-in hybrid Dodge Rams for testing
The Sacramento Municipal Utility DistrictbizWatch takes delivery Wednesday of 14 plug-in hybrid electric Dodge Ram pickups on loan for three years from Chrysler Group LLC.
The plug-in hybrid Ram 1500 pickups are part of a national demonstration fleet of 140 vehicles being delivered to a dozen cities. Agencies that were awarded the vehicles will report regularly to Chrysler on how they are operating.
Chrysler aims to evaluate customer usage, drive cycles, charging, fuel economy, emissions and the pickups’ impact on the region’s electric grid.
Chrysler said cities were carefully selected to help the automaker collect a wide range of data. Sacramento and San Francisco, which received 14 pickups Tuesday, are second and third cities to receive the vehicles and the only two cities in California participating in the project. San Francisco’s vehicles will be used by a variety of government offices to test hills and stop-and-go traffic.
Earlier this year, Chrysler delivered 10 similar vehicles to the city of Yuma, Ariz.
SMUD has been testing alternative fuel vehicles for more than two decades. The trucks will be used in everyday utility business.
Cities and states were selected to evaluate temperature extremes and urban traffic cycles.
The RAM 1500 includes a liquid-cooled 12.9 kilowatt-hour lithium ion battery and a 6.6 kilowatt on-board charger. It has several other unique features, including a 5.7-liter Hemi V-8 engine and a two-mode hybrid transmission. The engine is equipped with technology that improves fuel efficiency at highway speeds by shutting down fuel delivery to up to four cylinders.
“Sacramento offers heavy traffic and urban driving that (is) ideal to test,” Abdullah Bazzi, senior manager at Chrysler’s advanced hybrid vehicle project. “The constant charging allows us to measure impact on battery life and charging efficiency.”
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