The big news in electrics has been the Chevy Volt hybrid electric vehicle, which is to go on sale in 2010. No one in the industry or otherwise ever suspected that Chrysler also had a green trio of vehicles in the works, and they also promise to begin production in 2010!
This is absolutely stunning news, because Chrysler was thought to be near death and wasn't even in the loop for building anything electric, much less offering a production date less than two years away. Unlike the Chevy Volt, Chrysler is going to offer a sports car, a Jeep off-road capable electric, and also an electric version of the world renowned Chrysler Minivan, although the latter two vehicles may not make production until 2011.
This is the company which put all of its cookies in the pickup truck market, and whose sales suffered, dropping 24 percent, because of it. Although they had played around with unveiling electric car concepts at auto shows as of late, no one, not even dealers, thought anything electric would come from Chrysler in the near future.
The sports car version will be completely electric, using just batteries and motors to give incredible performance, much like a Tesla roadster.The Minivan and Jeep versions will only be run by an electric motor, but a small gasoline engine will keep the batteries charged. Drivers can expect some 350 miles per gallon with this type of hybrid.
I wrote an article titled "The Greening of the Big Three" and flatly stated they needed to get their acts together, or they were going to go under. GM was the first to respond with the Volt, and then out of nowhere comes Chrysler, with not one, but three brand new electric designs!
These new cars are assumed to be powered by the Lithium-ion battery packs manufactured by A123 systems, which makes battery packs for both DeWalt tools as well as the Chevy Volt. It's a proven package, and is the real "new wave" of battery packs the electric car industry has been waiting for since the turn of last century.
You can rest assured with these new lithium-ion battery packs becoming more and more available, car companies are going to be jumping on the electrified green bandwagon, and I can hardly wait!
Source: BecauseAction.com
