[Mark B]

Here is a link...
http://www.autoweek.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080923/FREE/809239997/1065

[RUNIT]

Ha..Will they all be white? We'll know more after lunch. I'm guessing it will be only 2WD, Unlimited, auto....

[Gramps]

Watch the demo.

http://www.chryslerllc.com/en/

Text.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,426522,00.html

Pics.

http://www.foxnews.com/photoessay/0,4644,5176,00.html

And from Chrysler Media.

[RUNIT]

Wow. Is this for real? It looks like they have GM and everyone else beat to the punch. Will GM toss out the Hummer HX Two-Mode Hybrid to compete? I wonder if it will be out in 2010, too. Crazy times.

I thought the Volt would be an ok DD. However, for $35k, I'll pass. It looks like a $20k gas-burner.

But this is a JEEP! How much do we have to pay??

[Jeepsrfun]

Check the on this story. The DOD has been playing with the concept of an electric hummer for some time. I got interested when I read the stories out of Aberdeen where they had two versions. One had two electric motors (front/rear). The other had four electric motors (one for each wheel).

The testing was going very well. As soon as they found something other than a vertical wall which would stop the two motor version, they were going to start testing the four motor version.

40/50 mpg and (hopefully) four electric motors????? I've been waiting for this Jeep a LOOOOONNNNGGGGG time.

Dad

http://www.electrifyingtimes.com/UQM_hummer.html

ETA. Yes I know, they are looking for other vehicles now, but still the capabilities were what caught my eye when I started following it.

Originally Posted by RUNIT

Wow. Is this for real? It looks like they have GM and everyone else beat to the punch. Will GM toss out the Hummer HX Two-Mode Hybrid to compete? I wonder if it will be out in 2010, too. Crazy times.

I thought the Volt would be an ok DD. However, for $35k, I'll pass. It looks like a $20k gas-burner.

But this is a JEEP! How much do we have to pay??

[bnther36]

Sweeeeeeeet!

I am so looking forward to my next car!

[Mark B]

I bet some big shots at the big 3 are in bed with the oil companies or we'd have these already....it's been 40 years since we did some electric 4 wheelin on the moon. Since the US loves bailouts maybe NASA could bailout Jeep and take it over.

We should have had these by now. I'm just saying is all.

(4) wheel electric motors is a cool concept...I think it will work great in urban and off-road situations.

[jeepboy85]

The only problem with an electric jeep, and the fact it will only go 40 miles on a full charge is that the gas mileage used to charge the electric motor probably wouldn't be much better than the current Jeep.
Personally I haven't gone off-roading, mainly since there aren't many places around me and my jeep is my only vehicle, I wonder how well this electric jeep would do off-roading.

[frankkl]

Originally Posted by Mark B

I bet some big shots at the big 3 are in bed with the oil companies or we'd have these already....it's been 40 years since we did some electric 4 wheelin on the moon. Since the US loves bailouts maybe NASA could bailout Jeep and take it over.

We should have had these by now. I'm just saying is all.

(4) wheel electric motors is a cool concept...I think it will work great in urban and off-road situations.

NO WAY !!

[archimeech]

There's a company in West Palm Beach, Fla that turns old Porsches into electric cars that still go 100+ MPH and they have a battery range of anywhere from 50-300 miles. They'll refurb an old 911 and paint it any color you want starting at about $48K (including the donor car) I was seriously thinking of picking up another Jeep with a blown motor so I could convert it myself. It's light enough and with the new Lithium Ion batteries that are out there, you could stuff enough of them under the hood to get some pretty decent range without using the generator.

[mab002]

... if they do it right...

Seems like if the do the in wheel electric motors, and don't need to have any drive train components cluttering up the under side, they could have some pretty good ground clearance. Have underside completely smooth, as one solid skid plate. No diffs, transmission, axles to deal with.

Matt

[BadAsh74]

Whats the F#@!in point??? Jeepers want to tweak their own rigs, improve on and offroad performance. Something like this is nothing but an appliance in a jeep body. IMHO, all electric cars are a very bad idea, but an electric Jeep makes about as much sense as an electric deuce coupe. If they want to sell some electric minivans or midsize sedans, I say go for it. Thats a total non-enthusiast crowd. But an electric jeep will be a monumental fail.

[Marauder_Pilot]

Are you high? An electric motor gives 100% torque, instantly, at ALL RPMs. If you know ANYTHING about off-roading, you know why this is good.

[BadAsh74]

Thats all well and good IN THEORY. Clearly, elec motors do have their advantages but for powering cars in general its a bad idea and on an offroader it borders on moronic.

What happens when some water or mud gets in those motors and shorts them out? Whoops.

If its a battery-only system what happens when youre out in the boondocks and they run dry? Whoops.

What happens 2-3 years later when (like your cel phone) they barely hold a charge? Whoops.

What happens when you have a problem with the car and no one within 3 states knows anything about how to work on it? Whoops.

What about if you get T-boned by another vehicle and you get electrocuted or the batteries rupture and the acid melts your face right off? Whoops.

Sure you'll get a warm fuzzy feeling about how you saved the ozone layer, lowered your carbon footprint and blah blah blah. But those batteries which claim to be 75-ish percent recyclable are 75% casing, plates, and electrodes. The other 25-ish percent of the battery is that same highly toxic acid which has to be disposed of and you damn well better hope it doesnt leak out into the water supply or worse. Whoops.

When youre looking at $3000-$7000 to replace those batteries then that just piles on the depreciation of the vehicle. Might as well either junk it or let the dealer tack on your negative equity on a new one and start out even more upside down in your payments. Whoops.

You can say all you want about how great electric cars would or could be. The fact is, internal combustion is the VERY best there is. Its reliable, you can service it yourself if you choose, its economically feasible and has NONE of these same drawbacks. Doesnt matter what youre using for fuel, the same basic rules apply.

And then there's the fact that the enthusiast market just isnt going to accept an appliance as a car. I want to hear my exhaust note, I want to shift my own gears and I want to be able to hot rod to my hearts delight. An electric al gore mobile can NOT offer any of this. Electric cars may gain a small foothold but its only going to be with a certain segment of the market. Yuppies, techies, the elderly, and greenies are about the only ones who will go in for this because they arent car people. They buy sedans and minivans which are the most bottom feeder pedestrian vehicles aimed at people who only need basic transportation.

And I have another thought for you to consider: Racing. How many automotive innovations have come from, been advanced by, or found a specific niche in SOME form of racing? Whether its fuel injection, independent suspension, seat belts, DSG transmissions, even front wheel drive almost EVERY major innovation has come from racing or at least found a specific niche. I dont see any electric motors in NASCAR, SCORE, rallying, trans-am, Formula 1, drag racing or any of this.

[Pallando]

Originally Posted by BadAsh74

Thats all well and good IN THEORY. Clearly, elec motors do have their advantages but for powering cars in general its a bad idea and on an offroader it borders on moronic.
What happens when some water or mud gets in those motors and shorts them out? Whoops.
If its a battery-only system what happens when youre out in the boondocks and they run dry? Whoops.
What happens 2-3 years later when (like your cel phone) they barely hold a charge? Whoops.
What happens when you have a problem with the car and no one within 3 states knows anything about how to work on it? Whoops.
What about if you get T-boned by another vehicle and you get electrocuted or the batteries rupture and the acid melts your face right off? Whoops.
Sure you'll get a warm fuzzy feeling about how you saved the ozone layer, lowered your carbon footprint and blah blah blah. But those batteries which claim to be 75-ish percent recyclable are 75% casing, plates, and electrodes. The other 25-ish percent of the battery is that same highly toxic acid which has to be disposed of and you damn well better hope it doesnt leak out into the water supply or worse. Whoops.
When youre looking at $3000-$7000 to replace those batteries then that just piles on the depreciation of the vehicle. Might as well either junk it or let the dealer tack on your negative equity on a new one and start out even more upside down in your payments. Whoops.
You can say all you want about how great electric cars would or could be. The fact is, internal combustion is the VERY best there is. Its reliable, you can service it yourself if you choose, its economically feasible and has NONE of these same drawbacks. Doesnt matter what youre using for fuel, the same basic rules apply.
And then there's the fact that the enthusiast market just isnt going to accept an appliance as a car. I want to hear my exhaust note, I want to shift my own gears and I want to be able to hot rod to my hearts delight. An electric al gore mobile can NOT offer any of this. Electric cars may gain a small foothold but its only going to be with a certain segment of the market. Yuppies, techies, the elderly, and greenies are about the only ones who will go in for this because they arent car people. They buy sedans and minivans which are the most bottom feeder pedestrian vehicles aimed at people who only need basic transportation.
And I have another thought for you to consider: Racing. How many automotive innovations have come from, been advanced by, or found a specific niche in SOME form of racing? Whether its fuel injection, independent suspension, seat belts, DSG transmissions, even front wheel drive almost EVERY major innovation has come from racing or at least found a specific niche. I dont see any electric motors in NASCAR, SCORE, rallying, trans-am, Formula 1, drag racing or any of this.

Every problem you listed is similar to problems internal combustion engines faced or still face today. Capitalism demanded improvements and fixes, and they were made. Now those same market dynamics are demanding a change away from internal combustion and it is being made. You dont like it? Vote with your wallet.

Electric cars are the future. Even if we start powering things with hydrogen, it will still be electric motors that drive the wheels. This is the ONLY future there is for cars, so get used to it sooner rather then later. We reached the halfway point with oil a few decades ago. A few decades, maybe half a century from now, your petrol powered car will be a useless piece of metal. Some diesels might still be around, powered by biodiesel or veggie oil, but as a whole, internal combustion is an inefficent archaism that thanks to the wonder of capitalism, is being quickly replaced by better things.

The small enthusiast market will adapt seamlessly, and offroading will improve as a result of the new technology. Spotters wont have to shout over the roar of your obnoxious engine, your motor/motors wont depend on orientation and will have all of its torque at the ready regardless of how depressed the skinny pedal is, with innovations like 4 individial motors you can turn around within your own wheelbase like a tank, you'll be able to wheel more miles then you ever have before with the increased efficiency, and best of all you wont selfishly pollute the environment you wheel in with CO2 and noise.

A very bright future indeed. I'm excited.