Chrysler and the EPA have announced a joint research project to develop a new hybrid system for passenger vehicles. The project will use a Chrysler Town & Country minivan with a 2.4-liter four-cylinder engine—the van comes only with a V-6 from the factory—equipped with a hydraulic hybrid system.
The idea for hydraulic hybrids isn’t new: Some UPS delivery trucks and garbage trucks already employ a similar powertrain. In the Chrysler-EPA project, the 2.4-liter engine is not attached to the drive wheels. Instead, it turns a fluid pump which can store up to 5000 psi of hydraulic pressure in a 14.4-gallon accumulator. The fluid is channeled through a two-speed transmission and turns a hydraulic motor, which turns the drive wheels. If there’s enough stored hydraulic pressure, the gasoline engine can shut off, providing the stop-start functionality common to most hybrids. These types of hybrid systems are ideally suited to frequent stops and starts, such as in heavy city traffic.
The EPA and Chrysler will work on shrinking the required hardware, as well as making it smoother and quieter to better suit passenger-car applications. Chrysler plans to have a running demonstration vehicle ready by 2012. The automaker believes the system is simpler and more energy-efficient than battery hybrid systems. The technology is expected to improve the fuel economy of a minivan by 30 to 35 percent in all driving situations, and up to 60 percent in stop-and-go city travel.
There are currently no firm plans for a production hybrid minivan based on the EPA research project, but if the prototype vehicles are successful, it’s likely we’ll see a hydraulic hybrid powertrain in the next-generation Chrysler minivan, due in 2013 or 2014. If the tests don’t satisfy Chrysler, a traditional battery hybrid minivan is also a possibility.
In a recent speech at the Ontario plant that builds the Town & Country and Dodge Grand Caravan, Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne said of hybrid vans: “We can do all those things, assume that it will happen in due time,” but didn’t want to make any boastful announcements until the product is ready. He also said that there will only be one version of the next-generation van, either a Dodge or Chrysler model, but that the vehicle’s platform will be “versatile.” It’s possible the platform will birth a Dodge minivan and a Chrysler crossover, among other vehicles.
Marchionne also reiterated that an electric version of the new-to-America Fiat 500 is on track for a 2012 debut.
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