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Peapod Debuts Today

April 22, 2009 in Uncategorized by kristen | No comments

Chrysler gives the U.S. a present for Earth Day: the adorable Peapod debuts today, adding a dose of design to the neighborhood electric vehicle segment.

NEVs, as these little cars are known, aren’t quick, with a top speed of about 25 mph and a range of 40 miles or less. It’s enough for most commuters, with the bonus of zero emissions and potentially low-impact fuel, if the electricity used to charge the batteries comes from clean sources like wind farms.

The Peapod in particular will have four seats (though I’m betting only two of them are usable by humans), be available in seven colors, and be available for purchase in October at $12,500. Again, this puts it right in line with other NEVs on the market, like cars from ZENN and ZAP.

The Peapod Mobility Project comes out of Chrysler’s old GEM electric vehicle group, which is headquartered in Fargo, North Dakota. The smiling Peapod will be manufactured at GEM HQ, making it a made-in-the-USA EV. Happy Earth Day!

Chrysler + A123 = 1 EV in 2010

April 9, 2009 in Biz News, EVs, Future Cars by kristen | No comments

On Monday, Chrysler announced that A123 would supply the lithium-ion batteries for the forthcoming line of EVs from its ENVI division. There are five vehicles in the lineup, including a Lotus-based sports car and a minivan, but there’s no word yet on which one will be the bell of the EV debut ball next year.

One of the partnership’s selling points is that both companies are U.S.-based, making it easier for early adopters to buy American when it comes to alternative fuels. Of course, the viability of Chrysler will have an impact on whether any of the ENVI project can move forward, but forging this kind of alliance and promising to bring an EV to market by 2010 show chutzpah on Chrysler’s part.

Photo of the Dodge Circuit EV at the 2009 Detroit Auto Show by Kristen Hall-Geisler.

Dodge Durango Hybrid Gets $2200 Tax Credit

October 20, 2008 in Consumer News, Hybrids, MPG by kristen | No comments

2009 Dodge Durango hybrid at Mudfest

I’ve been at two auto events recently where the new Dodge Durango hybrid was made available for journalists to drive and evaluate. The first was Mudfest earlier this month, where the Durango hybrid topped the Best Family SUV category, where it competed with non-hybrid vehicles.

The second event was just a few days ago, when Chrysler/Dodge brought a handful of new models to Portland, Oregon, for the press to peruse. The 2009 Dodge Durango hybrid had just that day earned its official EPA fuel economy rating of 20 mpg city, 22 highway, and the company learned that the SUV was eligible for a $2,200 tax credit. The new rating marks an improvement in the hybrid Durango’s mileage over its conventional, petrol-burning Durango sibling by 50% in the city and 40% overall.

The phrase we keep hearing from SUV manufacturers is “no compromises.” Apparently, Joe Buyer is afraid that his new hybrid SUV will be wussy, and the PR folks are working to counter that. The Dodge Durango hybrid still has a V8 engine, though four cylinders will cut out when the engine isn’t under load. It still has 4-wheel drive and eight seats, and it can still tow 6,000 pounds. (The conventional Durango pulls 8,800 pounds; it’s up to you to decide if that’s a compromise.) But it also has stop-start technology and the two-mode hybrid system. The Dodge Durango hybrid and its cousin, the Chrysler Aspen hybrid, will be at dealerships by the end of 2008 with a price tag starting at $45,340.

The curious thing was that despite the tax credit and the clamor for gas-sipping, emissions-lite vehicles, Chrysler still isn’t wholeheartedly embracing the hybrid platform. While the GM rep I spoke with a couple weeks ago said he didn’t see why all of GM’s large vehicles couldn’t be based on a hybrid system like the Yukon has, the Chrysler rep at the more recent event said his company was going to wait and see. There are plenty of reasons for auto companies to take baby steps these days, but hybrid technology shouldn’t be one of the things they hold back on. Especially if there really are “no compromises.”

The Chrysler/GEM Peapod EV

October 1, 2008 in EVs, Future Cars, small cars by kristen | 1 comment

2009 GEM Peapod

Fuel-efficient small cars like the Smart ForTwo and EVs like the Zap Xebra have a built-in cuteness due to their diminutive size. But the 2009 GEM Peapod acutally made me say, out loud, “Oh! They’re adorable.”

Like the Xebra, the Peapod is a neighborhood-electric vehicle, or NEV, so it can’t do highway speeds or ferry your family to Yellowstone for vacation (unless you live less than 30 miles from Yellowstone and have a very small family). Surprisingly, the Peapod is longer and taller than the Smart ForTwo, and even has rear seats. But the NEV’s top speed is 25 mph, where the gasoline-powered ForTwo can do a highway-capable 90 mph.

The Peapod comes from those eco-innovation lovers over at Chrysler’s ENVI outfit, the same folks who brought us the Chrysler, Jeep, and Dodge EV designs in late September. The design of the latest little EV is completely new, unlike, say, the Jeep or the Town and Country minivan EVs, and features a lot of glass and a shape straight out of 2001: A Space Odyssey.

I’ve blogged about GEM before, back in the dark ages of EVs (early 2008). With the advent of the Peapod, though, the decade-old, North Dakota-based subsidiary of Chrysler got a new-ish name, GreenEcoMobility. Whatever they call themselves, this is a big improvement over GEM’s glorified golfcarts of old. And by old, I mean six months ago.

Chrysler Green with ENVI Electric Vehicle Team

September 26, 2008 in Consumer News, EVs, Future Cars, MPG by kristen | 1 comment

Chrysler unveiled three EVs this week, one from each of its divisions. There’s a Jeep SUV EV, a Chrysler minivan EV, and a Dodge sports car EV, all slated to go on sale in the U.S. in 2010 as 2011 models. If the automaker can hit that mark, Chrysler’s EVs will beat the plug-in hybrid Chevy Volt to market. I bet that fact didn’t escape Chrysler execs.

Chrysler’s EV development team, ENVI, promises that these vehicles will allow drivers to go about their merry way without making major changes to their driving style. The Jeep, for instance, will be a body-on-frame four-wheel-drive vehicle, while the sporty Dodge will be rear-wheel drive.

The vehicles don’t have names yet, but Chrysler has published specs:

Dodge EV:

  • 200 kW = 268 hp
  • 0-60 in under 5 seconds
  • Top speed 120+ mph
  • 150-200 mile range

Jeep EV:

  • 200 kW = 268 hp
  • 0-60 in 9.0 seconds
  • Two- or four-wheel drive
  • 400 miles (with help from a small gasoline engine)

Chrysler EV:

  • 190 kW = 268 hp
  • 0-60 in 8.7 seconds
  • Seats seven
  • 400 miles (with help from a small gasoline engine)

Photo courtesy of Chrysler LLC.