Hybrid Archive

  • Sanyo’s electric bicycle charges battery on both flat ground and downhill slopes

    Sanyo’s electric bicycle charges battery on both flat ground and downhill slopes

    Posted on March 2, 2010 | No Comments
    We have reported about electric bicycles multiple times in the past, but today Sanyo in Japan announced [press release in English] the "eneloop Hybrid Bicycle" whose battery riders can actively charge while pedaling on flat roads. Previous models, for example this one Sanyo released in 2008, mainly harness energy from braking when the bike goes downhill ("Loop Charge Mode").

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  • HyBrid enclosure to hold SSD and standard drives

    HyBrid enclosure to hold SSD and standard drives

    Posted on February 26, 2010 | No Comments
    Raidon showed off their new HyBrid drive enclosure recently, a strange combination of an SSD drive enclosure and a SATA enclosure. It's not an external device mind you, but rather an internal drive cage that will read and write to the SSD, and then mirror the process to the SATA drive.

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  • VW to produce an electric version of the Up!

    VW to produce an electric version of the Up!

    Posted on December 7, 2009 | No Comments
    Soon nearly every manufacturer and brand will have an electric vehicle in its lineup. Well, soon might be relative, but at least VW is getting into the game with an EV version of the Up! hatchback that debuted at the L.A. Auto Show last week. Plus, the next-gen Beetle will be offered in the States with an optional clean diesel engine. The greenies at the Copenhagen Climate Summit are probably pleased with this news.

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  • Hybrid garbage truck picking up trash in NYC

    Hybrid garbage truck picking up trash in NYC

    Posted on December 3, 2009 | No Comments
    Hybrid commercial vehicles are the answer to the environmental crisis, not passenger vehicles. Sure, your Prius is greener than, say, a Suburban, but even the large GM SUV has a lot smaller carbon footprint than full-size commercial vehicles. But slowly hybrid powertrains are being tested for commercial applications. NYC is currently testing a garbage truck that [...]

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  • Toyota to showcase two new electric/hybrid cars this month

    Toyota to showcase two new electric/hybrid cars this month

    Posted on October 8, 2009 | No Comments
    The world's No. 1 auto maker Toyota has announced [JP] it will exhibit a four-seat electric car at the 41th Tokyo Motor Show for the first time (the show opens October 24 and will run through November 4). It's sized at 2,730x1,680x1,490mm. Visitors will also get to see an update of Toyota's hybrid car Prius at the show.

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  • New mini toy car: Penny Racer Hybrid (video)

    New mini toy car: Penny Racer Hybrid (video)

    Posted on September 23, 2009 | No Comments
    Toy maker Takara Tomy's mini vehicles are being sold everywhere in the world. Marketed as Penny Racers in the US and Choro Q in Japan, the series so far includes mini helis, trains and even small UFOs that attack Tokyo. And now the company has announced Choro Q Hybrid mini cars [JP] for the Japanese market.

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  • FedEx converts 92 delivery trucks to diesel hybrids

    FedEx converts 92 delivery trucks to diesel hybrids

    Posted on July 22, 2009 | No Comments
    I've said over and over again, along with a lot of other people, that hybrid technology would make the biggest environmental impact if used in delivery trucks, municipal vehicles, and mail trucks. Vehicles like these are often limited in range but are gas hogs that travel in low gears where hybrid technology can really shine. Plus, the fuel savings of even 10% can be immense when a whole fleet of vehicles are converted. FedEx obviously knows this too and has slowly been converting delivery trucks to diesel hybrids which have been known to improve fuel economy by 44% and decrease emissions by 96%.

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