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UC Davis's plug-in Prius  (Source: Chronicle, Deanne Fitzmaurice)
UC Davis dares to go where Toyota won't with the Prius

Yesterday, DailyTech brought you news of Fisker's exciting new Hybrid Premium Sports Sedan (HPSS). The sexy four-door promises an all-electric range of up to 50 miles and combined range of 620 miles when the electric motors are working in conjunction with a diesel or gasoline engine.

Today, however, DailyTech is bringing the hybrid news back to more realistic levels with the more plebian plug-in hybrid Toyota Prius. One hundred members of the Northern California AAA will be given eight-week loans of a modified Toyota Prius with lithium-ion battery packs and plug-in capabilities.

UC Davis Institute of Transportation Studies' Plug-In Hybrid Center is sponsoring the program which will begin in spring 2008.

"This is the first large consumer study of plug-in hybrids. We're the advance guard of putting a lot of these [cars] in households," said center director Tom Turrentine.
Over the course of the entire program, one hundred families will share ten Priuses -- each of which costs $15,000 USD to convert to lithium-ion/plug-in form. The conversions are performed at Pat's Garage in San Francisco.

When equipped with lithium-ion batteries that have been fully topped off via overnight charging, the modified Priuses are said to achieve 100 MPG -- a figure that is routinely inflated thanks to the plug-in nature of the vehicle.

Households that are selected to receive a plug-in Prius are required to have a daily commute of 20 to 120 miles and access to a 110-volt outlet for overnight charging.

Also, AAA members who wish to be selected for the program should be prepared to show a heightened level of enthusiasm for hybrids or at least watch "Smug Alert!" before the interview process starts.

"We're going to be interviewing households every week," continued Turrentine. "We want to know how people respond to the car. Are they excited because it is cheaper [to operate]? Are they excited because they are saving the world?"

Independent companies and research labs have been at the forefront of outfitting Toyota's Prius with plug-in technology. Lithium Technology Corporation (LTC) showed off a Prius that was retrofitted with plug-in capabilities and 63 of its LiFePO4 cells. LTC proclaimed that the battery pack was good enough to give the Prius an estimated EPA rating of 125 MPG.

Toyota, obviously aware of the benefits provided with such tech, has seen fit to start its own factory-backed trial run of plug-in Priuses.

Toyota still, however, has not embraced lithium-ion batteries. The company has expressed safety concerns with the batteries and will not use them for its next generation Prius.

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What happens in the winter?
By fleshconsumed on 11/1/2007 9:30:52 AM , Rating: 2
OK, this is CA, it never gets cold there. However, what about other states that see sub 32 degree temperatures and the car won't run because Li-Ion battery is too cold to provide proper voltage? Or is this not a problem for current Li-Ion plug ins?




RE: What happens in the winter?
By SunAngel on 11/1/2007 9:44:11 AM , Rating: 1
quote:
OK, this is CA, it never gets cold there .


hehe, lol!

some people can never be helped, for everyone else there's MasterCard.


RE: What happens in the winter?
By omnicronx on 11/1/2007 9:52:41 AM , Rating: 5
Nobody called the grammar police..


RE: What happens in the winter?
By crimson117 on 11/1/2007 10:31:42 AM , Rating: 5
That's not even a grammatical error.

"OK, this is CA, it never gets cold there."

He didn't say "OK, [I am here in CA], it never gets cold there."

He said, "OK, [keep in mind] this is CA [that we're talking about], it never gets cold there."


RE: What happens in the winter?
By SunAngel on 11/1/2007 10:53:32 AM , Rating: 2
thanks. it doesn't seem so funny now that you taken over his/her thoughts.


RE: What happens in the winter?
By fifolo on 11/1/2007 6:52:42 PM , Rating: 2
quote:

thanks. it doesn't seem so funny now that you have taken over his/her thoughts.


There, fixed it for you. That was nice, wasn't it? Now get back to the hall; I think I saw a kid run into the bathroom without a pass.


By hannibal the mechanical bull on 11/6/2007 9:39:07 AM , Rating: 2
"thanks. it doesn't seem so funny now that you taken over his/her thoughts."

LOL !


RE: What happens in the winter?
By omnicronx on 11/1/2007 9:47:53 AM , Rating: 2
Nobody ever said the car is to use the li-ion batteries to start the car. It will still use the combustion engine in someway, whether it be the old way of spark plug fires and ignites the fuel, or the way of say the GM-Volt, where the fuel is compressed within a chamber and is able to ignite by pressure.

Regardless, I am sure engineers are very aware of the shortcomings of li-ion batteries in the cold.


RE: What happens in the winter?
By masher2 (blog) on 11/1/2007 10:25:43 AM , Rating: 2
Actually, the previous poster was referring to the fact that cold batteries hold less charge. It's a range issue, not one with starting.

However LiIon batteries do better here than NiMH, so I'm not sure how much of an issue it will be.


RE: What happens in the winter?
By clovell on 11/1/2007 10:46:35 AM , Rating: 1
It wasn't explicitly stated in the article, but I have to ask - is this modified Prius still a serial hybrid after this conversion?


RE: What happens in the winter?
By masher2 (blog) on 11/1/2007 11:04:07 AM , Rating: 2
I think you mean still a parallel hybrid. And I would think the answer is yes...they simply changed the battery pack. Changing it to a serial hybrid would require large changes in many other areas.


RE: What happens in the winter?
By clovell on 11/1/2007 3:07:20 PM , Rating: 1
Oh, snap - yeah, sorry for the misspeak - I was thinking the same thing - they'd have to tear out the entire Synergy Drive and rebuild the drivetrain for a series conversion.

Personally, I'm looking forward to serial hybrids much more - Serials should be easier to work on.


RE: What happens in the winter?
By Samus on 11/1/2007 6:29:19 PM , Rating: 2
The petrolium industry probably wont let manufactures produce serial hybrids because they benifit the consumer too much by giving them choices over how their car functions./sarcasm

But really, it's pretty complicated to be able to turn off one of the two power plants and still have them work together efficiently when they are in parallel...but a lot of plug-in conversions have pulled it off, just not this one because they need reliability and low cost. They did make 10 of them, which cost them at least .5 million to purchase the cars, engineer, develope, and implement upgraded batts.


RE: What happens in the winter?
By omnicronx on 11/1/2007 11:05:07 AM , Rating: 2
I really doubt it will be that much of an issue, of course the range of the car will be lower in lower temperatures, but the same can be said of any combustion engine. I live in Canada and I notice a difference of up to 1/4 the gas millage in the winter, on just about any car I drive. Also as you said, NiMh batteries are no worse than LiIon, and current hybrid users only complain about the gas engine being on for a little longer than usual after startup.


By mendocinosummit on 11/1/2007 10:35:55 AM , Rating: 2
Li-Ion goes to 0 and Alkaline goes to 32. I rarely gets to 0 in majority of California. I just wouldn't take them to the Sierra's. Also, you still have a gas engine to heat the battery if needed.


RE: What happens in the winter?
By Cygni on 11/1/2007 11:44:10 AM , Rating: 5
So nobody else is going to point out that this is NORTHERN California, where the daily low is routinely 30 degrees F or lower during the winter... and thats to say nothing of the foothills or Sierras that top out well below freezing daily for months.

Seriously, why are people still so ignorant about California? The state is huge, it doesnt all have the climate of San Diego.

For you east coasters, do Savannah, Georgia and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania have the same climate? Because thats roughly the same amount of geographical separation we are talking about, to say nothing of the much more wildly varied topography of California.


RE: What happens in the winter?
By jskirwin on 11/1/2007 12:32:29 PM , Rating: 1
Chill dude.
Many of us East Coasters have lived in or visited California and are quite familiar with the geography of your state.


RE: What happens in the winter?
By omnicronx on 11/1/2007 1:07:42 PM , Rating: 2
Speak for yourself, until the OP opened my eyes, I thought Cali was located somewhere between Antarctica and South America. Thanks for the clarification, I will be forever in your debt.<\sarcasm>

Best part is the OP specifically said places where the temperatures are below freezing normally, and last time i checked sometimes having lows up to 32F is not normally below freezing. (his words not mine) Cali is generally warmer than other more northern states like Minnesota or Michigan.. you don't know cold until its -40 outside and what little sweat your body is creating results in your pants sticking to your body.


RE: What happens in the winter?
By andrinoaa on 11/1/2007 6:56:26 PM , Rating: 1
Revenge is a dish best served cold!
Where the F*** is CA?
PS who is GW?
LOL


By murphyslabrat on 11/1/2007 2:54:34 PM , Rating: 2
That's the problem: no one sees how chilled he can get.