BY TOM LUDWICK AND ALISA PRIDDLE
This trio of electric vehicles uses a variety of powertrain alternatives to extend their B-srange.
Chrysler wants to spark interest with three electric concepts to be unveiled in January at the North American International Auto Show in what appears to be a showdown with General Motors and its Chevrolet Volt family of EVs.
Chrysler is using a lithium-ion battery pack with a 200-kilowatt electric motor to drive the wheels, into concepts for Chrysler, Jeep, and Dodge. Shown here are early sketches of the Chrysler ecoVoyager concept, the Dodge Zeo concept, and the Jeep Renegade concept.
All are capable of at least 40 miles of city driving on the battery pack, and they offer different powertrain solutions to extend that range, explains Chrysler’s product development chief, Frank Klegon.
In the case of the Chrysler ecoVoyager, a fuel cell located beneath the floor allowed chief designer Trevor Creed to take cab forward to the max in a vehicle that can travel up to 300 miles with nothing but water coming out the tailpipe. And it still is capable of a 0-to-60-mph time of fewer than eight seconds, Klegon says.
Attempting to elicit the romance of automotive travel with prudence, the Voyager name unfortunately conjures images of the short-wheelbase Plymouth minivan that died in 2000, shortly before the brand also went defunct.
The ecoVoyager is nothing like the departed minivan. It is a smooth four-door, four-passenger car with a characteristically American design. It is 191 inches long and 75 inches wide and should have plenty of headroom with a height of 63 inches. The wheels are pushed to the edges, giving the ecoVoyager a wheelbase of 116 inches, only four inches shorter than that of the Chrysler 300.
The Dodge Zeo is a new take on a muscle car, Creed says, as the electric vehicle has a range of 250 miles from its battery pack”the same range offered by the Tesla roadster.
The four-door, four-passenger wagon (we see more Dodge Magnum than Charger here) gets Hemi-like performance, dashing from 0-to-60 in fewer than six seconds. Sketches show the Zeo has the trademark Dodge crosshair grille.
Creed thinks the long hood and 23-inch wheels are as arresting as the zero emissions. At 173 inches long, the Zeo is about an inch shorter than a Dodge Caliber and a hair slimmer. The height is a mere 51 inches, and the wheelbase is an inch longer than the Avenger’s at 110.
The Jeep Renegade’s powertrain combo includes a small-displacement BlueTec diesel engine to achieve an estimated fuel economy of more than 110 mpg, says Klegon, which is four or five times better than that of most gasoline-powered vehicles. The Renegade still has four-wheel-drive capability (it is a Jeep, after all), but it uses a lightweight aluminum architecture.
Jeep gives us a concept for the outdoor enthusiast who wishes to enjoy the earth while taking care of its future”it’s a nice synergy.
The design of this circa-2020 Wrangler appears to be inspired by a sand rail. The tall stance will come in handy when climbing boulders, and the speedster windshield and roll bar should work well when surfing dunes. The familiar seven-slot grille is front and center.
At 153 inches long and a wheelbase of fewer than 102 inches, this Renegade is a small two-seater B-segment (subcompact) vehicle. Creed points to the openings in the door lowers, the hose-out interior, and minimalist ecofriendly materials as ways to be environmentally friendly without compromising the styling and fun of an off-roader.
The Renegade features an all-aluminum construction to keep weight down, making it easier for the lithium-ion battery pack and BlueTec diesel to deliver as much as 110 mpg.
The trio of EVs is reminiscent of the Volt e-architecture. General Motors has shown a trio of concepts starting with a gasoline-electric plug-in hybrid, followed by a hydrogen-electric hybrid, and finally, at the 2007 Frankfurt auto show, the Opel Flextreme, which is a diesel-electric variant. All are range extenders for a vehicle with electric motors juiced by a lithium-ion battery pack.
Gentlemen: Charge your engines, and may the best golf cart win.
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