Tuesday, April 21, 2015

Raser debuted a plug-in hybrid version Hummer H3 that gets 100+ mpg


Utah's Raser Technologies debuted a plug-in hybrid version Hummer H3 that gets 100+ mpg, nearly doubling the 51 mpg of the Toyota Prius in the city. And it goes from 0 to 60 in 8.5 seconds — faster than the smaller Hummer H2 with a V-8 gasoline engine and within the under-10-seconds goal of the next-gen Prius.
As Raser calls it, this "Chevy Volt on steroids" comes with a 260-horsepower 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder EcoTech engine that drives a powerful 100-kilowatt generator that recharges its 600 pounds of lithium-ion battery packs. Those batteries are the bugbear of hybrids because they're bulky and heavy. But when you've got a Hummer H3, you've got the room.
With a range of 400 miles, this green Hummer will go 40 miles on electricity only, well within the typical seven-mile drive of most Americans.