Mercedes' future hybrid pickup. The Aztec looks fantastic.

Blind_Io

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http://www.foxnews.com/leisure/2010/09/28/mercedes-dreams-plug-hybrid-pickup-truck/

https://pic.armedcats.net/b/bl/blind_io/2010/10/05/mercedesreporter_397x224.jpg

If you're all about saving gasoline--or "displacing petroleum," as energy wonks say--then the place to start may not be passenger cars. It may be commercial vehicles.

From electric trucks in urban delivery fleets to more efficient hybrid-electric powertrains, there's a lot of innovation happening on the green truck side.
The latest is a plug-in hybrid pickup truck "concept study" from MBtech, shown last week at a German commercial vehicle show in Hanover. It will also be on display at the 2010 Paris Motor Show later this week. The group is the Mercedes-Benz technology consultancy that focuses on the auto industry.

The four-seat Reporter pickup--you can watch the body of the non-running concept taking shape in the video below--is designed for a 100-horsepower, 1.2-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine that runs on either gasoline or natural gas.
The engine drives the front wheels, while a 70-kilowatt electric motor powers the rear wheels.
In typically compound German fashion, MBtech calls the system "Dual-X E-Drive." The press material doesn't specify the exact size of what is undoubtedly a lithium-ion battery pack, however.

This kind of split-drive powertrain is becoming more common, showing up not only in the world's first diesel hybrid vehicle, the 2011 Peugeot 3008 Hybrid4, but also in the Bright Idea plug-in hybrid light delivery van.

It's the Bright, in fact, that we're reminded of when we look at the Reporter. The designers note that the vehicle would be engineered to accept a wide variety of body styles, from the pickup it carries today to a commercial van body or even a 7-seat minivan or "people carrier," as Europeans call them.

The designers envision three separate modes of operation: Eco, or all-electric, meant for emissions-free urban driving at lower speeds; second comes "4range," the most energy efficient way to travel longer distances at higher speeds; and the third is "4dynamic," in which both powertrains combine to provide all-wheel-drive capabilities.

MBtech quotes the maximum range as 185 miles (300 km) and says the Reporter has a top speed of 80 mph (130 km/h). Importantly, the range on electric power alone is 34 miles (55 km).

Like most green concept vehicles these days, the Reporter carries photovoltaic solar cells on its roof. The innovation here is the use of flexible solar cells in a cover that can simply be unzipped and stowed in a bag when cargo hauling demands it.
Like all such installations, there's no significant battery recharging that results. But the cells generate enough electricity to power some of the vehicle's accessories at 266 Watts, including air conditioning, says the maker.

MBtech says the Reporter isn't simply a theoretical design study, and that further versions will follow. Perhaps we can expect to see Mercedes-Benz (which sells lots of medium-duty commercial vans in Europe) stepping up to the plate with its very own bright idea?
 
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I'll get the flamethrowers......
 
So far to the partnership between Mercedes and Renault....



...b??h...
 
What is this I don't even
 
^by al means, feel free to do so! :puke:
 
Soo, where do I put the cargo? In the "basket"? This looks pretty out there, why not reveal a diesel-electric sprinter for urban deliveries instead? Have Mercedes ever done a successfull pickup? Unimogs don't count.
 
I can make pretty designs with detcord! :D
 
http://img715.imageshack.**/img715/7396/haruhifeelingsshattered.jpg

 
Fuck this shit.

If they want anybody to take hybrids or any other eco-friendly car seriously, they need to stop coming up with this bullshit. Just slap in eco-friendly engines into existing cars.

Case in point;
mb-bluehybrid.jpg


Nobody minds those S-class hybrids just because they look like normal cars.
 
D... do "trucks" mean something different over there?
 
Truck means LKW. This isnt a truck, it's a pickup. A rubbish pickup. Here's a video of the team.
[video=youtube;z9ZmQ51qX-c]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z9ZmQ51qX-c[/video]
 
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Aztec-1970s.jpg



EDIT/ My Aztec is better than that thing - at least you can eat the contents of said wrapper.
 
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That combination is illegal outside of Sweden and Finland (only two EU countries where you don't need special permits to exceed 18,75) so you should have picked a better picture with your cute and inefficient 13,6 m continental Eurotrailers :p

https://pic.armedcats.net/k/kn/knarkas/2010/10/06/297455_qzm0bu.jpg
13,6 m Eurotrailer. Because of the longer length restrictions, it's possible to run imported yanktrucks with shortys Sweden. Note that the truck is almost the size of the trailer.

https://pic.armedcats.net/k/kn/knarkas/2010/10/06/Timmerbil_468-1.jpg
30 meters. Before you know it, some australian will post a road train in response.

However while looking for a better picture I found the most ridicilous website I've visited all year! It's called www.nomegatrucks.eu and it's made up by demented hippies and the egotistical ITF. They have an completely illogical hatred towards a solution that would reduce congestion and reduce carbon emissions, as well as streamlining the industry (fewer vehicles make it easier to get higher utilization). The latter is why the ITF is in on it, they think their members would loose their jobs. Considering that the road transport sector has grown exponentially and despite the economic downturn is four times larger than it was 20 years ago, I think their worrys are overrated.

25,25 are your salvation, luckily the people in Brussels usually don't listen to hippies. Sorry for the derailment. Well not really, the hippies really like rail to take over. Only one problem with that, average speed of rail cargo trough Europe is 18km/h. Rail sucks. And you need a truck to get whatever it is you want from the rail depot to yourself. Then back to the rail depot if you want to send it somewhere else. Road is superior in every scenario where you require even a little bit of flexibility. That's all. I think. I don't have anything interesting to say about the Mercedes ABS-X-Drive or whatever it's called anyway.
 
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That combination is illegal outside of Sweden and Finland (only two EU countries where you don't need special permits) so you should have picked a better picture with your cute and inefficient 13,6 m continental Eurotrailers :p

https://pic.armedcats.net/k/kn/knarkas/2010/10/06/297455_qzm0bu.jpg
13,6 m Eurotrailer. Because of the longer length restrictions, it's possible to run imported yanktrucks with shortys Sweden. Note that the truck is almost the size of the trailer.

https://pic.armedcats.net/k/kn/knarkas/2010/10/06/Timmerbil_468-1.jpg
30 meters. Before you know it, some australian will post a road train in response.

However while looking for a better picture I found the most ridicilous website I've visited all year! It's called www.nomegatrucks.eu and it's made up by demented hippies and the egotistical ITF. They have an completely illogical hatred towards a solution that would reduce congestion and reduce carbon emissions, as well as streamlining the industry (fewer vehicles make it easier to get higher utilization). The latter is why the ITF is in on it, they think their members would loose their jobs. Considering that the road transport sector has grown exponentially and despite the economic downturn is four times larger than it was 20 years ago, I think their worrys are overrated.

25,25 are your salvation, luckily the people in Brussels usually don't listen to hippies. Sorry for the derailment. Well not really, the hippies really like rail to take over. Only one problem with that, average speed of rail cargo trough Europe is 18km/h. Rail sucks. That's all. I think. I don't have anything interesting to say about the Mercedes ABS-X-Drive or whatever it's called anyway.

The nice thing about rail though is it keeps some big trucks off the road. Why is this good? Well, big trucks cause more wear and tear, but also, if you're in an area with mostly two-lane roads, they are a bitch to pass. I am for any solution that allows for fewer trucks to make me pass.
 
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