Shift Magazine - February 2022 - 11

No electric
pickup can do
what this old
Ram 2500 diesel
did recently:
In less than
24 hours, the
driver hauled
two classic cars
567 miles from
Baltimore to
Detroit.
RICHARD TRUETT
battery-electric powertrains. I visited
my city's police department in Berkley,
Mich., with my 10-year-old nephew for
a tour. I asked the officer, Lt. Jordan
Kobernick, if he had driven any of the
new electric vehicles and what he
thought of electric police cars.
" Our vehicles are on the road 24 hours
and be refueled and back on the road in
less than 15 minutes. No electric truck
can do that - yet.
General Motors CEO Mary Barra
announced in January at CES that the
company is working on electric versions
of its heavy-duty pickups that would be
available by 2035. No technical details,
driving range or charging-time estimates
were given, with Barra saying only
that the vehicles would have " a range
needed to get the toughest jobs done. "
The duty cycles of emergency
vehicles such as ambulances, fire
trucks and electricity-guzzling police
vehicles are also not compatible with
a day, " he told me. " We'd need two
fleets, " he said, one charging while the
other was in use. That's not affordable
or practical for many cities.
Two-seater sports cars are another
bad fit for electric powertrains. The
range between charges isn't great,
and heavy battery packs make pinpoint
handling and strong braking challenging.
MORE THAN BATTERIES
GM and its partner, Honda - along
with other companies such as Hyundai,
Toyota, BMW and Daimler - have been
working hard to reduce the size and
increase the power output of hydrogen
fuel cells, which generate electricity
to power the electric motors that drive
LIFE PRESERVERS
Here are some of the technologies that are extending the
life of the internal combustion engine by making it more
efficient.
Displacement on demand: Shuts down unneeded cylinders
once a vehicle reaches highway speeds.
Variable compression ratio: Enables an engine to run
more efficiently based on speed and load. Nissan is the
only manufacturer to offer a production engine with this
technology.
High-pressure direct injection: Atomizes fuel into extremely
fine particles to improve combustion, lower emissions and
vehicles. Gaseous hydrogen is not as
energy-dense as gasoline, but it can
quickly fill a tank. And hydrogen fuel
cells have another advantage over
battery packs: They weigh less.
So, here's my prediction for the future
of the internal combustion engine: We'll
see gasoline and diesel engines continue
their retreat from most passenger cars. In
heavier vehicles, we'll see more gasolineelectric
hybrid powertrains. Those will
eventually give way to hydrogen fuel
cell powertrains - when the fueling
infrastructure develops and as the
technology becomes more affordable.
Chevrolet this year is launching an allnew,
5.5-liter double-overhead-cam V-8
in the Corvette Z06 that makes 670 hp.
It's a perfect example of why gasoline
engines will be around for at least
another decade.
The Z06 is expected to have an EPA
rating of 22 mpg and can travel as far as
407 miles on its 18.5-gallon fuel tank. At
most gas stations, the Z06's tank can be
filled in less than 5 minutes. n
improve performance.
Micro-hybrids: Uses a small electric motor for the start-stop
system, torque smoothing and to assist the gasoline engine
under heavy acceleration; improves fuel economy and
reduces emissions.
Improved thermodynamics: Reduces the heat that is wasted
out of the exhaust pipe to improve the efficiency of the
engine. Engine coolant, for example, can be used to quickly
warm engine and transmission oil in cold weather.
Electrification of the engine: Replaces old-style mechanically
driven oil and water pumps with computer-controlled
electric motors. This reduces wasted energy and allows
more precise control of cooling and lubrication.
- Richard Truett
february 2022 * shift 11
Shift Magazine - February 2022

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