1976 Alfa Romeo Spider Veloce Convertible 2-door 2.0l Dohc Fuel Injected on 2040-cars

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Stellantis aims to eliminate separate inverter, charger to improve EV efficiency

Stellantis has announced that, in collaboration with French battery company Saft and French National Center for Scientific Research, has made significant progress in eliminating two major components of an electric vehicle powertrain: the on-board charger and the power inverter for the motor. The company claims that doing this will allow for better space use in vehicles, as well as improvements in efficiency, cost and reliability of components. As a quick primer, also explained in the below video, the on-board charger and power inverter are sort of translators to get the right current to different parts of the electric powertrain. The on-board charger takes AC power from the grid and converts it to DC to charge the batteries. Then when power goes from the batteries to the electric motor, the power inverter converts that DC power back to AC. These components aren't exactly small. Frequently you'll find them packaged somewhere under the hood. What Stellantis and its cohorts have developed, and have been using on a test vehicle since last summer, are small power inverter boards that can be mounted very closely to the battery packs. They can handle both conversion needs, for charging and discharging, instead of needing two separate devices. The most obvious perk to this is that you can do away with those traditional components and free up more space, either for making smaller vehicles without losing interior volume, or adding space to a vehicle that wouldn't have had it otherwise. There's the additional benefit of reduced weight, something that EVs struggle with. Stellantis also claims improvements in efficiency, reliability, and cost, however, it didn't go into detail as to how this setup would do that exactly. We'll try to get in touch with representatives from Stellantis in order to get more information. We're still a ways out from seeing this technology in production Stellantis vehicles. The company said it aims to apply it to vehicles by the end of the decade. Saft is also looking at using it on stationary battery systems as well. So maybe we'll see it on a 2029 Ram 1500 REV, but for now, we'll be living with traditional chargers and inverters. Related Video: Green Alfa Romeo Chrysler Dodge Fiat RAM Technology Electric

Four-leaf clovers, hybrid Hondas and the next automotive downturn | Autoblog Podcast #561

On this week's Autoblog Podcast, Editor-in-Chief Greg Migliore is joined by Senior Editor Alex Kierstein and Associate Editor Reese Counts. The group discuss the Alfa Romeo Stelvio Quadrifoglio, the Mercedes-Benz CLS 450 and the Honda Clarity PHEV Alex has been driving in Seattle. They also discuss the future of the auto industry, how customer tastes and needs are changing and what might happen if the world faces another economic downturn. Finally, we spend your money.Autoblog Podcast #561 Get The Podcast iTunes – Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes RSS – Add the Autoblog Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator MP3 – Download the MP3 directly Rundown Alfa Romeo Stelvio Quadrifoglio Mercedes-Benz CLS 450 Honda Clarity PHEV The next automotive downturn Spend My Money Feedback Email – Podcast@Autoblog.com Review the show on iTunes Related Video:

Alfa Romeo's new CEO sees room to bring back the GTV and the Duetto

Alfa Romeo is open to reviving the GTV and the Duetto, two of its most emblematic nameplates, in the coming years. Whether either model returns partially depends on how well the firm's more mainstream models sell. "I'm very interested in the GTV. There is no statement or announcement at this stage, but I'm just giving you a personal feeling that I'm very interested in the GTV. I also love the Duetto," said Jean-Philippe Imparato, the Peugeot veteran who became Alfa Romeo's CEO under Stellantis, in an interview with Australia's CarSales. It's far too early to tell what each model would look like with any significant degree of certainty. Besides, we've been here before: in 2018, former Fiat-Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) boss Sergio Marchionne outlined a born-again GTV with 600 horsepower, some degree of electrification, all-wheel drive, and seating for four when he presented Alfa Romeo's bold five-year plan. That model has been canned, along with a 700-horsepower halo coupe called 8C. Playing it safe, Imparato cautioned that neither two-door has been approved for production. Alfa Romeo's range currently consists of the Giulia, the Stelvio and the 4C, though the latter is a niche model at the end of its life cycle. It needs to achieve volume before executives can begin exploring coupe and convertible options, and we're in a market where the quickest and most effective way to increase sales is to make SUVs and crossovers. The next new addition to the Alfa Romeo range is widely believed to be the production version of the Tonale concept from 2019. "Allow me to bring Alfa Romeo to a certain level of economic performance, and then we speak," Imparato stressed. "In this time of big changes for the industry, the first priority is to protect Alfa Romeo and drive it through the challenges related to electrification, connectivity and safety," he added. Coupes and convertibles will come later. Interestingly, he strongly hinted the reports claiming the rear-wheel-drive Giorgio platform is on its way out are false. In Alfa-speak, the GTV nameplate traces its roots to the Bertone-designed 105-Series coupe released in 1963. It was called Giulia Sprint GT at launch, and it became the Giulia Sprint GT Veloce (which means "fast" in Italian) in 1965. GTV is the acronym that stuck throughout the model's career. Alfa put the nameplate on the coupe version of the Alfetta (pictured), and it added the 6 suffix when it stuffed the 2.5-liter Busso V6 in the engine bay.