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KSPG testing low-noise EV range extender engine

If you're going to add a gas-burning engine to an electric vehicle, it makes sense to have it be whisper quiet. We haven't heard the engine ourselves, but supplier KSPG AG said during the Detroit Auto Show this week that the range extender it put into a Fiat 500 for test purposes introduced "barely perceptible noise and vibration" levels. The engine, a two-cylinder V-type with something called "FEVcom vibration compensation" that allows the engine to kick on and power the vehicle without the cabin occupants really being able to notice. The whole unit - including a vertical crankshaft, two generators and gear wheel drive - comes in a ready-to-install support frame, KSPG says. Installed in the 500, it certainly looks tiny (click the image above to see what we mean). KSPG says the range extender is "largely universally mountable" and could be made cheaply if it were used in a variety of vehicles. KSPG worked with FEV on the project. Read more in the press release below. Low-noise range extender dispels battery runtime angst January 13, 2014 Together with FEV GmbH, KSPG is currently and successfully testing a range extender developed for electric vehicles. The test vehicle, based on the FIAT 500, has already undergone comprehensive tests at KSPG. Customer response to tests conducted at various OEMs underscore the targets achieved in the development of this extender where emphasis was on barely perceptible noise and vibration from the 2-cylinder V-type engine fitted with FEVcom vibration compensation. Thanks to its dedicated design features including active vibration compensation and convenient mounting location, the system on show performs excellently in the noise- vibration-harshness discipline. As a consequence, the impression of low-noise electric propulsion hardly suffers whenever the extender goes about its work. The range extender allows vast flexibility in the configuration of its operating strategy. Depending on the timing and load conditions for when it starts up, the unit's "operating philosophy" can be very closely adapted to any given conditions. The extender's advantages are to allow a reduction in battery size and cost and in the related weight. Also, the car can maintain its customary travel range without having to stop for lengthy recharging. It dispels "runtime angst," a phenomenon not to be underestimated when introducing electric mobility.

GM, Ford, FCA and the UAW form joint coronavirus task force

General Motors, Ford and Fiat Chrysler are forming a coronavirus task force along with the United Auto Workers union to improve protections for their employees and limit the spread of the highly contagious virus. The task force, which would be focusing on areas including vehicle production plans, is being headed by UAW President Rory Gamble, GM Chief Executive Officer Mary Barra, Ford CEO Jim Hackett, Ford Executive Chairman Bill Ford and FCA CEO Michael Manley, the parties said in a joint statement on Sunday. Though automakers typically schedule plant staffing to allow for a certain proportion of absent workers, according to industry consultants, if the outbreak causes higher levels due to infection or workers staying home to care for children whose schools are closed, that could lead to reduced production or in extreme cases shutdowns. Production at an FCA assembly plant in Canada was halted for 24 hours after employees there refused to work on Thursday over fears of an employee being possibly exposed to the coronavirus. Separately on Thursday, the Italian-American automaker said that one of its employees had tested positive for COVID-19, a respiratory disease caused by the new coronavirus, at its transmission plant in Indiana. The plant, however, remained open. "This is a fluid and unprecedented situation, and the task force will move quickly to build on the wide-ranging preventive measures we have put in place," the CEOs of the three companies said in the statement. The task force would also be focusing on aspects such as health and safety education, health screening, food service at the automakers' locations. Related Video: Government/Legal Plants/Manufacturing UAW/Unions Chrysler Fiat Ford GM coronavirus

Ram ProMaster City getting facelift courtesy of Fiat Doblo?

Our intrepid spy photographers have caught prototypes for a new Fiat Doblo. Now we know what you might be thinking (particularly if you didn't take note of the headline): why would we care about an automaker conducting a facelift on a European cargo van? Normally we wouldn't, only the Fiat Doblo has another name, under which it will be shortly be sold here in America: Ram ProMaster City.
Announced just months ago, the ProMaster City is the smaller counterpart to the Ram ProMaster, which itself is also a rebadged cargo van from Fiat Professional. Think of it as a Chrysler version of the Ford Transit and Transit Connect lineup - European vans being brought Stateside by automakers that operate on both sides of the Atlantic.
But despite the official announcement of the vehicle's pending arrival, we still haven't seen the PMC yet. The disguised Doblo prototypes pictured here appear to be wearing a completely new front end and some cosmetic revisions to their tail ends, too. We can't see anything in the interior, but the fact that it was completely covered up suggests that Fiat is working on overhauling that, as well.