BMW Jumps On The Hybrid Train

[awd4life]

BMW has been toted as the best car manufacturer in the world. I would tend to agree that they are definitely up there on the list of vehicle manufacturers that the average man can afford. It appears as though they have now shown interest in joining the Hybrid Gas Sippers Club. They have released details on the new BMW X3 Hybrid.

While it is still a "concept," BMW is deciding to not go the way of Toyota, Ford, and Honda and use a gasoline-electric. BMW is opting to go the way of using high performance capacitors, or Super Caps, on the X3 Concept. They use these to store energy and transmit the power to the "Active Transmission" that will combine the efficient power of the electric motor with the functionality of a BMW in-line six gas engine.

The Hybrid package has been reported to provide up to 440 lb-ft of torque from the in-line six, and 295 lb-ft from the 80 horsepower electric motor. Dr. Helmut Panke, chairman, mentioned that "while this vehicle won't go into production in this form, it does provide a preview of possible future developments." BMW announced in fall of 2005 that it was teaming up with General Motors and DaimlerChrysler to develop Hybrids. This collaboration was scheduled to produce a product in the 2008 model year.