BMW to work with DaimlerChrysler and General Motors on hybrids
A press release ran on the wire today authored by the Global Alliance for Hybrid
Drive Development indicating that BMW, DaimlerChrysler and General Motors have created a "memorandum of
understanding" and plan to work together on developing two-mode hybrid drive systems. GM and DaimlerChrysler
signed a binding agreement to thsi effect in August, and while at the moment BMW hasn't made any promises,
there is the expectation that the pact will become binding later this year after some wrinkles are
ironed out.
The basic model of the drive system will be common across the three manufacturers, but each company plans to integrate the system into their own unique vehicles in such a way that, say, a BMW 3-series hybrid doesnt share too much metal with a Chevy Cobalt hybrid a sign of the apocalypse for any die-hard Bimmer fan. Heres a question for you all: is BMW slumming it, or do GM and DaimlerChrysler have something to offer the high-end company?
To accomplish their goals, the three car companies will set up shop in Troy, Michigan. Employees of the GM, DaimlerChrysler and BMW Hybrid Development Center will develop the overall system and its components, including electric motors, high-performance electronics, wiring, safety systems, energy management, and hybrid system control units, and will be responsible for system integration and project management.
The two-mode hybrid system, the release touts, will enable two electric motors and a traditional combustion engine to work together to get ideal mileage and performance no matter what the speed of the vehicle or the conditions. The electric motors kick in with stop-and-go city driving, and they also help out on the highway and while towing by contributing their efforts and decreasing the gas used by the combustion engine the best of all worlds, combining the electric-only city driving of the Ford Escape Hybrid with the performance boosters GM keeps saying well see in the Chevrolet Silverado.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Scott 10:37PM (12/18/2005)
I love BMW as much as anyone, but I think that's quite lame to say they're "slumming it." After all, DaimlerChrylser owns Mercedes Benz. If MB isn't an even competitor with BMW, then who is?
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james 10:37PM (12/18/2005)
Are you calling Mercedes low end? Remember they are part of DaimlerChrysler so they will certainly use the hybrid system as well.
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Nam 10:37PM (12/18/2005)
Bwm are good because they make reputable cars from low end to high end cars. Unlike chrysler and GM but don't think that either companies don't have the capacities to make very fine quality cars. They have to forget about reputation because if gas prices keep rising this way all companies will go bankrupt
In my opinion i think this hybrid system is just a bandaid for some miracle healing to happen(gas prices to fall). I think all car companies should intergrate their best engineers and try to come up with cars that will accept water as their fuels. Bmw already has a hydrogen system, but it is nowhere near usable for real life driving.
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Scott 10:37PM (12/18/2005)
"Bmw are good because they make reputable cars from low end to high end cars."
Since when does BMW make low end cars? Their lowest-end car (right now) is a 325i. That car *starts* at $35k. With options it's easily over $40k.
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Erin Mays 10:37PM (12/18/2005)
Point taken about Mercedes -- my question was mostly aimed at GM. I personally never said they're 'slumming it,' I just posed the question knowing that some BMW-philes aren't going to be happy knowing their 6-series shares DNA with a Cobalt :) Crass language aside, you can't deny that GM and BMW are at different ends of the spectrum.
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Kurt B 10:37PM (12/18/2005)
BMW does use (did use?) GM trannys made in Strasbourg..so what's the difference?
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sstinman 10:37PM (12/18/2005)
The Troy Hybrid office does not have any Mercedes Engineers in it. BMW is definitly slumming it. But what can you expect from a company with limited resources like BMW. They can't tackle every project, they must choose how to best deploy thier resources. Frankly, how many hybrids will BMW make? A few thousand perhaps? BMW car production is very limited compared with DCX and GM.
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Kurt B 10:37PM (12/18/2005)
To back up my BMW using a GM transmission, comment:
From here (article on Caddy CTS)http://www.gmhightechperformance.com/features/0205gmhtp_deep/
"Both transmission choices, an automatic and a manual, are five-speed overdrive units. The automatic--Hydramatic's new 5L40E--was actually designed for BMW and used first in that mark's cars for three years as a result of a super-secret non-competition agreement. The result of all this is that the BMW 5-series has been a convenient guinea pig for the 5L40E's reliability. (Hydramatic was originally contracted by BMW to design and build the ground-breaking unit.) The five-speed slushbox, which is built in Strasbourg, France, shifts crisply and responsively, and even has an optional "sport" shift button on the console (think of it as an electronic shift kit). Can it be made to handle another 100 lb.-ft. of torque? Probably not, at least if that power is to be bestowed on CTS by mother GM. The same goes for the Getrag M35 5-speed manual. We're thinking that if Cadillac gets with the engine program a few years down the line, they'll have to come up with something stronger, but if anyone's up to the task, it's Hydramatic."
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Kapil 10:37PM (12/18/2005)
#4 "Since when does BMW make low end cars? Their lowest-end car (right now) is a 325i. That car *starts* at $35k. With options it's easily over $40k."
Looks like you haven't heard of the BMW 1 series and Mercedes A & B class sold in Europe.
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Kapil 10:37PM (12/18/2005)
#4 "Since when does BMW make low end cars? Their lowest-end car (right now) is a 325i. That car *starts* at $35k. With options it's easily over $40k."
Looks like you haven't heard of the BMW 1 series and (probably of Mercedes A & B class) sold in Europe.
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K2 10:37PM (12/18/2005)
Kapil,
A BMW 1-series starting at $30k doesn't exactly strike me as a low-end car. Not to mention options cranking up the price, just like Scott said.
Don't know much about the Mercedes A and B class though.
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Kapil 10:37PM (12/18/2005)
I'm not sure how you got the figure of $30000 for a 1 series since its not sold in USA. One way to look at it is compare it to the price of 325 in Europe. In UK, 325i starts at around 25,525 while the 116i starts at 15,995. In US, 325i starts at $30000. By that comparison, 1 series (if it were to be sold in US) would start at around $20000.
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Kapil 10:37PM (12/18/2005)
I'm not sure how you got the figure of $30000 for a 1 series since its not sold in USA. One way to look at it is compare it to the price of 325 in Europe. In UK, 325i starts at around 25,525 while the 116i starts at 15,995. In US, 325i starts at $30000. By that comparison, 1 series (if it were to be sold in US) would start at around $20000.
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Scott 10:37PM (12/18/2005)
Kapil, notice the parentheses in my original post. Right now, in the U.S. market, the lowest priced BMW is a 325i. I see the MSRP is $30k, but that's with no options, and BMW loves their options.
Sorry for being US-centric. Bad habit.
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