Scuderi Group executives recently returned from a 10-day tour of India and meetings with the top automotive manufacturers in the country. The team reports significant progress in working more closely with various Indian OEMs to help bring its Scuderi Air-Hybrid Engine to the Indian auto, truck and bus market.
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| Ashok Leyland Special Technical Director R.R.G. Manon (second from right) and Engine R&D General Manager Deshpande Prasann (right) demonstrate the Ashok Leyland’s dynamometer, used to measure an engine’s fuel efficiency and power, for Scuderi Group executives Nick and Steve Scuderi. |
Emerging as one of the most robust economies in the world, India is faced with a booming population of over 1.1 billion people resulting in overwhelming fuel consumption and pollution challenges.
Recognizing the innovative Scuderi Air-Hybrid Engine and its potential to more than double the fuel efficiency of today’s trucks, busses and automobiles and reducing toxic emissions by up to 80 percent - all within a design that will make hybrid vehicles easier and far less expensive to build – India’s engine manufacturers are investigating ways to bring those solutions to the Indian automotive consumer.
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| India’s growing population of over 1.1 billion people creates major congestion and a rapid increase of vehicles in the streets. |
“It was an amazing trip where we experienced not only the thriving culture and the incredible growth taking place there, but also the strains of what that kind of growth can create,” said Steve Scuderi, vice president and patent attorney. “India’s auto makers are very eager to find solutions to significantly curb emissions and bring more fuel-efficient vehicles to the market. We were very well received by the companies we met with, and are looking forward to continuing our work with them.”
According to BusinessWeek, A top Nissan Motor Co. executive in North America says that the hybrid market still remains an unprofitable proposition in the auto industry despite the interest in alternative vehicles.
“Hybrids today are not a very viable economic proposition. It’s still a loss-making proposition and we’ll see,” said Dominique Thormann (at right), Nissan North America’s senior vice president for administration and finance.
One of the major benefits of the Scuderi Air-Hybrid Engine is its economy. Manufacturing costs are expected to be minimized through its straightforward design and lack of costly and bulky batteries.
LOS ANGELES — General Motors Corp. became the first automaker Wednesday to commit to building a gasoline-electric hybrid vehicle that can be recharged from an electric socket, a move that will lessen dependence on oil and help GM overtake Toyota Motor Co. in environmental leadership.
While the pledge of a plug-in hybrid version of the Saturn Vue lacked details, GM Chairman Rick Wagoner said it was a key part of GM’s long-term strategy. Wagoner and other GM executives have said the automaker misunderstood the impact of Toyota’s launch of the hybrid Prius in 1999, pledging to get ahead of public opinion in new technologies…
Even though it will be years before an automaker builds a hybrid vehicle with a power cord, touting the promise of plug-ins wins GM and Toyota political points in Washington and among environmentalists. Alexander Karsner, U.S. assistant secretary for energy efficiency and renewable energy, said Wednesday that President George W. Bush frequently asks about progress in research on plug-in hybrids in cabinet meetings.
That research focuses on several battery problems that need solutions before plug-in hybrids can hit the road. A plug-in hybrid built with current technology would cost thousands of dollars more than a typical hybrid, and its batteries might not survive being drained and recharged completely every day….
