The two biggest improvements to the automobile since the electric starter has to be power steering and air conditioning. One of the features of the Escalade Hybrid is the Auto Stop feature, allowing the engine to shut down in order to save gasoline when the vehicle is stopped. This can create a bit of a problem if temperatures outside are high, since the air conditioner compressor normally operate from a drive belt as the engine runs. To be able to supply cool air to the passengers when the engine is not running or if you’re trying to navigate a parking lot when the Hybrid is running from the electric motor, this can be a problem.
To overcome this, the Cadillac engineers created a power steering pump and an air conditioning compressor that operate electrically. I was reminded of how they work earlier this week. We had a bit of a cold snap and day time temperatures barely climbed into the seventies. This may sound a little silly combining cold snap and seventy degrees in the same sentence, but in August in South Carolina it has been the topic of many conversations.
While sitting at a traffic light I noticed something I hadn’t heard before, silence. I had just finished a phone call and had not turned the radio back up. The only sound you could hear was the blower fan from the climate control. The silence was very noticeable. No engine noise, no outside noise, just the blower fan. As the light turned green and as I pulled away the sound of the electric motor could be heard before the engine started back up again.
It’s astonishing to watch all of these systems all working in harmony is that it goes unnoticed. If you don’t look at the display screen that shows the interaction between the engine and the electric motor, you’d never notice one shutting down or powering up.
2 comments:
Nice job on the blog Doggie. One thing I'd like to know is, why the e-Escalade first? Wouldn't it have made a lot more sense to do an e-Malibu first? or even an e-CTS if it had to be a Caddy? the e-'clade is such a niche product - plus it opens GM up to too many jokes.
There is a major difference to the Escalade's 2-mode Hybrid system and that of say the Prius. The drive train of the Escalade Hybrid is a scaled down version of what GM developed years ago for city transit buses. The electric motor is located within the transmission. The entire system can run on the electric motor or the with the engine. The engine can also run with all 8 cylinders or just 4 cylinders depending on the load.
In the future look for an even smaller version that may be used in future product.
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