The Hummer is the poster child of excess consumption and inefficiency, but a Utah company is converting the much-maligned SUVs into a range-extended electric vehicle good for 100 mpg and a range of 40 miles. Raser Technologies will unveil the Raser H3 on Monday in Detroit. It promises a 90 mph top speed, off-road capability and a lithium ion-battery you can recharge in as little as three hours. What’s more, the company says the drivetrain can be installed in other trucks and it hopes to have 2,000 converted vehicles on the road by the end of next year. That’s a tall order, and there is no shortage of companies promising us wonder cars with miraculous fuel economy and impressive range. But Raser is taking a different approach. It isn’t building a car from scratch like Aptera Motors or Lightning Hybrids. Instead, it’s essentially cribbing from the Chevrolet Volt and Fisker Karma to convert existing vehicles with off-the-shelf parts."It truly is incredible to see and hear a Hummer that truly hums."

But why start with a Hummer? Because SUVs are popular but get lousy fuel economy, they’re great candidates for electrification, said Jim Spellman, company vice president. Spellman came to Raser from General Motors, where he worked on the Chevrolet Tahoe hybrid. "SUVs and trucks are the number one selling vehicle in America," he said. "Unlike the Prius, which is a mild hybrid vehicle, an eco-friendly SUV will get people’s attention." Spellman says there are practical reasons as well: Trucks are big enough to package the gasoline engine, electric motor and lithium-ion batteries without radically altering the bodywork or designing an all-new vehicle. "Unlike the Volt and other hybrid cars we didn’t have to build an entire car around the battery packs," Spellman said. "There was plenty of room in the back of the Hummer to install them, and they don’t affect the ground clearance of the vehicle." Raser Technologies has been building electric motors and developing geothermal electric plants since 2003, and Spellman says it started "cutting steel" on the H3 prototype 15 months ago.

The prototype we’ll see in Detroit at the Society of Automotive Engineers World Congress on Monday features a series-hybrid drive train similar to the Voltec system in the Chevrolet Volt. Like the Volt, the H3 will be driven solely by electricity. The engine — the 260-horsepower 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder used in the Pontiac Solstice — will drive a 100-kilowatt generator to recharge the three lithium-ion battery packs. interior door hinge radiusFisker Automotive is using the same engine in its Karma range-extended EV.1936 plymouth 4-door sedan for sale All together the battery packs have a combined capacity of 40 kilowatt hours and total weight of 600 pounds. exterior wood door with sidelights

Raser claims a recharge time of between 3 and 10 hours, depending upon the voltage of the outlet the batteries are plugged into. For the sake of comparison, the Volt uses a 16-kWh pack that weighs 375 pounds, while the Tesla Roadster has a 53-kWh pack weighing 992 pounds. Tying it all together is something Raser calls the Hybrid Master Controller, which is a fancy name for the software that manages the engine, generator, motor and batteries. garage door openers nashville tnIt was designed by FEV, a hybrid drive train engineering firm that is working on a range-extended EV based on the Dodge Caliber. General Motors provided some expertise along the way, said GM spokesman Kyle Johnson. "We’re well aware of this project," Johnson said. "We helped them with some of the electronics integration and did some consulting." Getting all the hardware to fit required modifying the Hummer’s chassis.

The transmission was moved back, the drive shafts altered and the exhaust re-routed. The Raser H3 also has a smaller fuel tank — 11 gallons instead of 22 — and it’s been moved to make room for the batteries, which are mounted under the vehicle near the rear axle. Despite the mods, Raser says the vehicle doesn’t lose any of its off-road utility. West says production will begin "soon" and the company hopes to have 2,000 vehicles in the form of SUVs and trucks on the road by the end of 2010. He says Pacific Gas & Electric has requested two of them. No word yet on how the project will be funded or what the vehicle will cost. Raser promises more details when the vehicle is unveiled Monday. Photos: David West / Raser Technologies. Above: The Raser H3 uses a turbocharged 2.0-liter gasoline engine to drive a 100-kilowatt generator, which recharges the lithium ion batteries as they approach depletion. It’s the same engine Fisker Automotive is using in the Karma range-extended electric vehicle.

Above: Raser says it started with the Hummer H3 because it’s big enough to package a gasoline engine, an electric motor, three battery packs and the control unit without extensive modifications.Q: I own a 1994 GMC 3/4-ton van with a 350 engine. In the last year, the oil pressure has been low, just above the red, and the low warning indicator is on at idle. When I speed up, the pressure goes up. I change the oil every 4,000 miles. At the last oil change I changed it to 10W-40 although the manual calls for 5W-30; this seems to have helped the oil pressure. Is it OK to continue with 10W-40 oil? The van has 145,000 miles on it.This is a practical method to improve oil pressure in an older, high-mileage engine. The slightly thicker oil film from the heavier base weight oil — 10W — can help protect worn engine bearings as well. As long as you're not hearing knocking or serious mechanical noises from the engine, the heavier oil should buy you many more miles of service from your vehicle.

Over the decades of buying and driving older, high-mileage vehicles, I've even used 15W-40 and 20W-50 oils in high-mileage engines to improve oil pressure and extend their service life. Q: Our 2001 BMW 325xi has 154,000 mostly highway miles and runs fine except for using a quart of oil every 600 to 800 miles. This consumption started at something over the 100,000-mile mark. I've always used BMW oil or Mobil 1 fully synthetic oil, and change the oil and filter every 8,000 to 10,000 miles. The engine does not leak and I've never seen a whiff of blue smoke. I've replaced the oil separator valve with the "winter service" unit that apparently is now recommended by BMW. I also checked the external oil return line for sludge and I think it is clear down to the oil pan. Any suggestions other than new oil rings? A: BMW's PCV system (positive crankcase ventilation) doesn't use a conventional PCV valve to regulate engine vacuum applied to the crankcase to extract and burn crankcase vapors and blowby.

In your vehicle, BMW incorporated an oil separator into the PCV system to allow vapors but prevent liquid oil from being drawn into the induction system. Oil is separated out and allowed to drain back into the oil. My first concern with your engine would be some type of obstruction or leakage in the PCV system that is preventing crankcase vapors from being drawn into the induction system. In this case, the crankcase could become pressurized with blowby and force oil past the oil control rings into the combustion chamber. Any type of air leak into the engine from the oil filler cap, dipstick, valve cover, etc., would tend to dilute PCV function and could increase oil consumption. Similar to the first question in this column, you could certainly try a heavier synthetic to see if it helps oil consumption. As long as the engine runs well, oil is far less expensive than new rings. Q: In 2007 I purchased a 1998 Buick Park Avenue with 111,000 actual miles; it now has 151,000 miles.

Within days after the purchase I discovered that occasionally when accelerating from a stop, the transmission chatters like a stick shift driven by someone just learning to drive. When I let up on the gas, the chattering stops and shifting seems normal. It doesn't happen very often and doesn't seem to be related to how hard I hit the gas pedal. Do you have any idea what may be causing the chatter and do you think I should have it overhauled? A: GM service bulletin #00-07-30-002B from 2002 identified possible causes for intermittent slippage/shuddering from the 4T65-E transmission in your vehicle. Sediment in the pressure control solenoid or valve body and incorrect oil level all can potentially cause fluctuations in hydraulic line pressure in the transmission. Before you even think about an overhaul, try adding half a can of Sea Foam Trans Tune to the fluid, drive the car for several weeks, then consider have a complete flush, filter and fill. Brand: 32 years of nuts-and-bolts automotive advice