Hybrid

Volvo Powertrain officials met Thursday with U.S. Sens. Barbara A. Mikulski and Benjamin L. Cardin, both D-Md., to thank them for the federal investment being made in the Hybrid Electric Engine project at the Volvo Powertrain facility in Hagerstown. It was reported in November 2007 that Volvo Powertrain in Hagerstown would receive $2 million under the Department of Defense 2008 spending bill. The money is to be used to fund a contract to finish development of a heavy-duty hybrid electric vehicle.

julieg@herald-mail.com Congress approved a bill late Thursday that would provide Mack Trucks $2 million more to continue its efforts to develop a hybrid diesel-electric powertrain for military and commercial use, according to U.S. Rep. Roscoe Bartlett's office. The Defense Appropriations Conference Report for fiscal year 2004-05, which contains the $2 million, still has to be approved by President Bush, Bartlett spokeswoman Lisa Wright said Friday. White House spokesman Allen Abney said it probably would be at least a week before the bill came before Bush for his signature.

julieg@herald-mail.com President Bush signed a $417.5 billion defense spending bill on Thursday morning that includes $2 million for Mack Trucks to continue work on developing a hybrid diesel-electric powertrain for military and commercial use. "Fantastic. We're very grateful again to all the support we got from our (congressional) delegates and the fact that the bill was signed by the president," said Guy Rini, director of advanced propulsion systems at Mack Trucks north of Hagerstown.

Volvo Powertrain North America in Washington County will get $2.4 million in federal money to work on hybrid electric military trucks, U.S. Rep. Roscoe Bartlett's office said Thursday. The money will be used to "build, test, and evaluate up to five heavy tactical trucks" for the U.S. Army, according to a summary sheet. Bartlett's office said he secured a total of $25.7 million for eight defense-related projects in Maryland in fiscal year 2009. Other projects on the list include $7.9 million for a new fire station for the Maryland Air National Guard at Martin State Airport in Baltimore and $4.4 million to Proxy Aviation Systems in Germantown, Md., for a coordination system for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles.

Rock band The Hybrid will headline an eight-hour, marathon concert Sunday at Hagerstown 10 Cineplex's concert theater. The group from Chambersburg, Pa., will be the last of eight bands to perform at the all-ages show. Each band will perform a 45-minute set, with 15 minutes to set up. The Hybrid goes on at 10 p.m. Disorder, a five-piece rock band from Martinsburg, W.Va., will kick off the show at 3 p.m. Organizer and promoter Jeff Britton said the mega concert is an attempt to support local bands hoping to move beyond garage-band status.

laurae@herald-mail.com If Mack Trucks is successful, noisy trash trucks one day may be replaced by whisper-quiet ones powered with the help of electricity. Mack is one of a few companies in the world researching the truck applications of hybrid-electric technology already being used in passenger cars, company officials said Tuesday. The Hagerstown company has won a $4 million government contract over two years to design a hybrid-electric vehicle for refueling Air Force planes.

Admission is $8, unless it's a national act · 7:30 p.m. Jan. 20: The Blues Vultures, The Barn Burners, No Tell Motel, and Mr. Sheperd and the Teachers · 2 p.m. Feb. 3: All Day Rock Fest featuring The Hybrid, Anamide, Faded Memory, Bland, Defyance, Van Lear and more. · 7 p.m. Feb. 24: Concert of Johnny Cash, Roy Orbison, Elvis, Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis tribute artists · 8 p.m. March 3: Freak Show, Soul Intension and Defyance

The Insight is back with more power, a more practical design and a new mission as the most-affordable gasoline-electric hybrid on the block. The original Insight, available from 2000-'06, was a fuel-sipping marvel. Unfortunately, its two-passenger capacity kept it in niche-market territory, while Toyota's category-leading Prius four-door hybrid hatchback stole the show. Meanwhile, Honda briefly tried marketing an Accord hybrid and continues to sell a similar Civic, but still trails the Prius by a considerable distance in terms of sales.

As the cornerstone of Honda's automotive heritage, the Civic represents the first high-volume production automobile that showcased Honda's spirit of innovation to a North American audience ready for something new. The all-new eighth-generation Civic amplifies its defining character with a long list of Honda technology and engineering innovations, resulting in a vehicle that is pure Honda, exclusively Civic and outside the boundaries of traditional small-car...

Dear Tom and Ray: Guys, what's the big deal about plug-in hybrid cars? I've read that various automakers plan to come out with plug-in hybrids in the next two to five years. Isn't a plug-in hybrid just a current hybrid (like a Prius) with a battery charger? Is there some additional technology here that I'm missing? -- Bob RAY: Well, I guess you COULD put it that way, Bob. TOM: But if I were to simplify it, I'd say that today's gasoline-electric hybrids use electricity to supplement a gasoline engine, whereas tomorrow's plug-in hybrids will use a gasoline engine to supplement electric power.