14 Chrysler Ram PHEV Prototypes to Be Delivered to San Francisco

Chrysler wants to take its own road when it comes to plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, as the carmaker will deliver about 140 such cars to different states across the US. The company has announced that 14 Ram 1500 PHEV prototypes will arrive tomorrow, August 2nd, in San Francisco as part of a three-year assessment program.

"The city will evaluate the vehicles in real-world driving conditions and report regularly to Chrysler Group all driving and charging experiences with the demonstration vehicles," the Detroit automaker said.

This isn’t really as green as a LEAF, as the Ram 1500 PHEV is powered by the mighty 5.7-liter HEMI V8 engine featuring a Multiple Displacement System (MDS) and a two-mode hybrid transmission, with a 6.6 kW on-board charger that uses a liquid-cooled 12.9kWhr lithium ion battery. To save a bit of gas, the front axle can be disconnected when not needed.

“Cities have been carefully selected to help the Chrysler Group collect a wide range of data,” explained Abdullah Bazzi, senior manager of Chrysler’s advanced hybrid vehicle project. “Temperature extremes found in the cold of North Dakota or the heat of Arizona can have a severe impact on battery life and charging efficiency.”

The project is only for demonstration purposes, as the company has no plans of putting such a product on the market yet. The Ram 1500 was chosen as a base vehicle as there availability of a two-speed transmissions from a previous EV project. Chrysler is also developing a similar fleet of Town & Country minivans with PHEV technology.