Chrysler Group recently announced 2 new HEMI hybrids coming soon!

We will have to see how these hold up. Maybe their 12 mpg average can become 18-20. That would be great.

Its vehicles like these, the guzzlers, where hybrid technology should have been implemented first.  

Chrysler Group recently announced  2 new HEMI hybrids coming soon!

The Chrysler Group recently announced that it will debut two all-new 5.7L Hemi Hybrids—the Chrysler Aspen and Dodge Durango hybrids—next year. These two introductions are the first volume-production hybrid offerings from the Chrysler Group and the first vehicles to feature DaimlerChrysler’s advanced two-mode hybrid technology. [was not sourced]

The new 5.7L Hemi Hybrid is expected to deliver an overall fuel-economy improvement of more than 25%, including an improvement of nearly 40% in the city.

In hybrid form, the Hemi powerplant will continue to feature Chrysler Group’s Multi-displacement System (MDS), allowing the engine to seamlessly alternate between four-cylinder mode when less power is needed and V8 mode when more power is needed. For the fifth year in a row—and every year since its 2003 re-introduction—Chrysler Group’s famous 5.7L Hemi engine has earned a place on Ward’s 10 Best Engines list. With an electrically variable transmission (featuring two electric motors), two full hybrid modes of operation and four fixed mechanical gear ratios, the drive system improves fuel economy around town and at highway speeds.

Chrysler Group’s two-mode hybrid powertrain—jointly developed by DaimlerChrysler, General Motors and the BMW Group—represents a major automotive-industry milestone due to the unprecedented fully integrated combination of electric motors with a fixed-gear transmission.

As a result of the low- and high-speed electric continuously variable transmission (ECVT) modes, the system is commonly referred to as the two-mode hybrid. However, the sophisticated fuel-saving system also incorporates four fixed-gear ratios for high efficiency and power-handling capabilities in a broad variety of vehicle applications.

The new Chrysler Aspen Hybrid and Dodge Durango Hybrid vehicles can be powered either by the electric motors or by the 5.7L Hemi V8 engine—or a combination of the two. During the two ECVT modes and four fixed-gear operations, the hybrid system can use the electric motors for boosting and/or regenerative braking. When full power is needed, the system automatically adjusts for passing, driving steep grades or hauling a trailer.

Source: Chrysler Group (April 30, 2007). “Aspen Joins Chrysler Group Hybrid Lineup And Yeah, It’s Got a HEMI!” Chrysler Group, Courtesy of PR Newswire.