CBS3 Report: AFS Trinity Showcases Extreme Hybrid in Delaware

Another electric car company is considering setting up shop in Delaware.

AFS Trinity makes a extreme hybrid electric plug in power train that the designers say can run for 40 miles without using one drop of gasoline.

"Forty miles means 75 percent of Americans would never burn any gasoline," said vehicle designer Don Bender. He says over three or four days, the average driver could drive 150 miles on just one gallon of gas.

The power train can be installed on almost any vehicle. It needs to be plugged in overnight, but company officials say it charges with less than one dollar's worth of electricity.

What really sets it apart, designers say, is its capabilities. With both electric and gasoline engines running, the hybrid will go from zero to 60 miles per hour in 6.9 seconds. That's almost as fast as a Porsche Cayenne S.

"This will change the face of transportation," said AFS Trinity CEO and Philadelphia native Ed Furia. Furia says he'd like to see his hybrid engine first mass manufactured in an SUV.

"Soccer moms use them, small businesses use them, guys with bags of golf clubs use them," he said. "They're extremely useful vehicles."

To show off their hybrid's capabilities, the company brought two prototypes -- converted Saturn SUVs -- to Legislative Hall in Dover and invited Delaware Governor Jack Markell to take one of the cars for a spin. Delaware may use tax breaks or stimulus funds to lure the company, possibly to open space at the old General Motors plant on Boxwood Road in Wilmington.

"It was great. Very smooth ride," Gov. Markell said of his test drive. "I'd love to see Delaware become a center for electric car manufacturing."

Last year, Vice President Joe Biden announced that Fisker Automotive, a high-end electric car maker, will start a new operation at the GM plant. Even with that move, the plant still has excess capacity.

Category:

Autos & Vehicles

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