DETROIT — Chrysler appears to be bent on proving to the naysayers in Washington, D.C., that it is targeting fuel economy as a major goal. Case in point, the Jeep Patriot EV, which debuts at the 2009 Detroit Auto Show on Sunday.
The Patriot EV is one of a quartet of Chrysler electric vehicles at the show. Company executives, apparently without irony, are touting such attributes as social responsibility and reduced carbon footprints at the annual Detroit event, ignoring such products as the gas-guzzling Dodge Viper. The 2009 Viper, with its 8.4-liter V10, gets just 13 mpg in city driving, according to the EPA. The Viper brand is up for sale.
"The Jeep Patriot EV expands our portfolio of ENVI electric-drive vehicles and is just one more example of what is possible through the technology Chrysler is developing," said Lou Rhodes, president of ENVI and Chrysler vice president of advanced vehicle engineering. "The Patriot EV provides socially responsible advanced electric technology."
Chrysler said the front-wheel-drive Patriot EV has a range of 400 miles, including 40 miles of zero fuel-consumption, all-electric operation. It uses a 200-horsepower electric-drive motor, an advanced lithium-ion battery system and a small gas engine with an integrated electric generator.
The Patriot EV is said to sprint from zero to 60 mph in about 8 seconds and has a top speed "greater than 100 mph," according to the company.
A conventional 2009 Jeep Patriot two-wheel-drive model with a 2.0-liter inline-4 and a continuously variable transmission returns 23 mpg in city driving and 27 mpg on the highway, says the EPA.
Like its Jeep Wrangler Limited EV sibling, the Jeep Patriot EV features an ENVI Green Pearl paint job and a dark slate gray interior.
Inside Line says: How times have changed as a reformed Chrysler puts the emphasis on socially relevant electric vehicles instead of beefy Dodge Rams and Vipers. — Anita Lienert, Correspondent
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