Alex Severinsky 2008 Clark School Innovation Hall of Fame Inductee

When you think of a hybrid engine, likely the first thing that comes to mind is the Toyota Prius or Honda Insight, two of the most memorable model names featuring this type of technology. But, what you might not know is that hybrid technology was invented by an American, a Soviet immigrant who launched his inventions at the A. James Clark School of Engineering at the University of Maryland in College Park.

Now, the university is planning to honor Severinsky by inducting him into the Clark School Innovation Hall of Fame on October 30th. For Severinsky the honor underscores what many people fleeing aggression have discovered: the United States is truly a land of opportunity.

From Bread Lines to Gas Lines

Arriving in the US in 1978 as a refugee, Severinsky found his adopted country in the middle of a national oil crisis of that era, a problem he believed he could help resolve. “I’d just come from bread lines and now I was in gas lines,” says Severinsky. He decided to tackle the problem of gasoline consumption.

With a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from Moscow’s Institute for Precision Measurements in Radioelectronics and Physics, Severinsky started analyzing the Periodic Table, searching for possible alternatives to internal combustion. In his study he concluded that a fully-electric vehicle would never be practical, but an electric/internal combustion hybrid could work.

From there, he took a job in power electronic engineering, where he was able to engross himself in the field of high-voltage semiconductors that was critical to his ideas for a hybrid powerplant.

Hyperdrive and Hybrid Technology

Beginning in 1992, Severinsky began filing numerous patents for the Hyperdrive power train system. He received additional help from Mtech in arranging a meeting with staff from the National Institutes of Standards and Technology, the U.S. Department of Commerce, and Lockheed Martin.

He made a physical prototype of his technology and, on October 14, 1999, demonstrated the PAICE system in Detroit. Severinsky proved that the system could effectively reduce the gas consumption of a Cadillac Coup de Ville by half in city driving while retaining its driving performance.

Engineers at U.S. and Japanese automakers were interested in Severinsky’s invention, but top management resisted. A staff engineer at Toyota later developed the same idea as Severinsky for hybrids. When the Toyota Prius was introduced, Severinsky fought to protect his patent rights and after a drawn out legal battle with Toyota, he won the civil case in 2005.

Alex Severinsky will be inducted into the Innovation Hall of Fame at a Clark School ceremony on October 30, 2008. The ceremony will be immediately followed by the Charles and Helen White Symposium on Engineering Innovation, “Intellectual Property: How Well Does the System Protect the Individual Innovator?”

(Source: A. James Clark School of Engineering)

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Adv. – If you’re shopping for an auto loan, you’ll want to compare offers and find the auto protection you need to ensure that your investment lasts for many years.

Tags: Honda, hybrid cars, hybrid technology, Toyota, University of Maryland

Lots of families feel locked out of the new car market when it comes to buying a car for their college student. While there isn’t anything wrong with settling on a dependable used car, the peace of mind new transportation can bring is immeasurable especially at 2 a.m.!

All isn’t lost, however, as many car manufacturers are slashing prices in a bid to move inventory. The bad news of lower sales translates into good news for the consumer: there are some really fantastic deals out there.

So, to give you a picture of the savings currently available, we’ve compiled a list of some of the special offers for many of the entry-level cars on the market, the type of vehicle just right for the college student.

Deep Discounts Are Widely Available 

For additional information, please visit each manufacturer’s site and remember that some incentives vary according to region:

Hyundai — The first two months of 2008 was very difficult for the South Korean automaker as a double-digit drop in sales was totally unexpected. In March, deep incentives began to appear, savings that are still available right now. Qualified buyers can get $1500 cash back when selecting an Elantra from dealer stock.

Ford — The restyled for 2008 Focus is Ford’s economical leader, a car that is carrying a discount of $1500 now through June 2nd. Your Focus must come from dealer stock to qualify for the discount.

Volkswagen — VW had an excellent March, thanks to a bunch of special leasing offers for the month. Those same offers have been extended through April which means that you can lease a Rabbit 2.5L S 2-door Manual Transmission for $249, with no money down.

Chevrolet — March wasn’t a kind month for the entire GM line up, but current discounts are reserved for larger vehicles. However, you can find discounted financing on the Aveo and Cobalt, Chevrolet’s two smallest models.

Dodge — Fleet-wide discounts are in effect for Chrysler’s best selling brand with savings of $2000 for most Caliber models. Additionally, I came across an extra $1000 discount on the car in my area for a total savings of $3000.

Toyota – There was a time when finding a discount on any Toyota model was a rarity. Today, buyers can get $500 cash back on the Yaris or save $1000 when choosing the Corolla.

Mazda — Cut rate financing is available on most models but for cash back consider the B-Series truck to save $2000 on 2008 models. Mazda still has some 2007 trucks on their lots and they are offering $3000 back on those.

Kia - $500 discounts on the Rio and $1500 on most Spectra models allows Kia to retain its role as the value champion. The automaker also has deep discounts on whatever 2007 models are still sitting on dealer lots.

Suzuki — Across the board 0% financing on all 2007 and 2008 models or customers can choose to receive $1500 back on the entry level Reno.

Some Cars Aren’t Discounted

Popular small cars such as the Smart and most Honda models aren’t being discounted as sales demand remains strong. Some manufacturers are holding their offers fairly close to the vest, but it doesn’t take much to realize that most sales people are in the negotiating mood.

You can find additional discounts on top of the ones already listed if you are a recent college grad, a member of the military, and a previous owner of the same brand (owner loyalty).

Finally, with sales being down, your leverage with the dealership should be quite good, allowing you to ask for an additional price cut.  So, if you do your research and negotiate a great deal, then your collegian could end up driving an affordable new car that will give them many years of driving satisfaction.

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Tags: Chevrolet, Chrysler, Dodge, Ford, GM, Honda, Hyundai, Kia, Mazda, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Suzuki, Toyota