Although David Hermance did not invent the hybrid internal combustion-electric engine that powers the successful Toyota Prius, it was his championing of the new technology that made the car acceptable in the American automobile market, which is where the tune is called. As executive engineer for advanced technology vehicles at Toyota’s Californian technical centre, Hermance effectively “sold” the hybrid concept, which had been developed in Japan, where it went on sale in 1997.
When it was first introduced into the US in 2000, the Prius, which combines high economy with low fuel emissions, was not a great success in a nation of drivers who are accustomed to the sine qua non of power under the bonnet and do not instinctively prize the less glamorous virtues of economy.
At the Toyota Technical Centre at Gardena, California, Hermance helped to develop a newer model of the hybrid power plant, which gave greater acceleration, while at the same time being much more fuel efficient. When this was introduced to the market two years ago there was a considerable rise in interest in America.
The Prius became interesting to celebrities, who drove it to make statements about their commitment to the environment. But its appeal was broadened under the pressure of rising petrol prices in the US, worries about the impact of exhaust emissions on climate, tax credits and the fact that the Prius was recently granted access to HOV (high occupancy vehicle) lanes in California, whether or not it qualified.
With its internal combustion and electrical engine/generators, controlled by a computer that determines which shall supply the drive at any one time (as well as deciding when to charge the vehicle’s traction battery), the Prius is regarded as the first commercially viable true hybrid.
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The Prius also features a process for recovering the kinetic energy involving in braking, and storing it in the battery as electrical energy for future use. Another refinement is a vacuum flask that stores hot engine coolant which can then be reused to reduce engine warm-up time.
Hermance, regarded as the most knowledgeable man on hybrid vehicles in the US, was known as the “American father of the Prius”. From his early years in the industry he had specialised in reducing emissions from car exhaust.
David W. Hermance had begun his his automotive career in 1965 when he joined General Motors as a General Motors Institute (GMI) student after leaving school. He took a bachelor of science degree in engineering from GMI and then went to GM’s vehicle emissions laboratory where he worked for the next 15 years until 1985. In that year he moved as head of the department for durability test development at GM.
In 1991 he joined Toyota in Gardena, the home of the company’s research and development centre. There, as senior manager in engine evaluation he was responsible for testing and comparing all automobile power plants in use in North America. The following year he became general manager of the powertrain (transmission) department in Gardena, responsible for engine and transmission calibration for the North American market.
In his spare time Hermance was a keen aviator and aerobatics pilot, and was a familiar figure on the competition circuit in his Yak55 stunt plane. He was flying an Interavia E3, a Russian aerobatic model that can be built from a kit, when the aircraft crashed in the area near Los Angeles.
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David Hermance is survived by his wife, Mary, and by their son and daughter.
David Hermance, automobile executive, was born on September 27, 1947. He died in a plane crash on November 25, 2006, aged 59