Hybrid Living

Filed under: EV/Plug-in, Tesla Motors, European Union

It appears that our faithful readers from the old country will soon have a reason to bust out that sack full of euros stashed under their beds. Because of the falling value of the Yankee greenback in relation to the euro, Tesla has decided to move up their plans to sell its amazing electric sports car in Europe. Although the factory in England has started cranking them out, the entire production scheduled for this year has already been sold, so orders taken will be for the 2009 model.

Launching the car in Europe will mean that a whole different set of rules and regulations will need to be adhered to. Tesla‘s sales and marketing guy, Darryl Siry, is quoted by Innovation Beat, from whence I garnered this information, as saying, “Emissions regulations we have no problem meeting.” I expect the other red tape to take a bit of time and effort.

Because they are seen to be particularly friendly to electric vehicles, Sweden and Norway (the Danes are going to be pissed!) have been selected as the initial markets where efforts will be concentrated. Tax incentives for more environmentally-sensitive cars will help defray the costs there though the chilly temperatures may make a small dent in the vehicle’s overall range.

The exact date for the European introduction is expected to be announced in a couple of months though if it were me sitting on that sack of euros, I’d contact them soon to try and ensure a place in line.

[Source: Innovation Beat]

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Filed under: EV/Plug-in, Hybrid, GM, New York Auto Show

New York is the place to be this week for all things automotive and amongst the throngs that have journeyed to the Big Apple to gawk at the latest offerings were a group of hard-core Chevy Volt fans. They came from all across the country to gather together under the banner of “Volt Nation” for a chance to see the concept version of the object of their affection up close and ask questions of some of the GM executives responsible for the E-Flex development program.

Organized by Dr. Lyle Dennis (pictured above on the left), creator of the popular GM-Volt fan website, the group of about 300 souls converged on the Jacob Javitz Center for an event that, for probably the first time, brought car company officials and consumers together to ask questions of each other. Our favorite GM exec, Bob Lutz, was on hand as was design chief, Frank Weber.

So what was learned about the upcoming Volt? From scouring the posts of attendees we hear that the battery should begin life with a 50 mile range, that’s 10 miles more than originaly thought and it can be plugged into regular 110V outlet or 220V. It is being designed as a “global” vehicle so it could sport either right hand and left hand drive and will comply with emissions regulations world-wide.

We’ll have a video of the event in a bit.

[Source: GM-Volt]

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Filed under: EV/Plug-in, Hybrid, GM, New York Auto Show

New York is the place to be this week for all things automotive and amongst the throngs that have journeyed to the Big Apple to gawk at the latest offerings were a group of hard-core Chevy Volt fans. They came from all across the country to gather together under the banner of “Volt Nation” for a chance to see the concept version of the object of their affection up close and ask questions of some of the GM executives responsible for the E-Flex development program.

Organized by Dr. Lyle Dennis (pictured above on the left), creator of the popular GM-Volt fan website, the group of about 300 souls converged on the Jacob Javitz Center for an event that, for probably the first time, brought car company officials and consumers together to ask questions of each other. Our favorite GM exec, Bob Lutz, was on hand as was design chief, Frank Weber.

So what was learned about the upcoming Volt? From scouring the posts of attendees we hear that the battery should begin life with a 50 mile range, that’s 10 miles more than originaly thought and it can be plugged into regular 110V outlet or 220V. It is being designed as a “global” vehicle so it could sport either right hand and left hand drive and will comply with emissions regulations world-wide.

We’ll have a video of the event in a bit.

[Source: GM-Volt]

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Filed under: EV/Plug-in, China

I was just catching up on my China mountain bike news when this photo of a little electric car caught my eye. The story it illustrated was even more interesting as it announced the launching of a new channel on China Central Television (CCTV). In an attempt to improve air quality and traffic congestion in its cities, electric bicycles, cars and other EVs will be promoted on the government’s own web channel and will feature news and interviews with “governor’s, environmental experts and electric vehicle companies”, according to the post.

If you’re interested in what the Chinese are up to with their plan for world-wide electric vehicle domination, you can check out the channel for yourself here. If you are like me and can’t read Chinese you might want to try the soft poetry of the Google-translated version. If you’re to busy for that, just watch this space and we’ll keep you up to date on any pertinent news.

[Source: China MTB]

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Filed under: Hybrid, GM

In commenting on the battle royal taking place on the testing benches at GM between two contending battery suppliers, “Maximum” Bob Lutz said Tuesday it was a “horse race. An apt analogy in a sense because the two teams, Continental Automotive Systems, using cells from A123 Systems Inc., and Compact Power Inc. who are using cells developed by its parent, LG Chem seem to be neck and neck in performance. No one has stumbled as the two sprint down the final stretch to the, oh, what’s that? The finish line has been moved? O rly?

Apparently, GM feels the need to hold off on making the final battery supplier decision, that had been announced for April, as it continues to weigh the pros and cons of each product and conduct more testing. In light of the postponement of mule day, I suspect there is something they aren’t telling us. Regardless of the exact timing of the conclusion of this contest, we are now taking bets in the comments section.

[Source: CNN Money]

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Filed under: EV/Plug-in, Legislation and Policy, Vectrix

Senator Kerry usually likes to drive his Harley-Davidson Wide Glide when he feels the need for the wind in his bouffant and bugs in his teeth. (Someone get that Senator a helmet!) Monday though, found him on the back of a Vectrix scooter while visiting their Bedford, Connecticut operations where, according to a report on SouthCoastToday, he spoke of going “beyond fossil fuels” and “really exciting great possibilities” and “a Vectrix for every blogger”. (Ok, I made that last one up.) He reportedly did proclaim the bike a “vehicle of the future.” Whether or not there was an electric scooter in his future went unstated.

What I’m sure really got his audience excited was his discussion of potential future federal tax incentives for zero-emissions vehicles. Vectrix wants an amendment on legislation ensuring that such an incentive extends to include two and three wheel vehicles. They are serious enough about it to include a new political outreach section to their website. And serious they should be since they need to get these bikes out of the factory and onto the streets!

[Source: SouthCoastToday]

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Filed under: EV/Plug-in

You might look at the above picture and say to yourself, “Hey look, it’s a Geo Metro!”. You’d be wrong. Or at least, partly wrong (or partly right depending on whether you’re a glass-half-full kind of person) because this, my friends, is a rare Solectria Force. Restored and upgraded with 11 Deka sealed gel cell batteries, a new Zivan charger, a PakTrackr monitoring system and way too many other items to list. This vehicle has about a 40 mile range and is capable of 55 mph – though the seller doesn’t consider it a very good highway car because of, well, “modest” acceleration. On the plus side, it has air conditioning so traveling about town would be comfortable in the summer heat. Bidding starts at $9,000 if you want to say goodbye to gasoline.

Hit the jump to take a guided video tour of this piece of automotive history.

[Source: eBay / YouTube]

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Filed under: Diesel, Emerging Technologies

The guys over at the AutoSpeed website from Australia seem pretty excited about a concept I had never heard of before. According to them, mixing some LPG in with any kind of diesel will give you 25 percent more power, use less fuel, and spew fewer emissions. And to top it all off, the Australian government will pay for half the cost of the conversion. Crikey! Sounds great so far. It’s been said by some that diesels are already better than hybrids.

A quick spin of the Google wheel tells me this is not a completely new idea and I saw some warnings of decreased engine longevity and the like. The article does mention that this particular system is perhaps more sophisticated in that the LPG is injected as a vapor via “electronically controlled and custom mappable professional LPG injection system”. There are other companies apparently selling similar set ups in Australia such as Team Green Autogas.

So is this all some kind of kangaroo-pie-in-the-sky or are these blokes onto something? Hit the comments to let us know.

[Source: Autospeed]

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Filed under: EV/Plug-in

Often when a product is “new and improved” the upgrades are mostly to the packaging. In the case of the Reva G-Wiz, the ever popular letter “i” added to its moniker gives us the external change while the majority of improvements lay unseen beneath the dent- and scratch-proof ABS body panels. This doesn’t mean they will go unnoticed as evidenced when Danny Fleet of EV vlog, Danny’s Contentment, takes us for a spin in his latest test-driving episode. He catches even the subtlest of differences like the curve of the windshield and the heavier “thunk” of doors that have been modified with better side impact protection.

Many of the changes in the new Wiz are safety oriented but there are performance improvements as well. Top speed has increased to 50mph while the acceleration is smoother and quicker. Range is now just short of 50 miles in the cool climes of the British Isles but, of course, YMMV. Check out the London retailer, GoinGreen for the complete rundown of the technological advancements.

Watch Danny in all is test-driving glory after the jump. Also check out the bonus videos of G-Wiz crashes before and after the improvements.

[Source: Danny's Contentment]

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Filed under: EV/Plug-in, MPG, Mitsubishi, New York Auto Show

Since Mitsubishi first introduced the i concept back in 2003 it has been the subject of much speculation. Would it come to America? Would it be sold in the U.K.? Is it even any good? And that’s just the gas version. The electric version, the i MiEV, has caused even more confabulation. Soon we will have our own opportunity to get up close and personal with these little machines when they make their North American debut at the New York International Auto show this coming week.

Hopefully, we’ll even get news from Mitsubishi about their plans for selling these cars in the U.S. I mean, they can’t just wave them under our noses and then whisk them away back to Japan. I think they’ve noticed that 42,000 people have put deposits down on a Smart ForTwo that gets the same mileage as the i but holds two fewer passengers for about the same price. I also think we’ll be paying close attention to what side of the car the steering wheel is on.

[Source: Kicking Tires]

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