Paris Auto Show: A Short Test Drive in the Electric Mitsubishi iMiEV
By Martin SchwoererOctober 3, 2008 - 573 views
Take that, GM. Formerly-sick car company Mitsubishi Motors has a working electric car; they’re already testing a fleet of a few hundred units in Japan. The Mitsubishi innovative Vehicle promises a 75mph top speed and a 100 mile range. It’ll take seven hours to recharge the battery using a normal socket (220V). If you’ve got high voltage, figure an 80 percent recharge within 30 minutes. Being a totally new car, the iMiEV benefits from the packaging advantages inherent to electric propulsion. The Li-Ion batteries are located beneath the passenger department, and the small electric engine is rear-midships. Thus, despite a sub-four meter’s length, it’s roomy enough for four. The Innovative Vehicle’s interior is airy but spartan/simple– no expensive materials for a lightweight car that wants to be affordable for commuters. I could only take the Mitsu EV for a few-minutes’ spin in a parking lot, so I can’t verify any of company’s range or speed claims. But acceleration is strong, smooth and silent, the steering is pleasant, and it brakes in a solid fashion. It feels like a proper, developed car, not like a prototype. No magic-year nonsense; commercial sales will begin in 2009. If Mitsubishi can keep their performance promises, this one’s a winner, at least for urban early adopters.
Posted in Alternative Energy | Electric Vehicles | Europe | News Blog | Paris Auto Show | Suppliers | 12 comments 
Electric Porsche Cayman to Take on Tesla
By Edward NiedermeyerSeptember 25, 2008 - 1,256 views
Our fearless leader has noted at least once that a RUF-fettled Porsche Boxster would always have a home in his heart. And though he’s never gone (quite) as far as calling global warming a crock of shit, we think that RUF’s latest eco-friendly offering might just be enough to make him stop worrying and love the environmental movement. Oh, did we mention that the latest Ruf Cayman offering is all-electric? That’s right, the infamous German tuning house is developing a lithium-ion powered mid-engined sportscar that has nothing to do with the Lotus Elise! With 204 hp and 480 lb-ft of zero-rpm torque, the RUF Cayman should hop from 0 - 60 in about four seconds, top out at 120 and have a range of 155-188 miles. Though carbon-neutral drag races with a Tesla might leave the RUF a little chastened (giving up 35kW of power to the Roadster as it does), RUF has an established clientele base and price-poit expectations that Tesla would kill for. Plus, with Detroit Electric, Dodge and Tesla all showing off EV variations on the Elise theme, the Cayman EV stands alone. As an everyday car, it’s also eminently more practical, useable and better looking too. Being a RUF, it will also cost several appendages and depreciate faster than the Zimbabwean dollar. Look for a concept unveiling sometime in October, with production and pricing to be announced.
Posted in Alternative Energy | Electric Vehicles | News Blog | 13 comments
Lexus Busted For Greenwash Lies. Again.
By Edward NiedermeyerSeptember 24, 2008 - 1,726 views
For the second time in just over a year, Britain’s Advertising Standards Authority has busted Lexus for making unsupported “green” claims in an advertisement. The Guardian reports that a recent ad for the Lexus RX400h has been pulled for implying “that the car caused little or no harm to the environment and gave a misleading impression of the car’s CO2 emissions in comparison with other vehicles.” The ad which asserted that the hybrid RX was “perfect for today’s climate (and tomorrow’s)” caused four complaints to the ASA, which apparently is enough to get an ad pulled in the Land of Hope and Glory. Meanwhile, Lexus said that the use of the word “climate” in the ad was meant to operate at “two levels.” As Farago says, irony is a bitch.
Posted in Alternative Energy | Hybrid | News Blog | UK | 14 comments
Who Killed the Hybrid Minivan?
By Edward NiedermeyerSeptember 24, 2008 - 1,626 views
Where would we be without Digg? Thanks to the collective hysteria of a thousand Diggers, we learn that the Gas 2.0 blog is baffled by the fact that Toyota builds an AWD hybrid minivan that gets 40 mpg and doesn’t sell it stateside. Gas 2.0’s Nick Chambers has fond memories for Toyota’s old Previa, and damns its US-market replacement, the Sienna for being a gas hog. But the spiritual successor to the Previa, the Estima, has been sold to the Japanese in hybrid form since 2001. The baffling unfairness of it all even had the Union of Concerned Scientists in a tizzy, circulating an online petition urging Toyota to bring the Estima hybrid to the states. Which it almost certainly won’t. A hybrid Sienna is considered likely to arrive sometime around 2010, but that’s not impressing people who are new to the concept that US-market vehicles consistenly lag behind Euro- and J-market offerings in efficiency. “Yo, Toyota,” writes Chambers, “you’ve already got a minivan that half of the families in the US would kill for, what the hell are you doing investing so much energy in redesigning a has-been?” Dude, if you love it so much just buy one. Oh wait, does that say it costs $39,600? Now it’s starting to make sense…
Posted in Alternative Energy | Hybrid | News Blog | 17 comments
Chrysler Reveals Details of Lotus-Based Electric Sports Car
By Justin BerkowitzSeptember 23, 2008 - 1,177 views
Chrysler dropped the other shoe, pre-bailout PR-wise. It’s officially official: ChryCo’s ironically named ENVI group is creating three new electric vehicles: a Dodge sports car (based on the Lotus Europa), a Chrysler minivan and a Jeep. Chrysler claims the plug-in models will go into production as a “fleet” of 100 vehicles next year. They’ll go on sale to the general public in that most magic of model years 2010. The quick and dirty: the Dodge sports car is electric-only, with Chrysler claiming a range of up to 150 miles. The Jeep and Chrysler minivan have theoretical ranges of a Volt-like 40 miles, with “small” gasoline engines on board to “power the electric-drive system.” This sounds more like a generator to recharge the batteries, rather than an engine to simply power the car once the go-juice runs out. Recharge time for the sports car is claimed to be 4/8 hours, depending on your household voltage. As for the Jeep and minivan, they would also plug-in to recharge the batteries; the ICE is for long drives only. As for the type of batteries, site of production, or most importantly - price - we have no idea. Chrysler, LLC may not have any idea about those either.
Update: Between the Lines Editorial Posted Here
Chrysler (link is to public blog) »
Posted in Alternative Energy | Electric Vehicles | News Blog | Technology | 24 comments
GM Begins Construction of $250m Tech Center in Shanghai
By Justin BerkowitzSeptember 22, 2008 - 452 views
GM’s burning its way through a reported $1b per month. So shelling-out $250m on a new research and development campus in Shanghai is no biggie. And here’s some PC for your PC: a significant part of the new research facility will focus on developing new green and alternative energy technology (whatever green means). When fully operational in 2009, the new facility will employ some 2500 people. And for those of you inclined to say “yeah right,” General Motors’ Asia Pacific President Nick Reilly says any problems in the Chinese market are all in your head. “Reilly attributed the downturn in the auto market to the Beijing Olympics in August, a sharply declining Chinese stock market, and an increase in fuel prices in June,” the GM suit told CNN Money. “But he added that ‘underlying demand is still there.’ Reilly said he expects vehicle sales to return to double-digit growth this month or next. He said he expects China’s auto market to maintain 10% to 15% growth after this year, without elaborating.” Elaboration? We don’t need no stinkin’ elaboration!
Posted in Alternative Energy | China | News Blog | 9 comments
TTAC Photochop: Hypothetical Audi Electric Car
By Andrei AvarvariiSeptember 22, 2008 - 575 views
Audi’s dabbled in small cars for some time. Not all of their attempts have been successful. Despite all-aluminum construction and clever packaging, the A2 was a flop. Audi is back at it, though, unveiling their A1 city car at the Paris show. Considering Audi’s proclivity for up-to-the-second trendiness, it can’t be long before they announce– and maybe even build– an EV. The model would probably share a basic platform with compact VWs, most notably the VW Up! Concept. Ingolstadt’s boffins would need to elevate the floor to provide battery space. The “service hatch” first used on the A2 could also make a comeback on the EV, especially if we consider that it makes a good place for a plug-in socket. Add some chrome and lacquer finishes, LEDs and optic fiber in the lights, some fancy wheels and there you go: small, electric, trendy and premium.
Posted in Alternative Energy | Design | Electric Vehicles | News Blog | Photochop | 4 comments
Volt Birth Watch 96: Energy Independence
By Edward NiedermeyerSeptember 18, 2008 - 1,153 views
GM has a long history of offering second rate products that are “nearly as good” as the industry standard, and then telling people to buy them because they’re made in America. The CTS may not be the best RWD sedan on the market, but it’s made in America. The Aveo falls flat compared to say, the Fit, but dammit, you love your country, right? Needless to say, the Volt’s “made in America” badge is going to be a big selling point as GM searches for those willing to justify dropping $40k on the EREV. Well, the WaPo (a nest of America haters if ever there was one) reports that GM’s Rick Wagoner “refuses to promise” that Volt batteries would be built stateside. “As we sit here today I can’t give you a guarantee that it will be made in the U.S.,” Wagoner said. “If we want to get the Volt in the market, as we do by the end of 2010, we’ve got to make some relatively near-term decisions about how we are going to do all that.” But wait, isn’t the proposed bailout (which will certainly benefit Volt production) supposed to address America’s emerging dependence on foreign batteries? Didn’t Chrysler’s Jim Press frame the bailout in those very terms just a short week ago, saying “right now, the major sources of batteries are other countries. So are we trading our dependence on foreign oil, which is a natural resource, for a dependence on other countries to produce something in a factory? We need to stimulate that development here — here in Michigan.”? By putting the hype before the cars, Detroit is either damnably stupid or wickedly cunning. There’s no doubt that there’ll be some egg on GM’s face for increasing our dependence on foreign batteries, but once they actually build the cars (with help from Uncle Sam) they can bring back the battery independence talking point. Then it will be time for bailout round 2.
Posted in Alternative Energy | Electric Vehicles | News Blog | Volt Birth Watch | 20 comments
Report: Hybrid Taxis Save Gas, Unsafe For Occupants
By Justin BerkowitzSeptember 10, 2008 - 1,185 views
It was only a matter of time until someone had something negative to say about the ever-expanding fleet of hybrid taxis in New York City. While I’m not in the hybrid car fan camp generally, they make perfect sense for a place like Manhattan. Driving takes place nearly exclusively short of 30 mph (except for costly interboro trips), meaning the electric motor really gets a workout. They’re quieter, and considering the traffic density in Manhattan, the reduced emissions actually are appreciated. Not to mention, hybrids need high intensity field testing. What better than 24-hour a day abuse? Well, not everybody agrees with me. C. Bruce Gambardella, P.E., an engineer that claims to be nothing short of a world renowned expert in the field of taxi cabs, thinks the hybrids totally suck (paraphrasing). Mr. Gambardella’s report was funded by a lobbyist organization called the Metropolitcan Taxicab Board of Trade. We’ll give you one guess who they represent - the taxi owners. The report claims that the modifications required for hybrid taxis make them inherently unsafe. Among the charges: plexiglass partitions between the drivers and passengers will interfere with side airbag systems (how often do those go off when everybody drives under 20 mph?), that hybrids are unsafe as taxis because they aren’t built for heavy duty driving (Manhattan potholes apparently better the Rubicon), and because hybrids are horrible, terrible vehicles. Also, Gambardella reports, hybrids are for grandmothers and liberals. Taxicabs need to be robust Panther platform cars that get 11 miles per gallon. Oh, and the Metropolitan Taxicab Board of Trade filed a lawsuit yesterday against the City of New York, fighting the requirement that all cabs switch over to hybrids in the next several years.
Posted in Alternative Energy | Green | Hybrid | News Blog | 35 comments
Berlin Hearts Electric Smarts
By Martin SchwoererSeptember 9, 2008 - 682 views
Londoners know (because a fleet of almost 100 is already running): the electric Smart fortwo is an big improvement on the original. It’s economical and smooth, without the wheezy engine and the miserable, jerky transmission of the gas-powered (or God forbid, Diesel) version. Greeny Berliners think: electric cars would be the zero-emission way to go, if you could just charge them somewhere (who has a garage in the city?) Bringing both factors together and hoping that they gel, the German government has started a project with the generic-sounding name “e-mobility Berlin”. It will be the world’s biggest e-car pilot project, involving Daimler and RWE, a utility, which will install 500 public charging stations. The charging stations will have token solar cells, but are basically about coal-derived electricity (take that, global-warming activists!) Daimler’s main motivation is to field-test its e-Smarts, scheduled for massive roll-out in the magic year (guess!) On TV, I saw Angela Merkel, Germany’s often dour, physicist-by-training head of government talk about the project with bright eyes: “It only takes two hours to re-charge the batteries? Just the time you need to go shopping!” As they say, some ways of thinking die hard.
Search Results 1. Bundesministerium für Wirtschaft und Technologie (Germany) »
Posted in Alternative Energy | Electric Vehicles | Europe | Germany | Gizmology | Green | News Blog | 11 comments
POWERED