An NHTSA report [PDF] on the “Incidence of Pedestrian and Bicyclist Crashes by Hybrid Electric Passenger Vehicles,” concludes that hybrid-electrics (HEVs) have a higher incidence rate of pedestrian and bicyclist crashes than do internal combustion-only (ICE) vehicles in certain scenarios. And based on the report’s conclusions, it looks like the relative silence of hybrids running in electric-only mode is to blame for the higher accident numbers.

. . . pedestrian and bicyclist crashes involving both HEVs and ICE vehicles commonly occurred on roadways, in zones with low speed limits, during daytime and in clear weather, with higher incidence rates for HEVs when compared to ICE vehicles. A variety of crash factors were examined to determine the relative incidence rates of HEVs versus ICE vehicles in a range of crash scenarios. For one group of scenarios, those in which a vehicle is slowing or stopping, backing up, or entering or leaving a parking space, a statistically significant effect was found due to engine type. The HEV was two times more likely to be involved in a pedestrian crash in these situations than was an ICE vehicle. Vehicle maneuvers such as slowing or stopping, backing up, or entering or leaving a parking space, were grouped in one category based on that these maneuvers are potentially have occurred at very low speeds where the difference between the sound levels produced by the hybrid versus ICE vehicle is the greatest.

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According to the Detroit News, the Cadivolt is go! Not that the announcement comes as any huge surprise: when has GM ever invested heavily in a new platform and not built a Cadillac version? On the other hand, when was the last time GM built a $40k Chevrolet? More importantly, where does the Caddy version’s price go from there?

As we noted in our rundown of the New New Chrysler’s powertrain plans, the Pentastar’s ENVI electrification task force wasn’t mentioned once during seven hours of presentation. Well, by name anyway. Weirdly though, as the slide above shows, Fiat is making Chrysler the focal point for the alliance’s hybrid and electric technology development. Wouldn’t that make the bailout-baiting, vaporware-hawking ENVI crew the go-to guys for both Chrysler and Fiat’s long-term powertrain plans? Er, no.

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Frank Weber, the man in charge of GM’s electric vehicle line, will be leaving GM for a senior leadership at the soon-to-be-sold (or not?) Opel. Weber previously worked on Opel’s development of GM’s global mid-size (Epsilon II) vehicle line, before becoming the head of GM’s electric vehicle development program in March 2007. Weber is the second senior executive in GM’s global electric, hybrid and battery development organization to leave in a month, following Bob Kruse’s departure at the end of September. And as with Kruse’s exit, the sound bites coming out of GM seek to portray the loss as no big deal. “There is a huge difference in the Volt program from when I came here,” Weber tells Bloomberg. “The entire organization has inhaled what we do here.” In reality though, Weber’s defection makes the introduction of the Opel Ampera (as the Volt will be known in Europe) even more difficult than it was already shaping out to be.

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GM-volt.com’s Lyle Dennis finds out that being one of the first 500 Americans to lease a MINI E has its downsides. Especially at $850/month lease cost. At around 5,000 miles, the troubles begin (OK, continue).

As the car is technically a mule or prototype, it is not production-ready and has had some issues. A month or two ago it began popping loudly into neutral whenever the accelerator was floored. The power electronics control unit was replaced and after that it almost never happened (it happened one more time). So I’m gentle with the accelerator.

The other day I was driving to work and went over an unexpected construction zone pothole. The car was jostled and suddenly it went into neutral. After that it could no longer be put into drive. Despite turning it on and off and moving the shifter in and out of drive neutral and park several times, that was it, dead. A tow truck was called and off it went to the dealership for a MINI “flying doctor” to come and repair it. After a few days I found out it was the power electronics control unit again which was again replaced.

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Imagine, for a moment, how different this Curbside Classic would be if Honda actually built this little electric neo-600.

It gives me great pride to give UAW Local 435 workers the opportunity to partner with Fisker Automotive to create a greener America by building a plug-in hybrid car that will compete globally

So goes the line from Gary Casteel, the new Union boss for Fisker’s new Wilmington, Delaware plant at Automotive News [sub]. Why would the luxury EV startup hitch its wagon to the union that helped bring down Detroit? Was it a condition of GM’s sale of the plant where Pontiac Solstice/Saturn Sky were once built? Or does Fisker think that running a union shop might help bring in federal dross? Or are projected profit margins so strong that Fisker just doesn’t care? One thing’s for certain: though the UAW has agreed to a number of concessions over the past year, there’s a reason that most new US auto plants avoid union representation like the plague. From VW and Kia to Hybrid Kinetic Motors and Tesla, new US factories are being located in Southern states and California largely to escape the profit and productivity-sapping union. Either Fisker knows something that they don’t, or inviting the union into the new shop was a potential error of enormous magnitude.

Thanks to $7m in state grants and incentives, a $26.5m investment by Bannon Automotive and the promise of $52m in federal loans, Syracuse NY will become the American home of the Reva NXR. The AP (via MSNBC) reports Bannon expects production to reach 15k-20k units per year. But is $25k for 100 miles of charge, a 65 mph top speed and a bit more interior room than an Isetta going to fly in the US market? Oh right, government subsidies don’t care.

Fisker’s first car, the Karma, is being assembled by Valmet in Finland, but Fisker is already looking ahead. Following the Tesla model of offering a second sedan at around half the price of the brand’s flagship nameplate, Fisker is negotiating the purchase of the former Solstice/Sky plant where it plans on building a $48k “family-oriented” hybrid. The WSJ report Fisker is eying up to 100,000 units of production, employing 1,500 workers. Fisker is also following the Tesla example for funding; the EV company will spend most of its $528m in DOE ATVM loans developing its new lower-cost model (the Karma will retail for around $90k) and retooling the Delaware plant. Though companies like Fisker and Tesla surely appreciate these loans, one can’t help but wonder if they encourage an unhealthy level of optimism in a company that has yet to bring a vehicle to market, let alone record a sale. Though it’s understandable that fledgling EV companies would begin with a luxury model and work towards mainstream offerings, shouldn’t there be some indication of the flagship’s success (especially if it involves a more-complicated range-extending ICE) before going full-speed ahead for a 50 percent cheaper model?

That’s right. Buy a $110,000 Tesla Roadster, and according to the Denver Post, the state of Colorado will give you $42,000 in tax breaks. That’s 85 percent of the premium over a Lotus Elise. Colorado’s alt-fuel and zero-emissions tax credit system gives between 50 percent and 85 percent of the premium over a comparable gas-burning car, but as a zero-emissions vehicle only the Tesla can claim the full 85 percent discount. “Most of them are (Toyota) Priuses and hybrid vehicles,” say CO revenue department spokesfolks. Still, the colossal incentive on the two-seat Roadster was enough for the state legislature to limit discounts to no more than $6,000. But that limit doesn’t go into effect until January. Between now and then though, there’s practically no reason to buy an Elise in Colorado… unless you want to be able to fill up at a gas station. [Hat Tip: Freedmike]