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BMW Videos Emphasize Carbon Fiber in Electric Car Strategy

Brad Berman — Mon, 20 May 2013 19:37:42 +0000

One of the 10 videos about BMW electric cars just released by the company.

The use of lightweight carbon fiber car bodies in BMW’s upcoming electric cars is the focus of a new series of videos produced by the company. The set of 10 videos released on YouTube last week, promote the i3 all-electric compact car and i8 plug-in hybrid sports car.

The overall theme of the videos, about two minutes each, is innovation: how BMW is not simply swapping electric motors for gas engines, but looking at electric mobility from a fresh perspective.

Have Kids? Three Family-Friendly Electric Cars To Consider

Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield — Mon, 20 May 2013 16:31:07 +0000

Becoming a parent all too often means trading in your fun car for something a little more child-friendly. Traditionally, that’s meant swapping a sporty ride for a station wagon, minivan or crossover SUV. Transporting a family usually also means lugging around buggies, nappy bags, soccer kit, musical instruments, and of course, the family dog. That all requires space.

Despite what friends and family might tell you, however, you don’t need a big gas-guzzling car to raise a family. Here are three electric vehicles that can work well for family life.

2013 Toyota RAV4 EV

The 2013 Toyota RAV4 EV is one of the best-suited EVs for families.

Survey: To Be Satisfied, Electric Car Drivers Want 150 Miles of Range

Brad Berman — Fri, 17 May 2013 17:47:47 +0000

The California Center for Sustainable Energy (C.C.S.E.), based in San Diego, this week released the results of the nation’s largest survey of plug-in vehicle drivers. It conveys a clear picture of who is buying electric cars and plug-in hybrids, how they are using their vehicles, and their charging patterns.

As we’ve seen from past surveys, EV owners drive their cars an average of nearly 29 miles per day—well below the range capabilities of their vehicles. Nonetheless, 40 percent of survey respondents were dissatisfied with their cars's electric range. That once again begs the question about the ideal amount of range for an EV. Last year, J.B. Straubel, Tesla's chief technology officer, told me, "A functional minimum we should aim for is the 125- to 150-mile range. I think it gets meaningful constrained when you get below that."

Graphic: C.C.S.E.

Colorado Extends $6,000 Plug-in Vehicle Credit Through 2021

Zach McDonald — Thu, 16 May 2013 20:19:06 +0000

Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper Wednesday signed into law a pair of bills relating to plug-in and other alternative fuel vehicles, including a measure to extend a plug-in vehicle tax credit into the next decade. The "Innovative Motor Vehicle Income Tax Credit" (HB1247) passed the Colorado House last week by a 40-21 margin, and will extend Colorado's existing incentive program—which provides up to a $6,000 tax credit toward the purchase of a new plug-in and as much as $7,500 toward a conversion—until 2021.

Volvo Demos Second Generation C30 Electric, Keeps Quiet On EV Plans

Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield — Thu, 16 May 2013 16:23:08 +0000

Volvo's second-generation C30 Electric prototype can rapid charge to 90 percent full from three-phase AC power in 90 minutes.

Swedish automaker Volvo wants the world to know it has big plans to produce a zero emissions fleet by 2020. But while its rivals are moving forward with their EV programs, Volvo isn’t speaking in specific terms about full-scale production electric cars.

Nonetheless, I was able to drive a prototype C30 electric around the outskirts of Gothenburg this week. It's a tough game to spot the difference between this version and its predecessor. The second generation electric hatchback—a car whose gasoline sibling ended production earlier this year—drives like a production-ready EV. On paper, the new 89-kilowatt asynchronous electric motor and power electronics from German electronics company Siemens improves performance by a small margin. But without driving it and the previous generation side by side, you’d be hard-pressed to notice.

Automakers Consider Polygons on Map to Show Electric Car Range

Alysha Webb — Thu, 16 May 2013 17:46:11 +0000

The EOLAS-EV map-based EV range tool.

It’s not hard for electric car drivers to imagine this situation. Your battery’s state-of-charge is at about one-third, and you are called upon an unexpected errand. The range-guess-o-meter on your car's dash says you can barely make it without charging, but you know it's not reliable. Do you really have enough juice? A new cloud-based application from Abalta Technologies promises to give you a more definitive answer.

Rather than having to program in your destination, EOLAS-EV displays different colored polygons overlaid on a map. They show you how many miles are left on your battery and where you could go on that charge.

Panamera S E-Hybrid: A True Plug-in and a True Porsche

Laurent J. Masson — Thu, 16 May 2013 16:45:51 +0000

Porsche Panamera S E-Hybrid

It's usually easy to tell if a car is a plug-in: there's no exhaust pipe. But the Porsche Panamera S e-hybrid is no ordinary plug-in. It has four large pipes on its rear. The message is clear: This is not an electric car with a range extender.

The gas engine is a powerful unit. This car needs it to be a real Porsche. In its home country at least, the first thing drivers expect from a Porsche is the ability of sustained high-speed driving. If it can't do 140 miles in one hour with total confidence on the part if the drive—well, then it's not a Porsche.

Neighborhood Electric Vehicles: A Marginal Option

Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield — Wed, 15 May 2013 17:12:07 +0000

Acquired by Polaris Industries in 2011, GEM is the market leader for neighborhood electric vehicles. The e2 sells for below $8,000.

Visit certain cities around the world, and you’ll see tiny electric cars quietly whizzing around the streets, taking residents and holiday makers from place to place, delivering goods, or even doing the daily commute.

Called Neighborhood Electric Vehicles—NEVs for short—these small cars don't have the range or performance of bigger, highway-capable cars like the Nissan LEAF. But they can provide some consumers the first real-world experience of electric cars without breaking the bank.

Living with Limits

In most states, NEVs are electronically restricted by law to a top speed of between 25 and 35 miles per hour. In some cases, this means they cannot be driven on roads with a posted speed limit of 25 mph or greater, severely restricting where they can be driven.

Tesla Leads Because It Outsmarts the Competition

Laurent J. Masson — Wed, 15 May 2013 10:51:58 +0000

Tesla Model S sedan.

The Tesla Model S was the best-selling electric car in the first quarter of 2013. At the same time, Tesla Motors was profitable for the first time in its 10 year history. Wow!

These headlines lifted Tesla's stock price to new heights—crazy heights considering the ratio between market capitalization and annual sales. But hard facts don't lie: the Model S outsold the Nissan LEAF, the second best-selling EV in the U.S. by a wide margin. The LEAF remains the best-selling EV at the global level and should remain so, but Model S sales are incredible considering the Tesla sedan is nearly three times as expensive as the LEAF.

An Electric Off-Road Racer: 535 Horsepower and Something to Prove

Jim Motavalli — Tue, 14 May 2013 15:47:52 +0000

Recharging the EV1 took 4.5 hours. (SRI photo)

Think about it: Is an electric car the ideal vehicle for an historic 1,200-mile no-holds-barred off-road race through Mexico’s rugged Baja Peninsula early this month? Probably not, except for Jeff Smith, founder of the non-profit Strategic Recovery Institute (SRI). He used the the NORRA Mexican 1000, with a history dating to 1967, to prove what electric vehicles can do.

The SRI EV1 is certainly a fearsome beast, with 535 horsepower (400 kilowatts) and 750 foot-pounds of torque from its pair of NetGain Warp 9 motors. No gas tank, but it carries 138 CALB 3.3-volt prismatic batteries adding up to 82 kilowatt hours and 100-mile range. It looks like, well, a dune buggy on steroids.