Renault has announced that they’ll be unveiling three new electric vehicles at the upcoming Frankfurt Motor Show this September.  One is the production-ready Fluence (Megane) EV (above) and the Kangoo EV (both slated for a 2011 release) while the third is a concept yet to be unveiled and expected to hit the market in 2012.

The new car will be a 5-door hatchback, probably similar to the Clio, Modus, Micra, or Cube (all based on a Nissan B).  The only hard promise from Renault is that the car will “have real style” to set it apart.

The new electrics from Renault will feature swappable battery packs, made to go with Nissan vehicles and their new partners at Better Place. The new Fluence (the EV version of the Megane) will be released first in Israel to go with the infrastructure Better Place has been putting together there.  It will be hitting dealerships in the second half of 2011.

By then, Better Place plans to have 150,000 plug-in stations and 100 battery swap stations in place throughout Israel.  On that note, Better Place’s swapping stations that are so far installed have now done over 1,000 battery swaps without a hitch. The stations are almost entirely automated by robots, which appear to be working nicely.

So it appears that things are falling into place for Nissan, Renault, and Better Place as they work together to produce electric cars and the infrastructure to sustain them.

It’s a good start, at least.

Speaking of Renault, they’ve released 3 new videos of the Kangoo Be Bop.  Enjoy!

Sources: Wired, AutocarUK, GreenTechMedia

Post from: Zoomi Life

Renault’s 3 New Electric Cars (+video), Swappable Batteries, and Better Place

The X-Rider electric motorcycle from Xtreme Green Products in Nevada received certification for highway use from the EPA.  They were told by the EPA that they are the first electric motorcycle (”Highway Motorcycle - Battery Electric”) to receive this certification in the U.S.

David Isserman, from Xtreme Green, says “We spent the last 6 months working with the EPA helping them to develop the procedures to get a 100% electric motorcycle certified.  This certification now makes the X Rider eligible to receive the federal stimulus tax credit, which requires this Certificate of Conformity.”

This certification also allows the X-Rider to be operated on all U.S. highways.

For more information on the X-Rider, check out Xtreme Green;s website.

Post from: Zoomi Life

X-Rider Electric Motorcycle From Xtreme Green First to Receive EPA Certification

CT&T Korea, in South Korea, has developed a neighborhood electric vehicle (NEV) called the e-Zone.  Pictured above, this goofy little car is the vanguard of CT&T’s planned fleet of electrics to span the U.S. market from “city drive vehicles” (aka neighborhood electrics) all the way to full-speed, highway-ready cars, light trucks, and more.

In fact, by the end of this year, the company plans to have their c-Zone utility electrics for commercial and governmental use, along with these e-Zone cars.  These will be available for limited purchase in South Korea, but the company is looking to put together a U.S.-based headquarters for research, development, and distribution/sales of their electrics. Limited manufacture is likely to take place here as well.

While remaining cagey about their probable choice, CT&T has made it clear that the southeastern U.S. is where their map centers.  Especially Alabama, Georgia, and the Carolinas. The company’s U.S. subsidiary, with an office in California, is called CT&T United.

The total plans would include research, development, legal issues (licensing and so forth), testing, and limited manufacture of the company’s electrics and would employ around 2,600 people in total in the U.S.  CT&T’s car plans include all those listed above and utilize everything from low-cost lead-acid batteries all the way up to high-end lithium-ion chemistry.

The e-Zone is projected to cost from $8,000 to $16,000 MSRP, depending on battery configuration.

Sources: AutoBlogGreen, CT&T Press, CT&T

Post from: Zoomi Life

Korean e-Zone NEV To Be Made in Alabama?

Remember the Lightning?  It’s the British contender for the Tesla Roadster, which we mentioned back in October ‘08.  The Lightning GT, an electric sports car with the ability to compete with the Tesla Roadster on all fronts: speed, range, and price tag.

The Lightning GT is slated to hit the streets in 2010 at a mere £120,000.  Although the company has been relatively quiet and has yet to produce a car for sale, they have emerged to make an announcement.

The Lightning Car Company, through its chairman Ian Sanderson, has announced their intention to also offer three other vehicles.  All will be based on the GT’s drive train, but no solid date for release was given for those vehicles.

Those will be all-electrics, like the GT, and will include a high-end, chauffeur-driven car, an SUV, and a smaller sports car with similar style to the GT.

Of course, all of this is conjecture and while the company says it intends to build the GT as planned, the supplier for their 120kW motors (PML Flightlink) has bankrupted.  This could put a wrinkle in the works, but that never stopped James Bond, so it may not be enough to stop this car that has enough style to be featured in any 007 film.

Source: Autocar, Lightning

Post from: Zoomi Life

Lightning Announces Plans for More Electric Cars

The Dutch Nuon Solar Team from Delft University has taken the trophy at the World Solar Challenge four times in a row now.  They’ve unveiled the car that they think will make it five in a row - the Nuna 5.

The Nuna 5 expands on the team’s past experience and technology.  Coming in at just under sixteen feet in length and 3 feet in height, the Nuna 5 uses the same solar technology as last year’s Nuna 4 (gallium-arsenide PV cells) and a small (the actual size is undisclosed) li-ion polymer battery for energy storage and speed boosting capability.

The largest improvements in this year’s design for the Nuna are it’s much lighter weight, losing about 66 pounds after a serious diet in body tech and parts reductions. The car now weighs 352 pounds (curb) and sports new hub-mounted motors that are more efficient than last year.

Of course, the team faces stiff competition from at least 50 teams this year, including the MIT team’s Eleanor.

We look forward to the race in October!

Source: Wired

Post from: Zoomi Life

World Solar Racing Champs Roll Out New Competition Car

Compared to Tesla and it’s CEO Elon Musk, Fisker and its CEO Henrick Fisker, are a quiet little company in Southern California.  The two companies are often compared, or more specifically, their vehicles are often compared, though.  The Karma and the Roadster are both high-end sports cars with big price tags and lots of performance.  Plus tons of green cred.

That’s where the similarities end, says Fisker’s CEO. The Roadster is an all-electric while the Karma is a range-extended hybrid (aka Plug-In Hybrid or PHEV).  While the Roadster is $109,000, the Karma is $87,000 and seats four, not two.

At a recent event in Northern California, Fisker appeared with his car, the Karma production prototype, and discussed these differences and much more.  He pointed out a very important factor that makes all the difference between the Karma and its Tesla competition: market potential.

“The full-electric car is a niche market,” Fisker said.  “Plug-in hybrids have a much bigger market.”  He pointed out that the PHEV market’s growth potential is why his company has had a much easier time securing venture capital compared to Tesla.

While this could be written off as mere marketing statements from the company CEO, there is proof to back up his claim. Bosch recently released a press briefing about their projections for the near future in automotive technologies.  Combustion engines, says Robert Bosch GmbH, will remain at the forefront for at least another twenty years.

The market for plug-in electrics is generally much smaller than the overall market for hybrids and plug-in hybrids (PHEV).  Mainly due to the public’s perception of the limited range full electric vehicles are likely to have and nervousness about maintenance and battery life issues.

In addition, the infrastructure for plug-ins, nationally, is a long way off and so there is a large gap between the affordable range of near-future battery electrics versus the realistic range people expect from a car.  This gap is going to be filled by PHEV technologies, Fisker believes.

He’s probably right.

Source: HybridCars

Post from: Zoomi Life

Henrik Fisker Gets Candid About the Karma and the Tesla Roadster

A new publicity promo from Tesla Motors has been released, featuring the 2011 Model S and chief designer Franz von Holzhausen.  The Model S is to be Tesla’s first totally in-house design.

Post from: Zoomi Life

Video: Tesla Model S Commercial

Not into the Lotus looks the Tesla Roadster has?  Well, how about the classic Porsche 550’s style?  The Swiss company BRUSA Electronik is banking on that with their new Spyder electric performance roadster.

The 270 horsepower electric Spyder takes the Porsche classic and strips it of all but its bare essentials, then ads an electric power train and turns it loose.

The twin 100kW motors power the rear wheels with independent controllers, creating the EV equivalent of a differential.  Sort of a modern positronic system, but with a lot more control and options.

In all, the Spyder produces that 270hp and a whopping 324 foot-pounds of torque.  The whole vehicle weighs about 2,000 pounds (curb) and does 0-62mph in under 5 seconds. Under the hood (in front, of course) are lithium-ion polymer batteries at 16kWh with better than a 100km range.  This on a four hour charge time at 220V using the built-in converter.

Nearly every component in the car is made in-house by Brusa and the car uses less power per mile than 1.5 liters of gasoline (equivalent).

The car is not in production yet and no time frame or price tag has been given.  It’s not likely the Spyder will be seen outside of Europe, but one can hope.

Source: Wired

Post from: Zoomi Life

The Swiss BRUSA Spyder Electric Performance Car

Husqvarna has finally revealed a concept electric riding lawn mower they’re calling the Panthera Leo.  It uses li-ion phosphate batteries and can run for 2 hours before needing a charge.  It has five motors, quiet operation, and very unique looks.

The front of the motor looks a lot like an electric rotary razor.  You know, those ones the commercials promise gives a close shave with the “floating, independent heads?”  Hopefully the mower works better than the razors.  Incidentally, the cutting deck’s individual heads do float independently on this mower.

The style is very cool-looking, I think, even with the electric razor connotations.

The Panthera Leo has a sort of muscular simplicity, with large tires offset by a kind of delicate arch appearance.  The steering column is nothing short of futuristic.  It gives you the idea that you’ll sit down and it will “fsst” into place while a computer asks “Yes, Captain?”

“Mow the lawn, three cutters at position 4, speed 2km.  Let it be so.”

Each of the spinning blades is powered by its own motor and there are two more motors powering the front drive wheels.  The rear wheel set steers the machine.  Paddles on the steering wheel allow independent braking of the cutting decks (independently) so you can run up over curbs with blades turned off so you don’t harm them.

A small LCD panel on the steering column apprises the driver of speed, cutting height, and battery life.  Sensors on each blade can commit an auto-shutoff of the blade if objects are detected.

The entire Panthera (remove one letter and it’s one of my favorite bands) is made largely of recycled materials. Husqvarna says the mowers could be available at stores nationally in about five years.

Post from: Zoomi Life

Husqvarna’s New Green, Electric Riding Mower

Mercedes-Benz unveiled its Citaro FuelCELL Hybrid at the UITP World Congress and Mobility & City Transport Exhibition in Vienna earlier this month.  The bus is hydrogen powered and has so far shown good performance during fleet testing.

Daimler says that the Citaro uses the same fuel cell technology as the Mercedes F-Cell B-Class car, which will undergo production in small lots this fall.  The buses have been part of the HyFLEET-CUTE test program, which began in 2003.  During this testing, the buses logged more than 1.2 million miles and 135,000 hours of operation.

Daimler (who owns Mercedes-Benz) hopes to become the premier bus manufacturer for the emerging European Hydrogen Highway system.

Mercedes-Benz is the world’s largest bus manufacturer, so they are certainly poised to accomplish this goal.  The bus is ready for pre-order by fleet owners.  So far, there are no plans to export these buses to North America announced.

Sources: Daimler, HCV

Post from: Zoomi Life

The Mercedes-Benz Citaro Fuel Cell Hybrid Bus

The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders has created a new Electric Vehicle Group as an industry-wide collaborative promotion effort.  The group’s focus is to bring together all of the various players in the EV industry in the UK and internationally to promote interaction and collaboration between industry partners, government, science, and more.

SMMT’s Electric Vehicle Group hopes to address a wide range of issues involving policy, legislation, research and development, markets, infrastructure and more.

To find out more about the SMMT’s EV group, go to their website at this link.

Post from: Zoomi Life

Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders’ New EV Group

Geoff Bjorgan is a tinkerer, there’s no doubt about it.  This latest creation of his is an awesome rendition of what he can do if given the time to do it and a few items to cannibalize for parts.

He discovered a junked 1986 Honda motorcycle in his friend’s garage, used his sawzall to cut off all the “unnecessary parts” and added some electric bits and batteries.  The result?  Well, you’re lookin’ at it.

It weighs in at 120 pounds and is a pedal-assist electric bicycle. 

Bjorgan admits that he was more interested in how it looked when he was done than how well it would work. It barely works up to 21mph on a flat and is very heavy, but in the looks department?  Pure coolness, bro.

The engine from the motorcycle was put to use in “rewiring” his lawnmower, which now has ten speeds and all kinds of power.  The pedals for his new bike were “liberated” from his girlfriend’s bicycle (”maybe my ex-girlfriend,” he jokes) and the headlight came off a hearse.

Pretty awesome, man. I’d be proud to cruise town on this machine. He’s already started on his next project, a combination bicycle/skateboard concept.

Source: Wired

Post from: Zoomi Life

The Steampunk DIY Electric Bicycle

While a lot of attention is put onto cars and trucks in electric transportation, the field of aviation is seeing its share of innovation too.  We’ve covered light aviation with the ElectricFlycer C and other prototypes and planned technologies in electric airplanes.

This solar plane, built by a team lead by Bertrand Piccard, though, is different.  His new prototype is the cloeset yet to the real thing (so far).  It spans 61 meters and weighs about 1,500 kilograms and will be flying trials and undergoing night time tests to be sure it can fly 24/7.

The final version of this plane won’t fly until 2012, when it will attempt to cross the Atlantic.  After that, it will embark on a world tour.  Literally flying around the world.

For those who remember, Dr. Piccard (not to be confused with Captain Jean Luc) flew a record-setting round-the-world flight in the Breitling Orbiter 3 balloon.

Here is video of the plane’s unveiling:

Post from: Zoomi Life

Piccard’s Solar Plane Debuts - Will Fly Around the World

So you’re zipping down the highway in your new, sleek, hydrogen-powered ZeroFuel car and you suddenly see the fuel gauge glowing red.  Uh oh.

Well, no matter.  Those two cups of coffee and that 44oz Big Gulp you had and that are coming back to haunt you will save the day.

How?

Because the hydogen-powered ZeroFuel can use the ammonia that makes up a large part of your urine to make more hydrogen.  That’s how.  And you thought that the only time to pee in someone’s car was when you were drunk or the radiator needed refilling.

No Adam Sandler quotes, please.

The ZeroFuel is being designed by Steven Amendola, a chemist whose company Alternative Fuel Sciences, is developing the concept.  The car is an X-Prize entrant, though I’m dubious as to whether it will actually be in the race itself as anything more than one of the concept showcases that haven’t been built.

Ecologically, the idea is pretty sound.  Sociologically?  Well, that’s something else.

Regardless, here’s how the process works, for those interested:

Urine contains a lot of ammonia, as I said.  For the gardener and composter, the idea that it’s full of nitrogen is well established. That nitrogen comes from the ammonia when it breaks up in vapor form.

Ammonia contains a lot of hydrogen (NH3 - nitrogen, hydrogen).  The ZeroFuel takes the ammonia’s natural tendency to vaporize and out the tailpipe comes water and nitrogen.  After a somewhat complicated separation process and other proprietary things that are the secret behind the ZeroFuel take place, of course.

ZeroFuel has three different entries in all three classes of the XPrize competition.  Should be interesting.

Post from: Zoomi Life

ZeroFuel: the Hydrogen Car Powered by Used Big Gulps and Coffee

If you remember Dale Vince, the self-proclaimed King of Wind Power in the UK and founder of Ecotricity, then you’ll probably recall that he had a rather egocentric plan to build a “Wind Powered Car.”  In reality, it was an electric car concept that would be charged by power from the wind turbine grid.

I was pretty skeptical about this whole thing from the beginning.  In the end, it’s basically a rich man’s project that will never see the marketplace or any of our garages.  On the other hand, I guess that at least he’s honest about that part and isn’t trying to pretend it’s something more.

Well, the car still doesn’t have a name, though Vince says he’s leaning towards “Nemesis” now.  I prefer “Wind Powered Death Ride 2000,” but I’m probably alone in that.  Anything with “2000″ in the name is cool, though.  Even “Nemesis2000″ would rock.

This article isn’t about the car’s name, though.  It’s about the car.  The WPDR2000.

This is a Lotus Exige that they’ve been modifying to become all-electric, of course.  On his last few blog posts, Vince has talked about the WPDR2000 and how it’s coming along.  There’s also video of the first test drives.  You can watch it below.

As you’ll see in the video, there were some last minute software glitches.  I note that they’re using Apple Macs and not PCs.  I suggest they upgrade the car to Linux and save some headaches.  Just a thought.

When all was said and done, though, the car really got moving.  And by that, I mean it screamed.  In fact, that word doesn’t work either.  I’m going to go into the non-office-safe realm and say it HAULS ASS.

Sorry, can’t think of a better way to describe it.  It is moving extremely fast in the video here. Seen from inside the car, with the camera pointing at the driver (Dale Vince), you’ll see how much force is being put on him.  Looks pretty great to me.

Vince claims that the car is capable of over 100mph (which they’ve now proven) and accelerates faster than a Ferrarri V12 (no proof… yet) and will get somewhere around 150 miles per charge (untested).  Range testing and road worthiness are probably the next string of tests.  They were cut short by heavy rain.

I’ll admit that I’m jealous and I think Sebastian agrees with me on that point.  If I were a rich guy, I’d probably be spending a lot of jang on my own WPDR2000.  Only mine would be a tractor.  I think you know about me a tractors already.

Here’s the video:

Post from: Zoomi Life

The “Wind Power Car” Lives, Breathes, and Burns Rubber

Shaped very similar to the iMiEV, this car made its debut in 2008. Since then, the Maya 300 has been undergoing road and technology testing and is now ready to hit the streets at large.

Using the new technology from ExxonMobil Chemical, the Maya’s greatest bonus comes from the greatly-increased battery capacity thanks to ExxonMobil’s separators and its implementation in lithium-ion Manganese Oxide (MN) batteries.

The little car will first emerge from hiding in Maryland this August as a fleet vehicle for a car-share and rental program in Baltimore at the Maryland Science Center. Until then, test drives can be had at the MSC for those who have tickets to the unveiling in August.

The Maya 300 is a neighborhood electric, speed limited to 30mph, but it meets all safety standards and Maya Electric, the subsidiary of Electrovaya that makes the car, hopes to have the car in for crash testing and highway approval before year’s end.

This is Maya Electric’s third car (the first being the 100) and it’s the first to use Electrovaya’s new Lithium Ion SuperPolymer battery technology.

The little car outputs 12kw/h to a 15kw motor with a 60 mile range per charge. An advanced upgrade is available that boosts these numbers to 27kw/h and 120 miles’ range. Charge time is 6-8 hours at 110v and about half that at 220v. An on-board charger/controller automatically senses which it’s plugged into and compensates.

Electrovaya is the largest manufacturer of lithium-ion batteries in North America (they’re based outside of Toronto, Canada with facilities in New York). The Maya 300 is the first in what they hope is a series of vehicles of all types and descriptions using their new battery and drive train technology.

In a conference call today, Dr. Sankar Das Gupta, President and Chairman of Electrovaya, told me that they are in talks with various companies to put the new batteries into motorcycles and scooters, larger cars, highway-capable vehicles, and even heavy industrial applications.

Currently, the Maya 300 is available for fleet sales only and the company will expand their presence with the vehicles as demand dictates, negotiating with fleet purchasers throughout North America.

Post from: Zoomi Life

Electrovaya Announces New Maya 300 NEV

In 2006, ExxonMobil Chemical made the news when it was announced that they, along with their Japanese affiliate Tonen Chemical, had developed a prototype separator for use in lithium-ion batteries. This new technology, they claimed, would boost the power:density ratio by at least 40%.

Well, they were wrong. It now boosts it by up to 70% instead. That’s wrong in a good way, for sure.

The technology centers around a new nano-technology breakthrough in thin film separators which has several implications. First, the separators are using a polyethylene-based film that is strong enough to lend great stability to the battery itself.

The real news, though, is in the layering itself. These separators are layered into multiple films, each of which can be tuned to be performance-specific for an application. So for batteries made for electric vehicles, like the new Maya 300 from Electrovaya’s sister company Maya Electric, the layers can be tuned to the specific needs of the EV at low, medium, and high speeds.

For other applications, they could be targeted for higher-torque applications, faster power delivery, or for maximization of the battery’s longevity.

Electrovaya is exploiting this new ExxonMobil tech in their Lithium-Ion Manganese Oxide battery packs, backing away from phosphorous-based batteries for several reasons. One of those is the much higher energy density that can be achieved by packing ExxonMobil Chem’s separators with the MN-series batteries, achieving 50-70% higher energy density without increasing costs.

During a conference call promoted by Electrovaya today, in which industry press spoke with representatives from the companies involved, we learned first hand not only how the new Maya 300 (more on that car later) will be promoted, but how this technology can be exploited in other venues.

ExxonMobil’s representative, Pat Brant, Chief Polymer Scientist at ExxonMobil Chemical, made it clear when asked that there are no exclusivity agreements with Electrovaya, so this technology could be used in many other applications. “We’ll sell it wherever it’s wanted,” he said.

Sankar Das Gupta, President and Charman at Electrovaya, was also excited about the future prospects of his company’s drive-train technology for this battery system. When I asked, he acknowledged that Electrovaya is working on deals with several EV and PHEV makers regarding everything from two-wheelers to heavy industrial applications.

Here’s another great tidbit: the company is also working on a larger-application battery system that will output 100kw/h!

Electrovaya’s battery system which uses the ExxonMobil separators is being called the Lithium Ion SuperPolymer battery.

Electrovaya is a Canadian company based near Toronto which also has facilities in New York State. The company is currently promoting their Maya 300 NEV, which will cover in another segment.

ExxonMobil Chemical is, as Mr. Brant describes it, “the world’s largest chemical company that nobody’s heard of.”

Post from: Zoomi Life

ExxonMobil Chemical and Electrovaya Team Up To Exploit Lithium-Ion Breakthrough

Tesla has announced that they expect to be profitable before the end of July, as was expected and announced in February.  While some questioned that the company would ever become profitable, battery sales greatly augmented pre-sales and purchases of the Tesla Roadster.  New deals with Daimler and others didn’t hurt either.

Meanwhile, if you haven’t heard, former Tesla Motors CEO Martin Eberhard has filed suit against the company and against current CEO Elon Musk for breech of contract, slander, and libel.  Plenty of controversy and (possible) mis-reporting has been swirling around this lawsuit.

When you’re a half-billion dollar company and your CEO is a certified billionaire, you tend to tread lightly when responding to claims in a pending lawsuit.  Tesla has been relatively quiet on this front, probably despite the inclinations of Musk, who’s usually quite verbal about his views.

Tesla has finally issued an official response to many of the claims made by Eberhard.  In an extensive blog post, Musk attempts to “correct several misconceptions propagated by Martin that are now being reported as truth.”

In his blog post, Musk goes over some of the history of Tesla Motors, including how he met Ebehard and how they co-founded the company together. He goes on to detail why the company sent Eberhard packing and why they feel justified in doing so.

One thing is for sure: since the entrance of Musk into the leadership of Tesla Motors, the Roadster’s costs have dropped from $140,000 per unit (in the beginning) to $80,000 now with further drops expected.  The car’s production has increased to 20-30 units/week and is expected to nearly double in the next year or so.

Eberhard contends that Musk sabotaged his leadership and says that the current claims by Musk and the Board of Directors of Tesla about the forward-looking estimates that Eberhard made were not agreements, but only speculation about how things were going. Unforseen changes in the car’s design, production requirements, and other issues were what changed those numbers, according to Eberhard.

Regardless of which side of this argument you believe, the lawsuit is probably going to drag on for some time unless Tesla settles with their former CEO and moves on.  Given the claims being made, the youth of the company, and the money likely involved, that may be the best route for them to take.

Post from: Zoomi Life

Tesla Moves Towards Profitability Despite Lawsuit By Former CEO

The first of the electric Mini Coopers (called the Mini E) from BMW have been hitting the streets throughout the U.S. in recent weeks.  One of the most notable of the first rollouts is the ones leased by the LA County Sheriffs Office.

Seventeen of the little Mini E cars will become Sheriff’s vehicles in a special deal with BMW. At only $10/month, the price is definitely right.  BMW believes that with the deputies being professional drivers and with the number of miles they’ll be putting on the little Coopers, they’ll definitely get ther money’s worth in the feedback they receive.

Another (full price, $850/month) Mini E recipient, Mark Winkworth, is one of 450 people who’ll get one of the cars on a limited 12 month lease.  Winkworth has started a blog to convey his experience to the world, which you can find at MINIwink.com.

What BMW will do with all that feedback is questionable, however, since the Mini E will never see production, according to the company.

Post from: Zoomi Life

Electric Mini E’s Hitting the Road…and Blogs

The Department of Energy has finally announced the first receipient of a low-interest loan from the Advanced Technology Vehicle Manufacturing Incentive Program (ATVM) program: Ford Motors.  Nissan and Tesla Motors are expected to be the next in line.

Ford expects to use the money to help launch their Transit Connect electric delivery truck in 2010 followed by a C-segment car a year after that.

Nissan, meanwhile, is already planning to open a huge (estimated at $1 billion) plant for EVs and range-extended EVs in the USA and the DoE money would likely go towards that endeavor.  That plant is to be an extension of its complex in Tennessee.

Tesla will probably get the most money and almost all of it will go towards getting the Model S into production on time and as expected (2011).  The funds could be contingent on Tesla purchasing an existing plant for refitting rather than building a new one, which has not been what Tesla has planned so far.  Rumors say that Tesla is talking to the owner of a former McDonnel-Douglas facility in Long Beach, California.

Both Chrysler and General Motors had to back out of their applications for DoE ATVM loans due to their current bankruptcy proceedings. This was as we expected.

The next round of announcements from th ATVM program is expected to be aimed towards battery makers like A123 and EnerDel.

Source: DOE ATVM, AutoBlogGreen

Post from: Zoomi Life

U.S. DoE Begins Giving Out ATVM Loans: Ford Gets 1st One

The ZeroTruck by Electrorides has finally entered production with the first unit being sold to the City of Santa Monica in California.

The ZeroTruck is a medium-duty electric truck and is based on an Isuzu N series chassis.  Electrorides claims it’s the first all-electric truck built in the USA and for sale in the U.S. in 2009.

Here’s the specs for this utility electric:

• 60mph speed limit (electronically programmed)
• 0-60 in 18 seconds
• 65-75 mile range per charge
• 12 hour charge time (to full) at 220v
• UQM PowerPhase 100 motor
• LCD Touch Screen vehicle operations monitor
• Fast charge system available (cuts charge time in 1/2)
• Low cab-forward design for better visibility to driver
• Regenerative braking

Several test models are already on the road, having been issued into various markets in the country, for road trials.  The City of Santa Monica was the first full purchase of one of the new EVs, however. As pictured above, the city’s truck will be outfitted with the Scetzi utility body.

Santa Monica’s new truck will be used by the Water Division as part of the city’s Sustainable City Plan to reduce emissions from petroleum.

Source: Electrorides

Post from: Zoomi Life

ZeroTruck Enters Production, First Model Sold to Santa Monica

The Congress passed the “Cash for Clunkers” program (officially called “Car Allowance Rebate System” or CARS).  Now, they’ve launched a website for the program and are scrambling to put together the rules for how the system will work.

Meanwhile, of course, they want you to urge your local car dealerships to sign up to participate. I’m not sure about you, but I wouldn’t personally want to sign up for anything not yet knowing what the rules really are.  Sure, the bill spells out how the overall program will work, but it doesn’t give specifics on how dealers are to participate (costs, reimbursements, etc.).

All that aside, cars.gov does have some more specific rules than given in the bill itself, which clarifies a lot of issues and also manages to raise some new questions.

As the process for trading in older vehicles to get a new one is ironed out, the site receives updates.  So expect things to change on cars.gov pretty regularly.  As of this writing, the rules are pretty simple.

Cars must be 25 years old or older to be traded in. Uhh…  My pickup is considered old and it’s only a 1990, so it doesn’t qualify as a trade-in.  Everyone I can think of who has a car that’s older than a quarter of a century doesn’t have any plans to turn in their “potential classic” or their “runs great, why would I get rid of it?” car.

Since the fund is only $1 billion in size, only 250,000 trade-ins will be vouchered through it. Okely dokely, so how is this going to “dramatically boost car sales” again?  That was a big selling point for this program initially and throughout it’s Congressional debate.  That’s a drop in the bucket compared to the total 7.71 million new passenger cars expected to be sold in the USA this year.

Analysts agree with my assessment, with a recent article in Automotive News by four analysts estimating that a maximum of 200,000 new vehicles will be sold as a direct result of Cash for Clunkers.  Read this short writeup on that article for the details, as a subscription to AN is required to read it in full.

The plan is not expected to be functioning and in place during the current “hot season” for car sales. June and July are the industry’s “hot season” for car sales while November/December is the “sell off” season when car companies attempt to dump their old inventory in preparation for bringing in new models.  The Cash for Clunkers plan won’t likely be functional until late August or September and the cutoff for getting a voucher is November 1, so both “hot seasons” will be missed.

How I see this shaping up is pretty simple. There are at least 250,000 “clunkers” for sale out there in America somewhere that will qualify for this program.  I’d be willing to bet that most of those who are selling them cannot afford a brand new car.  Therefore, those who can afford a brand new car and would have been buying one anyway will be smart to capitalize by spending $300-$1,000 on a clunker they can trade in for $3,500+ at the dealership on their new car.

To counteract this, the plan has a weak “must be registered and insured for a full year before trade-in” policy.  If the car is running well enough to drive into the dealership, there’s a good chance it will meet this criteria.  Were I to be one of the aforementioned smart types, I’d make proof of this contingent on my purchase from the clunker’s current owner.

The good news in all this is definitely worth mentioning. Most of the charities who rely heavily on donated clunkers for their incomes will not be deeply affected by Cash for Clunkers.  Since the number of trade-ins is so limited and since the old age is a requirement, charities will likely continue to see about the same number of donations as they were getting before.

The other good news is that the government has once again proven that they can’t do anything right.

What’s your assessment of the CARS program?  Think it’ll work?  Leave a comment and let us know.

Post from: Zoomi Life

Cash For Clunkers Passes, But Nobody Is Sure How to Run It

The Progressive Automotive X Prize begins this month, with judging on the 136 official entries starting soon.  To get in, these cars had to meet specific criteria, not the least of which is the ability to get at least 100mpg.  The hardest to meet, however, is commercial viability.  The vehicle must have a plan for mass production.

“These cannot be science projects,” says Eric Cahill, the X Prize’s senior director.  “The bottom line ultimately is, can these vehicles be viable in the marketplace in the near term?”

The testing this month is mainly to vet out those that aren’t viable contestants: the ones with weak commercial plans or that can’t make the 100mpg litmus. The more rigorous testing begins later this year with the final winner being announced in September, 2010.

Two vehicle classes are being considered, with $5 million in winnings going to each. The “mainstream class” are vehicles with at least four wheels and that can carry at least four passengers and have a minimum 200-mile range.  The “alternative class” is for vehicles outside of that, with the ability to carry at least two passengers and have a 100-mile range.  There will be two winners in the alternative class, each getting $2.5 million.

The 111 teams (totalling 136 vehicles) that have entered include no major automakers, surprisingly.  There is a special “demonstration division” in which some mainstream manufacturers are entering, but these are not comp

edition vehicles and are for publicity only. To get into this showcase, entrants must already be selling four-wheeled vehicles in the U.S. or Europe at more than 10,000 units per year.

Highlighted competitors in the real X Prize include Tesla Motors, Aptera, Tata Motors, the West Philly Hybrid X Team, and a lot of others.

Source: New York Times

Post from: Zoomi Life

Automotive X-Prize Competitors’ List Release: 136 Entries

Mitsubishi launched the series production of the iMiEV on June 5 and along with it came pictures of the actual production model for the little car.  The first batch of cars are to be leased to fleets in July (commercial and governmental) and consumer vehicles won’t be available until next year, and then only in Japan.

It appears that Mitsubishi is hoping to reduce costs by selling commercial models first, so they can iron out the production details and begin ramping up unit quantities.  Right now, the iMiEV has a price tag of about $45,500, before taxes and incentives. In Japan, after incentives, this comes down to about $31,000.

That’s still pretty steep for a subcompact, but it’s probably as good as it can get for a full-featured EV right now.  Hopefully, after some production has gotten underway, costs will drop and the price will go with it.

Source: Mitsubishi

Post from: Zoomi Life

Mitsubishi Releases iMiEV Final Production Model & Photos

Brammo has released a new video featuring a bike-mounted camera showing off the TTR racing bike on the road during trial runs.  Check it out!

Post from: Zoomi Life

Video: Brammo Enertia TTR Track Cam

Jay Leno had a look at the Zero S electric motorcycle and had Zero’s founder, Neal Saiki by to explain the bike.  Saiki gives some good commentary on the new motorcycle and some great information on several factors that are misunderstood regarding EVs versus regular machines.

For instance, the 32hp motorcycle is equivalent to a 50hp gasoline bike and weighs about 1/3 less than a comparable bike.  He also explains why the Zero S has a top speed of only 60mph and why they didn’t ad gearing to make it go faster.

This explanation is important, so pay attention. That reason is why Zero will be able to (and has announced plans for) put out a new street-only bike in the very near future–they’re calling it the MX.  They can use the same drive train and design they’ve been using and make changes only to the peripherals.  Good news for street riders!

The interview is pretty good, but the fun starts when Leno actually mounts the machine and starts to ride. Some questions arise from Leno about the bike’s horn and other stuff, but since the S is an enduro bike and not a street-only ride, they can be dismissed.  Overall, Leno seems to really like the Zero.

For more on the Zero bikes, watch this great Google Tech Talk.  It’s an hour long, but well worth the time:

Post from: Zoomi Life

Jay Leno’s Garage Looks at the Zero S

The much-argued “Cash for Clunkers” program will become law soon enough.  The House and Senate have agreed on wording and terms and where to put the bill to get it passed and signed by President Obama.

There are a few things to note about this bill and the surrounding controversies:

1. Much argument was given over funding, which settled at $1 billion.
2. To fund and pass the bill, Congress had to stuff it into the war spending bill (for Afghanistan and Iraq).
3. The total funding is barely 1/4 of the total estimated costs for this program.
4. The program is not likely to start until close to the end of the fiscal year (September 30).

These points are significant for several reasons, not the least of which is the apparent sneakiness going on to push the bill through. The Senate’s major concern (in debate) was the payouts for these trade-in vouchers.  They wanted higher mileage requirements and less money being paid.

In the House, the debate was mainly just how they could frame the bill so that it would pass the Senate.  It takes fewer votes in the 100-member Senate to make a bill into scrap paper, after all.  This bill was controversial from the beginning anyway.

The bill works pretty simply, but looks pretty easy to take advantage of too. The trade-in must have mileage numbers (mpg) at 18mpg or less (combined city/highway) and the new car being purchased must have at least four miles better than that to get a $3,500 voucher.  If the new car gets at least 10mpg higher than the trade-in, the voucher will be for $4,500.

Trucks are figured differently, with the replacement vehicle required to have at least 18mpg combined.  That’s not actually hard to achieve today, with the average pickup truck (in medium and heavy duty classes) getting closer to 20mpg.  The new vehicle only has to get 2mpg better than its trade-in counterpart, however.  A big concession to Detroit, it appears.

So a pickup truck that gets 15 city/19 highway will have a combined mileage of 17mpg.  This truck, if traded in for a heavy duty Ford diesel (21mpg combined) would be eligible for a $3,500 voucher towards that new truck.  If a dream were to come true and that pickup were traded for a Honda Insight (fat chance), the voucher would be for $4,500–which is about 1/4 of the Insight’s price tag.

Little heed was ultimately given to the two major concerns I have with this bill: a similar one in Europe (esp. Germany) proved to be disastrous in both budget and outcome and where does this money come from, exactly?

The first question involves how this bill will help car sales, if at all, and whether it is really doing anything to improve things environmentally or otherwise.  In Europe, for example, vehicles that would otherwise have been scrapped regardless were turned in under the government’s program because there is a huge difference between scrap price for a vehicle ($50 average) and a $3,500+ voucher.

This disparity hurt scrap yards and the industry, since the scrapped vehicles didn’t necessarily go to local scrappers and none of them ended up in the wrecking yard to be sold off as spare parts.  Not only that, but many of the purchasers were going to buy a car anyway, so the number of cars sold was not boosted nearly as much as was predicted with the law’s passage.

To further complicate things, analysts are predicting that a further slump will hit many European auto companies next year because the law may have enticed new buyers this year that would have otherwise waited until next.

Overall, no one who was not in the market to purchase a car inside the next 12 months seemed to be enticed into doing so because of the bill.  At least not in any numbers of note.

The scheme in Germany has gone over budget by millions and may be closed down due to the unforseen costs associated with the bill outside of the vouchers themselves.

The really big question here, for me at least, is why, exactly, did America so desperately need this bill?  If car buyers were going to buy anyway, if the cars being traded in were going to get scrapped regardless, and if new versus old is already at the bill’s listed efficiency numbers… what, exactly, is being gained here?

In my mind, nothing but improved government wastefulness, a lot of wasted money, and some fake green cred to the bill’s major supporters.

All I see is wasted time, effort, money, and hot air from the morons in Washington.  In other words: business as usual in D.C.

Post from: Zoomi Life

The Pending Cash for Clunkers Program: Failure From the Get-Go?

Built in France by Lumeneo, the SMERA is a tiny electric car that sells for about 24,500 Euros ($33,000USD).  The little EV debuted at the Geneva Motor Show in 2008 and has made some touring around Europe.  The car is now available in France and will soon be available throughout the European Union.

The little 2-seater is very thin and looks a lot like the cockpit portion of an Apache helicopter, with the passenger sitting just behind the driver.  The SMERA is capable of 80mph, does 0-60 in about 8 seconds, and goes about 90 miles on a charge.

The car went on sale in Paris in May and will be available in most of Europe by this time next year.

While the car is definitely kind of goofy to look at, it kind of grows on you to become really cool. Especially when you see some action shots, like that below, showing how it leans into a turn.  This kind of thing makes me think it’s got to be a lot of fun to drive.

The SMERA has two doors, two seats (the rear seat can be removed for increased cargo space), a very tight turning radius.  It’s total curb weight is about 770lbs (batteries are 180lbs of that) and is only 5.7 feet long.

IT uses brushless electric motors, puts out 30kW (40hp), has a 144V system with li-ion batteries.  As stated, it goes 80mph (130kp/h) with a range of up to 90 miles (150km).

Pretty nifty little car, though no plans for a North American release are given.

Source: Lumeneo

Post from: Zoomi Life

Lumeneo SMERA EV Now on Sale in France, Soon to Hit All of EU

NCAP is the highway safety assessor for seven European governments and is sort of like a combination of Consumer Reports and the IIHS in the U.S.  Unlike the IIHS, the NCAP says that small cars are very safe.

In a report issued on May 27th, the NCAP assesses the safety of several new cars, giving the highest award (five stars) to a number of lower-cost, small cars. The top performers were cars that some of us would consider “too small to succeed” in America:

• Honda Jazz
• Hyundai i20
• Kia Soul

I highly doubt the IIHS would give those cars the same rating. The NCAP spokesman, Michael van Ratingen, the Secretary General of Euro NCAP, says, “Many claim that the weight and size of a car is the only criteria for safety.  We believe that there are other aspects of safety that are just as important.  The smaller cars we tested whose results are released today show that size should not stand in the way of all-round safety.”

Source: Euro NCAP

Post from: Zoomi Life

Europe’s NCAP Finds Small Cars Are Safe

General Motors has issued a new commercial promoting their new “green” (attempted) image, their new company outlook, and a full minute of near-total bombardment with semi-patriotic, “strength” images designed to focus on GM as an American company.

Then comes the spoof.  Made by GMretardation.com, the spoof uses (mostly) the same imagery, but changes the narration to make a point.

GM’s “Reinvention” commercial:

GMretardation’s spoof:

Post from: Zoomi Life

Video: GM’s New Commercial and A Spoof Of the Propaganda