Ever wonder what it is that sparks the mind of an entrepreneur? After all, lots of people have big imaginations and great ideas, but only a relatively small number of them actually follow through, create a company and design a product. Of course, we can add Henrik Fisker to that list of entrepreneurs, and we’re definitely looking forward to seeing what else springs from his fertile mind.

So, back to the original question. In the case of Henrik Fisker, the inspiration for the Karma extended-range electric car came from none other than Leonardo DiCaprio. Actually, the actor’s Prius hybrid, to be specific. Says Fisker:

A couple of years ago it started, by people who were maybe a little ahead of their time. You saw some movie starts like Leonardo DiCaprio buying a Prius… He could have bought any car in the world, and I remember seeing that on television and thinking to myself, you know, when you′ve got a guy who could buy any Ferrari or Rolls Royce and he’s buying a Prius, you know something is changing dramatically.

Interesting little tidbit, no?

[Source: Reuters | Photo: Kevin Winter/Getty Images]

Fisker: Leonardo DiCaprio’s Prius inspired the Karma originally appeared on Autoblog Green on Sun, 08 Nov 2009 14:53:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Original post by Jeremy Korzeniewski

Original post by mac1520

When we last heard from Electric Vehicles International (EVI) they were displaying a trio of trucks at the Work Truck Show in Chicago that they had electrified at their facility in Mexico. Fast forward 7 months and we find none other than Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger on hand for the grand opening of the company’s relocated international headquarters in Stockton, California and a whole new slate of product in the works. EVI has partnered with a handful of companies, most significantly battery-maker Valence Technology, and will be offering entire vehicles, powertrains and plug-in conversions.

The vehicles on offer range from the tiny to the mighty. Not only will they be assembling the e-Zone from CT&T, but they will also produce commercial trucks from Classes 4 to 6, including a walk-in configuration based on chassis from Freightliner Custom Chassis Corp. The heavy duty haulers are said to have a top speed of 60 mph and will be available in a 60, 80 or 115 mile packages. Prices are between $120,000 and $180,000, depending on battery configuration. While sales deals haven’t yet officially been announced, it’s reported that UPS will taking delivery of a WI EVI (the walk-in version) for testing and the city of Stockton itself will be putting at least one appropriately-painted e-Zone on parking enforcement duty. Click here (link) for a brief newsclip about the plant and find press releases covering both the opening and the truck deal after the break.

[Source: EVI / Recordnet.com]

Continue reading Electric Vehicle International opens California headquarters, launches new lineup

Electric Vehicle International opens California headquarters, launches new lineup originally appeared on Autoblog Green on Sun, 08 Nov 2009 12:24:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Original post by Domenick Yoney

Original post by todbot

Zytek Engineering of the UK has been involved in the development of hybrid drive systems since at least the mid-1990s and motorsports has been part of the effort much of that time. This week, Zytek was honored for its efforts at the Professional Motorsport World Expo. Zytek developed the hybrid system that was raced by Panoz Motorsports twice in 1999 and, more recently, it developed the KERS-hybrid system used in the McLaren Mercedes M̤-24 Formula One car this year as well as the system used by Corsa Motorsports in its American Le Mans Series LM̡ car.

Zytek and Mercedes High Performance Engines began collaborating on the F1 system in 2007 and, in July, Lewis Hamilton scored the first victory for a hybrid system in a major international race series. Here in North America, the under-funded Corsa team scored a third place finish in the first race it ran with the hybrid system fully enabled. Limited testing meant Corsa didn’t have the opportunity to fully develop its system and had mixed results through the second half of the season. Nonetheless, the system is showing promise. Hopefully, in 2010 and beyond, it will see expanded use in ALMS if not Formula 1.

[Source: Professional Motorsport World Expo]

Zytek gets powertrain innovation prize for its racing hybrid/KERS originally appeared on Autoblog Green on Sun, 08 Nov 2009 08:43:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Original post by Sam Abuelsamid

Original post by Wolfy9048

In some ways, the all-electric Tesla Roadster and the plug-in hybrid Fisker Karma don’t compete. The difference in powertrains, which will filter down to the two compaies’ lower-cost models, the Tesla Model S and Fisker’s Project Nina vehicle, means that slightly different consumers are going to be interested in these cars. In other ways, though, Fisker and Tesla go head-to-head for the luxury green car market, and Tesla CEO Elon Musk isn’t afraid to fan the competition flames a bit.

According to Delaware Online, Musk recently told a Delaware audience (really, Delaware?) that, while he hopes Fisker succeeds, he has “some reservations about the feasibility of Fisker’s approach.” Why? Because “Fisker is very far from overcoming those [engineering obstacles to build an electric car].” Subtle.

This isnt′ the first time there’s been contention between the two. In courtrooms last year, Fisker and Tesla fought a battle over insider information that ended with “complete vindication” for Fisker. We’ll see if this latest dis causes any further comment from Fisker - a company not known for taking it lying down.

[Source: Delaware Online via earth2tech]

REPORT: Elon Musk says Fisker is “very far” from overcoming EV hurdles originally appeared on Autoblog Green on Sat, 07 Nov 2009 18:41:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Original post by Sebastian Blanco

Original post by default@goarticles.com (Charles Cridland)

Original post by default@goarticles.com (Ezra Drissman)

Now that General Motors has decreed that Buick will be one of its four core brands, its lineup will need to be fleshed out a bit. The Lucerne is going away momentarily and the mid-size Regal is on the way. However, that still leaves only three models, including the LaCrosse and Enclave. Earlier this year, GM took us on tour of the Buick design studio and showed off a six-vehicle lineup for Buick, with a new compact sedan as the entry point. That sedan is essentially just the Opel Astra with a Buick grille and a trunk and we’ve seen it running before with heavy camouflage.

It appears that Buick has now decided to peel that back and leave just the vinyl triangles for the remaining testing. That probably means the new “Excelle″ (as the previous model was known in China) will be hitting the streets sooner rather than later. Buick officials told us this car would be coming to North America. Since it rides on the same Delta II platform as the Cruze and Volt, it could be built in any number of plants, including Lordstown, Ohio and Detroit Hamtramck. Perhaps the most likely location would be the Orion, Michigan plant that is also building the new Aveo. At the time GM announced that the Aveo would be built in Orion, they said also said the plant would be able to build a C-Segment car. If that is the case, we′ll probably see the Buick launch sometime in 2011 as a 2012 model.

[Source: WorldCarFans]

Spy Shots: Buick “Astra” spotted running bra-less originally appeared on Autoblog Green on Sat, 07 Nov 2009 15:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Original post by Sam Abuelsamid