Hybrid News

Filed under: EV/Plug-in, Nissan

Imagine a world where you don’t buy cars any more and none of the cars that we do drive emit anything. Unlike the present, where no one buys Nissans Carlos Tavares believes not buying cars at all will eventually happen as a result of moving to car sharing. Such a system might be similar to what we see today with the likes of ZipCar, just on a much larger scale where customers pay for access to cars on an as-needed basis. Long before we get to that point though, Nissan plans to start selling electric cars to the public, beginning in 2010 in markets like Israel and Denmark before moving globally a couple of years later. At the Automotive News Green Car Conference, Tavares told the audience that company’s first EV would have a similar price to other current small cars. Considering what lithium ion batteries cost, this might come as a surprise. However, that’s because as with the toys you buy your kids at Christmas, batteries are not included in the box. The batteries will be leased separately and Tavares believes that even with this extra expense the total cost of ownership over the life of the car will be lower than a gasoline equivalent. Exactly what that cost will be has not yet been revealed.

[Source: Automotive News - sub. req’d]

Nissan’s EV to cost same as conventional car… before leasing batteries originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Fri, 14 Nov 2008 14:24:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Original post by Sam Abuelsamid

Filed under: EV/Plug-in, Hybrid

One of the key functions necessary to maximize the capability of hybrid and electric vehicles is regenerative braking. For those who haven’t been paying attention, regenerative braking uses the property of electric motors where mechanically driving the motor causes it to act as a generator producing electric current. In order to facilitate this, a brake system that can monitor the driver’s braking request and then seamlessly blend the maximum amount of regenerative braking with a corresponding amount of friction is needed. All of the major electronic braking system suppliers including Bosch, Continental Teves and TRW have developed such systems. TRW’s system, dubbed Slip Control Boost (SCB) had its first production application on the General Motors two-mode hybrid SUVs and the fuel cell Equinox that is being used for Project Driveway. Because hybrids and EVs don’t necessarily have a vacuum source available for brake boost, the SCB system incorporates a hydraulic brake booster and a high pressure accumulator to supply brake pressure on demand. SCB also provides full slip control functionality, including ABS, traction control and stability control. TRW has just announced a second-generation version SCB2 that is 25 percent smaller and lighter than the original. The SCB2 system can also be used on diesel vehicles to replace the vacuum pump or hydraulic assist systems for the brakes. This should also be a lower cost which will contribute to automakers reducing the costs of their hybrid and electric vehicles.

Full disclosure: prior to becoming a full-time writer last year, I worked as a controls software engineer at TRW and worked on the original SCB system.

[Source: TRW]

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Original post by Sam Abuelsamid

Filed under: EV/Plug-in, Hybrid, Ford, Green Daily

Back in June, Ford asked students at five universities to re-imagine the Model T for the 21st Century. Ford’s gotten a bit of mileage out of fanciful updates to the iconic vehicle over the years, and this latest round saw the German team from the ika (Institute of Automotive Engineering Aachen) at Aachen University beat out teams from Australia, California and Michigan with a three-seat version that can be used with an all-electric or hybrid drivetrain. Aside from the EV nature of the vehicle, the best part is that this concept could be sold for under $7,000.

The ika students won $25,000 in scholarship funds for their design, which features a centrally-placed driver’s seat in the very lightweight vehicle (800 kg). CO₂ emissions will range between 54 and 100 grams per kilometer, depending on powertrain. Second place went to the team from the Deakin University in Melbourne, Australia.

Continue reading We Wish. Students design hyper-efficient “Ford Model T for 2015″

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Original post by Sebastian Blanco

Filed under: EV/Plug-in, Tesla Motors, First Drive

Click above for high-res gallery of Tesla Roadster v1.5

Last January we landed an exclusive first drive of the Tesla Roadster. We were impressed, but well aware that the particular two-gear model we drove that wet afternoon wasn’t identical to the version set to land in customers’ hands later in the year. Last week, we were invited back to briefly test drive a genuine production model with the latest transmission and software updates (aka “powertrain 1.5″). Check out our round-two impressions after the jump.

Continue reading Driven: 2009 Tesla Roadster ҝ.5

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Original post by John Neff

Filed under: EV/Plug-in, Green Culture, Green Daily

Following in the footsteps of our friend Andrew Angellotti, another teenager has taken it upon himself to convert a vehicle to fun on electric power on his own time. This time, the story revolves around 17-year-old Lucas Laborde, who took an old Bradley GT II kit car and put in about 150 hours to swap the engine for an electric motor and a set of batteries providing 96 volts. Luke’s father bought him the $5,000 vehicle on eBay and then spent another $5,700 on the parts needed to make it run on electricity, according to the AP. One problem he had was that the 640 pounds worth of lead-acid batteries caused the frame to warp and the doors to not close. The windshield wipers don’t work yet and the car has a top speed of just 45 miles per hour, but it’s clear from the article that none of these shortcomings make Luke any less proud of his work. Congrats, and if anyone’s got pictures, send ‘em in.

[Source: AP via Green Daily]

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Original post by Sebastian Blanco

Filed under: EV/Plug-in, Legislation and Policy

The county passenger fleet in Broome County, New York (halfway between Buffalo and NYC) used about 191,000 gallons of fuel, at a cost of $468,000, in 2006. While the county cut back and used 6,000 fewer gallons in 2007, the total cost for the fuel went up (we all know why) by $5,000. With numbers like these, it’s easy to understand why county government officials were excited to see the Vantage Vehicle electric van last week. Government employees were able to test drive the Vantage and a peek at the county’s 2008 numbers suggests that they’re probably excited to give electric drive a shot. The county has already spent $497,00 on about 150,000 gallons of fuel in 2008. They expect to use about 200,000 before 2008 the year up.

The EVan was brought to Broome County by CleanVehiclesNY, a company that distributes EVs from Miles Electric Vehicles, Vantage Vehicles, Star Electric Vehicles, Bravo Electric Vehicles and EVS Electric Vehicles.

[Source: Go Broome County]

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Original post by Sebastian Blanco

Filed under: EV/Plug-in, Green Daily, European Union

Back in 1993, eBay.de member goldlad⾑ imported the electric car you see above from Miami to Germany. Fast forward 15 years and the car is now ready for a new home. Similar to the old CitiCar, this boxy EV was designed for mail carrier duties (hence the right hand drive) and is likely the only vehicle of its type in Germany. One ironic angle is that the owner needed to install a gas heater in the car to defrost the windows thanks to motor vehicle requirements back in the day (all of this info is taken from the item description). There are 1,300 kilometers on the odometer, but the batteries haven’t been charged in many years. Also, you’ll need to inflate the tires.

There are two days left in the auction and the bidding is up to $1,490 U.S. Other details are available at the eBay site, and if you’re thinking of buying this vehicle but can’t read the German, just post a comment and I’ll translate further. For now, I’ll assume that if you’re interested in this car, you’re in Germany and can decipher the caveats. Actually, perhaps the former owner in Miami wants the car back now? Thanks to Max S. for the tip!

[Source: eBay]

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Original post by Sebastian Blanco

Filed under: EV/Plug-in, Green Culture, Solar, Volkswagen, Green Daily

Utah is a state that gets a lot of sun but not a lot of attention on these pages for their green transportation moves. Still, it does seem that the DIY crowd is strong there. Remember the homemade Ariel Atom? That’s not the only homemade vehicle taking to the street in the state.

Kyle Dansie and Michael Mielke run ZEVUtah (Zero Emission Vehicles of Utah) and are two strong proponents of taking control of your transportation energy sources. The Salt Lake Tribune ran a story recently about the 1994 VW Golf that the two converted to all-electric drive with solar panels on the roof. They draw extra power from the solar panels deployed on the roof. This isn′t an EV for everyone, but the 65 mph top speed and 40 mile range should be enough for most people to use on a daily basis - at least, people who can swallow the $10,000 price tag for the electric components on top of whatever it costs to buy the Golf. There’s a multimedia slideshow of the converted car here and ZEVUtah contains detailed descriptions on what happened during the conversion and explains why decisions were made as they were. Very helpful if you’re thinking of tinkering yourself.

[Source: Salt Lake Tribune]

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Original post by Sebastian Blanco

Filed under: EV/Plug-in, Green Culture, Green Daily

Great Scott! An all-electric 1981 DeLorean DMC-12 is now up on eBay for the bargain price of $15,600. Well, it’d be a bargain if it could jump through time and wasn’t under the reserve price. The one-off conversion was done by the seller and a friend and uses a WarP 9 electric motor that gets juice from thirteen 12 volt 100 amp-hour deep cycle Deka 9A31 Intimidator AGM batteries (they take up the trunk and underhood spaces. These can power the car for a 40-mile range and recharge in eight hours from a standard wall plug or 2-3 hours from a 220-volt outlet. The seller has put a series of videos about the car up on YouTube, including “Shifting gears in a clutchless Electric DeLorean,” which we’ve pasted after the jump. Drawbacks to the home conversion are that the heater and A/C have been disconnected.

The seller promises that “If the Buy It Now option is used, I will include the custom build “Flux Capacitor” shown in the pictures.” That BIN price is a cool $100,000, so you might just want to save your pennies for a Mr. Fusion. H/t to Mike for the tip.

[Source: eBay]

Continue reading Do not drive over 88 mph: all-electric DeLorean for sale on eBay

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Original post by Sebastian Blanco

Filed under: EV/Plug-in, Zap

Zap’s been having a pretty good last few weeks. There was the groundbreaking at the Kentucky plant and now we hear that August electric vehicle sales set a new record. According to a new release from Zap (pasted after the jump), the company sold $737,000 worth (unaudited) of vehicles in August, compared to $392,000 in August 2007. Back in April 2007, Zap announced a “sale” of $79 million, but we had questions about that.

Considering the earlier questions, I asked Zap for some clarification of the most recent sale numbers, including how many of each EVs were sold. I wondered if this was another “sale” to a partner, but Zap’s response indicates that this is not the case this time: “Sales are mostly to individual consumers. Don’t have a breakdown but most of the sales were for trucks,” they wrote to AutoblogGreen. That’s what we know.

[Source: ZAP]

Continue reading Zap sells $737,000 worth of electric vehicles in August

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Original post by Sebastian Blanco

Filed under: EV/Plug-in, Tesla Motors, Green Daily, USA

click above for more of Eberhard and his Tesla Roadster

By describing the cost to charge an electric vehicle as “squishy,” Martin Eberhard begins a post on his Tesla Founders Blog on the right foot. Seriously. That’s because it’s a very difficult question to answer and it totally depends on where you live, what company your power is coming from and when you charge it. There are other factors too, such as what, if any, alternative sources you have and how much power you usually use on an average day. To help explain all of these little details, Eberhard has made a spreadsheet based on Northern California’s rates from Pacific Gas and Electric.

After doing all the math, Martin figures that it costs him 3.6 cents per mile to run his Roadster. That’s more than he initially figured but still just a small fraction of what it would cost to run on gas. For instance, at $4.00 a gallon, a car that gets over 40 miles per gallon would still cost double per mile to operate. Of course, YMMV. To help figure it all out, Martin suggests that you create your own spreadsheet and share it with the rest of the class.

[Source: Tesla Founders Blog]

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Original post by Jeremy Korzeniewski

Filed under: EV/Plug-in, GM, AutoblogGreen Exclusive, Green Daily, At Witz End

NOTE: If you missed them, you can read parts one and two.

High tech development, market launch and retreat

Because its 1,175-pound pack of 27 advanced lead-acid (PbA) batteries - 26 propulsion, one for accessories - held a mere half-gallon of gasoline-equivalent energy, the production E͝ would have to be an incredibly efficient teardrop-shaped two-seater to achieve even barely acceptable range. Stretching it to accommodate four passengers would have reduced its already very modest range some 25 percent due to added weight and aero drag.

“The fundamental variables are mass, aerodynamics, rolling resistance, accessory loads and driveline efficiency,” says Bob Purcell, who was our Advanced Technology Vehicles (ATV) Div. Executive Director. “So the exercise was to ensure that we would meet all customer requirements using the least possible energy in each of those areas.”

Continue reading after the jump.

Continue reading At Witz’ End: GM EV1 - The Real Story, Part III

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Original post by Gary Witzenburg

Filed under: Etc., EV/Plug-in, AutoblogGreen Exclusive, Green Daily

click to enlarge

When Daryl Hannah sold her biodiesel El Camino on eBay earlier this year we didn’t think it would herald a full-scale shift from biofuels to electric cars, but at the very least it moves her more into the hybrid zone (i.e., she supports multiple fuel alternatives, including this hybrid bike). Whatever the case, Hannah is currently in full-EV promotion mode and recently taped a segment for The Daily Show with new guy Wyatt Cenac (who doesn’t know he’s adopted).

The taping happened as part of the Electric Vehicle Rolling Showcase with our friend Paul Scott (the guy on the right in this picture) who is in Denver as part of the Democratic Convention happening this week. Paul describes how the Hannah interview went after the jump. Paul works with Plug In America, a tireless advocacy group that promotes electric vehicles and is working with Chris Paine on the sequel to Who Killed The Electric Car?

Aside from the Daily Show excitement, Paul was glad that, “the McCain supporters were there to supply some much needed humor.” Sounds like a fun time.

[Source: Paul Scott / Plug-In America]

Continue reading Electric Vehicle Rolling Showcase brings Daryl Hannah to the Daily Show

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Original post by Sebastian Blanco

Filed under: EV/Plug-in, Legislation and Policy, Zap, Green Daily

There has been a lot of noise in Kentucky recently as state elected officials work to bring a large electric car factory to the area. A month ago, Democrats and Republicans were fighting over just who could hold the earlier press conference with representatives from Zap. Then, two weeks ago, the governor issued an executive order to allow low-speed three wheelers like Zap’s Xebra on the roads. On Friday, officials from the Kentucky Economic Development Finance Authority gave the green light to offer a $48m tax credit package to Integrity Manufacturing of Bullitt County for an $84m plant that could be used by Zap to build electric vehicles. A final deal is expected this week, says the Courier-Journal, and Zap could employ anywhere between 500 and 2,500 workers in Kentucky (or maybe Indiana, if the Kentucky deal falls through) some time after the plant is up and running in late 2009.

[Source: Courier-Journal]

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Original post by Sebastian Blanco

Filed under: EV/Plug-in, UK

People who insist that cruising the streets of London should be done in an electric vehicle like the G-Wiz (pictured) can′t really complain that the city isn′t supporting them them with ways to power their rides (see also here and here). The latest addition to the EV charging infrastructure in London will be in the southern and western parts of the city - in the buroughs of Wandsworth, Richmond Upon Thames, Sutton and Hammersmith & Fulham - and is made up of nine new charging stations. The devices go online tomorrow and will be open to unlimited used for anyone willing to drop a £100 annual fee. The exact locations of the charging stations is listed here. The chargers, called Elektrobays (others are known as Juice Points), are a joint project of SWELTRAC, Transport for London, the Energy Saving Trust, EDF Energy and Elektromotive. Thanks to Adam V.

[Source: Smart Planet]

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Original post by Sebastian Blanco