Electric Car Blogging

ZeaChem of Menlo Park, CA has learned to turn wood chips into ethanol for, get this, $1.10 a gallon or less. You’ll have to wait to 2010 until it’s available. How much wood chips will it take to say, run all of the cars in LA? Not sure about that, but still an interesting way to get ethanol just the same.

Check out the video from ZDNet on Zeachem:

Huddler has some photos from a new Tesla Roadster showroom in Silicon Valley, CA. According to the website they have a very nice showroom with modern furniture and surroundings. The following is their video of the visit.

Although a nation-wide plan will need to be in place as electric cars become more popular, General Motors is teaming up with 30 utilities in 37 states and with the Electric Power Research Institute hoping to have a charging infrastructure in place by 2010, when the Chevy Volt is supposed to be released on the public.

The challenges will be for the charging stations to be in safe areas open to the public, such as parking garages and meters, as well as workplace lots and making the children and weather proof.  They are going to have their hands full. They also have to think about overwhelming utilities during peak hours when the grid is already challenged.

Also, if gas prices fall, say to $3 a gallon by 2010, will all of this infrastructure be needed?

So John McCain was awash in the glow of the Chevy Volt last week, and he had nothing but good to say about the car. Even if the Volt is at least 18 months away from public release, and no one know how it will actually do once it is out there.  Obama and McCain have tripped over themselves to heap praise on the Volt. But according to Wired, McCain is especially excited.

“The eyes of the world are now on the Volt. It’s the future of America and the world,” McCain told a crowd of 500 GM autoworkers. The way McCain sees it, American-made fuel-efficient cars will save both the environment and the economy, and he promises to make sure they’re built if he’s elected president.

I’m not sure if he really believes The Volt can save America’s car industry, or if he is just courting the environment vote. He is suggesting a $300 million prize to whoever creates a battery with the “the size, capacity, cost and power to leapfrog the commercially available plug-in hybrids or electric cars.” That’s a lot of dough and I’ll believe it when I see the money.

pleiades-enterprises a California company that promotes NuAge Energy and new technology. The folding mini eBike (pictured) is powered by a 24-Volt li-ion solid polymer battery.

The Huffington Post, via TreeHugger, has a great article entitled 17 Electric Cars You Must Know About. Including the Tesla Roadster, Zenn Electric Car, and Clooney’s Tango Electric Car.

Technorati Tags: green, alternative energy

I ran across electric car maker BG Automotive Group on a forum this morning. They are going to be offering an affordable EV ($15,995), which will be assembled in the USA. It is a 4 door hatchback loaded with air conditioning, sunroof, AM/FM/CD,dual airbags, etc. I’ll keep you up to date on developments, such as when the EV will be available for sale.

http://www.BGelectricCars.com

Cracked.com has a funny article on supposed gas saving products that are just a scam. Funny stuff, especially the Bio Petro Improver, that is explained by a guy with some ill fitting shorts.