Electric Car Blogging

Filed under: EV/Plug-in, Hybrid, Chevrolet, GM

Over the past week, Bob Boniface has been doing a lot of talking about the Chevy Volt and Tuesday afternoon he’ll be at it again. For those who may not recognize the name, Boniface is the director of the E-Flex Design Studio at GM which includes responsibility for the look and feel of the production Chevrolet Volt. This time around Boniface will be participating in an online chat over at the GM Next site. If your questions about the design direction of the Volt or other E-Flex vehicles haven’t been answered sufficiently yet, you can log into the chat room at 3 pm EDT on Tuesday Aug. 19 and ask them yourself. We should be getting our first official look at the production Volt within the next few weeks.

[Source: GMNext]

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Filed under: Biodiesel, Diesel, Emerging Technologies, Ethanol, EV/Plug-in, Flex-Fuel, Green Culture, Hybrid, Hydrogen, Vegetable Oil, Boston AltWheels, Green Daily, NEV (Neighborhood Electric Vehicle)

Last year, the fifth annual AltWheels festival featured a lot of cool green car goodness - along with things like Darth Vader discussing HUMMER and a vegoil MINI. This year, the show returns to the Boston area for three days of greener transportation discussion and presentations, including a one-day fleet-centered show on September 29 that will feature what organizers are calling the “Largest Display of Alternative Fleet Vehicles on East Coast.” It certainly looks like a tempting way to spend the day, and should give the people responsible for spending the real big bucks on fuel a chance to figure out how best to reduce costs.

For the general public, the two-day show takes place on September 26 and 27 at the Boston City Hall Plaza (the Fleet Day is in Framingham, MA) and is part educational event and part fun fair. I have no inside information on whether or not the evil Anakin will make an appearance, but the organizers are promising “jugglers, unicyclists, clowns, face painting, and much more fun for families.” More details on Fleet Day are in the press release pasted after the jump and the general AltWheels site is here. I’m sure attendees will be posting their own reports online, but if any AutoblogGreen readers are headed to the show and want to share their photos or thoughts, drop us a line.

[Source: AltWheels]

Continue reading AltWheels returns to Boston area next month

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

Some states have laid out the red carpet for the three-wheeled electric vehicles from ZAP! by offering rebates and issuing executive orders while some states are trying to pull the rug out from under owners by invalidating their registrations. This is now the case in Maine where Xebra owner, Tom Joyal, has received a letter from the state government telling him his little electric Xebra doesn’t conform to the state’s motor vehicle code and that they are revoking his registration. A spokesperson for the Secretary of State says a number of vehicles, “have been brought to their attention” because people are trying to find ways of coping with higher gas prices. The owner disagrees with the states assessment and claims he is in compliance because it adheres to the definition of an autocycle.

So who is right? After meticulously combing the 251-page Maine Motor Vehicle Inspection Manual (PDF) we conclude that Mr. Joyal appears to be mostly within the boundaries of the law, though he may want to consider installing a roll bar if he wants to be sure to pass inspection. Although the law states that an autocycle is “…an enclosed motorcycle, originally manufactured as an autocycle. It is designed to have no more than three wheels in contact with the ground at any time,” an inspector must reject the vehicle if it’s does not have said roll bar. The office of the Secretary of State may take another look at the situation and has issued a statement saying, “We certainly want to take an opportunity to review the vehicle and the way that it is configured, see how that fits within the existing confines of state law and see what changes to make to either the vehicle or to the law to make it a viable alternative for people.” We hope Mr. Joyal has a lot of patience and wish him good luck.

[Source: WCSH6]

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Filed under: EV/Plug-in, Ford, USA

Back in the day, the Ford Pinto was most famous for the occasional gas tank explosion when involved in a rear-end collision. When you design a car with that kind of feature engineering flaw and then combine it with doors that jam shut in the same type of crash, people are going to talk. Nowadays, there’s a Pinto in Alaska with fire-orange paint developing a reputation for a exploding off the drag strip starting line that’s got people talking. This pony lacks a gas tank so you know all that smoke must be coming from the tires, though the lack of a screaming V8 might try to fool your senses. The car is owned by the president of the Alaskan chapter of the Electric Vehicle Association, Mike Willmon, and can tear up a quarter mile of tarmac in as little as 12.576 seconds and tops out at 127 mph. Yeah, we’ve seen faster cars too, but we’re talking Pinto here! You can get lots of details on the rig at its EV Album page then sit back and watch the electric streak dubbed “Crazy Horse” take on a few “gassers” after the jump.

[Source: Anchorage Daily News / YouTube]

Continue reading VIDEO: Electric Pinto only explodes off the starting line

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