Electric Car Blogging

Filed under: Emerging Technologies, EV/Plug-in

The EnerDel li-ion battery company continues charging ahead in Indiana. The company got a visit from governor Mitch Daniels today at its Indianapolis location and the big news for EnerDel is that the Indiana Economic Development Corporation has offered the company up to .125m in “performance-based tax credits and up to ,000 in training grants based on the company’s job creation plans.” Those plans include creating over 850 new jobs between now and the end of 2012. Gov. Daniels was suitably impressed, saying in a statement that, “When those jobs are in a technology of tomorrow, like electric cars, it offers the prospect of even bigger news to follow. Indiana has what it takes to lead this automotive revolution and today is step one.” Currently, Ener1 (which owns EnerDel) currently employs 92 people at the Indy location. More details after the jump.

[Source: Ener1]

Continue reading Indiana offers Ener1 million for new clean car tech jobs

Permalink | Email this | Comments

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

Note: read part one of this story here.

Pause and rebirth

I joined the GM EV effort in April, 1991 and began pulling together a small team of test and development engineers and technicians at GM’s Proving Grounds near Milford, MI.

One vivid early memory was driving the Impact concept car down a long, steep Proving Grounds hill early one August morning on the way to demonstrate it to a meeting of GM’s Board of Directors. There was a sweeping curve near the bottom of this hill that I routinely drove nearly every day on my way to test tracks.

Suddenly, as I sped downhill toward that curve, I remembered that the Impact rolled on skinny, low-rolling-resistance experimental tires, and had almost no brakes. Visions of an expensive career-ending crash flashed through my head. Then I remembered that I could dial up “coast-down” regenerative braking with a rheostat knob between the seats, and that slowed the slippery little bullet enough to make the turn. Whew!

The pause
Sixteen months of hard work later — on Pearl Harbor Day, Dec. 7, 1992 — our fearless leader, Ken Baker, had to tell our Lansing, Mich. Craft Centre plant team, who were preparing to build our breakthrough electric vehicle, that the program had been delayed. Then he had to deliver that same emotional message to his engineers at GM’s Warren, MI Technical Center.

The story continues after the jump.

Continue reading At Witz’ End - EV1 - The Real Story, Part II

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: Hybrids/Alternative, Green

click to visit AutoblogGreen

AutoblogGreen discovered two unusual cross-country trips yesterday. In one, called WillieRun, the drivers plan to use just one* tank of biodiesel to go from NYC to LA. The other will see a wood-burning Dodge truck go there and back again. These trips both take place next month. What are you doing in September?

• Trident Iceni, a biodiesel-powered supercar, would get 57 mpg for just £75,000
• Michigan grad designs and builds Homeless Utility Vehicle
• WillieRun - from New York to Cali on one* tank of gas
• Charlie Rose talks to Wagoner, Volt price in the mid to upper 30s
• Peugeot updates the 407 with improved 2-liter diesel and Flex-Fuel options
• Paris Preview: Peugeot RC Hybrid concept
• 007’s Ford Ka powered by hydrogen?
• Bombardier signs 5 million dollar contracts for hybrid locomotives
• Ex-Tesla employee electric motorcycle prototype gets driven
• Continental introduces force feedback accelerator pedal
• Volkswagen adds a new TSI engine to its lineup, goes common-rail as well
• Green light for Bosch and Samsung’s joint venture for battery development
• Wood-burning Dodge trucks smoldering for coast-to-coast trip
• GM Diesel engineering director describes the new Duramax 4.5L V8
• China produces its first freight hybrid locomotive

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments