Electric Car Blogging

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

Click to enlarge and for more spy shots of the Chevy Volt

The question of when and where the world will finally be properly introduced to the highly-anticipated Chevy Volt has been answered. Interested? Yeah, we thought so. Later this month, likely either on Monday, Sept. 15th or Tuesday, Sept. 16th, General Motors will unveil its new series hybrid in Detroit. The event will take place at The General’s Centennial party and we expect that the gas-saver will be the official guest of honor. While we’ve seen a few cars which appear to have the Volt’s final body shape pretty much intact, most recently on the set of the upcoming Transformers sequel, all of those cars have actually been nothing more than body shells on the guts of Chevy Malibus. GM’s very own Bob Lutz, though, assures us that the Volt’s electric underpinnings have been running around with nary a problem disguised as last-generation Chevy sedans.

[Source: Automotive News, sub. req'd]

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

A pretty typical American summer vacation is loading up the car and going on a road trip to see some of this nation’s history - Washington, D.C. or that harbor in Boston, for example. If you’re a little more concerned about America’s future, take a page from the video-happy McCullough family that’s planning a trip called Our Renewable Nation. Long-time AutoblogGreen readers will recognize the family as the one’s who brought you Darth Vader’s Hummer and other videos.

The family’s idea for summer 2009 is to travel the U.S. in a veggie-oil-powered VW Beetle and visit sustainable energy locations as well as EV makers like Tesla, Zenn, Poulsen and Aptera along the way. The trip website is currently pretty sparse, but expect daily blog posts and lots of videos from the happy campers once things get roling in May. For now, watch the preview videos of the trip after the break and check out EVCast #58 for an interview with Colin.

[Source: Colin M.]

Continue reading Our Renewable Nation: just a simple family road trip to electric car companies across the U.S.

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Filed under: Emerging Technologies, EV/Plug-in

With expected onslaught of new plug-in vehicles over the next few years, there will surely be some increased demand for electrical generating capacity. However, with coal being the dominant source of energy for power plants in the United States, the total life cycle benefits are questionable. There is of course the possibility of controlling emissions from stationary sources like power plants, but frankly our recent governments have been reluctant to actually force power producers to make changes, especially to older existing plants. There are of course plenty of efforts to harness the power of the sun, wind and tides.

One of the latest attempts is a new power plant on Hawaii’s Big Island that will consume biomass to produce electricity. The Hu Honua Bioenergy Facility will produce 24MW and supply about 7-10 percent of the island’s power needs. The biomass will all be locally produced and used in the plant rather than put into landfills. While it’s certainly better to use the materials for power generation than to put in a dump, the big question is why dump it in the first place? Even without the power plant, such materials should at least be composted rather than buried.

[Source: Renewable Energy World via EcoGeek]

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Filed under: EV/Plug-in, Manufacturing/Plants, Aptera, USA

Click above for more images of the Aptera Typ1 e

Aptera has been making some key hires these last few months in an effort to bring together the best team possible, to make its three-wheeled electric vehicle as good as they can be and to bring them to market as quickly as is feasible. The latest hire from the California-based company is Paul Wilber, who will now serve as the expectant-automaker’s new president and CEO. Wilbur had been serving as president and CEO of Detroit-based American Specialty Cars and Saleen.

Just a little while ago, Aptera brought on Neil Hannemann to serve as its VP of program management and manufacturing. Hannemann had previously been on both the Dodge Viper and Ford GT programs. Just a wee bit later, the eco-friendly company hired Tony Kirton to serve as its Chief Marketing Officer. Kirton had been working in similar roles for Audi of America and BMW’s South African subsidiary.

In other interesting news, Aptera says in its latest press release, pasted after the break, that it is scouring the Southern U.S. for manufacturing plants. Nothing yet has been finalized, but we do know that California is keenly interested in keeping electric car companies in state, so this is a situation that bears watching.

[Source: Aptera]

Continue reading Aptera hires Paul Wilbur as new president and CEO, looking to build new plant

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Filed under: EV/Plug-in, Chrysler

Click the Dodge Zeo for a high-res gallery

As has become the custom in recent years, Chrysler unveiled a trio of concept vehicles at last January’s Detroit Auto Show. This years designs all had one thing in common: electric drive. The Jeep Renegade and Chrysler EcoVoyager were both range extended EVs while the Dodge Zeo was a pure battery electric design. This month, Chrysler is finally launching sales of its first hybrids but co-president Jim Press told a media gathering on Tuesday that three new electric drive prototypes would be shown to dealers at a meeting later in September. Press didn’t give any indication of when the vehicles would go on sale but did say that plug-in hybrid vehicles are the first priority with new platforms being developed with electrification in mind. Press also told the Motor Press Guild meeting that Chrysler still has access to the Daimler’s technology and that the company is working with several different battery suppliers.

[Source: Automotive News - sub. req'd]
Photos Copyright (C)2008 Sam Abuelsamid / Weblogs, Inc.

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Filed under: EV/Plug-in, SMART

click to enlarge

We’re already jealous of people who get to test drive the all-electric smart ed, but what about people who get to drive them day after day? Daimler released photos today (see gallery below) of just such a test fleet in Islington, UK. The test of the diminutive two-seaters is being conducted by partners Urban Splash, Islington and Coventry Councils, Foster & Partners, CarbonNeutral Company, EDF Energy and Amey, according to BenzInsider.

If you’re curious why we like the smart ed so much, check out Daimler’s own description of the ride, which reminds us that these cars can go over 70 miles between full, eight-hour charges and get 300 mpge. Thanks to the UK’s increasing availability of public EV charging stations, Daimler says that the smart ed’s daily operational range in the London area is around 100 miles. Yeah, we’re jealous.

[Source: BenzInsider, Daimler]

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Filed under: EV/Plug-in, Hybrid

On Monday September 1, SB Li Motive Co. officially went into business with the goal of producing automotive grade lithium ion batteries by 2011. The company is a joint venture between Bosch and Samsung SDI. Samsung SDI already has experience with consumer electronics batteries and Bosch will work with the Korean company to develop batteries suitable for hybrid and electric vehicles. Bosch is already producing electric drive motors that will be used in the new Mercedes-BMW mild hybrid system that launches in 2009. Getting into the battery business will give the German supplier a product to replace systems like fuel injection and exhaust after-treatment that will eventually be supplanted in the migration to electrically driven vehicles.

[Source: Bosch]

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Filed under: EV/Plug-in, Chevrolet, GM, Green Daily

Now that we’ve seen at least a blurry vision of the Chevy Volt’s exterior and a Photoshopped front end (above), how about hearing a bit more about the inside, specifically the batteries? According to GM’s master of ceremonies vice chairman, Bob Lutz, the lithium ion battery packs that are powering the Volt mules around GM’s test tracks are “performing flawlessly.”

We heard already that GM has picked a battery supplier, and this has got to be good news for either Continental/A123 Systems or LG Chem/Compact Power Inc. Lutz continued: “It’s almost scary we are not seeing any problems with the batteries.”

There is one big potential flaw, though: price. Durability and longevity predictions are showing that the batteries will work as hoped, but in their cost projections, GM is expecting each and every Volt will need a new battery pack while it is under warranty. Thanks to Dave T.

[Source: Kicking Tires]

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