Electric Car Blogging

The GSMA, a trade group representing more than 750 GSM mobile operators across 218 countries, has launched a plan to help mobile operators in developing markets go green.

The organization announced Thursday the Green Power for Mobile initiative, which will help the industry use renewable energy sources, such as solar, …

The solar power installation at Applied Materials’ headquarters is further evidence that companies looking to go green should think blacktop.

The Sunnyvale, Calif.-based maker of gear for making high-tech products announced Friday that it has completed the installation a pair of solar power systems that together can produce 2….

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 7,000 worth (unaudited) of vehicles in August, compared to 2,000 in August 2007. Back in April 2007, Zap announced a “sale” of 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 7,000 worth of electric vehicles in August

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: EV/Plug-in, On Two Wheels, USA

Jay Leno often gets to try some pretty sweet rides but this week’s featured machine was cool AND green. It’s not the first electric two-wheeler to drop by the the late-night comedian’s automotive haunt but the Zero X electric off-road motorcycle is arguably the coolest. As Jay explains in the video, he likes vehicles that are the result of a singular vision and the Zero X is a perfect example of that. It’s creator, Neil Saiki, took 5 years to design and build every millimeter of the bike until he was satisfied with the result. And what a result. Built on an aircraft-aluminum frame, it weighs only 140 lbs. and has enough energy in its modular battery to carry you 20 to 40 miles, depending on your riding style. It also fully recharges in two hours from a household outlet or half that time with 220 volts. Like other electric bikes, there are no gears, no clutch and no noise. The Zero X is available now through their website and costs ,450. There is a light kit available to make it street legal, but if you have a little patience, Neal mentions they will have a street-specific bike coming out in January. We can’t wait. Hit the jump for the video.

[Source: Jay Leno's Garage]

Continue reading VIDEO: Jay Leno gets the Zero X in his garage

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: EV/Plug-in, Mitsubishi

The latest expansion of Mitsubishi’s electric car program will be made official today in Iceland. The small North Atlantic nation will join the test efforts for the Mitsubishi iMiEV during 2009. Iceland’s president Olafur Ragnar Grimsson will be signing a memorandum of understanding with the Japanese automaker to bring the diminutive EV to the island. Iceland has already been active for nearly three decades in making its energy supplies renewable. Virtually of all Iceland’s electrical power comes from geothermal or hydro power.

[Source: Mitsubishi]

Continue reading Iceland to test Mitsubishi iMiEV electric cars

Permalink | Email this | Comments

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

Not long ago, several important companies with interests in the utility and energy businesses created the GridWise Alliance. The group, which recently added fifteen new members (still no CA Edison), announced a meeting next week in Washington D.C. to discuss smart grids, how they can help us reduce our carbon footprint and how they are affected by the Energy Act of 2007.

According to their website, the Gridwise alliance aims for “an electric system that integrates the infrastructure, processes, devices, information and market structure so that energy can be generated, distributed, and consumed more efficiently and cost effectively; thereby achieving a more resilient, secure and reliable energy system.” For us, this means that electric networks need to be adapted for plug-in cars. As we pointed out, our current electricity grid is dumb and does not distinguish what we plug into our socket walls - and there are serious concerns about the capacity of power plants to feed new electric demand. Smart meters should allow EVs to purchase electricity at certain times, such as during the night, when there’s less electricity demand.

[Source: Gridwise]

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: Etc., EV/Plug-in, BMW, Mercedes Benz, Legislation and Policy, Daimler

Have you ever traveled around with a plug adapter for different wall sockets? The need for a car version of these adapters, albeit in a much larger scale, is what BMW’s Klaus Draeger and Daimler’s Thomas Weber discussed at the 2008 World Automotive Congress of FISITA, the international association of automotive engineers. Both said that the EV technology, vital if we want to curb CO₂ emissions, could be so expensive that single automakers might not be able to cope with its cost. They also called for industry-wide component standards for suppliers early in the research and development phases to prevent duplication of effort for major components such as electrical vehicle batteries. FISITA itself, like the IEEE for the electronic industry, could be an ideal framework for the harmonization of pollution regulations and technical standards.

[Source: Automotive News Europe (subs. req'd)]

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: Economy, Hybrids/Alternative, Sedans/Saloons, Green, Volkswagen, First Drive

The state of California has the toughest vehicle emissions regulations in the world in its LEV II (and the corresponding national Tier 2 Bin 5) standards. Those rules treat all engine types the same regardless of what fuel they use. It doesn’t matter if the engine runs on gasoline, diesel or cow dung, the emissions standards are the same. These rules are so tight that no manufacturer has been able to sell light-duty passenger vehicles powered by diesel engines in California and four other states for the last several years. That’s all about to change beginning with last month’s sales launch of the 2009 Volkswagen Jetta TDI. The Jetta TDI is the first new diesel-powered car to meet the tough T2B5 standards, and it’s fitting that VW invited us out to the birthplace of these emissions regulations to drive it. We spent a day driving the Jetta TDI in and around Santa Monica to gauge whether it has the right balance of Fahrvergnügen and low fuel consumption to be a viable alternative to cars like the Prius, Civic and Focus. Continue after the jump to find out more.

Photos Copyright (C)2008 Sam Abuelsamid / Weblogs, Inc.

Continue reading First Drive: 2009 Volkswagen Jetta TDI

Permalink | Email this | Comments