Electric Car Blogging

Filed under: Economy, Hybrids/Alternative, Trucks/Pickups, Chevrolet, GMC

Click above for high-res image gallery of the Pontiac G3

One day before the press converge on the LA Auto Show, General Motors has released pricing on its 2009 Chevrolet Silverado Hybrid, 2009 GMC Sierra Hybrid and the 2009 Pontiac G3. The full-size hybrid pickup trucks each feature GM’s patented two-mode hybrid drivetrain with a 6.0-liter V8 under the hood. Assisted by an electric motor, the trucks are rated to tow up to 6,100 pounds. Fuel economy is impressive for a pickup — they are rated at 21 mpg city and 22 mpg highway (2WD) when unladen. The base price for the Silverado is ,995 (including a 5 destination charge). The Sierra barely undercuts it with a starting price of ,365 (including 5 DFC). Production on the pickups starts in December, with delivery to dealers starting in early 2009. If trucks aren’t your thing, pricing on the all-new Pontiac G3 hatchback will squeak in at ,995 (including 0 DFC), making it the least expensive car in Pontiac showrooms. While you’ll drive home in air-conditioned comfort sipping fuel at 32 mpg on the highway, don’t expect much in the way of driving excitement.

[Source: General Motors]

Continue reading GM prices Silverado Hybrid, Sierra Hybrid, and Pontiac G3

GM prices Silverado Hybrid, Sierra Hybrid, and Pontiac G3 originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 18 Nov 2008 18:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Trends, Hybrids/Alternative, Sports/GTs, Green, Videos, Dodge

A few days ago we showed you some pics of the Dodge EV concept at a local car show in Southern California. It appears that the Dodge-branded, battery-powered Lotus Europa made a few other stops in the area as well, one of which was at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena. Alongside the EV, the Dodge boys were displaying, among other things, a Challenger SRT-8. Well, one thing led to another and before long a battle between ’60s retro muscle and modern electric power was underway. Lucky for us, someone was there with a video camera to capture the fraternal pissing match. This impromptu drag race doesn’t give us any clear indication of times, but you can definitely see the EV’s advantage of light weight and instant-on torque from a stop. The concept electric vehicle jumps ahead at the start, but the Challenger hangs on. Just when the big HEMI seems to be getting a full head of steam, however, they run out of space. We’ve embedded the video for you after jump. Check it out and let us know how you think this battle would play out on a real 1/4 mile drag strip.

[Source: ALLPAR]

Continue reading VIDEO: Dodge EV vs. Dodge Challenger

VIDEO: Dodge EV vs. Dodge Challenger originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 18 Nov 2008 14:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Hybrids/Alternative, Green, Chevrolet

The Chevy Volt isn’t quite ready to be unleashed on the public, mostly because its powertrain is entirely different than anything General Motors — or any other automaker — has ever produced. An extreme amount of testing is required, especially for the batteries, before GM is ready to put its Volt into dealerships. Having this extra time before pushing the car out has its advantages for the design team, which is free to make small, incremental changes to bits of the Volt that may have needed a little tweak here and there. For instance, Bob Boniface and his crew have revised the production car’s center stack with an altered LCD screen perched up top with a hood that matches the one over the gauge cluster. The new screen has smoother edges and looks more integrated into the dash. Boniface says that many people thought the old screen design was movable, which it wasn’t.

There are also new vents positioned vertically on either side of the iPod-like central cluster that hold all of the Volt’s controls. Those buttons now offer a more tactile sensation in the form of “pill-shaped targets” on each control. Also included in the revision are new audible that sound when buttons are activated. While all of these alterations seems rather minor, we appreciate each of them and think this equals a big improvement over an interior that we already liked.

Gallery: Chevy Volt Interior Revision

[Source: GM-Volt.com]

GM tweaks Chevy Volt interior for the better originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 18 Nov 2008 08:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Hybrids/Alternative, Government/Legal, Green, Celebrities

Rocker Neil Young has managed to create his own electric car out of an old Lincoln convertible. That’s awesome, and we congratulate Young on the amazing accomplishment. But as far as his ideas on how to fix Detroit, it seems that the singer’s plan has a few loose screws. Mr. Young suggests that the Feds give Detroit the money it needs to survive on the condition that the three remaining automakers stop building cars with gas-powered engines… right now. This, as you would imagine, presents a problem, considering that cars aren’t all that useful if they can’t provide actual transportation. Young’s got a solution to that problem too: each automaker must convert one plant to assemble “re-power kits” that would allow these cars to be retrofitted as “self charging electric vehicles.”

That sounds nice, doesn’t it? The only problem is that “self charging” EVs don’t exist. Batteries need power from somewhere, generally an outlet that gets its juice from the electrical grid. Furthermore, Young’s plan doesn’t actually account for how the car’s would be charged or where all the “transitional rollers’” batteries would come from. It’s a nice thought, but one that is entirely impossible at the moment.

[Source: Huffington Post via Autofiends]

Neil Young has the solution to Detroit’s woes originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 17 Nov 2008 17:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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