Th!nk coming to Elkhart, Indiana
Th!nk, the Norwegian electric car company, is coming to America and will setup shop in Elkhart, Indiana. This is great news for Th!nk and American car buyers because it will add another viable small electric car to our market in the coming years. Learn more about Th!nk.
Finally a Production Plug-In Hybrid
Finally a hybrid worth buying. The 2011 Toyota Prius will be a plug-in hybrid which will get you around town at normal speeds on electric power. When the batteries run low the gasoline motor will kick-in taking you where ever you need to go. It’s expected to get over 100 mpg.
So don’t waste your money on a new hybrid. If you need an efficient car today don’t get saddled with payments; buy a simple used high efficiency car and wait for cars like this upcoming Prius.
Honda P-NUT or WTF… You Decide
I’m mean please… Honda… WTF are you people thinking!? I’ve been a happy Honda owner and driver since 1988 and this has got to be the worst looking concept to come out from Honda in years. Its powertrain is yet to be decided but will be an internal-combustion engine, hybrid-electric or battery-electric. So in other words this concept is a styling concept only. Also please note that blasters and storm trooper helmets will be sold separately.
Photo credit Jalopnik.
Electric Smart slated for wide scale release to UK in 2012
It looks like Daimler’s new stake in Tesla is already paying off for both companies. They plan to put lithium ion power packs provided by Tesla into the all-electric Smart. These cars should be available on a wide scale beginning in the UK in 2012. This is great news for electric cars in general because it’s an example of yet another giant automaker jumping into the electric car arena. The more momentum we see toward electric cars the more automakers and auto-buyers will realize the value of electric cars.
500 Tesla Roadsters are now on the road
This is good news for the world of electric cars. There are now 500 Tesla Roadsters on the street. But don’t get me wrong, I’m not pro electric super car. I’d much rather see a bunch of affordable and practical electric cars hitting the road, but Tesla is paving the way for a brighter future filled with electric cars.
Coda 4-Door All-Electric Sedan
Coda is a new American car company with strong manufacturing partners in Asia (Hafei, Lishen) that will be bringing an all-electric car to market in late 2010. The expected range of this 4-door sedan will be 90 to 120 miles on a full charge. I can be recharged overnight by plugging it into a normal household power outlet.
The price will be about $45,000 before the $7,500 federal tax credit plus any state incentives which could bring the actual cost of the car down closer to $35,000. The cost to drive the car every day is estimated at $3 for every 100 miles compared to $17 for a comparable gas powered car.
Where is Murray’s T25?
One of the most promising green car concepts out there actually comes from the designer of the McLaren F1, but it seems to be taking an extremely long time to get this little car baked and out of the oven. For example journalist Nancy Durham recently visited Gordon Murray and wasn’t even permitted to see the car. Instead she got to grope it through the cloth cover. Read about that at CBCNews.ca.
His concept is super simple, literally. Instead of building a complex hybrid or fuel cell monstrosity he’s taking his experience as an ultralight super car designer and creating the simplest tiny car he can. It will use a efficient gasoline engine and will be designed for easy low-impact manufacturing. It is promised to be revolutionary in construction and concept, which is the whole reason he’s being so secretive about every little detail.
Take a look at your first electric car – Mitsubishi i MiEV
In my humble opinion the Mitsubishi i MiEV seems to be way out in front of the production electric car pack. They have been testing these little cars for a couple years and are fast approaching production readiness.
It should have a top speed of 80 MPH and travel about 100 miles on a single charge. In most cases you’d charge it overnight by plugging it in and the overall cost to operate would be minimal compared to gas powered cars. Continue Reading »
Mindset – 100 MPG+ range extended hybrid from Switzerland
This is one innovate little car from Switzerland. It can run in all electric mode for 60 to 120 miles (depending on driving style) and then with the flip of a switch the Range Extender (small gas motor) can be activated and take you 500 more miles without refueling. But that is just the beginning of the innovation.
The tall and narrow wheels are the most noticeable difference between the Mindset and other cars and just one of the tricks used to lower the cars overall drag coefficient. Special attention has also been made to reduce weight while increasing the chassis strength making this cars safe and ultra-lightweight. It also regenerates electricity during breaking like many hybrids. Continue Reading »
Is Norway becoming a leader in the electric car industry?
I’m sure the CEO of Think would love to hear more people ask that very serious question. I know there are some who will chuckle at it too but you have to admit, this Norwegian electric car company is making real progress. They have cars on the road in Norway and more planned for Spain, then other parts of Europe, and even the USA. Tomorrow they begin making them available through their Car Sharing program in Oslo, Norway. Keep your eyes on the Think.
