ICARE Project – Solar and Wind Powered Car to Circle the Globe
The drivers of this solar and wind powered high-tech car will cross 30 countries as it travels around the globe. The journey should begin in the Spring of 2010. Learn more about the ICARE Project.
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.
CarGo by Adam Schacter
This is a little single-seat electric car/truck designed by Adam Schacter called the CarGo. The idea is that it would be used as an intercity utility and delivery vehicle. I love the novel innovation. Photo credit to Adam Schacter. I first saw this on Gas 2.0.
I’d love to see a prototype built from common spare parts instead of the all-new construction shown in the photos. I bet Adam could generate a little revenue stream immediately for himself by drawing up the plans for do-it-yourselfers to build their own simplified version from off-the-shelf parts. I’d by a set of plans just for curiosity sake.
I’m also pointing out (of you missed it between the lines) that there is a common problem among designers of dreaming up fanciful ideas that require mainstream manufacturing… which is of course not sustainable in the long term. It makes more sense to me to empower each other with the information we need to find our own solutions to the troubles of the world instead of waiting around for governments and billionaires to solve them for us… which by the way… is like choosing a benevolent master instead of freedom. Continue Reading »
Electric Cars -vs- Cash for Clunkers
It’s exciting and a little spooky to see so many big automakers announce near production ready electric vehicles. The latest announcement of the Nissan LEAF and it’s sudden arrival on the playing field seems like real evidence that we will be seeing a lot more electric cars on the road in 2010/2011 than previously expected. That should also coincide with the strongest part of the economic recovery which will help to fuel their quick adoption.
But it seems ironic that at virtually the same moment the government is throwing billions at clunkers. I suspect many people that jump on this recovery money carrot will also sadly choose to lock themselves into another 60 months of car payments. Forget for a moment that we might be sitting on a Peak Oil Plateau; committing to five years of car payments when super efficient cars are now just a couple years away just seems like questionable financial planning.
If you do have a clunker and want to to take a bite of the carrot try to get the most efficiency for the least amount of money. Also consider downsizing your ride to an efficient inexpensive used car. If you think we’re sitting on a Peak Oil Plateau avoid putting any more money into petroleum powered cars not matter how sweet the carrot looks.
Fully Electric Maya 300
You know we’re nearing peak oil trouble when oil companies start building electric cars. ExxonMobil has launched the Maya 300, a fully electric car powered by lithium-ion batteries and can drive 120 miles on a single charge. Best of all it can run at highway speeds and feels and looks like a normal economy car. Read more at gas2.0.
Futuristic Car Concept – ATNMBL
This is a really curious future car concept… a driverless car. It would be electric with the batteries stored in the floor, electric motors at all four wheels, and solar panels on the roof. Instead of a steering wheel the passengers simple tell the car where they want to go and if they are in a hurry or want to take the scenic route or most efficient route. It’s one design that is definitely worth spending some time investigating. See it at core77. Photo credit Mike and Maaike.
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.
Battery technology advancement brings viable electric cars closer to reality
It feels great to see news like this. It looks like Kawasaki Heavy Industries and Japan’s National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology have co-developed a nickel-hydrogen battery that recharges in less than 10 seconds (reports thetruthaboutcars.com and Nikkei).
The primary impediment to electric cars becoming real competition for petroleum powered cars is the lack of really good battery technology. While automakers and governments wasted their time with hydrogen fuel cells, battery technology took a back seat. Now that most have realized that hydrogen isn’t a viable near-term solution advancements in battery technology is beginning to get the R&D money it needs to move forward. Continue Reading »
How to spot the difference between Hybrids, PHEVs, and Electric Cars
It seems like every automaker has a slightly different technology solution and uses different terminology to describe similar things. The terms are also very confusing. It helps to remember that generally speaking the words hybrid, plug-in hybrid, and range-extended just ways of saying that a gasoline engine is helping the partially electric car travel a little farther.
Plug-in hybrids and range-extended electric vehicles carry a small combustion engine which can provide the additional power when the batteries run low. Generally speaking the combustion engine in hybrids and plug-in hybrids help move the car by driving the wheels through the transmission. In range-extended electric vehicles the combustion engine usually charges the batteries and electric motors drive the wheels. Continue Reading »
The MINI E has arrived
The electric Mini, a.k.a. the MINI E, has arrived and is now being delivered to customers in New York and California who have signed up for the special lease. There will be only 500 of these cars initially but they have some impressive sounding statistics like a 95 mph top speed, 156 maximum mile range, and 3-hour charge time (if plugged into a powerful 240-volt 48-amp socket).
The cost of early adoption is a bit high; it will cost customers $850 a month for the special one-year lease. On the bright side collision coverage, maintenance, and roadside assistance are included. On the even brighter side electric cars are much lower impact and less expensive to drive (dollars per mile) than comparable gasoline cars.
