Thursday, December 31, 2009

Gas 2.0

Gas 2.0

Ugly Aerodynamic Tail Makes For Good Fuel Efficiency

Posted: 31 Dec 2009 08:35 AM PST

Some people will go to great lengths to get the best gas mileage possible. There are simple ways of doing this of course, like using a light touch on the gas pedal and coasting whenever possible. If you’re mechanically inclined you can retard the timing or even perform an engine swap in pursuit of high MPGs.

Or you can add a hideous duck tail to your geo metro. Hey, whatever works, right?

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Chrysler Will Display Electric Fiat 500 In Detroit

Posted: 31 Dec 2009 08:30 AM PST

Chrysler was in dire straits earlier this year, and while bankruptcy is now behind the Pentastar, the battle that looms ahead will prove if Chrysler can truly remain a viable company. Chrysler’s hope rests with Fiat, the Italian car comglomerate who took a 30% stake in Chrysler as part of the bankruptcy proceedings. While we’ve heard much and seen little thus far in regards to the future Chrysler lineup, the Detroit International Auto Show should give some hint as to the direction of Chrysler/Fiat.

One such car sure to make a big impression (in a small way) is the universally hailed Fiat 500 subcompact. Supposedly, Fiat will have an electric version of the 500 on display in Detroit next month.

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Toyota to Become First Vertically Integrated EV Company With Solar Charging Stations

Posted: 31 Dec 2009 08:25 AM PST

Pictured above is a solar charging station under development by Toyota. The company has plans to open the first of 21 in the Spring of 2010, signaling a move by Toyota to become a vertically integrated company. First, make the plug-in car. Then, build the charging station that it plugs in to. It’s comparable to the same company both digging up the oil, and building the car that runs on the oil. But better.

In many ways this is an understandable move. Toyota has held a leadership position in the hybrid market, and, as such, the company has long resisted any mention of a future move to plug-in vehicles. Why cut sales short, with all the expense that that entails: retooling assembly lines and so on - when yours is the market leader?

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Siemens to Test Six Minute Charging For EVs on 33% Wind Powered Grid

Posted: 31 Dec 2009 02:30 AM PST

Sven Holthusen runs the EDISON project at Siemens' Energy Sector in the Denmark branch of the international engineering giant. The EDISON project is working on raising charging power to as much as 300 kW so that batteries can be recharged on the go, in as little as six minutes.

The idea is to replicate the familiar: filling up at a gas station in 6 minutes or so, not in order to replace long slow overnight charges in home garages but to have an alternative to meet the needs of those apartment-dwellers who don’t have garages (and those who do, but who don’t sleep at least 6 hours at night) by making on-the-go-charges as available and as quick as filling up at a gas station.

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Tuesday, December 29, 2009

Gas 2.0

Gas 2.0

EV Subsidy Boost to $30,000 For Heavy Trucks Will Benefit Smith Electric Vehicles

Posted: 29 Dec 2009 02:15 AM PST


Under President Obama’s Executive Order demanding 30% Federal fossil fuel cuts, many Federal Agencies are now beating the rest of us to extraordinary heights of tree-huggery.

The Military has been signing contracts for dazzlingly climate-friendly items like the largest solar plant in America (Fort Irwin just signed up for a whopping 1 GW of solar) or million-dollar tests of advanced jet fuels that have practically no carbon footprint.

But here’s something even the non-military agencies with fleet-purchasing needs will appreciate as they hunt for solutions to reducing fossil dependence 30% by 2020.

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Can Better Place Sell A Real Electric Car For Under $20,000?

Posted: 29 Dec 2009 02:00 AM PST

Financially speaking, electric cars are a tough sell in today’s economic climate. The handful of pure-electric cars for sale right now, like the Tesla Roadster, cost more than most people gross in two years of work. Even when you apply generous federal and state tax incentives, like those in Colorado, most of us simply can’t afford an electric car right now. With time, prices will come down, but how long must we wait for an affordable electric car that actually looks like a car?

If Better Place’s plan works, a true electric car could hit the West Coast of the U.S. as soon as 2012 for $20,000 or less before any tax incentives are applied.

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Friday, December 25, 2009

Gas 2.0

Gas 2.0

Prius Brake Failure Complaints Rising as Toyota Prepares to Launch New Subcompact Hybrid

Posted: 25 Dec 2009 10:15 AM PST

This has been the worst year Toyota has ever had for recalls (4.8 million), but so far its reputation for quality seems to be weathering the storm. Even with the sudden acceleration issues, rust problems, deaths, and Toyota’s generally poor handling of it all, consumers so far seem to be willing to forgive. Granted, Toyota’s sales numbers are off by about 24% this year, but I think that largely mirrors the same declines most automakers are seeing, rather than some cognizance of quality problems on the part of the consumer.

Regardless of Toyota’s issues, certainly the Prius has remained a strong competitor in the US, with the 2010 Prius receiving good reviews and stomping the feet of the other hybrid players. The Honda Insight has been universally panned as a bad car—so it’s essentially DOA—and even though the only major competition, the Ford Fusion Hybrid, has received rave reviews—including one from yours truly—the Prius still outsells all the other hybrids combined.

Yet is Toyota’s Prius reputation on track to take a hit in the coming year with reports of brake failures starting to rise? If so, it could mark a major setback for a company apparently on track to use the luster of the Prius name to drive sales of a whole subset of dedicated hybrids as well as another, and potentially more disastrous, blemish on Toyota’s name.

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Last Chance For a Half-Priced Tesla Ends Dec 31

Posted: 25 Dec 2009 08:24 AM PST

Let’s say you really need a little tax deduction to get your 2009 taxes down, and let’s say you also have spare $50K jingling in your pocket.

Now might be a good time to hop in your jet and pop back to your ski vacation home in Colorado and pick up a surefire winner of a green Christmas stocking stuffer: a nice little 2009 Tesla Roadster that runs on electrons. Gasoline cars are just so 20th century.

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