Friday, November 5, 2010

Gas 2.0

Gas 2.0

The Chevy Volt’s New Clothes

Posted: 05 Nov 2010 01:20 PM PDT

Yesterday I talked about how Toyota was tarting up the Prius in a fancy body kit to give Prius owners a chance to “personalize” their cars. Whether or not they succeeded is yet to be seen, though in terms of adding any actual performance, the Prius PLUS fails.

Not to be discouraged, Chevy has introduced their own tarted up version of the Chevy Volt. Called the “Z-Spec”, this is only a concept now, though GM is considering building it for production. So should they?

GM has actually built three concept cars for the 2010 SEMA show under the “Z-Spec” moniker. Besides the Volt, the Cruze and upcoming Spark microcar are also dressed to impress.

The Volt Z-Spec is a looks-only package, starting with a custom “Icy White” paint job. The front and rear fascia, tail lights,  lower rocker panels, graphics package, 19″ aluminum wheels and blacked out grille with a “Chevy bar” just about do it for exterior modifications. On the inside, a leather-wrapped steering wheel with the Z-Spec logo takes center stage (along with Z-Spec floor mats). Leather-trimmed Recaro seats and “racing-style” pedals round out this package, which has a decidedly “sporty” flair.

Aside from the lower look and bigger wheels…this package doesn’t make all that much difference to the Volt’s looks. Just kinda “meh”.

What say you though? Did GM score a hit, or miss big time with this concept package for the Volt?

Source: Green Car Advisor

Where Does High-Speed Rail Go From Here?

Posted: 05 Nov 2010 11:59 AM PDT

Some states (including my home of Connecticut) are still counting the ballots, but overall the voters have spoken; out with the old bums, and in with some new ones. It is being called a major “repudiation” of the Obama Adminstration as Republicans gain control of the House, while Democrats maintain their grip on the Senate.

That’s about as much as I care to know about what happened on Tuesday. The question that is nagging me is, once January rolls around and new elected officials are sworn in, what happens to the grandiose plans for high-speed rail?

Republicans have been voted into office on a promise to cut back government spending. This isn’t the first time they made this promise, as this was the same promise they made during Reagan’s first term in office as well as during the “Republican Revolution” of 1994. Still, despite years of decadent spending, they might actually be serious this time. In my humble opinion, the government could use a fair bit of trimming…but not at the expense of our future.

Many Republicans decry high-speed rail as expensive and unnecessary while at the same time screaming about jobs. Maybe some of these guys will change their minds and realize the benefits of rail. Maybe they really will return the money granted to them by the government as Republican John Kasich, governor-elect of Ohio, promises. This is short-sighted though because he is giving back money that could create thousands of jobs, many of them permanent. Many of the great infrastructure accomplishments both here and abroad were accomplished during tight times, as a means to create jobs and better the future. I truly believe the country is on the way to recovery, now is not the time to pull the plug on government spending that will directly benefits hundreds of thousands of train riders, as well as drivers who have fewer people to compete with for highway space.

Just look around the world. We are one of the only developed countries in the world without a real high-speed rail system. I’m not advocating we become more like Europe in every way, but when even China, is investing billions into this technology, do we really want sit back and say that now is the time to tighten the purse strings?

Our government is, for the first time in a decade, pretty well divided between left and right. There is plenty of fat to trim from the government without dumping plans for high-speed rail, the bums on both sides of the aisle just have to get together and make some hard decisions.

Like that will ever happen.

Source: The Transport Politic

EICMA 2010: Rise of the Electric Vehicles

Posted: 05 Nov 2010 10:24 AM PDT

Brammo Raggaze, as lovely in Italy as they are in California

EICMA is one of the world's largest motorcycle trade shows. Held in Milan each fall, motorcycle manufacturers release new models either here or at EICMA's competitor, Intermot. The two shows compete for exclusives, so while TTXGP and Mavizen were only present at Intermot, Brammo was present at EICMA. Brammo was in the American Pavilion around the corner from my client ScooterGirls and a short walk from the more famous American brand, Harley Davidson. However, taking over a larger corner of the hall than last year was "The Green Planet" which was dominated by electric-assisted bicycles and full electric scooters.

I like the classic look of the Harbin pedal-assist bicycles, but it's funny they're from the Netherlands, where there are practically no hills. When I asked the Harbin sales rep why they only had pedal-assisted bicycles and not ones with actual throttles, he explained that in the EU, electric bicycles with throttles (and higher top speeds) are considered mopeds and require a moped license.

XO Urban Transformer. No, it’s not broken, it’s just resting.

There was a broad range of electric scooters on display throughout the show, despite the fact that Italy currently has no EV subsidies. The pricing ranged in interesting ways, with one as low as €2,000 and another priced at €3,500 plus €50/month to rent the battery! The XO Urban Transformer folds up into a massive box you and a friend can carry around, and wheel the battery off separately. Not exactly practical, especially when there's ample free scooter parking in every European city.

XO Urban Transformer disguised as a scooter.

The cheaper scooter was the etropolis which is a subsidiary of SiG Solar, a German company in the business of making and installing solar panels. They explained to me that they felt it made sense to develop an EV for their customers to plug into their solar carports. Makes sense to me, especially when it's seen as a nice bonus to go with that pricey solar array you just bought.

Also entertaining was the Elmoto which I dubbed the "Mini-Enertia" because it looks so much like a Brammo Enertia. I took one for a spin around the indoor test track they'd set up for electric bikes, and it was a blast. It had a tighter turning radius than most bicycles I've ridden! The test track was plenty big for having fun, and I felt like I should go for another round, as I watched a rather staid Italian businessman take the etropolis around and around like he was Valentino Rossi on race day!

EICMA’s EV Test Track Paddock.

I debated with an Italian about how the Chevy Volt plays into range anxiety. I said it should be pure electric, he said he wanted one anyway, so he'd have one car for both city and long road trips. Because scootering is such a dominant mode of transport in European cities, they're likely to adopt electric more quickly than in the US where we still quake in fear of running out of juice on the way to Whole Foods. Next… more photos of cool electric scooters you won’t see in the US anytime soon. Except maybe at Hollywood Electrics.
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