New posts from Gas 2.0!

Commuters Turn to Rail and Bus as Gas Prices Hit $4.00 a Gallon
Living the TTXGP Dream | Volt Motorcycles
GM to Boost Volt Production to Meet Demand
GM Breaks Ground on First Electric Motor Plant

Commuters Turn to Rail and Bus as Gas Prices Hit $4.00 a Gallon

Posted: 19 May 2011 03:24 PM PDT

Across the nation public transit systems are seeing a boom in business as gas prices go ever higher. Miami Florida has seen a 12% increase in public transit passengers since last year. The Rail Runner train in New Mexico has see a 14% increase in its riders and North Carolina's bus services ridership is up by 18%.

How do we know that the rising price of gas is to blame for increased public transit use? The statistics tell an interesting story. In major cities with established public transit systems, such as New York, Boston and Chicago, there has indeed been an increase in the number of public transit riders within the city limits. Boston has even recently issued new high capacity passenger cars on some subway trains that amount to nothing more than cattle cars—no seats just polls to hold on to.

However, the major increases in public transit riders have been seen on public transit lines that services the suburbs. This is a strong indication that the high price of gas is causing commuters, who traditionally drive from the suburbs for work and then back, to forgo the use of their automobile and adopt some type of public transportation for their commute in order to ease the pain at the pump.

Further bolstering this argument is the fact that this is not the first time that high gas prices have caused an increase in the use of public transit systems. In 2008 when gas prices reached a record limit so did the number of riders for public transportation across America hitting 10.7 billion trips by the end of 2008. By comparison, Americans logged in 10.2 billion trips in 2010.

Unfortunately this increased use of public transportation is coming at a very poor time for America's rail and bus lines. Mainly caused by a drop in state and local funding due to the recession, over 84% of public transit systems have either cut services, increased fares or are considering a combination of the both. This means that some commuters get left in the lurch with no choice but to drive to work. Other travelers are forced to pay more for a ticket than in years past and must deal with poor, reduced, or interrupted service.

Despite the negative financial impacts of the recession Government funding for public transit, including what people spend on tickets, totaled $55 billion in 2009. That dollar amount is up by 65% since 1992 even factoring in for inflation.

In the end, the amount of money that America spends on public transit is pennies when compared to the expenses of private vehicle travel. Road work, fuel, insurance, vehicle payments and other expenditures related to individual transit totaled $1.2 trillion in 2009 alone.

Source: CNN Money | Image: Randy Pertiet | C.C. Attribution 2.0

Andrew Meggison was born in the state of Maine and educated in Massachusetts. Andrew earned a Bachelor's Degree in Government and International Relations from Clark University and a Master's Degree in Political Science from Northeastern University. Being an Eagle Scout, Andrew has a passion for all things environmental. In his free time Andrew enjoys writing, exploring the great outdoors, a good film, and a creative cocktail.

Living the TTXGP Dream | Volt Motorcycles

Posted: 19 May 2011 12:19 PM PDT

Volt Motorcycles shows us why perseverance always wins

Inspired by the work of Lightning Motors' Richard Hatfield, and sponsored by their employer ThunderStruck Motors, Eland Eggers and Loren Crotty began electrifying a 2001 Yamaha R1 in 2008. (more history here) They competed in the 2010 TTXGP at Infineon, but were unable to complete the race, as their bike overheated. Volt returned in 2011 and won the TTX75, setting the lap record at 2:09. What I love most about their story is that Eland was able to secure a job at Zero Motorcycles as a result of his work in developing the Volt, and perseverance. This year, he had a little help from his boss, Zero's Director of EE and veteran racer Kenyon Kluge. Kenyon rode the bike to the win and helped with the development.

The Volt is powered by a 105 volt/55hp AC Induction motor from Hi Performance EV Systems and they managed to get the bike 100 pounds below the 440 pound weight limitation. I'd love to see the kind of lap times they could do on this bike with 100 more pounds of batteries…

Yes, Volt DNF'd in 2010. Yes, these are (were) students on a shoestring budget. But they hustled up some sponsorship, persisted in trying to get the sort of jobs they dreamt of, and came back with a winning bike. Why so few of their 2010 competitors did the same is beyond me. Eland Eggers was denied an internship at Zero but is now working there, along with Kenyon Kluge. IEEE Spectrum has a great story about how Kenyon found his way to Zero.

Photo Courtesy Volt Motorcycles

Don't Dream It. Be It.

Those of us who are passionate about electric vehicles have a responsibility. That responsibility is to keep the dream alive however we can. I do what I can through writing, but the longer I go without actually owning an electric motorcycle, the more I feel like a hypocrite. This is why I am doing my best to secure a ride for future TTX75 races. I've done sub-2:00 lap times at Infineon, so I know that if I could manage the battery life well enough (which is easier now that the races are shorter) I could do great in this series. I've been wanting to convert my old race bike, a 2-stroke Aprilia RS250, but of course that couldn't be ready until the 2012 series, even if I can find the money.

However, if more competitors don't step up to the plate, there may not be a 2012 series. The organizers, whether they be TTXGP, ePower, AMA or FIM are all beholden to bring entertainment, in the form of full grids. I know there are plenty more electric bikes capable of competing, especially in the TTX75. I fear that some are letting perfectionism keep them out of the race. Even if they DNF or come in last place, it's still miles ahead of the engineer who's eternally tinkering away in search of perfection, his precious creation never seeing the light of day. I fear this industry may never get up to speed for a lack of Project Managers to keep all these talented Engineers on task.

Photo Courtesy Volt Motorcycles

GM to Boost Volt Production to Meet Demand

Posted: 19 May 2011 10:19 AM PDT

The Chevy Volt is a very polarizing vehicle, but one thing that can't be argued are sales numbers, and GM expects to sell more Volts next year by 25%, prompting them to retool their facilities for increased production.

GM's initial estimates for Chevy Volt sales in 2010 was about 15,000 vehicles. By the end of this month they'll have produced about 3,300 Volts in total before shutting down for four weeks to retool the facilities. Even with a lost month of production though, GM believes it is on track to sell produce 16,000 Volts and its European cousin, the Opel Ampera, by the end of this year (about 2,500 of those will be dealer demo vehicles though.)

That means from July to January 1^st, GM will have to crank out over 12,000 Voltec vehicles, about 2,000 a month. By next year, GM believes it can sell as many as 60,000 Volts and Amperas, which is up from the initial estimate of 45,000. Eventually, GM thinks as many as 100,000 Voltec vehicles will roll off their assembly lines every year. GM plans to add 2,500 people to the assembly line building Volts, up from the 1,100 currently working on the extended-range hybrid. This news follows the breaking ground ceremony on GM's electric motor factory, which will be the first of its kind by a major automaker in the U.S.

It's still too early to call the Volt a sales success, but it has the potential to put GM back on the map worldwide as an innovator. I can't wait to see what Rush Limbaugh has to say when GM start's selling these like hotcakes.

Source: Detroit Free Press

Chris DeMorro is a writer and gearhead who loves all things automotive, from hybrids to HEMIs. You can read about his slow descent into madness at Sublime Burnout or follow his non-nonsensical ramblings on Twitter @harshcougar.

GM Breaks Ground on First Electric Motor Plant

Posted: 19 May 2011 07:23 AM PDT

On Tuesday, GM broke ground on what will be the first electric motor plant built by a major automaker when it opens in 2013. Here GM will build a new rear-wheel drive electric motor…for what?

Please please please let it be some kind of sporty Volt-esque plug-in hybrid with rear-wheel drive! I am a Ford guy through and through, but if GM makes a fast, fun, sporty rear-drive coupe that just happens to be a plug-in hybrid, I might have to jump ship.

Back to the plant. Called the "GM Baltimore Operations" complex, this new plant will neighbor GM's Allison transmission plant, which already employs about 200 people. The new plant is expected to employ another 190 people, and will cost about $244.5 million. GM will pay $129 million, the Department of Energy will chip in another $105 million, and state and local governments will contribute another $10.5 million to the project.

The plant will be powered by a 1.23 megawatt solar array that is expected to save GM $330,000 over the lifetime of the project, and provide around 10% of the plant's energy needs. The neighboring Baltimore complex also has a zero-landfull status, which means it recycles everything that comes into the plant, generating no outgoing waste. Nifty huh?

I'm sure somebody is going to get up in arms about the government kicking in almost half the costs of this new plant. Know what? I don't want to hear it, especially after Congress voted to let Big Oil keep its billions of dollars in subsidies.

Instead, I want to ask you guys what you think GM is developing this electric motor for. A hybrid pickup? A new hybrid sports coupe? Or will it merely be a part of a new hybrid drivetrain for some upcoming sedan? I can't wait to find out. And seeing as how GM doesn’t just build auto plants willy-nilly these days, I think it shows a big commitment on their part towards hybrid and plug-in electric vehicles.

What’s your take?

Source: Edmunds Auto Observer