Wednesday, August 5, 2009

Gas 2.0

Gas 2.0

Battery Shortage Slows Prius Sales; Will Batteries Hold Back Hybrids?

Posted: 05 Aug 2009 04:43 PM PDT

The Toyota Prius is among the most popular cars under the Cash For Clunkers program right now. But many people who want one will have to wait, as production of the popular hybrid has slowed because of a battery shortage. The supplier of Prius batteries, Panasonic EV Energy, can not keep up with Toyota’s 500,000  annual Prius capacity. While Panasonic EV says it should have its production capacity ramped up to a million units annually by mid-2010, this begs the bigger question;

Will battery packs hold back hybrid production and development?

Read more of this story »

Portland Lands Major Upgrade to Electric Vehicle Infrastructure

Posted: 05 Aug 2009 03:47 PM PDT

For a city with so many amazing trees, Portland is getting ready to add a bunch of new LEAFs to our streets.

No, that’s not a typo. I’m talking about the LEAF, Nissan’s just-unveiled electric vehicle, which is set to hit dealerships in the fall of 2010. In our quest to be the nation’s leader in electric vehicle infrastructure, usage and development, the Portland region took a big step forward today with the announcement that Nissan and eTec selected Oregon as one of five test markets for the largest deployment of EV’s and the associated charging station network in American history.

Read more of this story »

Obama Unveils Largest-Ever Investment in Advanced Batteries

Posted: 05 Aug 2009 12:07 PM PDT

President Obama announces $2.4 billion in grants to speed the manufacturing and deployment of the next generation of batteries and electric vehicles

As part of the $787 billion stimulus package approved in February, Congress agreed to include $2 billion in research and development grants for advanced battery technologies, and today, speaking in Elkhart, Indiana, the President announced that the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act will fund 48 new advanced battery and electric drive components manufacturing and electric drive vehicle deployment projects in over 20 states.

The President said the announcement marks the single largest investment in advanced battery technology for hybrid and electric-drive vehicles ever made.

Read more of this story »

150 Miles Per Gallon In A Goblin

Posted: 05 Aug 2009 06:51 AM PDT

I just want to pre-empt this post by saying I’m not a fan of pedaling. I always look awkward on bikes. Personal preference.

But I know there are millions of people out there who enjoy cycling (they always seem to get in my way on the road) and that there are plenty of people who would bike to work if they could. Inclement weather, distance, and rough terrain are probably the biggest factors in why most people don’t bike to work. For those of you still considering the trek, there is the Goblin Aero…and as awkward as it looks, these guys might be  on to something.

Read more of this story »
Posted by at No comments:

Tuesday, August 4, 2009

Gas 2.0

Gas 2.0

Detroit Captures Market Share of Dumped Clunkers

Posted: 04 Aug 2009 03:19 PM PDT


Washington’s hugely popular cash for clunkers program has boosted all auto sales 16 percent from June to July as desperate and grateful Americans unloaded the gas guzzling behemoths they had been lured into buying with huge SUV tax credits by the Bush administration. (Small business owners like doctors, lawyers, and real estate agents had been able to use fossil friendly incentives to deduct more than $100,000 of the cost of an SUV from their taxes.) Now that they have the chance, Americans are unloading those gas guzzlers.

Ford sales under Cash for Clunkers have been especially good:

Ford sales rose from 160,990 vehicles in July 2008 to 164,795 last month — an increase of 2.4 percent. as its share of the market jumped from 14.2 percent to 16.5 percent.  Ford posted the first monthly sales increase of any full-line manufacturer this year as customers traded in old Fords for new ones.

But Ford trucks and SUVs also top the most dumped clunkers list.

Read more of this story »

Aerovironment Unveils 800kW EV Charger

Posted: 04 Aug 2009 11:35 AM PDT

Aerovironment headquarters

Talk about rapid charging! Aerovironment today unveiled a near-megawatt scale electric vehicle charging system for the U.S. Army Tank Automotive Research, Development and Engineering Center (TARDEC).

The AV-800 delivers DC current at 800 volts, up to 999 amps in single-channel mode and 500 amps in independent dual channel mode. The bi-directional unit can also return power to the grid, with an efficiency of over 90%.

Read more of this story »

Zero DS: A More Aggressive Electric Motorcycle

Posted: 04 Aug 2009 07:09 AM PDT

A lot of electric vehicles suffer from performance anxiety. That is to say, they are green and clean, but not very mean, the Tesla Roadster being a notable exception. Sometimes though, you just want to go fast. I had my first hybrid experience the other day, and while the Honda Insight I drove wasn’t the worst ride I’ve ever had, I could see myself getting very bored, very quickly with such an underpowered car (in my opinion, of course).

But I doubt I would get bored with the Zero DS, the latest electric motorcycle to be unveiled by Zero Motorcycles. Built from the ground up and utilizing the latest techniques and technology, this durable dirtbike promises off-road performance with streetwise manners. And it had better for the asking price $9,950.

Read more of this story »
Posted by at No comments:

Monday, August 3, 2009

Gas 2.0

Gas 2.0

Invention Uses Mountain Dew for Fuel

Posted: 03 Aug 2009 09:27 AM PDT

I’ll admit, never saw this one coming–using Mountain Dew as fuel. It surely makes the Mountain Dew Game Fuel much more appropriate!

Inventor Paul Patone has created the GEET (Global Environmental Energy Technology) Fuel Processor. A mod that allows you to run your car on about 80% water. Or possibly, just a nice cold Tab.

Read more of this story »
Posted by at No comments:

Sunday, August 2, 2009

Gas 2.0

Gas 2.0

Finally! Nissan Unveils First Electric Car Design and It’s a Keeper

Posted: 01 Aug 2009 08:24 PM PDT

Nissan’s EV revolution now has a face — you may call it LEAF. Available for purchase in late 2010.

You’ve got to hand it to Nissan: they’ve been burning the midnight oil with their EV information blitz recently. I’m sure there are many blurry eyed and bedazzled marketing and engineering folks behind the Nissan EV scenes right now who are starting to wonder if they get paid enough.

Read more of this story »
Posted by at No comments:
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)