Tuesday, March 8, 2011

Gas 2.0

Gas 2.0

BMW Vision EfficientDynamics i8 Caught Winter Testing

Posted: 08 Mar 2011 03:30 PM PST

One the members over at the high-end car forum TeamSpeed snapped some photos of BMW’s upcoming i8 (better known as the Vision EfficientDynamics hybrid) which the company presented on its website as a “near production-ready vehicle“.  That’s usually PR-speak for “we’ll build it if you order 20,000 units”, but – from these pictures – BMW wasn’t bluffing, and the i8 is undergoing what is typically one of the final phases of testing before a new car is released to the public. BMW has also publicly stated that the i8 is destined for production, so BMW seems serious about this funky concept. The i8 will be one of the cornerstone vehicles of BMW’s new “i” sub-brand, which will be devoted to fuel efficient and alt-fuel vehicles.

The i8 is expected to take its driver 100 km on just 3.76 liters of fuel, which works out to just over 62 mpg from the slinky, radically-styled hybrid.

ts_i81 ts_i82 ts_i83 ts_i84

Source:  TeamSpeed.com

Green Speed: Veritas RSIII KERS / Plug-in Hybrid

Posted: 08 Mar 2011 12:00 PM PST

This is the new Veritas RSIII Hybrid sportscar … which (for better or for worse) looks an awful lot like the “regular” Veritas RSIII sportscar it’s based on.

The new Hybrid Veritas is powered by a 600 hp version of the 5.0 liter V10 found in BMW’s M5 sports sedan, which powers the rear wheels.  It’s a high-tech piece, but the real electro-trickery happens on the other end of the car, where the front wheels are driven by a 140 hp (105 kW) electric motor, “fueled” by a 500-lb li-ion battery pack.  Those batteries, by the way, are enough to power the Veritas in pure electric mode for over 30 miles of around-town driving, with the big V10 barking to life “on-demand” in response to aggressive throttle inputs.  The Vertias’ batteries can be charged with a standard outlet, and also charged “on the go” with a KERS-style regenerative braking system that allows the front wheels to help “pull” the car from a dig or out of slow corners, just like its Formula 1 cousins.

Even with the added weight of the batteries and KERS, however, the Veritas tips the scales at a lithe 3800 lbs., enabling 0-60 runs in the low 3-second range – making the Veritas a good deal quicker than most of its supercar rivals.

Veritas’ board has announced plans to unveil an ever-so-slightly more practical coupe version of the car this summer, and a full electric version before 2013.

01-veritas-rs-iii-hybrid-612 03-veritas-rs-iii-hybrid-612 04-veritas-rs-iii-hybrid-612 05-veritas-rs-iii-hybrid-612

Source / Photos:  Translogic.

Project Better Place Announces Pricing Plans in Denmark: Not So Cheap

Posted: 08 Mar 2011 10:40 AM PST

One advantage EV advocates push is that charging an electric vehicle is cheaper than filling it full of gas. Project Better Place just announced its pricing plan for the country of Denmark. How does almost $600 a month sound?

That's for the top-tier pricing plan, which would give EV drivers about 40,000 kms of driving per-year as well as access to Better Place's battery swapping stations. Better Place has partnered with Renault, whose vehicles will work with Better Place's charging stations, which can deliver an 80% charge in under 30 minutes, or the swapping stations that give you a brand new battery in just "minutes." That said, there are just a handful of these stations operational right now, and while I’m sure Better Place has huge plans, right now you’re talking about a very limited driving area.

And of course, none of this comes cheap, and on top of the $38,000 price tag for the Renault Fluence EV, pricing plans range from about $288 a month to nearly $600 a month, as well as a tone-time fee of around $1,800 for a home EV charging station. But wait…if you have a home station, why would you need a monthly subscription to Better Place?

Gas prices in Denmark are well over the $8 a gallon mark, making electric vehicles an attractive solution. So the $300 a month pricing plan might actually make sense for those who are using about 10 gallons of fuel a week. But with many European vehicles getting well over 50 mpg, filling up with petrol might still be the cheaper solution, especially when the Fluence EV itself is nearly $40,000.

I love electric vehicles, but if I was facing down those numbers, I think I'd rather suck it up and boy a scooter instead. How about you?

Source: Project Better Place

Chris DeMorro is a writer and gearhead who loves all things automotive, from hybrids to HEMIs. You can follow his slow descent into madness at Sublime Burnout.

Jalopnik: the Mitsubishi Evo Must Die

Posted: 08 Mar 2011 10:20 AM PST

Will Mitsubishi kill the EVO?

That question has been lighting up the automotive forums for days now, ever since Gayu Eusegi (Mitusbishi’s Global Product Director) told Autocar that, although “there is still a demand … we must stop (building the EVO).”  One week on, and it seems like the answer is a definite “Yes.”, and the 2012 version of Mitsubishi’s famed rally monster will – indeed – be the last.

Should Mitsubishi kill the EVO?

That question, which is (perhaps) more relevant, hadn’t been getting as much airplay … until this morning, that is, when Jalopnik editor Mike Spinelli posted an excellent op-ed piece titled “Why the Evo Must Die“.  In it, Spinelli takes a look at Mitsubishi’s motorsports past and determines that “It was fun while it lasted, kids, but it’s time to end it.”  He goes on to say that, “Whatever you think about electric cars, or how many Evo snaps you once taped into your locker, Mitsubishi is correct to bow out of motorsports and ostensibly phase out its mo-sport halo car. Not because racing is anathema to today’s car business, but because racing and building series-production cars spawned from motorsports development isn’t for dabblers.”

Neither is electric car technology for dabblers, however, as Tesla, Fisker, and Ford will likely agree.  Mitsubishi, then, seems to be betting the farm on electric.

Let’s hope it pays off.

CLICK HERE to read the rest of Spinelli’s excellent post.

Source:  Jalopnik.

Japanese Vending Machines to Double as EV Chargers

Posted: 08 Mar 2011 07:57 AM PST

Vending machines are everywhere, dispending everything from soda to iPods and maybe even some sage advice. A Japanese company thinks vending machine locations are perfect for charging electric vehicles too.

In order to save costs and build around an existing power infrastructure, the Forking Co. along with Panasonic plan to install about 10,000 EV charging stations at the sites of vending machines. Many (though certainly not all) vending machines require a 240 volt hookup, which is the same voltage required for "Level 2" charging stations. By installing charging stations on the sites of old vending machines, a lot of cost can be cut out from the installation. Plus, vending machines are already placed in high traffic areas, so these EV charging stations will be easy to find. I wonder about parking though.

There is the potential for up to 1.2 million of these vending/charging locations, and perhaps even one day a machine that dispenses both products and power. It is an idea that I hope catches on in America. That would be pretty damn baller if I do say so myself.

Source: Psyorg | Picture: sanchome

Chris DeMorro is a writer and gearhead who loves all things automotive, from hybrids to HEMIs. You can follow his slow descent into madness at Sublime Burnout.
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Monday, March 7, 2011

Gas 2.0

Gas 2.0

Tesla Model S to Launch with Pricy “Signature Series”

Posted: 07 Mar 2011 02:45 PM PST

Tesla has pinned a lot of hopes on the Model S, the all-electric sedan due out next year. The first 1,000 cars off the assembly line will be the "Signature Series" Model S, with 300 miles of range…and more.

Car companies often launch a new vehicle with a limited edition first series. The most recent example I can think of was the launch of the Dodge Challenger, which was available at first with only the biggest, meanest engine. The Tesla Model S will feature a different sort of special edition. The Signature Series will come with a 300 mile-per-charge battery, giving the Model S of any proposed production electric vehicle coming to market. Tesla expects to make the first deliveries of the Model S in the middle of next year, and is taking a whopping $40,000 reservation on the first models. Knowing Tesla, these sedans won't come cheap.

So what about the rest of us? Well Tesla will also be offering 160 mile and 230 mile battery options in the Tesla, the 160 mile battery should set the Model S's price at around $49,900. The 230 mile option adds a $10,000 price premium, while the 300 mile option adds a whooping $20,000.

Is this the future? Paying for electric cars based on how far they can travel? It could be. Tesla expects to sell 5,000 Model S sedans in 2012, and 20,000 in 2013, and they already have an Alpha build of the electric sedan on the roads. Lofty goals for what is still a very expensive vehicle, gas or no gas. Still interested?

Source: Tesla

Chris DeMorro is a writer and gearhead who loves all things automotive, from hybrids to HEMIs. You can follow his slow descent into madness at Sublime Burnout.

Oil Hits $106 a Barrel on Increase Speculative Interests

Posted: 07 Mar 2011 11:07 AM PST

I put off filling up my Jeep until after my errands and, 90 minutes later, the price had jumped seven cents a gallon to $3.75. Now I find out that oil is at $106 a barrel. This feels familiar.

The gas price run-up of 2008 put the hurt on everyone's wallets, and once again we are staring down the barrel of rapidly rising gas prices. And again, it seems like it is rising for no reason. Sure, there is the unrest in North Africa and the Middle East, but Saudi Arabia is making up for the loss of supply by increasing their output.

It is oil speculators who put money on oil futures that are running up the prices. They are hedging bets against where oil prices may go, causing prices to fluctuate. In fact, big energy traders are hedging huge bets that oil prices will continue to go up, with nearly twice as many long contracts on oil open as the last big speculation run up in 2008.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve actually has more oil stockpiled than at any point in the last five years, and all the unrest hasn't affected global output at all.

The one bright side? If everybody in the Middle East settles down, oil prices could come plunging back to Earth. I think I'd rather see a bunch of Middle East dictatorships fall than gas prices though.

Source: CNN

Chris DeMorro is a writer and gearhead who loves all things automotive, from hybrids to HEMIs. You can follow his slow descent into madness at Sublime Burnout.
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Sunday, March 6, 2011

Gas 2.0

Gas 2.0

Op-Ed: Should the Government Anoint an Automotive Savior?

Posted: 06 Mar 2011 07:07 AM PST

There's a lot of debate about what the government should, and shouldn't spend money on. One item that is cause for plenty of debate is the $7,500 EV tax rebate. Should the government have a say in what we drive?

Jeremy Anwyl over at Edmunds Auto Observer makes a fairly convincing case that the government should keep its hands out of the market, and let the competing technologies battle for dominance. He argues that the cleanest car right now is the natural-gas powered 2012 Honda Civic GX, followed by the all-electric Nissan Leaf according to ACEEE. Under the hood is a high tech internal combustion engine that delivers less pollution than the zero-emission Leaf. Anwyl says that when the government hands out a $7,500 tax credit (or perhaps soon, cash-on-the-hood) it crowds out other promising types of technology, like natural gas, hydrogen and whatnot. Some of these technologies have been around since the 1970's, he says. What about them?

What about them indeed. What hasn't hydrogen, or natural gas, or propane gone mainstream? Well, all these engines have one thing in common; the internal combustion engine. The technology dates back to the 1860's, and we've become so used to the idea of filling up our fuel tanks with oil, that switching to another fuel is just downright inconvenient. I've looked for public propane and CNG fueling stations in Connecticut, and there are a few, but not enough. In some cases I'd have to use a quarter of my fuel just to get to the station and back. And replacing the oil in our fuel stations would require tearing huge tanks out of the ground and major reconstruction of our fueling infrastructure.

We're talking a works project on the scale of the U.S. Interstate system to make epic change from oil. The two exceptions would be ethanol and biodiesel, both of which would still require vast amounts of private and public money to make available for a majority of the nation. Really think about it. Oil is the easy way out, and we are gonna drill baby drill until it is all gone. Which one day, it will. Even the oil execs will admit to that. There is something familiar about the hum of an idling engine, and you don't get that with electric cars. Maybe that is what makes them so familiar.

Yet the fueling infrastructure for electric vehicles is already in place all around us. Yes, charging stations will need to be installed here and there, in garages, homes, and on sidewalks. Would that be better than the 100,000+ gas stations crowded on street corners and causing infuriating traffic congestion (we've all been there.) But American miles traveled seems to have peaked, the average staying right around 12,000 miles a year. That is only about 32 miles a day, which is well within the range of most electric vehicles right now. It's not a replacement car; it's a second car, and most Americans already have one of those, and often times a third and a fourth. With some investment though, there isn’t any reason it can’t become our main form of transportation. The Truth About Cars argues that depending on where you live, EV’s may or may not be the cleanest mode of transportation. Fair enough, but everybody needs electricity, right? The fueling structure is in place; it just needs to be tapped in key locations.

In Europe, this will cost $10,000 less than the Leaf, but with $100 per-month battery lease.

Right now the battery technology is still too expensive for what it offers. Nissan should have done for the Leaf what Renault is doing for their Zoe EV and lease the battery, bringing down the price by thousands of dollars. Perhaps after X-number of years of ownership, offer the leasers a buyout price if it ends up being popular. I feel like if Nissan had priced the Leaf closer to $25,000, it would have a lot more lookers.

Instead though, it needs the $7,500 Federal tax credit for a lot of regular people to even take it into consideration. Ethanol, propane, natural gas and other alt-fuels all have their own tax credits, incentive programs, and private investments. When it comes down to dollars and cents, I don’t know how even the playing field really is. But it isn’t like there is a huge electric car lobby either. EV’s are still the real underdog here, because we’re not just stuck on oil, but on the internal combustion engine too. If anything, the government investment is the only hope we have of adopting a new, cleaner mode of transportation, because as many people have shown, they’ll just keep buying fuel-intensive fuels until they all but go broke.

It isn't going to get much better than this, ladies and gents.

We should quit while we are ahead, because right now the whole world seems to be on a roll as far as combustion engines go. Ford brought back the famous 5.0 with over 400 horsepower, as do the Camaros and Challengers. We've got 550 horsepower station wagons (Cadillac CTS-V), $100,000 supercars (Corvette ZR-1) and affordable, fun little cars that can get 40 mpg without any sort of hybrid system.

How much better can it get, and at what point does it become unfordable? Will we still have muscle cars like the Mustang when, not if, gas hits $10 a gallon?  Should we really stick it out with the internal combustion engine and see how far we can drag it out before we've exhausted every type of conceivable fuel? Or should we really and truly try to invest in something new, different, and in many ways exciting? These are the questions I find myself pondering.

I am a fan of a lot of alternative fuels (to run my dream muscle car fleet on), but no matter what the "fuel of the future is," it will still be using an internal combustion engine, which means everything that goes along with the ICE (transmissions, driveshafts, exhaust systems.) And until we can get over that, we are ultimately limiting what car makers can make, for us. As Anwyl pointed out, many of these alternative fuels have been around for a long time. Perhaps they didn't catch on for a reason. The government has prodded automakers towards safer, more efficient vehicles since the 1970's, and the cars we know and love today are as much a result of that prodding as the automakers own internal machinations. We don’t give the government enough credit in this area; cars with seven air bags that can go 160 mph and support five times their own weigh with their roof? I mean come on, that is awesome. Alas, as long as we rely on oil, we are going to be at the will of speculators and dictators, and I’m not sure that would change with any other fuel, including EV’s. But at least we’re not going to run out of electricity any time soon, and in something as important as transportation, the government shouldn’t waffle. Focus like a laser, and git ‘r’ done.

The real reason, though, that I want the government to spend money convincing people to buy electric vehicles is a selfish one. I'd like there to be some oil left over 20 or 30 years from now, that doesn't cost $100 a gallon, so I can fill up some 1960's relic and lose myself in a simpler time while the world buzzes around me in electric cars.

That way, when I stomp that obsolete gas pedal, everybody within a five mile radius can appreciate the roar of an old, nearly extinct dinosaur still roaming the streets.

Chris DeMorro is a writer and gearhead who loves all things automotive, from hybrids to Hemis. You can follow his slow descent into madness at Sublime Burnout.
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Saturday, March 5, 2011

Gas 2.0

Gas 2.0

Toyota Yaris Hybrid Makes Geneva Debut

Posted: 05 Mar 2011 06:09 AM PST

The Yaris is Toyota's B-segment warrior, a cute little car which isn't really exceptional in any way. However, Toyota has figured out a way to make it more appealing by fitting its full hybrid system into this subcompact car.

This is pretty big news, and could breathe some new life into Toyota's hybrid lineup. Called the Toyota Yaris HSD, it will be the first B-segment full hybrid when it goes on sale in Europe (no word on U.S. availability) and it made its debut at the Geneva International Auto Show.  Now you might be saying "Well what about the Honda CR-Z Hybrid? That's a B-Segment car right?" Well, yes and now. The CR-Z features a mild-hybrid system where an electric motor assists the gasoline engine, as opposed to propelling the vehicle solely on electric power (which the CR-Z can't do.)

The Yaris HSD, however, will feature much of the same hybrid technology in the best-selling Prius, but in a smaller, cheaper B-segment chassis. The B-segment of cars is the largest selling group in Europe (where gas prices are around double what they are in the U.S.) The Toyota Yaris already has decent gas mileage numbers, so with a full hybrid system, I wouldn't be surprised to see highway mileage approach or eclipse 60 mpg. Toyota is keeping mum on specifications right now, though I wonder if the Prius "C" concept and the Yaris HSD might have anything in common.

Another thought; will Toyota allow another of its vehicles to eclipse the much-ballyhooed Prius in fuel efficiency? Mayhaps, though at the end of the day, what is really going to make or break a B-segment hybrid is price, no matter who makes it. A non-hybrid Yaris starts around $12,500, and most people looking in this price bracket either can't, or won't spend too much money on an automobile. But if Toyota can keep the price of a Yaris hybrid under say, $15,000, and offer Prius-like gas mileage, they could have a real winner. Toyota is also planning to bring hybrid technology to all of its European models in the coming years. See, who says I never have anything nice to say about Toyota?

Source: Toyota

Chris DeMorro is a writer and gearhead who loves all things automotive, from hybrids to Hemis. You can follow his slow descent into madness at Sublime Burnout.
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