Green Car Advisor
Fuels & Technologies
October 10, 2008
The ongoing economic crunch may accomplish for alternative fuels what an ambivalent marketplace and bipolar political system haven't been able to do: Thin the herd and get everyone working toward the same goal.
So far, automakers and fuel and energy companies have been wandering all over the place in the search for replacements for crude oil and improvements in vehicle fuel economy.
Some favor a particular approach - Toyota Motor Co. and hybrids, for example.
Others, like General Motors Corp., sample everything, spending part of their R&D budgets on fuels like ethanol, part on hydrogen, a little bit on improvements to the gasoline engine and the rest on battery-electric vehicles.
But with an already cash-strapped auto industry staring at double-digit declines in annual new-vehicle sales for the next few years, money for ongoing projects is going to be harder to find than a tree-hugger at a McPalin rally.
Alex Molinaroli, head of Johnson Controls' hybrid battery unit, is one of a growing number of industry watchers who believe that automakers are soon going to have to exert some discipline, pick a technology for long-term alternative fuel and powertrain solutions, and stick with it.
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- John O'Dell October 10, 2008, 3:01 AM
- Categories:
- Alternative Fuels, Batteries, Fuel Cell, Fuels & Technologies, Hybrid, Opinion, Plug-ins and Electric
- Technorati Tags:
- Electric Vehicles
, Fuel Cells, Transportation Future
October 9, 2008
Electric cars are the hot topic at this year's Paris auto show, with General Motors, Renault, Nissan, Smart and many lesser-known car manufacturers showing off a huge variety of EVs.
They range from wildly exotic supercars to tiny commuter cars that look ready to park in your driveway. Some are strictly concepts. Others could go on sale - even here in the U.S. -- much sooner than you think.
Green Car Advisor's man in Paris, contributor Nick Kurczewski, was at the show last week and offers some thoughts on the biggest electric-car newsmakers there.
Chevrolet Volt - Yes, we've written a ton about it and you've read even more, but we still can't ignore it. There it was, sitting on the GM stand in Paris, bowtie gleaming in the spotlights.
Chevy's Volt is often called a plug-in hybrid, and it is a hybrid by definition. But it also is an electric car, using only an electric motor for propulsion.
Its small 1.4-liter gasoline engine cranks over only to recharge the batteries and never sends its power directly to the Volt's wheels.
Whether you consider it an EV or a hybrid, chances are the bigger factor in consumer acceptance of the four-door sedan will be its escalating price tag.
A new bill just signed by the White House makes the Volt eligible for a $7,500 federal income tax credit, but before applying that, the sticker price - which determines the size of down payments and monthly lease or purchase costs - is likely to be at or above $40,000 when it goes on sale in late 2010 in the U.S.
That's awfully steep sticker-price, especially considering that new Honda Insight hybrid will cost less than $20,000 when it arrives next year.
Renault Z.E. Concept - Renault and its sister company, Nissan, are busy co-developing electric vehicles that will go on sale as early as 2010. The Z.E. Concept is the first indication as to where Renault is taking its version.
The design of the Z.E. - for Zero Emissions -- looks like a shortened version of the humble Renault Kangoo, a tall and boxy utility van currently sold throughout Europe. The green glass in the concept model adds a bizarre touch of show-car drama.
Other details include the use of rear-view cameras instead of side mirrors - to smooth out the aerodynamics and improve range - along with solar panels built into the roof, to aid battery recharging.
The Z.E. concept car uses double-walled insulating bodywork, which keeps the cabin cozy whether it is hot or cold outside and requires less energy from the ventilation system.
Its lithium-ion batteries provide a driving range between 60 to 90 miles.
Renault does not currently sell cars in America, which makes it unlikely the French manufacturer will ever bring its EV stateside.
But it's Japanese partner has other plans.
Nissan Nuvu - Don't worry if you love the idea of an electric-powered Nissan but hate the blobby looks of the Nuvu concept car.
The 2+1 seat Nuvu is important chiefly because it offers a glimpse of the lithium-ion powered drivetrain of the electric vehicle Nissan says it will start selling in the U.S. in 2010.
The Japanese company reassures us that the quirky Nuvu is not a totally faithful indication of what this production car will eventually look like.
Under its skin, the Nuvu's battery pack provides a range of 75 miles and a top-speed of 78 miles per hour. Range will likely be improved, and the wacky looks toned down a bit when Nissan unveils a more accurate glimpse of its upcoming EV during next year's Tokyo motor show.
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- John O'Dell October 9, 2008, 3:00 AM
- Categories:
- Alternative Fuels, Auto Shows, Chevrolet, Fuels & Technologies, General Motors, Honda, Hybrid, Nissan, Plug-ins and Electric, Renault, Smart, Solar
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- Electric Cars
, EVs, Paris Auto Show
October 7, 2008
Cellulosic ethanol pioneer Mascoma Corp. says it has received a $49.5 million cash infusion from the State of Michigan and the federal Energy Department for development of a new plant in Michigan.
Mascoma, one of two cellulosic ethanol companies being backed by General Motors Corp., has developed a process that uses proprietary enzymes to convert wood chips into ethanol fuel.
The grants announced today include $26 million from the federal government and $23.5 million from the state.
Boston-based Mascoma also has a demonstration plant in Rome, N.Y.
While conventional ethanol is made from crops including corn and sugar cane, cellulosic ethanol is made from waste products and non-food crops such as praire grasses.
Production of both types of the alternative fuel has drawbacks -- including potentially increasing heat-trapping carbon dioxide. But conventional ethanol production has been blamed for increasing the cost of grain-based basic foodstuffs.
The goal of cellulosic ethanol backers is to remove the fuel's impacrt on the food chain and, possibly, to reduce the amount of energy required in ethanol production.
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- John O'Dell October 7, 2008, 2:28 PM
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- Alternative Fuels, Biofuels, Energy Companies, Ethanol, Fuels & Technologies
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- Cellulosic Ethanol
, Mascoma Corp.
October 6, 2008
European automakers today called for $55.2 billion of low-interest loans to help develop greener cars in the fight against climate change, but their request was instantly rebuffed.
"This idea does not even merit discussion," a source at the European Commission said.
An auto industry group claimed the global economic crisis was making it increasingly difficult for carmakers to achieve European Union emissions targets by 18 percent over the next several years.
But the European Commission rejected the demand for a loan that would equate to over one third of the annual EU budget.
A representative for the auto industry group said it was trying to start a discussion of how the EU might support its automakers in a time of change.
The same group has asked the EU to create incentives for motorists to scrap vehicles over eight years old to speed up fleet renewal.
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- Scott Doggett October 6, 2008, 2:12 PM
- Categories:
- Emissions, Fiat, Fuel Economy, Fuels & Technologies, Legislation, Manufacturers, Tax Incentives
Borrowing from the Detroit 3 playbook, Europe's automakers plan to ask the European Commission for a $55.2 billion loan to accelerate the transition to fuel-efficient and alternative-fuel cars, The Wall Street Journal reported today.
The request follows a similar move in the U.S., where Congress last week approved $25 billion in loans to help American carmakers improve the fuel economy of their vehicles.
Fiat suggested the request to European auto executives at a board meeting of the European Auto Makers Association, or ACEA, on Friday, the Journal reported, citing an unidentified person familiar with the matter.
The board met to discuss the commission's proposals for tighter rules on emissions that scientists say cause global warming. Under the rules, Europe's automakers would face fines if the average emission for their vehicle fleet exceeded 120 grams of carbon dioxide per kilometer.
Car companies have complained that meeting the emission limit for the entire fleet by 2012 isn't economically feasible for them, though they would agree to a gradual application of the rules. They have lobbied for the commission to delay applying the rules in full until 2015.
"All European carmakers agree on the [$55.2 billion] demand," a spokesman for Fiat said Saturday, confirming earlier comments by his boss, Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne. The final details of an agreement remain unclear, another person familiar with Fiat's proposal told the Journal.
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- Scott Doggett October 6, 2008, 5:01 AM
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- Emissions, Fiat, Fuel Economy, Fuels & Technologies, Legislation, Manufacturers
October 3, 2008
In case you've been in a deep, dank cave with no wireless connection for the past few hours, the news
du jour is that the House has approved the Wall Street rescue measure that includes the original $700-billion in bail-out bucks plus wads of cash for renewable energy, biofuels and energy-efficiency programs.
The $17 billion energy package also includes a
plug-in hybrids tax credit plan with an estimated price tag of $1 billion. It won't expire until the auto industry has, collectively, sold 250,000 plug-in cars and trucks that run at least part of the time on all-electric drive from energy stored in rechargeable, on-board batteries.
While none of the major automakers has yet to offer a plug-in, just about all (Honda Motor Co. is a notable exception) are working on them, with General Motor Corp.'s Chevrolet Volt perhaps the best known of the bunch.
Reporters walking the floor of the Paris Auto Show this week, however, are seeing a lot more as European car makers seem to have
embraced the idea of electric cars and gas- and diesel-electric hybrids with a fervor usually associated with revival meeting preachers.
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- John O'Dell October 3, 2008, 12:47 PM
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- Chevrolet, Fuels & Technologies, General Motors, Green Vehicles, Honda, Legislation, Mercedes-Benz, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Opinion, Plug-ins and Electric, Renault, Smart, Subaru, Tata, Toyota
By John O'Dell, Senior EditorGerman automotive giant Daimler says it has seen the future, and it is green and uses batteries.
The company, which last month launched a major electric car and charging station program in Berlin and has been testing electric Smart cars in London for almost a year, unveiled the newest generation of Smart EVs (or EDs - for electric drive) Thursday at the Paris Motor Show.
The tiny Smart, in production since 1998, is an attempt to help make individual transportation environmentally sound and sustainable and the quiet and emission-free ED versions, the company says, could be the answer.
Speeches at major auto shows are usually grandiose and full of promises, and Daimler Chairman Dieter Zetsche's was no exception as he talked of the future he sees for his company and the auto industry:
As people continue moving out of the suburbs and into cities to be closer to work and to cut their fuel bills, "the future will see an ever-increasing proportion of traffic on the roads in urban centers," Zetsche said.
"Zero-emission electric cars could shape the image of environmentally aware cities because zero local emission motoring is no longer science fiction - and also when seen as a whole emissions will be further reduced as the proportion of 'green' electricity increases. The future of mobility is green. We invented the car - and we will do it again!"
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- John O'Dell October 3, 2008, 3:02 AM
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- Auto Shows, Batteries, Daimler, Fuels & Technologies, Mercedes-Benz, Plug-ins and Electric, Smart
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- Daimler
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October 1, 2008
As the world as we know it crumbles around us, with older Americans staring at shrinking pension funds, younger Americans looking at grim job and housing scenes and everyone wondering which big bank is the next to
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62-mpg diesel Golf BlueMotion concept from VW is one of the cars to be featured at Paris show.
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collapse, why there's no credit and when elected representatives will stop worrying about politics and start working for the people, the City of Lights is preparing to flick the switch on the first post-meltdown auto show.
Talk about good timing.
But the Paris Motor Show is in Europe, home of the fuel efficient small car (of course, Europe also has given us 9 mpg Lamborghinis and equally thirsty Rollers, Ferraris and big Benzes, but who's counting?), and while there will be a few exotics on display the spotlight for the next few days is going to be on the gas sippers that will be unveiled over there.
We gave you a taste a few weeks ago with Green Car Advisor's Paris preview, and today Edmunds Auto Observer brings a comprehensive look at the hybrids, electrics, diesels and other fuel-efficient cars - production and concept - that will be on display as the show prepares to open its doors.
Click here for AO's take on the Paris show, which holds its media preview Thursday and Friday and opens to the public Saturday for a 16-day run.
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- John O'Dell October 1, 2008, 8:18 AM
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- Paris Auto Show
, Paris Motor Show
September 25, 2008
Toyota Motor Co. and
SunPower Corp. opened the blinds and let the sunshine in on what the two companies say is North America's largest rooftop solar power installation.
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Workers install a SunPower solar array similar to Toyota's atop the Department of Energy building in Washington, D.C., earlier this year.
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The array of more than 10,000 photovoltaic modules is located atop Toyota's sprawling auto parts distribution center in Ontario, Calif. It was put into operation on Wednesday.
Toyota said the installation, which covers 242,000 square feet of the buildings' roof, will produce 2.3 megawatts of electricity per day - sufficient to supply 3.7 million kilowatt hours, or 60 percent of the building's power needs.
It will replace conventional generating that was producing an estimated 3,200 tons a year of heat-trapping carbon dioxide, one of the major "greenhouse" gases believed to contribute to global warming.
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- John O'Dell September 25, 2008, 4:26 AM
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- Fuels & Technologies, Solar, Toyota
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September 23, 2008
Unlike most of the vehicles there, it won't be running, but a production model of General Motors Corp.'s Volt series hybrid car (left) will be on hand for viewing at AltCar Expo 2008 this weekend in Santa Monica, Calif.
The two-day event, now in its third year, is one of the nation's premier showcases for alternatives to the conventional gasoline-burning automobile.
Organizers say more than 100 vehicles - cars, trucks, scooters and 'cycles with natural gas, battery-electric, hydrogen fuel-cell electric, compressed air, biodiesel, flex-fuel and hybrid propulsion systems - will be on hand, several available for test drives.
The expo, to be held Friday and Saturday at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium, drew more than 10,000 attendees last year.
In addition to the vehicle displays, the event features numerous displays by alternative energy providers and proponents; a series of seminars addressing climate change and transportation and energy trends and featuring panelists from government, industry and advocacy groups.
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- John O'Dell September 23, 2008, 3:02 AM
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- Alternative Fuels, Audi, Auto Shows, BMW, Biofuels, Diesel, Ethanol, Flex-Fuel, Fuel Cell, Fuels & Technologies, Hybrid, Hydrogen, Motorcycles, Natural Gas, Plug-ins and Electric, Solar, Transportation Alternatives
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- AltCarExpo 2008; Alternative Fuels; Santa Monica Alternative Car Expo
September 16, 2008
GreenHunter Energy Inc. said Monday it expects its Houston, Texas, biodiesel refinery to be out of service for six to eight weeks due to damage from Hurricane Ike.
The plant (right, pre-storm) can produce 105 million gallons of biodiesel per year, making it the largest biodiesel refinery in the country.
Located on 20 acres beside the Houston Ship Channel, it suffered floodwater damage and lost power when Ike came ashore early Saturday along the Texas Gulf Coast with strong winds and torrential rains.
The local utility in Houston, Center Point Energy, is expected to restore electricity and natural gas service to the location in six to eight weeks. In the short term, generators will provide temporary interruptible power.
GreenHunter can produce biodiesel from animal fats, vegetable oils or a blend of the two at the zero-emissions refinery.
The site was originally home to a waste-oil recycling facility owned by Channel Refining Corporation. GreenHunter bought it in early 2007 and converted it into a biodiesel plant.
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- Scott Doggett September 16, 2008, 7:11 AM
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- Biofuels, Diesel, Energy Companies, Fuels & Technologies
September 15, 2008
Nano-technologies and battery-electrode developer QuantumSphere Inc., said today it has filed for a patent on a technology that can increase the capacity of rechargeable lithium-ion batteries as much as fivefold.
The technology, if suitable for the mass market, could substantially increase the range of plug-in hybrid and battery-electric vehicles using lithium-ion batteries.
Range, reliability and safety all are major concerns being voiced by battery development specialists meeting this week at the Argonne National Laboratory to discuss developments in lithium-ion technology.
QuantumSphere, a six-year-old company based in Santa Ana, California, said its new technology involves a "novel electrode structure" in which the battery electrode material is enriched with "nano lithium particles" that increase the battery's fuel source.
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Nano particles such as these manufactured by QuantumSphere are microscopic particles typically 1-billionth of a meter or less in diameter.
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In additional to hybrid and electric automobile applications, the new technology could be applied to lithium batteries used in cell phones, laptop computers and other electronic devices.
"Instead of four hours of operating time on a laptop computer, a single charge could last up to 12 hours and provide users with enough computing time for a complete round-trip flight between Los Angeles and New York," said Kevin Maloney, quantum Sphere's president and chief executive.
The company didn't offer an example of what its technology might do for an electric car battery pack.
John O'Dell, Senior Editor
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- John O'Dell September 15, 2008, 4:15 PM
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- Batteries, Fuels & Technologies
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We opined last week that Honda was skipping at least the initial heat of the battery electric vehicle race to concentrate on its hybrid and fuel-cell electric programs.
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Honda believes fuel-cell electric cars such as its FCX Clarity will be marketable before battery-electric vehicles can make the grade.
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Now comes word, via Bloomberg News, that the automaker also is bowing out of the plug-in hybrid contest.
Batteries just aren't advanced enough to make rechargeable gasoline-electric vehicles sensible replacements for gasoline-only cars, Honda research chief Masaaki Kato said in a recent interview with the business news service.
"For battery-powered vehicles to become more widespread, more popular in the market, we feel battery technology needs to advance further,'' Kato said. "We just don't see it providing the type of driving performance you get with a gasoline-powered vehicle.''
Honda's reticence flys in the face of aggressive moves by General Motors Corp, with its promised Volt plug-in sedan, due in fleets in small numbers toward the end of next year and scheduled for mass production at the end of 2010, and Toyota Motor Corp., which is developing a plug-in Prius hybrid for fleet use and has scheduled a late 2009 introduction (no word on when or if the car will be made available in the retail market).
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- John O'Dell September 15, 2008, 2:40 PM
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- Batteries, Fuel Cell, Fuels & Technologies, General Motors, Honda, Hybrid, Hydrogen, Nissan, Plug-ins and Electric, Toyota
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- FCX Clarity
, Honda Fuel Cell, Plug In Hybrids
September 12, 2008
GM, as you may know, celebrates its 100th birthday on Tuesday.
Some wags marvel that the company's hung on this long, others pray for another 100 years.
As you might expect, the top dogs at General Motors are among that second group (although there may be a few who, in the privacy of their own minds, feel some kinship with the doubters) and are going all out to celebrate the company's centennial not as an end but as a beginning.
To that end, GM is holding a number of online events Tuesday and we thought we'd alert you to them now as several of the potentially better ones require advance registration.
The biggie is a Webcast roundtable discussion featuring industry experts pondering the next 100 years of personal transportation.
It could provide a good look at where the General is heading as it prepares to roll out new vehicles such as the Volt plug-in hybrid and continues to test fuel-cell electric vehicles and, we hope, other types of fuel-efficient and/or oil-free vehicles of the future.
The roundtable will be Webcast live on Tuesday at 1:30 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time, and you can
register here to view and to submit questions to the panelists.
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- John O'Dell September 12, 2008, 5:04 PM
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, GM
September 11, 2008
Honda Motor Co. and Yamaha Motor Co. have set launch dates for electric motorcycles, the Nikkei business daily reported today.
Yamaha aims to launch electric motorcycles by 2010 with a range of 60 miles on a single charge, comparable to those with 50cc engine displacements, the paper said.
There was no information regarding the Yamaha's battery.
Honda, the world's largest motorcycle maker, will launch lithium-ion battery electric motorcycles in 2011, targeting fleet customers such as Japan Post Service, which likely would consider replacing its 90,000 gas-powered motorcycles with electric models.
Neither officials at Honda nor Yamaha would provide additional details, including prices.
A Honda Cub Concept fuel-cell motorcycle is pictured above.
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- Scott Doggett September 11, 2008, 3:57 PM
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- Batteries, Fuels & Technologies, Honda, Manufacturers, Motorcycles, Plug-ins and Electric, Yamaha
Pressed to lower its cars' carbon dioxide emissions and to give consumers more fuel-efficient vehicles, luxury car maker Daimler says it anticipates that gas- or diesel-electric hybrids could account for one in fiive of its Mercedes-Benz unit's cars and SUVs by 2015.
Beginning with an S-Class hybrid (right) next year, Daimler plans to roll out at least one hybrid vehicle a year, Susanne Klauser, a spokeswoman for the German carmaker told Bloomberg News today.
German auto companies, heavily invested in advanced diesel technology, have been slow to jump on the hybrid bandwagon and still argue that putting two powertrains in one car is a costly and inefficient way to go green.
But there's no arguing with success and Daimler, BMW, Volkswagen and Porsche all have watched Toyota Motor Co.'s Prius shoot to the top of the best-seller lists in recent years, as consumers have become convinced that hybrids are one of the best ways to cut fuel consumption.
Daimler hasn't abandoned other green technologies, however, and recently showed Green Car Advisor a spate of projects including an advanced fuel-cell electric car and an improved clean-emissions gasoline engine that delivers diesel-like torque and fuel economy.
John O'Dell,Senior Editor
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- John O'Dell September 11, 2008, 12:56 PM
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- BMW, Daimler, Emissions, Fuel Economy, Fuels & Technologies, Hybrid, Mercedes-Benz, Porsche, Volkswagen
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- Daimler
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From the flights of fancy file: Skycar designer Moller International said this week that is has designed a concept plug-in hybrid sports car capable of flying for about 15 minutes.
We'll get to the details in a bit, but the idea of a PHEV flying car sure raises a bunch of questions:
Does it require a really, really long extension cord to support 15 minutes of flight?
How heavy - or light - is the battery pack and what kind of power is needed to lift it.
Is this the answer to a question that no one ever thought to ask?
With all the people on the road today who can't seem to drive for 15 minutes without running into someone or something, do we really want to encourage folks to take off and "drive" in the sky?
Would anyone really pay $250,000 for it?
Northern California-based Moller calls the 2-seat car the "
Autovolantor" (from a Moller-invented word, Volantor, which was derived from the Italian "
volante," which means flying, or, in music, to move with light rapidity, and the French "
Volant," meaning having wings extended).
The company says the car was designed at the behest of an unnamed wealthy businessman who found commuting from Moscow to his country home unbearable because of the Russian city's crowded streets.
The photo Moller supplies
(above) looks like a plastic model from Revell, but it shows that the car would use eight engines to lift it vertically like a hovercraft - only higher if it's going to fly - when sitting on the ground becomes too much.
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- John O'Dell September 11, 2008, 4:00 AM
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- Flying Car
, Moller International, Sky Car, Skycar
September 4, 2008
There's been some grumbling and rumbling among the green group this week after automobile.com posted an item maintaining that electric car maker Tesla Motors had confirmed that its next model will be a plug-in gas-electric hybrid rather than a pure EV.
Relax, says says Tesla marketing veep Darryl Siry. The report was wrong.
The next Tesla, like the company's iconic Roadster, won't have anything to do with an internal combustion engine.
Tesla's long-awaited family-sized sedan -- formerly called the White Star but now dubbed the " Model S" -- will be a battery-electric vehicle, Siry said in a brief interview with Green Car Advisor.
The sedan - we suspect there will be a new, catchier name coming soon - is the Tesla electric vehicle that will be assembled in California under a tax-break deal announced earlier this year by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.
No production date has been revealed, although there's lots of speculation that Tesla is aiming at late 2010.
If "several" is closer to two than to three, Siry might have confirmed that today, telling us that that the Model S is "several years away" from hitting the streets.
He said that the company is shooting for an "entry level" price tag of around $60,000 but added that Tesla plans several trim levels that will be priced higher.
"And the $60,000 is our goal," he said, leaving lots of wiggle room. "Actual pricing will be announced much closer to production, and we're still several years away."
John O'Dell,Senior Editor
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- John O'Dell September 4, 2008, 12:04 PM
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By John O'Dell, Senior Editor
As promised, Honda has released the first official photo of its new Prius-fighter, the 2010 Honda Insight hybrid.
Smaller than the Honda Civic Hybrid but still a five-seat vehicle, the new Insight (right) is expected to be priced at under $20,000, making it the least-expensive hybrid on the market when it goes on sale next year.
Although still called a "concept," the car pictured is not expected to be much different from the production version that will be introduced in the flesh (so to speak) on Oct. 2 at the Paris Motor Show.
The Insight, a five-door hatchback sedan, takes many of its styling cues from Honda's FCX Clarity fuel-cell electric car, Honda says - ignoring critics who say it owes a lot of its look to Toyota's Prius, the world's best-selling hybrid.
(Honda probably wouldn't be hurt if that association was to be made by a lot of buyers, but we're not going to suggest that any resemblance to the Prius is intentional. Both cars were designed to minimize wind resistance, and that pretty much dictates the basic body shape.)
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Honda's Insight (right) and the CR-Z concept (left) borrow design cues from FCX Clarity fuel-cell car (center).
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Whatever it looks like, the new Insight - which takes its name from the original Honda hybrid, the two-seat Insight introduced in 1999 and discontinued in 2006 - sticks with Honda's proprietary Integrated Motor Assist hybrid system.
It is a somewhat downsized version of the system, though, likely with a smaller battery pack and power control unit than in the IMA system that helps propel the Civic Hybrid. A smaller car, however, can get away with a smaller hybrid system.
While not revolutionary on the technology side of things, the new Insight is a ground-breaker on the price front.
It "will break new ground as an affordable hybrid within the reach of customers who want great fuel economy and great value," said Takeo Fukui, Honda chief executive.
The company wouldn't disclose fuel economy estimates, but one would expect a car that is lighter and more streamlined than the Civic hybrid to deliver better mileage.
Honda says the Insight will be followed - probably sometime in 2010 - by an all-new model based on the CR-Z sport coupe concept car shown at the Tokyo Auto Show in October, 2007.
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- John O'Dell September 4, 2008, 9:36 AM
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September 2, 2008
By John O'Dell, Senior Editor
Chrysler co-president Jim Press, the carmaker's self-described "demand" man charged with developing a product line people actually want to buy, says that despite its image, the company isn't stuck in the performance-car track and is well on the way to launching a full slate of "green" vehicles.
In addition to gas-electric hybrid models of the Chrysler Aspen
(left) and Dodge Durango SUVs just hitting dealer showrooms and a hybrid Dodge Ram pickup due next year, Chrysler engineers are testing a trio of hybrid and all-electric models with componments that are "near" market-ready, Press said.
Speaking to a group of automotive journalists and industry insiders in Los Angeles today, Press -- former head of Toyota's ultra-successful U.S. sales and marketing operation -- said that while a slimmed-down Chrysler will not abandon the Hemi V8s, hulking trucks and off-road vehicles it is known for, it is also looking at ways to boost fuel economy and, eventually, offer plug-in hybrid and battery-electric versions of many of its models.
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- John O'Dell September 2, 2008, 2:35 PM
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- Batteries, Chrysler, Daimler, Dodge, Fuel Cell, Fuels & Technologies, Hydrogen, Jeep, Plug-ins and Electric
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- Chrysler Green Vehicles
, Chrysler Plug-In Hybrids, Jim Press
A Dutch company called Detroit Electric but owned by a longtime British auto industry executive, says it plans to start building electric cars, buses and trucks with a Malaysian partner next year.
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Malaysian journalists take a Proton-bodied car with Detroit Electric's drive system for a spin.
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Albert Lam, former chief executive of Lotus Engineering and now chairman, chief executive and majority owner of Detroit Electric, told reporters in Malaysia that his company is negotiating with Malaysia's national automaker, Proton (which owns Lotus), to build the zero-emission vehicles.
He said he also was in discussions with an American automaker and a German car company, but declined to identify them.
An Associated Press report reprinted in numerous U.S. newspapers including the Detroit Free Press, quotes Lam as saying the initial car would cost about $24,000 and would use lithium-ion batteries and a powerful new lightweight electric motor developed by Detroit Electric.
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- John O'Dell September 2, 2008, 11:20 AM
- Categories:
- Fuels & Technologies, Plug-ins and Electric
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- Detroit Electric
, Electric Vehicles, EVs, Proton, Zap
By Bill Visnic, Senior EditorSo here's what it comes down to: two global automotive giants jousting over who has the better technology for future hybrids.
In this corner, if somewhat reluctantly, it's Toyota Motor Corp. and the
"plug-in" hybrid-electric vehicle (PHEV), an extension of its renowned Hybrid Synergy Drive system popularized the world over by the standard-setting Prius.
And in that corner, simultaneously playing underdog and catch-up, is General Motors Corp. and its heavy-duty green hype-machine, the Chevrolet Volt - a vehicle that, just as with Toyota's plug-in Prius, doesn't yet exist in retail form.
The Volt, still being tested and prototyped, is the high-fashion showcase for GM's potentially game-changing but unproven "extend-range" electric vehicle (E-REV) technology.
GM says that a Volt vs. plug-in Prius match-up isn't really an apples-to-apples comparison because the Volt isn't really a hybrid.
The company insists that it is an electric vehicle - albeit one fitted with a "range-extender" combustion engine that can recharge its lithium-ion batteries in the event the vehicle needs to be driven beyond the planned 40 miles of electric-only propulsion.
Truth is, the Volt is an EV, but it also fits the classic definition of a series hybrid, in which one powerplant produces electricity to feed the electric motor that propels the vehicle.
The Prius, plug-in or otherwise, is a hybrid of another stripe; a parallel hybrid, so called because its two power plants (gas and electric) can work separately or be harnessed together- operating in parallel - to provide propulsion.
The two systems are going to end up head-to-head in the race to win the hearts and minds of an expanding population of environmentally concerned buyers and head-to-head in the struggle to determine whether one design prevails in a high-efficiency future nobody can yet fully forecast.
Oh, and one final bit of fun and intrigue: neither company has been immune to a little trash-talking about the other's technology.
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- John O'Dell September 2, 2008, 1:00 AM
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- Chevrolet, Fuels & Technologies, General Motors, Green Vehicles, Hybrid, Plug-ins and Electric, Toyota
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, General Motors, GM, Plug In Prus Hybrid, Toyota Motor
August 29, 2008
By Nick Kurczewski, ContributorUnwilling to leave the potentially lucrative electric vehicle market to Japanese, European and - maybe - American carmakers, Indian auto companies are rushing to develop EVs of their own.
The impetus is twofold: To combat gridlock and air pollution at home, and to cash in on global demand for cleaner, eco-friendly vehicles.
The Indian firms will be joining a rapidly growing field of manufacturers looking to market environmentally-focused vehicles.
Industry heavy-weights like General Motors, Toyota, Honda, Mitsubishi, Renault-Nissan and Daimler all have promised to bring plug-in hybrids or battery-electric vehicles to market within the next three-to-five years.
Some of their upstart Indian competitors, however, say they will hit the market with their electric vehicles as early as the end of this year.
To find out what's on tap,
Green Car Advisor took a look at three of the main players in the burgeoning Indian electric vehicle market.
RevaReva Electric Car Co. is the minnow of the bunch. And no, we're not referring to the 102 inch length of the company's cartoonish-looking two-door hatchback
(right) -- four inches shorter than a Smart Fortwo.
Based in Bangalore, Reva is a small family-owned company that happens to be one of the most established electric car manufacturers in the world, with a vehicle that initially went on sale seven years ago.
A Reva offers room for two adults plus two children in the rear, and a top speed of 50 miles per hour.
Since retail sales began in July 2001, some 2,600 Revas have found homes. Chetan Maini, Reva's deputy chairman and chief technical officer, says the majority have been sold in Bangalore and London, where it's called the "G-Wiz."
Maini explains that Reva's intention was to begin with "one Indian city and one European city," and build the business from there.
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- John O'Dell August 29, 2008, 2:45 AM
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- Alternative Fuels, Fuels & Technologies, India, Mahindra, Plug-ins and Electric,
