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electric posts

Japan considers adding noise pollution to hybrids

by Thomas Ricker, posted Jul 3rd 2009 at 8:01AM

Any big city bicyclist knows that being small and silent on the street is a deadly combination. Drivers of 2-ton cages are simply immune to anything but the sights and sounds of combustion engines riding four on the floor. This issue affects silent-running hybrids and compact electrics too, something Japan's government is taking seriously in a new government review that could result in a mandate for the inclusion of "a sound making function" in their future eco-rides. Safety aside, we presume Japanese manufacturers would choose a sound that's as tasteful and unassuming as their locally brewed hybrids. Imagine if GM was to make a similar decision... oh, right.

Video: Grocery cart morphs into electric go-kart, insanity ensues

by Darren Murph, posted Jul 1st 2009 at 9:33AM

We won't bother detailing just how sophisticated the system is that's powering the wild whip you're peering at above. We won't bother mentioning just how many A123Systems batteries are installed, nor how intelligent the creator is. We won't bother wearing our jealously on our sleeves. What we will do, however, is point you after the break in order to have a look at just how exhilarating a ride in the LOLrio Cart (otherwise known as an electric go-kart) is. Harris Teeter, you getting all this?

[Via AutoblogGreen]

Continue reading Video: Grocery cart morphs into electric go-kart, insanity ensues

Chevy Volt's first pre-production model now on the road, in testing

by Ross Miller, posted Jun 26th 2009 at 12:38AM

And with that, the first bona fide pre-production Chevy Volt -- its own parts and all -- has hit the pavement. General Motor's storied EV will be taken through the ropes to see what needs to be tweaked / modified before it finally goes into full production, which is expected to be at a rate of about ten a week as of mid-July -- and if you happen to live near Warren, Michigan, you might just spot one of these early models out on the road. Hard to believe Volt's defied more than a few odds, but so far, it looks promising. Good on ya, GM.

Tesla, Ford, Nissan all receive electric car development loans from US government

by Nilay Patel, posted Jun 23rd 2009 at 2:13PM

High five, Tesla fans -- everyone's favorite incredibly controversial electric car company has just been granted $465m in loans from the Department of Energy's Advanced Technology Vehicle Manufacturing program. The bulk of the money will go towards that postponed Model S factory, while the remaining $100m will be used to fund an electric powertrain manufacturing facility that will sell parts like motors and battery packs to other carmakers. Tesla wasn't the DOE's only big winner: Nissan received $1.6b (billion!) to build batteries and EVs in Tennessee and Ford received an undisclosed amount to build two upcoming electric cars, but since those companies have largely drama-free upper management that isn't constantly involved in lawsuits, it feels a little more routine. Still, it's an exciting time -- let's hope all these tax dollars turn into affordable, convenient electric transportation sooner rather than later.

Update: A "congressional source" has told the AP that Ford's getting $5.9 billion, so yeah, the Oval's still the big dog.

Read - Tesla
Read - Ford
Read - Nissan

Engadget cruises with the Brammo Enertia electric motorcycle (with videos!)

by Tim Stevens, posted Jun 9th 2009 at 12:57PM

Little more than a month after getting our sweaty, gloveless mitts on the Zero Motorcycles Zero S we received an offer to ride yet another high-tech wunderbike: the Brammo Enertia. Naturally our first reaction was excitement -- excitement only slightly dampened by news that we'd again be using the gridlocked NYC streets as our test track. But, we risked life, limb, and the ire of many a taxi driver to get some impressions of the latest electric motorcycle to hit the streets, and grabbed some video action of it all too. Read on for the lot.

Gallery: Brammo enertia test-ride

Continue reading Engadget cruises with the Brammo Enertia electric motorcycle (with videos!)

MotoCzysz E1pc electric superbike packs iPhone in the dash

by Darren Murph, posted Jun 8th 2009 at 5:15AM

We've certainly seen Apple's iPhone act as an integral part of a vehicle before, but we've yet to see one front and center on a motorbike. Hailed as the planet's first "digital superbike," the MotoCzysz E1pc packs some pretty sick technology from end-to-end. Aside from being a zero-emissions, all-electric motorcycle, it reportedly relies on Apple's darling for its instrumentation. Sadly, details about what exactly the iPhone handles are few and far between, but hopefully we'll hear more after its upcoming run in the TTXGP on June 12th. Two more looks after the break.

[Via Hell For Leather]

Continue reading MotoCzysz E1pc electric superbike packs iPhone in the dash

Chevy Volt coasts closer to reality, first bona fide model now in production

by Ross Miller, posted May 27th 2009 at 10:39PM

General Motors has just cut the ribbon, metaphorically at least, on the production of the first genuine Chevy Volt integration vehicle. Unlike previous versions, which have been "developments mules" made using parts from the Malibu / Cruze lines, this will look (and hopefully feel) 100 percent like what the company plans to start pimping out this November. The pre-production model will be put through the paces in case the design needs to be refined and tweaked before going full steam ahead. GM is sticking pretty close to its original plan of building at a rate of ten a week by mid-July, with "several hundred more" going into production early next year, and with any luck, it'll be packing some standardized EV plug by then.

Eco Watercraft electric waverunner makes no sound, burns no fuel, zaps no fish

by Tim Stevens, posted May 26th 2009 at 10:13AM

Beware Big Oil executives: EVs aren't content to just take over the morning commute. They're targeting all motorized leisure activities, and while we've already seen how an electric motorcycle can be just as much fun as a petrol-powered version, electric waverunners look to be next. The company is Eco Watercraft, pledging to build its machines in a factory powered by renewable means, thus giving the vehicles twice the green cred. The model in the videos embedded below doesn't look like it could stand a chance of keeping up with some of the more powerful watercraft on the market today, like Yamaha's ridiculous FX Cruiser SHO and its supercharger, but it should be good enough to get your kicks whilst earning fewer dirty looks from birdwatching kayakers. Now if only we knew how much that privilege will cost you.

[Via TreeHugger]

Continue reading Eco Watercraft electric waverunner makes no sound, burns no fuel, zaps no fish

Schwinn Tailwind electric bike review

by Laura June, posted May 22nd 2009 at 5:16PM

Schwinn's Tailwind electric bike -- which has been available for just a few months -- has been sitting in our apartment since post CES, waiting for the New York weather to shape up enough for us to give it a fair spin. Well, it's been beautiful recently, so the pedal-assist bike has been taken for several spins on our backyard BMX trail to see what kind of dust we could raise together. The bike is a retro, hulking, 58 pound package, with a Toshiba SCiB Quick Charge Plug n' Drive (SCiB) battery saddled onto the back for about 30 miles of assistance. It's an expensive (about $3,200) piece of eco-friendly transportation, to be sure. So the questions are thus: what do we think about Schwinn's latest foray into commuter cycles? Just who is this bike for? Will we ever get used to carrying it up and down our apartment stairs? Join us on the road after the break.

Continue reading Schwinn Tailwind electric bike review

Video: Better Place's automated electric vehicle battery switch station is faster than Melvin Dummar

by Thomas Ricker, posted May 13th 2009 at 8:10AM

It's massive, costs $500,000, and is just a prototype; but you're looking at a possible solution for swapping out heavy car batteries from future electric vehicles. Kind of important if you're hoping to take your EV on a trip a bit further than the supermarket or city center without having to stop for a lengthy recharge. This switch station, unveiled in Japan by Better Place, can swap out a spent battery in less time than it takes to refuel the tank in that baby-killer of a car you hold so precious. These battery swap stations are just part of the enormous infrastructure required to support Better Place's subscription approach to electric vehicles -- infrastructure easily estimated to cost $250 million or so for countries like Israel or Denmark on up to the $1 Billion already pledged by San Francisco Bay Area mayors. Better Place admits that the swap technology is a work in progress but hopes to have 150,000 charging stations and about 100 battery swap stations deployed in Israel by 2011. Check the video after the break.

Continue reading Video: Better Place's automated electric vehicle battery switch station is faster than Melvin Dummar

Standardized EV plug could be adopted within months, says GM

by Ross Miller, posted Apr 21st 2009 at 9:38PM

Here's a more reassuring timeline for that proposed standardized plug for electric vehicles. The SAE J1772 Task Force-developed charging system, based on an initial design by supplier Yazaki, is now at Underwriters Labs for certification. That's scheduled to be done by the end of May and, if all things go according to plan, it can be adopted for use in the next few months. Speaking to Autoblog Green, General Motors' Gery Kissel listed his company, Chrysler, Ford, Toyota, Honda, Nissan and Tesla among those participating or supporting the standard. He also said the we-swear-it's-coming-this-year Chevy Volt should be equipped with the new plug, and Tesla's reportedly pledged to adopt it for current plans and retrofit its older models. Things are starting to look up for the EV industry.

Tata Indica soon to hit the streets of Norway: it's electric!

by Laura June, posted Apr 21st 2009 at 1:36PM

We heard tell of an all-electric, Norway-bound Tata Indica back in September of last year, and now it looks like it's almost ready to hit the streets. Autoblog Green is reporting that the makers of the super-cheap Nano expect to have the electric Indica rolling off the line either late this year or early in 2010. While the Indica EV (above) that was shown at the SAE World Congress is not the model that will be available in Norway, we can probably expect it to look something like it. We don't know any details about pricing, but expect the available number of autos to be "limited." No further info about the car yet, but we'll keep you posted. Hit the read link for a full gallery of the EV.

Subaru yanks concept label, begins testing Stella plug-in EV

by Darren Murph, posted Apr 20th 2009 at 8:21AM

Anyone that follows the automobile sector with any semblance of regularity would know that quite a few concepts never make it beyond the drawing board. Thankfully, Subaru's Stella is one of the lucky ones. Fuji Heavy Industries, parent company and maker of Subaru automobiles, has just announced its plans to begin testing prototypes of its Subaru plug-in Stella electric vehicle, which will be introduced in Japan this summer. Furthermore, the company has managed to boost power output from 40kW in the previous iteration to 47kW, and it also stripped away some unnecessary weight and fine-tuned the output management system. There's no mention of a price or expected launch date in North America, but you'll never stop us from hoping the answer to the latter is "soon."

Automakers agree on common plug to recharge electric vehicles

by Darren Murph, posted Apr 19th 2009 at 4:24PM

Just hours after General Motors put forth a proposal for a standardized plug for electric vehicles, in flies this. German energy firm RWE has stated that a cadre of respected automakers and energy firms have all come together in agreement on a three-point, 400-volt plug that will enable electric cars the world over to be recharged anywhere, regardless of which recharging station they stop at. Caroline Reichert, an RWE spokeswoman, noted that the idea here is to ensure that "a car can be recharged in Italy in exactly the same way as in Denmark, Germany or France." We're told that the agreement includes nods of acceptance from the likes of Volkswagen, BMW, Ford, General Motors, Fiat, Toyota, Mitsubishi, Eon, Vattenfall, EDF, Npower, Endesa and Enel, and while there's no time frame for when it'll be introduced, we're pretty stoked to hear that at least something has been decided upon.

GM proposes standardized plug for electric vehicles

by Darren Murph, posted Apr 17th 2009 at 8:11AM

Say what you will about General Motors (okay, so maybe you should say it under your breath), but there's no denying the brilliance of this idea. On the company's FastLane blog, one Gery Kissel explains that engineers and suits will be meeting up next week to discuss the standardization of common components that will hopefully be installed in forthcoming electric vehicles. Notably, the SAE J1772 Task Force will be responsible for designing a plug that links each plug-in vehicle to an "ecosystem," ensuring that drivers can pull into any charging station from Key West to Neah Bay and see a socket that fits their ride. Specifically, the group is being charged with defining a "common electric vehicle conductive charging system architecture for all major automakers in North America," but it remains to be seen if said standard can be hammered out before the Volt's not-to-be-missed 2010 introduction.