Mitsubishi's i MiEV electric car has spent some serious time on the streets of Japan, but before long, the fuel-shunning vehicle will be roughin' it here in the US of A. The auto maker is teaming up with Southern California Edison and PG&E in order to see how it fares in LA traffic and how to best integrate it with the power grid. As of now, the whips should be cruising down the carpool lanes in Q4, though a few modifications may be needed in order to comply with US laws. Plans are to test the i MiEV for three solid years, and hopefully the $30,000 ride will be made available for purchase shortly thereafter (or earlier, if we're fortunate). What now, MINI?
Remember that Ohio-based firm that planned on converting 300 or so Saturn Skys into all-electric roadsters? Advanced Mechanical Products ring a bell? At any rate, said outfit has just hosted up a video of its fourth test drive of a prototype, which is shown sporting an "Electric" badge on the front fender and a whole mess of batteries and wires underneath the hood. Oh, and then there's that unmistakable whizzing sound as it cruises on by. Check out the video after the jump.
Compared to the almostuniversally-embarrassing homebuilt electric vehicles we've seen pop up so far, the Bricycle electric recumbent bike is up there with the Tesla Roadster in terms of sex appeal -- even though it kind of looks like a futuristic delivery truck. Designed to transport one person as efficiently as possible, the Bricyle (developed by someone named Brian -- clever) isn't completed yet, but it's got a 48-volt electric-assist motor for when you get tired of pedaling through the 21 bicycle gears, and disc brakes for quick stops. Sure, but can you get it in a color besides electric cucumber?
Your retinas have been treated to plenty of external shots of Tesla's Roadster, but have you ever stopped to wonder what kind of excitement sat just southwest of the steering wheel? CNET's UK branch managed to get their camcorder within a Roadster parked on display over in Britain, and what they found was a rather robust interface that enables owners to get all sorts of involved with how and when the car charges. The representative did note that typical navigation functions were controlled via the JVC head unit, but the small panel just under the gauges enables motorists to control a number of aspects in relation to charging. There's even a guide that explains which choices are cheaper and more beneficial for the long-term life of the battery. Have a look at the video in the read link.
Google.org, the search kingpin's philanthropic wing, has just added another notch to its eco-friendly belt with a recent (and sizable) investment in Aptera Motors -- makers of that absurdly futuristic gas-sipper we've been following. Along with ActaCell (an electric car battery maker), Aptera received a $2.75 million infusion via Google.org's RechargeIT investment program. Hopefully, some of the cash will be put to use bringing Aptera's Typ-1 vehicle to market, where its $30,000 estimated price tag and outrageous 230+ MPG fuel economy will be a welcome relief from rising fuel costs and concerns... and our lack of a fresh ride.
The all-electric Lightning GT sports car might have just had its formal debut yesterday, but that doesn't mean prototypes haven't been tooling around for a while -- check out this video of the swoopy two-door doing the track thing in ultra-dramatic slow-mo. Of course, there's no sound, so there could totally be a nasty 5.0L Windsor V8 block under that hood, but we'll give 'em the benefit of the doubt for now. Video at the read link -- and be honest, is this thing enough to sway your feelings from the Tesla Roadster or the Fisker Karma?
Well, would you have a look at that. That, dear friends, is Lightning's immaculate GT -- a £120,000 ($239,400) motorcar that is just one of two vehicles in the world to rely on lithium-titanate battery technology. Said innovation enables the vehicle to go from dead to fully charged in "just minutes," though you will have to find a location that provides three-phase industrial power in order to see the benefits over traditional Li-ion cells. The firm's Chris Dell asserts that the nearly exclusive quick charge tech more than justifies the exorbitant price tag, and he's even looking to UK-based businesses to hopefully strike a deal in which motorists can swing by, juice up and be on their way while traveling. Anxious to take delivery? Looks like you'll be waiting until sometime next year.
General Motors has already gotten a bit of cash from the US Department of Energy to further the development of plug-in hybrids, and it now looks like it's taking things one step further on another initiative, with it teaming up with the Electric Power Research Institute and 30 utilities in 37 states to produce a charging infrastructure for electric cars. Among other things, they'll be working to develop an affordable, reliable electricity source that's weather-proof and child-proof, which they say could be installed in places like public garages, curbside meters, or workplace parking lots. The utility companies, in particular, will also apparently be working to ensure that the grid doesn't get overwhelmed during peak hours. All that, GM says, will be done by 2010, which just happens to coincide with the launch of its much-touted Volt hybrid.
Not that electric MINIs are anything new, but unless you were willing to pay for all the mods yourself, procuring one wasn't exactly simple. Now, however, we're hearing that MINI itself will be bringing scads of these buggers to American streets in the summer of 2009. Yeah, like, one year from right now. MINI USA VP Jim McDowell was the source of said statement (so it's pretty much official, yeah?), though he didn't mention whether all of them would be reserved for California or if they would be available sold out nationwide. Hey MINI, we'd say you've got a hit on your hands.
Who needs to be "green" when you can go really, really fast? Well, Shelby Supercars figures it can have it both ways, with an all-electric version of the Ultimate Aero, the Ultimate Aero EV. Seeing how the Ultimate Aero is already the world's faster production car (at least officially, sorry Buggati), they don't see it as much of a leap of faith for this new version to carry that mantle into the electric space: "I think we can do it faster, leaner and cleaner than any other manufacturer," says the ever-modest SSC founder Jerod Shelby. The new car will be powered by a single 373kW electric motor, with a dual-motor "high performance" version being considered, which should give its gas guzzling sibling some serious competition around the track. Testing will begin in February next year, with full production supposed to commence in Q4 2009.
'Tis a shame we North Americans, Europeans, Australians, et al. won't be seeing the Elantra LPI Hybrid in 2009, but those in South Korea have a reason to celebrate. Hyundai is gearing up to launch the company's first LPG-electric hybrid vehicle next July, which also happens to be the planet's first hybrid vehicle to be "powered by liquid petroleum gas (LPG) and adopt advanced Lithium Polymer (Li–Poly) batteries." Said automobile will pack a 1.6-liter Liquefied Petroleum Injected (LPI) Gamma engine, a 15kW electric motor and a continuously variable transmission, and while the outfit isn't releasing hard mileage numbers just yet, the car should prove to be around 50% cheaper to operate than a gas-only Elantra (pictured). C'mon Hyundai, we know you've got plans to take this thing worldwide -- just let it out of the bag already.
If you've got the coin to roll deep enough to own a Tesla Roadster, we'd imagine that making sure the car gets its 8 (or fewer) hour charge from a 220v / 80A circuit (like what powers some larger home appliances) won't be a huge issue. But if not, think twice about your driving schedule with the all-electric sports car, because while you can technically power a Roadster from any standard wall outlet, the amount of draw a standard 110v / 15A plug delivers would mean a 30 hour wait to juice up your vehicle's thousand pound battery pack. Thankfully, Tesla owners have time to think over how to deal with these kinds of details, being that none of the customers who've pre-ordered a car have yet received theirs.
Man, Tesla's been busy today -- in addition to the announcement of the Model S and Elon Musk's promise of a sub-$30K electric car in four years, word on the street is that the company's inked a deal with Daimler AG to supply it with lithium-ion batteries for upcoming electric cars. Daimler's CEO has said the company was open to leasing battery tech to get out an electric Smart by 2010 and it's rumored that the German marque is looking to ditch gas entirely by 2015, so going to Tesla, which has been working on battery tech for some time, isn't a totally out there proposition. Just a rumor for now -- given Tesla's generally-prickly relationships with others, we'd wait for an official announcement before getting too excited about a Roadster-powered SLR, but it's certainly intriguing.
Our favorite Terminator (and Governor of California) Arnold Schwarzenegger has just helped Tesla Motors make an announcement that's probably sending chills through traditional automaker's boardrooms. The company has just introduced a fully-electric, five passenger sports sedan dubbed the Model S, which will be selling for $60,000, and will manage 225 miles on a full charge. The carmaker says it will produce the vehicles in a brand new manufacturing plant it's opening in Northern California. We're on the ground at the announcement right now -- no pictures or release date have surfaced yet, but you'll know more as soon as we do.
With just about every other automaker on the planet champing at the bit to showcase its newest electric prototypes, Subaru's doing its best to hang on to the briskly moving bandwagon. Said company has just recently announced that its plug-in STELLA concept will be showcased at the upcoming G8 Hokkaido Toyako Summit, and four of the five on hand will actually be used to "transport government officials and other participants" while the other offers itself up for test drives. The four-seat vehicle in question utilizes the same EV (electric vehicle) system employed in the R1e, suggesting that it can cruise around 80-kilometers (50 miles) on a full charge and hit a top speed of 100km/h (or just over 62mph).
General Motors has already gotten a bit of cash from the US Department of Energy to further the development of plug-in hybrids, and it now looks like it's taking things one step further on another initiative, with it teaming up with the Electric Power Research Institute and 30 utilities in 37 states to produce a charging infrastructure for electric cars. Among other things, they'll be working to develop an affordable, reliable electricity source that's weather-proof and child-proof, which they say could be installed in places like public garages, curbside meters, or workplace parking lots. The utility companies, in particular, will also apparently be working to ensure that the grid doesn't get overwhelmed during peak hours. All that, GM says, will be done by 2010, which just happens to coincide with the launch of its much-touted Volt hybrid.
If you've got the coin to roll deep enough to own a Tesla Roadster, we'd imagine that making sure the car gets its 8 (or fewer) hour charge from a 220v / 80A circuit (like what powers some larger home appliances) won't be a huge issue. But if not, think twice about your driving schedule with the all-electric sports car, because while you can technically power a Roadster from any standard wall outlet, the amount of draw a standard 110v / 15A plug delivers would mean a 30 hour wait to juice up your vehicle's thousand pound battery pack. Thankfully, Tesla owners have time to think over how to deal with these kinds of details, being that none of the customers who've pre-ordered a car have yet received theirs.
Man, Tesla's been busy today -- in addition to the announcement of the Model S and Elon Musk's promise of a sub-$30K electric car in four years, word on the street is that the company's inked a deal with Daimler AG to supply it with lithium-ion batteries for upcoming electric cars. Daimler's CEO has said the company was open to leasing battery tech to get out an electric Smart by 2010 and it's rumored that the German marque is looking to ditch gas entirely by 2015, so going to Tesla, which has been working on battery tech for some time, isn't a totally out there proposition. Just a rumor for now -- given Tesla's generally-prickly relationships with others, we'd wait for an official announcement before getting too excited about a Roadster-powered SLR, but it's certainly intriguing.
