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Neil Young starts Linc Volt electric car conversion company
Sure, you've got a couple Neil Young CDs and maybe a battered Farm-Aid T-shirt, but if you're really into ol' Shakey, you'll pick up one of his hotrod electric Lincoln conversions. Yep, Neil's started a company called Linc Volt to develop electric car technologies, and he's already converted his own personal '59 Lincoln in an attempt to win the Automotive X-Prize -- a process that's the subject of an upcoming documentary. Young says he's mostly focused on developing the tech -- Linc Volt will provide instructions as well as performing the actual conversions. Sure, we're into it -- just make sure it's got one of those rumbling speaker systems and we'll take two.[Via AutoblogGreen]
Audi's A1 Sportback hybrid concept surfaces
Audi confirmed its pure electric automobile plans earlier this month, and now the automaker's back with yet another green vehicle based on its A1 hybrid concept. In hybrid mode the five door "sportback" (sporty!) will go from 0-62 MPH in 7.9 seconds, reach a top speed of 124 MPH and squeeze up to 72.4 miles from a gallon of fuel. When in electric mode, however, the vehicle will take you more than 60 miles on a single charge. The adjustable drivetrain / drive shaft / shock absorber system allows drivers to choose between two modes: sport mode (for optimum acceleration) and efficiency mode. The latter not only makes best use of the lithium-ion battery but also ties into the vehicle's on-board navigation, taking your route (and the car's altitude) into consideration when computing things like power usage and regeneration phases. The A1 also allows select cellphones to act as a mobile control unit for WLAN access to the vehicle's navigation, audio and remote monitoring of the security system. For more juicy details -- and some pics -- hit that read link.[Via Inhabitat]
Tesla's 4-door, all-electric Model S sports sedan gets pictured
We knew good and well it was on the way, but now we're bubbling over with excitement. The forthcoming Model S -- an all-electric, five passenger sports sedan that will ride on a platform developed entirely by Tesla -- has apparently been revealed. Of course, there's still a real possibility that the image you're drooling on above isn't a finalized look, but Road & Track has a pretty good record to fall back on. We're also hearing that the 2010-bound whip will get around 240 miles per charge while still doing the zero to sixty in under six ticks, and the $60,000 base price just makes it all the more appealing. For those with a thing for rear bumpers, check out Autoblog's link below for a sneak peek of the fanny.Read - Road & Track writeupRead - Sneak peek of the rear
Rolls-Royce CEO hints at electric Phantom
While we imagine that the vast majority of you would be perfectly content with an all-electric MINI Cooper (or a Porsche, if nothing else), some debutantes and Chuck Bass wannabes just won't have anything but the best. For those out there who can actually consider putting a Rolls-Royce in the garage, you'll be thrilled to know that CEO Tom Purves is spending some serious time thinking about a battery-powered Phantom. Reportedly, the bigwig stated that "many of its customers do small mileages exclusively in the city," and for these customers, "an electric Rolls-Royce would be ideal." He wouldn't hand over any prospective time lines or anything, but we did get the impression that he reckoned the engineering wouldn't be too terribly taxing. And the best part? He suggested that most buyers would opt for an electric Rolls for "urban use" while sporting a gasoline-powered version for longer journeys. Yeah, that's something we can totally relate to. [Via Autoblog]
Tesla co-founder says car wastes energy while parked
Tesla co-founder Martin Eberhard has never been one to mince words about the company or car he helped create, and it doesn't look like that's about to change, with him now taking advantage of his blog to spread the word about "one little thing wrong" with the car. Apparently, like some other Tesla drivers, he noticed that the ESS coolant pump seemed to be running all the time, even when it had been parked and left off for a long time. After a bit more investigation, Eberhard determined that the coolant pump and support electronics drew a hefty 14 kilowatt-hours in four days just sitting in his garage, which translates to 1,278 kWh per year, or the rough equivalent of two large refridgerators. As Eberhard points out, that could also have some pretty severe implications for the life of the pump and battery, and even the car's stated watt-hours per mile. For Tesla's part, it says the pump will shut off, but only when the battery is half-way discharged, which is a state that some with a short commute, like Eberhard, may rarely see.[Via AutoblogGreen]
Ruf Automobile's electric Porsche concept gets real, pictured
Look out Tesla / Lightning -- a new competitor just rolled out, and it's sitting pretty. Ruf Automobile has gone public with its stunning electric eRUF concept car, which is obviously based on a Porsche 911. The automobile packs a three-phase electric motor that puts out around 200-horsepower and 480 lb.-ft. of torque, and it can reportedly go from nothing to sixty in under seven ticks. The juice is provided by a Li-ion phosphate battery pack that produces 317-volts / 480-amps and is constructed from 96 individual cells, and combined with the power garnered by the regenerative braking system, it can cruise up to 180 miles before needing a ten-hour recharge. Production, pretty please?
Audi confirms pure electric car, will likely be based on VW Up! concept
With an electric MINI Cooper just around the bend, a Twin Drive hybrid Volkswagen landing in 2010 and Chevrolet's Volt rolling into showrooms in a matter of months, Audi's ten-year plan is looking a little awkward. Though we've yet to hear that it's actually speeding things up, Peter Schwarzenbauer, who sits on the management board at Ingolstadt, recently confirmed that the company would be offering "a pure electric car" sometime in the future. Additionally, rumors of it being based on the A1 were dashed, opening the door for speculation that it will instead be built around the VW Up! (Lupo) concept. Here's hoping we find our prior to 2018.[Via Autoblog]
Vehicle-to-grid will turn suburbs into power plants, won't help undertones of repression
We've been hearing about vehicle-to-grid (V2G) for quite a while, and now a team at the University of Michigan is conducting an extensive study on the technology as part of a national sustainable energy solution. While current electric plants are good at generating power, they often fall short when it comes to storage -- which can be a problem when there's a power surge or when demand increases. V2G will let hybrid-electric owners sell the power their car generates to the electrical power grid whenever the car is not in use. The research team envisions a time when millions of hybrid vehicle owners will come together to create one large battery, allowing us all to play a small part in building our nation's energy independence. And sure, this all sounds good in theory. But wouldn't that mean relying on the neighbors to provide a key piece of the nation's infrastructure? Have you met the neighbors? Doesn't that seem a little... iffy?
Pininfarina-designed B0 electric car debuts at Paris Motor Show
Pininfarina said it was going to build an electric car and, go figure, it's actually built one. As we had heard earlier, the car, now dubbed the B0, is the result of a collaboration with the Bolloré Group, which was mostly responsible for the car's lithium metal polymer battery pack. Pininfarina, for its part, seems to have handled just about everything else, and it sure looks to have gone all out, with the car promising a range of 150 miles and a reasonable top speed of 80 mph, plus some suitably nifty touches like two LCD screens for instrumentation, and even some solar cells on the roof to help top off the battery (most of the charging while driving is done with regenerative braking). Pininfarina is also apparently still ticking to its 2010 roll-out date, with mass production set to begin in late 2009 -- no promises on a price just yet though.
Nissan's Nuvu: electric, cartoonish
Nissan's Nuvu is making its debut this week at the Paris motor show, and while it isn't the all-electric vehicle that the company has promised for 2010, it's a step in the right direction. Resembling something from a Pixar movie, the Nuvu has that special mix of "vaguely futuristic" and "somewhat impractical" that we look for in a concept car: it's less than ten feet long, seats three (un)comfortably and the space behind the driver is claimed by what looks like an end table with a conduit extending to the ceiling. Many of the cabin materials are either recycled or made from organic materials and since the vehicle is electric, it should be whisper quiet -- offering maximum clarity for your Medeski, Martin and Wood CDs. More photos at the read link.
Chevy Volt's powertrain and recharging clarified
Chevy's taking a moment to clear up some misconceptions about its eagerly anticipated plug-in hybrid, the Volt, which had long been assumed (by most) to use its gasoline-powered engine like a WWII submarine -- kicking on and charging the batts to full before switching off again. Alas, that's close but not completely accurate. The engine does serve only to feed the batteries (it's not connected to the wheels in any way) and will fire up when they are getting low. However, it will not fully recharge them, serving only to maintain a 30-percent charge as you keep on motoring. In other words, you'll need to plug that puppy in overnight if you want to get back to silent running and successfully avoid detection by destroyer battlegroups on your morning commute -- or spy cameras.
Tesla CTO talks Bluestar, the affordable electric auto
Despite not making any lusty noises when tearing away from a stoplight, Tesla's eco-friendly supercar the Roadster still sets our hearts aflutter. Its price, however, makes our bank accounts sad, so we're happy to report the company is still working hard to develop an affordable option dubbed "Bluestar." Tesla CTO JB Straubel recently spoke about green transportation at MIT's Emerging Technologies Conference, elaborating on earlier plans to build a $20,000 - $30,000 family car that, he hopes, could some day result in hundreds of thousands of sales per year. Given the company thus far has shipped just 27 cars, a partnership with some major automotive player will almost certainly be required, and as SUV-dependent 'Merican manufacturers continue to suffer we think any of them would be wise to play along.
Chrysler's new electric vehicles shown on video
What else can we say? Chrysler's new electric vehicles that were introduced yesterday just got a lot more real thanks to a stable of videos showing 'em off. To be honest, we're not too jazzed about the whisper quiet Chrysler minivan or the otherwise plain Jeep Wrangler, but that Dodge EV -- mmm, now that's a fine piece of engineering. Tap the read link and mash play if you're thirsty for more.
Chrysler, Jeep and Dodge electric vehicle prototypes get outed
Seeing that General Motors left a gaping hole of opportunity for other automakers to produce a new EV by 2010 that isn't uglier than sin itself, it's no real shock to see Chrysler champing at the bit. Just this week, the company has introduced a trio of advanced electric-drive vehicle prototypes (simply coined Chrysler EV, Jeep EV and Dodge EV for now), one of which will mysteriously surface in 2010 for consumers in North America. Feel free to hit the read link for the entire hope-filled press release and the gallery of images, but if we've learned anything of late about those succulent concept shots, it's to not believe them (at all).
Electric MINI spotted in Munich, expected at 2008 LA Auto Show
Check it, Cooper fans -- that electric MINI we've been sporadically hearing about is for real, and we've seen the spy shots that prove it. Car has hosted up a slew of non-blurry (gasp!) snaps of the eco-friendly whip cruising around Munich, and just in case the complete absence of an exhaust pipe wasn't evidence enough, maybe the "Hybrid Test Vehicle" decals will make you a believer. Also of note, we're now hearing that the car is on track for a 2008 Los Angeles motor show appearance, which jibes quite well with the purported summer 2009 US launch. [Via RegHardware]
Chevy Volt hits the road, video style
The Chevy Volt had its big debut last week, and although the official pictures were far cooler than those leaked dudes-in-suits shots we saw a while ago, there's something about this slow-motion video of the all-electric-drive car in motion accompanied by some soaring Coldplay that pulls at our jaded heartstrings -- now if Chevy would just add in one of those fake engine sounds audio systems, we'd be in heaven.
Tesla Motors to build new HQ, factory in San Jose
It's no surprise to see Tesla Motors giving even more attention to California -- after all, Los Angeles is home to its very first dealership -- and as soon as the requisite approvals go through, San Jose will become the site of its new headquarters and factory. Both facilities will be located on around 90 acres of land near Highway 237 in North San Jose, and early reports peg the city giving Tesla a 40-year lease with the first decade being "rent-free." The Golden State is also stepping in to provide a sweet tax-free rent-to-buy deal on the factory equipment, and in the end, the two projects could generate around 1,000 direct or indirect jobs. One question, Tesla: how's the employee discount?
Mitsubishi's i MiEV electric car to be tested in California
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?[Via Wired]
AMP test drives all-electric Saturn Sky on video
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.[Via AutoblogGreen]
Bricycle electric tricycle actually cooler than it sounds
Compared to the almost universally-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?
