Archive for category Car industry

Tesla Motors’ Shares Drop 7 Percent Because of Toyota RAV4′s Price

Posted by Ovidiu Sandru in Car industry, Electric Vehicles on May 9, 2012

Tesla Motors is again having financial troubles these days, as their shares fell by 7 percent, down to $30.19 in NYSE. The drop has been caused by news that Toyota’s new electric RAV4 will sell for double what it costs in its gasoline version. Toyota has an agreement with Tesla for using their electric motor, [...]

World’s Most Important Automakers Set Standard for EV Charging

Posted by Ovidiu Sandru in Car industry, Electric Vehicles on May 4, 2012

A new agreement between the world’s most important automakers regarding the standardization of electric vehicle charging systems has been announced on Thursday. The new standard is meant to speed up charging and make it more safe. The new charging system will be on display at this year’s Electric Vehicle Symposium and has been adopted by [...]

Hitachi’s New Electric Motor Not Using Rare Neodymium, Could Lower Market Prices

Posted by Ovidiu Sandru in Car industry on April 13, 2012

A new, highly-efficient permanent magnet synchronous motor has been unveiled by Hitachi. Nothing unusual so far. The only big and important difference between Hitachi’s new motor and everything that exists in the industry is that this one doesn’t have neodymium magnets. Neodymium magnets contain a rare-earth material, which is the cause for its high price [...]

Swedish Automaker SAAB Could Be Making EVs in The Future

Posted by Ovidiu Sandru in Car industry on April 5, 2012

All of the recent news in the auto industry lead me thinking that the Asian side of the world is eventually going to dominate the electric vehicle sector. SAAB, once known for its solid and safe cars, is now going bankrupt. Just like packs of wolves (or hawks, if you prefer), investors come up to [...]

2012 Cars 14% More Efficient Than Only 4 Years Ago, Study Reveals

Posted by Ovidiu Sandru in Car industry on February 8, 2012

A study by University of Michigan researchers reveals that the average fuel economy of a vehicle manufactured in 2012 has improved by a significant 14 percent compared to those fabricated in 2008. Therefore, the researchers found out that cars improved economy by 2.8 mpg, light trucks by 1.6, while full-sized vans saw the smallest increase [...]

The Nichioh Maru: Nissan's Greenest Cargo Ship Saves More Than 1,000 Tons of Fuel Each Year

Posted by Ovidiu Sandru in Car industry on February 6, 2012

In an age when they started building world’s first mass-produced electric car, the LEAF, Nissan now wants to go even greener by modifying the cargo ships they transport their cars with. The new cargo is called “Nichioh Maru” and uses solar panels to power its LED lighting system. Another improvement to it is a low-friction [...]

China Increases Locally-Produced Electric Car Subsidies, Puts Huge Taxes on Imported Ones

Posted by Mihai Sandru in Car industry, Electric Vehicles on January 23, 2012

The Chinese government seems to be in love with these fancy electric vehicles, because the feeling keeps encouraging them to “breed”: it pays interested people good money to take one or cuts them some slack at the counter. The subsidy measures for EVs are not something special in this country, but this time the sums [...]

Morgan Stanley Predicts Not-Too-Optimistic Future for EV Sales

Posted by Ovidiu Sandru in Car industry on December 29, 2011

We try to keep an optimistic tone while writing on this blog, although there are lots of (realistic) reasons we sometimes shouldn’t. We nevertheless know that the oil reservers are going to end some day, and all we’ll have around is the Sun, electricity and electric motors. The reason why I’m saying this is that [...]

BMW to Use GM and Toyota Technology for Future Hydrogen-Powered Cars

Posted by Ovidiu Sandru in Car industry on December 12, 2011

BMW is seemingly looking for ties in the auto industry with Toyota and General Motors to develop future battery and hydrogen fuel cell-powered EVs, says Motorauthority.com, quoting the German Wirtschaftswoche (Business Week). So GM’s Volt technology may not be officially a secret any longer, and Toyota’s Hybrid Synergy Drive could enhance the power of all [...]

Aptera: Another Innovative Electric Car Company Goes Bankrupt

Posted by Ovidiu Sandru in Car industry on December 5, 2011

Although I never believed in three-wheeled vehicles, there were times in my life when I thought we’d need just this kind of cars to get through our ever-busier cities and parking lots. An electric three-wheeler could have been, from that point of view, a bliss for the human kind. But it looks like reality beats [...]

U.S. Northeastern States to Build Electric Car Charging Network

Posted by Mihai Sandru in Car industry, Electric Vehicles on November 1, 2011

Drivers of all-electric vehicles could soon cross the U.S. Northeast without worrying that they will have nowhere to charge their battery. The new regional initiative, called the Northeast Electric Vehicle Network has been launched last week and will bring together 11 northeastern states plus Washington, D.C. to build an electric car charging network. The network [...]

How Self-Driving Cars Can Save Fuel and Reduce Accidents

Posted by Ovidiu Sandru in Car industry on October 25, 2011

Self-driving cars are no longer a dream, at least for car manufacturers, who are competing against each other to get out on the market with the best driving assistance software that can ultimately mean safety and reduced fuel consumption. A recent MIT Technology Review article enumerates the reasons why one should choose a car equipped [...]

International Survey Suggests People Won't Pay Extra for EVs, See Why

Posted by Ovidiu Sandru in Car industry on October 12, 2011

Even though car manufacturers are constantly improving the batteries that they put in electric cars, people are not yet convinced to pay more for an EV, even if it offers huge fuel savings in the long run. This is the conclusion of a recent international survey performed in 17 countries on 13,500 people, which shows [...]

General Motors Saves Power and Greenhouse Gas Emissions With New Painting Technique

Posted by Ovidiu Sandru in Car industry, Power Saving on October 12, 2011

Chevrolet is seemingly seeking to implement more and more environmentally-friendly technologies inside its factories. The latest innovation is one that will reduce the carbon footprint associated with… painting the cars! The technique employed by General Motors will be applied to the new 2012 Chevy Sonic, and will consist in the fact that the car will [...]

Small Battery Hybrids May Make More Economic and Environmental Sense Than Full Hybrids, Study Says

Posted by Ovidiu Sandru in Car industry, Hybrid vehicles on September 28, 2011

A new study from the Carnegie Mellon University, performed by Jeremy J. Michalek and his colleagues reveals that owning cars with large batteries isn’t necessarily the best option available right now. They say hybrids with smaller batteries make more sense both economically and environmentally. “While larger battery packs allow plug-in vehicles to drive longer distances [...]