ev Archives – The Green Optimistic

OPEC States It Doesn’t Give a Jack About Electric Vehicles

Courtney Lepping — Sun, 04 Sep 2016 19:39:17 +0000

OPEC (Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries), a significant world oil contributor, recently displayed overconfidence in its presence and future influence despite the rise in electric vehicles. While car companies are looking to produce more electric vehicles, OPEC expects to continue providing oil for the car industry. OPEC’s members seem entirely ignorant of the world’s […]

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Apple Will Produce Electric Cars With This New Battery

Courtney Lepping — Sun, 28 Aug 2016 13:46:49 +0000

Apple is trying, but partly failing, to secure a secret that is on the verge of exposure: The company wants to come out with new technology for its electric car project, technology created from an undisclosed South Korean battery company. What’s the big deal? Well, Apple doesn’t want competing car companies like Tesla to get […]

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The Mercedes Maybach Elegant EV Could Rival Tesla

Courtney Lepping — Mon, 22 Aug 2016 06:20:04 +0000

The Vision Mercedes Maybach 6 concept is the new high roller in town. The slender low-rider, almost 19-feet in length, could be cruising along the streets in the future, reaching 62 mph in under 4 seconds. This new high-tech electric car is not only autonomous, but stores an 80-kilowatt-hour battery pack. It has 738 horsepower […]

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EVs and Biofuel Powered Cars Worse for the Environment?

Ari Luis — Wed, 24 Dec 2014 21:55:02 +0000

A research team composed of members from the University of Minnesota and NREL recently evaluated the overall impact of different fuels we use in our automobiles, or light-duty transportation as the study authors call them, on the environment. They compared various conventional and renewable energy sources – from using corn ethanol as biofuel, coal-based electricity […]

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CARB Asks, “Why buy electric vehicles?” – Survey Results

Benji Jerew — Tue, 08 Jul 2014 21:37:10 +0000

We all know what’s so great about electric vehicles, because they’re so clean and fun to drive, right? As the undisputed home of the electrified vehicle, including plug-in hybrid (PHEV) and battery (BEV) electric vehicles, California seems like it would be the best place to ask why people buy them. CARB (California Air Resources Board) […]

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Better Battery Capacity, Possible Tesla Styling for 2017 Nissan LEAF

Leigh Hutchens — Sat, 10 May 2014 07:15:08 +0000

In an effort to mainstream the Nissan LEAF, Nissan executives have shared some of their goals for the next version. A higher capacity battery and conventional styling top the list of changes planned for the 2017 release and are seen as a way to higher sales. Andy Palmer, executive VP in charge of Nissan’s zero […]

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Say What!? A Tesla Model S is Worth More Used than New

Danny Harper — Sat, 08 Feb 2014 08:41:35 +0000

At this point, throw out everything you thought you knew about the laws of used cars. It seems that Tesla has not only revolutionized the auto industry, it has also disrupted the one thing that car owners have always expected along with death and taxes: that there car will be worth less used than new. […]

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Hyundai Bringing New EV to US Within 3 years

Danny Harper — Fri, 24 Jan 2014 13:46:58 +0000

Another major auto manufacturer looks to be wading into the western EV market, with Hyundai noting during the Washington Auto show that they are developing a new eclectic vehicle which will roll out in the United States within 3 years. Michael O’Brien, the VP of corporate and product planning, made a remark about a compact-class EV they are […]

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Nissan Taking a More ‘Radical’ Approach to Future EV Design

Danny Harper — Tue, 21 Jan 2014 20:59:45 +0000

While it is certain that Nissan is ahead of the game when it comes to the transition to electric vehicles, their current Leaf design has much to be desired from an aesthetic standpoint. Aware of the serious momentum being built in the Tesla camp regarding high-performance and stylish EV’s, the Korean auto manufacturer is looking […]

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TABBY: The DIY Open-Source Electric Vehicle That You Build in an Hour

Danny Harper — Tue, 14 Jan 2014 08:37:13 +0000

As automobile technology becomes more complex and proprietary, the task of building your own vehicle becomes a tall order. Expensive and time-consuming, DIY cars are currently the realm of only the most dedicated and knowledgeable among us. This all could change, and in a big way, with the help of automobile company, OSVehicle. With two models currently in […]

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Tesla Sending Customers Upgraded Wall Chargers to Prevent Future Garage Fires

Danny Harper — Sat, 11 Jan 2014 08:58:55 +0000

Although the number of incidents pale in comparison to the 194,000 highway vehicle fires per year in the United States, EV fires are not taken lightly by Tesla. In the wake of a garage fire in Irvine, CA, the EV carmaker is taken preventative measures to make certain their customers are safe by sending out upgraded […]

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Are Electric Vehicles Ready for Mainstream?

Benji Jerew — Fri, 29 Nov 2013 21:09:38 +0000

Perhaps a better question is, “Are mainstream drivers ready for electric vehicles?” If we look at the history of hybrid electric vehicles, maybe we can get a clue as to how future reactions to pure electric vehicles will turn out. In the beginning, there was only the dinosaur, that is, conventional gasoline and diesel fuel […]

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Why the BMW i3 Extended-Range Electric Vehicle’s Tiny Fuel Tank?

Benji Jerew — Tue, 29 Oct 2013 15:32:27 +0000

The BMW i3 is an extended-range electric vehicle [EREV], which is basically an electric vehicle [EV] with an onboard backup generator, but just a little one. For some people, who aren’t fully on board with the limitations of electric vehicles, such as the Nissan Leaf, with a range of about 75 miles, an EREV could […]

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BMW i5 Could Contend with Tesla Model S?

Benji Jerew — Tue, 22 Oct 2013 18:28:20 +0000

The Tesla Model S is, by far, the most well-equipped and capable electric vehicle on the road today, which leaves other contenders, such as BMW and Audi, scrambling to catch up. One would think that, with the history of electric vehicles [EV], companies like General Motors, creator of the EV1 and Ultralight, or Toyota, creator […]

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Porsche Panamera S E-Hybrid vs Tesla Model S 85kWh Performance

Benji Jerew — Fri, 18 Oct 2013 15:15:53 +0000

The Porsche Panamera S E-Hybrid is being released in November, ostensibly as a direct competitor for the Tesla Model S 85kWh Performance, but how to they compare? First, the Porsche Panamera S E-Hybrid starts around $100,000, while the Tesla Model S starts at about $70,000. Of course, tick all the option boxes on the Tesla […]

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New EV Battery Lab Getting Built by Ford and University of Michigan

Mila Luleva — Tue, 15 Oct 2013 15:11:34 +0000

Owning an electric car these days is considered a more of a luxury rather than an environmentally friendly alternative to a conventional diesel-burning vehicle. The main reason for this is the cost, and regardless of how many of us care about environmental pollution and our health, only a limited few can afford a green drive. […]

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Tesla, Fiat, Nissan And Ford Showcase EV’s in Los Angeles at The 2013 Plug-In Day America

Mila Luleva — Mon, 07 Oct 2013 16:23:07 +0000

Last week, Los Angeles was the host of the annual Plug-in Day, which attracted more than 200 owners to sign up for the occasion. Market leading vendors provided vehicles for test drives and chargers, which could make the event as exciting as it was. A Tesla Roadster was among the EVs available for a ride. […]

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The Netherlands to Have World’s Most Dense EV Fast Charging Network through Fastned

Ovidiu Sandru — Tue, 09 Jul 2013 13:03:35 +0000

Holland will be the first most populous country in Europe to benefit from fast charging. Although much slower than Tesla’s, these will be able to juice small EVs to full in up to 30 minutes. ABB has been selected by Fastned (a Dutch startup) to provide the fast chargers to some 200 EV charging stations […]

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Researchers at NREL Striving to Increase EV Adoption

Benji Jerew — Thu, 07 Feb 2013 06:37:47 +0000

Researchers at the Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory [NREL] have set a goal, “to target the key innovations necessary to accelerate the rate of adoption for electric drive vehicles. In addition, our efforts are focused on scenarios that will incorporate expanded use of renewable energy resources to charge those vehicles.” – Bob Rehn, […]

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Toyota Prius Backup Power – An Aftermarket Solution

Benji Jerew — Thu, 31 Jan 2013 22:50:41 +0000

Modern society depends on electricity, and without it, most everything ceases to function, including heating and cooling, refrigerators, mobile phones, computers, and the list goes on. In emergencies, such as Hurricane Sandy knocking out power for millions of people, some for weeks, backup power generators make all kinds of sense to have on hand. Backup […]

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DIY Electric BMW CS – Over 800HP Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing

Benji Jerew — Thu, 31 Jan 2013 22:48:57 +0000

If you saw this car running down the street with your radio on, you’d fail to notice it makes almost no sound as it passes. And if you, in your fancy supercharged Honda Civic, dared to challenge the owner to an impromptu race at the next traffic signal, well, let’s just call it now and […]

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Texas Considers Taxing Electric Cars, Follows Washington Model

Benji Jerew — Fri, 25 Jan 2013 20:30:49 +0000

Part of the price we pay for every gallon of gas we put in our cars is tax, Texas charges 38.4¢/gal, which goes toward transportation infrastructure, including road maintenance and running traffic lights, among other things. While Texas hasn’t raised this tax in twenty years, vehicle fuel efficiency has almost doubled, meaning that vehicles are […]

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Ohio State Proves Their All-Wheel-Steering EV Prototype is Maneuverable and Safe

Benji Jerew — Thu, 24 Jan 2013 17:42:32 +0000

Most on-road vehicles today use only the front wheels to steer. Four-wheel steering is usually limited to heavy equipment, monster trucks, and off-road vehicles because they are extremely maneuverable. Really, vehicles that spend most of their time driving in a straight line don’t need to be that maneuverable anyways, but what about city cars? With […]

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Chinese Police Gets Electric: 500 BYD-Made EVs Hit Shenzen Precincts

Benji Jerew — Tue, 22 Jan 2013 07:34:29 +0000

China has been upping the ante on electric vehicle [EV] production and utilization, including tax incentives for EV manufacturers and EV battery manufacturing, which likely enabled the Wanxiang acquisition of failed A123 Systems this past year. Beijing looks to be introducing some tax incentives for consumers, in addition to state incentives. Local governments and fleet […]

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Plug-In America’s New EV Survey Targets the Tesla Roadster

Benji Jerew — Tue, 22 Jan 2013 07:32:36 +0000

Peruse forums and you’re likely to find any number of comments both for and against electric vehicle [EV] technology. Really though, these anecdotal responses don’t add up to a whole lot more than hot air. The reality is, that happy people are pretty quiet, but unhappy people, well, let’s just say that misery loves company. […]

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China’s BYD Seeking Alternative Route Into US EV Market

Benji Jerew — Sat, 05 Jan 2013 17:21:15 +0000

Even though BYD’s electric vehicle [EV] sales in China haven’t been anywhere near where they would like them to be, they’ve had their plans to get into the lucrative US EV market for years. Back as far as 2008, there was news that BYD might be setting up manufacturing facilities in California, but time and […]

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Increased EV Adoption a Concern for First Responders

Benji Jerew — Sat, 29 Dec 2012 17:52:27 +0000

Electric vehicle [EV] and hybrid electric vehicle [HEV] battery packs, typically lithium-ion [Li-ion] or nickel-metal hydride [NiMH], are not much like the small lead-acid batteries that are found in petroleum-driven vehicles today. Even the biggest lead-acid battery systems only rate to 48 Volts, and those are on tractor trailers. For the most part, the standard […]

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AMP and to Make Inductive Charging Available For All Their Electric Trucks

Benji Jerew — Thu, 27 Dec 2012 17:10:40 +0000

Until now, AMP Electric Vehicles [AMP] has been focusing on converting standard gasoline-powered SUVs to electric power-trains. For private consumers, the electric vehicle [EV] market hasn’t really paid off as quickly as hoped. Fleet operators, on the other hand, have the capital to invest in order to realize future fuel and maintenance savings, up to […]

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Automakers Investigating Two Approaches to Inductive Charging

Benji Jerew — Thu, 13 Dec 2012 06:37:22 +0000

Inductive charging mats already exist for small items, such as mobile phones, laptops, even electric kettles. An electric bus line in Milton Keynes, UK, uses much larger inductive charging mats buried in the road to recharge the bus’ rechargeable batteries while the driver is on his break. Automakers offering electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid electric […]

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Chinese Battery Company Wanxiang Could Acquire A123 Systems

Benji Jerew — Mon, 10 Dec 2012 17:48:09 +0000

In our ongoing coverage of the fall of the advanced rechargeable battery company, A123 Systems, we’ve seen A123’s slow decline and finally, bankruptcy proceedings. One version of their latest battery technology was supposed to go into the new Chevy Spark EV, as well as another iteration in Fisker’s next model. Unfortunately, the market for electric […]

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Better Place Sees No Profits in Israel, Lays Off Hundreds

Benji Jerew — Mon, 10 Dec 2012 17:44:10 +0000

Electric vehicles [EV] aren’t only having a hard time breaking into the market here in the US, but abroad as well. Some government and large company programs are implementing EVs into their fleets, where the main concerns about range and recharging time, as well as expense, are fairly easy to absorb until the returns are […]

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Electric Vehicle Racing Revolution on the Streets of Rome

Benji Jerew — Thu, 06 Dec 2012 07:36:00 +0000

We might be familiar with Formula 1 racing, featuring low-slung aerodynamic racing cars with fat exposed tires gripping the track, racing around corners through Rome’s monuments to the past. Now, the past meets the future with the replacement of the powerful engines, with electric motors, that have wowed onlookers for generations. What if the Formula […]

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General Motors Boost EV Sales With New Smartphone Apps

Mila Luleva — Tue, 27 Nov 2012 15:56:55 +0000

General Motors decided to increase their range and sales of Electric vehicles by introducing new Smartphone Apps that will bring down the cost of charging. The company has set a target to sell 500,000 EVs annually by 2017. They are convinced that this will be achieved by including smartphones apps in the equation. Two of […]

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Samsung and LG Manufacture the Greenest TVs

Benji Jerew — Fri, 23 Nov 2012 19:31:42 +0000

No, we’re not talking about RGB balance, but in terms of efficiency, Samsung and LG’s flat-panel televisions are the most energy efficient available. Producing light and sound on high-definition flat-panel displays is energy intensive. Add in anti-ghosting and 3D technologies, and the power draw just goes up. Finally, even when modern televisions are “OFF” or […]

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Kudos: Nissan’s Carlos Ghosn Still Into the EV Dream

Benji Jerew — Sun, 18 Nov 2012 06:27:33 +0000

Carlos Ghosn, Nissan Motor Company’s CEO, isn’t all that worried about Nissan Leaf’s poor sales numbers. The 20,000-unit sales goal isn’t anywhere close to being realistic this year. As of October, not even 7,000 units had been sold, even less than last year by this time, which was just over 8,000. In any case, Ghosn […]

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Pike Research Finds Consumer Interest in Plug-In Vehicles Falling

Benji Jerew — Mon, 05 Nov 2012 22:26:35 +0000

According to research findings over the last three years, consumer interest in plug-in vehicles, including electric vehicles [EV] and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles [PHEV], has been declining. Pike Research surveyed about a thousand consumers regarding their attitudes on plug-ins, and the results weren’t all that surprising. In 2011, according to the report, some 40% of […]

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BYD Auto to Supply Zero-Emission EV Minicabs to London

Benji Jerew — Mon, 29 Oct 2012 21:02:37 +0000

The UK’s public fleets are getting cleaner every month, it seems, including an electric bus trial, and an electric-vehicle [EV] only car-sharing club. This week’s special announcement includes fifty new EV minicabs, which will soon be roaming the streets of London. By soon, we mean early 2013, when Green Tomato Cars, which already has a […]

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Audi Could Drop Its EV Program, Too

Benji Jerew — Fri, 26 Oct 2012 20:25:26 +0000

Electric Vehicles [EV] may be doomed to boutique dealers and eccentric owners, if this pattern of manufacturers’ dropping EVs continues on its current track. Recently, Toyota released a few, maybe 100 total, of its new Scion iQ EV here in the US, only to fleets and car-sharing programs, with no further plans for a more […]

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Audi F12 e: A More Practical EV Sportscar

Benji Jerew — Wed, 24 Oct 2012 19:23:37 +0000

Based on the Audi R8 e-Tron electric supercar, the Audi F12 e Sport may look the same as the high-powered supercar, but under the hood is a completely different story. Co-developed by Audi, Bosch, and university researchers, it features a somewhat more practical electric vehicle [EV] drive-train type that could be used in a number […]

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Better Place and CODA Partner for Airport EV Taxis with Battery Swapping

Benji Jerew — Tue, 16 Oct 2012 17:23:44 +0000

The fastest way to recharge an electric vehicle [EV] is not on an L3 480V charger, over 30 minutes, but to simply swap out the battery, which takes about five minutes. Better Place Mobility Services, an EV battery-swapping company, has charging and battery-swapping stations around the globe, and is finally getting a foothold in the […]

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Electric Motorcycles Get Better Range, Power, and Lose Recharging Time

Benji Jerew — Tue, 09 Oct 2012 15:01:13 +0000

Electric Vehicles [EV] are still working on their selling points. They have limited range, averaging less than 100 miles, unless you spring for a luxury model, like the Tesla Model X starting at $80,000. EVs are also known for long recharging times, up to nine hours on some models. Equally disturbing for some, could be […]

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Californians Actually Use Their Electric Cars, Survey Shows

Ovidiu Sandru — Wed, 05 Sep 2012 10:23:25 +0000

A new survey performed by the California Center for Sustainable Energy shows that EVs or plug-in hybrids are used in 90 percent of the cases as the car of choice. The Californians interviewed said that they drive around 10,000 miles a year in everyday usage conditions. “These aren’t hobby cars, these aren’t weekend cars,” said Mike […]

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Better Place: Electric Car Battery Swapping Service Envisioning Worldwide Expansion

Ovidiu Sandru — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 20:17:10 +0000

You may have probably heard of Project Better Place before - it's the business led by Shai Agassi that imposes itself a truly hard to get goal: to make a network of battery swapping and charging stations for the not-so-distant electric cars.

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BMW Megacity Sketch Revealed: Sleek Lines Breaking An EV Apart From Older Models

Ovidiu Sandru — Mon, 05 Jul 2010 19:58:02 +0000

BMW has been recognized as a good car manufacturer, but for now it lacks electric vehicles. Only their plans could make us look at the brighter and cleaner side of their logo: the MegaCity EV, whose existence as a concept had been revealed a few months ago.

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EV Bike Girl Wants to Build 400 mph "KillaJoule" Electric Motorcycle

Ovidiu Sandru — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 20:03:58 +0000

Eva HÃƒÆ’€kansson, the daughter of Sven HÃƒÆ’€kansson, who in the 1960s designed and rode his own championship-winning bike, and the wife of Bill DubÃƒÆ’©, the man behind Killacycle, the world's fastest electric vehicle (bike), wants to make her own motorcycle with an aerodynamic shape that would beat all the world records.

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BBC Show To Broadcast 4,000-mile Europe Tour in a Think Electric Car

Ovidiu Sandru — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 05:34:50 +0000

Media has influenced people's minds since its birth. That's why BBC, one of the largest media trusts worldwide, is trying to resuscitate the idea using an electric car in the minds of those who thought they could only fuel with gasoline. The documentary will be called "BBC Electric Ride", and will be broadcast on Radio 4 starting June 19.

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Holland to Have Europe's First Commercial EV Charging Station in Leeuwarden (Preparing for LEAF?)

Ovidiu Sandru — Thu, 27 May 2010 09:16:24 +0000

Holland has been targeted as the first European country that will sell Nissan's Leaf, the first mass-produced electric car with an affordable price (under $30,000). It is logical, then, that Holland is also the first European country to adopt fast-charging EV stations.

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Japanese Joint Venture Proposes EVs as Buffer for Nighttime Excess Wind Power

Ovidiu Sandru — Wed, 12 May 2010 19:40:30 +0000

As electric vehicles seem to increase their market share in the next few years, alternative energy companies think of methods to store the excess power produced during the night, when electricity utilities don't buy their energy, because of reduced consumption.

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Volkswagen Test Drives Golf Blue E-Motion Electric Car on The Streets of Berlin

Ovidiu Sandru — Tue, 04 May 2010 18:04:35 +0000

Not wanting to stay behind their competition (such as Renault-Nissan), Volkswagen is beginning to develop pure electric cars. Their new Golf Blue e-motion has been presented by Dr. Ulrich Hackenberg, member of VW's development board, and the German minister of transportation.

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Metallic Catalysts Could Increase the Efficiency of Li-Air Batteries Three Fold

Cristi — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 19:20:11 +0000

The MIT researchers could easily change the balance towards Li-air batteries in the near future just by changing the actual electrode materials. In the paper published in the journal Electrochemical and Solid-State Letters, the researchers showed that by changing the carbon electrodes with gold or platinum electrodes as a catalyst, the efficiency of the battery will increase.

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Small Hybrid and Electric Vehicles Show Potential in Central and Eastern Europe

Cristi — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 16:19:10 +0000

Nobody would have ever though that Central and Eastern Europe would have the technology or financial resources to build a super car or a zero emission vehicle. This is why we are now astonished as the Hungarian company called Antro developed a hybrid car that is also able to run on solar power.

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EMC Launches Affordable Electric Vehicle Based on Dacia Logan

Ovidiu Sandru — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 05:15:00 +0000

The world's first electric Pick-up, EMC (Electric Motor Cars), built on a Dacia Logan platform, brought to the U.S. by Envision Motor Co., has been presented by Des Moines Motors, an ex-Chrysler dealer.

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Panasonic to Equip Tesla Motors' Future EVs With Their Batteries

Cristi — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 08:14:33 +0000

Just few days ago, Tesla Motors announced that they will start the collaboration with Panasonic for the development of the next generation battery cells for the EV.

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Protoscar Makes Waves Before Geneva Motor Show With Lampo II Electric Vehicle

Cristi — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 18:23:36 +0000

Switzerland can finally brag with their most expensive sports car: Protoscar has just finished the development and manufacturing of a 1 million Euro electric sports car prototype called Lampo.

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New Hope for EVs: Bolivia Holding World's Richest Lithium Field

Cristi — Fri, 25 Dec 2009 08:20:04 +0000

As the automotive industry has oriented itself towards green energy usage, the need of a "supreme" alternative resource is obvious. And what is more obvious is the demand of Electric Vehicles. EVs need to store their energy in batteries: mainly Lithium-Ion batteries. As of this particular reason, Lithium seems to be one of the most searched resource.

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GM Cancels the 53mpg Hybrid Chevrolet and Proceeds to PHEVs

Cristi — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 19:53:04 +0000

Even though electric vehicles seem to be the future, some car manufacturers do not rush into changing to green, alternative energy sources. There is some incertitude when it comes to changing so fast from fossil fuels and some automakers just take their time to see what is best for the market.

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New York's First EV Charging Station by Beautiful Earth Group

Cristi — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 18:50:12 +0000

Lately the automotive industry had directed its attention to the Electric Vehicle market and to the green energy usage. But if the electric energy that will power the EV is obtained from fossil fuels the EV won't be green anymore. Because of that particular reason several solar-powered charging stations were developed lately to help EV use alternative energy.

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Toshiba Corp Building SCiB Cell Production Factory by 2011

Cristi — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 17:17:39 +0000

Toshiba Corp is anticipating strong demands and sales for their SCiB (super charge ion battery) and started the construction of another production plant in the Kashiwazaki Frontier Park, in Kashiwazaki city, Niigata prefecture.

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Skoda Planning to Build Electric Car Based on VW's E-Up

Cristi — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 18:01:12 +0000

After the presentation of the Volkswagen E-up car, Skoda plans to build it's own electric vehicle in the coming years starting from this concept. As VW already has the technology it should be easy for the Czech manufacturer to get on the market with a brand new EV.

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Tesla Motors Introducing Swappable Battery Pack for Model S

Cristi — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 19:44:45 +0000

As battery mileage efficiency for electric vehicle is still in huge debate and controversy Tesla Motors came with a great idea to please its buyers.

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Reva Electric Car Company Plans New Model This Year

Cristi — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 18:04:00 +0000

Reva Electric Car Company has started the development of the second model after the small Reva. The new car will be on the market this year and the company has big plan to "conquer" new markets overseas.

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San Francisco to Become the EV Capital of the U.S.

Cristi — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 20:09:06 +0000

San Francisco wants to become one of the major green cities in the world by installing electric vehicle charging station.

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Video: 2011 Chevy Volt Test Drive

Ovidiu Sandru — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 13:50:10 +0000

Here's a video we've been expecting for so long: a real image of a real car, expected by so many electric vehicle enthusiasts. Enjoy...

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Question: Will Chevy Volt Run Windows?

Ovidiu Sandru — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 18:43:27 +0000

I guess that the Chevy Volt has been one of the most hunted electric cars from the beginning of this year. GM has done all their possible to keep the secret from the press(?), but it seems that several images and specs have "leaked", acting as a teaser for the information thirsty public.

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Tesla Roadster’s New Gearbox Gives 10% more Miles/Charge

Ovidiu Sandru — Sat, 13 Sep 2008 17:55:56 +0000

The Tesla Roadster just got better: its manufacturers equipped it with a new gearbox, a more efficient one, that has about 30% more torque on a single gear ratio and achieves 10% more mileage on average.

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Spain Will Have 1 Million EVs Running on their Roads by 2014

Ovidiu Sandru — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 14:20:34 +0000

The Spanish government led by José Luis Rodriguez Zapatero wants one million electric cars on their streets by 2014. This happens while some of Europe’s countries, such as Romania, ban the free trading of second hand cars to “stop” pollution, they do nothing but collect the money from the “pollution tax” and do nothing about […]

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100 MPG Prius with Lead Acid Batteries

Ovidiu Sandru — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 19:45:58 +0000

Plug-In Supply, Inc has just unveiled the "PbA10" Conversion System last week at the Plug-in 2008 conference in San Jose. Their system is based on the CalCars'Open Source design, and it turns a standard 2004-2008 Toyota Prius into a Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle (PHEV) with an all-electric range of 10-15 miles and improved average mileage of up to 100 miles per gallon (plus 1 cent/mile of electricity).

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Ze-O: Very Cheap European Electric Car

Mike Sandru — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 16:06:54 +0000

The british company Nice Car will present next week at the Auto Salon of Great Britain, in world premiere, the little Ze-O, an MPV-type vehicle, fully electric, available from the next year for families with a lower budget.

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WrightSpeed X1 – 170mpg/300 horsepower SportsCar

Ovidiu Sandru — Sun, 30 Mar 2008 18:08:46 +0000

This is the Wrightspeed X1, built by Ian Wright (51), the first employee from Tesla Motors. It is a full electric car that can do 0-60mph in about 3 seconds. You wish it could go further than that? Yes, it can go. Future plans are to adopt changes that boost it to about 2seconds for […]

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Dodge Zeo – Electric, Fast, Furious and Beautiful

Ovidiu Sandru — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 14:12:26 +0000

If you’d like to see what the next generation of electric cars will look like, here you have the 2008 Dodge ZEO Concept. The four-passenger sport wagon has been designed for driving enthusiasts and environmentalists as well. It has an all-electric, lithium-ion battery powerplant that can go up to 250 miles before needing to be […]

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How To Buy a Second Hand Electric Vehicle

Ovidiu Sandru — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 14:42:47 +0000

I found a pdf that describes all the process of searching and buying an electric vehicle to suit your daily needs. It goes from describing popular places where you can find them, what types of electric vehicles there are on the market, to methods of testing them to see if they’re worth the price. Electric […]

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Made in India: Reva, the Electric Car

Ovidiu Sandru — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 14:04:55 +0000

How far (mileage) will Reva go? Most EVs today have a maximum range between 60 and 100 miles. This includes conversions and new cars from the manufacturer. Some vehicles may do less if they have small battery packs, lots of heavy-draw accessories like air conditioning, or if they are heavy, or using obsolete components. Some […]

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Ford Th!nk – pretty small electric car

Ovidiu Sandru — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 13:58:54 +0000

Ford Motor Company is taking a major step to jump-start the development of affordable small electric vehicles, and that step is catching the eye of drivers around the world. Ford has purchased majority interest in Norwegian-based PIVCO Industries, the manufacturer of the two-passenger TH!NK electric city car. TH!NK is hard not to notice because of […]

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Toyota Denies Battery Issues on Their Next Prius

Ovidiu Sandru — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 09:33:24 +0000

A Toyota official said recently the Li-Ion battery of the next generation Prius is not a problem in the company’s process of developing the new vehicle. Although Sony had experienced troubles with over-heated Li-Ion batteries, Toyota says it’s not the case in the Prius battery. The silence around this subject is because they want to […]

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