Wired bashes Chevrolet Volt bashers

From Wired Autopia's Chuck Squatriglia: Listen up all you GM haters and Volt bashers: The Chevrolet Volt rocks and General Motors deserves tremendous credit for building it. We cannot say this emphatically enough. The Volt effectively bridges internal combustion and battery-electric propulsion to provide many of the best attributes of each. Spare us your lame arguments about "Government Motors" forcing this car on us. The Volt was in development long before the Bush administration bailed out the...

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A remarkable year for electric vehicles in 2011

From John Gartner, on Huffington Post: The first Chevrolet Volts, Nissan Leafs, and Smart EDs were delivered in December, but in the annals of history, 2011 will be remembered as the year that electric vehicles (EVs) arrived. EVs for sale to consumers will dominate the headlines throughout the year as average Americans begin to recognize EVs as they roll down the road. Because of the stalled start in the 1990s, when consumers were tempted by and then denied access to GM's EV1 and other EVs, every...

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New York City to ditch yellow cabs for greener taxis?

From the BBC: Nothing screams New York more loudly than the city's yellow cab, but city officials hope the next generation of taxis will be, well, a bit more green. New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission chairman David Yassky, who is overseeing the search for a new design, says the city hopes to replace the current fleet standard, the gas-guzzling Ford Crown Victory. "It's done great work," he says. "But it's time for a new car. The Ford Crown Victoria gets 12 miles to a gallon. It's not...

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Don’t mess with Facebook, Twitter, Blogs: Portuguese company Ensitel learns the hard way what the Streisand effect is

UPDATE: On December 31, 2010, Ensitel withdrew its legal action against the blogger Portugal’s mobile phone store chain Ensitel, a branch of Avenir Telecom, put itself in the centre of a public relations nightmare of a storm after getting a court order to force a blogger (who happens to work for Portugal's leading web portal) to remove six posts originally published in 2009. The post series centered on the blogger’s frustration after Ensitel refused to refund her for a malfunctioning Nokia cell...

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Newer, cheaper Ampera (Volt) already under development

From AutoEvolution: Before the European / British brother of GM's Chevy Volt, the Opel / Vauxhall Ampera, has even been released, GM Europe announced it will be replaced by a family of three extended-range electric vehicles within five years, that could potentially be made at General Motors’ Ellesmere Port factory in the UK, said AutoCar in a report. While the first generation Volt/Ampera will be built in Detroit until 2015, the second generation of the extended range electric vehicles, which...

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Electric vehicle charging station market in the US to exceed $4B by 2016

Some interesting numbers in this study: Zpryme predicts the number of EV/PHEVs sold in 2016 will reach 203,200, and that the charging infrastructure and charging services market is will grow from $776.8 million in 2011 to $4.45 billion in 2016 (CAGR of 41.6%). The projections in the electric vehicle study by Zpryme's EV Insights Practice and sponsored by Airbiquity (download ‘The Electric Vehicle Study’ for free www.zpryme.com) show that the charging service market value is expected to grow at...

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VIDEO: How to charge your electric vehicle with home solar panels

Via EVPerspective / Los Angeles Times: Here's a video by LA Time's reporter Susan Carpenter on the equipment and costs involved with charging your electric car at home, using solar panels...

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Who will struggle the most in 2011? Non-EV American drivers

A U.S.News & World Report article featured on Yahoo! Finance lists who will struggle the most in the aftermath of the recession in the US. Among the 15 million unemployed Americans, Government employees and homeowners, American gas guzzling car drivers are listed as one of the groups that will suffer the most in the following 12 months. Here’s why: Gas prices have been drifting upward to nearly $3 per gallon, from about $2.62 a year ago. And energy analysts expect them to stay there or go...

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BMW electric supercar could be named the i8 and cost 200,000 dollars

From Green Car Reports: BMW is pressing forward with its plans to build a production version of the striking plug-in hybrid concept car it called Vision Efficient Dynamics, unveiled at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September 2009. According to reports filtering out of Germany, the model that goes on sale in October 2013 may be called the i8 and cost roughly $200,000. BMW's "i" sub-brand, for which a logo was leaked a couple of weeks ago, stems from its uber-green "Project i" research program. The...

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Azores Islands, Portugal, test electric buses

The regional government of the Azores Islands, Portugal, has announced it has bought two electric buses for 700,000 euros. The two buses will be used to test the potential of electric powered public transportation vehicles in the green volcanic archipelago, which consumed electricity is partly produced by geothermal energy. According to the Açoriano Oriental newspaper, quoted by Mobi.e, the regional government bought a 30 to 36 seats bus with an estimated autonomy of 120 kms, and another 18 to...

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Audi investe 11.600 milhões de euros em carros eléctricos até 2015

A Audi vai investir 11.600 milhões de euros nos próximos cinco anos e do total deste investimento, 9.500 milhões, ou seja, cerca de 80%, destinam-se ao desenvolvimento de novos produtos e tecnologias, tais como sistemas híbridos e eléctricos. De acordo com a publicação espanhola CincoDias, citada pelo site do Mobi.e, este é “um valor recorde na história da fabricante automóvel alemã”. “Este investimento tem como base um crescimento sustentável e rentável, com o objectivo de situar a empresa como...

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Ano de 2011 será decisivo para os veículos eléctricos

O próximo ano será “importante para testar a viabilidade comercial dos novos veículos eléctricos”, segundo um estudo da consultora norte-americana Pike Research, especializada em tecnologia e energia, citado pelo site do Mobi.e. O documento divulgado a 29 de Dezembro sustenta que 2011 será o ano em que o veículo eléctrico vai entrar no mercado automóvel, acompanhado da generalizada implementação de redes de pontos de carregamento. “A indústria automóvel ainda está preocupada com questões fundamentais,...

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All 2011 Green Car Vision Award finalists are electric vehicles

The Green Car Journal has nominated five electric vehicles for the 2011 Green Car Vision Award: the Ford Focus BEV, the Honda Fit EV, the future Mitsubishi i model for the American market, the Toyota RAV4 EV (currently under development with Tesla) and the Volvo C30 DRIVe. The winner will be announced on January 27 at the 2011 Washington Auto Show, in the American capital. Here's what the jury has to say about the finalists: Ford's Focus BEV, which is based on the automaker's all-new 2012...

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Nissan Leaf drivers to be ranked for efficient driving via telematics system. Yes, like a video-game

Driving or video-gaming? Both. From Edmunds Inside Line: The 2011 Nissan Leaf is already a techno-geek's dream, but the new electric car's telematics system offers something most probably didn't expect: competitive rankings for energy use. Nissan's Carwings system records and displays daily, monthly and annual data for distance traveled, electricity consumption and average miles per kilowatt-hour (kWh), among other figures. Best of all, it shows drivers how they stack up against other Leaf owners...

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5 electric vehicle predictions for 2011 by PluginCars.com

PluginCars.com's John Gartner is not alone when he says that 2011 will be the year of the revenge of the electric car, but he reveals some interesting key trends identified by Pike Research in this white paper. Some can be summarized in these 5 electric vehicle predictions for 2011. Having worked in the media industry, I cannot help myself but laugh at #5. So true. 1 - The majority of people who drive a plug-in vehicle won't own it. Thanks to car rental fleets, taxis, and car share programs, getting...

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Renault-Nissan signs deal with AXA for Europe-wide roadside assistance for electric vehicles

Renault-Nissan Alliance has selected AXA Assistance to provide roadside assistance for its electric vehicles in Europe following a call for tender launched in early 2010, the French-Japanese alliance has announced. The companies declared that the deal will bring electric vehicle customers 'a full set of innovative services specific to the new market', alongside conventional roadside breakdown assistance and towing in the 21 following European countries: France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands,...

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Portuguese PM is the first head of government in the world to use an electric car

From the FinanzNachrichten: Portugal received delivery of the first 10 electric vehicles in Europe from Nissan as recognition of the country's pioneering work in electric mobility with the MOBI.E project. The Prime Minister José Socrates is one of the ten recipients and will now travel exclusively by Electric Car for his official travels around the capital city. With this Portugal becomes the first country in the world to have a head of state head of government using an electric car for official...

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The Fuji Heavy saga: FHI 'may suspend' output of Stella EV

From the Japan Times/Kyodo News: Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd. is considering suspending production of its only electric vehicle, sources said Monday (so said Bloomberg, Fuji Heavy denied the report later that day). Details including the timing of the suspension have not been decided, but the maker of Subaru brand cars could suspend production of the EV when the automaker stops manufacturing the Stella minivehicle, the EV's base car, the sources said. Fuji Heavy plans to withdraw completely from...

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VIDEO: Renault ZE electric Santa ad

French carmaker Renault is telling everyone 'the next Christmas is going to be electric'. The Renault Fluence ZE, the Kangoo ZE and the three-seatter Twizy, all scheduled to go on sale in 2011, are briefly featured in this Renault's French television ad, along with the Zoe, expected to debut in 2012. Earlier this December, Renault suggested that its Fluence ZE electric sedan could go on sale in Portugal for around 22,000 euros (after a 5,000 euros state discount), plus an 80 euros monthly fee for...

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Green Living: Italy bans plastic bags

From the TreeHuger: "Sustainability is made of little changes to our lifestyle that don't cost us anything and can save the planet," said Stefania Prestigiacomo, Italian Environmental Minister, as she confirmed that a ban on non-biodegradable, single-use plastic bags will take effect on 1 January 2011, for all of Italy. The plastics industry protests that the rules are not clear, that the abrupt transition will have negative repercussions on consumers, and that Italy has no reason to take the...

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South Korea starts commercial operation of battery electric buses in Seoul

From the Green Car Congress: The Seoul Metropolitan Government (SMG) in South Korea has started commercial operation of full-size battery electric buses on the Mt. Namsan circular routes as of 21 December. SMG has worked on the project to develop full-sized electric buses with local technology over the last one and a half years since signing an agreement with Hyundai Heavy Industries and Hankuk Fiber for the development of electric buses in September 2009. SMG has set a goal of putting a total...

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Tesla shares fall the most since July after lock-up ends

From Bloomberg: Tesla Motors Inc., the unprofitable electric-car maker, fell the most in more than five months after insiders were allowed to sell shares in the company. Tesla shares fell $4.82, or 16 percent, to $25.27 at 12:12 p.m. in Nasdaq Stock Market trading after earlier falling to $25.06 for the steepest intraday drop since July 6. Capstone Investments Inc. initiated coverage Dec. 23 with a “sell” rating on the expectation that plug-ins and other hybrids will continue to outsell pure electric...

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Nissan to fill all 20,000 US Leaf orders by September 2011

Autoblog Green brilliantly spotted a tidbit of information buried within a San Jose Mercury News article that might help clarify Nissan’s delivery plans for the electric Leaf in the United States. According to Nissan’s spokesman Tim Gallagher, the Leaf's widespread roll out will kick off soon: ‘By the end of the summer, our goal is to have everyone in their car’. Last September, Nissan stopped taking reservations for the Leaf in the US, having reached its goal of 20,000 pre-orders 3 months ahead...

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VIDEO: Renault Fluence ZE electric sedan to cost 22,000 euros in Portugal

Renault has revealed the estimated prices for the three electric models the French carmaker will launch in Portugal in 2011. According to Turbo, the Fluence ZE electric sedan will cost 22,000 euros, plus an 80 euros monthly fee for the electric battery. The price reflects a 5,000 euros discount by the Portuguese state, being awarded to the first 5,000 electric vehicle owners. The Kangoo ZE will cost 24,000, plus a 90 euros monthly fee. The commercial vehicle is not eligible for the passenger car-only...

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VIDEO: Renault Fluence ZE e Kangoo ZE a partir de 22.000 euros em Portugal

A Renault divulgou os preços estimados para os veículos eléctricos que a marca francesa vai comercializar a partir de 2011 em Portugal. Segundo a Turbo, o Fluence ZE, familiar de quatro portas, chega ao mercado a partir dos 22 mil euros. O valor inclui o desconto de 5 mil euros concedido pelo Estado aos primeiros 5 mil proprietários de veículos eléctricos em Portugal. Ao preço junta-se uma mensalidade de 80 euros pelo aluguer da bateria de iões de lítio. O comercial eléctrico Kangoo ZE será comercializado...

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Fuji Heavy Industries denies it will halt electric vehicle sales

Fuji Heavy Industries, the manufacturers of Subaru, has announced it hasn't halted sales or development of electric vehicles, spokesman Fusao Watanabe said by phone from Tokyo today, quoted by Bloomberg. Earlier on, Japan's Yomiuri newspaper, also quoted by Bloomberg, reported that the automaker will suspend sales of plug-in electric vehicles for as long as five years because of a scarcity of charging facilities and the price of lithium-ion batteries, citing the compa...

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Nissan Leaf is EV.com’s 2011 electric vehicle of the year

Electric vehicle's website EV.com has named Nissan Leaf car of the year. The Leaf is the first mass-produced pure electric vehicle (100% electric, no-gas) from a major car manufacturer available in the United States. Deliveries of the front-wheel drive five-door electric hatchback started in December of 2010, with the very first model being delivered in Petaluma, California to 31-year-old Olivier Chalouhi. Days later, the first ten Leafs delivered in Europe were bought by the Portuguese Government...

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Detroit veterans shift to electric car ventures

Tweet this post From the Record: The great economic quake of ’08 rattled Detroit mightily, wreaking severe damage to the foundation of the U.S. auto industry. Bankruptcies at Chrysler and General Motors, resulting in drastic cuts at the automakers and their suppliers, dominated the headlines day after day. Behind the front-page news were the more personal stories of job losses — hundreds of thousands across the industry, according to the U.S. Labor Department — that were part of the aftershocks....

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Fuji Heavy Industries (Subaru) halts electric vehicle sales until 2016

Tweet this post  UPDATE: FUJI HEAVY HAS DENIED YOMIURI'S REPORT: From Bloomberg: Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd. (manufacturers of Subaru) will suspend sales of plug-in electric vehicles for as long as five years because of a scarcity of charging facilities and the price of lithium-ion batteries, the Yomiuri newspaper reported, citing the company. Its plug-in Stella cars have been offered to corporations and local governments. The automaker plans to re-enter the market around 2016, the report said. Read...

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VIDEO: Deepwater Horizon's Final Hours, by the NYT

Tweet this post From the New York Times: The worst of the explosions gutted the Deepwater Horizon stem to stern. Crew members were cut down by shrapnel, hurled across rooms and buried under smoking wreckage. Some were swallowed by fireballs that raced through the oil rig’s shattered interior. Dazed and battered survivors, half-naked and dripping in highly combustible gas, crawled inch by inch in pitch darkness, willing themselves to the lifeboat deck. It was no better there. That same explosion...

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China's BYD to roll out electric vehicles at Detroit auto show

Tweet this post  From the Detroit News: BYD Co. Ltd., one of the most widely-watched of China's emerging automakers, plans to unveil two advanced technology vehicles at the Detroit auto show next month: an all-electric 2012 e6 crossover, and a S6DM hybrid. BYD, a battery-maker that branched out into the auto business, said today that it also will display solar panels, home energy storage units and other environmentally friendly products and technologies in an exhibit titled "Green City Solutions." BYD,...

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James Martin reviews the electric Mini E

Tweet this post From the Daily Mail: Forgive me for talking shop, but this year’s been a crazy one in TV-land. The presenters of The One Show on BBC in the evenings are now the presenters of Daybreak on ITV in the mornings. The Bill was axed, The Stig was dishonourably discharged from Top Gear, Piers Morgan is on CNN and I woke up one morning to find Emma Bunton doing Lorraine Kelly’s job… Meanwhile, Jonathan Ross has been absent from our screens for most of 2010. Weird. As for me, I’ve been...

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Keys to tomorrow's roads may be in lithium

Tweet this post From the Washington Post / St. Paul Pioneer Press: It's the lightest of all metals, skitters wildly on water and can unexpectedly explode. To mine it commercially requires an elaborate process involving drilling, evaporation tanks and chemical processing. But if President Barack Obama is to fulfill his goal of putting 1 million electric cars on the road by 2015, a once-obscure metal crucial for the batteries in those cars, lithium, will probably be mined by the tens of thousands...

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Arizona Daily Star reviews the Tesla Roadster Sport

Tweet this post From the Arizona Daily Star: You can crunch all the specifications for the all-electric Tesla Roadster, but two numbers stand out: 245 and 3.7. The first represents the 245 miles per charge maximum driving range - tops among production electrics and an important number for environmentally conscious buyers, along with zero tailpipe emissions. But the second figure says a lot more about the Tesla's driving experience: the 3.7 seconds it takes the Roadster Sport 2.5 model to...

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Green Living: Wii is the most energy efficient video game console

Tweet this post From the New York Times: Shopping for a video game console? The Electric Power Research Institute has ranked models on a characteristic that is rarely at the top of the list of must-have features: energy consumption. Playing Madden NFL 11, the popular EA Sports video game, consumes roughly six times more electricity on the Sony PlayStation 3 and the Microsoft Xbox 360 than on the Nintendo Wii, according to engineers at the institute’s lab in Knoxville, Tenn. The Wii drew an average...

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Beijing to cut new cars by two-thirds to battle traffic

From the BBC/Reuters: New rules have taken effect in China that restrict car purchases in an effort to combat serious traffic problems in the capital, Beijing. City authorities will allow only 240,000 vehicles to be registered for 2011 - one-third of this year's total. Car buyers have been swamping dealers in anticipation of the new rules, which will still leave about five million cars on the road in the capital. Traffic and air pollution in Beijing is among the worst in the world. Beijing officials...

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Deutsche Welle: Rise of electric cars prompt 'smart' electrical grids in Portugal

Tweet this post From DW World: Portugal’s long-term target of 750,000 electric cars fits with its smart energy plans. Already, the country has 40 percent of its energy coming from renewable sources. The launch in Portugal in January of Nissan's Leaf marks the start of the rollout in Europe of what the company says is the first 100 percent electric car aimed at a mass market. Nissan targeted Portugal - where it will also soon be assembling batteries for the Leaf - after that country's government...

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