918 Spyder is Porsche’s First Ever Plug In Hybrid Electric Car
(via Inhabitat)
From the post:
Dubbed the 918 Spyder, this stealthy-looking ride is a parallel hybrid just like the Prius – well, except much, much sexier. It also supposedly gets 78 miles per gallon, has emissions of 70g CO2/km, can go 16 miles on electric charge alone, and does 0-60 in just 3.2 seconds. Oh and did we mention that it’s drop-dead gorgeous too?
2010 Tesla Roadster
Tesla is hoping its new leasing strategy will help usher in a new round of early adopters into the mainstream.
Read more in the article:
‘Starting Wednesday, the 2010 Roadster, which competes against exotic sport cars like the Porsche 911, will be available on a three-year, 30,000-mile lease based on the manufacturer’s price of $111,005, Tesla said. A lease requires an up front $12,453 payment, which includes a $1,658 first monthly payment, a $9,900 down payment and an $895 acquisition fee, the company said. In the past, the Roadsters were only available for an outright purchase.
“This will help us with the customers who have some trepidation about changing the paradigm from gasoline to electric,” said Elon Musk, Tesla’s chairman and chief executive. “They can dip their toe in the water without making a big commitment of a purchase.”‘
Our Consulting Producer Chelsea Sexton has written a tribute to the three Tesla employees who lost their lives in Wednesday’s plane crash in Palo Alto:
We lost a few of our own yesterday; there’s just no other, more elegant way to say it. The electric vehicle community is a close knit one and too small to begin with. To all of us, Doug Bourn, Brian Finn and Andrew Ingram were colleagues. To the employees of Tesla Motors, they were family and friends.
Working for a start-up can be a challenge, and much has been made of Tesla’s ups and downs. But ever since this company has been little more than a few folks and a converted Lotus in a San Carlos garage, some of the most talented people in the industry have chosen to be there because they are dedicated to the mission and to each other. Many have sacrificed to do it, though I know that not only are they not thinking about that in this moment, most count themselves lucky to have gotten the chance. They have changed things.
The three men lost in the crash will be missed- they already are. However, Tesla’s future successes will not be accomplished in spite of this tragedy, but because smart, passionate people like Doug, Brian and Andrew chose to work there in the first place, and because those who remain press on.
Photo by Jim Wilson, New York Times
The New York Times looks at how EVs are going to shake up our cities.
Cities Prepare for Life With the Electric Car
From the article:
“The San Francisco building code will soon be revised to require that new structures be wired for car chargers. Across the street from City Hall, some drivers are already plugging converted hybrids into a row of charging stations.
In nearby Silicon Valley, companies are ordering workplace charging stations in the belief that their employees will be first in line when electric cars begin arriving in showrooms. And at the headquarters of Pacific Gas and Electric, utility executives are preparing “heat maps” of neighborhoods that they fear may overload the power grid in their exuberance for electric cars.”
Director Chris Paine was in Indianapolis this week to film for ‘Revenge.’
More details in this TV report:
Filmmaker in Ind. for electric car doc
©Nikki Kahn - The Washington Post
One morning just over a year ago, I was surprised to see the above photo taken from President Obama’s Washington, DC-bound train appear in a Washington Post collection from the inauguration. It was still a novelty to see anything pro-EV in a major publication, but what struck me at the time was that I had no idea who these people in Delaware were. Not long before, the plug-in movement was small enough that not only would we have known about something like this before it happened, we would have been the ones out there with the signs freezing our butts off.
A little googling revealed that the local Chrysler plant had recently closed, and these folks were hoping to see it re-opened and used to build a new generation of electric cars. I haven’t heard about them since (though the former Saturn plant in the area is slated for Fisker) but the image stuck with me. A simple group, a simple message- and a deep belief that the two were enough to change things. The story of my life, so to speak.
And we have; nearly every major automaker now has a plug-in car in the works. The first ones are scheduled to hit their initial market areas by the end of the year. But the flip side of that coin is how much work there is to be done in the same time frame; a walk through this season’s conference hallways reveals smiling faces on top of heavy shoulders and whispering among veterans about whether it’s all going to get done. Which is why I’m baffled that various stakeholders have started to “declare victory” and talk about what’s next.
We’re in an odd phase, trying to balance the tension of public excitement for what’s to come with the frustration that it’s not here just yet. In many ways, this is when the bulk of the work begins, much of it unseen and un-sexy: the final engineering shakeouts in extreme temperatures, the combing and refining of labyrinthian charger installation and DMV processes, dealer training, service manual writing, and so on. Having worked though a vehicular generation where we got through all of those things, had EVs on the road with seemingly more to come and still had it all go south, I know we’re not nearly in a secure enough spot to relax.
The worst thing we can do now is to get complacent- not because those involved aren’t serious, but because intention alone isn’t enough. And if what appears to be light at the end of the tunnel turns out to be the oncoming train, we’ll have no one to blame but ourselves.
But when we really do get it done? Oh, we’re throwing one hell of a party.
Tesla's Model S
As Tesla files for its IPO, the company reveals that it will stop production of the Roadster — and will focus on the Model S.
More details after the jump:
Tesla to stop selling electric sports car next year
From the article:
“A reading of the fine print by Wired’s Autopia blog uncovers some disturbing product-planning news. To wit, the company’s only product, the first true freeway-capable, mass-produced electric car of the modern age, will go bye-bye next year.”
Coulomb Technologies are moving into EV charging.
More details — and a nice namecheck for ‘Revenge’
– after the jump:
Harris: Coulomb Technologies gets funding for electric car charging stations
“The director of the documentary “Who Killed the Electric Car?” is now filming the sequel, “Revenge of the Electric Car.” Just a hunch, but Tesla Motors could be cast as the dashing protagonist, while Better Place might be up for best supporting actor…
When Coulomb this week announced $14 million in second-round funding to advance its business model for electric vehicle (EV) charging stations, the Campbell startup gave more momentum to the EV revolution. The funding, led by Voyager Capital and Rho Ventures, follows Tesla’s disclosure that it will seek an initial public stock offering and Better Place’s announcement of a $350 million investment as it prepares to roll out its technology in Israel and Denmark.”
Read More
According to their SEC filing, California electric car maker Tesla Motors Inc. plans sell up to $100 million in an initial public offering.
Read more in the LA Times story:
Tesla Motors plans $100-million IPO
From the article:
“California electric car maker Tesla Motors Inc. plans sell up to $100 million in an initial public offering, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
The move brings the innovative car company, which has long enticed car enthusiasts, one step closer to becoming a household name.
The price of shares or the timing of their availability is still unclear, but industry observers expect the much-anticipated offering to be well-received by investors.”
Better Place has just announced a major new set of investors.
More details after the jump:
Electric car firm Better Place raises $350 mln
“Better Place, an infrastructure provider for electric cars founded by former SAP <SAPG.DE> executive Shai Agassi, has raised $350 million in fresh equity as part of a second round of financing.
Better Place’s concept is for battery-swapping stations to complement a network of charge spots so that electric cars like partner Renault’s <RENA.PA> planned Zoe can extend their range without the need of an additional back-up engine that burns fossil fuel.”
Russia’s richest man, Mikhail Prokhorov, gets a nod of approval from Putin on his new electric car investments. Read more in the article:
Putin Backs Russia’s First Electric Car Project
By Gleb Bryanski and Gleb Stolyarov for Reuters.
From the article:
“Russia’s richest man, Mikhail Prokhorov won early backing from Prime Minister Vladimir Putin for his plan to start mass production of electric cars, Putin’s spokesman said on Tuesday.
Russia is seeking to modernize its commodity-based economy, which was hit hard by the global crisis when energy prices fell, and wants to achieve growth in technology sectors where it believes it may have some competitive advantage…
“Putin listened very attentively and wanted to see this project discussed in detail with all the ministries involved as soon as possible,” Peskov told reporters without elaborating on the details of the plan.
Industry professionals who had seen the early design of Prokhorov’s car told Reuters that the vehicle would be a Golf-class sedan with a body made from plastic. They said Prokhorov was ready to provide project financing for two years.
They said the target price for the car would be around 8,800 euros and it would be a pure electric vehicle as opposed to a hybrid, which runs on both a conventional engine and battery-powered electricity.”
A new European-wide electric car initiative will be launched as part of the Spanish presidency of the EU next month.
Read more about it in the Irish Times article:
EU to introduce electric car initiative
From the article:
“Spanish rime minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, whose country currently holds the EU presidency, said there was a need for a pan-European strategy to produce a viable electric car…
The European Commission is already working on its proposals for electric cars which the Commission President José Manuel Barroso described as a “very important” part of its green strategy.
Mr Zapatero told MEPS in the European Parliament that the car industry was already going huge change and there was a need for a co-ordinated response and a common strategy.
He said competitors such as China and Japan would have the advantage unless EU car manufacturers had the right incentives to invest in electric vehicles.”
Toyota Tsusho Corp, a trading house and key Toyota supplier that Toyota owns 22 percent of, just announced that it would be jointly developing a new lithium project in Argentina with the Australian-listed Orocobre Ltd.
For more information read:
Toyota in Argentine Lithium Deal for Hybrid Car Push
By Eriko Amaha for Reuters.
From the Reuters post:
“A sister company to Toyota Motor Corp secured a lithium supply deal in Argentina on Wednesday that could help the world’s largest automaker keep its lead in gasoline-electric hybrid cars.
The deal sent shares in the lithium project’s owner and operator, Australian-listed Orocobre Ltd, soaring almost 50 percent to an all-time high.
Lithium, a highly reactive and versatile metal, is expected to be in increasing demand as carmakers choose costly but more efficient lithium-ion batteries to power hybrid and electric vehicles.
“When it comes to mass production of hybrids, the main hurdle has been a shortage of batteries,” said Yoshihiko Tabei, chief analyst at Kazaka Securities. “Toyota is taking a step on its own to secure the materials it needs to ensure stable production.” …
Subject to the finalization of the terms, Toyota Tsusho will acquire a 25 percent equity interest in the joint venture while Orocobre will continue to own the remaining 75 percent of the project and will operate the venture.”
(December, 2009)
Late night on the streets of Copenhagen, and biting cold. It was a dark and snowy night. But what I really wanted was…a bicycle.
Two weeks in on a trip to Denmark and my perspective on weather and transportation had shifted. The fastest way across town was on a bike regardless of conditions. Sure, an electric car would be nice, but that would have been last Sunday, when the nearly 80 electric vehicles in a “CO2 Race” combed the streets of Copenhagen. They were long gone. So were the electric Teslas, Nissans, Renaults, Betterplace vehicles, and Danish cars of the “International Mayor’s EV Parade,” a couple days later.
At the moment all I wanted was a bike.
As the occasional beautiful Dane raced by me with a baby on board – yes even at freezing 2AM – I knew why everyone chose bicycles here. Bikes had their own express lanes, their own concrete lane barriers, their own street lights, their own place on subways, their own bus racks, their own hipster club parking spaces, their own prams, even their own kind of road-rage. Step into a bike lane as many an international innocent would on the way to Klimaforum and learn a new Danish swear word.
My real issue that night was an age old problem for all wheeled vehicles: a flat tire. And a flaw in their system: No AAA road service for bikes (ha! one point for cars). So I chained up my bike (and mini-trailer) and set out on foot with rolling camera case dreaming of my heated electric car at home in Los Angeles.
Contrary to some reports, the Copenhagen Climate Conference was a great success. Sure, national leaders failed to sign a meaningful agreement, even after painstaking work by so many national staffs, NGOs (like Global Observatory), and demonstrators. But how enforceable would these agreements be anyway when a political party in China or the US for that matter, refused to go along back home?
Even with a signed agreement, someone would be break it or find a workaround. “The present is theirs, the future is ours,” as Nicola Tesla said.
The important success at COP15 was this: millions of human beings were rallying around a central issue for our time: global warming and stemming the stark consequences of an industrialized Earth. The demise of coral reefs, the threat to our ocean food chain, the flooding of small countries, the health disasters already playing out so many places, the loss of our local and global forests. The list goes on. But at least the wake up call has been sounded and people are taking action.
Renault's Twizy ZE Concept Car
Tens of thousands of demonstrators rallied. “There is No Planet B” signs proclaimed. And even with hundreds of riot police (and dozens of dogs and tear gas), fresh back from Bagdad, to control them, the marches went on. And the international press did its job. It reported – even with global distractions like Tiger Woods in full swing. And hundreds of mayors and corporate leaders committed their futures to meaningful action.
Revenge of the Electric Car had no shortage of scenes to chase.
After parading in Evs from City Hall to Denmark’s oldest University, mayors from around the world had something to say. The Toronto Mayor jumped from an all electric Mitsubishi to a plug in hybrid Fitzker positively on fire for them both. Toronto would lead! Like Portland, like Paris, like Tel Aviv, like Tokyo, like Los Angeles, like Copenhagen, like Hawaii! (warmer there by the way).
And how about Renault, arguably the biggest car company at play in this arena. They demonstrated 4 different models of pure EVs coming in 2010-11 to Europe.
And their COO, Patrick Pelata, sounded like he’d been in the post-gasoline car business for years – (preparing batteries and business models alike) with Nissan/Renault CEO Carlos Ghosn.
Patrick Pelata, Renault COO
Artists and activists created projects over Herculean obstacles to inspire and educate. We captured Jakob’s Fulsang Mikkelsen’s “CO2 Race” as he rounded up nearly 100 alt vehicles to adoring crowds and fitted them up with GPS systems to parade around Copenhagen at night. The EVs projected live red coordinates on a giant globe above the central square to spell out CO2. Talk about performance art.
One of Mikkelsen’s goals – helping to vindicate a failed Danish attempt to manufacture electric cars in the 1970s. One of his successes, getting reinspired to take this show around the world. Vegas anyone?
And entrepreneurs were in ample supply too. Shai Agassi updated the world on Better Place’s plan to install fast-switch stations and quick chargers in Denmark, Israel, Tokyo, and the US. Delays aside, all systems were go with an order for 100,000 electric cars from Nissan already in place.
Chris Paine and Shai Agassi, Founder and CEO, Better Place
And we had a screening of “Who Killed the Electric Car” at a film festival where Al Gore greeted us and had a few things to say about the culture wars. But that’s another story…
As I walked back through the streets of Copenhagen, my mind kept drifting to all the Tesla’s that have been sold here. With a $40,000 tax on gas cars, and an exemption for electric vehicles, no wonder that some of northern Denmark’s wind farmers are driving Teslas in the field. Wouldn’t it be nice in one of them picked me up right now for a ride…
And so, walking home that night, I felt proud of the EV movement and the efforts of so many to make a difference.
Change is happening.
CHRIS
Chris Paine, Elon Musk, Bob Lutz
The Revenge team filmed a historic meeting in Detroit today — getting GM Vice President and Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk together on camera for the first time.
More details after the jump :
Detroit’s Electric Avenue: The Street of Dreams?
From the NY Times post:
“Mr. Paine, who produced the documentary “Who Killed the Electric Car?” arranged the historic meeting. He is reportedly in production on a sequel, “The Revenge of the Electric Car.” Mr. Lutz — whose company was accused in Mr. Paine’s original movie of being the prime suspect -– is now a strong proponent of E.V.’s and a prime mover behind the development of the Chevrolet Volt plug-in hybrid. And Mr. Musk is helping to revive the fortunes of the electric car industry with his stewardship of Tesla Motors.
The meeting went off as scheduled and proved to be a congenial gathering for the three men. A small crowd of curious onlookers followed them on their short stroll.
Mr. Paine was joined by a video crew, presumably shooting footage for “Revenge.” And while he seemed to be trying to create tension between Mr. Musk and Mr. Lutz, they didn’t seem to be buying into it.
Mr. Paine asked Mr. Musk if he felt being in Detroit was akin to being “behind enemy lines.” Mr. Musk smiled and said, “No, I really don’t think of it that way.” Mr. Lutz spent most of his 30 minutes with Mr. Musk sharing almost inaudible comments about various electric vehicles and features that caught their respective eyes.”
Bob Lutz announces the next GM Electric Car program, post Volt.
It’s the Cadillac Converj.
For more details, read the story:
Lutz: GM to make Cadillac Converj electric car
Ford is starting EV trials in Germany.
For more details, follow the link …
Ford Plans to Start Electric-Car Tests in Germany Next Month
“Ford Motor Co. will start a two-year test program of electric Focus compact cars and Transit vans in Germany on Jan. 4 as the U.S. company prepares to introduce battery-powered models as early as next year.
The 25 vehicles will be driven under normal traffic conditions in Cologne, where Ford’s European division is based, said Ferdinand Dudenhoeffer, director of the Center for Automotive Research at Germany’s University of Duisburg-Essen, which is overseeing the 15 million-euro ($22 million) study.
The drivers will include researchers and customers selected by Ford, Dudenhoeffer said today in a telephone interview. Data from the models will be monitored on computers that can simulate testing of more than 10,000 vehicles, he said.” Read More
The EV revolution continues in England’s second city, Birmingham.
Read more about it in:
Electric Car Trials Begin in Birmingham
In the Birmingham News.Net
“ELECTRIC car trials have begun in Birmingham with 25 motorists testing new ecologically-friendly vehicles…
The drivers will pay £350 a month to lease one of the Mitsubishi i-MiEV cars being tested and will report on their experiences over the year.
The vehicles also have trackers fitted so Mitsubishi can monitor how often they are charged, how many miles they cover and how often the cars are used on the road. The zero emission i-MiEV has a top speed of 81 mph and a range of 100 miles.
A full charge takes around six hours and costs less than £1.
Mitsubishi says a small petrol car travelling 12,000 miles will cost around £1,200 but an electric car will cost just £115.”
Listen to what happens when the Nissan Leaf roadshow reaches Seattle.
Read more about it in:
by Denis Du Bois for Energy Priorities.
“In some cities, Leaf drivers won’t have to wait for the charging infrastructure to catch up. Mark Perry, Nissan North America’s Director of Product Planning, says Seattle is part of a DOE project to place 2,500 charging stations to the Puget Sound region this summer. Perry says there will be a public charging station within five miles of any spot in the Puget sound area.
But Nissan expects most owners to charge at home, overnight. The charger is built into the car, with a timer so you can control when it charges itself.”
GM to invest $700m in Volt rechargeable electric car
By Richard Kessler for Recharge News
“GM is spending $336m to upgrade the Hamtramck plant; $202m for a new plant in Flint, north of Detroit, that will build 1.4 litre engine-generators; $43m for a plant in Brownstown Township outside Detroit that will manufacture battery packs; $37m for a camshaft and connecting rod plant in Bay City, north of Flint; and $27m for GM’s Tech Center in suburban Warren, a Detroit suburb, location of Volt’s battery laboratory.”
GM to invest $336 million in Volt plant
General Motors Co will invest $336 million in a Detroit-area plant to produce its heavily anticipated Chevrolet Volt electric car beginning next year, the No. 1 U.S. automaker said on Monday.
The government of Guangzhou Municipality in China and Dongfeng Motor Co., Nissan Motor Co.’s Chinese venture partner, have formed a partnership to promote electric car transport in the city of Guangzhou.
The Renault-Nissan Alliance, which will start marketing electric cars in the U.S. and Japan next year, has signed more than 30 agreements with cities, counties, states and governments to promote zero-emission electric cars and establish the charging infrastructure for the batteries.
Renault-Nissan plans to offer an electric car for sale in China in 2011, Nissan said in a statement.
Tesla Model S Photo: Caroline McCarthy/CNET
Rumors are circling that Tesla is preparing an IPO, although no one at Tesla is yet talking.
More details at:
Electric-car maker Tesla preparing IPO
“Tesla would mark the first public offering from a U.S. automaker since Henry Ford’s Ford Motor debuted its shares in 1956. The IPO represents a landmark in the resurgence of electric-car technology that most carmakers had dismissed as impractical until recently.
The company’s chairman Elon Musk said early last year that an IPO was a possibility in either late 2008 or 2009.”
Big changes at Aptera … more details ( plus official press release ) after the jump:
Officially Official: Aptera production pushed back to 2010
By Domenick Yoney for Autobloggreen.
According to the company, fund raising efforts didn’t keep pace with vehicle development and so they’re taking measures to slow the burn, as it were. One of those unfortunate actions involved laying off an unspecified number of employees, though one of them, co-founder Steve Fambro, has said he will resume his role next year. Addressing the situation he said:
“Right now my advanced work is a lower priority for Aptera. We’ve got to be wholly focused on funding and getting the first 2e on the road. Paul’s leadership and (chief engineer) Tom Reichenbach’s talent have led to changes in the vehicle that are spot-on. They’ve made the vehicle safer, it’s better handling and more comfortable. Once we get through this stage, we’ll begin mass producing the 2e – the most aerodynamic and efficient vehicle in the world.”
A coalition of car makers, battery suppliers and electricity providers has come together to ask for federal help for EVs.
More details at:
Group Seeks US Tax Credits To Spur Electric Car Use
by Judith Burns for Dow Jones.
“A coalition of auto makers, battery manufacturers, utility operators and shipping companies wants the U.S. to offer tax credits for buying all-electric plug-in vehicles as part of a $128 billion program to get seven million such cars on the road by 2018.
The “cash for volts” approach was touted Monday by the Electrification Coalition, a 13-member group that sees electric plug-ins as the answer to a host of problems, from dependence on foreign oil to tailpipe emissions that some believe is contributing to global climate change.
The group issued a lengthy report and a 30-second television commercial touting its plan, and its members outlined it at a presentation in Washington, D.C. All stressed that plug-in technology already exists and just needs a push on the financial front from Congress.”
As the race to produce mass market EVs heats up, Chrysler has pulled out of the contest.
More details below:
by Kevin Krolicki, for Reuters.
“As late as August, Chrysler took $70 million in grants from the U.S. Department of Energy to develop a test fleet of 220 hybrid pickup trucks and minivans, vehicles now scrapped in the sweeping turnaround plan for Chrysler announced this week by Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne.
Chrysler spokesman Nick Cappa said on Friday that an in-house team of electric car development engineers had been disbanded in favor of a more traditional organization…
Under mounting pressure to improve the fuel-efficiency of its line-up, Chrysler announced in September last year that it was developing three electric vehicles and would sell the first of the models by 2010.
In January at the Detroit Auto Show, Chrysler upped the ante on its electric car bet by pledging to have 500,000 battery-powered vehicles on the road by 2013, including sports cars and trucks.
But a presentation of Chrysler’s five-year strategy by Marchionne on Wednesday made no mention of Chrysler’s earlier electric car development plans.”
Ahead of the Copenhagen summit, PBS look into the electric future in Denmark — and checks
in with Project Better Place.
Watch the show here.
Bob Stempel and Stan Ovshinsky
Stan Ovshinsky — one of the stars of ‘Who Killed the Electric Car ?’ – is out of retirement and working with former business partner (and ex-GM head) Bob Stempel to develop solar panels. More details in the Detroit Free Press article:
Panels may brighten job market
by Carol Cain.
In another bit of coincidence, Stempel headed GM’s EV1 electric car program in the early 1990s. The company dropped the program as demand for sport-utility vehicles took center stage.
After leaving GM, Stempel eventually connected with Ovshinsky at Energy Conversion Devices.
The duo worked there until Ovshinsky decided to retire two years ago.
That retirement was short-lived. Ovshinsky returned to what he loves — working to make the nation less reliant on foreign oil.
He started a new company, Ovshinsky Innovations LLC. He is working with Stempel again as a partner on the solar panels. They have a small staff and are testing the product in Oakland County.
Chris gives his views on the EV revolution — and our new film — to The Daily Beast.
For the full interview, follow this link.
What can we expect to see in Revenge of the Electric Car?
We’re tracking the fortunes of GM with the Volt and Tesla, initially with their Roadster and now the Model S, and the electric Smart Car. And then we’re tracking a whole group of other manufacturers and related stories like Better Place in Israel and what the Chinese are up to. I think we’ll definitely see a few of the same people from the first film. I don’t know if Martin Sheen will narrate again—he was fantastic. Chelsea Sexton is now consulting for a venture-capital firm, VantagePoint, in Silicon Valley, but she’s still working with us on this film.
We went to Detroit recently to see Bob Lutz. In these turbulent times, we wanted to know how the Vice Chair of GM was getting along.
We found Bob smoking a cigar on his Segway. Which was definitely my favorite visual of the trip. Lutz lives in a spread that can best be described as “bucolic,” in a quietly lovely suburb outside of Detroit. This was not the land of the $7,500 homes we’d been reading about. The Lutz farm boasts not one but two garages for his collector cars, a couple of barns for the horses, a collection of dogs and a pair of swans who had just hatched their cygnets (I wouldn’t have known what to call them, but Bob delighted in stumping our entire crew). It was a nice way to spend a morning.
Bob didn’t emote too much over the state of the car industry and Detroit as a whole, but, surprisingly, his wife did. And in a moment aside she told her husband how nice it was going to be to have him at home for a while ( this was during Bob’s brief “retirement”).
We then met our honorary crew member Chelsea Sexton out at GM’s car testing grounds. She was in town for a little business and a little fun—test driving the next Volt mule. If Chelsea’s ear-to-ear grin was anything to go by, the Volt seemed to be progressing fine. We then caught an “informal chat” between Chelsea and Tony Posawatz at GM’s tech center. Tony actually seemed more relaxed than the last time we’d seen him, possibly, one could speculate, because he was still employed.
We took Chelsea on a ride on the People Mover to get her reaction to the downsizing of the company she once belonged to and her test drive of the Volt. The beautiful art deco buildings, some in the process of falling down, provided a colorful backdrop for our up-and-coming-activist.
Since we only had two days in Detroit, we weren’t able to do much more sightseeing, but we did meet Bishop Ellis, who heads Greater Grace Temple and famously held a “bailout” service for the auto industry in his mega-church with SUVs at the altar. Although our crew are mostly heathens, I think that we were all moved by Ellis’s words.
After our interview at the church, we did a drive through neighborhoods in eight, seven and six-mile roads, finding more people sitting on their porches as we moved down the numbers. As bad as things are reported to be, the people we saw and talked to seemed to be generally in decent spirits, and though we found a “For Sale” sign on nearly every block, we didn’t find very many next door to each other. But my brief phone call with former New York Times reporter Charlie leDuff — who spoke of a Detroit where forgotten bodies were found in abandoned buildings — left me sure that the Detroit story was much bigger than we had the resources to cover.
There’s always next time.
I’m probably going to seem a little Nissan-centric this month, what with their imminent big announcement August 2nd. But also because I, along with a few other Plug In America members, spent the better part of the past three days meeting with about ten of Nissan’s advanced planning team. They invited us to come to their Los Angeles facility and participate in a wide ranging series of discussions, marketing seminars, and even a drive over to Santa Monica to see what a normal day driving an EV was like. They were a delightful group, younger than all of us (except for Chelsea).
Full disclosure; While we gave them many hours of our time, they did treat us to one dinner.
Today was the last day, and for me, the most interesting. They had scheduled a tour of the Southern California Edison “Smart Garage” in Pomona with the dynamic Ed Kjaer as tour leader. Ed, you may remember, gave President Obama a tour of the same facility a couple of months ago, which may account for the strong support we’re seeing from Obama’s administration for plug-in cars.
SoCal Edison’s Electric Vehicle department is probably the most sophisticated of its kind anywhere, and Ed runs the place. Seeing him describe how plug-ins will be integrated into the newer grid, yet to come, is to fully comprehend what our future will be like. Quiet, clean and powerful cars running on renewable electricity.
It would be beneficial if “60 Minutes” were to produce a segment with Ed describing how this will work. We need to get this information out to everyone as quickly as possible.
The Nissan folks have to be commended for seeking our input, as we’re the only consumer group that has many years of experience with production highway capable EVs. Since their stated goal is to be the first major carmaker to mass market a fully electric car starting next year, they felt it was a good idea to ask us what it’s like to use these cars on a daily basis.
I thought most of the questions would center around the upcoming release of their first car, but these folks are the team that helps envision the cars built 5 years from now, so instead they were thinking of a wide variety of EVs, presumably to cover as wide a market as possible.
There seemed to be little of the reticence we’ve seen from Toyota and Honda for plug-ins. Instead, they were clear that what they were going to offer was going to go over big. We gave them what they were looking for, and what we’ve been wanting a large OEM to ask for. More meetings are planned at our houses so they can see how the solar PV integrates so well with the cars.
Two more weeks till we see their first EV.
We’ll finally get to see the new Nissan August 2nd. (That’s Tokyo time, it’ll still be the 1st here.) I assume they’ll have the name finalized by then, too.
I’m kind of excited to see this car, having tested the drivetrain in the Nissan Cube. The drivability was similar to my RAV, but quicker. Since the Cube is 200 lbs heavier than the final body of the EV, it should be a bit quicker still.
The best thing about the Nissan is the expected price range of $25K- $34K. This is before the $7,500 federal tax credit.
Some think Nissan is taking a gamble by rapidly moving into mass marketing of EVs, comparing the company’s approach to Toyota and Honda’s approach of “wait and see how the market materializes for EVs, then jump in.” I think it’s Toyota and Honda that are doing the gambling. They own the hybrid market and are doing quite well, thank you, so why adopt a whole new technology that’s untried on a large scale? The gamble is that Nissan could grab the EV market and dominate it until BYD (China) enters the U.S., in 2012.
Those who make the decisions to forgo battery EVs in favor of plug- in hybrids only ignore a sizable market. I can only assume they have not spent any appreciable time in a well made EV. The benefits overwhelm the perceived problem of range. Once several thousand people get the opportunity to buy the likes of Nissan’s well made EV, the demand from the early adopters’ friends and family will expand exponentially. Of this I am certain.
Of course, we need millions of plug-in hybrids, too, so more power to everyone contributing to that market. It’s interesting to speculate regarding the relative market share of the EV in relation to the PHEV. I’m guessing close to 50/50. It’ll be mostly driven by the cost of gas. That’s a given.
All I can think is that Carlos Ghosn, Nissan’s CEO, has driven an EV, maybe even the RAV itself, and this is why he’s positioning his company to be the leader in EVs. Perhaps he knows how good it feels to drive a quiet, powerful car that doesn’t pollute. One that only uses domestic energy. He knows that if given the choice, millions of people would choose that over a car that poisons the air and uses mostly foreign energy.
We’ve been waiting for several months to hear this good news. Three EV pioneers, Tesla, Nissan and Ford, are receiving loans from the Department of Energy’s Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing program. Totaling $8 billion, the funds will be used to manufacture efficient vehicles and electric drive components. 
In Tesla’s case, they’ll receive a total of $465 million to set up their factory in Southern California for the production of their hot Model S. This car has generated a lot of interest given its superb styling, performance and efficiency. The price point of $57K makes it affordable for a large segment of the population. Part of the money will be used to set up a production line for their battery packs and electric drive trains to be sold to other manufacturers such as their new partner, Daimler.
Nissan will receive $1.6 billion to build EV and battery factories in Tennessee. Having experienced the drive train for their new EV, I am very pleased that this will enable them to ramp up quickly to 150,000 EVs annually. This car will appeal to a larger segment of the population given its price of around $30K. 
Ford is the big surprise for me. They’re getting the lion’s share of the money at $5.9 billion. They’ll use it to increase the efficiency of several of their cars and trucks. I assume some will go toward building their new EV with the help of Canadian parts supplier, Magna.
This announcement assures that large numbers of electric vehicles will be available to U.S. customers starting late next year and growing rapidly soon after. Additionally, tens of thousands of jobs will be created.
There will more announcements to come. I’m betting that Bright Automotive in Indiana will be on the next list of recipients.
It’s happening.
New production electric cars are being delivered at a rate of 100 per month. Teslas mostly, but the first BMW MINI E was also delivered last week, and we’ll have about 500 more of them on the road within the month.
Back in 1999, when we were all a twitter about Y2K, there were about 5,000 production EVs on California roads with a few dozen more in both Arizona and Georgia. Then they were gone. All but a thousand or so survived the crusher and have been proving themselves for 6-10 years by driving millions of oil-free, noise-free miles.
As we watch the first thousand of the new breed of EVs enter, and by doing so, double our national fleet, we can take heart that this meager trickle of cars will grow into a flow of thousands of EVs within the next 24 months. Then, everyone on this list can get one. Yahoo!
Each EV will replace a gas burner, thereby reducing the pollution we all breathe and the demand for oil which will keep the costs down for all of us.
How long before the number of plug-in cars outnumbers the gas burners? I think it’ll happen some time around 2022, give or take. Of course, you can help your community get there earlier by getting in line early for yours …
I heard that Energy Secretary, Steven Chu, was giving the commencement address at CalTech recently, so I jumped in our solar-powered RAV and drove over to Pasadena to hear what he had to say.
Pasadena is a beautiful city, and the section of town where CalTech is located is old and very wealthy. Walking through the leafy campus, Jacarandas in full bloom, I admired the buildings that for decades housed some of the smartest students our country ever produced as well as a sizable number of foreign kids intent on getting the best education possible in their chosen fields of mathematics, science and engineering. My anticipation over Dr. Chu’s speech grew with each step.
He did not disappoint.
Those of us in the EV movement were overjoyed when Obama picked Dr. Chu to head the Energy Department. An actual Nobel-winning PhD in physics who has a deep understanding of our predicament regarding energy and climate change in charge of the Energy Department. A true breath of fresh air!
He broke the ice by defining the term, nerd, using the Wikipedia definition (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nerd), since most in his audience proudly considered themselves as such. I think it’s actually on the form when you apply to CalTech.
Having dispensed with the obligatory humorous start, he got down to business by reminding the audience that, in the early 70’s, scientists solved the pressing need to grow more food in order to keep millions from starvation and expressed that our problems today are every bit as important if not more so. He implored the students to take seriously the need to act fast in solving these problems and to not allow those who prefer faith over reason to interfere with the task at hand.
As one would expect, he talked about energy mostly, but my ears pricked up when he said we needed to prepare for the “inevitable transition to electricity as the energy for our personal transportation.” While most may have missed the importance of this comment, it meant everything to me. Those at the top of the Obama administration understand the need to move from dirty fossil fuels to renewable electricity, and their efforts so far show they are serious.
Chu’s defunding, at the federal level, of the hydrogen fuel cell vehicle, means he knows we need to put our efforts toward solutions that are ready now, not toward some expensive, inefficient technology that requires us to continue buying our energy from oil companies.
As the speech ended, and I started to go, the strains of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 “Ode to Joy” flowed out of the loud speakers and I walked through the beautiful purple flowering Jacarandas, happier than I’ve been for a while. Maybe these scientists, engineers and mathematicians can indeed help us to ward off the worst of what will come.
The Alaskan Navigator, one of two British Petroleum oil tankers retrofitted to be electrically operated dockside. (Diandra Jay/Press-Telegram)
It’s been a long time coming, but we have finally achieved the first “cold ironing” of a tanker in the Port of Long Beach. Cold Ironing is the term for plugging a ship’s electrical system into the on-shore grid to supply power so that the ship’s giant diesel engine can be turned off while it’s docked. Normally, these engines crank out massive amounts of pollution, equal to “a day’s worth of driving by 187,000 cars,” according to estimates by the Port of Long Beach.
The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) initiated suits against the ports over seven years ago to make this happen, and it was a long difficult fight, but the NRDC’s attorneys persevered and eventually won. This event marks the first of what we hope will be the electrification of all the tanker and cargo ships while docked in the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. For too long, the people living downwind of the ports have suffered the ill effects of this pollution with heart and lung disease, cancers and asthma rates that are significantly higher than average.
An earlier post of mine highlighted the hybridization of the tugboats that guide these massive ships into berth, further extending the benefits of electrifying what had been exclusively internal combustion-powered vehicles. Every kilowatt hour used to replace the burning of petroleum helps us to clean our environment, saves us money and reduces the need to fight wars over oil.
Read about it in the La Times story: Port of Long Beach takes ‘giant step’ toward pollution reduction
Port of Long Beach takes ‘giant step’ toward pollution reduction Port officials unveil what is billed as the world’s first electrical shore-side power system for tankers, which are notorious fuel guzzlers and air polluters…
At a ceremony formally unveiling the port’s dockside power system, port Executive Director Dick Steinke described it as “another giant step” toward cleaning up the air.
The project cost $23.7 million and took three years to complete, port officials said. The port contributed about $17.5 million to the project and BP paid the rest.
Chelsea Sexton with GM's Tony Posawatz
Our Consulting Producer Chelsea Sexton got to test drive the GM Volt recently.
Here’s her verdict :
From the first Volt unveiling over two years ago, I’ve wanted to drive one. At some point last year, Tony Posawatz’s first words upon seeing me ceased to be “Hey, chels”, and became “I know, I know”. Given the history, I’ve all but made a nuisance of myself for this company, seeking evidence of their sincerity about doing another plug-in car- “fool me once, shame on you, but fool me twice” and all of that. I eventually came to believe they mean it, but I haven’t been sure that they really “get it” when it comes to what people love about electric cars- worrisome when they’re staking the future of the company on another one. That they still trash the EV1 to make the case for the Volt doesn’t help- beyond the fact that they are different cars meant for very different markets. While the EV1 wasn’t flawless, it became the benchmark of what GM was capable of in both engineering and consumer passion. As a result, they’re now known for building a car people are willing to get arrested for- no small act to follow. And at a time when the company is fighting just to survive, I wouldn’t be the only one wondering if the Volt would be nickel-and-dimed to a shadow of its potential.
So when I got a surprise call a few Fridays ago inviting me to fly to Detroit for a test drive, I hopped a red-eye and was there- with “Revenge of the Electric Car” film crew in tow, of course. If the Volt drive wasn’t enough, the Milford Proving Grounds is like Disneyland to a girl like me (though my description of it being filled with gearhead porn made my hosts blush a little!) After a quick tour of the property, we arrived at the section of course that had been closed for us. Standing in the middle of nothing but alternating stripes of grass and road, was a white Chevy Cruze emblazoned with large blue “Volt” graphics, like the smallest kid standing on his toes for the class picture.
Next to the car was Frank Weber, looking more proud and hopeful than I’ve ever seen. Self-described with the statement “I am German, I am an engineer- I do not feel”, Frank has always seemed pessimistic to me against the aspirational backdrop of the Volt team- but even he couldn’t completely disguise his thrill at finally having something functional to show after two years of talking. I’d had enough of the talking, myself- so with little fanfare, I was pointed toward the track and let loose. After the first few of many laps, Jim, “the Voltkeeper” who tended the car all day from a technical standpoint, asked if might stop smiling anytime soon. I think Frank just wondered if all EV people drive that fast…
I drove the Volt off and on all day long (stopping not because the car needed to, but because we were also interviewing GM folks in-between driving segments). It is more refined than many production cars I’ve driven, a fact that ironically breeds impatience- it’s hard not to drive it and think, “oh, this is fine, let’s just get on with production already”. It’s also the quietest full-performance plug-in I’ve seen so far- they must’ve beaten every bit of motor whine out of that car, because it sounds more docile than it is. It’s incredibly smooth, and very solid-feeling, even on the intentionally rough proving ground roads. Because it’s still a mule, Frank assured me that the car is only at about 80% of the final version’s performance capability, and that the extra bit of low-end torque I came away wanting would be there. While the acceleration is quite good (0-60 in 9 seconds), I was admittedly spoiled by the “off the line” performance of GM’s last EV, and the Volt doesn’t quite have the initial surge I was expecting as its progeny.
In fairness, the Volt can’t rightfully be compared to the EV1 (I myself have badgered GM not to do it) but I am aware that it and the other EVs of the 1990s are the frame of reference for many folks. I will say simply that this is not that. It is not a hand built car, so lacks all of the quirks, noises, and yes- individuality- that implies. Undoubtedly, some will be disappointed by that fact- but GM is clearly betting that the masses will be thrilled by it. Most folks love what they can do with the iPhone but don’t give a rip about what’s actually inside. It’s the functionality and flexibility that allows personalization and is most appealing; I suspect a similar line of thinking is informing the Volt.
I also failed to talk the guys into letting me drive the Volt in range-extended mode- I’d really been hoping to put to rest all the conjecture that because no one’s been allowed to drive it that way, there must be something wrong with it. Alas, Frank was typically insistent that it just wasn’t ready. I persisted, assuring him I’m familiar with pre-production systems, but he remained stoic, until I finally pinned him- “what is so wrong with this car that you won’t let anyone drive it with the engine on?” He paused, and admitted almost sheepishly, “well, when the engine comes on, you can hear it.” I kept waiting for more, but that was it-the big mystery… you can hear the engine. I started to note how that would be, oh, I don’t know, standard for an internal combustion engine in any car and that some people prefer it that way, but I was chastened by my own admiration for the position he took. While there’s absolutely a point where you have to stop engineering and start building, Frank’s statement is indicative of the attention to detail being paid to the Volt.
That said, some of the other folks working with the other mules found out we were there and “happened” to drive by a few times, in range extended mode- the thing is already Prius quiet. And because the generator operates within certain distinct “power bands” depending on the driver’s right foot (more power requested, higher the band- if the request is at the lower end of any band, the extra energy is fed back into the batteries) any detectable sound should directly correlate with attendant ambient and road noise. Can’t speak firsthand on the power of the generator- it is on spec certainly enough to keep up with all but the heaviest loads, but time-and my next test drive- will tell.
After I’d looped myself dizzy and exhausted the car, we went over to the Tech Center to interview Tony Posawatz about the latest status of the program and how it’s been affected by GM’s current economic situation. The Volt is Tony’s baby (I actually watched his eyes well up when the production concept rolled out on the platform at the 100-yr anniversary), so I expected him to be upbeat, and he was- they’ve been hiring for the Volt program, and are otherwise keeping noses down and trying not to worry about the political noise- they have a car to build. And as if to prove it, he pointed to a digital clock on the wall in plain view to the core team- it counts down to the minute the amount of time til the next milestone: the day they start building the first 80 “actual” Volts. Just in case someone takes his eyes off the ball. The date is now just a few days away, and everyone knows it. These will still be prototypes, but they’ll be in the right body and one step closer to production. My inner MacGuyver is already plotting an “extended test-drive”…It’s professional duty and all- someone’s gotta test that low-end torque.
Driving the Volt was a mix of experiences- it was a fun day, and it’s great to see spots of hope in Detroit from folks who are excited to be working on “something cool again” (their words). And let’s face it, it was also a relief- there were certainly some years there when I wasn’t sure they’d ever get even this far on a plug-in car again. But in the end, building the car won’t be their biggest challenge- it never has been. Whether they can get behind it effectively as it hits showrooms remains to be seen. And I remain repeatedly frustrated at watching them struggle to tell their own story, or when they allow, say, Bob Lutz to go on national television. I think they’re learning, but I wonder often if the wisdom will come fast enough- and at what cost.
I still don’t know that they entirely understand the nuances of passion people have for electric cars- but I do think that they understand just what’s at stake for this one. It is the end of the poker game for GM, and they’re all in.
Tom Hanks in his Toyota RAV4-EV
We were delighted to see Tom Hanks’s letter in this week’s ‘New Yorker’ — singing the praises of electric vehicles and name checking ‘Who Killed the Electric Car ?’
Read the full letter here :
RE: THE ROAD AHEAD
A letter in response to Peter J. Boyer’s article (April 27, 2009)
MAY 18, 2009
Peter J. Boyer, in his otherwise spot-on piece about the car industry, assumes that I once leased G.M.’s sadly fated EV1 electric car and, like other drivers of that twin-seat rocket of a vehicle, watched the emission-free car be wrested from my garage, towed away, and busted up into pieces of metal, glass, and rubber smaller than razor blades (“The Road Ahead,” April 27th).
Luckily, I did not. The source of Boyer’s slight inaccuracy may have been the documentary film “Who Killed the Electric Car?,” which used a clip of a visit I made to the “Late Show with David Letterman,” during which I claimed to be saving America one electric car at a time. However, by the time I began shopping for an all-electric car, in 2003, the EV1 had already been yanked from showrooms as if the car had never existed. Instead, I found what was purported to be the very last electric car available for sale in the state of California—a Toyota EV. It had four doors, a rear hatch, room for my family, including a dog in the back, power windows, A/C, a great sound system, and the fastest, most effective windshield defroster known to mankind. When the car companies collectively, and, to some, diabolically, decided to take these cars back, the electric vehicles disappeared.
But not mine. I have the pink slip. I own that car, and it is still driven every day, albeit by one of my crack staff of employees. My electric car recently crossed fifty thousand miles on the odometer with its original battery but without so much as a splash of gasoline.
Tom Hanks Los Angeles, Calif.
[Source: The New Yorker]
Cast and Crew: Stefano, Alexandra, and Gary
When Google asked for submissions of a 90 second video on the benefits of plug in cars to show at a 2008 Washington DC Brookings-Google Electric Car conference, Alexandra Paul and Stefano Paris decided to rise to the challenge! With Stefano’s friend Gary Winterboer, they shot this video at a local gas station using Alexandra’s RAV4-EV and Stefano’s EVO. Tom Hanks, who owns 2 electric cars, stopped by the gas station to buy a drink, recognized Alexandra from their Dragnet days, and watched some of the filming. The video was chosen to open up the plug in conference which was described in an October 2008 Washington Post article as follows:
Just four months ago, a conference here on electric cars drew four times as many people as expected. District fire marshals ordered some of the crowd to leave, and the atmosphere was more like that of a rock concert than an energy conference. A brief film depicted an electric car owner driving off with a beautiful woman to the strains of “The Power of Love” while her original companion struggles to pay for gasoline. The audience cheered.
This May 31st marks the 1 year anniversary of the fun “Power of Electric” videoshoot.
2008.06.11 Day 1 Plug-In Conference 1-2pm
[Sources]
- Alexandra Paul’s “Power of Electric”
- Stefano Paris’s “Power of Electric” video-photoshoot archive
- Stefano’s archive of the 2008 Brookings-Google Plug-In Conference Webcast
- Watch “Power of Electric” open the Plug-In Conference (1st Webcast hour video)
YOU KNOW THE times are a changin’ when you see Republican senators like Richard Lugar turning out for the launch of an electric vehicle. We interviewed Senator Lugar in DC recently — as we caught the Capitol Hill debut of Bright Automotive’s Idea — a plug-in hybrid electric delivery vehicle.
Senator Lugar was also cheering for his home team – Bright are from Anderson, Indiana. They claim the Idea will save a 250 vehicle fleet company more than $500,000 a year in reduced fuel costs. That’s because the Idea will operate in all-electric mode for the first 30 miles before switching to hybrid mode for a full range of 400 miles. For a typical drive of 50 miles, that means the truck will consume just half a gallon of gasoline — equivalent to 100mpg fuel efficiency. Neat.
Bright know what they’re talking about — the company grew out of a project at the Colorado-based Rocky Mountain Institute and is partnered with forward-thinking organizations like Google, Alcoa and the Turner Foundation. What’s more, Bright’s CEO John Waters helped to develop the battery pack system for GM’s EV1.
We filmed John as he briefed Congressmen and women on the Bright Idea. Heather Zichal, Deputy Assistant to the President on Energy, said a few supportive words before John and his team walked over to the Senate for a repeat performance.
As the second Bright photo call ended, we were astonished to find a row of electric vehicles — Tesla, GM, Chrysler — parked outside the Senate office buildings. It was a pre-Earth Day preview. Senator Tom Harkin took a Tesla for a test drive. GM’s Tony Posawatz was there plugging the Volt. Hard to imagine that happening even a year ago.
Behind all the hoopla however, there was a serious purpose to Bright’s trip. They’ve applied for $450m of government money — from the DOE’s Advanced Tech Fund — so they can make 50,000 of their 100mpg vehicles by 2012. The DC charm offensive was all part of the plan — as were the public shows of support from Frito Lay and Duke Energy Corp.
So … fingers crossed for Bright. We’ll be tracking their progress over the next 18 months for ‘Revenge.’
BMW’s just held an event for the lessees of their MINI E at the Science Center, next to the University of Southern California, a really stellar venue when you consider the product they were showing.
I arrived at the same time as Stefano Paris, Plug In America’s documentarian, and as we walked from the parking lot, we went past an SR71 Blackbird on display to get to the party. This sleek, titanium marvel can travel at mach 3.2, orders of magnitude faster than the 95 mph MINI E. A truly awesome feat of engineering. It got us in the mood to see some equally exciting engineering, this time a combination of AC Propulsion’s drive system packed into the tight confines of the German engineered MINI.
There were lots of folks I knew in attendance, all of them excited that delivery was finally close. There have been delays, something we advocates of plug-ins have grown to expect. But these were happy folks. There was no mistaking it.
I got to meet Nathalie Bauters, the communications director for the MINI E program in the U.S., and she assured me the delay was only due to getting final UL approval for the plug they are using for charging. The cars have been waiting in a parking lot in Oxnard for weeks. BMW wants to make sure that all of their customers have an approved and permitted charging station installed in their garage before delivery. This is exactly what happened when we got our Toyota RAV EV six years ago. No charger, no car.
So, it appears most, if not all of the cars will be delivered in June. These MINIs, combined with the 400-500 Tesla Roadsters that will be on the road by end of June, effectively doubles the number of production highway capable EVs in the U.S. The Teslas will continue delivering at a rate of 100 per month while the MINI E customers will be the only ones in the country with these cars until the year long test phase is over and BMW cranks up the production of more.
The difference with how Nissan is approaching the EV is interesting. While BMW is taking a careful look at how its customers will be driving the cars and how they charge them, trying to see if there are any issues to deal with before committing to large numbers of EVs, Nissan is racing to get thousands on the road as fast as possible. They seem very comfortable that their car is going to be bulletproof right out of the gate. I heard today that they expect to have 5,000 Nissan EVs for sale by the end of 2010. It is expected they will expand production quickly to the tens of thousands in 2011.
We are privileged to have front row seats to observe this quickly evolving transportation technology. When you look back 20 years from now, when virtually every vehicle sold has a plug on it, you’ll remember these pioneer companies as being well ahead of the curve. Tesla will be a common brand, with several well received models in all price ranges, and there will be a few proud owners of the original Apteras zipping along the freeways among all manner of new plug-in cars, trucks and even SUVs. The gas burners of today will be mostly gone, replaced with cleaner and quieter cars.
The 200 people at tonight’s party will soon take their place among the pioneers who helped bring this future about. You could really feel their excitement.
My good friend, Jeff U’ren, who came loaded with questions for the BMW folks and came away satisfied with the answers. The one question about whether the lessees can take the $7,500 tax credit is still to be determined. More on that later…
Tesla CEO Elon Musk appeared on the David Letterman show on Wednesday. Dave and Elon talk about the Roadster, the Model S and the future of electric cars.
Watch out for the name check for ‘Who Killed the Electric Car?’ around 3 minutes in …
[slidepress gallery='paulscott-minie']
AC Propulsion, the San Dimas, CA, company that birthed the modern-day EV with its AC-150 drive train, was tapped by BMW last year to provide drivetrains for an initial run of 500 Minis. Dubbed the “MINI E,” these fully-electric cars are just weeks from being deployed on the streets of Southern Californai, New York, and New Jersey.
I’d been promised a test drive, so when Wally Rippel (you’ll remember Wally from “Who Killed the Electric Car?”) called and invited me out, I jumped at the chance.
Wally was involved in the design of the Impact/EV1 while at Aerovironment, along with Alec Brooks and the incomparable Allan Cocconi (the “AC” of AC Propulsion). Wally worked for a while helping Tesla Motors launch their Roadster, and is now back at AC Propulsion working on the newest iteration of the AC-150. Rumor has it that this next one will be quite a bit more powerful than the first.
Wally drove me to a local restaurant for lunch, so I could get familiar with the interior of the car without having to watch for traffic. The MINI E is a well designed car with all the amenities one would expect of a new car these days. I was more impressed than most, probably because I’m still driving that old RAV that was never much of a luxury vehicle to begin with, and, 6 years in, it still hasn’t gotten any more comfortable. (my wife Zan, I might add, adores the car and has no complaints.)
When it was my turn to drive, the first thing I noticed was the lack of a creep mode. This is what Toyota built in to the RAV to simulate a gas car. When you let off the brake, any gas car with an automatic transmission will slowly roll forward without stepping on the accelerator. You expect this movement, and when it’s not there, it feels like something is wrong. Wally said they’d probably add it in the future, since it’s an easy software upgrade.
After pulling out onto the street, I gave it a punch to see how Tesla-like it was. The BMW engineers limit the voltage going to the motor, so it’s not a rocket like the Tesla Roadster, but it does have very strong acceleration. The soft whine of the motor is reminiscent of the EV1, and quite pleasing to the ear. It’s sort of like what you’d expect an EV to sound like, but don’t worry, it’s barely audible, so you won’t be waking the neighbors.
I really wanted to see what it would do, so we jumped on the freeway, and I let her rip. This is where the similarity to the Roadster is most apparent. The car practically jumps forward, and the strong acceleration doesn’t let up like internal combustion cars do as they reach their peak torque RPM and begin hungering for another gear. The MINI E just keeps pulling like crazy all the way to its top speed of 95 mph.
At one point, I was doing about 70 and punched it. Even at that speed, the car felt like it was taking off from a dead stop. Torque at high speeds is fun, and gives you the feeling you can get out of any situation, even in such a small package.
One of the coolest aspects of any AC Propulsion car is the regenerative braking. The way it’s designed, all you drive with is your right foot. As you let off the accelerator, the regen smoothly takes hold and slows you down. You almost never have to touch the brakes. My only complaint is the lack of a coast mode. My RAV has the ability to “freewheel,” or coast, with no regen, and I’ve learned to use this for hypermiling – getting the most efficiency possible when driving in traffic. Supposedly, you can feather the accelerator to a coasting position, but I was not able to feel it, so maybe it takes a little practice. I think a button on the steering wheel that lets you coast when pushed would be a good addition to future models.
I’m jealous of those who were able to get in line early for these MINI Es. Even though they’ll only have them for a year before BMW takes them back for study, it’ll be a terrific year.
I heard another rumor that BMW is working on the next batch of these little rockets already. The more the merrier, I say.
The ‘Revenge’ team was out in strength recently to film the launch of Tesla’s Model S in Los Angeles.
Check out the photos below to see the Model S — and our team in action.
Say hello again to one of our guest bloggers, Andrew Grin.
I just got my electric car back from the shop (for some minor work) and I decided to shoot some video because of the beautiful spring weather.
Fully Electric Hyundai Tucson from Island Grin on Vimeo.
Photo by Antuan Goodwin, from the CNET Article: Test-driving the Nissan EV-02 electric car
I got invited to go to Dodger Stadium this afternoon to test drive the Nissan EV. This wasn’t the final car, but the finished drivetrain in a Nissan Cube. I was assured it would be very close to the actual feel of the car though, and given the similarity of the Cube in weight to the final EV (the Cube was about 200 lbs heavier I was told), the ride should be comparable.
No mistaking it, this is a test car.
I was very impressed with the ride. The acceleration was significantly better than my RAV, no doubt due to the Li-Ion battery pack weighing about 400-500 lbs less than the Toyota’s NiMH pack. That’s 4 adults worth of mass, and as anyone who drives EVs will tell you, weight is something to be avoided. This is the same with gas cars, too, but so much energy is wasted with internal combustion that most people don’t care about the loss from extra weight.
They had a test run of about half a mile set up in the vast parking lot around the stadium, enough so that I could punch it a few times to test the acceleration, but I didn’t get to take it up to anything near the top speed. For performance, I’d give it a strong B+. I suspect the sedan body will enable a lower center of gravity, and if it’s 200 lbs lighter, it’ll have even more punch.
Mark Perry presented an informative powerpoint on the car, mostly general information, and not too much that I didn’t already get from the breakfast meeting of a month ago. However, the price range was news. They are expecting this car to sell for $25K-$33K before tax incentives. This makes the Nissan EV very affordable for most people. The federal tax credit is $7,500, and here in California, we’ll probably get another $5,000 off state taxes. Even at the high end of the price range, this means the car will sell for about $20K, much less if you start from the low end of the range.
Several other states are considering additional tax credits : Texas, Florida, Oregon and Washington, to name a few.
The first cars will be available next fall, about the time of the Chevy Volt debut. They intend for the majority of the Nissans to go to fleets initially, but they are certain some will be sold to private buyers in certain markets (Tennessee, Sonoma County, CA, the Bay Area, San Diego, LA and Oregon). The choice of these locations has to do with their roll out of a charging infrastructure.
I was told there is a good chance the actual car will be available to see fairly soon. Stay tuned…
The first batch of MINI Es has arrived in the US.
A sharp-eyed ‘Revenge’ fan sent us these exclusive pictures from a holding facility in Central California, where the cars are being prepped for delivery.
BMW have promised 500 cars for the US market – and judging by what we saw, most of them are already here and ready for roll out.
Watch this space for delivery news.
President Obama is making good on his promise to spearhead the EV revolution. During a visit to Southern California Edison’s Pomona EV test facility, he launched a $2.4 billion competitive grant program for US battery makers.
It’s all part of the Obama administration’s plan get to 1 million plug in hybrids on the road by 2015.
Obama At A Town Hall Meeting in Los Angeles, California - March 19, 2009. Photos: Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times
Here’s a quote from the LA Times article By Maeve Reston:
Obama unveils $2.4-billion grant program to aid electric cars
“Even as our economy has been transformed by new forms of technology, our electric grid looks largely the same as it did half a century ago,” Obama said. “So we have a choice to make. We can remain one of the world’s leading importers of foreign oil, or we can make the investments that would allow us to become the world’s leading exporter of renewable energy.” The president renewed his commitment to doubling the country’s supply of renewable energy over the next few years — including spending $11 billion upgrading the nation’s power grid to ease the delivery of renewable energy across the country, and $15 million to help develop green technologies such as solar and wind power, and new coal technologies. As a receptive audience of engineers and workers cheered his plans, Obama pledged to put a million plug-in hybrid vehicles on the road by 2015, and highlighted his offer of up to $7,500 in tax credits for Americans who purchase electric vehicles. The new $2.4-billion grant program, which would be part of his recovery program, would ask companies to compete for federal money to increase the manufacturing of batteries and parts used in the electric cars.
Later that evening, Obama answered questions during a Town Hall Meeting that took place at Miguel Contreras Learning Center, in Los Angeles, California, where he warned us about the energy dinosaurs that would be opposing the new plan:
“…if we are going to make a serious investment in clean energy, well, that requires that we phase out dirty energy. And that requires that we stop subsidizing certain things and instead subsidize other things. Somebody is not going to be happy about that because they’ve been getting the subsidies, so they will start running ads on television saying this is a terrible energy plan.”
Read the full LA Times article and the complete Town Hall Transcript.
Stefano Paris at the November 19th, 2008 Los Angeles Auto Show unveiling of the MINI E.
200amp main electrical utility panel.
If you’ve been following the BMW MINI E program unveiled officially on November 19th, 2008 at the Los Angeles Auto Show you’ll know the process for being selected as a potential MINI E driver is a multistep one. The window to apply for a lease of a MINI E was from November 19th to December 24th, 2008, via an hour long online questionnaire.
In January 2009, I was excited to learn I was selected to be one of the potential 250 lessees of the MINI E being deployed in Southern California this year. Achieving selection status was just one of the first steps to MINI E driving sweetness. In the past couple of months I’ve been passing other qualifications. One of these items on the MINI E deployment checklist regards the residence where one is to park and charge the MINI E. MINI wants to insure their MINI Es will be parked in an enclosed garage and that the residence’s electrical system is up to the task of charging the car.
Clipper Creek EV Charge Station.
Last week I was notified by Clean Fuel Connection (the company contracted by MINI to deploy the MINI E specific Clipper Creek charge stations) that they would be conducting an initial site inspection of my garage and electrical service to insure I could support a MINI E. On Wednesday, March 11th, 2009, at 1:30pm I met with a very friendly Paul Jette of Sunpower Electrical, the electrical contractor assigned to do the actual charge station install. He inspected and took some photos of my 200Amp main electrical utility panel, and the garage space where the Clipper Creek MINI E charge station will be installed. A couple of years ago I had upgraded my electrical distribution system when I self-installed a 4kW Photovoltaic system with the knowledge that plug-in EVs would soon be in my driving future. My electrical cleanup resulted in a very neat and sparsely populated main panel, as I offloaded all individual circuits to a couple of subpanels. A majority of residences’ main electrical utility panel is their only panel, and many times it is completely stuffed with breakers and wiring, with no room for additional expansion. This is a result many times of the initial builder trying to save a few $$ and installing a less expensive panel. Generally, the cost of the electrical panel is “in the noise” (negligible), where the the majority of the cost of any electrical work is in the labor.
Milbank kWhr meter and 60amp feeder Murray circuit breaker.
Paul and I discussed the Clipper Creek charge station during his visit. It is to be protected by a 60amp feed breaker installed at the main panel. Paul confirmed the location I had already selected for mounting of the charge station to be ideal. I learned I was Paul’s 3rd MINI E initial site visit that day. These were his very first visits in the MINI E deployment program.
While MINI is picking up the tab for any and all electrical work required to install the Clipper Creek charge station, being an engineer I have the desire to install a kilowatt-hour meter ahead of the charge station to log EV charging kW/hrs. This self-imposed requirement means the charge station install by MINI at my house will be one of their simplest, as they just need to connect the charge station a few feet directly to the pre-installed and wired Milbank kilowatt-hour meter box I’ll already have in place. I’m looking forward to a callback from Clean Fuel Connection once they are ready to send out the Clipper Creek charge station for installation.
Stefano Paris sports an EV grin for the MINI E at the November 19th, 2008 Los Angeles Auto Show.
On a related MINI E note, if you haven’t already seen Jay Leno’s entertaining and very enthusiastic review of the MINI E that debuted earlier this week, definitely check out all the MINI E fun by watching his video below. The MINI E is powered by a beautiful, powerful, and efficient electric drive system manufactured by AC Propulsion of San Dimas, CA. AC Propulsion is the gold standard of electric drive in the EV industry. ACP has been in business for two decades and has been the force in leap frogging electric drive system technology into the modern EVs we know and love, like the pioneering GM EV1, AC Propulsion tzero, AC Propulsion eBox, the new 2009 MINI Es, and the gorgeous Tesla Roadster (a great evolution of licensed AC Propulsion electric drive technology).
Jay Leno’s Garage – 2009 MINI E
Under the hood of the MINI E.
MINI E powered by AC Propulsion!
[Source: Stefano Paris, Jay Leno's Garage]
Florida House Majority Leader Adam Hasner
Josh Hafenbrack posts this informative entry covering the status of Hasner’s Florida State electric car tax break on the SunSentinel.com.
Florida State Representative (and House Majority Leader) Adam Hasner (R) has just introduced the bill HB 879 – Financial Incentives for Electric Vehicles.
From Josh’s article:
As the House Energy and Utilities Committee gave its stamp of approval to the measure, Hasner is planning a showing of “Who Killed the Electric Car?” to legislators tonight at the Tallahassee IMAX theatre. During the fall campaign, Hasner drove a leased 2002 all-electric Toyota RAV-4 throughout his south Palm Beach-Broward county district — when gas was at its $4-a-gallon peak. “I drove by the gas station with a smile every single day, because I was using an electric car that didn’t use any gas,” he said.
Read more of the article:
Hasner’s electric car tax break gets boost
More electric trucks! I love that this market is blooming.
Fleet vehicles are perfect for EVs, since the routes are very predictable and tend to be within 100 miles per day. It’s easy to spec out a battery pack with enough kWh for a given size of truck to hit 60-80-100 miles, whatever the given fleet buyer needs. The longer the range, the more expensive, so you get only what you need.
Along with Tedd Abramson’s Zero Truck in San Diego and Smith Trucks in London, we now have EVI (I keep wanting to write that as EV1:~). The more the merrier, the market for these is going to explode soon with Obama’s stimulation plan, and its tax of $7,500 to $15,000 for electric trucks.
Many of the companies that have fleets of trucks have buildings that are perfect for solar. Add a solar PV system big enough to offset the building’s energy needs and charge the trucks, too, and you’ve just eliminated a whole lot of pollution, kept a lot of money from going out of the country and to the oil companies, and added value to your building. Sounds good to me.
As someone who rides a bike and a motorcycle in traffic, any time you can remove an internal combustion engine from spewing crap out its tailpipe and in your face, it’s a good thing. Trucks especially.
Paul
Read more about it in the article:
EVI Lauches Electric Delivery and Work-Truck Sales in U.S. by John Dell.
Read More
Last Thursday, I flipped on the KTLA 5 news around 10:30pm, while grabbing a late dinner, and caught a Fisker Automotive Karma ad…on TV! I was caught completely and pleasantly by surprise seeing this great ad, as I don’t think we’ve yet seen any other EV/PHEV specific ads from any of the smaller start-ups.
Justifying the cost of TV ads could be difficult, but has the positive effect of alerting the general population – most of which are not closely following the EV movement – to realize EVs/PHEVs are happening.
I was able to find the Fisker Automotive Karma ad that ran during the KTLA pre-show
broadcast of the Academy Awards (2009.02.22), archived on YouTube for those that have not yet seen it:
Nissan is a first tier OEM building a pure EV in the U.S. – for sale to regular folks.
They’re going to hit the market next fall, but will target Tennessee (where they will be made) and Oregon and Sonoma County, initially. (Carlos Ghosn must like the wine up that way or something.)
Regardless, once the $7,500 tax credit is accounted for, and the much lower maintenance costs, these should be about the same as buying a gas car, only the fuel will be less than a dollar a gallon equivalent. And your money stays domestic.
Buying one of these will cost about half what the Tesla Model S will cost and you can get it a full year earlier. It won’t be as cool as the Tesla, but most of us could afford one today.
Paul
Check out the article:
Nissan to launch electric car in Tennessee
By Mike Pare for the Chattanooga Times Free Press
Here’s a snippet from the article:
A top Nissan official in the U.S. said Monday that Tennessee is one of the first locations where it will sell its new all-electric car after it arrives in late 2010.
Also, the company eventually would like to make the car and its batteries in Smyrna, Tenn., and the Chattanooga area is in line for electric refueling infrastructure for the new vehicle, said Mark Perry, director of product planning and strategy for Nissan North America.
“Tennessee will be a launch market,” said Mr. Perry, additionally mentioning Oregon and Sonoma County, Calif.
The car will seat five and be in the size range of a Sentra or Versa, he told the Chattanooga Engineers Club.
“It will have 100 miles of pure battery range,” Mr. Perry said. He said Toyota’s 2010 Prius hybrid electric gets about 10 miles range on pure battery, while the planned Chevy Volt will get 40.
Mr. Perry said the Nissan, running on a lithium ion battery pack, won’t be a test model.
“We’re ready to go mass production and mass sales,” he said.
We want you to know about a new website and community for people who are passionate about Electric Vehicles. We’re excited to be a part of: EV Driven.
EV Driven aggregates the latest content from all these electric car blogs:
* Creative Greenius
* DIY Electric Car
* Electric Car Blog
* Electric Cars are for Girls
* Green Car Congress
* Green Gearhead
* My Green Wheels
* Open Source Civic EV Kit
* Plug In Partners
* Plugs and Cars
* Porsche 914 EV Conversion
* Revenge of the Electric Car
* Robs RAVolt
EV Driven is the brainchild of Dr. Tony Karrer.
Last week Norway’s ElectricAid.org uploaded a very entertaining and artistic video test drive review of the Think City electric car. Watch the video in High Definition by clicking here. If you enjoy Top Gear you’ll love the humor and creative editing in this video short.
ElectricAid.org video Test Drive of the Think City Electric Car.
[Source: ElectricAid.org, YouTube]
We have TWO reports from guest bloggers who attended the Aptera in the Wild EVent Thursday night at Smooth’s Sports Grille in Long Beach, CA. Also embedded below is a recent Aptera 2e demo ride video (with founder Steve Fambro) from the 2009 TED conference (held in Long Beach, CA) recently uploaded by Aptera forum member Josh.
Guest Blogger – Jenean Smith
It was a rainy night but I decided to jump in my car and see the new Aptera in person tonight in Long Beach. None of the usual suspects were there, (no one I recognized at least), which is a good sign that more and more people are interested in EVs. It’s a very sleek car indeed and now with front wheel drive — like something from a Doctor Who episode transported into the future and modernized for 2009.
Guest Blogger – Jim Hannigan
I went by Smooth’s on my way home from work. The Aptera was parked in the restaurant’s sidewalk seating area that in the winter is roofed over and enclosed with vinyl fabric. 25 or 30 people were there along with another eight or so Aptera employees as identified by their logo shirts. There was no organized presentation while I was there, but the vehicle could be touched, photographed (I only had a cellphone) and at least for a while some were allowed to sit in it.
I was not aware that this was the first time an Aptera had been shown in public. Several of those in attendance excitedly recited their reservation numbers.
I was told the car was a driveable pre-production unit and that some features would be changed. This one had the rear quarter windows and outside mirrors but not the opening door windows shown on the website. Aptera used it for VIP rides at the TED conference earlier in the day (supposedly including Tesla founder Martin Eberhard).
Questions on battery specifics, observed range, powertrain details etc. were all left TBA.
The vehicle is striking in appearance and was very well finished inside and out. The interior, controls and switches all seemed production grade. Exceptions were the A/C air vents which were complex and delicate looking plastic pieces that I was cautioned not to touch.
The car looks small but is dimensionally large; nearly 15 feet long and over 7 feet wide across the outboard front wheels. The aero tail is relatively high but the front looks very low. I was initially surprised at the small size of the manufacturer’s license plate on the car until I remembered the Aptera is classed as a motorcycle. I would have liked to have seen the car on the street around other cars for perspective.
The car was powered up to the extent that the flat-panel dash, Nav displays, parking and brake lights worked. I was able to get a few seconds in the driver’s seat. The seats were comfortable, but not deeply contoured. Footwells seemed wide, and head and legroom were good. Front visibility was very good, but not so to the rear : the side mirrors were tiny and the rear window presented a small aperture a long way back.
It is far too early for performance claims but Aptera will likely beat Tesla for eventful ingress/egress. I’ve owned a Lotus for years and got in and out without a problem, but I watched just about everyone else hit their heads either on the “butterfly” doors or on the doorframe or both.
Josh’s TED Aptera 2e Ride With Steve Fambro from A Nonymous on Vimeo.
Plug In America's Inaugural EV Parade West rally - Photo courtesy of Dave Brown
Regular readers of this blog will know all about Plug in America’s triumphant Inaugural EV Parade West in Santa Monica, CA a few weeks back. Now here’s a chance to enjoy some video from the event.
A final count of 77 electric vehicles and over 250 people participated in the rally and subsequent parade. All types of electric vehicles drove quietly and emission free in formation for a few miles through city streets. Plug In America’s dedicated volunteers worked their magic during the few weeks leading up to this latest EVent to organize a very successful and historic green parade. EV grins were everywhere and the enthusiasm for plug-ins couldn’t have been greater. Plug In America’s Inaugural EV Parade West rates as one of the best plug-in EVents to date.
Click play on the below 38 minute video of Plug In America’s Inaugural EV Parade West to watch 26 minutes of rally speeches and experience the parade festivities. Thanks to Viddler’s great contextual timeline tagging feature, you can easily skip to any speaker or portion of the video without delay.
Here is the speaker line up from the event:
· Chris Paine, Director, “Who Killed the Electric Car?”
· Ed Kjaer, Director of Electric Transportation, SoCal Edison
· Kevin McKeown, Santa Monica City Councilman
· Jordan Howard, Youth Leader of Green Ambassadors
· Fran Pavley, California State Senator
· Paul Scott, Plug In America co-founder/board member
2009.01.17 Plug In America’s Inaugural EV Parade West video
[Click here for more photos of PIA's Inaugural EV Parade West EVent.]
These were all taken by our production photographer, Todd Westphal, during last month’s Plug-In America Inagural Parade.
Welcome back to guest blogger Andrew Grin …
Andrew Grin and his modified Hyundai Tuscon
As a new driver, learning on the roads of Kansas City, I pass by Suburbans and Tahoes on a daily basis.
“Who Killed the Electric Car?” made me realize the huge impact that these big SUV’s have on our environment and our country. The film inspired me then as a young 14 year-old to take a stand against the flawed status quo. At that moment I made a promise to myself to never call a gas car my own. I have stuck by that promise, and am now the proud owner of a newly converted 2005 Hyundai Tucson electric vehicle.
The first question anyone asks after turning 16 is ‘Did you get your license yet?’ – which ultimately leads to ‘What kind of car are you driving?’ In the midst of conversations during lunch about engines and audio systems, I like to throw in my curveball : “I drive an electric car.” Some have no clue what I am talking about, while the car junkies have heard of plug-in hybrids like the Chevy Volt. The usual questions that follow are “how far?” and “how fast?”
Very simply, the Tucson travels far enough for my daily needs (about 50 miles), and it can travel up to highway speeds (75+). I love answering questions, and, after hearing me talk, almost no one doubts the viability of a plug-in car.
The Suburbans of my middle American town are going to have to get used to me rolling by in my converted electric car. The future is coming, not only in the form of a sporty Tesla, or any brand new car, but also something for the average America. A converted electric car.
This new company, Bright Automotive, is founded by ex-GM EV1 people, and the super efficient Rocky Mountain Institute to make plug-in hybrids in Indiana.
Like Paul MacCready’s original design for the Impact that established the world’s lowest drag coefficient of .195, Bright will be building cars that “do more with less”, a philosophy MacCready was famous for (and the title of a wonderful biography on him). It’ll be interesting to see how their vehicles compare to all the rest in terms of efficiency.
At the end of this article, Prof. Andy Frank makes the observation that parallel hybrids (Toyota Prius) are cheaper than series hybrids (Chevy Volt). This runs counter to what I’ve been led to believe, so since Mr. Frank is on this list, I’m asking him if he’ll explain why this is. I’m still not convinced.
Paul
By Michael Kanellos, for Greentech Media
“The slimming of the battery essentially comes because of a focus on weight, aerodynamics, rolling resistance, new construction materials and other design factors, he said in an interview. By reducing wind resistance and weight, the company’s engineers effectively are reducing the amount of work an electric engine will have to perform to get the car up to driving speeds, which in turn conserves battery power.”
Guest Blogger Colby Trudeau takes us behind the scenes at Plug In America’s Inaugural Parade
All photos take by our Production Photographer, Todd Westphal.
What an amazing day! Last Saturday, January 17th, 2009, 77 highway capable plug-in vehicles, their drivers, and spectators came together to celebrate the upcoming inauguration.
Jordan Howard, member of the "Green Ambassadors" youth group.
After gathering in the parking lot of Santa Monica Civic Center for a press conference, the cars silently paraded out into the city streets armed with signs, American flags, and enthusiastic passengers.
Chris Paine in his Tesla as he drove in the Plug In America Inaugural Parade.
It all started when we heard that Plug In America had not been accepted into the 2009 Inaugural Parade. One of our board members, Paul Scott, suggested having our own parade here on the West Coast.
We started organizing and planning – with an initial goal of 30 plug-ins for the parade. Less than three weeks later, we found ourselves driving through the streets of Santa Monica surrounded by nearly 80 plug-in vehicles, including a number of prototypes from major auto manufacturers.
Yet again, our supporters amazed us with their numbers. After confirming 74 plug-ins for the parade, not only did every single one of them show up, but also three more unexpectedly arrived.
In addition to drivers and their families, numerous EV enthusiasts from around the US and Canada came to Santa Monica for our event.
The EV movement is here and no one can stop it!
Plug In America is very excited with the Obama administration’s plans for one million plug-ins by 2015, but we would like to see it happen even faster.
Plug In America calls for one million plug-ins by 2012, the end of the new president’s first term, and 10 million by 2016.
I was absolutely astounded at how well this parade went and I can only imagine what the future holds.
This event was the first of many steps that the EV movement will take on its journey with the new presidential administration.
Paul Guzyk and Daniel Sherwood of 3Prong Power. Photograph by Chris Duffey.
3Prong Power converts existing Toyota Priuses into plug-in hybrids that can run entirely on electricity.
The company launched last month at Green Motors in Berkeley, California. But it now looks like the California Air Resources Board (CARB) is about to adopt some new regulations which could put it out of business quickly.
3Prong says the two new sets of regulations, scheduled to be voted on at CARB’s January 22-23rd meeting, insert hundreds of thousands of dollars of unfair and unneccesary costs into the process. Some immediately – such as the requirement for somewhere between 20-100,000 dollars in testing – but it’s the 10 year 150,000 mile warranty on the batteries themselves that’s the dealbreaker.
Some have suggested that these new regulations are a way to give large car manufacturers the upper hand, by starving out the smaller companies that are just starting to enter the market:
“They’re suppressing the little guys — the people who work out of their garages, the people who create,” said Robb Protheroe, owner of Plug-In Supply, which provides electric batteries to 3Prong Power and four other small companies around the state. “It’s Who Killed the Electric Car 2.0.”
Who’s Killing the Plug-In Hybrid?
The same state agency that drove the electric car off a cliff is now poised to wreck a new Berkeley company that triples the gas mileage of a Toyota Prius.
By Robert Gammon for the East Bay Express
Read More
Chris Paine in the Whole Life Times
The Whole Life Times just published an Interview with Chris :
The Electric Car Returns (and This Time It’s Personal)
Filmmaker Chris Paine, director of Who Killed the Electric Car? and its forthcoming sequel, talks to us about the fate of GM, the downfall of hydrogen and why electric cars truly are making a comeback By Siel
What happens to an electric car deferred? Ask Chris Paine, director of the documentary film Who Killed the Electric Car? (2006), and you’ll learn that those once-dead electric vehicles (EVs) are now exacting a shocking revenge.
Paine was one of the first to lease a General Motors EV1 in 1997 — only to get the car wrenched away from him five years later when he took it in simply to get a brake light fixed. In Who Killed the Electric Car?, Paine followed the plight of his EV1 to its (literally) crushing end. Today, EVs are making a comeback, and Paine’s chronicling the EV’s resurrection in his follow-up film, The Revenge of the Electric Car, set to jolt theaters in spring 2010.
After all, it takes someone who refers to his Prius as “the gas guzzler” and his Culver City, Calif., home as “the Plug-In Mecca” to tell this EV story right. For his sequel, Paine’s been gauging the mood at the now-much-gloomier GM headquarters, visiting geothermal-powered and EV-friendly Iceland, and test driving his brand new Tesla in Los Angeles.
Q: I hear you didn’t even like cars — yet now you’re seen as a champion for the electric car. What got you interested in EVs?
A: Electric cars just totally changed the game! I never liked automobiles because I don’t like burning gasoline. I don’t like how it smells; I don’t like the smog. Obviously cars brought a lot to our society, but they’ve also had a tremendous cost. When I started driving electric cars, I got really excited because you had all the fun of a car, but without nearly as much of the damage.
400,000 at the Lincoln Memorial concert
Dateline: Washington, DC
The buzz is everywhere and completely electric in Washington DC this week. And some of that energy is headed directly to plug-in cars. We’ve heard electric cars mentioned time and again in our two days here, and we haven’t even been to Live Earth’s Green Gala yet. It’s just remarkable to see what a few short years can do in terms of global consciousness and awareness.
Case in point: we opened the paper on our arrival to see a full 1/4 page photo of this message greeting Obama from the sides of the train tracks on his big journey from Philadelphia to DC: Electric Cars: Yes We Can!
"...advocates send the president-elect a message as his inaugural train passes south of Delaware on its way to Washington..."
Surely these citizens deserve a cup of fair trade java and low interest solar panels for their communities. And here in DC, you can’t stop hearing these phrases: green energy, green transportation, and green jobs to build them. Can it really be true? It’s like waking up in a dream.
Inspiring words at the Alliance for Justice gathering this morning
So its off to the Green Gala, and no doubt another great reference to electric cars. ”Words without thoughts, never to heaven go,” as Shakespeare once wrote. Similarly, “Words without actions, never to future go.” But the political, technical, economic forces have never been more aligned with the public will for deep change.
Let’s welcome a wise new President and a bold new era!
Roadster Sport with optional clear-coat carbon fiber top.
When I was a kid in Arab, Alabama, in 1965, I discovered slot cars. They were a new phenomenon then and quickly got everyone’s attention.
They were fast as hell, sounded cool, and it only cost one penny per minute for track time.
I remember the really fast cars had “re-wound” motors, whatever that was. All I remember was that those were the cars that always won, and boy, were they quick!
Now, I’m reading about Tesla coming out with a quicker car. What, the Roadster wasn’t fast enough?
Listen to what Elon says:
“The Roadster Sport does 0 to 60 mph in 3.7 seconds, compared with 3.9 seconds for the standard Roadster. It comes with a hand-wound stator and increased winding density for lower resistance and higher peak torque.”
It’s re-wound motors again!
Sounds just like the talk I used to hear at the slot car track in Arab during my junior high days. The technology allowing for the world’s quickest cars is not much different from the technology behind those fantastic cars of my youth.
The point here is that efficiency and power in the EV world come from tweaking the wiring of motors and better batteries, not in increasing the bore of cylinders and higher octane gas. A Tesla Sport will beat the snot out of virtually any gas powered production vehicle, and do it with a tiny fraction of the energy the gas burner will use. And all of the energy will be from domestic sources, not some Saudi oil field protected by billions of our tax dollars and our soldiers’ lives.
And before you dismiss this Tesla improvement as some rich person’s fantasy come true, keep in mind that all of the technological improvements to the Roadster will be used in the moderately priced Model S, and eventually in the Blue Star economy Tesla.
This is a trickle down theory you can believe in!
Read more in the email Elon Musk sent out January 11, 2009…
Say Hello to Guest Blogger Alexis Ringwald – with this first dispatch from the Climate Change Caravan in India.
On January 3, 2009, a group of passionate individuals launched the Climate Solutions Road Tour : an epic month-long 3,500 km journey from Chennai to New Delhi, India to demonstrate that clean transportation solutions do exist and call upon automakers globally to build them.
Elephant and Reva in India
The Climate Caravan includes ten friends and a solar music band, along with three solar plug-in electric Reva cars. The Revas are traveling 200km per charge on Lithium-Ion batteries (the solar adds 8km extra). We also have one waste vegetable oil van, one sustainably harvested jatropha fuel truck and one solar-roofed diesel car that charges laptops and cameras. The caravan will wind its way through 15 major cities, driving across India to gather voices, listening to Indian perspectives on climate change, documenting Indian climate solutions, and supporting young climate leaders who are ready to “be the change,” as Gandhi said.
This historic journey will be the longest electric car caravan in India and the longest joint tour of multiple ‘market ready’ and ’solar-supported’ electric cars worldwide. The Climate Tour was originally envisioned by myself, a Yale graduate and Fulbright Scholar to India who started Valence Energy, a solar and smart grid company, and Caroline Howe, a Yale graduate who worked on green architecture and sustainability at The Energy and Resources Institute and Infosys in India. Both Caroline and I live in India and joined our friends at the Indian Youth Climate Network to implement this project.
It wasn’t until the fourth day that I realized the magnitude of what we were doing. With a loud flag-off by the CEO of Reva electric cars in Bangalore, I zipped out of the city and onto the newly constructed national highway. 140 km later, we pulled off at our first electric car charging point: an Indian Oil petrol station. The irony was not lost on any of us. A few dusty petrol pumps stood in stark contrast to the landscape of pristine farmland and green hills. Several abandoned lorry trucks slept by the side of the road. We dined at the dhaba (Hindi for “road-side restaurant”) as our vehicle batteries quietly charged adding 25 km for every hour of charge, and listened to Mr. Sharma’s, the station owner, vision for the future.
“I feel honored to charge these electric cars at my station. I have never seen these cars on this highway though I have seen them in Bangalore city before. Within ten years, electric cars can replace diesel and petrol and I hope to have an electric charging business. Diesel and petrol make too much pollution. We need electric cars for our planet.”
Indian Oil is one of the largest oil companies in India and maintains stations neatly placed along the highway at perfect distances from each other. This is ideal, I thought, not only for fossil fuels, but for electric car charging as well. “What if,” my mind raced,” every petrol station transitioned into an electric car charging station as well?”
The following day as we neared Hyderabad, our next major city, we faced a startling crisis. Our one diesel vehicle (with the solar roof for laptop and camera charging) had run out of fuel and we were unable to re-fill. We searched frantically, but every diesel station we passed was closed and barricaded with truck drivers sitting idle on the side of the road. The crisis started off as a strike by truck drivers calling on the government to lower the fixed price of fuel. Fuel station owners then retaliated in protest with a counter-strike that shut down stations in urban areas across India. I quickly called the electric car team which was traveling about 50 km behind us. I asked if they could pick up some fuel for us on the highway outside Hyderabad. Again, the irony ! Even in an electricity starved country like India with shortages of 16% on average, we found power more reliable than traditional oil for several days. Although the shortage of oil was only temporary, it highlighted the delicate “energy security” situation that India faces with oil imports at 80% and no domestic sources.
Revas at an Indian Gas Station
We have covered 1,000 km of roads already in our solar electric cars – nearly a third of the total distance planned. As we continue, the momentum will continue to grow and our conviction will strengthen that the world already has the green mobility solution. The journey will end in India’s capital, New Delhi on February 4th, a city adding one thousand new cars to the streets every single day. There will be a grand finale highlighting transportation alternatives for the city, from Reva electric cars to the metro, bicycles and buses.
We are on a “Drive to Change” and we hope that the rest of the world will also drive the change in transportation solutions that we need to see. More soon …
Follow our Climate Solutions Road Tour at: http://www.indiaclimatesolutions.com.
Starting Again (photo: Steve Payne)
Over the holidays, the “Revenge” team spent time filming with Greg “Gadget” Abbott as he moved into a cavernous new warehouse space in downtown LA.
Gadget runs an electric car conversion company called Left Coast Electric. He’s also the star of the TV shows “Smash Lab” and “Monster House”- where he’s shown millions of viewers how to build eye-popping structures from the most unlikely materials. Gadget’s motto is : “If you think it can’t be done, then you’re talking to the wrong people!”
Gadget made a barnstorming appearance in “Who Killed the Electric Car?” and he’s taking a bigger role in “Revenge.” That’s partly because Gadget’s new 2000 square foot shop is being built out of the ashes of his old shop in Culver City. Late last year, Gadget’s workshop was destroyed in a fire. The blaze took away some of Gadget’s most prized work, including a super sleek electric powered Silver Porsche which featured at PlugInAmerica’s Sept 08 gala fundraiser alongside the Tesla Roadster and GM’s Volt prototype. Most people would have been knocked flat by such a turn of events, but the fire seems to have made Gadget and his wife, Charlotte, even more determined to push for a plug-in future.
As befits a man with ten Guinness World Records under his belt, (including the world’s largest electric guitar), Gadget’s rising to the challenge. As 2009 progresses, we’ll be at Gadget and Charlotte’s side as they rebuild their lives. Stage One is transforming an abandoned LA warehouse and rebuilding his silver electric Porsche into a scalable production vehicle. Stay tuned…
Lotus Evora 2+2
Well, it had to happen. Lotus is making an EV. Actually, it’s a plug-in hybrid much like the Chevy Volt.
After both Tesla and Chrysler chose the Elise and Europa, respectively, for their slot car-fast EVs, it only makes sense that the car company named after a flower would make its own “flower power” speedster.
GM is supplying the range-extending genset which makes sense as they they’ll be able to amortize it and drive the cost down.
Like the Volt, they are shooting for a 300 mile range with the first 40 miles all electric. Performance specs are not published as yet.
Looks like most of the battery EV makers are shooting for a 100-150 mile range, with Tesla shooting for over 200. The PHEV people are aiming at the 40 mile all electric range. Then there’s Toyota, with the plug-in Prius claiming maybe 20 mile AER.
You can see how the evolution to electric will happen. We will get affordable BEVs with a 100-150 mile range, perfect for commuting. And, for those who want long range and heavy capacity, they’ll gravitate to PHEVs.
Read about Lotus’s plans from Motor Trend’s Wide Open Throttle posting after the jump.
“Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A. Inc. said today that it will show a small electric concept vehicle at the Detroit auto show next month.” – Toyota Division Communications
Considering the implication of those two short lines, they were barely whispered to the press.
Toyota is going to show a Battery EV at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit next month, 12 full years after they began leasing the RAV4 EV to fleets in California, and 7 years after 328 private citizens got their hands on one. This is a remarkable turnaround, given their almost fanatical desire to destroy every existing example of the RAV program.
Of course, it’s only a “concept” car, and we know that means they could be a good two years from actually releasing something, but the fact that they’re showing it at all speaks volumes.
This leaves Honda alone among the top 10 with no “announced” EV program. With all the car makers in the world running as fast as they can toward plugging batteries in to the grid, Honda continues this farce of a program with fuel cells. It’s pretty clear they’ve got plug-in vehicles in development. They’re not stupid, they’re just not talking about them yet. But effort devoted to an inherently inefficient technology like fuel cells will only delay the inevitable roll out of the Honda EVs. How much market share do they want to concede to Toyota, Tesla and Mitsubishi?
I have to mention that this announcement coincides neatly with news today of Toyota’s first ever loss ($1.66 billion). Coincidences can be fun.
Our co-producer continues her account of shooting behind the scenes at Tesla.
As we captured key meetings with department heads, Elon stressed his commitment to ramping Tesla up – and the fact that his role was hands-on. He reminded person after person that no problem or detail was too small. The buck stopped with Elon.
Elon Musk (left) inspects a Roadster
We pulled a marathon day, and our cameraman, Adam, worked valiantly to keep up. Filming meetings is actually difficult to do well. You need to know the subject, know the players, and then make split-second decisions as to how to follow the action. Along the way, we captured a couple of job interviews and captured Elon’s policy of interviewing most employees in person.
One of our interviews was a young engineer. When asked about the recent layoffs he said “You have to cut your burn rate. It’s just the way business works — for start-ups especially.”
A couple of Tuesdays later, I took a cameraman back to witness an “all hands meeting” at Tesla’s Menlo Park office. Again, the back warehouse was full with cars about to be delivered. This time, we saw cars approaching VIN number 100. Elon voiced his displeasure with an internal issue that had been passed on to the press by an employee. Then a slide show came on, and we got a sneak peak at a photo of ‘Model S’. OMG. I don’t usually think of sedans as sexy, but this car is gorgeous. If and when this happens, Tesla will have trouble keeping them in stock at any price point. My family of five might just have to be first in line.
Tesla Roadsters awaiting final prep and delivery to first owners.
Let me just give it away now….the first day we filmed this fall at Tesla, we got to see not one, not two, not three, but, and I counted—over 40 production Roadsters in the Menlo Park buildings. There is something about the sight of more than four million dollars of incredibly sleek, fast (they do look fast – even standing still) car flesh under one roof that really makes you tingle. It was tangible proof that the cars were…..well, that the cars were, and that the production line was moving. It’s also when and where our Director, Chris, finally got to meet his car, a real beauty. See Chris’s Blog Post about his Tesla delivery.
Once again, it’s an exciting time to be following the electric car world. We’ve been following the Tesla story since they were in “stealth” mode, in the spring of 2006. Most of you have seen those few precious seconds of Tesla footage in “Who Killed the Electric Car ?” What most of you couldn’t guess is that when JB Straubel backed the car out of an enclosed trailer below the windmills of Altamont Pass for our film shoot, there was a gaping hole where the front grill should have been. When asked, JB replied that some details, like the entire grill, were not yet finalized. Hmmmm. A quick trip down to Home Depot for some landscaping mesh plus some metal binder clips from Office Depot gave us all we needed [the film crew mind you, not Tesla engineers] to fabricate a grill worthy of a film appearance. Elapsed time: 35 minutes. JB was impressed! We even let him ‘keep’ our design.
That was our first brush with Tesla. Then, the company was pure California start-up – occupying a no-frills warehouse space in a little lane in the heart of Silicon Valley. We found a bunch of geeks, EV nerds and entrepreneurs who were thrilled to be able to actually get jobs working on a technology that they thought might help change the world—and what a sexy technology! The car we filmed that day was just a rough version of the highly refined luxury mobile offered today, but still it was the quickest 0-60 that I’d ever done.
Two years later, we took our crew back to Tesla to film the arrival of production car #1, Elon’s personal hot car. The mood in the air was pure victory, even though the car was well over a year coming than originally forecast. Journalists jockeyed for the pole position to capture Elon’s triumphant peel out of the driveway in his new baby. The crowd was on fire.
Six months later the world had changed. The financial market had tanked, taking Tesla’s cash source with it. And the online rumor mill had changed its tune from “Gee, isn’t this an amazing technology that we wish we could all own?!” To, “Gee, how much longer do you think this company can last with dwindling cash reserves, missed delivery targets,” and a new blogger chorus: ”Tesla sucks for making a cool car that none of us can afford to own.”
With storm clouds brewing, our “Revenge” team was lucky enough to be granted access to Tesla’s San Carlos shop to check in with Elon, and see how his first weeks as CEO were shaping up.
While I can’t tell you everything we filmed, or Elon would have to kill me. What I can tell you is that we were able to witness some serious team building and whip cracking …which we’ll share with you soon!
