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Category Archives: Cars

Chrysler’s Super Secret Electric Trio

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

After the big splash last week with GM’s Volt announcement, Chrysler has decided to release information on their previously secret electric car program. Chrysler announced plans today to introduce a full line of electric vehicles by late 2010, including cars, trucks and SUV’s.

Chrysler Chairman Robert Nardelli introduced three new cars; an extended-range electric Chrysler EV Minivan, an extended-range electric Jeep EV , and a fully electric sports car dubbed the Dodge EV. Like GM, Chrysler is dealing with a technology that isn’t quite ready for prime-time. Chrysler is currently working with “four or five” out of the dozen lithium-ion battery companies to have something ready by 2010. Chrysler is launching a new joint venture with General Electric (Chrysler CEO Nardelli former employer) aimed at developing even more advanced battery systems

Chrysler, which was acquired a year ago by private-equity group Cerberus Capital Management LP, has been searching for partners to help it keep in the race to launch high-tech cars that cut fuel consumption and greenhouse-gas emissions.

Dodge Electric Vehicle
The planned Dodge EV will be a rear-wheel-drive sports car that seats two and has a 268 horsepower electric motor that creates a stout 480 lb-ft of torque. Performance is zero to 60 in fewer than five seconds and a 13 second quarter mile time. All of this comes with a driving range of 150-200 miles on an eight hour charge. Do these numbers sound familiar? They should, the EV is built on a Lotus Europa platform, and sports almost the same technology as the Tesla Roadster.

Jeep Electric Vehicle
The Jeep Wrangler EV will have an engine capable of producing 268 horsepower and 295 lb-ft of torque. The estimated range is 40 miles electric; 400 miles total with gasoline assist.

Chrysler Town & Country EV
“The Chrysler EV combines the electric-drive components of an Electric Vehicle with an integrated small-displacement engine and generator to produce additional electricity to power the electric-drive system when needed. This provides all of the positive attributes of an Electric Vehicle and extends the driving range to be equivalent to today’s gasoline-powered vehicles - without compromises.”

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Rainbow of Tesla Roadsters - Pot of Gold at end?

Tuesday, September 2, 2008

It looks as if Tesla is starting to really ramp up production.  Here is a rainbow of Tesla Roadsters lined up outside their facility.  Tesla has stated from the beginning that their intention was to make their first model a flagship car with high performance and a similarly high price, while still being a better deal than similarly performing sports cars. The Roadster is meant to set the tone for the brand, and with a reasonable profit margin, generate the capital to fund future development of more modest automobiles.

It’s a reasonable strategy. Most of the technology we use in our everyday lives started as something few could afford. The wealthy pay the premiums that generate the revenue to pay for manufacturing capabilities that bring prices down, and eventually the technology trickles down to more affordable designs. 

Hopefully other manufacturers will jump in and start producing economy PHEVs that build on the high tech systems used in the Tesla.

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South America is Ethanol Success Story Says Suzuki

Thursday, August 21, 2008

Suzuki recently announced that they will launch vehicles in the US and Brazil that will run on 100% Ethanol (E100) by the year 2010.  They join other automakers, such as GM, who are already selling flex-fuel vehicles in Brazil.  Company officials point to the strong demand for 100% ethanol fueled vehicles due to the wide availability of cheap ethanol in Brazil.

In Brazil,  45% of all fuel used for automobiles is ethanol made from sugar cane.  This represents a wide-range of mixes, all the way from a 20% ethanol/80% gas mix (E20) up to 100% ethanol (E100).  Brazil has been leading the world in producing ethanol from sugar cane.  While the US has focused heavily on corn-based ethanol production, Brazil has used sugar cane in producing their ethanol.  Using sugar is about three to four times as efficient as corn. 

Currently 20% of all vehicles in Brazil are flex-fuel, yet they are only using 1% of the arable land in Brazil to meet the current ethanol demand.  Industry officials feel that they could easily increase production by two to three times the current production levels.

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Tesla’s ex-CEO Shares New Car Experience - “Electrifying”

Tuesday, August 19, 2008

Former Tesla CEO, Martin Eberhard, recently shared his views on the first thousand miles of driving his custom-painted Tesla.  Apparently he is a fan, although he is very honest about his dislikes of the car.  These include such mundane things as his hatred of the overly complex navigation system, to more serious issues regarding stiff suspension, limited visibility, and lack of creature comforts.

On the positive side, he talk about all the attention his hundred thounsand dollar electric car is getting, and how much fun it is to zip around in traffic.  His longest trip was over 125 miles, and he still felt that he had the ability to travel another 30 miles. 

You can read more here.

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Volt Charges Ahead - In Outlets Beginning in 2010

Saturday, August 16, 2008

GM announced this week that the Chevy Volt is still on schedule for a November 2010 release.   The new plug in hybrid (PHEV) is expected to sell for between $30,000 to $40,000.  However, GM only expects to be able to ramp production to 100,000 a year by 2012.  As a comparison, the Toyota Prius is selling at a rate of almost a quarter a million per year. 

While GM works hard to solve battery delays, cooling issues, and other unexpected issues, other companies are also speeding up their own PHEV development.  Toyota has announced a follow-on Prius PHEV that will be released in 2009 using standard NiMh battery packs, but will follow-up with Li-ion packs in 2010.  Ford has basically given up and said that they hope to have a PHEV available in 5 years.

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So Sad… First Tesla Wreck in the Wild

Tuesday, July 29, 2008

Ouch, that does not look good.  Apparantly customer #6 drove his car into the back of a Mercedes while fighting traffic in San Francisco.  As expected, folks are already blaming the lack of “noise” generated by the car as being a factor.  Huh?  This was not a pedestrian getting hit, this was just your classic rear-end collision, almost always caused by aggressive tailgating.

While the damage does not look too bad, as most Lotus owners can tell you, this is not an inexpensive vehicle to repair.  Both front and rear “clams” will need to be replaced at a cost of approximately $10,000.  In addition, the suspension is very fragile, and often even low speed accidents will require replacement of some suspension pieces.  Heaven-forbid if a suspension mount is damaged, because the aluminum chassis is “non-repairable”, and has to be swapped out if bent or damaged in any way.

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Lotus Evora - Cool Name, Cool Car

Wednesday, July 23, 2008
2010 Lotus Evora

Lotus officially announced the new Evora, previously known by the code name Eagle. This is the first all new Lotus since the Elise made its debut in 1995. Currently, this is the world’s only 2+2 mid-engine sports car. Although, Lotus is careful to warn that the back seats are only suitable for children or those with very small legs.

This Lotus still retains its sporting heritage, however much attention has been made to make it a more practical and comfortable car. Those familiar with the Elise/Exige are familiar with the contortions required to enter and exit the vehicle. The new Evora has wider and taller door openings, and the sills are narrower, making it easier to slide over.

Similar to other Lotus, it is mid-engine, and lightweight, although at 2976 pounds, it tips the scales at almost 1000 pounds more than the svelte Elise/Exige. To help propel that increased weight, a Toyota 3.5-liter V-6 is stuffed behind the passenger cabin. This engine churns out 276 horsepower and 252-lb-ft of torque. That is enough to push the car from 0-60MPH in five seconds with a top speed of around 160MPH.

While clearly not as sporting as the Elise/Exige, which are essentially street-legal race cars, the Evora will help lure those who are used to comfortable sports cars such as the Porsche Cayman. The classy styling, lower price (~60K), and exclusivity may help steer younger would-be Porsche customer into a Lotus.

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Who Killed the Electric Car

Sunday, July 20, 2008

EV1

EV1

We watched Who Killed the Electric Car last night on the Tivo.  I am surprised that I have not watched before, but I guess I figured it would just be a rant.  Surprisingly, I felt they had a very balanced message, rightfully placing the blame on pretty much everyone.

 

  • Consumers - wanting huge SUV’s instead of smaller efficient vehicles
  • Car Companies - Too addicted to ICE (Internal Combustion Engine)
  • Gas Companies - wanting to preserve current profits $$$
  • Government - Not mandating change
  • CARB - Switching from a mandate for electric to hydrogen at the last minute

The funny part is that if Toyota, GM, and Ford all had continued production of their EV’s, they would be selling like hot cakes today.  Toyota had a very usable RAV EV, GM had the EV1, and Ford had the Th!nk, which they have since sold to a European firm.  All of these cars were in production, and could be sold today.  And, with the advances in battery technology (imagine a EV1 with LiON batteries!), they would be even better, and cheaper.

Let’s hope the car companies can get their EV’s back into production, and start getting practical PHEV’s into production.

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BMW - Mini to Produce Electric Cars in California

Wednesday, July 16, 2008

It looks like consumers in California will soon be seeing electric Mini’s on the street. The Mini’s are made in Oxford, England. These examples will be partially assembled alongside the normal cars, minus the engine, gearbox and fuel tank. Then they’ll go over to parent company BMW’s facility in Munich, Germany, to be fitted with all the necessary electric drivetrain components and batteries before heading west.

BMW sources told Automotive News Europe that 490 of the Minis will be leased to selected customers in California and 10 will be used as show cars.

The electric cars will have yellow roofs, and will allow BMW to meet California’s requirement that carmakers start selling zero-emission vehicles.

PML Mini QED

Too bad that they are not bring the bad-ass PML Mini QED. Those blokes created a Monster electric Mini that features four 160HP electric motors, one on each wheel.  The car has been designed to run for four hours of combined urban/extra urban driving, powered only by a battery and bank of ultra capacitors.  A claimed top speed of 150 mph, a 0-60 mph time of 4.5 seconds, and a reported range of 932 miles when the ICE hybrid gas motor provides additional charge for the on-board batteries.  In this hybrid mode, fuel economies of up to 80mpg can be achieved.

 

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Tesla Roadster spotted in Chicago

Saturday, July 12, 2008

It looks like the Tesla Roadster is finally starting to make an appearance.  As most people know, the Tesla has suffered from delay after delay, frustrating those who have been so excited to start seeing them out on the road.  Initially they had issues with their transmission, but it looks like they now have that behind them. 

This Roadster was spotted in the Chicago area.

Tesla Roadster in Chicago

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