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Category Archives: Electric Car

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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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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Lightning strikes twice!

Sunday, July 27, 2008

My friend Pete sent me an email about the new Lightning GT from the Lightning Car Company based in Britain.   This Telsa competitor has over 600HP on tap, courtesy of individual electric motors mounted in each wheel hub.  The projected 0-60MPH is in less than 5 seconds, and claims a top speed of over 130 MPH.  That is similar performance as the Telsa, but surprisingly has similar range estimates of over 200 miles to a charge, while being much heavier.

The NanoSafeTMLi-ion battery system that is utilized can be recharged in as little as 10 minutes when connected to a 3 phase electrical system.  The battery systems uses nano titanate structures instead of traditional graphite, which are claimed to greatly increase safety and longevity. That type of recharge time is currently unheard of, however most homes are not equipped with three phase power.  Perhaps this is a way for traditional gas stations to stay in business.  Plug in, get your latte and newspaper in the morning, and by the time the clerk is done with you, your Lightning should be recharged.

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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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Check out Lion Electric Vehicles

Friday, July 11, 2008

I recently stumbled across Lion Electric Vehicles.  These guys have some great new technology that enables you to hop-up your existing hybrid by swapping out your existing batteries with new batteries can greatly increase your range. 

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And even more incredible is that they are selling Ford Escape Hybrids that have already been modified with their new technology.  Changes to the battery pack and the sensor program allow it to run on EV entirely within city speed ranges.  On the highway it operates as an ICE vehicle with electric boost.

ford-escape-hybrid_courtesy_photo_ford

These guys are based out of VA, but have facilities all over the world.  It is nice to see a US company developing new technology that will help power the new energy-independence economy.  I am hopeful that our current energy crisis well help pour capital into companies like Lion which will help develop the new technologies required to achieve our goal of energy independence.


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The Th!nk City Electric Car

Wednesday, July 9, 2008

I recently noticed the press release for this nifty little new electric car that is produced by the Norwegian firm Th!nk Global.  Ironically, Ford Motors actually developed this vehicle but sold it to Norwegian investors back in 2003.  Ford Motor Company owned the TH!NK brand from 1999-2004. 

While the four-seater has a 110 mile range and a top speed of 65 mph, studies have show that this type of performance is adaquate for almost all city drivers, as well commuters that have less than 20 mile commutes. 

Th!nk Global also claims that the car is made from 95% recyclable materials, will cost less than $25,000, and become available in the U.S. in 2009.  Recently Kleiner Perkins Caulfield & Byers, the leading venture firm that is investing in and accelerating Green technology solutions and policy innovations, has pumped additional funding into Th!nk so that they can expand into North America.

While I am certainly excited about the prospects of more and more companies getting into the electric car market, it is a shame that our Big Three are not leading the charge.  The technology innovations required for these new cars should be coming from our own companies, and the manufactoring jobs would certainly be welcome in the Detroit area. 

The Th!nk City electric car, a four-seater with 110 mile range and top speed of 65 mph, priced under $25,000, made from 95% recyclable materials, and available in the U.S. in 2009T, but the actual mass roll out is slated for sometime in 2011.

 

http://www.21stcentury.co.uk/cars/ford_th!nk.asp - Old Press Release from Ford on the Th!nk!

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Mercedes, Smart to Sell Electric Cars in 2010

Monday, June 23, 2008

Daimler has announced that it is jumping on the growing electric car bandwagon, with plans to roll-out a Mercedes-Benz and Smart EV in 2010.

As far as the Smart model goes, there is currently a fleet of 100 first-generation Smart electric cars running in London, and it’s a fair bet that the new cars will be at least roughly based on these.

No decision has been made regarding the price for the EV models. According to Zetsche, “That depends on whether we sell the batteries with the car or lease them. The willingness (on the part of consumers) to pay more is limited.”

read more | digg story

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EStor

Monday, June 16, 2008

EEStor is a company based in Cedar Park, Texas, United States that claims to have developed a superior type of capacitor for electricity storage, which EEStor calls ‘Electrical Energy Storage Units’ (EESU). Its CEO and president is Richard Weir, who is also a co-inventor named on their principal technology patent.

These units use barium titanate coated with aluminum oxide and glass to achieve a level of capacitance claimed to be much higher than what is currently available in the market. The claimed energy density is 1.0 MJ/kg (existing commercial supercapacitors typically have an energy density of around 0.01 MJ/kg, while lithium ion batteries have an energy density of around 0.54–0.72 MJ/kg).[2]

Based on these claims, a five-minute charge should give the capacitor sufficient energy to drive a small car 300 miles (480 km). However, standard household wiring is not capable of delivering the power required for this, so charging times this short would probably require purpose-built high capacity dispensing stations.  Overnight charging at home should still be practical, as is using a second EESU for the home which could be charged overnight using cheap, off-peak electricity to then charge the EEStor unit in the car in 5-10 minutes on demand. Also according to Ian Clifford a normal household outlet with 110 volt supply can fully charge the EESTor powered CityZENN in 4 hours for a 250 mile range and a normal household outlet with 220 volt supply can fully charge the EESTor powered CityZENN in 2 hours for a 250 mile range. CityZENN target price is around $25000 – $30000.

Not sure if this will ever actually work, or if it is just hype?  I think LS9 has a better chance to revolutionize our energy supply. 

 

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