USA: Global Steel Industry Developing Vehicle Concept Around Next Generation Electrics,…

Summary:
— Phase 1 technology and component evaluations complete; four technical
specification options were considered: Future Steel Vehicle-1 (FSV)
(battery electric vehicle and plug-in hybrid-electric vehicle); and
FSV-2 (plug-in hybrid-electric vehicle and fuel cell electric vehicle) Read More...

USA: Electric cars come to Missouri

The future of both the automotive industry and the local economy in Mexico, Missouri, may have been on display their this morning. Read More...

USA: It’s Over: Five Reasons Why the Electric Car Wins

It could take ten years or more to become apparent, but I’ll call it now: the electric car will replace the internal combustion engine. Read More...

USA: BMW Unveils Triple Threat Plug-In Sports Car

BMW’s Vision EfficientDynamics concept has been the subject of rumor and innuendo for weeks, but now the German car company is setting the stage for its 2009 Frankfurt Auto Show display with new details of its concept. Read More...

China/USA: Warren Buffett’s Desire to Hike Stake In Chinese Electric Car-Maker May Not Be New

Shares of Chinese electric-car maker BYD rallied 8 percent in Hong Kong trading today (Monday), finishing at an all-time closing of HK$48.60. Read More...

USA: U.S. Postal Service Electrification of Delivery Vehicles

With a large geographically dispersed vehicle fleet and short delivery routes, the Postal Service makes a particularly interesting national laboratory for testing technological advancements of electric vehicles (EVs) sought by the President through the Department of Energy (DOE). The Office of the Inspector General (OIG) conducted this study on the feasibility of EVs1 in the Postal Service in response to a request from Congressman José E. Serrano, Chairman, Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government, Committee on Appropriations. The primary objective of the study was to assess the operational and economic feasibility of moving the Postal Service’s delivery fleet to electric vehicles. In summary, use of electric vehicles for Postal Service deliveries is operationally feasible and could provide a valuable opportunity for the nation to test EV technology. Due to the Postal Service’s current financial distress, government funds and vehicle to grid (V2G) revenue would likely be needed to make this transition economically feasible. Read More...

USA: ECOtality’s eTec Awarded $8 Million From California Energy Commission to Support Largest-Ever Transportation Electrification Project

Electric Transportation Engineering Corporation (eTec) : , a subsidiary of ECOtality, Inc. : (OTCBB:ETLY), a leader in the clean electric transportation and storage technologies, announced today it has been awarded an estimated $8 million from the California Energy Commission to support the deployment of charge infrastructure and electric vehicles (EVs) in the San Diego region as
part of its “American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 Cost Share: Alternative and Renewable Fuel and Vehicle Technology Program.” Read More...

USA: Hybrid Batteries Show Plenty of Long-Term Spark

Q. You mentioned potential Toyota Prius battery life (Auto Letters, July 26). I recently read about Ford Escape hybrids used as New York City taxis since 2005 and how their number has grown to about 800 from 18. And Ford said that these units are using their original nickel-metal-hydride batteries. Any way to find out how many miles these taxis have run for a comparison with the planned 100,000- to 150,000-mile life of the Toyota batteries? — J.B., Racine, Wisc. Read More...

Korea: Korean firms seek to lead market for car batteries

Korea’s large businesses are vying to grab a bigger share of the battery market for electric and hybrid cars, which is expected to grow exponentially. Three big firms – a chemicals firm, a display maker and a refinery business – are expanding their lithium-ion battery businesses, seeking to create new income sources to offset the slow growth of their traditional businesses. Read More...

USA: Upstarts plug into electric car market

WASHINGTON — Coda Automotive employs 41 people. It has a headquarters in Santa Monica, Calif., but it doesn’t have its own factory. It doesn’t have its own dealer network. It doesn’t have a coterie of designers. Its chief executive, Kevin Czinger, a one-time college football star and former assistant U.S. attorney, has spent most of his career working in finance. Read More...

USA: BMW’s Vision EfficientDynamics concept won’t look a tenth this wild when it hits the streets

We hate concept cars. Year after year we see new concept cars more fantastical and amazing than the last, and year after year we see cars hit the market that have had all the magic ripped out of them by safety regulations and market realities. The newly unveiled Vision EfficientDynamics car from BMW is mainly here to show us BMW’s new diesel-based plug-in hybrid drive system. But it’s also here to annoy us. Video is after the break. Read More...

Japan/USA: Nissan very close to all electric car rollout

Nissan is a name many do not equate with alternative drive systems, like Toyota is with it’s Prius Hybrid or Tesla with its all electric roadster. However, Nissan has access to hybrid technology, they have a laudable entry with it’s Altima hybrid. Read More...

USA: Ford’s vehicle-2-grid system for their coming plug-in hybrid vehicles

Ford Motor Company has announced an intelligent vehicle-to-grid communications and control system for its plug-in hybrid electric vehicles. The system is meant to exchange data with the electric grid in the “smart grid” future. The data exchange is meant to help recharge the onboard battery pack without strain on the electric grid, and potentially to serve as an energy storage system for the electric grid. Read More...

Europe: Frankfurt Auto Show: BMW Vision EfficientDynamics Concept

It’s a diesel, a hybrid, a plug-in, a three-cylinder–and a tour de force, perhaps? Read More...

USA: He’s a driving force in the world of electric cars

The gig: He doesn’t make the cars of the future; he makes the cars of the future go. As chief executive of AC Propulsion Inc., Tom Gage advances the technologies under the hoods of electric transportation. The high-tech batteries and drive systems made by the San Dimas company power a growing number of electric vehicles. Those include a test fleet of BMW’s electric Minis, which are currently whooshing — silently — over roads in California, New York and New Jersey. Read More...

USA: Battery efforts paying dividends: Gov. Jennifer Granholm touted a partnership between Eaton’s Vehicle Group and Compact Power Inc.

CHARLESTON TOWNSHIP — Eaton Corp., which secured about $35 million this month to supply hybrid power systems for commercial vehicles, will soon be using Michigan-made batteries in those systems. Read More...

USA: Buick plans plug-in for 2011

GM plans to launch an all-new five-passenger Buick crossover in late 2010, but the bigger news is that the crossover will get a plug-in hybrid model
in 2011. The crossover is likely to be based on the popular Chevy Equinox and coming GMC Terrain. GM said it will feature the same fuel-efficient four-cylinder engine as those two models. Read More...

Europe: Think Electric Car Is Back, With Ambitious Plans

It was more than eight months ago that Norway’s Think suspended production of its plastic-bodied, battery-powered urban runabout, the City. Soon after, the company came under the protection of the Norwegian courts, leading some observers to wonder if it was the end of the line for a company with a colorful history that included a brief period of Ford ownership. Read More...

USA: Big Blue dreams of a big green battery

SAN FRANCISCO — Spike Narayan watched a Tesla electric sports car rocket from zero to 60 mph (100 kph) in less than four seconds and knew batteries would be the next big thing. Read More...

NZ: Electric cars: Charged up for the future

Fast forward to the future in a new suburb south of Auckland, a showcase environmental satellite. A family of four moves into the day. Read More...