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USA: All-Electric City Buses Go to Work in California

dblo — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 04:48:25 +0000

Three fully-electric buses are now operating on routes in eastern Los Angeles county.

This is the first major deployment of zero-emissions buses made by Proterra, Inc. The buses achieve between 18 and 29 miles per gallon (diesel-fuel equivalent) fully loaded with 68 passengers–a 500% improvement on comparable diesel buses.

With up to three hours of operation and [...]

USA: Free electric-vehicle charging station unveiled

dblo — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 04:46:19 +0000

The first of about 500 free electric-vehicle charging stations destined for southern Michigan homes and businesses now stands outside the headquarters of NextEnergy in TechTown near the Wayne State campus in Detroit.

Coulomb Technologies is providing its charging stations as part of a plan to install 4,600 chargers in key U.S. markets. The charging station equipment [...]

Lithium-ion battery prices may tumble 19 percent in 2010″ (or how ’bout 25%?)

dblo — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 19:44:19 +0000

According to a report from Bloomberg, a looming price cut stemming from oversupply in the rechargeable battery industry, may make electric vehicles more affordable, but could drive small-scale lithium-ion battery producers right out of the market. Panasonic Corp. and Samsung SDI Co., the world’s largest producers of rechargeable batteries, are expected to engage in a [...]

Toyota offers synthesized engine sounds for Prius

dblo — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 19:37:25 +0000

Toyota now sells an accessory for its Prius hybrid car that generates synthesized engine sounds to alert pedestrians to the presence of the car when it is running silently on its electric motor.

Electric cars produce very little sound at speeds under 20mph and if their number increases there is concern that pedestrians and cyclists [...]

Italian electric car to go on sale in U.K.

dblo — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 19:34:36 +0000

LONDON, Sept. 1 (UPI) — A British retailer of electric vehicles says it will start selling an Italian-made two-seat electric car in its showrooms this month.

EV Stores — which sells electric cars, bikes and scooters — says the Tazzari Zero will go on sale for about $33,000 Sept. 12, BusinessGreen.com reported Wednesday.

he Zero uses rechargeable [...]

Tata Motors’ Electric car in the offing-Ratan Tata

dblo — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 19:33:23 +0000

The Indian auto maker Tata Motors is very soon launching the electric versions from this month,said its Chairman Ratan Tata. Disclosing the proposal at a conference in New York, he detailed the ongoing process of the electric car and about the proposed US version of the world’s cheapest car Nano. Ratan Tata had earlier mentioned [...]

CODA to Launch All-Electric Sedan in Hawaii

dblo — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 19:29:59 +0000

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio — Coda Automotive, the privately held start-up electric car manufacturer that plans to build a factory to manufacture its automotive-grade lithium-ion batteries near Columbus, creating 1,000 jobs, will distribute its all-electric sedan in Hawaii beginning next year. Coda will begin limited deliveries of the vehicle to customers in California later this year and expects [...]

Focus EV to use liquid thermal battery control

dblo — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 19:28:13 +0000

Owners of the new Ford Focus Electric won’t have to worry about going out to warm up the car before driving on a winter’s day, the car will warm up its battery pack automatically if left plugged in.

Ford announced Thursday its Focus Electric, due out next year in the U.S., will contain a lithium ion [...]

Mitsubishi ‘mulling electric car plant’ in Spain

dblo — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 19:26:02 +0000

MADRID — The Spanish government said Thursday it is in negotiations with Japanese automaker Mitsubishi Motors over the possible construction of a plant in Spain to produce parts for electric vehicles.

“We are working to get a confirmed decision,” Finance Minister Elena Salgado said.

“Obviously we have conditions under which the plant can be set up in [...]

USA: Another rig explodes off La. coast; oil spreading

dblo — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 19:23:27 +0000

NEW ORLEANS, La. — Another oil rig exploded and caught fire Thursday off the Louisiana coast, spreading a mile-long oil sheen in the Gulf of Mexico west of the site of BP’s massive spill. All 13 crew members were rescued.

Coast Guard Petty Officer Bill Coklough said the sheen, about 100 feet wide, was spotted near [...]

USA: Chevrolet Volt, Nissan Leaf allowed to use California HOV lanes

dblo — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 03:57:51 +0000

SACRAMENTO-Aug. 31, 2010: Plug In America, which has been working in the state capital for passage of California SB 535, celebrates Gov. Schwarzenegger’s signing of the bill last night. SB 535 extends HOV-lane access to plug-in hybrid vehicles starting in 2012. Automakers Audi, Chevrolet, Fisker, Ford, Hyundai and Toyota have announced availability of plug-in hybrid [...]

USA: ECOtality President and CEO to Present at 2010 ROTH Fall Conference

dblo — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 20:02:54 +0000

MAUI, HI – Wednesday, September 1, 2010 – ECOtality, Inc. (NASDAQ:ECTY), a leader in clean electric transportation and storage technologies, announced today that Jonathan Read, CEO and President of ECOtality, will join a China Energy panel discussion at the 2010 ROTH Fall Conference in Maui, Hawaii. The panel will take place on Friday, September 3, [...]

Nissan: 300 in Hawaii should get Leaf in January

dblo — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 19:52:15 +0000

HONOLULU—Nissan says all 300 Hawaii residents who have put down deposits for the Leaf electric car should get a vehicle when the first shipment arrives in January.

Tweet Be the first to Tweet this! people Dugg thisdiggYahoo! Buzz ShareThis Some prospective Leaf owners had been concerned that Nissan wouldn’t be able to meet initial demand in [...]

USA: Electric powertrain manufacturer Alte LLC speeds up hiring

dblo — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 19:47:30 +0000

Auburn Hills-based electric powertrain manufacturer Alte LLC is speeding up its hiring schedule, with plans to create more than 300 jobs by the end of 2011, as it sets its sites on retrofitting fleet vehicles.

As reported by Crain’s in February, the company plans to invest $51.3 million in its Auburn Hills assembly plant to [...]

USA: Motivational speaker likes the Nissan Leaf so much he’s now a car salesman

dblo — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 19:40:19 +0000

Plug-In America Vice President Paul Scott is an evangelist for electric cars. Now he’s going to be selling them on the floor of Santa Monica Nissan. Wed, Sep 01 2010 at 11:12 AM EST Comments

CHARGING AHEAD: Paul Scott plugs in a Leaf in Japan. (Photo: Nissan)

Longtime electric vehicle advocate Paul Scott, vice president [...]

Plug-In EV Market to Sell 3.2M Units by 2015

dblo — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 19:36:58 +0000

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click to enlarge Related Stories 15% Of U.S. Consumers Very or Extremely Likely To Buy Plug-In Hybrids Global Smart-Meter Installations to Reach 250 Million Units Silicon Valley Execs Get Behind Plug-In HybridsRelated TopicsAutomotiveChartsGreen TechnologyPredictionsResearch & TechnologySales Global adoption of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) as well as battery electric vehicles (BEVs) is expected [...]

China Aug car sales surprisingly robust, policy helps

dblo — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 19:32:13 +0000

China’s car sales in August rose 59.3 percent from a year earlier, bouncing surprisingly higher after sluggish sales in the summer months, helped largely by Beijing subsidies for fuel-efficient models.

View Full ImageREUTERS A BYD (Build Your Dreams) E6 Electric Car is seen at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, Michigan January 12, 2009.

Related [...]

USA: Finally: Draft EPA Stickers for New Plug-Ins — And All Cars

dblo — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 04:46:40 +0000

In advertisements, fuel economy numbers are the ones that count. In auto showrooms, the window stickers explain these numbers. These stickers are absolutely critical to plug-in cars’ prospects in the marketplace, and have been a long time coming. We’ve had five years of excitement about the100+MPG cars we could someday drive –now they’re about to [...]

USA: Climate Policy and West Coast Transportation

dblo — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 04:44:03 +0000

Thursday, September 16, 2010 8:00 AM - Friday, September 17, 2010 5:00 PM (Pacific Time)

Stanford University, McCaw Hall Palo Alto, California United States

The West Coast Corridor Coalition proudly presents this timely conference on climate policy and west coast transportation and invites your active participation. We have assembled an impressive roster of speakers and panel participants to [...]

USA: Nissan LEAF Ordering Starts Today, “Minor Hiccups” Overcome

dblo — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 04:27:51 +0000

If you’ve been waiting for the Nissan LEAF for the better part of three years, today might just be the day you get to satisfy your longstanding car-crush. A small group of LEAF reservation holders in the five initial launch markets of Washington, Oregon, California, Arizona and Tennessee will finally be able to request a [...]