Posts Tagged ‘electric cars’
Sunday, August 2nd, 2009
Nissan drew back the curtain today on its ambitious all-electric LEAF. Along with a small parade of international journalists, I've been in Yokohama for the past three days meeting with executives, getting technology briefings, and
driving the electric platform. Although we had been given a chance to see the LEAF with our own eyes the day before, we went camera-less and all images were embargoed until this morning when, at Nissan's glimmering new super-green headquarters, the car was revealed. It was driven onstage by Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn and other notables, including the former ...
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Tags: Carlos Ghosn, Cars & Transportation, Ceo, concepts & prototypes, Curtain, Driven, electric cars, electric vehicles, Electricity, Getting Technology, Images, International Journalists, japan, Nissan, Notables, Own Eyes, Super Car, Technology Briefings, Transportation, World Photos, Yokohama
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Thursday, July 30th, 2009
by Christa Morris
The approaching age of electric vehicles presents us with a secondary, albeit significant, challenge: building accessible recharging stations with renewable energy. While we’re at it, can our parking lots be shady, please?
One solution may already have arrived. In Neville Mars’s dreamy design, appropriately dubbed the Solar Forest, large, leaf-shaped photovoltaic panels on branching “trees” will provide both shade and power-up plugs for electric cars relaxing on the parking lot underneath.
The viral spread of this design would suggest this is a novel idea. But between the years of 2005 and 2007, Envision Solar cultivated its own Solar Grove in Kyocera’s San Diego parking lot. With the same goal of shading cement parking lots while capturing solar energy, this forest came to life with large, flat and rectangular PV “trees.” The solid technology promised to repay costs of installation within five years, but the clunky array looked more like helicopter landing pads than trees. Although functional, the Solar Grove failed to draw as much attention. 
In contrast, the blog-storm in the past week has focused little on the science behind the Solar Forest, and instead has been fueled by the trees’ organically striking visual appeal. In order for companies to fork up the initial installation costs, it is crucial that solar-parking-lot solutions are not just convenient and sustainable, but attractive as well.
The final question is whether the structure truly translates into function. Like many others, I was initially concerned whether the shade of overlapping PV leaves would waste surface area. However, Mars assured Mike Chino of Inhabitat.com that the leafy canopy design was not a goal, but the best solution to maximizing shade for the cars and sunlight for the PV panels—much like the dogwood tree in my backyard, the Solar Forest’s leaves will tilt and rotate with the sun.
If the Solar Forest can be modular and economical as well as effective, it will be worldchanging. Think of how much under-utilized, sun-baked parking lot space exists alongside a single strip mall! In any event, the excitement this idea has generated brings attention to the vital role of biomimicry in sustainable design, as well as the key goal of transforming the unsustainable (and downright ugly) spaces of the world into useful, beautiful, and bright green landscapes.
Learn more about, biomimicry, solar projects and EVs in the worldchanging archives:
Biomimicry 101
Solar Carbon Payback
Project Get Ready Aims to Create Electric Vehicle Revolution
Creative Commons Photo Credit
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(Posted by WorldChanging Team in Transportation at 2:44 PM)
Tags: Best Solution, Canopy Design, Capturing Solar Energy, Charging Station, Christa, Dogwood Tree, electric cars, electric vehicles, Helicopter Landing, Initial Installation, Leafy Canopy, Novel Idea, Parking Lots, Pv Panels, renewable energy, Shading, Shady Spot, Solid Technology, Surface Area, Transportation, Visual Appeal
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Wednesday, July 29th, 2009
BMW’s new City EV is to be a four seater that is even shorter than the other i-Project BMW offering; the electric Mini Cooper. That’s hard to imagine from this picture; this car looks more sedan sized. Electricity will be stored in a water-cooled lithium-ion battery pack that is expected to provide a 100-mile range.
Compared with most companies aiming at 2010 electric vehicle deliveries (at least in their press releases!) 2012 is a comparatively sedate delivery schedule.
This is despite having produced a series of perfectly functional BMW electric cars going way back…that never made it to mass production. For the 1972 Olympic games held in Munich, for example - BMW provided a fleet of bright orange electric cars:
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Tags: 1972 Olympic Games, Bmw, Bmw Car, Bmw Cars, Bmw Cooper, Bmw Mini, Car Bmw, City Car, Deliveries, Delivery Schedule, electric cars, Electric Cars (EVs), electric vehicle, Ev, Lithium, Lithium Ion Battery, Lithium Ion Battery Pack, Mass Production, Mini Cooper, Munich, Olympic Games
Posted in Resources - Energy - Environment | No Comments »
Wednesday, July 29th, 2009
Image: Coda
Do I Smell a Future Bailout?
Coda Automotive is very ambitious: It plans to launch a $45,000 (before the $7,500 tax credit) Chinese-built electric sedan next year and claims that it will be the most affordable electric car at the time. But to get there it needs cash, which is why it just raised $24 million in a series B round of financing, with one of the main investors being the (in)famous former treasury secretary Henry "Hank" Paulson. Mr. Paulson also joined Coda's advisory board. Aside from his cash, what will he contribute to the company?...
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Tags: Advisory Board, Bailout, Board Image, Business & Politics, Cars & Transportation, China, Chinese Year, Coda, Electric Car, electric cars, electric vehicles, Hank Paulson, Investors, Launch, Science & Technology, Tax Credit, Transportation, Treasury Secretary
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Wednesday, July 29th, 2009
Image credit: Toyota
Are hybrids really greener?
I don't usually get excited about cars, and haven't since I was about 14. But I must admit a fondness for the Prius - and not just for environmental reasons. I actually find it fun to drive, yet every time we
post on the Toyota Prius we get commenters complaining that it is boring, or ugly, or that the environmental impact of the batteries outweighs any emissions savings. And posts about
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Tags: Ask Online, batteries, cars, Debate, electric cars, electric vehicles, Emissions, Environmental Impact, Environmental Reasons, Fondness, hybrid cars, Hybrids, Image Credit, Lithium, Lithium Ion, Plug In Hybrid, Prius, Prius Toyota, Toyota, Toyota Lease, Toyota Prius, Transportation, Ugly, united kingdom
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Tuesday, July 28th, 2009
Photo: Nissan
Nissan Expects to Produce 150,000 Electric Cars by 2012
On August 2nd, Nissan will unveil its new electric car in Japan, but in the meantime, we can have a look at the prototype that Nissan has been using to test their electric drivetrain. It's based on the Nissan Versa, but the gasoline engine has been replaced by an electric motor developed in-house. It has a power rating of 80kW/280Nm (107 horsepower/206 pound-feet of torque). That's a lot of torque for a car this size. Read on for more technical details and many more photos....
Tags: August 2nd, Car Photo, Car Prototype, Cars & Transportation, Drivetrain, Electric Car, electric cars, electric vehicles, Gasoline Engine, Horsepower, japan, New Car, Nissan, Nissan Car, Nissan Engine, Nissan Nissan, Nissan Versa, Photos, Pound Feet, prototypes, Rough Draft, Technical Details, Torque, Transportation
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Tuesday, July 28th, 2009
The bitter lawsuit between Tesla Motors and estranged founder Martin Eberhard continues to be a distraction from the company's record of real accomplishment. The company's announcement of a new showroom in Manhattan was followed by a court date for tomorrow in California's San Mateo County Superior Court.
Tesla's Elon Musk wants to put the lawsuit behind him, and he's seeking to have it tossed out of court. He calls it "a fictionalized, inaccurate account of Tesla's early years." Musk maintains he put up 98% of the money for the company ($6.35 million) compared to Eberhard's $75,000. And he says, "Eberhard has simultaneously implied that I had nothing to do with the creation of the Roadster and that I micro-managed the design and thus caused the cost overruns. Obviously, those claims are mutually exclusive."
In the lawsuit, Eberhard says he "led the development of the Roadster from its inception and design through the safety and performance testing that validated the Roadster's ability to achieve zero to 60 mph in less than four seconds, as well as its breakthrough 250-mile range per charge."
Musk says costs ballooned because every major system had to be redesigned, and "we essentially had to spend the development money twice. Eberhard wants Musk to stop referring to himself as a founder of Tesla. But Musk maintains that his "two years of 100-hour work-weeks" rebuilding the company gives him that right.
Tags: Accomplishment, Breakthrough, County Superior Court, Creation, Development Money, Distraction, electric cars, Elon Musk, Inaccurate Account, Inception, Led, Manhattan, Martin Eberhard, Overruns, Performance Testing, Roadster, San Mateo County, San Mateo County Superior Court, Tesla Electric, Tesla Motors
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Monday, July 20th, 2009
My [Fisker] Karma ran over your dogma. That's because the world of electric cars hasn't been this exciting since about 1900. With new electric vehicles (EVs) seemingly announced every other week -- from both the big car companies and scrappy startups and garage builders -- it's hard to keep up! Enter this handy guide to electric cars from Ridelust.
It's a quick-reading collection of the hottest new models from Tesla, Fisker Karma, Chrysler, Nissan, Mitsubishi, Volvo, Koenigsegg and more. There's a tantalizing bit about an electric-converted hybrid Hummer by Raser, and I had no idea GM was going to release a Cadillac-branded version of the Chevy Volt (the Converj, which looks pretty slick).
There's even an entry from South Park that's worth checking out. Just ask Mr. Hat.
Get the list from Ridelust.
Tags: Big Car, Cadillac, Car Companies, Chevy Volt, Dogma, Electric Car, electric cars, electric vehicles, Fisker, Garage Builders, Gm, Handy Guide, Hummer, Koenigsegg, Mr Hat, Raser, Reading Collection, South Park, Startups, Volvo
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Thursday, July 9th, 2009
There's a full-scale race underway to wire the ultra-green cities of Portland (Oregon) and San Francisco for electric vehicles (EVs). Here's SF Mayor Gavin Newsom declaring war:
"I believe the future is electric," said Newsom, who added he wants to make his northern California redoubt "the cornerstone of the coming market for EVs. Not just governments, but key companies, business associations, policy advocates and international car and EV infrastructure companies are working together to make the San Francisco Bay Area the EV Capital of the U.S."
To which Portland Mayor Sam Adams says, "Nuts." Well, he didn't actually say that, but he did say, "Bring it on. We're going to do everything we can to be the leader in EVs."
Newsom is distressed "because every year it is the number one sustainable city in the U.S. So we're going after Portland. Enough of Portland. If you're from Portland, give us a break. We don't want to be the runner-up forever."
San Francisco launched its program last December with Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. on the program. The city is partnering with Shai Agassi's Better Place, headquartered in nearby Palo Alto. The network is to include 100 battery-swap stations and as many as 250,000 individual charging locations. Battery swapping is somewhat controversial, and it could be overtaken by fast-charging stations that take only 10 to 15 minutes to get cars back on the road.
Agassi says his company will start installing charging stations in San Francisco next year, and hopes to have 100,000 EVs on the road by 2012.
Tags: Business Associations, Declaring War, electric cars, electric vehicles, Gavin Newsom, Infrastructure Companies, Key Companies, Mayor Gavin Newsom, Policy Advocates, Portland Mayor, Portland Oregon, Redoubt, Robert F Kennedy, Robert F Kennedy Jr, Sam Adams, San Francisco Bay, San Francisco Bay Area, Sf Mayor, Shai Agassi, Sustainable City
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