| R&D challenges for new-energy cars | | Posted Wednesday, January 25, 2006 5:27:08 PM by Blog57 Team | 
| | As China faces growing energy demands, the government is promoting electric, hybrid and hydrogen vehicles. But before these wheels start rolling onto city streets, developers face high research and development costs. They must also reshape consumers' purchasing habits. International experts gathered recently at the China Europe International Business School in Shanghai to discuss the road ahead for new energy vehicles in China. Li Zhuangmiao takes a look at their direction. | ... |
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| | | The greenest and meanest vehicles | | Posted Wednesday, February 07, 2007 2:48:57 PM by Blog57 Team | | Three gasoline-electric hybrids, the Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, and Nissan Altima, are rated among the "greenest" cars of 2007 in the 10th annual "greenest" and "meanest" rankings released today by the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy. A Honda Civic that runs on natural gas and has limited production was ranked number one. But two other cars in the top 10 -- the Toyota Yaris and Honda Fit -- are among the fastest-selling new models of small, gas-powered vehicles from foreign automakers. No cars built by American manufacturers made the "greenest" list, reflecting the firms' lingering dependence on SUVs, pickup trucks, and large cars. "Certain companies committed years ago to fuel-efficient technologies," said James Kliesch, research associate for the Washington-based nonprofit environmental group.... | |
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| | | World: GM planning plug-in cars | | Posted Friday, January 05, 2007 12:49:15 PM by Blog57 Team | | General Motors Corp., battling to catch up with Japan's Toyota Motor Corp., awarded two contracts in a competition to develop batteries for electric cars that plug into a home outlet. Johnson Controls-Saft Advanced Power Solutions LLC and Cobasys, a joint venture of a Chevron Corp. subsidiary and Energy Conversion Devices Inc., won contracts to develop lithium ion batteries for a new Saturn Vue plug-in hybrid-electric vehicle. GM vice-chairman Robert Lutz has said an improved lithium- ion battery, which has the durability for extended use, is the most important advance needed to make successful future hybrid vehicles. .... | |
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| | | GM To Present A Modified Electric Car | | Posted Monday, November 13, 2006 2:52:44 PM by Blog57 Team | | General Motors Corp., vilified by environmentalists for killing the electric car, is hoping to bring one back. But the new electric won't be an emissions-free vehicle. The new car, to be presented as a prototype early next year, would use an onboard internal combustion engine as a generator to produce electricity to extend the range of the vehicle's rechargeable batteries. .... | |
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| | | Who Killed the Electric Car? | | Posted Wednesday, November 08, 2006 10:49:55 PM by Blog57 Team | | Chris Paine's Who Killed The Electric Car? is a real eye opener for those of us who weren't living in California for the last decade or so. Sure, we are all aware (some of us more than others) of the threat of global warning and most of us know about the smog problems that have been hitting California pretty hard for the last twenty years or so but not everyone knew that at one point both the state government and the larger automobile manufacturers looked like they were going to do something about it and even less of us know how it turned out. That's where Paine's film comes in, and by basing the premise as a sort of 'whodunnit' murder mystery complete with an explanation at the end, he's made a film that is not only educational but actually entertaining as well. We start by learning that electric cars have actually been around as long as gasoline powered cars Phyllis Diller shows up and talks about how she remembers them from her childhood.... | |
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| | | Korea Electric Net Rises as Factories Increase Output (Update3) | | Posted Saturday, November 04, 2006 6:53:25 AM by Blog57 Team | | Nov. 2 (Bloomberg) -- Korea Electric Power Corp., the country's biggest utility, had a 19 percent gain in profit because of higher electricity prices and stronger demand for power from factories that were expanding production. Net income in the third quarter climbed to 1.21 trillion won ($1.3 billion) from 1.02 trillion won a year earlier, the Seoul- based utility said in a statement today. The median estimate of seven analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial was 1.17 trillion won. An increase in overseas demand for cars and semiconductor chips prompted Hyundai Motor Co., Samsung Electronics Co. and manufacturers to raise output, boosting electricity use. Growth in the $788 billion South Korean economy rebounded in the third quarter from the slowest pace in more than a year, helping Korea Electric to absorb higher oil and gas prices.... | |
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| | | Road, safety chiefs 'ganged up' to stall electric cars | | Posted Tuesday, October 31, 2006 12:51:33 PM by Blog57 Team | | ROAD traffic and safety bureaucrats have ganged up to block the introduction of electric cars to Australia, says the West Australian Government, which is anxious to test a light-weight version called Reva. The West Australian Planning and Infrastructure Minister, Alannah MacTiernan, told the Herald she had asked the Federal Government to grant the state a licence to bring 20 Revas into the country for a trial. She said such cars could dramatically cut motorists' costs and greenhouse gas emissions, and appeared not to have created safety issues in Britain, where they were in use. Federal Government officials were insisting that the vehicle, which weighs less than 400 kilograms, meet safety standards designed for standard cars, she said. This was despite not applying those standards to motor scooters, motorcycles and push bikes.... | |
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| | | Your next parking ticket in San Rafael could come from a 'Xebra' | | Posted Monday, October 30, 2006 10:50:53 AM by Blog57 Team | | Small, zebra-striped vehicles will soon be zipping around downtown San Rafael as part of a parking enforcement project to test the unique electric cars. San Rafael officials need to upgrade the fleet of parking enforcement and maintenance vehicles and are considering purchasing up to six electric cars with grant money from the Bay Area Air Quality Management District. The district, through its Vehicle Incentive Program, is willing to contribute $3,000 per vehicle for the electric models. The city plans to test-drive two "Xebra" vehicles, distributed by Santa Rosa-based ZAP, which stands for Zero Air Pollution. The city currently uses small golf-cart-like vehicles that get 15 miles to the gallon. Each car costs about $27,000, Parking Services Manager Mark Miller said. The electric cars are just about silent, can run about 40 miles per charge and reach speeds of up to 40 mph.... | |
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| | | How Lansing's trolley system fell off the tracks | | Posted Wednesday, October 25, 2006 10:49:05 PM by Blog57 Team | | Trolley cars are now nostalgic reminders of simpler days, but they have not always drawn a smile. Give our fair city a break and kick the damn squealing, howling, grinding, rumbling trolley cars out of it and substitute buses, a man named Harry Lee wrote to Lansings mayor in 1931. Try living on a trolley street, especially near a corner and see how quickly how you will go crazy. Lee scribbled the words on an editorial he clipped from the Automotive Daily News, entitled The Trolley Must Go! The editorial complained that trolleys, which traveled in the middle of the street and made frequent stops, were slow-moving vehicles that obstructed traffic. If there is any anachronism more firmly blocking progress in city transportation today than the trolley car, the editorial read, we should be glad to hear about it.... | |
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| | | Hybrid cars popular, but many myths remain | | Posted Saturday, October 21, 2006 6:48:50 AM by Blog57 Team | | EDITORS NOTE: This article comes from hybridcars.com, an independent website edited by Bradley Berman, author of An Insiders Look at Hybrid Cars: How They Work and Why They Matter. Five years ago hybrid cars were an unknown commodity. Today vehicles powered by a combination of gasoline and electricity are all the rage. Like any new technology, until you get your hands on it-in this case, on the steering wheel its hard to get your mind around it. If you are having a tough time separating hybrid truth from reality, youre not alone. Most industry analysts predict the continued growth of gas-electric vehicles, with estimates ranging from 600,000 to 1,000,000 hybrid sales in the U.S. by 2010, so this is a good time to debunk the most prevalent myths about hybrid cars. 1.... | |
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| | | Smarties or Dum-Dums? Chinese Golf-Cart Maker Attacks Euro Electric Car Market | | Posted Monday, October 16, 2006 6:49:06 PM by Blog57 Team | | JIANGSU, China — CMEC Suzhou, a builder of golf carts, electric cars and other small-scale vehicles in China, has come up with a fairly interesting idea. Its latest model resembles a Smart, but instead of a 700cc gasoline engine, an electric powertrain lurks underneath. By comparing specification sheets, it is apparent that the similarity doesn't stop at the exterior. Differences in wheelbase and overall length are within a centimeter, and other dimensions are also within tolerance. The official factory pictures don't reveal the quality of the Chinese version, but overall experience would suggest a skeptical attitude. The electric minicar has a top speed of 35 mph and a range of up to about 75 miles. In an article published in German auto industry magazine AutoBild, Jerry Chen, sales manager of the company, proudly stated that exports of this model will commence in Great Britain and Hungary next year.... | |
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