About Me

As a man thinks, so he is. Some people are never.

Recent Posts

November 2009

SunMonTueWedThuFriSat
1234567
891011121314
15161718192021
22232425262728
2930

Archives

Categories

CarSpace

Alternate Route

Turn off the nav system, crumple up that MapQuest printout, and let's find out where the next random turn may take us!

Oct 9, 2009 - Tokyo Stars

The Tokyo Auto Show is this month and auto shows mean concepts, which are one of the things I love about the shows.

This 122 inch long, 43 inch wide two-seater is the Nissan Land Glider concept. You ride tandem-style in this electric vehicle and the body and tires lean up to 17 degrees into turns like a motorcycle.

I love it when the engineers get to have a little fun.

Be sure to check out the Land Glider and the rest of Inside Line's coverage of the 2009 Tokyo Auto Show

2:50 am | Categories: auto shows, electric vehicles, nissan
Comments (0) | Permalink | Alert Administrator
 
Add to:     

 

Sep 28, 2009 - Tell Ya What I'm Gonna Do

Electric cars may eventually be the future, but from where I sit, that future is certainly not now.

Battery limitations seem to be the biggest hurdle, although pricing is starting to look like an issue as well. The Volt is supposed to be about $40K, which is pretty pricey.

Nissan is talking about $30k for the Leaf, but now they're toying with the idea of leasing battery packs.

Just what you need, two monthly payments when you purchase a new vehicle!

Read more about battery leasing at Reuters.com

3:01 am | Categories: electric vehicles, nissan
Comments (1) | Permalink | Alert Administrator
 
Add to:     

 

Sep 23, 2009 - Silent Running

From the Washington Post:

After years of trying to make cars sound as if they were riding on air, engineers are considering how they might bring back some noise. They're trying to make some of them -- those silent hybrids -- more audible.

But how?

A team of engineers developing the Leaf, the forthcoming electric car from Nissan and a front-runner in the race for a mass-market electric car, have recently been presenting their ideas for artificial noises to government officials and focus groups.

Perhaps some baseball cards in the spokes?

2:21 am | Categories: automotive news, electric vehicles, nissan
Comments (0) | Permalink | Alert Administrator
 
Add to:     

 

Sep 14, 2009 - Limiting Factor

Sept. 14 (Bloomberg) -- Toyota Motor Corp., the biggest seller of hybrid cars, is sticking with nickel as the preferred battery material for most of the vehicles after three years of secretly testing Prius hatchbacks with lithium-ion packs.

The tests appear to be among the most thorough done by companies planning to introduce the batteries, said Menahem Anderman, president of consulting firm Advanced Automotive Batteries in Oregon House, California.

“We now know that a lithium-ion battery can work; that’s not really the question,” he said. “Cost is critical, and we still don’t know enough about long-term durability.”

How about a show of hands for those who think EV's are going to be all over the roads tomorrow? Or even in 10 years?  EV's may indeed be the future, but until the breakthrough in battery technology happens, I wouldn't give up that gasoline credit card just yet.

3:01 am | Categories: electric vehicles
Comments (0) | Permalink | Alert Administrator
 
Add to:     

 

Jul 6, 2009 - 2012: The Year We Make Contact?

According to sources, a plug-in version of the Prius should hit the market in about 2012.

Toyota plans to build 20,000-30,000 plug-in Priuses a year and intends to price them at about $48,000 - twice the price of a conventional Prius hybrid and about $8,000 more than the Chevrolet Volt, which will hit the market at the tail end of 2010.

Just like the Volt, I don't think a $48K vehicle is likely to be a widespread commercial success.

And I still am asking the question that nobody seems to want to answer. Where is all the extra capacity to charge up these vehicles going to come from? Energy is not free, although some EV proponents seem to act as if all we need to do is make electric cars and plug them in and all will be right with the world.

Read the entire story at Green Car Advisor.

3:02 am | Categories: automotive news, electric vehicles
Comments (0) | Permalink | Alert Administrator
 
Add to:     

 

Feb 18, 2009 - Electric Bandwagon

Nissan's new all-electric car to be sold starting late next year will have 100 miles of pure battery range, a Nissan North America planning director said.

The thing that bothers me the most about electric vehicles is that proponents of EV's never seem to talk about about where the electricity to charge the cars is going to come from or how much it's going to cost.

How much is adding the load of charging vehicles to the grid going to affect pricing of electricity? It has to go up. Same supply, more demand. Off-peak hours won't make a difference as we won't be shifting demand, we'll be adding demand.

Zero-emissions is not going to come at zero cost.

Read more at freep.com and breitbart.com

6:13 am | Categories: automotive news, electric vehicles, nissan
Comments (1) | Permalink | Alert Administrator
 
Add to:     

 

Jan 19, 2009 - Stop Forcing Markets

When electric vehicles are viable, people will buy them. But you cannot force the marketplace to buy something by propping them up with government incentives. Look at the collapse of the ethanol industry as an example. They couldn't operate without government subsidy and regulation forcing consumers to buy their less than attractive product, and they're still closing plants and saying they need even more money from us to keep going.

So when I read the following in an article, I had one reaction...

For electric and hybrid vehicles to achieve their environmental potential, the world's governments will need to step in with high levels of financial support for consumers and industry, according to a report by the Boston Consulting Group, a management consulting firm. And the cost savings in fuel won't be nearly enough to provide the incentive without that government cash.

It's time to stop trying to force markets and let them just happen. The sustainable electric vehicle market exists. It's called the golf cart industry. This is not to say we shouldn't continue to develop electric vehicles or that they won't eventually be successful in the marketplace. But there's a difference between dreaming and fantisizing.

Read the entire article at Yahoo Finance

6:16 am | Categories: electric vehicles
Comments (3) | Permalink | Alert Administrator
 
Add to:     

 

Jan 16, 2009 - Charging Forward

Yet another electric vehcile from GM is unveiled at the Detroit Auto Show.

The Cadillac Converj made its debut on Sunday. It uses the same Voltec drive system as the Volt.

Color me a skeptic, but does anyone really think that a vehicle that's going to cost $40,000 and can travel "up to 40 miles on a charge" is the solution to what ails GM?

Read more about the Converj and check out the rest of the Detroit Show coverage on Inside Line

5:11 am | Categories: auto shows, electric vehicles, gm
Comments (2) | Permalink | Alert Administrator
 
Add to:     

 

Jan 12, 2009 - Frizzlezap

The concept cars at auto shows are always a lot of fun even though they pretty much never make it to reality. Add in the current rush to look like practical electric vehicles are just around the corner and you're almost certain to see something to make you go Oooo.

The Dodge Circuit EV is just such a beast.

Chrysler bragged that the Circuit EV sprints from zero to 60 mph in less than 5 seconds and has a top speed of more than 120 mph. It uses three powertrain components: a 268-horsepower electric motor, an advanced lithium-ion battery system and a controller that manages energy flow.

Dodge said the Circuit EV has a driving range of 150-200 miles between charges. It plugs into a standard 110-volt household outlet.

I get the feeling that if I test the 0-60 time or that 120 mph top speed, that the 150-200 miles between charges is going to suffer. But it's nice to dream. That's what auto shows are for!

Read more about the Circuit and check out the rest of the Detroit Auto Show coverage on Inside Line

4:48 am | Categories: auto shows, electric vehicles
Comments (1) | Permalink | Alert Administrator
 
Add to:     

 

Nov 13, 2008 - Silent Is Cool?

BMW is going to lease 500 electric Minis in New York, New Jersey, and California beginning early next year.

Will a Mini without engine noise still be cool? According the the Green Car Advisor more than 9,000 people must think so as they are interested in leasing one - at $850 per month.

I always knew that cool came with a price tag. That must make the electric Mini really cool!

5:29 am | Categories: automotive news, electric vehicles, mini cooper
Comments (1) | Permalink | Alert Administrator
 
Add to:     

 
Page: [1] [2] [3]  Next  Last