Volvo has now released more details of the all-electric C30 concept car it will launch at next week’s 2010 Detroit Auto Show. We covered early details a couple of weeks ago; here’s the rest of the story on the little electric hatchback with no tailpipe.

The electric C30 concept car will let the Swedish automaker assess the viability of a limited-range all-electric vehicle, and how it’s used under real-world driving conditions.

Volvo expects to release 50 of the cars to consumers around the world, starting late this year. Its plan follows the pattern used by BMW for its Mini E, which it plans to replicate with the ActiveE concept, an electric model of the 1-Series sedan it will show in Detroit as well.

90-mile range

Volvo quotes an eight-hour recharging time for its 24-kilowatt-hour lithium-ion battery, assuming standard European 230-Volt power. (That time could double using U.S. 110-Volt current; U.S. drivers will likely have to install a 240-Volt circuit, like those used for electric stoves and clothes driers.)

The pack is located in the tunnel between the seats and in the space formerly occupied by the gasoline tank. It powers an electric motor under the hood that drives the front wheels, just as on the standard 2010 Volvo C30.

Volvo quotes acceleration of “less than 11 seconds” from 0 to 62 mph. Top speed is limited to roughly 80 mph, and the range is approximately 90 miles–a distance that fewer than 10 percent of vehicles in Europe and the U.S. travel each day.

Plug-in hybrids to be “main track”

Lennart Stegland, Director of Volvo Cars Special Vehicles, says, the company expects electric cars “primarily to be used in and around cities and for daily commuting.”

Volvo also plans to introduce diesel and hybrid models that will be sold starting in 2012, although likely in small numbers at first. But it calls plug-in hybrids its “main electrification track” rather than battery electric vehicles.

From its point of view, plug-in hybrids offer long range and good environmental performance, but lower battery cost. The pack in the plug-in hybrid, says Volvo, will be just 12 kilowatt-hours.

SOURCE: Green Car Reports

Take a look at that gas-guzzler in the driveway. Are you ready to wave goodbye in favor of something cleaner, greener and plugged in?

At the end of 2009, there’s no turning back: We’re going to electrify the world’s auto fleet, and soon. I know, I know — besides hybrids, there aren’t a lot of green cars on your radar right now. Today, 100 percent zero-emission battery-powered cars are scarce on the ground — there’s a motley assemblage of 3,000 of them registered. You can buy a Tesla Roadster if you have a spare $109,000 lying around. Wheego will sell you a Whip, which is a battery-powered “neighborhood” car that can be used locally on roads with speed limits below 35 mph. And there are a few highway-worthy cars on the international market, including the Indian-made Reva, the Chinese-made BYD E6 and the Norwegian Think City.

But despite all this, your next car (or maybe the one after that) will be electric: a hybrid, plug-in hybrid or battery car. That’s where the auto industry is going, where the world is going. By this time next year, the picture will be dramatically different, with a host of consumer choices, from the sexy Fisker Karma and the versatile Volt to the ultra-cool Coda.

Gas cars won’t disappear overnight, but they will do a slow fade. And here’s five reasons why:

1. Feeling the heat. The imperatives of climate change mean we’ll have to stop burning fossil fuels, especially coal and oil. The Copenhagen talks did not produce a binding agreement, but trust me on this — one is coming. The successor to the Kyoto talks will be much tougher, and we won’t make the numbers without putting millions of zero-emission cars on the road.
2. Oil peaking. We may or may not have already reached global oil peak — the point where oil demand exceeds oil supply. The worldwide recession suppressed demand and gave us something of a breather, but the numbers on oil demand (especially from China and India) in the next decade are completely unsustainable, and everybody knows it.
3. The smart grid. We’re just starting to optimize our antiquated electric system, but the way forward is clear. Utilities are partnering with automakers to enable the easy charging of millions of EVs at night without adding new plants. Off-peak electricity production and transmission capacity could fuel the daily commutes of 73 percent percent of all cars, light trucks, SUVs and vans on the road today if they were plug-in hybrids, a 2007 study by Pacific Northwest National Laboratory found. What’s more, solar car charging is becoming a reality, and that means a 100 percent zero-emissions loop — the answer to any critic who says that EVs get all their power from dirty coal plants. Even today, with 52 percent of U.S. electricity generated by coal-fired power plants, Plug-in America reports that EVs reduce emissions of greenhouse gases and most other pollutants compared with conventional gas or hybrid vehicles.
4. The better mousetrap. EVs, on the road starting next year, will be better than gas cars in every way. Forget the idea that they’re slow, or that you won’t be able to get where you’re going. I’ve driven every EV, and all of them were exciting on the road. Every carmaker is building one, and they know it will be a very competitive market demanding excellence in engineering. BMW tells me that the consumers test-driving its Mini E plug-in quickly got over their “range anxiety.”
5. Plugging in. You’ll have a charging station at home, at work and at play. Starbucks and McDonald’s will have them, and so will the big-box store down the street. Car charging will become ubiquitous — offering you $3 and $4 electrical fill-ups. Some retailers will even offer 15-minute fast charging free to get you in the door.

For all these reasons and more, your next car will have a plug. And it will be fine, trust me on this.

SOURCE: Mother Nature Network

Toyota will start leasing 150 of its Prius plug-in hybrids in the United States this winter and plans retail sales of tens of thousands in two years.

The North American arrival, scheduled for around February, is part of a global rollout of 600 units.

With a longer electric-only cruise range than the standard Prius, the plug-in is Toyota’s answer to the Chevrolet Volt extended-range hybrid being launched next year by General Motors Co.

The plug-in Prius gets a lithium ion battery and will have an electric-only range of 14.5 miles before the gasoline engine kicks in and the car drives like the standard Prius hybrid.

The Volt also uses a lithium ion battery pack to power an electric motor for about 40 miles. After that a small gasoline engine recharges the battery but never runs the car.

Executive Vice President Takeshi Uchiyamada said Toyota plans retail sales of several tens of thousands of units in two years, after leasing them in the United States, Japan and Europe.

In the meantime, Toyota may tweak the technology and the design, especially for overseas markets where drivers may need bigger batteries to travel longer distances.

“We will see what happens in the field,” Uchiyamada said at the launch of leasing in Japan. “We may have to adjust the number of batteries carried on board. So please stay tuned.”

The plug-in Prius is nearly identical to the third-generation Prius launched earlier this year. It has the same electric motor and 1.8-liter gasoline engine as the standard Prius.

But the plug-in gets lithium ion batteries, instead of nickel-metal hydride ones. That allows for higher voltage and more energy storage.

Toyota said the retail plug-in Prius would be “affordable,” but the company didn’t give details on its retail or lease pricing. The leased cars will be used by governments and businesses.

SOURCE: Autoweek.com

I was in San Carlos, California today and noticed this car being worked on at a metal shop.

From a distance I was pretty sure it was a Tesla and a closer inspection confirmed my guess.

For you enthusiasts, here are 7  Tesla Photos with some major body parts removed.

Question is – was this one stacked? (Wrecked)

The rear bumper sticker reads “Certified Tesla Replacement Part” or something to that effect.

You can download a zip file of the original photos here: Tesla Photos

With more electric, fuel cell and hybrid vehicles on the road today, measuring miles per gallon isn’t as easy as it was in the old days, the Washington Times reports.

Alternative-fuel cars have different ways of computing mpg. For example, the new Chevy Volt electric car has a projected fuel economy equal to 230 mpg.

Edmunds.com is asking the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to come up with fuel-cost ratings to assist buyers in comparing the cars. On Sept. 15, the agency asked for public comments on emissions and fuel economy standards for plug-in electric and hybrid cars.

“A consumer could reasonably assume, based on the way that they have been using window stickers now going back to 1975, that the Chevy Volt is over four times more efficient to operate than the Toyota Prius. And [that] would actually be completely wrong,” said Jeremy Anwyl, CEO of Edmunds.com.

Edmunds.com would like for the EPA to stop allowing car makers to promote vehicles based on mpg. “If car companies are building cars with very high monthly costs from a fuel perspective, that’s the sort of information that needs to be out there,” he said.

Anwyl said the agency is interested in the proposal from Edmunds.com and has been inquiring of the company how customers use the Internet comparison sites when making decisions.

SOURCE: NACS Online

As the government hammers out how it will rate the fuel efficiency of hybrid-electric and all-electric vehicles, an Israeli company wants to make sure the U.S. gets it right.

The Environmental Protection Agency has a draft proposal for computing an efficiency rating using a “miles per gallon” scale but is not close to issuing a final ruling. It would be a rating buyers could use to compare various vehicles.

ETV Motors, a company that specializes in self-charging hybrid-electric propulsion systems for cars, has suggested in a letter to the EPA that the government consider a new multiple standard. CEO Dror Ben-David says ETV advocates a three-pronged rating for fuel efficiency: one number to show how far the car can go on a single plug-in battery charge, a second number to show how energy intensive the battery is, and a third for how much gasoline it consumes to drive a generator or the wheels when the battery runs out. Ben-David says the U.S. decision is important. “Most of the world looks at the United States as the standard provider and will adopt what the U.S. is doing.”

Even though no plug-in electric vehicles have yet hit the market in significant numbers, debate has begun over efficiency claims. Using an EPA draft proposal, General Motors has forecast that its plug-in Chevrolet Volt electric car will be rated at 230 mpg (it will go 40 miles per plug-in charge before the gas engine comes on to generate electricity), though the EPA cannot confirm that. Nissan, using different numbers from the Department of Energy, claims its Leaf plug-in car, an all-electric with no engine to burn gas, will get the equivalent of 367 mpg.

Says Ben-David, “A single number is not good enough. … It might be a bit misleading.”

Jim Kliesch, a senior engineer for the Union of Concerned Scientists, says there are a variety of other ways the government could set a standard to cover plug-in electrics, but no option is simple.

He says they could measure the car’s greenhouse gas emissions, a number that goes up when a vehicle consumes more gasoline or other fossil fuel. But that rating would also need to include how much carbon dioxide is emitted by power plants that generate electricity to recharge the car’s battery when it is plugged in.

And using an mpg rating formula may be misleading, Kliesch says, because people may not get that efficiency in the real world, depending on their usage patterns and how much or how little the onboard “range-extender” engine is needed.

“It’s really critical that the test procedure that’s decided on accurately reflects what people are going to experience,” he says. “Unfortunately, that’s easier said than done.”

Source: USA Today

Electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids are two technologies that automakers are trying to develop for mainstream use, but two upstart California companies are leading the alternative vehicle world. Tesla Motors already sells the only electric vehicle legal for highway use, while Fisker Automotive stands to be the first to bring a plug-in hybrid to market.

The Fisker Karma is a stylish sedan with a plug-in hybrid drivetrain. Also known as a series hybrid, it differs from the hybrids on the roads today in that the gasoline engine acts as a generator only. It has no mechanical connection to drive the wheels. The Karma will drive the first 50 miles on electric power only, after which the gasoline engine will start up as needed to make electricity.

The Karma captures energy used to slow the car down via regenerative braking. Sound familiar? Yes, it’s the same idea as the Chevrolet Volt. In fact, the Karma will use some General Motors parts, including the four-cylinder engine to supplement the hybrid electric drive provided by partner Quantum Technologies. The vehicles will be assembled in Finland by Valmet Automotive, builders of the Porsche Boxster

Designer and Chief Executive Officer Henrik Fisker styled cars for BMW and Aston Martin. Fisker showed the production version of the Karma at the 2009 North American International Auto Show in January, along with a concept version of a hardtop convertible. The Karma sedan made its first public “driving debut” earlier this month at the Laguna Seca Raceway.

Orders are being taken for both models, with deliveries of the Karma sedan scheduled to start in 2010. Prices start at $87,900. Fisker Automotive has chosen the Patrick and Fields dealer groups to market the Karma in the Chicago area. For now Fisker has decided to work with established dealers with experience in selling luxury brands rather than building new dealerships. They are also not requiring their dealers to stock vehicles beyond demo and display units.

The Tesla Roadster is a two-seat electric car with a stated range of 244 miles and 0-to-60 acceleration of 3.9 seconds. Lotus builds the chassis in England and assembles the bodies. It has a family resemblance to the Lotus Elise, though it actually shares very few parts. The electric motor, controller and lithium ion battery pack are installed at Tesla’s headquarters in San Carlos, Calif. The Roadster base price is $109,000 and qualifies for a $7,500 federal tax credit. Tesla also offers an even faster, more performance-oriented Roadster Sport.

Tesla Motors has already delivered more than 500 Roadsters. “We are opening our first stores based on the number of current customers we have in each market. We already have several dozen Roadsters on the roads in Chicago and the Chicagoland region,” said Rachel Konrad, Tesla spokesperson.

Tesla is opening a stand-alone store at 1053 W. Grand Ave. in Chicago, with a VIP customer reception on Sept. 10 followed by a public open house the next two days. Tesla wants its locations, which are all company owned, to be more like Apple stores or Starbuck’s than a traditional car dealership.

The master plan is to launch a new car, built in California, in 2012.

“In addition to having numerous customers in the area for the Roadster, we anticipate that the region will be an excellent one for the Model S sedan [below], which is our next car,” Konrad said. “The Model S has half the sticker price of the Roadster and will also be offered in all-wheel drive, which a lot of customers want in the upper Midwest.”

When asked how the sporty alternative Roadster might fare in our climate, Konrad said, “It’s important to note that we do our cold-weather testing literally on a frozen lake in Sweden near the Arctic Circle. We do our hot-weather battery testing in south Texas. Two of our best national markets outside of the United States are Canada and Norway. So it’s very safe to say that we do not have problems in cold weather.

Also, we offer two hard-top options on the Roadster and as you can imagine they are very popular in northern climates, while the standard soft-top is popular in California, Texas, Florida and Hawaii.”

Hybrids like Toyota’s Prius and plug-in vehicles such as the Chevrolet Volt run on systems other than purely gas-fired engines.

The systems, or powertrains, that drive the so-called greener cars use electricity generated by batteries and electric motors to either supplement or largely take the place of internal-combustion engines.

THE VOLT: The Chevrolet Volt, billed as a rechargeable electric car, gets most of its power from an electric motor and a battery pack with a 40-mile range. It also has a small internal-combustion engine that kicks in after the battery runs out of juice.

The Volt’s battery pack can be recharged from a standard home outlet.

General Motors Co. expects the Volt to get 230 mpg in the city, based on early tests using draft guidelines from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for calculating mileage of extended range electric vehicles.

GM officials say the fuel savings will at least partially offset the vehicle’s projected $40,000 price tag.

TRADITIONAL HYBRIDS: The Volt’s mileage could be a vast improvement over that of traditional hybrids, such as Toyota’s popular Prius, which combines an internal-combustion engine with a special hybrid battery that boosts fuel efficiency.

The newest version of the Prius starts at about $22,000 and gets an EPA estimated 51 mpg in the city and 48 mpg on the highway.

Other hybrid models use different forms of powertrain technology and don’t achieve the dramatic jump in mpg that the Prius does. For example, the Chevy Malibu hybrid, which starts at $25,555, gets up to 26 mpg in the city and 34 mpg on the highway.

By comparison, the purely gas-powered Malibu, priced at $21,605, gets up to 22 mpg in the city and 33 mpg on the highway.

With a nearly $4,000 premium on the hybrid model, consumers need to consider fuel prices, along with how much they plan to drive the vehicle, in deciding whether the extra cost is worth it.

ALL ELECTRIC: The Volt is expected to compete against high-end electric vehicles, such as the Tesla Roadster, which has a range of 224 miles, but also comes with a $100,000-plus price tag. Tesla is also working on an electric family sedan that will be priced considerably less.

The 2010 Toyota Prius Hybrid is probably one of the biggest success stories for electric cars. Prius is selling so fast that it could rival the 2010 Honda Insight as the most selling hybrid automobile. So far, there have been 110,000 cars sold since its release date in Japan.

Prius is a third-generation vehicle which has prompted higher demand for Toyota. Major dealerships are flooded with orders, and while it’s a different market than in North America, it does give some indication on how well the hybrid could do in the United States. Prior to going on sale, Toyota received 80,000 pre-orders.

Toyota has set its monthly goal at 10,000 new Prius hybrids. If the automaker succeeds the goal, it will become the top-selling car in the country. The Prius is currently battling the 2010 Honda Insight is holding the top spot.

One of the reasons for the sudden increase of sales is partly because the Japanese government is offering new hybrid tax credits. The government also approved a new incentive on Friday, which gives the consumer a cash back rebate for trading in cars 13 years or older. This is one way to get consumers to switch from convention gasoline vehicles to new green cars.

It is now up to the IRS if it wants to extend a hybrid vehicle tax credit for the Prius. There has been some talk of issuing similar government incentives when the Toyota hybrid is released in the United States. The Obama Administration is raising the minimal MPG rating on new cars to 35.

Hybrid cars can save money for consumers, but it depends on the driver. Certain techniques such as coasting to stops before braking will increase mileage on the automobile. Toyota also offers an eight-year warrant which covers all hybrid components for the vehicle.

Toyota is also increasing production for its Prius Hybrid to meet higher demand. The May sales reports will be an interesting study.

SOURCE: NewsOxy

Nissan Motors wants a bold design for its upcoming electric vehicle–one that doesn’t make it look like a hybrid.

The goal is a look that screams green but stands apart from the wedge-shaped silhouette that has come to signify environmentally friendly driving in the Toyota Prius and Honda Insight hybrids.

“We need some kind of difference so that when people see our car, they will realize this is an EV, not a hybrid,” Nissan chief designer Shiro Nakamura told Automotive News.

Nissan has not released pictures of the car, which is scheduled to go on sale next year. But its new styling cues include:

• No grille, to underscore the electric drivetrain
• A low hood enabled by the lack of an engine
• A visible recharging plug at the nose of the car
• A profile that is flowing, instead of triangular

A concept version of the EV will be unveiled in August and will be a front-wheel-drive, five-seat hatchback, Nakamura said.

The working design has a drag coefficient of 0.30, he said. The third-generation Prius has 0.25 and the Insight 0.28. Nakamura expects to eke out further improvements in drag by tweaking the design and adding underbody fittings to smooth air flow.

In pursuing a design that stands out, Nakamura is taking a page from Toyota–which gambled on the Prius’ wedge shape and scored a hit when the car became the benchmark for green styling.

Because EVs lack a bulky engine and gasoline tank, they open up new design possibilities. Nakamura said he couldn’t maximize such flexibility because the EV uses an existing platform. He wouldn’t be specific about the platform, but said the car will be comparable in size to the Cube or Versa.

“It is not designed completely from scratch,” Nakamura said. “We will go step by step. Later on we will bring more advanced, tires-extreme designs. We want to be economical.”

SOURCE: CNET

The California Air Resources Board gave the nascent plug-in-hybrid-car industry a reprieve when it rejected a proposal that would have put small conversion companies out of business. The board voted 6-2 on Thursday to allow small companies, such as 3 Prong Power of Berkeley, to convert up to fifty Toyota Priuses into plug-in hybrids before having to undergo expensive emissions testing. The board’s staff had recommended that small companies such as 3 Prong Power could only convert ten cars to plug-ins before having to pay for the tests, which can cost up to $200,000. But the board rejected that proposal out of hand after hearing testimony from business owners who said it would bankrupt them, because it wouldn’t give them enough time to raise money for the tests. “Overall, we were impressed that we actually made a difference and people saw our side,” said Paul Guzyk, co-founder of 3 Prong Power. “It could have been a lot worse, and probably couldn’t have gone much better.”

Guzyk and his business partner Daniel Sherwood had proposed that the air resources board allow them to sell up to 100 conversion kits before paying for the tests, but the board deadlocked on that proposal 4-4. Air board staff was concerned that converted Priuses could cause more air pollution and urged for stricter standards, even though all sides agreed that they lower greenhouse gas emissions. Plug-in hybrids can get in excess of 100 miles per gallon because they can run on battery-powered electricity for around-town driving. Small conversion companies contended that they had found simple solutions that would not increase air pollutants.

Guzyk also credited the Express for its coverage of the plug-in hybrid issue, saying the paper’s stories stimulated a “whole movement” to keep the air board from killing the plug-in-hybrid industry, just as it had done with electric cars earlier this decade. After an Express cover story in January, the air board rejected a staff proposal that would have forced small conversion companies to begin paying for expensive tests right away.

SOURCE: East Bay Express

Chrysler is seeking up to $224 million from the U.S. Department of Energy to support rapid development of electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles. The automaker plans to provide a demonstration fleet of PHEVs based on the Dodge Ram 1500 pickup and the Chrysler Town & Country minivan.

Last month, Chrysler said it would supply the U.S. Postal Service with a fleet of 165 Town & Country EV cargo minivans.

Its latest effort involves two DOE programs, called the Transportation Electrification Initiative and the Electric Drive Vehicle Battery and Component Manufacturing Initiative, which are designed to speed up the development and manufacturing of PHEVs and EVs. If approved, the DOE would provide up to $224 million, with Chrysler matching the federal funds.

Chrysler said it would construct an $83 million “electrification technology and manufacturing center” in Michigan as part of the initiative. The center would be operational by 2010 and would be designed to build more than 20,000 EVs each year.

Chrysler also would build a demonstration fleet that would include 100 Dodge Ram PHEV pickups, 100 Town & Country PHEVs and the previously mentioned Town & Country EVs.

Through April, sales of the full-size Ram pickup were down 31 percent from a year ago, while sales of the Town & Country were down 37 percent.

SOURCE: Edmunds

The Idea, a multi-use LCV designed to be run by urban-based delivery fleets with typical round journeys of 50 miles, is claimed to be between five and 10 times more efficient than current combustion engine powered vans.

Bright Automotive said when it introduces the zero-emission van here, probably in 2013, it will make it available to lease on typical three-year contracts. On a full charge, the van, which has a 1-tonne cargo capacity, uses battery power for the first 30 miles, using little or no petrol.

After this, it functions like other hybrids.

On a 50-mile daily urban route, the Idea uses just over two litres of petrol, which is equivalent to getting 100mpg. But over a 70-mile journey that drops to 70mpg.

High volume production will begin in the US by the end of 2012 – with an annual run rate of 50,000 units in 2013. “We created the Idea by starting with a clean sheet of paper, listening to customer needs, and using breakthrough technologies and materials,” said John E. Waters, CEO and President of Bright Automotive.

“We are not publishing the acquisition cost yet,” Lyle Shuey, Bright Automotive vice president of marketing and sales told Fleet News. “However, we have determined that the Idea will provide a cost of ownership advantage for commercial fleet customers.”

Bright consulted over 50 fleet managers in the van’s development.

As a result of this fleet input, the manufacturer claims the Idea is the first high-volume plug-in hybrid electric vehicle to be designed exclusively for commercial and government fleet use. Meanwhile, the electric Th!nk city car has been granted the first pan-European homologation certificate for an electric vehicle.

The new certificate only became available from the start of the month, and is intended to help accelerate the introduction of roadworthy EVs. It means the car can now be registered in each European country without additional national tests or approvals.

The Th!nk has ABS brakes, airbags and three-point safety belts meaning it meets all of the primary safety requirements expected of modern cars.

SOURCE: FleetNews

“We’re first doing the four-door, then we’re doing the convertible and then we’re planning a high-volume vehicle for a lower price.  We’ve applied for a Department of Energy grant.  If that loan comes through, we’ll have this vehicle on the road in 29 months,” he said.

The high-volume model will be built in Pontiac, Mich., Fisker said.

“We’re setting up to do all the interface with all our suppliers and we’re gearing it up to start work on the next project, which will be a higher-volume car and will have different construction than the Karma.  We will use our learnings on how to integrate the technology.”

Fisker is taking advantage of what he sees as an opportunity that hasn’t arisen in the automotive world for some 30 or 40 years.  The sudden shift in focus to fuel-efficient cars — and the concentration on different types of hybrid technology — is allowing start-up companies to have a shot, he believes.

“They really haven’t had a chance in the last 30 or 40 years because they would just come up with another gasoline-powered car and nobody needs that.”

Fisker believes now that new technologies are becoming more viable, start-ups have the chance to outdo the bigger car companies based on their expertise in areas outside of the traditional combustion engine.  He points to Apple’s iPhone as an example of the explosion of a new technology allowing non-traditional players to enter the fray and make names for themselves.

We suggest Henrik focus on his first — and possibly biggest — challenge: successfully launching his company’s first endeavor, the Karma.  Then we can talk more about low-cost, high-volume plug-ins for the masses.

SOURCE: Automobile