First Apteras Rolled Out Today!
Electric Cars are for Girls
JANUARY 21, 2009
The moment we've all been waiting for - the first few shiny Apteras have poked their noses out from the factory door.
January, 2009
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Plug-in America’s Inaugural Parade
Revenge of the Electric Car
JANUARY 23, 2009
Guest Blogger Colby Trudeau takes us behind the scenes at Plug In America’s Inaugural Parade. All photos take by our Production Photographer, Todd Westphal. What an amazing day! Last Saturday, January 17th, 2009, 77 highway capable plug-in vehicles, their drivers, and spectators came together to celebrate the upcoming inauguration. Jordan Howard, member of the "Green Ambassadors" youth group.
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Turbine Truck Engines Enters Strategic Alliance With China Corporation; Two New Engine Designs to Result
Green Car Congress
JANUARY 31, 2009
Turbine Truck Engines, Inc. (TTE), the developer of the concept Detonation Cycle Gas Turbine (DCGT) for heavy-duty vehicle applications ( earlier post ), has signed a strategic alliance agreement with China-based Aerospace Machinery & Electric Equipment Company, Ltd. (AMEC). Details of the agreement call for the two companies to collaborate on the development and commercialization of the DCGT specifically for application opportunities in China.
The Greenius Gets His Hands Dirty
Creative Greenius
JANUARY 24, 2009
The historic and still delicous Fosters Freeze of Old Town Torrance. Lest you think your Creative Greenius spends all his time at the keyboard ruminating about issues national and global, this morning I got up early so I would be awake enough to drive across town to Charles Payne’s house on the other side of Torrance, in Old Town. Charles heads up the Old Torrance Neighborhood Association and yesterday I read in my local paper, an item headlined, “Volunteers needed for clean up day.&
Rear Coil-Overs
Open Source Civic EV Kit
JANUARY 30, 2009
To finish up the suspension, I installed the rear coil-overs. The procedure is much the same as the front coil-overs. When the guys at Les Schwab swapped out the rear springs for the cut-down front ones awhile back ( see this post ), it looks like they chewed up the shock end pretty bad. I had to go to Auto-Adventure and buy a used shock. The whole assembly was only $30 and they have tons of used Honda and Subaru parts.
Norway stimulates economy and electric cars with 5000 chargers
Plugs and Cars
JANUARY 29, 2009
As a part of the new government economic stimulus plan, Norway will be getting a "forest" of charging stations for electric vehicles. The Scandinavian nation, which is home to Th!nk, today has about 2500 EVs on the road. The plan is to quickly install 5000 charge points, reports Richard, the founder of the website Electricaid. Electricaid was created late last year to explore ways to help save Th!
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Lotus Reportedly Planning Electric Car
Revenge of the Electric Car
JANUARY 3, 2009
Lotus Evora 2+2. Well, it had to happen. Lotus is making an EV. Actually, it’s a plug-in hybrid much like the Chevy Volt. After both Tesla and Chrysler chose the Elise and Europa, respectively, for their slot car-fast EVs, it only makes sense that the car company named after a flower would make its own “flower power&# speedster. GM is supplying the range-extending genset which makes sense as they they’ll be able to amortize it and drive the cost down.
Washington Governor and Legislators Introduce Climate Action Plan; $419M for Transportation Projects
Green Car Congress
JANUARY 31, 2009
Washington Governor Chris Gregoire and legislative leaders have introduced a Green Jobs and Climate Action legislative package that proposes investments totaling $455 million in the next biennium for energy-reducing transportation projects, energy efficiency projects, green buildings and clean-energy technology. Of the $455 million: $419 million goes to transportation projects and programs such as: investments in HOV lanes; bike and pedestrian safe projects; park and ride lots; more vanpool vehi
Electrified Blondes in Convertibles For Everyone!
Creative Greenius
JANUARY 17, 2009
I have seen the future my friends and it looks exactly like a 76 degree January day filled with beautiful people driving gorgeous plug-in hybrid and plug-in electric cars. Come with me now as I take you there… And do not let anyone tell you that you must wait for this tomorrow, because you don’t. It is already here today. Your Greenius was there and I have the photos.
My First Week of Commuting
Open Source Civic EV Kit
JANUARY 30, 2009
This has definitely been an interesting week. With the front suspension coil-overs installed, I felt much more confident in driving the car around without bottoming out. The link-10 is pretty good at measuring state-of-charge with Peukert compensation, so I felt good about knowing how much juice I had left. I commuted to work three days this week (Monday, Tuesday and Thursday).
How serious is Norway about climate change? So much that its streetlights self-dim
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Multi-nation survey reports consumers want electric cars. Now.
Plugs and Cars
JANUARY 29, 2009
A large survey, 4000 people in eight countries, has discovered what many of us have been saying all along. There is an existing market for electric vehicles, especially among those who can afford the extra cost of limited-production new technology vehicles. The only problem? There are no cars for sale. A Business Week blog reports on the survey by the Munich based consultants Bain & Co.
Electric Car Motor and Transmission All-In-One?
Electric Cars are for Girls
JANUARY 8, 2009
I have recently seen an electric car motor that claims to be an all-in-one unit, with motor/transmission all together in one package.
Smart Meters and Electric Cars
Revenge of the Electric Car
JANUARY 30, 2009
This is a well written story in the Pasadena Star News about how the utilities are gearing up for the coming plug-in vehicles. While many people are wringing their hands over how the grid, old and cranky as it is, will be able to handle the millions of EVs that will be on our roads in the years to come, several forward-thinking utilities are beginning to implement the smart meters that will enable the grid to handle the added load by timing the charging to when the capacity is there to handle it
ATCO and Praxair Developing H2 Infrastructure for Oil Sands
Green Car Congress
JANUARY 31, 2009
ATCO Energy Solutions and Praxair Canada Inc. are pursuing the development of hydrogen storage and pipeline infrastructure in Alberta, focusing on opportunities northeast of Edmonton where the growth in heavy-oil processing in Alberta has created an increased demand for hydrogen. Hydrogen is used to remove sulfur so that the end-product fuels are cleaner-burning and meet environmental standards.
Manhattan Beach, The South Bay’s Greenest City
Creative Greenius
JANUARY 7, 2009
Happy New Year! I hope you’re as happy and energized as I am about Obama’s impending Presidency and his game-changing energy and environmental appointments. If you’re not, then you’re probably part of the problems we’ve been having and your unhappiness is something I can live with. The Creative Greenius says you can now expect a bold United States policy on cutting greenhouse gas emissions, a rapid shift away from carbon-based fuels to renewables and a science-based
Frustrations with Springs
Open Source Civic EV Kit
JANUARY 25, 2009
Okay, I admit it. I'm an obsessed control freak. That said, let's move on. The drooping front suspension on the Civic is really getting me down (no pun intended) and I'm getting anxious with the coil-over kit sitting in my living room. So, I spent an hour and a half watching you-tube videos last night to see if I could install the coil-overs myself.
Obama to grant California waiver Monday
Plugs and Cars
JANUARY 25, 2009
New York Times reports the expected change in federal policy will happen Monday.the centerpiece of Monday’s East Room announcement is Mr. Obama’s directive to the Environmental Protection Agency to immediately begin work on granting the so-called California waiver, which allows the state, a longtime leader in air quality matters, to set its own standards for automobile emissions.
Electric Boat Conversion With Generator
Electric Cars are for Girls
JANUARY 16, 2009
I want to convert my 30 ft. boat's V8 gas-guzzlers to 2 DC electric motors that run with a 10KW generator. I'm going to have.
Bright’s Plug-In Car: Aerodynamics Are Key
Revenge of the Electric Car
JANUARY 27, 2009
This new company, Bright Automotive , is founded by ex-GM EV1 people, and the super efficient Rocky Mountain Institute to make plug-in hybrids in Indiana. Like Paul MacCready’s original design for the Impact that established the world’s lowest drag coefficient of.195, Bright will be building cars that “do more with less&# , a philosophy MacCready was famous for (and the title of a wonderful biography on him).
Biosyncrude Gasification Process Could Produce Motor Fuel at Cost of Around $3/gallon
Green Car Congress
JANUARY 31, 2009
Overview of the Bioliq process. Source: Henrich et al. Click to enlarge. The Bioliq biosyncrude gasification process ( earlier post ) used in a large plant with a capacity of > 1 Mt/a can produce biosynfuel for about €1.04 per kg or €0.8 per liter (US$3.08/gallon US), according to an analysis by researchers at Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe, Germany, which is co-developing the process with Lurgi.
Installing the Front Coil-Over Suspension
Open Source Civic EV Kit
JANUARY 25, 2009
Here's the process I used to remove the existing Civic springs and install the front coil-overs. The first step is to jack up the front of the car and put it on jack-stands for stability. Since I don't have a spring compressor, I'm going to use the entire car as my spring compressor instead. I rolled a floor jack under the swing arm and raised it until the car just came off the jack stand.
The Onion: Survivors Mourn Loss of Gas
Plugs and Cars
JANUARY 24, 2009
Survivors Of Gas Station Explosion Mourn Tragic Loss Of Gasoline. Tags: the onion gasoline.
D Cell Batteries for EVs
Electric Cars are for Girls
JANUARY 20, 2009
Would a series of small battery cells (like D cell batteries) hooked up in series and in parallel provide more and longer lasting.
Electric Cars: Yes We Will
Revenge of the Electric Car
JANUARY 19, 2009
400,000 at the Lincoln Memorial concert. Dateline: Washington, DC. The buzz is everywhere and completely electric in Washington DC this week. And some of that energy is headed directly to plug-in cars. We’ve heard electric cars mentioned time and again in our two days here, and we haven’t even been to Live Earth’s Green Gala yet. It’s just remarkable to see what a few short years can do in terms of global consciousness and awareness.
Report: Toyota’s Operating Loss Will Widen to US$4.5B
Green Car Congress
JANUARY 31, 2009
The Nikkei reports that Toyota Motor Corp.’s group operating loss for the year ending March 31 is likely to jump to ¥400 billion (US$4.5B) from the ¥150 billion it projected last month ( earlier post ). With the global economy quickly weakening, the automaker has been unable to halt the slide in auto sales and is heading into its first net loss since the year ended November 1963, when it started publishing net results.
Over-Rev Protection, MTF and Labelling
Open Source Civic EV Kit
JANUARY 24, 2009
Today involved a bunch of miscellaneous items. Bryan at Belktronix sent me a little circuit that plugs into the back of the tachometer that triggers the LVP protection and shuts down the controller when the shift light goes on. I basically routed a two-conductor cable through the grommet next to the throttle cable (where the cruise control cable would go) and connected the system.
Gore's group on board with plug-ins
Plugs and Cars
JANUARY 20, 2009
The Alliance for Climate Protection, Al Gore's group, has taken another step toward promoting plug-in cars (all electric cars and plug-in hybrids) with its RePower America campaign. They've got the budget to really move the national conversation about the future of cars away from the well-funded distractions of hydrogen, fuel cells, natural gas and ethanol.
Nano Battery
Electric Cars are for Girls
JANUARY 15, 2009
Is there a battery on the market that will last a long time, 10,000 cycles or more, like the Altair nano battery? Hi, Fernando! Not.
The Climate Change Caravan
Revenge of the Electric Car
JANUARY 15, 2009
Say Hello to Guest Blogger Alexis Ringwald - with this first dispatch from the Climate Change Caravan in India. On January 3, 2009, a group of passionate individuals launched the Climate Solutions Road Tour : an epic month-long 3,500 km journey from Chennai to New Delhi, India to demonstrate that clean transportation solutions do exist and call upon automakers globally to build them.
US Air Force Halts Coal-to-Liquids Plant Project
Green Car Congress
JANUARY 30, 2009
After a thorough review of project requirements and information submitted by a team of functional experts, Air Force officials have determined proposals received for a coal-to-liquid synthetic fuel plant on Malmstrom Air Force Base, Mont., are not viable. The Air Force will no longer pursue possible development of a plant at the installation. As the source-selection authority, Kathleen Ferguson, the deputy assistant secretary of the Air Force for installations, made the decision after reviewing
Computer Revision 1
Honda S2000 EV Conversion
JANUARY 31, 2009
While I was waiting for my batteries I also finished up the first computer revision. I plan on making a more advanced version but figured I'd do a basic setup which will give just what I need to get things rolling and then later, with the car mobile, I can test and prototype to see exactly what I want. I figured the basics I needed were to monitor the RPM signal from the motor and relay this to the tach gauge and EPS system.
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