Sat.Jun 05, 2010 - Fri.Jun 11, 2010

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Sanyo Supplying Li-ion Batteries for Suzuki Swift Plug-in Hybrid

Green Car Congress

Sanyo Electric recently announced an agreement with Suzuki Motor to supply lithium-ion battery systems for the Swift Plug-in Hybrid. ( Earlier post.) Suzuki has already announced its intention to start manufacturing the vehicles. The plug-in is powered by a 55 kW, 180 N·m AC synchronous motor and a 2.66 kWh Li-ion battery pack. The 0.66L engine is the K6A, earlier versions of which were used in the Cappuccino.

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Chevy, Chevy, Chevy

Electric Cars are for Girls

Breaking new ground in hubris, even for GM, they now want to eliminate the term "Chevy" in favor of the original mouthful, "Chevrolet". Employees who use the wrong word now have to put a quarter in the corporate cuss jar. Really. Um, note to the two marketing and sales execs who came up with this stroke of "branding consistency" genius: when your paying customers pet-name your product, don't argue with them.

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Smart Move

Revenge of the Electric Car

Smart will be launching a test fleet of 250 electric cars in selected areas, including: Portland, San Jose, Indianapolis, Orlando, and the Washington, D.C. – Boston Corridor. Read more in the article: Smart to Launch Test Fleet of Electric Cars. By Mike Ramsey for the Wall Street Journal. From the article: “The car would be leased for four years at $599 a month and would be under warranty during the full period.

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Steve Jobs orders LEAF at WDC

Plugs and Cars

Steve Jobs just showed off the Nissan LEAF on the new iPhone at Apple's Developer's Conference in San Francisco. He displayed the ad Nissan will be running for LEAF on Apple's new iAd platform. And then he ordered a car with via the ad. Check out a couple of images from Engadget.com. Tags: steve jobs nissan leaf iAd apple.

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How serious is Norway about climate change? So much that its streetlights self-dim

emissions global warming Norway climate change carbon dioxide youtube lighting

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California Study to Explore Repurposing EV Batteries for Household Energy Storage

Green Car Congress

The California Center for Sustainable Energy (CCSE) will lead a joint research study of how the useful lifespan of electric vehicle batteries could be extended by repurposing them as household electric storage devices with a $992,000 grant from the University of California. The grant was awarded by the Plug-In Hybrid Electric Vehicle Research Center, a division of the Institute of Transportation Studies at the University of California, Davis.

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Electric Car Kit from Reverend Gadget

Electric Cars are for Girls

Reverend Gadget is back.with an amazing electric car kit. And an amazing electric kit car, too. And lithium!

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More Trending

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finally connected

DIY Electric Car

Finally, after cajoling the machinist for a month, I finally got my connector between the motor and trans. I do have to hand it to Jon at Portland Manufacturing, he did a great job fabricating this connector it fit like a glove, and after assembling the motor and trans. It ran like a dream. The bench test was 100% successful, I could discern no grinding bearing noises, or binding in the coupling.

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Canada Launches Algal Biofuels Project

Green Car Congress

The government of Canada is awarding approximately C$5 million (US$4.7 million) to a project to produce fuels on a large scale from algae grown in Nova Scotia. Speaking in Halifax, the Honorable Gary Goodyear, Minister of State (Science and Technology), made the announcement at the launch of the algal biofuel project at the National Research Council Institute for Marine Biosciences (NRC-IMB).

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Steve Jobs: How To Demo New iPhone? Reserve a Nissan Leaf EV!

All Cars Electric

The 2010 Tesla Roadster is seen by many as the ultimate boy's toy. But Apple CEO and co-founder Steve Jobs added another car to his garage today by walking through the Nissan Leaf signup process live at the Apple WorldWide Developer Conference (WWDC) 2010 live on stage. In photos snapped by Apple website MacRumorslive.com live at the WWDC2010.

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Fuel-Efficient ZF Eight-Speed Automatic Coming To Chrysler Cars By 2013

Green Car Reports

Chrysler will soon be offering a new eight-speed automatic transmission developed by Germany's ZF and used by luxury marques like BMW and Audi. The new transmission is said to be both more fuel-efficient and cheaper to manufacture than ZF's popular six-speed unit that's currently used by numerous automakers. Furthermore, its performance is claimed.

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Faurecia and Accenture partner on products and services for connected and autonomous vehicles

Brief

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New BMW hybrid car given tax credit boost

Green Cars News

Anyone planning to drive the new BMW ActiveHybrid 7 has been boosted by news that the vehicle will qualify for a substantial tax credit. The US Internal Revenue Service has determined that the car will earn a $900 credit under the Alternative Motor Vehicle provision. The vehicle, which combines an electric motor with BMW’s 4.4litre twin-turbo V8 [.].

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EADS Concept Diesel-Electric Hybrid Helicopter Features EcoMotors OPOC Engines; Up to 50% Less Fuel Consumption Than Conventional Twin-Turbine Helicopter

Green Car Congress

The hybrid helicopter concept. Click to enlarge. EADS Innovation Works is presenting a concept helicopter with a diesel-electric hybrid propulsion system at the ILA Berlin Airshow 2010, 8-13 June. The diesel-electric hybrid concept is one of the projects grouped under the name of eCO2avia by EADS Innovation Works. Highly efficient electrical motors driving the rotors, combined with OPOC (Opposed Piston, Opposed Cylinder) diesel engines ( earlier post ), reduce fuel consumption and emissions by u

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Federal Funds For Electric Cars Can Raise GDP, Cut Oil Imports

All Cars Electric

Just how much could the U.S. economy benefit from the widespread use of electric cars? Quite a lot, according to a new study. It shows that U.S. citizens and the U.S. government could reap significant economic benefits from a set of proposed policies to ramp up EV production and adoption over the next 30 years. The projections are timely, since.

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Report: BMW Working On Three-Cylinder Engines

Green Car Reports

Expect to see smaller engines for BMW's future models, as high fuel prices and greater environmental concerns push buyers towards engines with lower displacements. Automakers, even the luxury marques, would be foolish to ignore the trend, which is why BMW's working on a new three-cylinder engine that could appear in the next-generation 1-Series as.

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ExxonMobil announces 6th oil discovery offshore Guyana with Ranger-1; Guyana may move from non-producer to regional powerhouse

Oil

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Lead contamination continues to plague California

Green Cars News

The US state of California may be leading the battle against harmful emissions, but it is still feeling the effects of past lead contamination. According to a study by a team from UC Santa Cruz, California, concentrations of environmental lead contamination are continuing to persist in the state. Their paper, printed in the ACS journal Environmental [.].

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Ford Expands CNG/LPG Conversion Capability to F-450, F-550 Super Duty

Green Car Congress

Ford will begin offering an alternative-fuels engine prep package for its 6.8-liter F-450 and F-550 Super Duty chassis cab. Ford presented details of the conversion option, which will become available this fall and enables the use of compressed natural gas (CNG) or propane (LPG, or liquefied petroleum gas), at the annual Ford Fleet Product and Business Conference in Dearborn.

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U.S. Senate, House Get Bills To Fund Electric Vehicle Rollout

All Cars Electric

While President Obama has been fumbling a legitimate response to the Gulf Oil Spill, a group of U.S. Senators and Representatives have drafted two versions of new bill to accelerate the electric vehicle industry. The "Electric Vehicle Deployment Act of 2010" is intended to leverage $10 billion in federal grants to make it easier to early.

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GM Sells 570 Hybrid Pickups To Phone Company, Jubilation Ensues

Green Car Reports

Last year, General Motors sold about 7,200 of its full-size hybrid SUVs--but just 1,600 hybrid pickup trucks using the same system. So the company took the unusual step last Friday of issuing a press release to announce that it had sold 576 of Silverado Hybrid pickups in one fell swoop. The buyer is Verizon, which is buying the trucks as part of a.

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Ford to offer conversions of F-450 and F-550

Green Cars News

Alternative fuels will soon be available in some of Ford’s largest and traditionally most gas-guzzling models. The company is to offer an alternative fuels engine prep package on both the 6.8litre F-450 and the F-550 Super Duty chassis cab. The conversion option will enable the vehicles to use compressed natural gas or propane. Details were presented as [.].

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Fuel Cell Plug-in Hybrid Taxi Unveiled at London’s City Hall

Green Car Congress

Overall vehicle package. Source: Intelligent Energy. Click to enlarge. Intelligent Energy, Lotus Engineering, LTI Vehicles and TRW Conekt, with funding from the UK Government’s Technology Strategy Board, unveiled a full performance, zero-emissions Fuel Cell Hybrid London taxi. ( Earlier post.). The Fuel Cell Black Cab uses an Intelligent Energy fuel cell (30 kW net output) as a range extender for the 14 kWh lithium polymer battery pack, allowing the vehicle to operate for a full day without the

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Tesla Cashes In, Sells Zero-Emission Vehicle Credits to Honda

All Cars Electric

Ever wondered how car companies make money fast? Sexy electric sports car creators Tesla motors have figured it out: sell off its excess zero-emission vehicle credits for much-needed hard cash to Honda, the only mainstream automaker to not yet fully commit to making an EV. In 2008, a revised version of the Californian zero-emissions mandate came.

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2011 Smart Electric Drive: Mercedes Price, Maybach Exclusivity?

Green Car Reports

Want to be among the first to lease a 2011 Smart Electric Drive? You're probably too late, as the brand only plans to make 1,500 of them available globally. At least initially that's the plan. Beginning this October, the initial lot of 1,500 will be produced, with about 250 of those allocated to the U.S. There's definitely a story in the numbers.

2011 77
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Will second hand electric cars be worthless? The Green Piece

Green Cars News

Tuesday 8 June 2010: The Green Piece Column It’s no secret that the value of new cars depreciates at a phenomenal rate – most vehicles are lucky to retain 50 per cent of their initial value after three years, which is one of the reasons car leasing is so attractive (as our friends at ContractHireAndLeasing.com will [.]. Tags: Electric cars The Green Piece Glass's Guide residual values.

Green 51
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New Enzyme Increases Corn Ethanol Yields By More Than 1%

Green Car Congress

Novozymes has launched of a new enzyme that makes it possible to produce more ethanol from the same amount of corn. The product, Spirizyme Excel, converts more starch in corn, wheat, and other feedstocks into sugars which can be fermented to ethanol, thereby allowing producers to increase yields by more than one percent. Compared to other available solutions, a typical ethanol plant can gain $1 million or more per year using the enzyme, according to the company.

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2011 Nissan Leaf Spied Testing on Arizona Roads

All Cars Electric

As far as we know, no one has yet done a road test on the 2011 Nissan Leaf, which will go on sale in certain markets this December. We've driven the Leaf powertrain mounted in a Cube mule, and our colleague Bengt Halvorson has driven it in a Versa mule--but never the completed car. Still, we know there are Leafs out there that do run. Our writer.

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Spy Shots: Nissan Leaf Caught On The Street

Green Car Reports

Spy photos have a nasty habit of obscuring as much as they reveal with camouflage, but not so with the Nissan Leaf. Of course, we already know exactly what it's supposed to look like from the official unveiling. But these photos of the car in testing show that the full-production prototypes are sticking very close to the show car. The photos.

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Canada backs algae biofuels project

Green Cars News

For new vehicle fuels to emerge as viable alternatives to petrol and diesel they rely on serious financial backing – and that is exactly what a large scale algae biofuels project has received in Canada. The Canadian government has awarded approximately C$5million to a project to produce fuels on a large scale from algae grown in [.]. Tags: Biofuels Green cars Latest news Algae algae biofuels algal biofuel project Canada National Bioproducts Progam National Research Council Nova Scotia.

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Siemens Completes Successful First Firing of PetroAlgae’s Biomass Fuel in Pilot Plant-scale Pulverized Coal Burner

Green Car Congress

Siemens Energy has successfully completed the first firing of PetroAlgae Inc.’s biocrude fuel, a plant-based, micro-crop biomass material that is processed into a solid residue. The biocrude fuel was combined with pulverized coal in a pilot-scale burner with a thermal capacity of approximately 4 MBtu/hr. In the pilot-scale test at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City, Utah, which was conducted in a scaled-down version of Siemens’ current pulverized coal burner design, the biocrude was blown

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Five reasons why electric cars are still being produced in limited numbers.

All Cars Electric

Chevrolet and Nissan both have electric vehicles set to hit the streets this Fall. But unless you're extremely lucky the chances are you won't be driving one until at least the middle part of 2011. Why? Because of limited production runs, demand is outstripping supply. Is it part of some big conspiracy with big oil, automakers dragging feet or a.

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First Look At U.S.-Bound 2011 Suzuki Swift

Green Car Reports

The small-car band wagon is piling high with automakers, including those from Detroit, with vehicles like the 2011 Ford Fiesta, 2011 Mazda2, and 2011 Chevrolet Aveo either in showrooms already or on their way. Suzuki has recently moved the other way, introducing what many consider to be its first 'real' sedan, the 2010 Kizashi, but the brand has.

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Prius smashes Indian sales target

Green Cars News

The Toyota Prius is receiving unexpected levels of interest from potential owners in India just three month after its launch there, one of the country’s websites reports. According to BSMotoring.com, the hybrid model is exceeding its monthly sales target by more than double. Toyota Kirloskar Motors has received bookings for 80 cars and has delivered [.].

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Renault 2010 Environment Workshop, Part 1: Combustion Engine Technology and Product Plans

Green Car Congress

Renault held a “2010 Environment Workshop” last week to showcase its progress across its range of vehicles’ full lifecycle through the Renault eco² program. In terms of powertrain technologies, Renault focused on the introduction of new technologies for internal combustion engines and conventional transmissions, as well as outlining its commitment to electric powertrains.

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Smart ForTwo Electric Drive Goes Stateside, But Is It U.S. Ready?

All Cars Electric

Forget the 2010 Nissan Leaf or the 2010 Chevy Volt. A small, chic electric vehicle is set to be trialled in the U.S. this fall that has the potential to redefine inner city commuting. But are consumers ready to drive around in an electric car smaller than most people's closets? Smart U.S.A. has just announced a 250 car pilot scheme across key.

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Buick's New Compact Sedan Launched In China, Coming To U.S. In 2011

Green Car Reports

General Motors is yet to launch the local version of its 2011 Chevrolet Cruze sedan but instead of speeding up its arrival the automaker is working on a new Buick sedan based on the same platform. This platform is GM's Delta II architecture, which in addition to the Cruze, also underpins the Opel Astra sold overseas, the upcoming Chevrolet Volt.

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