Electric Cars

Describes motivation process for creativity with emphasis on intrinsic motivation by Corey K Katir

As the spotlight has shifted to battery-powered cars, other promising alternative fuels have been left in the dark. That’s especially true for yesterday’s transportation stars, fuel-cell vehicles. But that doesn’t mean progress has stopped. California is still planning to get…

To kick its addiction to oil, the United States needs a raft of alternatives; no single alternative is likely to replace such an entrenched market any time soon. But electric car advocates at the Electric Vehicle Symposium held recently in…

With long charge times and charging stations few and far between, government agencies, Google, and others have gone to great lengths to maintain lists of every charging station in America and make it available via smart phones. But EV drivers…

Even with their low cost of ownership, some have speculated that the electric car movement is being driven more by regulations than by consumer demand. Specifically, they’re referring to regulations in the state of California that demand major automakers sell…

There are two kinds of electric cars at this year’s electric vehicle symposium, fondly known as EVS26: Purpose-built electric cars, and those that have been built from standard gasoline cars. The difference could not be more stark. Cars that have…

How much do you hate going to a gas station? Would plugging your car in every night be even more of a pain? Or would it become a simple routine, much like plugging in your cell phone at night? Those…

If the Toyota Prius plug-in is not electric enough for you, soon you’ll be able to have a pure-electric Toyota RAV4. Toyota has been developing an electric RAV4 for years, starting with the first-generation RAV4. And at the 2010 LA…

With the exception of the upcoming, lease-only Smart EV, Mercedes-Benz has been almost absent from the electric-car movement. But that’s not to say their advanced alternative fuel activities are dormant. Rather than field battery-powered cars, the automaker has been focusing…

At the 26th Electric Vehicle Symposium (EVS26) in Los Angeles this week, we had an opportunity to drive the Coda small electric sedan. It has been updated to be more affordable since we first piloted one in November 2011. The…

A report released on Monday by the Union of Concerned Scientists circulated by Reuters has confirmed that electric cars are cheaper to run than gas powered cars as well as being less polluting. The report shows that ‘Drivers should feel confident that owning an electric vehicle is a good choice for reducing global warming pollution, cutting fuel costs, and slashing oil consumption,’ said Don Anair, a senior engineer on UCSs clean vehicles program.

Last year, riding high on a promise to be the greenest government ever, the Department for Transport hailed 2011 as the “year of the electric car”. Subsidies were offered and councils were told to plan for an electric future. The long-promised revolution in the way we drive was finally here, it seemed.

Think small. Think fuel efficient. That is the theme at this year’s Detroit auto show, also known by the official name North American International Auto Show. This year’s expo does not have the kind of heart-pounding displays of horsepower and luxury of past years. But there are some very significant models that tell us where higher fuel prices and tougher emissions regulations are pushing the cars of tomorrow.
Judging by the new models and concepts on display, carmakers are trying to make the case that you can have a hot car and a bit of fun driving it but without having a panic attack at the pump. There are compact Buicks and a subcompact from Chevrolet. Ford has a small people mover. Honda has the new Civic and both Mini and Hyundai are trying to give us more fun in a small package. Here are seven cars worth checking out.

Most significant: Honda showed off a new concept car that is, more or less, going to be the new 2012 Civic when it goes on sale this spring. You can tell by the aggressive curves in the car that Honda is trying to get its mojo back. Honda’s market share fell to 10.6% in 2010 from 11% the year before. The Civic is a perennial winner for the company and vital to its success. Styling has never been the Civic’s calling card. This one takes a bold step with a fast backward-sloping roofline and some curves in the side panels that reminded me a bit of a Hyundai Tiburon. More important for Hondaphiles, the car has the company’s vaunted i-VTEC engine and a hybrid option will be available. We’ll see if its bold new look will get any love from outside Honda’s loyal followers.

Biggest turnabout: You’ve heard the clichA(c) “as big as a Buick.” It comes from a description of a spider in Woody Allen’s film “annie Hall.” I doubt anyone will say “as small as a Buick” when the compact Verano goes on sale late this year, but the 2012 Verano compact tells us where carmakers think the market is headed. General Motors figures fuel will only get more expensive and that luxury buyers will want creature comforts without shelling out a fortune for gasoline. The car’s 177-horsepower engine will get 31 miles per gallon on the highway with the 2.4-liter engine. A 2-liter turbo model comes later. The Verano will be an interesting test. Can Buick, which grew 52% last year, sell small cars to younger luxury buyers? On the surface it’s a tough sell. But who would have thought a year ago that the Lacrosse sedan would be one of the hottest cars on the market?

Pick of the show: The Mini Paceman is my pick for the best design at the show. It’s Mini’s future crossover SUV and it probably it is dead one for the brand. It’s stylish, sporty, has a bit more space than a Mini Cooper but can go off-road. Stylistically, the two-door Paceman is an athletic version of the Countryman, Mini’s existing crossover suv. The two-door Paceman doesn’t look as upright as its more practical forebear. In the rear, it has haunches like it’s going to pounce. The concept had Mini’s 1.6-liter turbo engine used in the John Cooper Works performance cars and the ALL4 all-wheel drive system. That’s a strong hint that the Paceman will offer both as options. That will make it an off-roader with tire-burning potential. One bonus: They will probably ditch the Paceman name. Mini USA President Jim McDowell said in an interview that, onfortunately, consumers associate it with ’80s video-game sensation Pac Man.

The comeback kid: Beating up on Toyota is a favorite pastime these days, what with their quality woes, lost market share and fallen image. I’ll give the company some accolades. The Prius c concept takes a hybrid franchise known for its egg-shaped fuel sippers and takes it out on the edge. The car leans forward like it’s in motion. The headlights are pushed up the hood and closer to the windshield as if the car is barreling down the highway. The car has shoulders, which makes it look more muscular. This car will come to market in the first half of 2012. One word of caution: There is no telling how much of the concept car’s edgy design will make it to the showroom.

Ford gets in the game: Nissan and GM have a jump on Ford in the green-car game. Next year, Ford will make a big statement with the C-Max Energi, a five-passenger plug-in hybrid small SUV that the automaker says will get better fuel economy that the Chevy Volt. Untested fuel economy ratings are always suspect; the Volt gets 37 mpg if it runs the gas tank dry. GM may even upgrade the Volt before the C-Max Energi goes to market. But it still looks like a good package. It’s more spacious that the other EVs and hybrids on the market and can go 500 miles using a full battery charge and tank of gas.

Hyundai makes a bold statement: The Hyundai Veloster will go on sale in 2012 as a boldly-styled three-door coupe that promises to be a fun ride that gets 40 mpg on the highway. It doesn’t need a hybrid-electric system to do it, either. It mates a dual-clutch transmission with a direct-injection 1.6-liter engine to maximize fuel economy. The interior is inspired by sporty motorcycles. This could be a hit with younger buyers given the curvy styling and fuel economy. Hyundai has moved well beyond selling just on price.

Biggest snoozer: And last, the new Volkswagen Passat is the German carmaker’s attempt to offer more value and become a big-volume seller in the U.S. market. The company only has 2.2% of the market, so it is dropping the price of the Passat by some $7,000 to get close to $20,000. The cabin looks like a VW, with well-crafted appointments and a certain German precision to the construction. On the outside? There isn’t much to it. The sides of the car are pretty flat. The back end reminds me of a Saab. Overall, the Passat is undistinctive. The selling point is affordable German engineering with options like a 2-liter diesel engine that is expected to get 43 mpg on the highway. That will have to win buyers because the design won’t turn many heads.

By David Welch

The mood in Detroit is considerably better at this year’s North American International Auto Show than it was a year ago when General Motors was hunting momentum and Chrysler’s very survival was in question. I’ll get into the new models and concept cars as they roll out. In the meantime, here are a few notable comments from the auto executives I tracked down at the show.

The gamble is that cars like the Sonic–which have traditionally been cheap, entry-level transportation–can fetch a higher price by offering more horsepower, better ride and handling and features like MyChevrolet, a phone app that allows drivers to unlock doors, start the engine and check the vehicle’s diagnostics remotely. Ford is making the same bet with its Fiesta, which can sell for more than $20,000. Chevy has not priced the Sonic, but GM won’t set a ridiculously low price on the model, Reuss said. “If we’re going to make the cheapest, silliest car in the U.S. and try to make money on it, that isn’t going to work,” he says.

With all the hype surrounding the pending launch of the Chevrolet Volt and Nissan Leaf electric cars, Ford’s Transit Connect EV has gone almost unnoticed. It’s easy to see why. When the van goes on sale later this year, it will sell primarily to commercial fleets. In the car business, there are few things less sexy than commercial vans.

Still, Ford and Azure Dynamics, the company that engineered the electric drive system for the car, may be onto something. Companies like AT&T, which has agreed to buy a few Transit Connect EVs, have drivers motoring around all day in stop-and-go traffic. They burn a lot of fuel even though they travel fewer than 50 miles in a day, says Curt Huston, Chief Operating Officer of Azure. Since the Transit Connect EV can go about 80 miles on a charge, their needs are mostly met. The van has a 28 kilowatt-hour battery that takes six to eight hours to charge and has a top speed of 75 mph. The Leaf can go 100 miles on a charge, but it’s a compact car. This is a small deliver van. For range, the Volt beats both since it can go 40 miles on electric drive and another 300 miles once the gasoline engine kicks in and starts charging the battery. Again, it’s a small car. The Transit Connect will appeal to business owners.

Commercial fleet owners can install a charging station in the garage and get the vans juiced up overnight before heading out the next day. It’s actually a great application. Huston says the fuel savings should return the added cost of an EV in four or five years. Unlike some of the startup EV companies, Azure partnered with Ford. That means vehicle owners can take them to a Ford dealer for service. The company will have 75 dealers to start and may add more later on.

If it takes off, building sales volume through fleet sales can help drive down the cost of the technology and make electric cars more affordable in the future. There is one catch to the whole plan. The price has to be right. Ford and Azure have not set a price yet. Commercial buyers will look at the car purely on a fuel cost savings basis. It’s dollars and cents. If the car costs too much, they won’t see the savings at the pump that they want as quickly as they want it, says Jim Hall, principal of consulting firm 2953 Analytics in Birmingham, Mich. The car also won’t appeal to environmentalists and technology buffs the way a Volt or Leaf will. But for what its target buyer wants, Azure’s Transit Connect may be the right idea.

The Chevrolet Volt may be wearing out its welcome. General Motors has been hyping the gasoline-electric car ever since the company showed it off to the public 1,300 days ago. The company has let countless reporters into its battery labs and given interviews with its engineers, all in a very credible attempt to show that GM has smart people with good ideas. And it has worked. GM has picked up some technological credibility and fostered goodwill with the environmental crowd.

Now that GM is finally, after three and a half years, getting close to selling one, the commentariat is taking shots at the Volt. In an editorial in the New York Times today, Truth About Cars Editor Edward Niedermeyer panned the car as “GM’s Electric Lemon.” He criticized the car for, among other things, having bland styling and because it will likely lose GM money. Before that, “Tonight Show” host Jay Leno, a well-known car buff, also took a shot at the Volt’s styling, telling the Detroit news that, “if you didn’t know, you might think it’s a Cobalt or a Camry.”

What gives? It could be a case of Volt fatigue. Sure, documenting the tale of the car’s development gave GM a great story to tell. But in the past few months the company has amped up the noise on a car that has been hyped for years. I count 14 press releases on the Volt since June, including an announcement today that GM will boost 2012 production from 30,000 to 45,000. Some of those releases were absolutely necessary, like vital information on pricing, warranty and ordering options. Others were less weighty, such as a release saying that the car can get water under the hood without the electronics going haywire. Another details a test that proves dust won’t get in the car or affect its vitals while driving. The Volt goes on sale in November. At this point, it’s probably time to just market the car to consumers.

Adelaide, Mar 15 (THAINDIAN NEWS) South Australian State Government is very worried that electric cars could stress the power grid in the region. Even though the government officials know very well that they cant force the electric car owners to not use their cars, but at the same time they are requesting the owners to [...]

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