Electric cars have been hailed as the modern, non-polluting vehicles, but it’s too early to shower them with all the praise, say scientists. In fact, if things don’t change dramatically, electric vehicles may not be very green even in 2030. The problem of course doesn’t lie entirely in the zero-emission electric cars, it has more to do with the generation of electricity for the vehicles.
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Toyota Prius Hybrid Plugged In For Electricity

As the number of electric vehicles, or plug-in hybrids increases, there is a good chance that they may put greater strain on the grid with a lot of vehicles going for a recharge simultaneously. Google is currently working on a solution to this problem, by integrating vehicles with the electric grid so as to minimize strain and help utilities charge better.

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Ford Motor Company expects to electrify around 10% to 25% of its vehicles in one way or the other by 2020.  According to Nancy Gioia, director of hybrid vehicle programs of Ford Motor Company, the first step towards achieving the company’s vehicle-electrification goal is “to convince drivers that plugging-in makes sense.”

Ford Mustangs ... waiting to be electrified

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Warren Buffet is breaking his own rules.

The rules -

1. When a management with a reputation for brilliance tackles a business with a reputation for bad economics, it is usually the reputation of the business that remains intact.
2. You should invest in a business that even a fool can run, because someday a fool will.
3. And perhaps most famously, Never invest in a business you cannot understand.

Munger, 85-year old, vice chairman of Berkshire Hathway, advised Buffet, 78-year old, to take up the new venture and Buffet agreed, despite the fact I don’t think he knows Chinese or electric car technology. I may be wrong.

Buffet does, however, know the future. And, he may not have much left in his. Electric cars is what he is betting on for those who will take over his business. Hathway bought up 10% of BYD with an investment of $230 million.

BYD are the initials of the company’s Chinese name. It was started in 1995 in Shenzhen, China.

Wang, a chemist and government researcher raised $300,000 from relatives, rented about 2,000 square meters of space, and started making rechargeable batteries to compete with imports from Sony and Sanyo.

By the turn of the millennium, BYD had become one of the world’s largest cellphone battery makers. BYD makes mobile-phone handsets and parts for Motorola, Nokia, Sony Ericsson, and Samsung.

Wang went into the automobile business in 2003 by buying up an almost defunct Chinese state-owned car company. Though he knew almost nothing about making cars … well now, Warren Buffet is his friend. The BYD sedan called F3 is the bestselling sedan in China, beating out the Volkswagen Jetta and Toyota Corolla.

BYD has a plug-in electric car with a backup gasoline engine. The company is ahead of GM, Nissan, and Toyota.

And, did I say that Warren Buffet is interested?

The nation that leads the world on energy will be the nation that will lead the world in the 21st century— or at least that’s the clear message emanating from the White House.

Investing in the technology and energy of the future, President Barrack Obama unveiled a $2.4 billion dollar boost for electric vehicle development in the US and urged the industry to help reduce the nation’s reliance on other nations for its energy needs in the form of oil imports. (And increase dependency on Japanese batteries, one asks?)

Innocent and so very green ...

Speeching at the unveiling of the green package, Obama talked about how the German’s were leading the world in solar power and Spain producing 30-percent of its energy from windmills.

The aim of the package is obviously to encourage more green vehicles on the road— there’s a target for a million eco-friendly vehicles on US roads by 2015. Not content in giving the green movement a thrust from the production side alone, President Obama also declared a $7,500 dollar tax credit to consumers willing to buy plug-in vehicles.

Split up into $1.5 billion to manufacturers who produce highly efficient batteries and $500 million for firms that produce other components, this is all about creating future roads with zero-emissions. And maybe some green jobs?

Image by simeon_barkas

Many people are looking these days for eco-friendly alternative for their daily commuting. With that in mind the good folks from Blue Sky Designs, came out with a DIY electric vehicle that you can afford. Dubbed BugEV, the kit for the three wheeled single-seater car/bike is made out of 72 pieces and reaches about 50mph with a maximum range of 30 miles at 30mph average speeds.

The basic kit for that little bugger starts at $3,500 (shipping not included) and gets up to $5,300 for the full version with all the extras. Looking at it again and it does make a good first impressions even though it only covers the front and the top, and forgets about the back.

Definitely not for winter commuting, but a step forward in experimenting with an electric ride. We’d definitely try it out at least once. How about you guys? [BugEV via Zoomilife]

Takeoka Jidosha (Car) Kogei based in Toyama City, Japan, showed off a prototype of an electric minicar at the 1st Int’l Automotive Electronics Technology Expo.

The minicar, “T10,” is based on the “Milieu R.” It is a one-seater electric minicar. The T10, however, is longer and wider than the Milieu R. The care will be released this year. The price will be higher than the Milieu R – ¥856,000 (approx US$9,520).

The T-10 is 2,240 (L) x 1,180 (W) x 1,440mm (H). The T10 is different from the Milleu in expansion of the total width and a larger luggage space to the left of the driver seat.

The T-10 is a motorized four-wheeled bicycle that can be driven with a regular driver license in Japan.

The T-10  has a DC motor that matches the rated output of a motorized bicycle (600W). It also ahs four 12V 60Ah lead secondary batteries. (more…)

Modern day electric cars and bikes are most often viewed by the vast majority as slow slugs that really are no match for the Ferraris and that Hayabusas on the road. But that perception of owning an electric car ‘just for the sake of the planet’ is being fast changed and Eliica is attempting to bring about that change with one radical blitz.

Designed by a team at Keio University in Japan and brainchild of Hiroshi Shimizu, the 8-wheeled all-electric car, powered by lithium-ion batteries intends to get past the 250 mph mark making it the fastest street-legal car on the planet; quite a step forward from the electric cars of the past that struggled to dish out 50mph!

Eliica’s eight wheels (Electric Lithium-Ion car) are not there just to make it look big. Along with superb aerodynamics that allows it to cut through air like a hot knife through butter, each wheel sports an 80hp electric motor which ensures that it does not dropdown on pace. This does not mean that the car is short on mileage though. It can currently dish out 200miles on a single charge with a top speed of 230mph.

That is something both revolutionary for electric vehicles and the planet, as it gives a great ad for green energy. However, the team of scientists are now seeking corporate financing to keep the project running.

Right now, there are two of these babies each priced at a whooping $320,000. Considering that this a zero-emission vehicle, accelerates from 0 to 100 km/h in 4 seconds, tops at 230mph and has a range of 200 miles, the price tag seems pretty justified. However, we can’t guarantee it will get you a date or something. [Eliica via EV World & Engadget]

When a foreign (outside of Japan) car maker can’t make a car as good as Japan does, what do they do? Contract a Japanese car maker to make it for them and call it their own.

Mitsubishi Motors Corp. will make electric cars for France’s PSA Peugeot Citroen Group beginning early next year. The French government is ponying up to 5,000 euros, ($6,500), and giving tax breaks to those who buy electric cars. The U.K. and Germany are doing the same. And, Europe is bent on becoming the leading electric-car market.

Mitsubishi Motors will make its i MiEV passenger car on an OEM basis. The MiEV will debut in Japan this summer. It can go 160km (100 mi) on a single charge, more than enough for one day.

Mitsubishi gets access to PSA Peugeot Citroen’s sales network throughout Europe and Peugeot can sell the electric cars under its own brand helping the company make inroads into the green vehicle market. Because they have a larger market for its cars, increased production will help lower costs and boost competitiveness.

The i MiEV will cost about $20,000 and should be competitive with conventional gasoline-powered cars in France aftert the subsidies are taken into account.

The 2009 Detroit Auto Show just opened gates to press and there’s good stuff for eco-minded people. GM just officially unveiled their beautifully styled, sleek, and clearly aerodynamic Cadillac Converj.

It’s a two-door front-wheel-drive coupe extended range electric concept that uses E-Flex technology – now known as Voltec, that is expected to deliver a 40-mile range from a set of lithium ion batteries (16-kWh T-shaped battery that takes less than 3 hours at 240V/8 hours at 120V to charge) and a four-cylinder gasoline engine-generator.

As for how powerful it is, consider 120 kW and a 273 lb-ft torque. There’s no word on production yet, but our guess is it won’t hit the streets before 2012.

Hit the jump for a big gallery with the new Cadillac Converj, and the press release.

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