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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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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Yesterday I wrote about homes having their own wind power. Today, I came across an article where Toyota is planning to develop batteries for homes to run off of.  Now if, the wind power could charge the batteries, we might really be on to something.

Toyota Motor Corp. is working with Toyota Home to devise a power storage system to be used by as early as 2011. A home power system will be more practical for plug-in hybrid cars due out by 2010.

Their goal is to

1. design a device that costs hundreds of thousands of yen
2. is small enough to fit in the home or be placed outside
3. can store electricity during off-peak night hours
4. can store power generated by solar cells
5. can make power available for lighting and other uses in the home during the day
6. be a high-speed charging device that can power up plug-in cars.

Toyota’s prototype uses lithium ion batteries and can store some 5 kilowatt-hours of electricity. This is enough to meet the daytime energy needs of the average household.

But, can you drive the house?

Only then would Toyota REALLY have something.

Source: Nikkei (sub req)

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

The 100-Mile-Range Triac was potted at the 51st Annual International Auto Show in San Francisco.

The vehicle is 100% electric, goes up to 80mph (needs the speed/power to go uphill said the sales dude), has a structural steel cage and has a 100 mile range in one charge. That’s enough to get me to San Francisco and back from San Jose, and I can take the highway, by myself, in the carpool lane … after I shell out $22,995.

The super speed tricycle has an automatic transmission, 30kW AC PMSM elecric motor, 288 Volt lithium 90amp-h batteries, remote control alarm system, 2-tone paint, is MP3/iPod ready, has custom floor mats and eco-leather seats as well as electric A/C.

Things are improving when it comes to electric cars, and the new Tesla Model S, the all-electric 4-door sedan is here to confirm.

Tesla Model S, the all-electric 4-door sedan

With similar specs to Tesla Roadster, the new Model S is a 5 passenger car that gets a 240 miles range with a full charge and goes from 0 to 100km/h in just 6 seconds, which is fast for an emission-free vehicle. Unlike the $109,000 Tesla Roadster, if ever built (heard rumors saying late 2010), the new Model S will only cost like $60,000.

However, there is a bad part of the story, and that’s Tesla’s refocusing that got them to lay off 25-percent of their workers and to fire their CEO. I just hope the economic downturn won’t get these guys, because they have some pretty good ideas (and designs) over there. – via UberGizmo

As car manufacturers are venturing into making electric cars to beat the high costs of fuel, a 17 year old, Lucas Laborde, has already built an electric car with a difference.

It took him 150 hours to convert a normal gas powered car into one that runs on electricity. Luke, as he is known to his friends and relatives, hopes to drive to the high school, in his new creation, soon. The gas powered car, was bought for him by his father, who owns a hydraulics maintenance and repair company in down town San Antonio.

Bradley GT II - owned by Steve Striharsky at bradleygt2.com

It was a Bradley GT II kit car and was bought from eBay for $5,000. But Luke also had to spend another $4,700 for the electric power conversion parts and $1,000 for the batteries so that he can modify the car according to the design he had in mind.

Laborde, an active member of the golf team at ISA, is planning a career in sports business but if his dream car makes it big, he would be a happier person. – via Manufacturing

Image Credit – Steve Striharsky at bradleygt2.com

The president of Mitsubishi Motors Corp., Osamu Masuko, said Monday that that Mitsubishi is currently developing a plug-in hybrid car. The automaker has plans to develop a plug-in hybrid and launch a mass-produced electric vehicle next year in Japan.

Speaking at the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Japan, Masuko opined that the plug-in hybrid will be a better suit for longer distances than an electric car. U,. Mitsubishi is a bit late to the party, no? But, then I guess it is better late than never.

Meanwhile, GMC, Ford and Chrysler continue to restructure.

Italian coachbuilder Castagna says it can turn a Fiat 500 into a tender or two. And they did it in six quick steps.

1. First they had to remove the top, remove the doors and the tailgate

2. Then they enlarged the sills, but kept some semblance of structural integrity

3. Removed the entire interior

4. Replaced the interior with some canvas for weather protection

5. Then they had to remove the internal combustion engine and all attachments to install an electric drive train that can motor the thing up to 80 mph and hope the car can stay charged long enough to go 80 miles.

6. Wonder … what in the world have I been doing to this nice car?

Seriously, even though it looks really well and doesn’t pollute the air, there’s got to be a better way. If we want the world to go green, we got to find easier and cheaper ways than this. Right?

Japanese policemen will be saving us from bad guys and saving the planet’s resources at the same time. Well, at least they will be doing the second. The truth is, Japanese police have never been too good at catching the bad guys.

Mitsubishi Motors Corp. will supply new vehicles, the Mitsubishi MiEV, to Japanese in Kanagawa prefecture, home to Yokohama. The electric car has a top speed of 130 kph and can travel 160km on a charge.

The mini patrol car won’t need much speed, however, because it will be used to track illegally parked cars. How fast do you need to go to do that?

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