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Cheapskate Greenies! Canadians build sub-$1K DIY electric car

Don't want to wait for the Chevrolet Volt? Don't feel like spending tens of thousands of dollars on a new green car? Combine your thrift, environmental consciousness and affinity for wrench turning by building your own electric car. Canadians Darin Cosgrove and Ivan Limburg have electrified a Geo Metro for less than $1,000 and you can too! Starting with a Metro helps set expectations, as the converted car is not fast and suitable only for low speed in-town tripping, but the original was no paragon of performance anyway. AutoblogGreen covered some of the ForkenSwift's construction, but we thought it'd be a good thing to revisit. The winter months are upon us, and building an EV in the garage is a nice way to stay out of the snow.

After stripping out the gas engine and its associated plumbing, the duo sold the engine and fuel tank; we're amazed that there's a market for Metro engines. A $500 used forklift provided the DC motors and control systems, and the carcass provided good scrap value once the vital organs were harvested, helping offset costs. A used bank of batteries were donated by another EV owner, though new batteries would boost performance and range. But hey, nothing's as cheap as free. Finding a Metro for cheap might be a neat trick now that prices have been inflated, but any old light thing will work. For a total tally of $672, who can complain with the results?

posted : 12/4/2008 @4:57:42 PM

Better Place gets OK to electrify Hawaii

Back in May, Niotnet brought us news that Hawaii was in talks with Better Place to set up a network of electric car recharging and batter swapping stations across the islands. Fortune now says that the state has inked a deal with Better Place to put their system in place by 2012.

The agreement is for Better Place to sell electric Nissan Rogues to consumers and, basically, rent the vehicles' batteries by the mile. The company hopes that by taking out the up-front cost of the battery, consumers will be more likely to buy an electric vehicle.

You may remember Better Place from a recent announcement that it will set up a similar network in the Bay Area. That system is also planned for a 2012 launch, which is also the date Better Place plans to flip the switch in Australia, Denmark and Israel. Sounds like somebody's gonna be busy.

Hawaii has some of the highest gasoline prices in the nation. This is one of the steps that the state is taking to reduce its dependence on oil. There's also the chance that beach-seeking tourists will take an island spin in one of the electrified Nissans, go back home and spread the green word.

posted : 12/4/2008 @4:53:22 PM
Porsche on the waiting list for Tesla Roadster

Electric vehicles... they're so hot right now. And none are hotter at the moment than the Tesla Roadster, which looks positively sublime in Very Orange paint. Even Porsche, the longtime purveyor of some of the world's best sporting hardware, is interested in the little electron powered machine. In fact, rumor has it that the German automaker is much more impressed with Silicon Valley's first ever sports car than it is with the lithium ion-powered E-Ruf electric 911. Is it too slow; too heavy; too expensive? Nobody knows for sure outside of Stuttgart's engineering offices, but we do know that the German automaker has placed an order for a Tesla Roadster of their very own for closer scrutiny. We'd imagine that the EV's dissection could offer some enlightening revelations to Porsche, rumored to be hard at work on an electric sportscar of its very own. Considering Porsche's recent history with other automaker's wares, this could get very interesting.
posted : 11/28/2008 @5:07:29 PM
Driven: 2009 Tesla Roadster v1.5

Last January we landed an exclusive first drive of the Tesla Roadster. We were impressed, but well aware that the particular two-gear model we drove that wet afternoon wasn't identical to the version set to land in customers' hands later in the year. Last week, we were invited back to briefly test drive a genuine production model with the latest transmission and software updates (aka "powertrain 1.5").
posted : 10/21/2008 @8:11:51 PM
Volt designer "more proud" of production version

Back when GM rolled out the Volt concept, there was less discussion about its design than there was about its underlying technology. Sure, it looked ok, but with gas prices at the time headed straight up, its promise of cheaper driving overshadowed its sports car roofline. Upon introduction of the more aerodynamic production Volt, there seemed to be a re-Volt. Our Hot or Not poll showed 65% of readers responded negatively to the dramatic redesign. You gotta wonder how that makes the Volt's designers feel. Two members of the Volt design team are from Ohio, and Cleveland's "Plain Dealer" newspaper asked them what they think of the Volt's new look. Apparently they either disagree and/or just really like being able to cash GM's checks at the end of the week. "There were probably a small number of people expecting the electric Camaro," Volt design team director Bob Boniface (in photo above) told the newspaper. "I'm more proud of this car than I am of the concept car," he says later in the story. Many people saw the production Volt and wondered why GM couldn't come up with something that didn't look so "Prius-y." GM aerodynamics engineer Ken Karbon has an explanation: "The laws of aerodynamics are the same if it's a Toyota or a Chevy." Maybe Chery should have tried that line in court.
posted : 10/21/2008 @7:51:44 PM
Free-piston engines could be alternative energy alternative

Long ago (last month for example) when fuel prices were high and looked likely to get even higher, it seemed everyone had an idea to improve fuel economy and reduce emissions. While some aftermarket companies played with magnets, it looked like the major OEMs were looking at some form of electric propulsion. Toyota has taken a mostly hybrid route, while GM looks to be investing in plug-in, rechargeable vehicles and Honda likes hydrogen fuel cells. In the end, they're all different ways to create electricity. But none of those methods are as efficient as an engine design invented in 1928. It's called a free-piston engine, and until now it's been less than ideal for transportation use but could prove to be 50% more efficient than fuel cells at generating electricity. Basically the engine is two opposed pistons pushing each other back and forth. One past use of the design was as an air compressor where each piston was connected to a compressor cylinder. But researchers at the Sandia National Laboratory have come up with a new use for this decades-old tech. They have attached magnets to the two opposing pistons that move back and forth past metal coils, thereby creating electricity. The researches claim the free-piston design can easily be modified to run on almost any liquid fuel including hydrogen, ethanol and diesel. One major problem they'll need to tackle to make the design successful, though, is how very loud the engine operates. The engine also will require a computerized, active control system to keep the piston movement in check.
posted : 10/17/2008 @5:44:53 PM
Toyota seriously considering separate Prius brand

This isn't the first time we've heard that Toyota might spin off the Prius as a separate brand much like Scion. But we now have the most concrete news about the automaker's plans we've seen yet. Micheline Maynard of The New York Times talked with James E. Lentz, president of Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A. recently who said he was actively lobbying Toyota for the Prius brand spinoff and that the company was working on future models to expand the lineup. Lentz said he was pushing for a Yaris-sized Prius and a "Prius on steroids." He wouldn't comment on rumors of a Prius crossover, however. Lentz also said the new line would be sold alongside Toyota vehicles instead of separately like the company's Lexus brand. When might this new Prius brand be approved by Toyota? Lentz would only say that he has a meeting in Japan next month. Maynard writes that in all her years covering Toyota, "...I can say that executives rarely talk this much about an idea unless it is under active discussion, so the chances of a Prius brand are probably pretty good."
posted : 10/15/2008 @9:07:47 PM
Warren Buffet recharges his batteries with investment in BYD

Chinese battery manufacturer BYD can now be mentioned in the same breath as Goldman Sachs: both have recently been given the blue-chip imprimatur by U.S. billionaire investor Warren Buffet. The Oracle of Omaha's MidAmerican Energy Holdings has bought a 10-percent stake in BYD for $230 million. BYD has big plans for its lithium-ion battery work and its automotive division. The company's automaking arm builds – or clones, depending on your viewpoint – cars that it intends to eventually export around the world, including America. Its ultimate aim is create its own cars that run on its own batteries, like the e6. Assuming that BYD gets the batteries to work, and then can sell them to other automakers, the company will have a huge competitive advantage. If it can sell its cars, that is. Buffett's investment will help BYD achieve that, and should help Buffett make even more money. BYD says another planned use of that $230 million is to accelerate its move into the U.S. market, which was planned for 2010. When they finally do arrive, we'll see if Buffett has as much faith in their vehicles as he does in their batteries.
posted : 10/5/2008 @3:04:19 PM
Wagoner: $25 billion sounds good to me

At a press conference on Thursday, shortly after announcing plans for a new engine plant in Flint, Michigan, General Motors CEO Rick Wagoner said his employer, "should be able to put to good use its portion of a $25 billion government loan package." Wagoner goes on to say he's concerned about the details of the plan but hopes the package is expanded to include all gas-saving technologies, not just electric cars. Which is understandable, considering GM has already invested a great deal of money into the Volt and would logically welcome financial assistance in investigating other fuel-saving methods. Then again, the Volt may just yet turn out to be classified as an electric car by the EPA, as the California Air Resources Board just did. Wagoner was also pleased to hear about the Senate's approval of a $7,500 tax credit for buyers of electric vehicles. The tax break is something the company has been lobbying for since May, and would certainly help to get the Volt's price tag closer to the original $30k estimate and hopefully allowing the General to sell the estimated 60,000 units we once heard.
posted : 10/3/2008 @7:36:48 PM
Carmakers try different ways to grow green

Now that making cars cleaner and more efficient is a mainstream proposition, the only questions are how each carmaker plans to do it. BMW's Efficient Dynamics has allowed it to lower it's CO2 emissions more than any other automaker. In a show of how seriously all automakers are taking the issue, The Economist revealed a study of fourteen automakers from GM to Suzuki found that only Honda posted an emissions increase from 2006-2007. Essentially, the automakers are trying to figure out how to please the government and the public at a cost that allows them to stay in business. Competing -- and expensive -- technologies are all in the race now, although everyone seems to have agreed that ultimately, electric cars will be the norm. Luxury carmakers can pad prices to cover or subsidize the tab of frugal technology. When the mid- and low-price automakers are making cars that get 80 mpg that the average couple can afford, then the landscape will be much more clear. No matter what, none of this spells the end of the internal combustion engine: said VW's head of group research, "It is important to recognize that there is not a single solution, and that the internal-combustion engine will continue to dominate for at least 20 years." Follow the link to read the full piece, and you might want to start stocking up on multi-plug outlets...
posted : 9/24/2008 @11:02:35 PM
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