The companies identified a manufacturing flaw, and are of course issuing a recall. Late last week A123 Systems disclosed they’d found some mechanical problems in the battery packs they supplied to Fisker for the Karma plug-in hybrid luxury sedan. (see A123 Systems finds problems in batteries for the Fisker Karma)…
The latest round of the U.S. Federal budget showdown was averted with the deal on the payroll tax cut, but there was collateral damage with dozens of tax credits that were not extended and are now expiring on Saturday, including three related to electric vehicles and several more related to…
Many look to electric cars not for ecological reasons, but because of greater efficiency, they’re cheaper to drive. Among the benefits of electric cars is cheaper fuel costs, that is the cost per mile for fuel to run the vehicle. A couple weeks ago Consumer Reports released a report comparing…
In the first time in over 110 years since electric taxi’s were last used in New York, Nissan and NYC are working together to develop the Taxi of the Future starting with a fleet of Nissan LEAF’s. Beginning in the Spring of 2012, New York City plans to deploy six…
Problem found in coolant system for battery packs A123 Systems is supplying for the Fisker Karma. Battery manufacturer A123 Systems disclosed today flaws in the battery packs they’ve supplied to Fisker for the Karma plug-in hybrid luxury sedan. A123’s engineers have identified the nature of the flaw in the coolant…
Conservative policy think-tank playing loose and fast with the numbers regarding government spending on the Chevy Volt. Yesterday the Mackinac Center for Public Policy posted a statement claiming that each Chevy Volt is subsidized to the tune of $250,000 or more. That’s caused a cluster of blog posts trumpeting this…
Two dozen Nissan Leaf electric cars were mangled in the tsunami, with no battery pack fires, giving us anecdotal battery pack safety evidence compared with the Chevy Volt. The Fukushima tsunami that proved deadly last Spring to TEPCO’s nuclear power plants, was no problem at all for the Nissan Leafs…
For three years now Speed Ventures has held an electric track day (race) event at the Laguna Seca raceway. Below is a video shot at the 2011 event. I’ve attended the event twice and written these race reports: REFUEL brings Tesla’s and more to Laguna Seca for 3rd year of…
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA, Dec 19, 2011 (MARKETWIRE via COMTEX) — The world of electric drag racing just got a whole lot more exciting with the announcement from the International Hot Rod Association (IHRA) with the incorporation of electric vehicles into their rule book. For your average drag race fan, this…
For two years now the TTXGP Europe series has raced at the “Cathedral of Motorcycle Racing”, namely the race track at Assen in the Netherlands. With an announcement yesterday, this arrangement is guaranteed for the next three years. This is good news that underscores long-term viability of the TTXGP series,…
Racing hasn’t traditionally been terribly interested in sustainability. After all it’s rather wasteful to drive around in circles to see who can drive the fastest. But Motorsports, as readers of this blog are aware, are looking into ways to reduce carbon footprint and in general move towards some sort of…
Confidence abounds that they can fix the problems, and getting back to production and sales. With the controversy brewing about battery pack safety in the Volt, the folks who are stirring the controversy might believe that GM would stop producing the Volt. Instead in a recent interview GM’s CEO Dan…
The Lola-Drayson B12/69EV all-electric prototype racing car will be launched at the International Motorsport Business Week on 11 January 2012 at the MIA International Low Carbon Conference. Drayson Racing is headed by Lord Drayson, former Minister of Science and Innovation, alongside current Minister for Trade and Investment, Lord Green. While…
Volt: Lithium manganese spinel from LG Chem; Spark EV: lithium iron phosphate from A123 Systems. Both are supposed to be safe. In October, GM announced the Chevy Spark EV would be sold in select U.S. and global markets beginning in 2013. The Chevy Volt crash testing battery pack fires have…
Carbon fiber doesn’t have remain in the realm of the high end race vehicles, it could come to mass production cars. Carbon fiber doesn’t have remain in the realm of the high end race vehicles, that is if GM and Teijin’s plan works out. Carbon fiber materials are stronger than…
