Henrik Fisker says production of the Fisker Karma is not dependent on Dept of Energy loans, and that the company is pursuing a “plan B” to fund the company independently from private investors to prevent the company from being a political football. In early February, Fisker Automotive laid off a few workers following a suspension of…
During a campaign sweep through Georgia last weekend, Newt Gingrich had some interesting things to say about the ability of a Chevy Volt to carry a gun rack, and his fantasy of returning to $2.50 a gallon gasoline. Last weekend Newt Gingrich decided to unload both barrels on the Chevy…
Ford (and other automakers) envision future cars with high tech infotainment systems galore where car dashboards could have downloadable app’s just like todays smart phones and tablets. With the OpenXC platform Ford is creating a channel for open collaboration with 3rd party application developers, allowing them to use cars like the Ford Focus to prototype their…
In 20 years or so our cities could start seeing automated self-driving RoboCars driving themselves around, relieving us of drudgery, reducing traffic accident rates, enabling better use of the land tied up by roads, making electric cars more practical, and generally saving the world. Google’s Self-Driving Car project is today using modified Toyota Prius’s to prototype…
The RoboCar vision offers huge gains in accident rates, erasing traffic congestion and more, but is it pie in the sky or will we actually have self-driving robotic cars roaming our cities in the future? Today Google’s Self-Driving car project does have modified Toyota Prius’s roaming the streets, primarily in Silicon Valley, prototyping the RoboCar’s of…
The StuntBusters on SPEED TV attempt to answer the question whether electric or gas powered vehicles are faster, and there are dozens of teams around the world doing the same thing in electric racing events on real tracks, under real race conditions. The StuntBusters TV show (SPEED TV) recently did…
On the Motley Fool is a piece about how Heckmann Corporation is looking to expand the use of liquified natural gas use in big trucks. The strategy is ingenious, gives Heckmann the ability to claim green credibility by using natural gas fuel, while giving a method to expand the LNG…
GM’s latest video on YouTube attempts to reassure the public about Chevy Volt battery pack safety, in wake of the recent controversy over the battery pack fire during crash testing last year. General Motors has its work cut out for it, to rehabilitate their image following the hyped up controversy…
The transportation bills being considered by the Senate and House are operating in different universes, with the Senate following the usual bi-partisan process to create good transportation policy, and the Republican-dominated House larding their bill with extreme right wing ideology that would doom mass transit systems, gut environmental review processes, and fundamentally change transportation system funding…
GM’s former CEO Bob Lutz publishes another op-ed piece in Forbes defending the Chevy Volt, and this time pointing fingers at right wing media figures, claiming their Volt bashing will cost American Jobs. A couple weeks ago Bob Lutz, GM’s former CEO and Chairman, and Father of the Volt, wrote a piece for…
To gauge the success of the Chevy Volt, against which car should it be compared, and does the Toyota Prius V make a fair comparison? The horse race over which of the electric or hybrid cars outsells the other is supposedly going to determine which of these electrified cars wins…
The 2013 Tesla Model X unveiled tonight is an all-electric full size SUV/minivan, capable of holding 7 full size adults and all their luggage, and with the right options is capable of out accelerating a Porsche 911. This evening Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk revealed the long-awaited Model X Electric SUV before a huge crowd…
A law before the Arizona legislature would collect a $.01 per mile tax from electric car owners. The tax would go to pay for build and maintaining roads. Currently highway funds come primarily from gasoline taxes and that electric car owners do not pay gasoline taxes, and therefore do not…
Yesterday news broke that Fisker Automotive reportedly lays off workers in wake of missing DoE loan milestones, namely that the Department of Energy has frozen the loan program for Fisker Automotive because Fisker has failed to meet the business development required milestones. Because of the frozen loan program, Fisker laid…
Proposed laws in Arizona and elsewhere would collect additional taxes from owners of electric cars, is it too soon to start collecting road use fees from electric car owners? Pop quiz: Who pays for building and maintaining the highway system? It’s largely paid for via gasoline taxes. Another pop quiz:…
