The Vectrix was the first highway capable production electric motorcycle when introduced in 2007. Unfortunately the company ran into financial difficulties (see: Why Vectrix is teetering on bankruptcy, pt. I) and in September declared bankruptcy (see: Vectrix is dead, long live the New Vectrix?) with an announced intention for a…
It seems some of the response to the Enertia motorcycle has been a jaw dropping to the floor. The old price was nearly $12,000 and perhaps in response to the dropping jaws Brammo announced on November 10 a major price reduction to $7,995. Because this motorcycle qualifies for a 10%…
The World Energy Outlook (WEO-2009) is a yearly report issued by the International Energy Agency (IEA). This years report was issued on Nov 10, 2009, and due to next months climate change summit in Copenhagen the WEO-2009 report includes extensive information on the climate change impact which comes from energy…
Among 37 projects awarded, on Oct 26, 2009, $151 million in Department of Energy grants is one aimed to develop new high energy magnet technology. As noted in earlier reporting advanced technology vehicles rely on electric motors using powerful rare earth magnets (see Oil scarcity leads us to electric cars…
An environmental issue about landfills is the landfill gas they invariably produce. Landfill gas is largely methane, and methane is a very potent greenhouse gas with 20x or more the greenhouse effect than carbon dioxide. There are many projects underway to mitigate methane production from landfills. On Nov 2, 2009…
November 3, 2009 (SEMA, Las Vegas) – At the SEMA trade show this week Mavizen has unveiled their all electric superbike, the TTX02. As previously reported (see More info on the electric superbike coming soon from Mavizen) Mavizen is closely tied to the TTXGP organization and this bike is targeted…
A minister from the Isle of Man government, the Honorable John Shimmin, will be on hand in Las Vegas on November 3 to help launch Mavizen’s TTX02 electric superbike. This electric motorcycle is meant to be a bootstrap vehicle for teams wishing to compete in the TTXGP racing series. The…
A recent announcement has set off a small flurry of articles about an electric city bus design presented by Sinautec Automobile Technologies. They demonstrated a electric city bus design incorporating ultracapacitors for energy storage. This fits into efforts by multiple transit agencies to reduce the carbon footprint of bus fleets…
As previously reported Brian Wismann (lead designer at Brammo) and Dave Schiff (a Creative Director at Crispin Porter + Bogusky) have set out on a cross country electric motorcycle ride to raise awareness and to demonstrate the utility of the Enertia motorcycles made by Brammo (see Cross country electric motorcycle…
Setting out on a journey from Detroit to Washington DC are Brian Wismann (lead designer at Brammo) and Dave Schiff (a Creative Director at Crispin Porter + Bogusky). They are riding a pair of Enertia electric motorcycles (made by Brammo) retracing the path taken by car maker executives last fall…
Over the last week on the Bonneville Salt Flats saw the Lightning Motors team led by Richard Hatfield speed testing an electric motorcycle. Their efforts culminated in a recorded 166 miles/hr speed run on Saturday, Oct 10, 2009, leapfrogging an earlier speed record established by Mission Motors. Lightning Motors had…
A proposal to create a “green highway” out of lesser used country roads was reported in Time Magazine this week. The intriguing idea is centered on country roads that have been bypassed by the Interstate Highway system. These roads connect small towns and large cities and are still useful if…
Zero Motorcycles recently announced achieving three significant milestones and claim to be the first electric motorcycle company to do so. These milestones are to pass US safety standards, pass Canadian safety standards, and to receive an EPA Certificate of Conformity. As a result, buyers of the Zero S and Zero…
At September’s Frankfurt Auto Show, Audi showed the e-tron, a high-performance sports car with a purely electric drive system. This is a true four wheel drive car with four motors, one for each wheel (what Audi calls a “true quattro”). They claim 0-60 mph times of 4.8 seconds and 35-75…
The times they are a changing, and the “web 2.0” age includes a different approach to marketing. Hence it should not be a surprise that Nissan is using avenues like YouTube and Twitter in marketing the LEAF vehicle. See “Some Nissan LEAF questions answered” for earlier coverage of how Nissan…
