Electric cars are more efficient and use less actual energy to move the same distance than do the gasoline cars, shows the Consumer Reports testing of Chevy Volt and Nissan Leaf. On Thursday, Consumer Reports released figures from testing the Leaf and Volt showing that both have lower per-mile operating…
There are a pair of competing needs in America. One is for JOBS – the other is to transform the transportation system. Many are offering rehabilitation of the transportation system as the key to providing JOBS. The rush to create JOBS via infrastructure development could make us miss out on…
ExxonMobil predicts mainstreamed use of electrified vehicles by 2040 leads to efficiency improvements and a leveling off of emissions. The 2011 edition of ExxonMobil’s yearly Energy Outlook report predicts that by 2040, nearly 50 percent of light-duty-vehicles (cars) will be electrified (hybrid or electric). This mainstreaming of electrified light-duty-vehicles will…
Rumors surfaced yesterday based on a report in a Japanese motorsports magazine that Toyota was planning to enter the Super GT race series with a GT300 class car based on a Prius. Yup. The Prius GT300. Rather than start with Toyota’s GT86 sports car, they’re starting with a Prius. Obviously…
In the wake of the, uh, firestorm over Chevy Volt battery fire safety, a group of Volt owners have published an open letter to GM saying they feel safe, and that GM will get their cars back over their dead bodies. There’s a little, if you will, firestorm concerning a…
At the core of electric cars is the electricity storage technology being used. Most commonly electricity is stored in chemical batteries, which store electricity as chemical bonds in a soup of specific elements. The key thing which is enabling the wave of electric vehicle advances is advances in battery pack…
Brigham Young University officials have announced that their student-built electric car has set another Bonneville speed record. The car, nicknamed “Electric Blue” was built by BYU engineering students and was competing in the Streamliner E1 class. The BYU team had no problem busting the 130 MPH barrier. Their two runs…
Last year Vantage Power built an electric race car and drove it the full length of the Pan-American Highway in an endurance challenge. Now they are teaming up with Drayson Racing to develop high performance electric cars. Drayson Racing is the racing team formed by Lord Drayson, they race in…
The 2011 installment of the World Solar Challenge, a solar car race that runs through central Australia, is underway. The cars are purpose built vehicles that sit low to the ground, have extreme aerodynamics, and the whole top is generally covered in solar panels. The race goes from Darwin (on…
The Peugeot 908 Hybrid 4, which was unveiled at the 2011 Geneva Motor Show in March, made its first genuine on-track test at Estoril, Portugal on October 11, 2011. “Our aim wasn’t to but a lot of kilometres on the clock, but to verify that all the chief functions performed,” reports Peugeot Sport’s…
Hot on the heels of the 2011 TTXGP World Championship race, the following announcement was sent out naming a new team joining the race series for 2012. MIST Suzuki Stop Smoking is expected to compete in the European series. Going by their blog post they’re planning to build their own…
“Electric racing offers the potential to both accelerate the development of electric drivetrain technology in the crucible of competition, but also to show how exciting zero-emissions race cars can be and so shift consumer attitudes towards the adoption of EVs,” said Drayson Racing chief Lord Paul Drayson. So far the…
This weekend saw Matthias Himmelman (Muench Racing) win the TTXGP 2011 World Championship race at the Anglesey race track in Wales. While congratulations are due to Himmelman and his team for their excellent win this year (see TTXGP 2011 World Final Championship held today by the Welsh seaside in Anglesey),…
As announced earlier this week, the 2011 TTXGP electric motorcycle racing world championship race was held today in Anglesey, Wales. (see TTXGP’s 2011 World Final Championship race to be held October 15/16 in Anglesey) For the second year running, Meunch Racing is the TTXGP world champions, with Zongshen in second place. The…
The normalthink for air travel would have you driving to the airport, and paying long term parking fees, or else paying through the nose for a taxi/shuttle ride. There is another way, a way to avoid the costs or hassles by using public mass transit. It works even where I…
