NRDC’s Luke Tonachel testifies in joint EPA and Dept of Transportation hearings that the proposed CAFE standards upgrade would produce huge economic and environmental benefits. Today in Detroit was the first of three public hearings on the Obama Administrations proposal to increase CAFE standards to 54.5 MPG equivalent fuel efficiency…
Demanding that electric cars solve global warming and foreign oil dependence overnight makes it impossible for electric cars to look like a success. With the new year came the ending of a long list of tax credits, among which were the electric vehicle tax credits we discussed last week. Today…
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…
The news last week about a management shakeup at Aptera was troubling indeed. When founders are ousted from the company they started it’s usually a signal of troubles irregardless of soothing press releases from the company in question. Aptera’s soothing press release claims that founders Steve Fambro and Chris Anthony…
Writing on Wired’s Autopia blog Daryl Siry is reporting (on Nov 15) that over the weekend a management shakeup occurred at Aptera resulting in the ouster of two company founders and the firing of many people. The move is apparently aimed at preserving capital, slow down the burn rate while…
The product line includes a battery packaged with battery management circuits, a charger, and a “drive system” promised to be available in mid-2010. The battery shares look and feel with the common lead-acid battery but its guts are made from highly advanced lithium battery cells. The built-in battery management capabilities…
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…
Fisker is getting ready to begin selling a high end luxury plug-in hybrid car, the Fisker Karma, whose price clearly aims at the richer-than-god crowd. The Karma is a plug-in hybrid vehicle with a 50 mile battery-only range, after which the gas engine kicks in to provide power. It is…
Several reports the last few days have focused on gasoline price as the primary determiner of whether electric vehicles will be successful this time around. One source of this comes from a recent webchat posted on GM’s Fastlane blog: Bob Lutz: The Volt technology is very exciting, but costs will…
House Bill 1331 (HB 1331), “Incentives for Efficient Motor Vehicles”, created financial incentives to help consumers purchase efficient motor vehicles. The bill extends tax credits to consumers who purchase or convert vehicles that use “cutting edge” technology and petroleum reduction technology, including plug-in hybrid electric conversion technology. Yes, you read…
In 2007 Congress enacted legislation approving up to $25 billion in loans to establish an incentive program of grants and direct loans to support the development of advanced technology vehicles and associated components in the United States. Today the Wall Street Journal is reporting on a debate over whether Aptera…
It is the battery which makes an electric vehicle go. The electronics of sending an electric current through an electric motor to spin wheels is very well understood and has been used in vehicles for over a hundred years. Key among the technological advances enabling todays electric vehicles to begin…
ZAP (whose name stands for Zero Air Pollution) has made a couple recent announcements of interest: Cash for Clunkers is available for the ZAP Xebra, and they have secured new financing for up to $25 million. ZAP has over 15 years experience with selling electric vehicles, beginning in electric bicycles…
Among the programs in todays $2.4 billion grants program to jump start electric vehicle business in the U.S. is an entry for Electric Transportation Engineering Corp. which says “ETEC and its partner Nissan will demonstrate up to 5,000 Nissan electric vehicles with a 100 mile range and deploy up to…
