Electric Cars

5,050 Electric Car Charging Stations for SF Bay

by

The San Francisco Bay Area will add over 5,000 electric car charging stations (EVSE) in the next 2 years and continue as one of the nation’s leading areas for electric cars. The Bay Area’s 7 million people live in cities that have adopted hybrid cars, like the Prius, faster than in 99 percent of America. The San Francisco Bay Area already has about 8,000 electric cars on the road from Tesla Roadsters to Prius Plug-in Hybrids to light EVs limited to 25 miles per hour. The Bay Area Air Quality Management District Board of Directors approved $5 million to support further development of a regional electric vehicle charging infrastructure program in the Bay Area.

Enterprise Orders 500 Nissan LEAF Electric Cars

by

Enterprise Rent-A-Car will be renting the Nissan LEAF electric car next year in key locations. In January it will start taking delivery of the LEAF with plans for 500 by the end of 2011. This is the first phase of its plans to offer electric vehicles (EVs) at select offices throughout its neighborhood network of more than 5,000 U.S. locations. I had breakfast with Lee Broughton, director of sustainability for Enterprise Holdings, which owns and operates Enterprise Rent-A-Car, Alamo Rent A Car, National Car Rental, and WeCar Sharing. Enterprise Holdings owns and operates the world’s largest fleet of passenger vehicles.

Chevrolet Volt – Test Driving Extended Range Electric Vehicle

by

My test drive of the Volt demonstrates this plug-in hybrid is a winner. I settle behind the steering wheel, feel comfortable in the bucket seat, and am impressed with the display behind the wheel, and the 7-inch navigation screen. While driving, I was able to try the three modes of the car with a push of the button. In Normal mode, the Volt always stayed in the quiet electric mode that gives this 4-door sedan a 40 mile electric range before engaging its 1 liter gasoline engine to provide 300 extra miles of range, depending on driving conditions. In Sport mode, the Volt goes 0 to 60 in 8 seconds.

Nissan Leaf – Test Driving the New Electric Car

by

I shift the LEAF into its normal drive mode, touch the accelerator and start driving down the San Jose streets. The car is always silent. It only has an electric motor, therefore I never hear the sound of a gasoline engine. The 5-door, 5-seat compact hatchback has plenty of room. Sitting behind me is an electric utility executive who is 6”5”. I did not need to move the driver seat forward; his legs are not pressing against my seat. If the car had 4 people his size, it would be a 4-seater, not 5. On our both of the split back seats can be lowered to carry lots of cargo, be it luggage, work equipment, or everything for your favorite sport. This beautiful car is ready for order and delivery.

Chevy Volt $41,000 or $350 per Month

by

The Volt can be lease for as low as $350 for 36 months, with $2,500 due at lease signing; it can be purchased starting at $41,000. Back-up camera, premium leather, paint, and wheel options can take the price to $45,000 and a higher lease rate. This compares with the Nissan LEAF price of $32,780 to $33,720, and lease of $349 to $379. Starting today, participating Chevrolet dealers in launch markets will begin taking customer orders for the 2011 Chevrolet Volt in California, New York, Michigan, Connecticut, Texas, New Jersey and the Washington D.C. area.

Coulomb Announces New Home Charger for Electric Cars

by

Coulomb announced a new CT500 Level II ChargePoint® Networked Charging Stations are designed for home and light commercial use. The announcement expands Coulomb’s spectrum of products for EVs from home to Level III fast charging stations. The ChargePoint Network is based on an open interface, standards-based architecture that provides station owners with a complete set of business applications to market and bill for electric transportation fueling services, and provides drivers with EV charging applications to make fueling easy. The home charging announcement is timely. Nissan has received over 16,000 deposits for the LEAF, including one from me. We are getting recommendations to have Aerovironment inspect our garages and plan on average installation costs of $2,000 including electrical work. GE recently entered the smart charging competition with the GE WattStation and will soon announce its home charger.

2010 Smart Fortwo Electric Drive

by

The Smart Fortwo is popular with city drivers that need to avoid $25 daily parking fees by fitting in spots to small for others. In 2010, 250 battery electric smart cars will be put on the streets of U.S. cities. Early in 2012, Smart plans to make over 10,000 Smart Electric Drives for sales globally and be a major player in urban electric cars. The new Smart Electrics deliver an 80-mile range per charge with a 16.5kWh lithium ion battery pack that consists of 18,650 Tesla format cells. Daimler owns Smart, Mercedes, and about 4 percent of Tesla.

New 2011 Honda Civic Hybrid with Lithium Batteries

by

Honda expands on all fronts with Hybrids, Plug-in Hybrids, and Electric Car. In 2011 Honda will introduce a new Civic Hybrid using a new lithium-ion battery from Blue Energy, a joint venture company between GS Yuasa and Honda. The Honda Fit Hybrid will be introduced. New battery-electric car and plug-in starts U.S. trails this year with fleets such as Google and Stanford University.

2002-03 Toyota RAV4 EV

Toyota and Tesla Bring Back RAV4 EV

by

In Spring 2012, the new Toyota RAV4 EV can be ordered from dealers. Pricing has not yet been set. Tesla, in partnership with Toyota, is bringing back the popular Toyota RAV 4EV. The SUV will have a new electric drive system and use a Tesla battery pack of 5,500 Panasonic lithium nickel cells. Tesla has produced over 30 of the new RAV4 EV prototypes for test drives and extensive evaluation.

Nissan LEAF Battery Warranty

by

Nissan appears to be debating between offering a 5 year / 60,000 mile warranty for the Nissan LEAF, or an 8 year /100,000 mile warranty that matches GM’s offer for the Chevy Volt. Because lithium batteries are expensive, warranty decisions can make the difference between an automaker making and losing money on early electric car sales. The stakes are higher for Nissan than for GM or Toyota. For the Nissan LEAF to deliver up to 100 mile range per charge, a 24 kWh of lithium battery pack is included, and up to 80 percent of the battery must be used in the charge-discharge range.

+ More