The Think City: coming to America.
(Credit: Think Global)Correction to release time of car made on January 6 at 3:50 a.m. PT.
Carmaker Think plans to manufacture its highway-capable electric car in Indiana and and make it available in the U.S. next year, the company said on Tuesday.
The Norway-based company is scheduled to hold a press conference in Elkhart, Indiana, where it intends to make the small car. CEO Richard Canny and Indiana governor Mitch Daniels will attend.
The Think City is an all-electric car that can go about 60 miles per hour and has a driving range of about 100 miles. It runs from lithium ion batteries supplied by EnerDel, which is based in Indiana.
Think began delivering the City to European customers in December, a year after it halted operations because it had run out of money. The company, which has its roots at Ford, had to restructure and raise more money.
The move to produce cars in the U.S., which was expected, is a welcome sign for the U.S. auto industry which has been hit hard by falling car sales and, in some cases, strategic missteps.
In a press advisory on Tuesday, Think did not indicate what sort of financial incentives the state offered. But many policymakers are eager to attract companies with advanced auto technologies, such as plug-in electric vehicles. The Obama administration last year dedicated $2.4 billion to promote domestic car battery manufacturing.
It's expected that Think will market the two-seat City to American consumers as a car suitable for daily errands or commuting. In many cases, it could be second car with a household's primary gas car able to take longer trips.
Pricing for the car is not yet available. In general, automakers say that the cost per mile of electric cars, which charge their batteries from a home outlet, will be cheaper than gasoline cars.
In the minds of many American car buyers, domestic manufacturers cannot compete with many of their foreign counterparts when it comes to being environmentally-friendly and fuel efficient. But--surprise--the 2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid has easily eclipsed nearly all its hybrid competitors by reaching more than 40 miles per gallon both on the highway and in city driving. That's just one of many positive attributes to the 2010 Ford Fusion hybrid sedan, and in this video, we get a closer look at this American hybrid vehicle.
This Web clip gives us a good look at the 2010 Ford Fusion hybrid in action, and gives us the technical specs that should consider when buying any car, and not just a hybrid. This new edition of the Fusion hybrid has finally eclipsed the Toyota Camry hybrid in terms of fuel economy, and its cutting edge LCD panel can help the driver in maximizing their gas mileage in real time. In short, Ford has offered up a legitimate alternative to so-called highbrow hybrid vehicles that can convincingly run with (and possibly beat) its overseas competitors.
How do you get into a Tesla Roadster when you're 6 feet, 6 inches tall? Folks at the San Carlos-based automaker have provided you with this short instructional video on the best way for tall drivers to get in and out of the $109,000 Roadster sports car.
The video features campy humor as well as Tesla Motors T-shirts , which sell for about $20.
This radio-controlled model car is powered by a battery that can be refilled with an electrolytic fluid.
(Credit: Fraunhofer Institute)Imagine that you're driving your future electric car down the road, and it gives you a low battery warning. What do you do? Instead of spending a few hours at a recharging station, new battery technology being developed by the Fraunhofer Institute in Germany would let you pull into a service station and refill the battery with an electrolytic liquid.
The Fraunhofer Institute is using a redox flow battery, a type of cell that uses two electrolytic fluids exchanging protons through a membrane. This process generates electricity. Although this type of battery isn't new, the Fraunhofer Institute improved the energy density, making it equivalent to that of a lithium ion battery.
In production cars such as the Tesla Roadster, the lithium ion battery pack requires almost four hours from a quick charger to go about 200 miles. A redox flow battery service station would pump out the discharged electrolytic fluid from your car's battery, replacing it with charged fluid, most likely in a matter of minutes. Instead of getting new shipments of charged fluid, similar to how current service stations rely on tankers full of gasoline, the station could merely recharge the fluid on its premises, even using solar cells or a wind turbine.
Other companies are working on redox flow battery technology for stationary energy storage.
For 2010, Tesla updates its electric Roadster with a Sport version, featuring faster acceleration.
(Credit: Josh Miller/CNET)
Tesla often emphasizes that it works more like a Silicon Valley technology company than a traditional car company. And the company just proved it by delivering a model update to the Tesla Roadster for 2010. Remember, the Roadster has only been in production for one year, but in that time Tesla completely redesigned the interior, while at the same time adding new materials to reduce cabin noise. Model updates from other automakers often take five years.
We spent a day with the 2010 Tesla Roadster Sport, enjoying its unique driving experience and finding these updates made the previous generation car seem like something hacked together in a garage. Where the previous car had a fussy little lever for putting it in drive, the new car uses push buttons. To check battery statistics and change the drive mode, you had to use a touch screen by your left knee. That touch screen has been moved to the center of the dashboard. And in a real step toward convenience, the Tesla Roadster now comes with a glove box.
The rear air intakes get clear coat carbon fiber inserts.
(Credit: Josh Miller/CNET)Externally, the casual observer won't see much difference. The Tesla Roadster uses the same Lotus-sourced body clad in carbon fiber. But the carbon fiber stands out more, as clear-coat panels make up the hood, spoiler, and even the insets in the rear air intakes. The suspension is now adjustable for comfort or sport, and the all-new Sport version of the Roadster uses an upgraded power train that rockets it to 60 mph in 3.7 seconds, faster than the standard Roadster's 3.9 second time.
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Fisker's first car, the Karma, is set to be released next year. Its Delaware plant is set to make its next luxury car, which will also be a plug-in hybrid.
(Credit: Fisker Automotive)Upstart carmaker Fisker Automotive on Tuesday said it will purchase a plant in Wilmington, Del., to make a plug-in hybrid sedan.
The facility, which used to be a General Motors factory, will begin manufacturing a plug-in hybrid in late 2012, which the company expects will cost almost $40,000 after federal tax credits. U.S. Vice President Joe Biden and Delaware Gov. Jack Markell are scheduled to speak at an announcement ceremony on Tuesday morning.
Production of Fisker's "family-oriented" car, called Project Nina, will result in 2,000 factory jobs. The company anticipates making 75,000 to 100,000 cars per year by 2014. "Wilmington is perfect for high-quality, low-volume production," CEO Henrik Fisker said in a statement.
The Wilmington assembly plant, closed in July this year, produced a handful of relatively low-volume cars from GM's shed brands, including the Pontiac Solstice and Saturn Sky.
Fisker's first car, called the Karma, is a high-end luxury car priced at about $88,000. The Karma, which is will be manufactured in Europe, will be available in the middle of next year.
Fisker Automotive received $528.7 million from a Department of Energy loan in September, which will fund the purchase of the factory from GM. The company expects to buy the plant for $18 million and spend another $175 million to retool the factory over the next three years.
The technology used by Fisker, called an extended-range electric vehicle or series hybrid, is similar to that used by General Motors' Chevy Volt. The Karma will go 50 miles on batteries, and then a gasoline engine will run a generator for longer rides, for a total range 300 miles.
The Toyota FT-EVII is a new electric concept car based on the iQ platform.
(Credit: Automotive News)Although a leader in hybrid cars, generally conservative Toyota has seemed uninterested in developing electric cars--until now. At the 2009 Tokyo Motor Show, Toyota unveiled the FT-EVII, an electric car concept.
Toyota does away with a traditional steering wheel in favor of modern art.
(Credit: Automotive News)In putting together the FT-EVII, Toyota used its own off-the-shelf technologies, such as the iQ platform and components from its Synergy hybrid system. Although not on sale in the U.S., gasoline- and diesel-powered Toyota iQs are sold in Japan and the U.K. For the power train, Toyota went to lithium ion batteries for the FT-EVII, as opposed to the nickel-metal-hydride power pack from its current hybrid vehicles.
Where many electric cars in development, such as the Nissan Leaf and Mitsubishi iMiev, are specified to get about 100 miles range, Toyota only proposes 56 miles for the FT-EVII, and a top speed of 62 mph. These figures limit its use to sprawling metropolises, such as Tokyo, London, and New York.
Toyota also wanted to break away from traditional notions of automotive performance, so did away with a conventional steering wheel or foot pedals. Instead, the FT-EVII gets a weird-looking yoke, a piece of sculpture that supports an instrument cluster, navigation device, and a cup holder.
Toyota modified its hybrid badge, replacing the blue inset with a yellow one.
(Credit: Automotive News)The FT appellation, which we previously saw when Toyota announced the FT-86 concept, also on display at the Tokyo Motor Show, stands for Future Technology. We expect to see many more FT concept cars from Toyota in the coming years.
It's official: Audi's e-tron is a go.
Audi of America President Johan de Nysschen says an electric vehicle based on the high-performance e-tron concept will debut in the United States in two to three years.
The sleek two-seat sports car was unveiled at the Frankfurt auto show last month, but at the time Audi would not confirm plans to produce it. Now de Nysschen says the car is on its way.
"I expect we will see running examples in the next 24 months," he says.
The Audi e-tron concept, unveiled in Frankfurt last month, has four electric motors, one on each axle. It has a range of 154 miles using a lithium ion battery.
(Credit: Wayne Cunningham/CNET)The e-tron concept is powered by four electric motors, one on each axle. Audi says the car has a range of 154 miles using a lithium ion battery positioned behind the passenger cabin.
The show car is 168 inches long--about midway between Audi's TT and R8 sports cars--and 75 inches wide.
The e-tron uses a space frame. All the added-on body parts, including the doors and roof, are made of a fiber-reinforced plastic.
Audi also is developing hybrid vehicles. The first on the U.S. market will be the Q5 crossover, scheduled to debut in the 2011 model year.
(Source: Automotive News)
DETROIT--BorgWarner will supply its eGearDrive transmission to the Coda electric sedan, scheduled for U.S. introduction in California in mid-2010.
The sedan also will have a PowerPhase 100 electric propulsion system supplied by UQM Technologies, which makes brushless, permanent-magnet electric motors.
BorgWarner, of suburban Detroit, initially plans to supply the transmissions from its factory in Longview, Texas, to an assembly plant in China, spokeswoman Erika Nielsen said. Eventually, the company may supply the transmissions from its factory in Beijing as volumes and the business case warrant, she said.
BorgWarner's production will start in July, and Coda Automotive will start production around August, Nielsen said.
Coda, of Santa Monica, Calif., was launched in June as an offshoot of Miles Electric Vehicles, which makes neighborhood electric vehicles for fleets.
Coda said Chinese automaker Harbin Hafei Automotive will provide the $45,000 sedan's chassis and assemble the car in Harbin, China. Lithium ion battery packs will come from China's Tianjin Lishen Battery.
BorgWarner makes engine air management systems, transmissions, and all-wheel-drive systems.
(Source: Automotive News)
FRANKFURT--Early next decade, BMW of North America plans to sell an electric "megacity car" as a subbrand of BMW, similar to the brand's M high-performance cars. But further details are skimpy.
BMW is already preparing for that launch. Its yearlong trial with the Mini E electric car has opened the auto marketer's eyes to the maze of regulations facing plug-in electric cars.
"We are learning a heck of a lot just about the sheer infrastructure," says Jim O'Donnell, CEO of BMW of North America. "When we bring out another electric car, we will be in a great position because we know all the wrinkles."
BMW has 450 Mini E electric cars running in a yearlong trial in metropolitan New York, New Jersey, and Los Angeles.
There should be more cars on the roads. But after more than six months of addressing regulatory hurdles, Mini has yet to get approval to install more than 30 additional fast-charge boxes in New Jersey. With a 240-volt box, the Mini E can be recharged in three hours rather than the 21 hours needed using 110-volt power.
"If you are in a house with a normal supply and you want to bring a 240-volt [charger], you have to have an agreement from the power utility," O'Donnell says. "New Jersey is the most difficult because there are so many local authorities."
An inspector from each municipality has to approve the installation to make sure it complies with local codes. The cost of the box ranges from $1,500 to $1,800. The box had to be approved by Underwriters Laboratories Inc.
What O'Donnell calls "the New Jersey problem" is compounded because "all the components are certified, but they say the system isn't certified," he says.
A BMW spokesman says the Mini E experience is a prelude to a more widespread launch of electric vehicles.
"We are dealing with only three metropolitan areas of the United States," he says. "Think about when you start to build the national network and all those local codes."
(Source: Automotive News)
