A person who drives 60 miles to work every day has different needs than someone who drives across town. So instead of designing electric cars to match the performance of petroleum-powered vehicles, researchers at Carnegie Mellon’s ChargeCar initiative think that EVs should be designed for individual commuting needs. To that end, ChargeCar hopes to create a so-called “commute ecology” based on crowdsourced data to develop EVs for different types of commutes.
The Progressive Automotive X-Prize is heating up as the May 2010 start date approaches, and one of our favorite entrants is the eVARO, a three-wheeled plug-in hybrid from Future Vehicles Technology. The sleek electric vehicle can go from 0 to 60 MPH in 5 seconds and purportedly reaches 275 mpg under certain conditions. And for those times when there isn’t a gas station in site, the eVARO can cruise for up to 90 miles on pure battery power.
Toyota is leasing 500 prototype plug-in hybrid Prius’s to lucky recipients in the U.S, Europe, and Japan next year, but what about all the other Prius owners who want to provide some plug-in juice to their cars? Enter 3Prong Power, a Berkeley, California startup that offers plug-in hybrid conversions for first, second and third generation Prius’s as well as the Ford Escape Hybrid.
We’ve see plenty of great green concept cars at this week’s Tokyo Motor Show, but Yamaha might take the prize for the best-looking two-wheeler with its new EC-f electric motorcycle. Designed to make motorcycling attractive to riders of all ages and experience levels, the vehicle features a lightweight aluminum frame, a long-lasting lithium ion battery, and a 0.6 kWh electric motor.
The problem with most electric vehicle charging stations is that you never know where your electricity is coming from–and unfortunately it’s often arriving courtesy of a dirty coal plant. Luckily, the prefab SunPods SP-300 EV Plug-N-Go solar charging station, installed this week in San Jose, CA, changes that by reassuring EV drivers that their power is coming straight from the sun.
Hydrogen peroxide is best known for its properties as a hair dye and disinfectant, but it might just power the next generation of drag racers as well. Unlike expensive hydrogen fuel cell and electric-powered cars, h202-powered vehicles are both cheap (hydrogen peroxide is just water with an extra oxygen molecule) and fast — drag racers powered by the stuff can quickly reach speeds of 450 mph!
Electric vehicles already attract attention on the street, but if you really want to get noticed, consider buying the Cupcake Car, a tasty-looking automobile designed by Bay Area artist Lisa Pongrace. It’s certainly one way to drive your efficient vehicle and eat it too (although it’s not actually edible, so you probably want to hold off on that).
One of the biggest problems with electric vehicle technology is the lack of a plug-in infrastructure on our roads. But that problem is about to disappear — at least for some commuters on Highway 101 going between San Francisco and Los Angeles — thanks to a so-called “electric highway” of five recharging stations between the two cities. Four of the stations are already online, and a fifth will be up and running in Goleta by October.
The problem with grid-powered electric cars, bikes, and scooters is that you never know what’s supplying their energy. Is it coal, solar, nuclear, or some combination of the three? Enter the E-Move Charging Station, a solar-powered filling station in Bozen, Denmark that can charge up to eight vehicles at the same time. With the E-Move station, you’ll always know where your vehicles power is coming from – the sun!
Outside of Israel and Shai Agassi’s electric vehicle (EV) infrastructure company Better Place, the Middle East doesn’t have much of an electric car industry. That might change soon now that a team of Iranian scientists from Tehran’s Khaje Nasir Toosi University of Technology have developed the country’s first EV, a mini two-seater called “Qasedak-e Nasir”, or the dandelion of Nasir.
Hybrid-electric vehicles are expected to explode in popularity over the next decade thanks to their gasoline-saving abilities. But Korea’s Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) thinks that battery-powered cars aren’t the answer to our energy crisis. Instead, KAIST has developed a new kind of electric vehicle that forgoes batteries entirely and instead relies on power from cables buried beneath the road.
Tesla has been bringing innovation and green style to auto industry, ever since the groundbreaking launch of the Tesla Roadster – and more recently with the announcement of the Model S sedan. But is Tesla content to rest on its laurels for now? Not likely. Elon Musk, the company’s CEO, sat down recently for an interview in which he revealed that the next version of the Tesla Roadster will ditch its Lotus roots and will be bigger, better, stronger, and, most importantly, roomier!
Just yesterday we had the chance to sit down with John Viera, Ford Motor Company’s Director of Sustainable Business Strategies, to talk about how the Big Three manufacturer is going green. Viera touched on a number of topics, but we were most interested in what he had to say about Ford’s future in plug-in hybrid (PHEV) and electric vehicles (EV). Read on for our exclusive interview!
We love our green sports cars here at Inhabitat, and we have plenty of room on our favorites list for more than one. While we’ve been raving for the last two years about the Tesla Roadster, the Fisker Karma has been doing the one thing Tesla has yet to do: bring a hybrid sports car to market. Created by noted car designer Henrik Fisker, the ultra cool Karma is a sleek, power packed eco-luxury ride.
We get all revved up whenever we hear new developments on the fabulously sexy electric Tesla Roadster. We were floored when we caught our first glimpse of this ultra-sleek sports car, and beside ourselves when this amazing electric vehicle started into production. You can be sure that the latest news announcing that Tesla has just opened its first dealership in Los Angeles has got our green vehicle radar on overdrive. Built close to the 405 freeway (11163 Santa Monica Blvd. for those of you living in Los Angeles), the Tesla Store is the first of five stores currently planned to open up in the United States.
With a name like ‘No More Gas’, you can bet that this cute little personal electric vehicle is as good to the environment as it is to the user. Its size, weight and fuel make it much better for the planet, while its look and driving experience make it great fun for the driver. Looking like it’s dropped straight out of an episode of The Jetsons, this tiny car can achieve speeds of over 75mph for a cost of $0.02 per mile. All this eco-goodness earned Myers Motors’ NmG vehicle kudos at this year’s Well-Tech Awards exhibit in Milan.
Step right in ladies and gentlemen, and gaze at the marvels of modern technology! Allow us to show you the most amazing car of the century: The magnificent Detroit Electric, the car of summer luxury! This 100 year-old antique electric car will be available in early 2009 from ZAP and China Youngman Automotive Group, proving once and for all that there is no such thing as a new idea. The Detroit Electric is considered to be the most popular electric car in history — and was produced by the Anderson Electric Car Company in 1907 (production ran from 1907 to 1939). This cute little EV could go fo 130 miles on one charge, and had a top speed of about 32km/h. Famous Detroit Electric owners included Thomas Edison, Charles Proteus Steinmetz and John D. Rockefeller, Jr.
We’re not your typical car geeks here at Inhabitat, but if there is one vehicle that we go gaga for above all others it is the Tesla Roadster. The gorgeous all-electric sports vehicle drives as smoothly as any other sports car out there, only it is way better looking, and completely emissions free! This month, Tesla Motors announced that the highly anticipated 2008 electric Tesla Roadster is finally in production for sale this year!
When shopping for a new car, you might be looking for fuel efficiency, style, and safety. But after seeing the new Nissan Pivo 2 electric concept car, you might just have to add “talking robot” to your list of must-haves. This car’s personal robot doesn’t just talk — but it reads and detects a driver’s mood as well, in order to help you drive safer and better. On display at the recent Geneva Motor Show, the Nissan Pivo 2 is truly an electric vehicle of the future. And according to these guys, the future looks pretty darn cute!
If you have not yet heard of the battery powered Tesla Roadster, where have you been hiding your sustainable self? We are almost rendered speechless by the awesomeness factor of this amazing electric vehicle, which goes from 0 to 60 mph in four seconds, drives up to 250 miles per charge (which costs under $5) and comes with an aesthetic that not only competes with its luxury brethren – but leaves the stodgy non-electric models in the dust.
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