Environmentally Friendly Cars

Startup car manufacturer Fisker Automotive is closing in on the launch of the 2011 plug-in hybrid Fisker Karma sports sedan. The lead guy for marketing, Marti Eulberg, hired an ad agency based in California, Lambesis to handle the launch.

The carmaker was asked several times why they were hiding the car from the public with only Prince Frederik of Norway, the only outsider that has driven it on the roads. Some may argue that Fisker had to do more testing because of the switch to lithium ion batteries late in the ball game. However executives of Fisker discounts that saying that they just have to make sure that everything is fully ready and running well.

Fisker had to do an extensive review of nine advertising agencies before giving the green light to Lambesis.

The car manufacturer plans to roll out its first model this year, a 403 horsepower Karma that has a starting tag price of $90,000. They are looking into possible sales of around 15,000 units.

A launch for a new car may hit a high cost of around $50 million but Fisker has been doing rounds of the different auto shows and have been pushing for their products over the internet. The official website of Fisker has registered for it the most orders compared to the other possible channels.

Fisker entrusts the car to be globally promoted by Lambesis. Their first project will be to revamp Fisker’s website this fall.

EVI or Electric Vehicles International launches their medium-duty truck called the MD EVI. The company also signs a joint venture with Freightliner Custom Chassis Corporation to come up with an electric powered walk in van tagged as the WI EVI.

During the unveiling of the new electric truck at their new headquarters in the Stockton, California, EVI also disclosed an agreement with Valence Technologies to develop storage systems utilizing Lithium-ion technology.

MD EVI

This electric vehicle is designed to meet the demands of businesses with gross weight rating as a Class 4 or 15,000 pounds ranging to class 6 or 25,950 pounds. The electric motor that powers the truck occupies lesser space than the conventional engine, this gives the truck a higher wheel cut or making it as a very maneuverable vehicle in its class.

The truck will utilize 3-phase 360volt motor which can give out about 146hp and a torque of 450 ft-lb. The engine is coupled with a six-speed automatic transmission. The MD EVI has a top speed of 60 mph.

The battery gives the electric truck a range of 115 miles which is more than the average distance needed to complete a usual commercial base to base trip. The battery can be charged overnight.

WI EVI

The electric van will make use of the same drive train as the MD EVI and except that it will make use of a chassis designed by the FCCC. The battery for the electric van will come in three ranges: 60, miles, 80 miles, and 115 miles.

The Trabant is the answer of the communist East Germany to the Beetle of the Volkswagen. It was manufactured by VEB Sachsenring Automobilwerk Zwickau in 1958. Its design is very simple and went untouched until it was killed after the fall of the Berlin wall.

It was fondly or irritatingly called Trabi by the people. The Trabant is being remembered as the least reliable, slowest, and most pollting vehicle known to man, so they say. But the very simple architecture and engineering of the Trabant made it very easy to self repair even by owners. The parts of the cars are everywhere or one can simply fabricate or improvise.

The Trabant has been treated as an icon and about 50,000 of them are still on the road. No matter a reputation, it has survived the test of time that’s why some enthusiasts and believers are planning to resurrect the car. It will not run the streets as the clunky vehicle as it is known to be but a green electric vehicle.

Since 2007, IndiKar while in close cooperation with Herpa, the owner now of the Trabant name, has been trying to revive the car. They will be unveiling to the public an all new electric Trabant during the Frankfurt Auto Show kicking off next week.

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A McDonald’s branch in Cary, North Carolina is the first in the food chain business in more than 10 years to install a re-charging station for electric cars. The ChargePoint is a step closer for the McDonald’s in Cary to go green. The owner also uses earth friendly materials and other technologies for the restaurant.

The branch is expected to open by 14 July. Car owners who will need to charge their plug-in vehicles will have a designated parking space. The ChargePoint is a way of McDonald’s to promote to the next generation the importance of a cleaner environment.

Back in the 1990’s a branch of McDonald’s in Phoenix, Arizona also put up a charging station to have room for an earlier wave of electric vehicles. Reports also reveal that installing charging stations in the network of McDonald’s in Sweden is also in the works.

How the plug-in vehicles in the market today may really be dependent on the presence of an infrastructure where owners can recharge their vehicles. These stations should be located ideally near their place of work or spots they frequent.

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Entrepreneur Malcolm Bricklin who heads Visionary Vehicles is proposing to upgrade new cars from GM and Chrysler with a hydrogen hybrid engine that will have high fuel efficiency.

Bricklin sees the revolutionary product as an answer to the woes of the auto industry brought about by global financial crisis. He sees it as an opportunity for dealers to pick up the rubbles and rebuild, and for the industry as a whole to create manufacturing jobs.

He was the prime mover of bringing cars from Yugo vehicles, Fiat, and Subaru to the display rooms in the United States in the 1990s.

Visionary Vehicles also negotiated with Chery Auto of China in 2006 for a distribution right of their cars in the US market. The strict safety guidelines in the US were a major wall faced by the negotiations.

Malcolm Bricklin is suggesting the purchase of around 300000 brand new units from Chrysler and GM and customizing them with the hydrogen hybrid engine.

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How would you like a passenger shuttle that can be converted to a cargo vehicle whenever you want to?

ZAP surely knows the kind of utility vehicle that the most practical people are looking for. In just a matter of time, ZAP will introduce its four-wheel electric passenger van convertible to cargo truck at the annual conference of the National Automobile Dealers Association. It will be in New Orleans later January.

With removable seats, this van can definitely be used for transporting equipments when needed. The cargo function has a 108 cubic ft. and it can carry up to 900 pounds in capacity.

No worry for its use on the road since it is in conformity with the US regulations for Low Speed Vehicles. It can run at 25 mph on street limits. It has posted 35 mph speed limit. It’s an electric van that’s why it posts such a range of speed limit.

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Scientists from the ETH Zurich are working on the development of a hybrid engine depending on pneumatics. The internal combustion of the power plant of the vehicle will be linked to a compressed air storage instead of the usual battery system. The paper with regard to this will formally be presented during the 2009 SAW World Congress.

Pneumatic engine design may give way to a more efficient fuel consumption that is comparable to hybrid cars. The concept of pneumatic engine design is based on the supercharging and down sizing concepts.

The pneumatic engine works efficiently by utilizing an electronically controlled valve that regulates the flow of compressed air concurrent with the injection of the fuel.

The technology also allows downsizing. The average 150 horsepower car can be downsized to only 30 horse power which is sufficient enough for dialing driving.

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I like this Nissan NuVu Electric Car MUCHO! It looks somewhat strange, but that’s fine for a concept car if you ask me. The real innovation is in the techy stuff, and Nissan Car Talk has some excellent info in their article on this Nissan NuVu:

… [Nissan] is still a bit tight-lipped about the exact specifications of the NuVu, but word has it that the drivetrain is a fully functional mobile test bed of the new technology that Nissan plans using in the production of the electric vehicle slated for launching in 2010. What consumers can expect, however, is that the NuVu will be able to run at the top speed of around 75 mph and has a 77-mile range. The NuVu will use a lithium-ion battery pack that is capable of 140 watt hours per kilogram…

Looks (and sounds) pretty impressive, doesn’t it?

The US Department of Agriculture and Department of Energy will allocate $25 million for research and development that will lead to new technologies in biofuel processing, bio-based products, and bioenergy.

The two agencies of government are joining forces to support projects that will help increase the availability of alternative fuels that are renewable and based on bio products.

Funds will be allocated on a yearly basis, to help kick off efforts on producing sustainable resources of renewable biomass. The fuels that will be products of these research and development projects will help significantly in lowering the green house gasses by at least 50%.

The funding opportunity announcement of the USDA and DOE are specifically looking into development of feedstock, biofuels, analysis of biofuels, and production of other bioproducts.

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A123Systems has proposed an application to qualify for the $ 1.84 billion budget in direct loans under the $25 billion Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing Incentive Program (ATVMIP) of the US Department of Energy. This is in support of the company’s plans of building new lithium-ion battery production line in the US, in which Michigan is the foremost site of construction.

If the application is granted, the program would allow A123Systems to develop its production ability in the U.S., intended to provide battery systems for hybrid EVs or plug-in electric vehicles.

A123 anticipates that the total covered area of the facilities will be around 7 million sq. ft. and will create more than 14,000 new jobs. These factories will be producing batteries and technologies that would meet the expectations of A123’s client base in the automotive sector. The company’s existing customers comprises BAE Systems, AES, Black and Decker, Chrysler LLC, Cessna, Project Better Place, General Motors, and Think.

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