Go Electric | Tesla Motors

Go Electric | Tesla Motors: "WHY SHOULD CARS BURN GASOLINE?

The Tesla Roadster isn't just fun to drive - it provides exhilarating electric miles with technology more efficient than any other sports car. An engine dependent on combustion will never attain the efficiency of the Tesla electric powertrain. The driving efficiency of a Roadster is 88% compared to 20-25% for traditional gas-powered cars. The experience of beating an equivalent gas-guzzling sports car off the line is exhilarating - and using less energy to do it makes the Tesla grin that much bigger. While hybrid (including plug-in hybrids with 'range extenders') technologies increase the efficiency of internal combustion, they are still less efficient than an electric vehicle like the Tesla Roadster."

Efficiency | Tesla Motors

Efficiency | Tesla Motors: "WELL-TO-WHEEL EFFICIENCY

Comparing an example of each technology reveals that Tesla electric technology uses energy most efficiently. As utility companies build more efficient power plants and bring more renewables online, the well-to-station efficiency will significantly increase. In turn, the overall vehicle efficiency increases to levels never to be recognized by internal combustion or hybrid technologies."

Is Hydrogen Research Driven by Fantasy? - Scitizen

Is Hydrogen Research Driven by Fantasy? - Scitizen:

"A new study finds that research efforts at creating a hydrogen economy may be driven more by fantasy than sound science.

As many readers of this forum likely already know, the “hydrogen economy” would rely on hydrogen to power vehicles and electricity generators and produce only water vapor as “pollution.” Proponents promise that the use of hydrogen as a primary fuel could greatly reduce the tension between energy use and environmental degradation."

Advertising - With New Products, Nissan Plays Up Innovation - NYTimes.com

Advertising - With New Products, Nissan Plays Up Innovation - NYTimes.com: "Nissan is “rallying around innovation,” said Jon Brancheau, vice president for Nissan marketing at Nissan North America in Franklin, Tenn., as embodied by the Leaf, the mass-market electric car that the company is to bring out at the end of the year.

Leaf is “the poster child for innovation,”"

EV-Driving San Francisco Mayor Launches Plug-in Hybrid Demo Project | PluginCars.com

EV-Driving San Francisco Mayor Launches Plug-in Hybrid Demo Project | PluginCars.com: "Mayor Newsom spoke passionately and eloquently about the importance of bringing plug-in hybrids and electric cars to San Francisco. “This is the game-changing technology that can really impact our oil dependency and our foreign policy as it relates to that dependency. We’ve got to get people out of the old combustion engine vehicles.”"

BikePortland.org � Blog Archive � Electric vehicles, 'The Portland Way'

BikePortland.org � Blog Archive � Electric vehicles, 'The Portland Way': "To say there's momentum in our region for electric vehicles would be a major understatement. Last week, the Portland City Council voted to accept the recommendations in Electric Vehicles: The Portland Way, a report (PDF) on EVs that lays out a strategy for integrating more battery-powered cars into our city."

i-Miev: Japanese Buyers Flock To Buy Mitsubishi's Affordable Electric Car

i-Miev: Japanese Buyers Flock To Buy Mitsubishi's Affordable Electric Car: "Japan's first mass-market electric car went on sale in showrooms Thursday as the futuristic technology becomes more affordable amid a burgeoning price war.

The four-seater bubble-shaped i-MiEV from Mitsubishi Motors Corp., Japan's fifth-biggest automaker, costs 2.8 million yen ($30,500) after government incentives are figured into the price of 4 million yen ($43,000).

Proud i-MiEV buyer Chitoshi Okunuki, 72, placed an advance order at a higher price in August and was thrilled at Mitsubishi's decision Tuesday to cut the price by 620,000 yen ($6,700)."

BP’s Loss, Our Opportunity: Driving Electric Can Help Cure Oil Addiction | The Green Economy Post: Green Careers, Green Business, Sustainability

BP’s Loss, Our Opportunity: Driving Electric Can Help Cure Oil Addiction | The Green Economy Post: Green Careers, Green Business, Sustainability: "Oil has monopolized America’s transportation sector, but this is changing. By the end of 2010, several major automobile manufacturers, including Nissan, General Motors, Volt, Nissan,GM, Ford, Mitsubishi, Toyota, Volvo, BMW, and Mercedes will release their first generation electric vehicles – vehicles that allow you to run partially and even fully on electricity."

Test Drive: Nissan Leaf

Test Drive: Nissan Leaf: "The Leaf is a car I’d recommend to anyone who’s already game, but it’s not going to change anyone’s mind who isn’t already interested in getting a plug-in. That’ll happen a few years down the road."

Fuel Cell Cars: Where Are They Now? - Driver's Seat - WSJ

Fuel Cell Cars: Where Are They Now? - Driver's Seat - WSJ: "With the Chevrolet Volt, Nissan Leaf and other battery powered�vehicles getting so much attention lately, it is easy to forget about that other type of electric car — the fuel cell vehicle.

Does anyone remember hydrogen fuel cells? They were all the rage in the early�aughts.�Several major car makers built elaborate prototypes and some,�including General Motors and Honda Motor Co., heralded fuel cells as the best long-term solution for kicking�our nation’s fossil-fuel addiction."

2011 Nissan Leaf Drive Review: A Real Electric Car for Real People (Page 3) - All Cars Electric

2011 Nissan Leaf Drive Review: A Real Electric Car for Real People (Page 3) - All Cars Electric: "But Nissan haven't made any such excuses.� And there's not a Birkenstock, oversized poncho or political argument in sight.
With a range of around 100 miles per charge, fast charging possible to 80% full in 30 minutes when using a fast charge station and a top speed well above any freeway limit, the 2011 Nissan Leaf is a real car.
A real car for real people. Let us not forget that the car's name, the Nissan LEAF, is actually an acronym.
Leading, Environmentally-friendly, Affordable, Family car."

Living On Electric Avenue Diary: Day Five - Translogic

Living On Electric Avenue Diary: Day Five - Translogic: "They were afraid of running out of juice too far from home. So, Mitsubishi installed charging stations in strategic locations and told the test group where they were. Then they began racking up the miles, but strangely enough, they weren't using the recharging stations. It turned out they had plenty of juice to get to and from work. They just wanted to know the stations were there... in case."

Tea Partier Warns Against Commie Bike Conspiracy

Tea Partier Warns Against Commie Bike Conspiracy: "On the conservative Oregon Catalyst site, for example, radio blabber Lars Larson and his fans are on a tear against the Chevy Volt, GM’s new electric car. And this morning’s Bulletin has a spectacularly stupid cartoon by Chip Bok showing a Volt driving along a highway labeled “Road to Serfdom,” with somebody in the car saying: “Fortunately, it will only go 40 miles.”"

No Active Thermal Management: Did Nissan Make the Right Call? | PluginCars.com

No Active Thermal Management: Did Nissan Make the Right Call? | PluginCars.com: "The 8 year / 100,000 mile warranty is a good step in the right direction and shows confidence, but I think Nissan needs to be a little more forthcoming about why they decided to omit what just about every other auto manufacturer believes is necessary in an EV."

Energy Tribune- Unplugged! Why Electric Cars Are the Next Big Thing…And They Always Will Be

Energy Tribune- Unplugged! Why Electric Cars Are the Next Big Thing…And They Always Will Be: "The media’s coverage of the electric-car sector demonstrates more than 100 years of gullibility. The gee-whiz factor of electric cars with their big batteries, small motors, and whisper-quiet locomotion appears to be so dazzling that reporters willingly give up their skepticism like star-struck groupies surrendering their panties."

Op-Ed Contributor - The Volt - G.M.’s Electric Lemon - NYTimes.com

Op-Ed Contributor - The Volt - G.M.’s Electric Lemon - NYTimes.com: "Start with the $50 billion bailout (without which none of this would have been necessary), add $240 million in Energy Department grants doled out to G.M. last summer, $150 million in federal money to the Volt’s Korean battery supplier, up to $1.5 billion in tax breaks for purchasers and other consumer incentives, and some significant portion of the $14 billion loan G.M. got in 2008 for “retooling” its plants, and you’ve got some idea of how much taxpayer cash is built into every Volt."

Coming to a theater near you: EVs

Coming to a theater near you: EVs: "Ghosn is looking to leapfrog Toyota with the Leaf: 'He's about the money.

'He's about the spreadsheet. If they're not going to make money on it, he wouldn't be in the game.'"

Charging Ahead at 98 - In the Driver's Seat

Charging Ahead at 98 - In the Driver's Seat: "I recently had the honor of dining with fellow Tesla roadster owner Howard Dunholter, who at 98 years of age is clearly not your 'typical' Tesla enthusiast. �Howard's interest in EVs began way back in 1921 when he was a ten-year-old tot. He remembers watching lamp-like electric horseless carriages gliding through his hometown"

Senator Calls For Freedom From Foreign Oil � - Top News - Talk Radio News Service: News, Politics, Media

Senator Calls For Freedom From Foreign Oil � - Top News - Talk Radio News Service: News, Politics, Media: "“Eliminating our dependence on foreign oil would have many, many, benefits,” said Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR) Monday while speaking at the Center for American Progress. Merkley emphasized the United States' need for comprehensive energy and climate reform that would target the country's dependence on expensive and unstable foreign oil.

The Democratic Senator introduced a prospective, 20 year agenda aimed at ending America’s dependence on foreign oil. Merkely believes his plan would be politically and economically feasible, and environmentally beneficial."

Chevy competes for best deal on electric car - The Morning Sun Business: Serving Clare, Gratiot and Isabella counties

Chevy competes for best deal on electric car - The Morning Sun Business: Serving Clare, Gratiot and Isabella counties: "GM's $350-a-month lease deal is for 36 months with $2,500 down. Nissan's lease plan is $349 a month over the same period with $1,995 down. Toprak said the Volt lease will be heavily subsidized by GM as a way to get people into Chevrolet showrooms."

Mileage tax suggested to replace gasoline tax | The Columbus Dispatch

Mileage tax suggested to replace gasoline tax | The Columbus Dispatch: "For decades, paying for roads has been fairly straightforward.

Motorists pay at the pump through gasoline taxes. It's more or less fair, too: The more you drive, the more you pay.

But more and more, people involved in transportation planning and construction say that model is breaking down"

2011 Nissan Leaf Drive Review: A Real Electric Car for Real People (Page 3) - All Cars Electric

2011 Nissan Leaf Drive Review: A Real Electric Car for Real People (Page 3) - All Cars Electric: "Until recently, electric cars have been considered the playthings of the rich and wealthy, or the political statements of the extreme environmentalist keen to bring down demonic oil barons."