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This is the Kodak Moment for the Auto Industry

Plug-In Drivers Not Missin' the Piston Electric vehicles are here to stay. Their market acceptance is currently small but growing...

Thursday, November 28, 2013

US Plug-in Vehicle Sales Zooms Past 150,000


Plug-in vehicle (PEV) sales in the US have passed the 150,000 mark according to Plug In America’s sales counter.

It was just in May of this year when we passed the 100,000 milestone. The lucky owner of that vehicle was a Mitsubishi i-MiEV driver in Alabama.

Now (just 6 months later) the 150,000th car with a cord has hit the roads. There is no word on who bought the 150,000th car or what or which model was.

2013 is likely to double the number of PEVs on the road. This continued rapid growth in sales and available vehicle models looks to be a tipping point for plug-in vehicles. This rapid growth will soon accelerate them from niche vehicles to significant market share.

In 2014, new plug-in vehicles models are coming from BMW, Volkswagen, Volvo and others. These vehicles will make more people aware of plug-in vehicles and the exponential growth of sales will likely continue after we ring in the new year.


 Plug In America

Tuesday, November 19, 2013

Range Extender Coming for Nissan Leaf?


I love driving my Nissan Leaf. It is my goto vehicle for commuting, errands, and other around town trips. Using the West Coast Electric Highway, I have even made 200 mile roundtrips in it. Yet, it is not the only car that I drive. Occasionally, I need to travel a long distance and it doesn't happen to be on a "wired highway". For these rare holiday trips, it would be nice to be able to take my Leaf.

The ‘EP Tender’ would allow me to do just that. It is a small generator and fuel tank mounted on a trailer. It is made by a French company and available for rent when needed.

The range extender allows an EV such as the Renault Zoe or Nissan Leaf to drive for an additional 300 miles and to fill-up at any gas station. The trailer contains a two cylinder engine that runs an efficient turbine that creates enough power to keep the car humming along.


A remote control allows you to selectively enable the generator, so you can either use it when the car's battery is nearly depleted, or you can start the generator immediately and arrive with a full battery pack to use at your destination. And because you rent the trailer, they handle all of the maintenance associated with internal combustion engines that electric car drivers obviously don't want to be bothered with.

I hope these are available in the US soon. And hey, EP Tender, if you are looking a beta tester, drop me a line.

http://www.eptender.com/

Monday, November 18, 2013

Carl Pope: Breaking Oil's Monopoly: Easier Done than Said

Carl Pope: Breaking Oil's Monopoly: Easier Done than Said: "Global oil demand is 90 mbd. Of that, 80 mbd is cheap -- $30 or less - conventional oil, mostly from OPEC. About 5 mbd is moderately priced unconventional oil - shallow off-shore, light-tight US oil like the Bakken, or secondary recovery from depleted fields. This unconventional oil costs between $30-$60/bbl.

The final 5 mbd of demand breaks the bank. To supply it, the oil industry taps extreme oil fields in the remote Arctic, the ultra-deep ocean, or heavy tar sands in Canada"

The Latest News From The Disneyland Resort

The Latest News From The Disneyland Resort: "AUTOPIA
If you have not heard, the Chevron sponsorship of Autopia has officially ended.  But instead of renewing, Disney let the agreement go.  Why?  We will get to that in a minute.  But here are shots from the ride, Chevron-less."


Friday, November 15, 2013

Charge Ahead California Launches Million Electric Vehicle Campaign

Charge Ahead California Launches Million Electric Vehicle Campaign:

"Shifting to electric vehicles will also keep more transportation dollars in-state, boosting the economy and creating new jobs."

“Driving on electricity significantly reduces emissions and is equivalent to paying only one dollar-per-gallon in a gasoline vehicle. Bolstering our electric vehicle industry also means good-paying jobs in manufacturing and related fields that communities of color so urgently need.”

"A recent MIT study found that traffic pollution causes almost 6,000 premature mortalities annually in California, almost twice the number killed in traffic accidents."

"Over-reliance on fossil fuel is threatening the health of our families and communities,” said Bill Gallegos, executive director of Communities for a Better Environment. “By expanding the market for zero emission technologies and green infrastructure for transportation, charging and manufacturing, we can make significant improvements to our air quality as well as provide sustainable job opportunities..."

"Californians spend $70 billion on gasoline and diesel annually, $40 billion of which leaves the state in payments to oil companies and foreign oil producing countries. The use of electricity as a transportation fuel can help keep those dollars in the state, stimulating the economy, and insulating family budgets from gas price spikes. Filling California’s cars, trucks and buses with electricity instead of oil would help grow the state’s economy, creating up to 100,000 additional jobs by 2030."

"Automakers are beginning to bring a diversity of advanced electric drive vehicles to the market, which don’t rely on gasoline and appeal to families across the income spectrum. Most automakers today are either selling or making zero-polluting cars for sale within the next few years."