The First Public J1772: Another Leap Closer to Plugging In

The first Level 2 public J1772 charging station in the world went operational on Monday, May 3rd 2010, some 10 miles from Sacramento Airport in Woodside, California. This is a historic achievement for the new generation of plug-in vehicles. J1772 is the universal standard that will charge all the coming new plug-ins in the U.S.

Tom Dowling, charging infrastructure manager with the Electric Auto Assn. and long-time EV driver (12 years!), had the J1772 interface installed. The charger itself, is a ClipperCreek model CS-40 with a 208 volt capacity.

Of course, there are no vehicles for the station to charge at the moment because there are no J1772-capable cars on the road yet. But at press time, Tom expected an early Leaf, slated to visit UC Davis, to visit the charging station for a photo op and a charge in mid-May. In a tantalizingly few months, there should be lots of J1772-capable cars craving a charge at the station.

"This installation of an SAE J1172(tm) charging station is an important milestone" Tom says. "Here we have a fully UL-approved charging station, cable, and connector. Suppliers are ready to provide fully-approved equipment in volume. We're actually ready for vehicles before the vehicles arrive. We don't have the problems the BMW Mini E trial had, where the vehicles arrived before all the approvals were complete, and we have a new universal standard connector, not a vehicle-manufacturer-specific connector. Now all we need are the vehicles."

The J1772 location also boasts the first public Tesla charging station, a ClipperCreek TS-90, installed in '09 as well as legacy charging stations for Toyota's RAV4 EV and Ford's Ranger EV.

Source: Plug-in America may 2010 Newsletter

Video: Chevy Volt driving

Transportation Electrification an Economic Bonus - In the Driver's Seat

Transportation Electrification an Economic Bonus - In the Driver's Seat: "The Electrification Coalition� released its 'roadmap' for conversion of the auto industry to plug-in vehicles last Fall, and an economic analysis released today reports that their plan would benefit the economy, create jobs, put money in consumers' pockets, reduce the national debt, and help stabilize the economy from the effects of future oil shocks."

EVs 100 Years Later - 1909 vs 2010

Jay Leno compares his 1909 Baker Electric to the Ford Focus BEV.

video: LEAF vs. Volt

Nissan LEAF versus Chevy Volt

EV Incentives - Google Maps

EV Incentives - Google Maps: "Credit of up to $5,000 for conversion or purchase costs (PHEV only). Up to $1,500 for purchase of or conversion to BEV. (Oregon Revised Statutes 316.116 &�HB 2180)"

Nissan Prices Electric Leaf at $40,600 - WSJ.com

Nissan Prices Electric Leaf at $40,600 - WSJ.com: "YOKOHAMA—Nissan Motor Co. said Tuesday it will start selling its Leaf electric car in December with a price tag of 3.76 million yen, or about $40,600.

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Nissan's electric Leaf

Japan's third largest auto maker, 44%-owned by France's Renault SA, said it will begin taking purchase orders for the model from April 1. It will then announce the price tags for the U.S. and Europe.

In Japan, assuming government subsidies for electric vehicles will continue, the price tag would be lowered 2.99 million yen.

Copyright 2010 Dow Jones Newswires"

New Electric Cars Are Better

Via SuperiorMind on YouTube
Just showing off some of the cool new electric cars and putting to rest some of the myths out there. When people think of electric cars, typically they think of older ugly slower models, lead-acid batterys, and BS propaganda they've read slamming the 'electric cars'(as though they all carried the exact same attributes).

The battery technology has changed(and will change even more when nanowire battery becomes common), the speeds have changed, the climate versatility has changed, the prices are changing, the car companies are changing... everything is changing for the better. I expect to see a lot more support for EV's during and after 2010.

Consumer Reports Cars Blog: Shocking results: Survey reveals what consumers want from electric cars

Consumer Reports Cars Blog: Shocking results: Survey reveals what consumers want from electric cars:
"The dawn of the 21st-century electric car is upon us. Pure-electric cars and plug-in vehicles promise to revolutionize transportation, addressing the needs of most motorists, while reducing fossil fuel consumption and green house emissions. Major automakers are readying electric cars for mass production, and consumers are ready. More than one-quarter (26 percent) of consumers said they are likely to consider a plug-in electric car the next time they are in the market for a new vehicle, and 7 percent said very likely in a random, nationwide telephone survey of car-owning households conducted by Consumer Reports National Research Center."

Volt More Than Bridging Strategy

Volt More Than Bridging Strategy: "It seems likely GM is expecting multiple healthy parallel markets including those for EREVs, BEVs, and plugin PHEVs.� As there are many subgroups of consumers each with their own specialized needs, offering options for all of them makes good business sense. This is especially true if costly common denominators such as lithium-ion packs can be eventually be brought to lower price points though economies of scale.
“In the end, the market will determine the winner and the technology that carries the day,” Tony Posawatz told GM-Volt.com."