GM and Detroit Youth Turn Chevy Volt Battery Covers into Wood Duck Homes - generalmotors's posterous

GM and Detroit Youth Turn Chevy Volt Battery Covers into Wood Duck Homes - generalmotors's posterous

Japanese official: 'We could have moved quicker' | The Portland Press Herald / Maine Sunday Telegram

Japanese official: 'We could have moved quicker' | The Portland Press Herald / Maine Sunday Telegram: "Most of Japan's auto industry is shut down. Factories from Louisiana to Thailand are low on Japanese-made parts. Idled plants are costing companies hundreds of millions of dollars. And U.S. car dealers may not get the cars they order this spring."

Survey: Shoppers Very Confused About Hybrids, Plug-Ins, And EVs

Survey: Shoppers Very Confused About Hybrids, Plug-Ins, And EVs: "Only 50 percent of those surveyed thought that hybrids contain batteries—beyond starter/accessory batteries, we assume. And while about one-third knew that knew that hybrids can run on the electric motor only, 28 percent thought that hybrids have no tailpipe emissions at all. The same percentage thought that it takes more than 15 minutes to refuel a hybrid.
Some people also might have confused hybrids and EVs, as 27 percent thought that hybrids have a maximum range of around 150 miles."

Electric Cars - Jumpstarting the electric car - Baltimore Sun

Electric Cars - Jumpstarting the electric car - Baltimore Sun: "This experimental period in transportation wasn't during the gasoline price shocks of the early 1970s. Try 1911.

Electric vehicles would grow to account for about one-quarter of the automobiles in the United States by the 1920s, historians estimate. But the internal-combustion engine would soon outrun electric motors, steam and even horses. As gasoline-fueled cars improved, electric vehicles would be all but forgotten."

Rare earth elements vs model s price | Forums | Tesla Motors

Rare earth elements vs model s price | Forums | Tesla Motors: "Rare earth elements vs model s price
joesontesla | February 26, 2011 - 10:25am

Rare earth elements prices go up significantly theses day, how they affect final price of model s marginal or important effect?
Douglas3 | February 26, 2011 - 10:42am

Not significant. The AC induction motor used in Tesla vehicles doesn't contain permanent magnets, so no rare earths. Rare earths are required in some quantity for NiMH batteries, but Tesla uses Li-ion."

DOE Electric Car Report: 10 Things to Know | PluginCars.com

DOE Electric Car Report: 10 Things to Know | PluginCars.com: "If it's a car that comes with a cord and a plug, it counts."

EVs Plug In Free at Oregon's State Offices

If you work for the state of Oregon and you drive an electric vehicle, can you plug in at work? Currently, the answer is "no". If you did, it could even be considered theft.

House Bill 2207 will change this if it passes. It authorizes state agencies to provide electricity for electric motor vehicles. Oregon has taken several steps to encourage plug-in vehicles and this is one important detail.

There has already been one case in the state with a State Park Ranger that only had enough range in his converted EV to commute one way. So he asked if he could charge at work to have enough juice to make it home. The answer was "no", despite an outlet being conveniently near his usual parking spot. His supervisor had no guidance on this issue and wanted to be "safe". You can plug in your phone, computer, or iPod, but not your car. This ranger now drives his gas car to work rather than his electric vehicle.

This bill has a hearing on Wednesday, March 9. HB 2207 was proposed by the Committee on Sustainability and Economic Development. It would authorize state agencies to “provide electric power purchased at state expense for the purpose of recharging privately owned and publicly owned electric motor vehicles at state agency locations.” A state agency is defined as “any state office, whether in the executive, legislative or judicial branch.”

If you have jury duty in a state court or you need to visit the DMV to register your new plug-in car, you may be able to juice up your ride on Oregon's dime. Depending on how far you have driven and how long you are plugged in, a dime may be all that it costs.

The bill justifies the expense by saying “It is the policy of the state of Oregon to encourage the use of electric motor vehicles.” So how much will this cost the state and (more importantly) we the taxpayers? There is no provision in the bill to add charging stations. It only makes plugging in not a crime. So the only cost would be for the electricity itself. The state pays less than 10 cents per kilowatt-hour for electricity and it is projected that there will be less than one thousand electric vehicles in the state by the end of 2011. There is no significant cost to this, and there is not likely to be one anytime soon. Even if the goal of 1 million plug-in vehicles nationwide by 2015 is reached, there would be no significant cost to this measure.

The City of Portland has installed a few charging stations and they are giving away the electricity free with parking. However, these downtown parking spots are actually making money for the city. "How?" you ask. These spots are marked as plug-in vehicle only parking and they are a steady source of parking ticket revenue. Now I am not recommending that the state pursue a similar model. Paid parking spots are uncommon in Oregon outside of downtown Portland.

This bill makes sense. No one should be prosecuted for using $0.25 worth of electricity. The state offices can turn off any outlets that become problems, were such trouble to ever arise. If this electricity helps displace gasoline use, it makes the air cleaner for all of us. This is especially important in places like a state park where you want to enjoy nature and get away from the pollution.

Bill Text PFD

Commentary: Let road user tax be simple

Commentary: Let road user tax be simple: "Sure, owners of conventional motor vehicles pay road taxes every time they fill up, now at the rate of 30 cents a gallon for the state, and 18.4 cents per gallon for the feds. So there’s some rationale for requiring electric vehicle owners to pay as they go as well.

But this takes a lot of technology, not to mention a debate about surveillance and tracking and Big Brother and all that.

How about keeping it simple instead and requiring owners of registered electric vehicles to report their mileage once a year? Along with the mileage report they’d remit the tax.

The proposed fee is 0.6 cents per mile (less than half the average for motor vehicles so as to encourage the use of electric rigs). If somebody reports that his two vehicles together ran for 18,000 miles since the last report, he’d remit the $108 in tax.

It’s not without its drawbacks. But if the penalty for stiffing the state and their fellow highway users is high enough, electic vehicle owners, a responsible bunch, would surely make sure that they pay their share."

FIRST DRIVE: Fisker Karma - Racer.com

FIRST DRIVE: Fisker Karma - Racer.com: "Maybe it was the power breakfast I shared with Fisker Automotive's three main men that changed my mind. Maybe it was the story of their three-year campaign to raise a billion dollars to build their Karma extended-range electric luxury sedan, half of it a U.S. government subsidy and half from venture capitalists impressed both by Fisker's ability to tame hard-nosed legislators and with their store of 3,000 back orders. Perhaps I simply sniffed the balmy Los Angeles air and remembered that the American Dream survives on the West Coast, and one of its better effects is to encourage well-heeled car lovers to try something new. Whatever, my day-long meeting with the Karma – and the men who built it – moved the project in my mental filing cabinet from “brave but probably foolhardy” to “great idea whose time has arrived.”"

Future Mobile Food Technology in Electric Cars - QSR magazine

Future Mobile Food Technology in Electric Cars - QSR magazine: "It wasn’t so long ago that restaurants kept their books with paper and pencil, advertised mainly in print and on television, and offered coupons that existed in actual tangible newspapers. But advances in various technologies, from POS monitors to the Internet to mobile devices, have changed all of that.

Restaurants are finding the pace of technological change both dizzying and promising. One burgeoning innovation that may further change the way restaurants do business, particularly when it comes to delivery and the mobile food business, is the electric vehicle (ev)."