Holy Cow! A solar/plug-in Fiero!

It's tough to admit, but I owned a red Fiero when I was in college. It was a lot of fun to take around corners but it was a total nightmare mechanically.

This is a cool electric plug-in version with solar capability too.

It's about time for a German electric car

When it comes to cars, I have a soft spot for German makes. If you've ever driven a good Audi, BMW, Mercedes or Volkswagen, you know that they are well-engineered and a blast to drive.

Now, it looks like Volkswagen is teaming up with Toshiba to develop an electric car.

They aim to have one on the market by 2012.

Another low-speed electric vehicle

The problem with some of the electric vehicle concepts out there is that they are designed for low speeds. In order to be efficient, they have to be small and light. In accomplishing that, their roadworthiness and speed for the highway is compromised.

Here's another one, called the EcoV Electric Car. It would be great for use at factories or for short commutes in a limited area, but it's good that other manufacturers are focusing their efforts on the open road, where the majority of people actually want to drive.



Here's some more information that was attached to the video:

EnVironmental Transportation solutions, LLC, manufacturers the EcoV-1. A battery electric vehicle (BEV), or plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV), the EcoV-1 offers a low carbon, high mpg, low speed alternative to moving people and packages outdoors or indoors.

One chassis, several skins:
passenger van - utility truck - stake bed - pick-up postal/delivery - recreational vehicle for golf - handicap & wheelchair access.

For more information and investor opportunities visit www.EcoVElectric.com

General Motors to make Volt batteries in Michigan

The fact that Michigan will get a factory to produce batteries for electric cars is a very positive development.

For the greentech/cleantech movement to have true meaning for the U.S. economy, the manufacturing base needs to be here. That ensures exports. That means jobs for factory workers who are being displaced as we speak.

The benefits don't come without a cost to the public. According to the NY Times:

G.M.’s announcement comes three weeks after Michigan’s legislature approved tax incentives worth up to $335 million aimed at attracting advanced-battery manufacturers to the state. The credits will be apportioned depending on production volume and other factors. Gov. Jennifer M. Granholm is expected to sign the legislation.

Detroit auto show buzz? Electrifying

Automakers are starting to see the light, and consumers should see electric cars in showrooms within two years. And I'm not just talking about the long-awaited but still nowhere-to-be-seen Chevy Volt.

Ford realized it needed to pick up the pace, and set out to make an electric car prototype within just six months, a very short developmental time by Detroit standards. Here's a link to a video featuring a test drive of the car.

And it's not just Ford jumping into the game, according to this New York Times article, "Toyota, which has so far focused its efforts on hybrid models, will display a battery-powered concept car at the Detroit show. Nissan’s chief executive, Carlos Ghosn, has promised to sell an electric car in the United States and Japan as early as next year.

Two Japanese automakers, Mitsubishi and Fuji Heavy Industries, the parent company of Subaru, are also testing electric cars. And Chrysler, the most troubled of Detroit’s three auto companies, has vowed to produce its first electric car by 2010."

So it appears consumers won't be limited to just the Chevy Volt. Choice is a good thing, and hopefully automakers serve up an array of vehicle types. If they're all subcompact, four-person cars, that will leave a void in the marketplace.

We need electric vehicles that help people do work. Electric trucks. Electric vans.

To really give a boost to the U.S. economy from this trend, manufacturing investment needs to be made here. That means building the batteries on U.S. soil. So far, Chevy has promised to build a battery factory in Michigan. But there needs to be more, a point that the NY Times article makes.

American auto executives have warned that without homegrown suppliers, the country could potentially become as dependent on Asian-made batteries as it is on oil from the Middle East and elsewhere.

“Automakers cannot afford the batteries until they are produced in a certain volume,” said Brett Smith, an industry analyst at the Center for Automotive Research in Ann Arbor, Mich. “But they can’t be produced in volume until companies make a big manufacturing investment.”

Ford says its car should get 100 miles on a six-hour charge. The Chevy Volt will go 40 miles on its charge, but will have a gas engine to recharge itself.