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AltCar 2008: Some thoughts on year three
The AltCar crowd around the EV1 and the Chevy Volt. Photo to Amy Williams The third Santa Monica Alt Car Expo has come and gone. AutoblogGreen has been lucky enough to attend each iteration of this growing expo, and being back in Santa Monica made us want to take a look back. In December 2006, the first event was held at the Barker Hanger not long after the Tesla Roadster was introduced to the world in the same hall. The Alt Car Expo has always been about showing what average people are doing in the green car space - and making that ... Read more →
AltCar 2008: Terry Tamminen says green is the new red, white and blue Sebastian Blanco
Here's a tip for Terry Tamminen: retire the joke already. You know, the one about Arnold Schwarzenegger and whoever just introduced you as a speaker, how they were pumping iron together back in the ...
AltCar 2008: TrioBike, the pedal-powered SUV for three Sebastian Blanco
click above to see more of the TrioBike Not everything at the AltCar Expo was an alternative car. Some, like the Prometheus electric motorcycle and the TrioBike (above) were car alternatives. In ...
AltCar 2008: Let's get ready to alt-energy rummmble! (yawn) Sebastian Blanco
Dr. Andy Frank, the "godfather" of the plug-in hybrid Saturday afternoon at the Santa Monica Alt Car Expo was supposed to feature an all-out technology debate between everyone's favorite gasoline ...
AltCar 2008: Is the Lola EV the "poor man's Tesla"? Sebastian Blanco
click above for more of the Lola EV During the Santa Monica Alt Car Expo, someone joked to me that the Lola EV, a flashy electric kit car, was the "poor man's Tesla." Paul Pearson, the man behind ...
More santa-monica-alt-car-expo news
AltCar 2008: AMPLE taking orders for $29,999 PHEV truck, two other plug-in hybrids 9 months ago on AutoblogGreen
The headline above is what we call a "bait & switch," and it recreates the feeling I got when I approached the AMPLE Motion booth at the AltCar Expo. AMPLE, a new company incorporated on Earth Day this year, is trying an unusual strategy to get the word out about its plug-in hybrid vehicles ...
AltCar 2008: Triac in the metal, deliveries to customers start in December 9 months ago on AutoblogGreen
Click for more shots of the Triac We heard about the Triac back in April and got more details in May. When we saw the prototype sitting on the floor of the Santa Monica Alt Car Expo floor over the weekend, we knew we needed to stop in and say hello. Ehab Youssef was there to give a rundown of ...
AltCar 2008: LA Times panel hates/loves GM, and more 9 months ago on AutoblogGreen
For me, the highlight of the weekend's panel discussions at the Santa Monica Alt Car Expo was two guys just sitting around and chatting. The reason the hour-long freeflowing discussion between the men was so good was that they - Dan Neil (left in the picture above) and Ken Bensinger, both writers ...
AltCar 2008: Prometheus' solar-powered electric motorcycle 9 months ago on AutoblogGreen
click for more shots of the Prometheus Electric Motorcycle Jim Corning had an idea. Wouldn't it be cool if you could put four solar panels on your house, and then be able to power a vehicle with the energy created with them? Corning, who founded Prometheus Solar LLC, didn't have a vehicle he ...
AltCar 2008: "Water and Charge your batteries regularly!" 9 months ago on AutoblogGreen
Click for more images of the electric MEGA van The hurdles to moving from a gasoline-dominated private transportation environment to one that contains a lot of batteries and plug-in vehicles are many. If nothing else, that's one message we can take away from the Sustainable Mobility Seminar and ...
AltCar 2008: Details on the MIIN-AER compressed air Porsche Boxster 9 months ago on AutoblogGreen
As I wrote on Thursday, one of the more interesting vehicles here at the Alt Car Expo is a one-off home conversion of a 1999 Porsche Boxster called the MIIN-AER car. We wanted to get some more information about this thing, so we talked to Glenn Bell, CEO of Air Fuel Auto. Bell talked about why he's ...
AltCar 2008: Chris Paine talks "Who Killed?" sequel, coming in 2010 9 months ago on AutoblogGreen
One of the highlights of Day One of the Santa Monica Alt Car Expo was spending an hour with "Who Killed the Electric Car?" director Chris Paine and hearing stories about making both that film and his sequel-in-progress. While he said the studio/lawyers would not let him show any clips from the new ...
AltCar 2008: half of those 100 Auto X Prize teams are working on low-speed vehicles 9 months ago on AutoblogGreen
During a panel discussion on public transportation today at the Santa Monica AltCar Expo, Cristin Lindsay, senior director of the Automotive X Prize, gave us a bit more information about the teams that have signed up to participate in the race. You might remember that in late August, the X Prize ...
AltCar 2008: Transforming Transit Symposium says hell yeah to buses 9 months ago on AutoblogGreen
The morning discussion session at the AltCar Expo here in Santa Monica today focused not on a car at all, but the Big Blue Bus. This iconic ride is Santa Monica's most visible public transportation option and is currently undergoing some conceptual redesigns. A panel of people with an interest in ...
Altcar 2008: Big Blue Buses of the future unveiled 9 months ago on AutoblogGreen
Three new and radical bus concepts were unveiled in Santa Monica this morning as part of the third annual AltCar Expo. The bus of the future contest is an exercise in what's possible down the road, but it's also very timely: public transportation ridership in Santa Monica is up seven percent ...
Santa Monica AltCar Expo 2008 preview rocks a parking lot 9 months ago on AutoblogGreen
click to enlarge Well, today was day zero of the third annual Santa Monica AltCar Expo. The public is invited to check out all of the green rides at the Santa Monica Civic Center starting tomorrow, but anyone who was walking by the center's parking lot this morning could get an early taste of ...
Zero Motorcycles sells out of '08s, touts '09s 9 months ago on AutoblogGreen
Click above more pictures of the Zero X For those of you who had been hoping to get your hands on a new 2008 Zero X electric motorcycle, we have some bad news. They are all sold out. Now, the good news is that a new revised-for-'09 model will be making its first appearance at the Alt Car Expo in ...
Guess we won't be seeing UEV at AltCar this year; Spyder up on eBay 9 months ago on AutoblogGreen
During the last two years' Santa Monica Alt Car Expo, we talked with representatives of Universal Electric Vehicle about their Spyder EV. There were scant updates from the company outside of those events, and now we can see that there won't be much news in the future, either. The one vehicle that ...
$8,000 for an at-home plug-in Prius conversion 1 year ago on AutoblogGreen
Kim Adelman's plug-in Prius was at the Santa Monica Alt Car Expo back in October, but somehow stayed hidden from my camera and eyes. The good news is that EVWorld's Bill Moore spotted the car and talked to Adelman about the car and Adelman's new company, Plug-In Conversions, which will send people ...
Autoblog Green Podcast #14 1 year ago on AutoblogGreen
We're back for AutoblogGreen Podcast #14. In this installment, we recap the Santa Monica Alt Car Expo and many of the interesting things we saw at that show. Everything from converted Russian hatchbacks as NEVs to excessively fast electric drag racers. Sam is currently covering the LA Auto Show for ...
Alt Car Expo 2007: Electric car racing with Michael Kadie and 2.S.S.I.C. (VIDEO) 1 year ago on AutoblogGreen
When you hear Michael Kadie say "2.S.S.I.C.," it sounds like a friend's name. In fact, Michael calls the car his baby, and from the time and effort he's put into not only making his Daytona Coupe a fast all-electric racecar but also EVangelizing (yes, with a capital EV), it's a deserved name. ...
Alt Car Expo 2007: LTU's Element One race team on track for Formula Zero starting in June 2008 1 year ago on AutoblogGreen
There might be a lot of argument about the sense of using hydrogen as a gasoline substitute for millions of cars, but if you ask Mike Samaroo, it's hard to not be convinced that using hydrogen can a lot of fun. Mike Samaroo is a mechanical engineering student with a hydrogen fuel cell focus at ...
Alt Car Expo 2007: Open Source Vehicle Project (VIDEO) 1 year ago on AutoblogGreen
Earlier this month, I interviewed two of the people behind the Open Source Green Vehicle Project for the AutoblogGreen podcast. As you probably remember, this is a project where the hivemind is trying to design a highly-efficient vehicle, with aspirations to join the Automotive X Prize and ...
Alt Car Expo 2007: Vectrix Scooter smiles for the ABG camera (VIDEO) 1 year ago on AutoblogGreen
We have already told you all about the $11,000, NiMH-powered two-wheeled all-electric scooter from Vectrix. Now, why not take a closer look at this zero-emission vehicle with a 68-mile range and 62 mph top speed. We caught up with Vectrix at the Santa Monica Alt Car Expo, and I've gotta admit, ...
Alt Car Expo 2007: BugE in the booth 1 year ago on AutoblogGreen
We introduced you to the BugE concept vehicle earlier this year, and at the Santa Monica Alt Car Expo we finally got to see this strange beast in the metal. Not quite a car, more than a scooter, the BugE is one of the many entries in the city-commuter-use-only category of new vehicles. You can read ...
Alt Cat Expo 2007: OKA, the cheap, inexpensive, not pricey NEV 1 year ago on AutoblogGreen
The OKA NEV booth at the Santa Monica Alt Car Expo caught people's attention for one simple reason: a price tag of $7,500. The OKA neighborhood electric vehicle is an interesting little car - seriously unhip, cheap and ready for you today. The details are not that great - 20 mile range, 25 mph top ...
Alt Car Expo 2007: All about the Electrum Spyder with UEV's Diana Lane (VIDEO) 1 year ago on AutoblogGreen
When the Electrum Spyder was unveiled at last year's Santa Monica Alt Car Expo, we enjoyed getting our first taste of this ambitious all-electric sports car. A year later, the Spyder has changed a little bit (as you can see in these pictures of the Electrum Spyder from the other night when ...
Alt Car 2007: Chelsea Sexton talks Toyota, Chevy Volt and plug-in hybrids (VIDEO) 1 year ago on AutoblogGreen
Like many people, I first "met" Chelsea Sexton through the documentary film "Who Killed The Electric Car?" Last year, as part of the promotion for the movie, Chelsea spoke with AutoblogGreen about all sorts of things, including the fact that she won't buy a hybrid until there's a plug on one. ...
Alt Car 2007: Plug-in hybrids with godfather Dr. Andy Frank 1 year ago on AutoblogGreen
If you've never heard Dr. Andy Frank, from UC Davis, speak about plug-in hybrids, you're in for a treat. Frank, who has been featured on AutoblogGreen quite a few times (highlights include an interview on UC Davis' Team Fate in the Auto X Prize and talking about kicking the oil habit with no ...
Alt Car 2007: The miniskirt and the Electric Vehicles panel 1 year ago on AutoblogGreen
There a palpable difference in audience members who attend panels on hydrogen cars and those who go and listen to speakers talking about battery electric vehicles. The enthusiasm of the people at the Santa Monica Alt Car Expo's hydrogen panel on Saturday (which you can hear and read about here) was ...
Alt Car Expo 2007: Fuel Cell technology panel - starring Q'orianka Kilcher 1 year ago on AutoblogGreen
Moderated by Leslie Goodbody from the California Air Resources Board, the Hydrogen/Fuel Cell Technology Panel at the Santa Monica Alt Car Expo featured three speakers (plus one). Each of them gave an upbeat view of hydrogen cars. Big surprise. Steve Ellis, American Honda Motor Company manager of ...
Alt Car Expo 2007: Tell the world in shiny letters you're driving green 1 year ago on AutoblogGreen
Third Planet Energy's booth at the Santa Monica Alt Car Expo caught my eye. Which is exactly what the folks there intended. In fact, Third Planet Energy's whole goal is to allow you to catch other people's eyes, through the use of chrome emblems that will upgrade your car's back end to identify ...
Alt Car Expo 2007: Terry Tamminen drives the future 1 year ago on AutoblogGreen
The audio of Tamminen's speech from last year's Alt Car Expo was quite popular with our readers, and I expect his words from this year's Santa Monica Alt Car Expo will have the same impact. Why? Because Tamminen is a good public speaker with a solid message. Sure, sometimes he repeats his jokes, ...
Alt Car Expo 2007: lithium-ion Motorboard 2000XR scooter 1 year ago on AutoblogGreen
You couldn't miss the bright young people working the Roth Motor Company's Motorboard 2000XR booth at the Santa Monica Alt Car Expo yesterday. These kids were young, fit and ready to tell you all about the joys of motorboarding. Featuring a nano lithium-ion battery from A123, the 16-pound 2000XR ...
AltCar Expo 2007: Transportation Planning Session 1 year ago on AutoblogGreen
At the Transportation Planning Session panel on Friday morning, the Santa Monica Alt Car Expo gave space for a variety of speakers to expound on the broad challenges confronting transportation planners in the region. While the discussion focuses on how LA can improve, there are a lot of areas in the ...
Alt Car Expo 2007: California Air Resources Board chair Mary Nichols keynote speech 1 year ago on AutoblogGreen
Mary Nichols, chairperson of the California Air Resources Board, gave what was billed as a keynots address at the Santa Monica Alt Car Expo yesterday. Big name for a half-hour talk on the future of green vehicles in California. Nichols said that the forseeable end points for CARB are two powertrain ...
