Recent Comments:
eBay Find of the Day: 1995 Renaissance Tropica electric car {Autoblog Green}
Jul 17th 2008 8:57PM After 36 bids, it went for $15.9K. I hope the new owner gets it on the road.
eBay Find of the Day: 1973 Porsche 911 electric conversion {Autoblog Green}
Jul 17th 2008 9:03AM Hmmm - Little love for the accordion-trim bumper 911s here!
eBay Find of the Day: 1973 Porsche 911 electric conversion {Autoblog Green}
Jul 16th 2008 10:23PM Great looking car - but it's going to take quite a bit more than "a little work" to make it useful.
Losing the pack after only 357 EV miles is a sign that there are some problems with the approach used for this conversion. Yeah, he didn't drive it enough to keep the batteries healthy. With such a limited range, not very many people could use it as a daily driver. It will take more than fresh brake caliper seals to fix that.
However, I hope someone can take on this project and turn it into a practical EV. Personally, its current range would *just* make my short commute - but with no margin for error or weak batteries. I wish interesting projects like this showed up a little closer to my east-coast US location...
Want to see electric MINIs in your state? Sign the petition. {Autoblog Green}
Jul 11th 2008 4:33PM I appreciate the sentiment, but it's pointless petition.
BMW is (apparently) only offering them for lease. The reality is that they likely can't build them for a price anywhere near $35K.
I don't know what the equivalent sales price would be for the lease payment, but I suspect it will need to be subsidized by BMW. They'll want to limit their risk exposure and service/maintenance investment - so they're only offering a small number it in a specific locale where they can get the most publicity bang for the buck. Ergo: California.
The rest of us can only hope this experiment is successful and will lead to affordable technology that will be widely sold.
Someday. We're still waiting and hoping!
eBay Find of the Day: 1995 Renaissance Tropica electric car {Autoblog Green}
Jul 11th 2008 2:12PM Yet another interesting EV design that didn't make it.
They were aiming for the higher-end sports car market, a' la Tesla, but were too early for Li-ion.
I'd love to find an EV conversion that's doable for my short commute, but this won't be it. Looks like a fair amount of orphan technology in there that would be difficult to repair. Will the car still work if the digital dash dies? Looks like a fun open-top runner for a sunny day, but not a daily driver (does it come with a hard/soft top?). The windshield look is cool, but I suspect it would require $$$ at a custom glass outfit to replace it.
eBay Green: Heat Cell {Green Daily}
Jul 11th 2008 7:49AM I find it amazing that, after several paragraphs of hype and unsubstantiated claims, I still can't figure out what its "Biodegradable/inert" fuel really is.
If it's inert, how can it bring water to a boil?
It has a "non-flammable classification", yet can burn?
If it's so good for the environment, why can't you tell me what it is?
Sounds waaaay too much like greenwashing to me.
Driving until you run out of gas does not save money {Green Daily}
Jul 10th 2008 12:42PM Stop with the fuel sediment-at-the-bottom-of-the-tank thing. Your car's fuel pump intake is....
...wait for it...
...near the bottom of the tank, so it's *always* picking up what's at the bottom of the tank.
However, there is a reason avoid running out of gas on a modern fuel-injected car: Most fuel pumps are inside the gas tank, and are cooled by the fuel itself. No fuel? No cooling - and the pump can be damaged from heat in a short time.
Mitsubishi could launch i MiEV retail sales in mid-2009 {Autoblog Green}
Jul 10th 2008 9:51AM I wonder if the MiEV could pass US standards as a road car. There would be few buyers if it ended up being classified as an NEV in the US.
eBay find of the day: Ford Ranger EV that doesn't run right now {Autoblog Green}
Jul 9th 2008 5:08PM Well, it met reserve and sold for $14.8K. I hope the new owner gets it on the road soon.
"Revenge of the Electric Car," coming to a theater near you {Autoblog Green}
Jul 9th 2008 11:19AM Tony Belding -
I've heard about a few of the first deliveries - but little since then. Do you have sources that mention how many Tesla Roadsters have been delivered to private customers (i.e., people not directly affiliated with Tesla)?
