Remember how we were all excited when the picture above first appeared? It was our first official (if leaked) look at the production version of the Chevy Volt, and I bet a lot of people were saying to themselves, "Man, if that dude in the picture would just get out of the frakking way, we'd be able to see the car more." Well, that guy there is Tony Posawatz, the vehicle line director for the Chevy Volt, and he was just named co-chairman of the Electric Drive Transportation Association (EDTA). Posawatz replaces Honda's Ed Cohen, who was co-chair since early 2004; Cohen is still a part of the board. The other co-chair is John Bryson, the retired chairman & CEO of Southern California Edison. More details after the jump.

[Source: EDTA]

At the EDTA Conference this week in DC, a nicely-decorated plug-in Prius sat in the Toyota booth. As you can see in this picture, the prototype was locked and this was duly noted in stickers on each door. We briefly spotted Toyota's Jaycie Chitwood by the car but when we went back to see if there was any sort of update available on the PHEV, we couldn't find her. Thanks to the magic of email, though, we got our update today. Chitwood told AutoblogGreen that, "We've continued our testing of the first-gen prototype, and will be expanding our testing and demonstration program with our 2nd-gen prototype late next year, which will have Li-Ion batteries." Last year, we got to take a ride in the plug-in Prius and we're ready for that second-gen drive when the chance presents itself.

For big jobs, only a big hybrid will do. This is where the Dueco/Odyne plug-in hybrid (PHEV) trucks come in. These heavy duty vehicles can save 5-10 gallons of fuel a day, according to Dueco, and that adds up quickly, even with sub-$2 gallons of gasoline. The savings come from the stored electrical energy that can power up the " aerial lifts, digger derricks and other hydraulically powered equipment" that the rigs are outfitted with. The climate control system is run off the battery system as well, so these trucks don't need to idle - getting 0 mpg - at the work site. When in motion, the hybrid system provides launch assist and can store captured braking energy.

Not all is perfect with these trucks. The Dueco PHEV needs a three-phase, 240-volt outlet to recharge at the end of the day and Dueca says (PDF) that they expect the batteries to need replacement once during the life of the vehicle.


[Source: Dueco]

Last year, at the end of the Challenge X, GM announced the EcoCar competition for engineering students at universities in North America to rework a GM vehicle to be better and cleaner. The Challenge X teams worked on Chevrolet Equinoxes, but the EcoCar students will all be re-engineering Saturn Vues. In this first year of the competition, the teams are doing the theoretical design work, including life cycle analysis and mechanical, electrical and control work. Starting in June 2010, when Year 2 kicks off, the teams will get their mule vehicles and get to apply their strategies - whether they're pure electric, hydrogen, hybrid or PHEV. The EcoCar Vue on display here at the EDTA show in Washington, DC, then, isn't any different under the hood, it's just all fancy and decorated on the outside. More details on the EcoCar challenge here and here.

Right now, there are two types of electric passenger cars: low speed half-cars that appeal only to a small subset of drivers (see: Miles EV's current lineup, E-Z-Go golf carts, etc.) and highway speed vehicles that are either way too expensive (Tesla) or just being tested by the automakers (MINI E, smart ed, iMiEV). The Medium Speed Vehicle Coalition is pushing for a new, third class: EVs that can go up to 35 mph and have some - but not all - of the safety equipment that "real" cars have. Airbags and crash testing are a good idea, but does a car that can't go faster than 35 mph and would be restricted to streets with speed limits of 35 or slower need electronic stability control? Rick Sikes, Fleet Manager for the City of Santa Monica, told AutoblogGreen that ESC is expensive to add to a vehicle, a cost that most electric car start-ups can't afford.

So, what's the big deal with 35 mph? Currently, Neighborhood Electric Vehicles (NEVs) are electronically-limited to 25 mph and can drive on streets with posted speed limits of up to 35 mph. But, when drivers are on a 35 mph street and someone in front of them is going 25, Sikes said, it's common for them to act somewhat reckless in order to pass. On the other hand, when traffic is going 35 in a 35 zone, everyone's pretty much OK with the situation.

The other main benefit, of course, is that electric cars that can go 35 mph exist today (most NEVs have software that limits their top speed - the motor and batteries could handle the extra 10 mph or, at the most, would need just a bit of tweaking to get to 35) and at reasonable prices. Some of these EVs would need to be buffed up from their current NEV status by adding airbags and whatnot, but if the MSVC gets its wish and the laws are changed, then perhaps EVs like the Columbia Mega (above) that's on display here at the EDTA show could one day be more than a zero-emission curiosity.

With a plug-in hybrid credit valued up to $7,500 now on the books (get more details here), the Electric Drive Transportation Association (EDTA) is looking past next week's big presidential election and trying to gauge the political landscape. EDTA president Brian Wynne sent out an email to EDTA members describing where the 111th Congress and the new president (whoever is elected) stand on PHEVs. The good news, if you're in favor of a car with a plug, is that legislators seem to be getting behind PHEVs, with the aforementioned tax credit hopefully predicting that the EDTA can easier explain to elected representatives "how Washington can accelerate electric drive and reduce oil dependence, sustain the environment, enhance global competitiveness and increase national security." With a lot of new House members, some new Senators and a new president all coming on the scene soon, the EDTA has its work cut out in getting more money set aside for PHEVs.

[Source: EDTA]

When the U.S. Congress passed H.R. 1424 and President Bush signed it into law today, not everyone was paying attention to the part about plug-in vehicles. Sure, this got a little play - and green car sites like ours were on it - but what's a few $7,500 tax credits in a $700 billion bill? Still, there are a lot of parts to the bill (read one take here) to digest and we're happy to explore the green car-related details a bit.

If you want to read the language in the bill yourself, you can find the full text here (do a text search for "plug" to find the applicable PHEV part of the law, Section 205). As meme noted earlier today, the language now refers to "plug-in electric drive motor vehicle" instead of the "passenger automobiles," which might help companies like Aptera. We know that Chrysler yesterday gave its support for the legislation and today the Electric Drive Transportation Association (EDTA) gave strong vocal support to the bill's passage. You can read both of the official statements after the jump.

When you read the bill, don't miss Section 306 (regarding smart meters) and Section 103 (extension of solar and fuel cell tax credits). I'm quite interested in how the AutoblogGreen community feels about this bill.


[Source: EDTA, Chrysler, Govtrack]

Part of the Electric Drive Transportation Association's (EDTA) reason for being is to convince lawmakers to support electric-drive vehicles. That's what those May radio spots were about and that's what EDTA president Brian Wynne will be doing next week when he testifies before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee on "the current state of vehicles powered by the grid and the prospects for wider deployment in the near future." If you're interested in how the EDTA views plug-in, hybrid, and hydrogen-powered vehicles in the currenty energy policy debate, you can listen on on the Committee's website starting at 10 a.m. EST on Tuesday, September 16th (we have our own plans for that particular moment) and check the EDTA's website for prepared testimony sometime before the hearing begins.

[Source: EDTA]

In April, the Electric Drive Transportation Association (EDTA) started targeting 580,000 movers and shakers in the Washington, D.C. area who listen to WTOP, 103.5 FM with a series of ads called "The Electric Drive." You can now listen to the EDTA's ads online to see how this major partnership is trying to explain electric drive to the masses. Brian Wynne, the EDTA president, wrote in an email that the radio campaign and the EDTA's Earth Day Congressional briefing were quite effective in getting the word out. Wynne described the hearing as "standing-room only" and that one of the specific goals of the EDTA Policy Committee is to build support for a plug-in vehicle tax credit this year. EDTA is also working with lawmakers to ensure that the Department of Energy will continue to fund electric drive research and development in FY09. Promoting EVs and hybrids and PHEVs has got to be something of an easy sell in a time of $120+ barrels of oil, but it still takes a good amount of effort to make people understand how electric cars will/might change our future. I mean, Toyota reps still have to reassure people that you don't need to plug in a Prius. Read Wynne's full email after the jump.

Starting this month, the Electric Drive Transportation Association (EDTA) will begin running a series of radio ads called "The Electric Drive" on the Washington, D.C. station WTOP, 103.5 FM. The station will also host a website that describes what the EDTA is and what electric drive vehicles are. On April 22 (that's Earth Day), the EDTA will also hold a Capitol Hill Briefing titled "The Electric Drive Answer: Transportation Technologies & Policies to End Oil Dependence" where EDTA members will talk about the "latest advances and the federal policies that can accelerate commercialization of electric drive."

Brian Wynne, the EDTA president, wrote that this campaign marks the EDTA's move to the mainstream, which is kind of a big term considering this is just one station we're talking about. Sure, a "a well-known radio personality" will drive hybrid vehicles provided by EDTA members (what, no Hydrogen 7s were available?), but I don't quite see how WTOP is going to bring the electric drive word to the masses - am I missing how important this station is? Read Wynne's full email after the jump.