Vern Buchanan (R), the Congressman representing the Sarasota, FL area, is one politician who sees the "green" light. While visiting with solar and electric car maker, Cruise Car Inc, whose manufacturing and sales operation is in his district, the lawmaker made a plea for a national bipartisan effort to make the switch from fossil fuels to more environmentally-friendly energy sources. Speaking to the company's employees and assembled media, Buchanan said, "My sense is we've been misled as Americans in many ways for the last 25 years in terms of our energy and where we're going to get it. Solar, alternate energy, all that stuff is possible; it'll create jobs, it'll make a difference."

Proof of that difference was all around him. While obviously not the transportation solution for everybody, Cruise Car is doing a booming business. There's a 60 to 90 day waiting list for some of their vehicles, which can go up to 62 miles on a charge and are powered by the sun, though they can be plugged in for extra charging if necessary. The company is doubling its 10 employees this year and will be moving to a new facility (and doing more hiring) to keep up with an exponential increase in demand. Hopefully, more of our representatives will open their eyes to the many benefits of a greener economy and make the changes needed to speed things along.

[Source: Bradenton Herald]

Ah, those Italians and their penchant for rolling art. While the Fiat Phylla solar car concept may not yet exist in drivable form, it's asymmetrical styling sure is an attention getter. Presented a few days ago in Turin, Italy during "Uniamo le energie," this city car is designed to use solar panels and a hydrogen fuel cell to send power to each of its four wheels yet emit nothing but water and good vibes.

The project involved many different entities and agencies including the Piedmont Region, which sponsored and funded the undertaking, From Concept to Car and the Institute of Applied Art and Design, to name just a few, while the effort was directed by the Fiat Research Center. Besides its environmental goals of producing a high efficiency, recyclable vehicle powered chiefly by alternative sources of energy including solar, hydropower and biogas, the group sought to create a product that would be amenable to car-sharing programs and be inexpensive to operate. Indeed, since the Phylla is said to be capable of traveling 18 kilometers (11 miles) with just the energy it captures from the sun during the day, we think it is within reach of at least some of its goals.

All right, so maybe some of the homebuilt solar-powered cars that we've shown here in the past aren't the best-looking contraptions. Give then this, though: they certainly are useful. The latest example was made by a California man named Brent Hatch, who decided enough was enough when he got a $700 gas bill. With seven kids to drive to school and back along with record-high gas prices, it's easy to see why Hatch was fed up. His solution centers around a four-wheeled, pedal-powered bike that has been equipped with three roof-mounted solar panels. These provide electricity to a small electric motor. Maintenance charges have also gone down considerably, with the only real wear item being the vehicle's sole rear tire, which is powered. Perhaps it's not the most elegant solution we've ever seen... but it's hard to argue that it gets the job done. Watch a video of the machine in action here.

[Source: CBS 2 via Engadget]

Wanna build a solar car? Good new for you, then! Nelson Kruschandl has set up a website where he gives you the ins and outs of solar car construction. Sure, there's plenty of power available from the sun, the tricky part is harnessing enough of it to get anywhere. Therefore, lightweight parts and low power consumption are the name of the game. The make the process as simple to understand as possible, Kruschandl has broken the design down into nine essential components:

1. Chassis and seating
2. Mechanics - suspension, steering, brakes
3. Motor and drive train
4. Motor controller
5. Solar Array - usually part of body
6. Batteries or fuel cells
7. Electrical System and instruments
8. Driver Controls - switches, lighting, etc
9. Bodywork - Screen, etc
   

That doesn't seem to hard, right? Just kidding, obviously, but the process set out in those nine steps makes for an entertaining read, so feel free to follow this link to check it out.

[Source: Bluebird Design via Automotive Blogs]

Remember last year when we posted the video Infinity Miles per Gallon? In that video, Art Haines of Applied Robotics Company set out to build a solar powered electric car ... and succeeded. At the time, we lauded the independent thinking that Haines clearly showed in the project. The story was far from over, however, as Haines is now offering his unique solar NEV in kit form from his website, sunnev.com. So far, five of the kits have been ordered and Haines is working to get them shipped out now. One of those kits, a sedan with a trunk, is headed to an all-girls school in London, and another, a pickup, is on its way to La Grange, Texas.

If you are interested in reading more about the SUNN EV, visit the official website. Pricing is currently broken down into major component packages and can be found here. After assembled, an MSO will allow the vehicle to be registered in your state and the vehicle would qualify as an NEV. We're pretty high on this idea and hope that these kits find happy owners who'll enjoy never filling up their city errand-runner.

[Source: SUNN EV, Morning Sentinel]

I was surprised to be pointed by a friend of mine to this video, which comes from the Spanish version of Breakfast TV, so it's perfect if you want to practice your Spanish. An Iranian engineer named Foroohar Aghili living in Costa del Sol (SE of Spain), designed this car, able to run up to 60 km/h (about 40 mph) and looks like a go-kart.

As Mr. Aghili says, the car is powered by five means of energy. First of all, solar energy, although he admits that his car can't compete with other solar vehicles from Australia or the US. Then he mentions "terrain energy", which is basically going downhill, "wind energy", "brake energy" and, finally, "energy from the grid," because it can be recharged at a normal outlet. The combination of the five sources of energy is what he patented.

Nevertheless, Mr. Aghili not only designs cars but collaborates with the Universidad de Málaga and Engineers Without Frontiers, providing technology to poorer countries (so he gets good propaganda). He also states that he isn't, by any means, a competitor of current ICE vehicles, because his vehicle is "a complete different concept of thinking," which is neither provided by the public nor the private sector.

Interestingly, the conductor says that this car was the most beautiful ecological car she had ever seen [sic].

[Source: YouTube]

When it really comes down to it, what is the "holy grail" of electric cars? Battery power? That is extremely important to be sure, but an equally convincing argument could be made that light weight is the most important factor. Whatever your aim is when it comes to improving the design of the electric car, having a modular chassis design would allow for many different parameters to be checked and changed. That is what students and researchers at Waikato University have been designing, and they have a chassis which can support up to 290 kilograms of lithium batteries allowing for up to 400 kilometers of travel. Next, they are interested in starting a new prototype "using lightweight materials developed by the university's Kim Pickering, which get their high strength from natural fibres." As of right now, the team plans to compete in the World Solar Challenge, racing from Darwin to Adelaide, but not against the solar cars competing there. This competition is going on alongside that race. Best of luck to the team!

[Source: Stuff]

Using a body of carbon fiber, Kevlar and epoxy swathed over a honeycomb core, the Sinag solar car, a first for the Philippines, is set to enter the 20th World Solar Challenge in Australia in October. The three-wheeled vehicle converts energy from the sun into electricity using 400 solar cells, silicon-based, which are capable of sending 2000 watts to a pack of lithium polymer batteries and in turn to the electric motor driving the rear wheel. Like other solar racers, the car seats one person and relies more on endurance than outright speed. We wish all of the cars a good race in Australia, hopefully the experience and knowledge gained will help to increase the efficiency of more normal cars like those that we all drive today.

Related:

• Solar car ready to promote alternative transportation in Philippines

[Source: Manila Times]

While looking for good stories to feature on our site, I ran across this video from KTLV on CNN. The event highlighted is the Dell-Winston Solar Car Challenge, a solar race starting from Dell Headquarters in Round Rock, Texas, and finishing in New York eight days later. To see if they will be passing anywhere near you, click here. They also have a blog, although as of the time of my writing this post, it had not been updated for a few days. The racing started on the 16th and will finish up on the 24th of this month.

If you are interested in following their progress and to know which teams are in the lead, click here. Lots of good information is available on their site, I suggest checking it out if you are interested in solar power or alternative powered vehicles. The video from CNN shows a few of the vehicles taking part in the race, and there are a few interviews too. One of the students remarks that his generation has been taught about global warming and the environment, which is one reason why things might stand to improve. As the younger generations continue to grow and turn into car-buying consumers, it is not unreasonable to expect them to make choices based on their environmental footprint.

[Source: Dell-Winston Solar Car Challenge via CNN]

Do you remember the hydrogen fuel cell powered toy cars that we have shown you in the past? If you do, you might also remember the fact that they are extremely expensive, which is the problem with hydrogen powered products of any kind. If you like the idea of alternative power for you kids, but can't quite afford the hydrogen version, consider going solar instead. Neat Solar Stuff offers a few vehicles and robots which are powered by solar energy. Some of their products will accept a small battery as well, which also brings up the idea of solar powered battery charging. Sometimes the best way to get your kids interested in cool new technologies like this is to make them fun!

As a side note, I find it interesting that these little vehicles are so much cheaper than hydrogen powered toys. The situation stays the same as the sizes increase, of course. This is why electric vehicles currently make a good deal more sense than hydrogen-powered vehicles, which are also electric.

[Source: Neat Solar Stuff via Hugg]

I think it's a good idea to get kids, even as young as 9-to-11 like these ones, thinking of alternative sources of power for their future transportation choices. When I was young, I was really interested in cars and trucks of all sorts, but the green trend had not yet started. Now, as kids are growing up and still forming opinions of the world, they are getting a taste of new types of energy sources. Just like when computers started going mainstream and kids began knowing more about them than their parents, could the same thing happen with technology like solar power? It could, if more programs like the one put on by the Rockville Library in Maryland called the Interactive Science Series pop up.

[Source: Maryland Community Newspapers Online]

Do you remember when we ran an article about the Shell Eco-marathon? Does the sound of 6,792 miles per gallon jog your memory? Think that's high? That can't hold a candle to the all-time record of 10,705 miles per gallon set in 2003! That kind of mileage is impressive, even if the vehicles used to record such astounding numbers are very small and can seat only one person. Not surprisingly, as you can see from some of our pictures, women are often the drivers, as they often weigh less that us guys, and every little bit helps. Here is a link to our gallery from last year, and here is a link to a sneak peek at some of the newest entrants for this years competition. We'll be sure to keep you updated as the results.

[Source: Shell and The Eureka Reporter]

Have you ever dreamed of designing and building your own automobile? If you are anything like me, then the answer is a definite yes. Again, if you are anything like me (and you might be if you're reading this site), you also dream of cleaner transportation. So, what's holding you back? For me, it's funds and spousal approval, you know... I like to keep some sort of peace in the family. But, none of those things stopped Art Haines from building his own car; and not just a car, but a solar car at that! He set out certain goals which had to be met, like the range, size and speed, and made the design using nothing more than rough sketches at first, and then onto the computer. Pretty cool stuff indeed. If you'd like to know more, you should watch the video above.

Treehugger asks the question, if this vehicle can be built by one engineer and a class of students, why can't the big manufacturers make more progress in the field. The answer may have something to do with the fact that this type of vehicle isn't really practical enough for regular public consumption, and probably not safe enough in case of an accident. Read more about that subject here.

[Source: Youtube via Treehugger]

We are getting pretty used to seeing DIY electric cars on these pages, but not too many DIY solar electric cars. But, that is exactly what one man in the United Arab Emirates did. Saqr Bin Saif's creation seats two people in a reclined position and tops out at about 50 kilometers per hour, which is about 30 miles per hour. The vehicle was built in three months, after about four months worth of planning. The solar panels generate 170 watts of power to the batteries, which actually are what powers the vehicle, meaning that the car does not always need the sun to operate. Click here to find out more.

[Source: Gulf News]

ZAP, which stands for Zero Air Pollution, was at the Chicago Auto Show which we were at, and we took pictures of the three-wheeled cars and trucks that they have to offer. At that time, their website showed that a solar option would be coming soon. Come it did; adding a solar panel to the roof adds roughly $2,000 to the price of the vehicle. The vehicle is called the ZAP Xebra Xero. No solid data exists on how long it may take to charge the batteries completely with the solar unit on the vehicles roof, which would depend on the amount of sun available and the angle at which the panel were pointed anyway. However, ZAP is claiming that the car can operate for short distances on power from the solar panel only. Again, just how long and how fast is debatable. Is the solar panel worth the price? Well, that would depend on the type of trip you are most likely to use the vehicle for. If you will use it rarely, so it has time to charge via the sun in between trips, it may work out great. Perhaps some real-world testing of the vehicle will give the rest of us some "live data" to consider.

In my opinion, it's a good first step. The days of masses of vehicles running solely on solar power are likely a ways off still. But, if there are some early adopters of the technology, and as the efficiency of the panels and individual cells increases, who knows? I for one would love never having to plug in an electric car, or fill the vehicles tank with fuel. Solar power truly is one of the cleanest forms of power you or I are likely to find.

Related:

• Chicago Auto Show: Gallery of Zap's current vehicles

[Source: ZAP via The Auto Channel]