"Yikes! What are you even talking about? I only wanted a hybrid, not cancer!", you might be thinking to yourself after reading the headline. Well relax, it's probably nothing. But apparently in addition to being a danger to blind pedestrians, the hybrid car is now being looked at askance by some people because of the electromagnetic field (EMF) it produces. Are we serious? Well, no less than the New York Times brought it up in its Sunday edition.
Although we are reminded by the article that many of us use electric blankets and cell phones, some folks were concerned enough about the readings they took on hand-held EMF field-strength testers that they actually sold their hybrids. The maker of a particular tester defended its use for automotive purposes despite the fact that it is set up to measure alternating current (AC) fields as opposed to the direct current (DC) of car systems saying, "Generally, an A.C. meter is accurate in detecting large electromagnetic fields or microwaves." The car manufacturers, Honda and Toyota, were both quick to assure that there is absolutely no danger presented by the fields which are well beneath European guidelines. (There are currently no federal standards in the U.S.). The article didn't mention any health benefits of switching to a zero emissions vehicles. Our health suggestion? (Note: we are bloggers, not doctors) Eat well, exercise and relieve your stress by reading AutoblogGreen every morning.
We have coveredlotsofelectricconversions here but rare is the bird that soars like this one. The idea behind this project was to showcase the potential of A123 Systems cells that are also being used in a "conventional" car conversion. "Conventional" as in a 2003 BMW 325i. (We'll keep an eye on its progress.)
The project started with two Honda CRF250Rs, with one being converted and one remaining stock for after-completion comparison. Each step was documented with a photo and a brief description. The builder, named on the web site as Bob Simpson BSEE, had a goal of keeping the weight, balance and abuse quotient as close to the original as possible and with all the cool tools and quality components he's working with, it seems he got pretty close.
The final product certainly looks terrific. The range is yet to be determined as more testing needs to be done. The highest speed mentioned is 57.4 mph. As evidenced by the photo above the electric bike certainly doesn't seem to be lacking for torque, although it could perhaps use a second gear. The website featuring the conversion has lots of other information and links for those interested in electrified transportation and is well worth checking out.
While some of the more exotic sports cars at this year's Geneva Motor Show can only claim green credentials, we have discovered one that actually delivers. Ken Okuyama, formerly of General Motors, Porsche and Pininfarina presented his electric vision in the form of the sleek beauty you see pictured above, the K.08. Sharing a lightweight carbon fiber and aluminum chassis with its more traditionally-powered stablemate, the K.07, this automotive katana is all function and silent power. If you prefer its topless twin or just wish to collect them all, there are plans to electrify it as well. The two models represent the beginning of Ken Okuyama Cars, a company with plans for new models each year.
Production of the K.08 will be handled by MODI in Japan with a limited edition of 99 vehicles. Lithium ion is the battery tech employed and its three phase motor will put out 100kw. The price? If you have to ask... For more details check out the press release at the jump.
Since the first moment I laid eyes on it, I've thought the Modec electric truck was a thing of beauty. A little more aerodynamic than its freight hauling frères and a whole lot more quiet. Need I mention the lack of diesel smoke? I thought not. After reading all the specs and mulling it over for about 10 seconds it occurred to me that this vehicle would look great in UPS brown. Sure enough, it does.
According to BigLorryBlog, the company has begun putting the Modec (they really do need a catchy model name) through its paces within the London Low Emission Zone. So what does UPS think about this big brown truck? "The quiet, carbon-neutral vehicle is the first of its kind to effectively harness the power of modern, high energy batteries to meet the medium range, high performance requirements of hard working, urban delivery vehicles." I think, as with Tesco, they like it, they like it!
it was a good attempt at creating very efficient cars
it was the greatest mistake in automotive history
Love 'em or loathe 'em, one of these microcars - a 1962 Electrodyne Mark II - is currently on sale over at eBay with a Buy It Now price of $2,500. There were 10 offers last I looked. The auction ends tonight so you just have a few hours to enjoy bidding on the microcar goodness or gasp in horror at the monstrosity, depending on how you look at it. I think it's kinda cute.
Just as I thought I was recovering from the shock of the new Th!nk Ox concept announcement, today's press release from GE made me feel like I was caught up in a Ronco commercial, "But wait, there's more!" No, GE is not getting into Super Bass o' Matics. It sights are set on no less than the "global electrification of transportation". Toward this noble and glorious end they have announced a $4 million investment in Th!nk Global.
GE knows that good battery tech will be an integral part of the success of its transportation market objectives and its taking a decidedly synergistic approach. From the ongoing Washington International Renewable Energy Conference (WIRC) they disclosed that not only will A123Systems, producer of the patented Nanophosphate(TM) lithium-ion batteries, be able to draw on the research and technology development expertise of GE Global Research in Niskayuna, New York, but GE will sink a further $20 million to become the company's largest single investor.
$24 million may seem like a lot to you or I but it is still only part of the $100 million financial commitment GE has made to different companies in the past 18 months through its ecomagination(SM) initiative. For more on all the in and outs of the initiative and GE's investment arrangements check out the press release after the jump.
I've always wanted to say this and now, thanks to new British electric car start up, Stevens Vehicles Ltd, I can: "Get into Zevan and come with me to the casbah." There is now an alternative for Brits who want a domestically-manufactured electric car but don't want to wait a year or spend 150,000 quid on a Lightning GT. Actually, two alternatives because Stevens is not only going to produce Zevan, the sexy beast (and I use that term loosely) you see pictured above. Nay, also on offer is the five-door, five-person Zecar. But why stop there? Zecab is yet another variation on ze (zero emissions) theme and is currently on ze drawing board. Further down the road there are plans for zeconvertible, zepick-up, and zebeachbuggy according to the lengthy article in the Telegraph announcing the company's launch.
56 miles is the cordless distance the first batch of vehicles expect to eke out of their sealed lead acid gel batteries and the top speed will be 56 mph. These numbers should improve in the future when lithium ion and other battery technologies become more established. The company website states they are "leading edge, not bleeding edge."
Tony Stevens, the automotive engineering brains behind the outfit has ambitions far beyond his factory in Wales. His is a vision that extends world-wide to communities in developing countries everywhere via a manufacturing concept, Global Village Transport (GVT). Now, about that casbah.
Travis Gintz from Portland, Oregon is currently working on converting a 1986 Honda VFR from gas to electric power. He's using a DC motor from Advanced DC, twelve 12-volt lead-acid batteries and other assorted electronic pieces, including a 600 amp motor controller. With this setup, he's planning on being able to get up to 70 miles per hour or so but the range is undetermined thus far. He managed to get lots of free stuff and managed to find good deals on the rest, so his conversion is moving along quite nicely. His VFR is currently stripped down and awaiting the installation of the motor and batteries, so this would be a good time to start following his progress. We'll keep you updated when his project is completed, so stay tuned for more.
Recently, we told you Th!nk would introduce a larger car made by one of the top three American automakers. Green Wombat has more details on the car thanks to coffee with Th!nk's Jan-Olaf Willums at the Cleantech Forum in San Francisco. The car is a stylish and aerodynamic five-seat, four-door sedan, made by an unnamed Fortune 100 automaker and will be released in 2011. We'll be able to confirm this for ourselves when it is introduced at the Geneva Motor Show next week. The car will also be electric and include a range extender which I believe supports my pet theory that the unnamed automaker is GM.
You don't have to wait until 2011 for new things from Th!nk. According to Willums, Th!nk's two seater will be delivered to customers in March and introduced to Paris and the UK this week with production ramping up to 10,000 cars a year by the end of 2008. Th!nk hopes to have a plant in the United States by 2009, too. When asked if they were competing with Tesla, Willums said "We won't compete with Tesla. ... The Tesla will be more a BMW; we'll be more the Volkswagen."
Last night during the Oscar telecast, host Jon Stewart joked to the audience, "Whoever owns the Boeing 707 parked on La Brea Avenue, your landing lights are on." As actor/aviator John Travolta ran onstage and bolted through an exit, Stewart comforted the glitterati, telling them, "Don't worry, it's a hybrid."
Now, while John Travolta is a pilot and really does own a Boeing 707 (finished in classic Quantas livery, as seen here, parked at his home in a private "fly-in" community), the company does not make hybrid jets. Boeing is, however, exploring electric engine starts and, more recently, biofuel-powered jets with Virgin Atlantic. You can watch a video with Branson talking about the Virgin biofuel jet below the fold. For the second year in a row, NRDC also worked with Oscar to reduce the show's ecological footprint with energy coming from wind farms and biodiesel. The Independent Spirit Awards, however, drank Oscar's milk shake by using an even greener power source: Ed Begley Jr.
Teh intertubez are clogged with examples of all manner of contraptions and do-hickeys cobbled together by folks with lots of imagination and the desire to get about town sans clouds of exhaust or pools of perspiration. Many are laughable or, even worse, forgettable. I stumbled across this little handmade runabout and thought, "Hmm, that's actually not half bad. I want one of those." So, I thought I'd share it with y'all (hey, I am in the South) and maybe get your thoughts.
This electric quadricycle was designed and built by one George Fortin. He claims a respectable 40mph top speed, a range of 15 miles, and the ability to accelerate from 0 to 30 mph in about 5 seconds. It's no Tesla, but here at AutoblogGreen, we've seen slower. After the jump lurk several videos of gizmos and concepts with which you can compare and contrast the personality and practicality of Monsieur Fortin's creation.
Our friends over at Ecorazzi are reporting that, according to sources, Leonardo DiCaprio bought a Vectrix plug-in electric scooter. Ecorazzi loves them up some Leo, writing about when he graced the cover of Vanity Fair's green issue and later produced the very green documentary the 11th Hour (see trailer below the fold). Leo on a Vectrix is really not that surprising if you remember that Ecorazzi caught Leo on a scooter before.
Along with being very green, the design of the Vectrix is almost bike like. From certain angles, you could mistake it for a bullet bike. Hey Leo, when it's released, we recommend also picking up an Enertia, the electric bike that AutoblogGreen took Enertia for a test drive and we really liked it. You should also check out the Tesla Roadster. They are starting to hit the roads and Matt Damon is getting one.
I am looking forward to Brammo's electric bike but I am really looking forward to a possible Ariel Atom team's electric bike. As you can see in the Jeremy Clarkson face-destroying video above, the Ariel Atom is hella-fun and Autocar reports they just might release an electric motor bike. Brammo actually worked with Ariel and the Atom is the basis for the Wrightspeed X1 electric car. Maybe some kind of partnership is in the works? Anyway, I can't wait to see what Ariel comes up with on two wheels.
The New York Police Department will road test four Vectrix electric scooters next month reports Newsday. Vectrix scooters have a range of 60 miles, a top speed of 60 MPH and, as Vectrix president Andrew MacGowen tells Newsday, his scooters are the first all-electric vehicles to be certified to travel on any highway, street or road.
The NYPD currently has a handful of hybrid and flex-fuel vehicles but they are planning more ways to go green. Vectrix's silent running, plug-in scooters has advantages other than zero emissions though: "You could easily sneak up on somebody if they don't expect it" says Detective Derek Siconola, the happy guy on the Vectrix in the picture.
I talked to Joe Lado about his Pontiac Fiero that he's converted to run on electricity at a Washington event for electric cars this week. You can see the golf cart batteries and solar panels in the front and back of the car in a video below the fold. Joe talked about the many advantages of owning an electric car, especially the low cost of fuel and maintenance. I was really impressed however by the charger. For a conversion, the charger was incredibly well done. There was a timer, switches and a second connector that made charging at almost any voltage possible. You can check it out in the video above.
