The 2008 edition of the Paris Motor Show officially ends today and to commemorate its passing we thought we'd bring back one of our favorite electric cars from the affair with a few video-captured words from a couple of its creators. Perhaps second only to the Pininfarina B0, (if our poll is any indication) the Joule from Optimal Energy stood out amongst its electric brethren and sisteren as a practical transportation option. Up until the start of the show its appearance was something of a secret but when the wraps finally came off we were happy to see that it wasn't some fanciful concept, or future super toy for the super rich. And thankfully it wasn't a bizarre looking NEV. No, the 6-seater MPV looked like something you might see on the street today and that's one of the main points made by Kobus Meiring, CEO of Optimal Energy who, along with some of the electric cars from Paris 2008, appears in this video after the jump.



[Source: YouTube]

French coachbuilder Heuliez, along with Michelin and Orange™, have brought with them to the 2008 Paris Motor Show a most unremarkable-looking car. (My apologies to fans of the Opel Agila) And that's the point. The WILL (pictured above) is meant to seem "familiar and friendly" even though its makers believe it is the embodiment of the future of automotive design. The technology that makes this claim plausible is the Michelin Active Wheel system which we previously saw on the Venturi Volage. It incorporates a motor, brakes and "a revolutionary electric suspension system" inside the wheels. Heuliez has constructed the WILL around the system which has allowed them to offer a lightweight 5-seater with two trunks that is built for safety and stability. With no engine under the hood, the front end is designed around absorbing impact. The active suspension in the two front wheels can quickly sense any pitch or roll and instantly adjust, which is said to offer "unprecedented levels of comfort and road holding."

Orange, the France Telecom brand, brings connectivity to the project. WILL has the usual navigation with real-time weather and traffic. It offers emergency call service as well as high-speed internet access to driver and passenger (no Googling while driving, please). It can also allow remote monitoring for theft protection and fleet tracking. The WILL should have three different lithium ion battery configurations offering 150, 300, or 400 Km of range. (That's 93, 186, or 249 miles). They also mention the possibility of a fuel cell. The first vehicles will begin testing this Autumn and should be available for professional drivers, fleets and municipalities in 2010. The general public may have to wait an extra year. The current price target is being reported as between €20,000 ($27,344) and €25,000 ($34,180). Check out the bonus video in French for glimpses of the WILL at the factory and read the press release after the jump.

[Source: Michelin / Avenir du Véhicule Electrique Méditerranéen (AVEM)]

Well, it certainly looks pretty friendly. Plus, powered only by electrons, it will be friendly to our environment too. What is it? The Heuliez Friendly, which debuted at this year's Paris Motor Show. Three seems to be a theme here, with a trio of electric motors to choose from, three different vehicle lengths to be offered and a seating capacity of yourself and two of your best friends. According to reports, the French automaker expects its Friendly to hit 70 miles per hour and its nickel metal hydride battery to last for 140 miles. After it's spent, the Friendly can be recharged via any standard wall outlet.

Heuliez plans to begin selling its Friendly in Europe in 2010. Also on the schedule are kit-assembled remakes of the G-Wiz from Reva Motors. These electric vehicles would be the first cars ever to wear the Heuliez badge, as the company has so far only created modules such as convertible tops for other automakers.

[Source: Channel 4]

Traditionally, automakers use the biggest auto shows in their home countries as a platform to display their latest and greatest ideas, both aesthetic and technological. Such was clearly the case this week at the Paris Motor Show for PSA, the parent company of Peugeot and Citroën. One of the technical highlights on the stands of both PSA brands was something called HYmotion4, a new through-the-road hybrid system. HYmotion4 was featured on four different vehicles including the Peugeot RC and Prologue and the Citroën Hypnos and C4 WRC.

The idea of a through-the-road hybrid system is not new and has been used previously by a number of manufacturers. To date however, no mainstream manufacturer has produced such a hybrid configuration. In engineering a car, there are many ways to skin a cat, and judging by the number of examples that PSA showed in Paris, it seems that Peugeot and Citroën may follow this path for production as an alternative to the hybrids being produced by the likes of Toyota, Ford, GM and others. Learn more about through-the-road hybrids after the jump.

[Source: Peugeot]

As our faithful readers are already aware, the Quicc! DiVa by DuraCar has just been introduced to the world and is currently on display at the Paris Motor Show. And while its great that the public can now see the electric city van made of plastic, it would be even better if they could buy it, so we are happy to inform you that Wilhelm Karmann GmbH has stepped into the DuraCar picture and, beginning in June 2009, will be building some of the Quicc! DiVas. The famed company, located in Osnabrück, has an agreement to supply vehicles bound for the German market though there may be other collaborative efforts between the two companies in the future. Perhaps better known today for its convertible-making operations, Karmann has a long history of building entire cars and has produced over three million of them in their 100+ year history including the Chrysler Crossfire, the Ford Merkur XR4Ti and, of course, the legendary Karmann Ghia.

As part of their overall strategy, DuraCar is seeking to have several production lines in close geographical proximity to where the cars will be sold thus keeping their carbon foot print to a minimum. The Dutch company is currently in talks with other potential constructors in different markets. Hitting the jump will give you bonus videos of the Quicc! DiVa in action as well as the official press release.



[Source: DuraCar]

Honda this week launched its first blog in conjunction with the debut of the new Insight concept in Paris. If Honda's usual practice and the spy photos we've seen are any indication, the concept Insight that is on the show stand right now will be almost identical to the production model coming next spring. While the Insight's profile undoubtedly shares a lot with the Toyota Prius, it also differs in many design details. The Insight has more surface development than the Prius including the belt-line and rocker panel creases that help catch the light and make the look more interesting. The Insight also has a less distinct peak in the roof than the Toyota giving a sleaker look to the green house. The primary elements that are likely to change in going to production are the lights with the concepts fancy clusters giving way to something a little more conventional. You can check video of the Paris reveal and running footage of the Insight after the jump.



[Source: Honda]

While we old-fashioned, glued-to-keyboard bloggers had to wait until the official reveal to get a glimpse Nissan's latest EV concept, new-fangled video blogger Danny Fleet got actual face time with both the Nuvu and a representative from the Japanese auto maker before the Paris Motor Show even started and recorded some of the low down on the concept and the company's EV future plans with his trusty camera. He even got them to drive it a very short distance.

While there weren't any "Holy Cow! Really?" moments, we did learn a bit that wasn't covered in the lengthy Nuvu press release. For instance, this is not the electric car that Nissan is planning on selling in 2010. Also, although Danny couldn't get Mia to discuss Nissan's involvement with Project Better Place we do learn that the 2010 EV will first be made available in the U.S. and Japan before the rest of the world gets it. Hit the jump for more info and hot vlogging action.





[Source: Danny's Contentment]

It's pretty easy to see more than just a passing resemblance between the new Izis from Wallyscar, which is now being shown at the Paris Motor Show, and another famous vehicle. Like the original off-roading Willys, the Izis features body-on-frame architecture and a very small gasoline engine. In the case of the Izis, that engine comes from Peugeot and displaces 1.4-liters, good enough for 75-horsepower, just a bit more than the 60 horses of the classic Willys Go Devil engine.

The Izis is street-legal in Europe, as its Peugeot engine is fully Euro 4-compliant, though the vehicle has a Euro NCAP rating of only two stars. It also has a very short wheelbase and sits well above the ground. Early Jeeps with similar dimensions were more than a bit 'tippy' on the street, as were some early Jeep-like cars from Suzuki and Daihatsu. Having never piloted in Izis, we can't really comment on how it handles, but we bet it'd do rather well off the beaten path.

An electric version is also said to be available. No information on specifications are provided other than a suggested electric-only range of 90 kilometers, or about 56 miles. That's plenty for some fun-in-the-sun off-roading or for daily transportation for city-dwellers.


[Sources: AutoMotoPortal, Wallyscar]

Peugeot's Prologue HYmotion4 concept is in many ways the opposite of the same company's RC HYmotion4 concept. The upright crossover style Prologue is a different animal from the sleek four-door coupe. Both vehicles use the same through the road hybrid architecture but flipped front/rear. The Prologue puts the internal combustion engine up front and runs on diesel instead of gasoline with the electric motor going at the back. The diesel puts out 163 hp while the motor is limited to 27 kW. With both the engine and motor running, 221 lb-ft of torque are available to the front wheels while the rears get 148 lb-ft. As with the other HYmotion4 concepts, the vehicle can be propelled by either the engine, motor or both. In rear wheel drive electric only mode, speeds are limited to about 30 mph by the 36 hp output and the use of a nickel metal hydride battery. Nonetheless, the Prologue generates some pretty impressive numbers. The French automaker claims a combined mileage of 52.3 mpg (U.S.) and CO₂ emissions of just 109 g/km. One interesting performance enhancement that Peugeot mentions is the interaction between the transmission and motor. The 6-speed manual gearbox features automated shifting. The electronic controls automatically activates the electric motor during shifts to fill the gap in power flow smoothing out the process.


[Source: Peugeot]

While some sites are busy making fun of its name (yeah, we thought of that too... and you? Does it matter? Comments are welcome), others were busy conducting interviews with Dr. Z. in an attempt to find out when we may see the smart ED in America. The answer is that it's coming, if not next year then shortly thereafter. Daimler hopes to have 1,000 electric smarts running rather silently around the world by the end of next year, and it's distinctly possible that a portion of them will be in the U.S. This is the second-generation of the smart ED, and it is now powered by a lithium ion battery pack that may or may not be supplied by Tesla Motors. The last-gen model used a sodium battery. With the new pack, the smart ED can achieve a range of up to 150 miles -- plenty of distance for the urban use the little car is likely to be subjected to.

[Source: Popular Mechanics / Photo: Inside Line]