Click image for photo gallery of the UPS EV van

Last weekend, reader Andrew Grin accompanied a friend on one of the NY-area Tesla Roadster test drives that were being held (his friend has a Roadster reserved). Following the experience with the EV sports car, Andrew and his buddies spotted a somewhat peculiar UPS truck parked across the street from the garage where the Tesla was dropped off. The big delivery truck had "Zero Emission Electric Vehicle" emblazoned on its side panels. A walk to the front also showed a blank spot where the radiator grille would normally reside. They quizzed the truck's driver, who told them that it's one of two of its kind in New York City, and that it has a 15-mile range. The photos below come courtesy of Andrew, who happened to have his camera on hand to capture the Tesla drive. Turns out, he caught another interesting EV with it as well. Thanks, Andrew!


[Source & Photos: Andrew Grin]

The big news from the California Air Resources Board in recent weeks was the decision to cut the ZEV mandate by 70 percent. Following a speech at the National Hydrogen Association conference in Sacramento recently, CARB chairperson Mary Nichols sat down with Carlist's Lou Ann Hammond for an interview about the decision and related topics. Hammond has broken the interview into four short video segments, some of which feature segments of the speech (and Q&A).

• What Californians can do to reduce emissions
• The status of CARB's waiver request from the EPA
• In detail about the ZEV conference
• Taking questions from the audience about the ZEV mandate
• Current state bills and regulations for cleaner cars

If you're interested in where California, America's leader in green car legislation, stands these days with state rules and how CARB is managing to "piss everyone off" (as someone told Hammond, something that Hammond figures means that everyone is compromising) while trying to make progress, give these videos a viewing. They're each around 3-5 minutes long.

[Source: Carlist]

According to a recent article in Forbes, the new CARB rules will affect negatively all hydrogen car projects. Even though this is something quite a number of our readers consider good, the article states that it's bad, and it's a direct consequence of the reduction to 7,500 the number of zero-emissions vehicles required by 2014. This is 70 percent fewer than the 25,000 ZEVs CARB had mandated in 2003.

Although what we might consider electric cars to be more ZEVs than hydrogen-powered vehicles, the article considers hydrogen fuel cells as solid ZEV options. Quoting GM sources, the article says that the problem is the lack of hydrogen infrastructure, not the ability of automakers to build hydrogen-powered cars. If a carmaker produces a small number of hydrogen-powered cars that can go a long distance, they won't be required to make many electrics.

[Source: Forbes]

Well, it happened. The California Air Resources Board decided that electric vehicles and similar zero-emission autos are not ready for prime time. CARB voted to cut the number of zero-emission vehicles that automakers will need to sell in the state by 70 percent. This isn't as bad as the 90 percent cut many had feared, but it's still a massive reduction in pressure on the big auto companies to produce clean rides. CARB chair Mary Nichols called the reduced requirement (7,500 cars between 2012 and 2014 instead of 25,000 as a 2003 revision had called for) was "realistic" and that the pressure would still be brought to bear to get hydrogen fuel cell and electric vehicles onto California roads. The definition of "zero emission" and "partial zero emission" has always been slightly confusing (I mean, really, what is a partial zero?), and it just got murkier. According to Reuters, Nichols said, "All we've done is change the definition of a ZEV to allow an electric vehicle to have a little supplemental gasoline that goes with it. I don't think that it's a step backward in the real world." No, but it's not really a step forward, either.

[Source: Nichola Groom / Reuters]

CARB's meeting today is scheduled to go until at least 10 pm EST. We'll report on the news of the day once things are over, but if you'd like to keep a tab on what's going on right now, check out this page for ways to stream the audio and video feed from California. I heard a bit of Who Killed the Electric Car? director Chris Paine's testimony (he called the hearing a bit of a cast reunion) and I believe the California EPA will keep to hearing available online in an archive, so if you can't watch now, you can check it out later. Enjoy.

[Source: CA EPA, thanks to Joseph]

Looks like the Aussies are getting their very first zero-emissions-vehicle, the Blade Runner. Converted from the gasoline-powered Hyundai Getz (as seen above), the Blade Runner uses an AC motor powered by twin banks of lithium iron phosphate batteries and is capable of going up to 100 kilometers (62.5 miles) on a single charge. Although not particularly cheap at $35,000 for the retrofit (about $32,000 US), the Blade Runner is still the first of its kind in Oz, and it comes from a small manufacturer, Blade Electric Vehicles, the brainchild of Ross Blade.

According to this article, some new owners of the Blade Runner are even go so far as to charge their batteries using solar power. There's a short video of the car here, which shows Australian Democrats Leader Lyn Allison giving the Blade Runner a once-over. It seems that Blade Electric Vehicles is looking to secure a deal to provide electric cars to the government.

[Source: Blade Electric Vehicles via CarDomain]

Understanding the confluence of the electric drive industry and the U.S. government is at the heart of the EDTA Conference this week. During a working session on Wednesday, a half dozen speakers dissected ways governments of various jurisdictions (city, state and federal) can and do support electric drive vehicles. Here're the highlights.

The Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD), a taxpayer-funded utility company, hasn't met an alternative energy source it doesn't like. Bill Boyce, SMUD's electric transportation supervisor, said SMUD has supported EVs at the local airport, has worked to restrict truck idling activities, and is constructing a photovoltaic-powered hydrogen fueling station. SMUD is also big into plug-in hybrids (PHEVs). The utility is testing converted Prius vehicles (see below), supports Plug-in Partners, and is helping to test EPRI's Dodge Sprinter Vans (which are medium-sized delivery vans that, according to DaimlerChrysler's Dominique Portmann, get about 26 mpg in the most recent versions). SMUD is even studying how light rail can better store regenerative braking energy.

The story continues after the jump.

It was "Who Killed the Electric Car" vs. "Hydrogen is not Ready for Prime Time" at the Zero Emissions Vehicle symposium. At least that's the way automotive journalist Lou Ann Hammond described the action from her ringside seat.

She felt the tension as automakers stated their positions and expressed their goals. The hydrogen proponents - BMW, DaimlerChrysler, Honda and GM - made their case. Then came Toyota with its efforts firmly behind hybrids and future plug-in hybrids. But Toyota started with an essay on the benefits of hydrogen and a wrapup of its fuel-cell fleets. When the subject turned to "economic sense," everyone hoped Toyota would officially announce a new plug-in electric hybrid (PHEV) was coming.

First there was a history lesson of the RAV4 plug-in hybrid that used nickel metal hydride batteries. After the excessive ad costs and discounts, the program just didn't suceed. For everyone who purchased a RAV4 PHEV, 15 purchased a Prius. In other words, no plug-in hybrid joy at this event. In a summation statement from Hammond: "Not all buyers value technoogy the same way."

[Source: carlist.com]