PHEVs

Nissan claims 367 mpg for electric Leaf

OK, these ridiculous mpg claims are starting to get out of hand. Earlier this week, General Motors announced an estimated 230 mpg for the upcoming Volt extended-range EV--a claim that was later undermined by the EPA. No doubt attempting to steal a bit of GM's thunder, Nissan claimed (via Twitter) that its upcoming Leaf EV could do better:

"Nissan Leaf = 367 mpg, no tailpipe, and no gas required. Oh yeah, and it'll be affordable too!"

At first, we thought this was an odd claim to make, seeing that the Leaf is fully electric and (as stated … Read more

Getting a charge from the Chevy Volt

MILFORD, Mich.--It was brief, but my ride in a Chevy Volt was decidedly fun, even exciting.

On Tuesday, I visited the sprawling Milford Proving Grounds in southeastern Michigan, where General Motors vehicles have been put through the paces since the 1920s.

I was one of the lucky few who got the last ride of the day in a pre-production version of the Volt, which was "almost stolen" from the car's development team by Frank Weber, the global vehicle line executive for the Volt, to give journalists a taste of the upcoming plug-in electric sedan.

In addition to being a key figure in the Volt's development, Weber clearly has got a car engineer's love of driving. His high-speed tour around the track gave me a feel for the "driving experience" GM executives tout with the Volt, which is due late next year.

I was prepared for the zippy acceleration. Models will vary of course, but electric vehicles can boast great acceleration--the Tesla Roadster is faster off the line than many sports cars, for instance--and they deliver their full torque at all speeds.

What surprised me though was the handling. As Weber dipped around the couple turns we took, the car seemed to really stick to the road, and I didn't slide off my seat at all.

It makes sense that it felt like the car "hugged" the road. The large, 400-pound battery pack, which is positioned under the back seats, gives the Volt a low center of gravity, and the car has a good weight distribution, GM executives said.

During the drive, Weber--obviously enamored with its performance--said that you feel much closer to the electric car when you drive because of the responsive acceleration. "It's more like flying than driving a vehicle," he said. And, of course, the ride was very quiet as the car was running on batteries.

I've never taken a Lamborghini or Ferrari around a test track, but I can say the Volt's acceleration and handling are noticeably sportier than sedans like the Prius or the alternative fuel SUVs I also drove at Milford.

Watching the video, you can get a feel for how Weber showed off the Volt's acceleration and, on the last turn, the handling.

Under construction Earlier in the day, I took a tour of GM's pre-production facility at its Tech Center in Warren, Mich., where I gained a bit more insight into the interplay between the Volt's two power sources--its batteries and the internal combustion engine. … Read more

San Diego to test mobile electric-car charger

Plug-in electric car drivers in San Diego will be able to charge up at a friend's house without leaving behind a hefty electric bill.

Utility San Diego Gas & Electric said on Wednesday that it plans to use a mobile car-charging device from Juice Technologies as part of a trial of plug-in electric cars in the region.

As part of a giant Department of Energy battery funding project, the city is one of five locations in the U.S. to set up a network of charging stations for about 1,000 Nissan Leaf sedans made available to consumers. … Read more

Nissan, EnerDel to fund auto battery research

Seeking out a better auto battery, Nissan Motor and EnerDel said Thursday that they will team up in support of research into a better conductive material for batteries.

The pact calls for the two companies to co-fund research at the Argonne National Laboratory to develop a new electrolyte made of a slurry liquid. The work is being done specifically for electric and hybrid vehicle batteries.

EnerDel, which makes lithium ion batteries, has agreements to supply Think Global's city car and Fisker Automotive's luxury plug-in electric vehicle, both of which are expected to be available in the next year. … Read more

Report: Toyota to mass-produce plug-ins in 2012

Toyota Motor plans to start mass-producing plug-in hybrid cars in 2012, according a report.

The Japanese business newspaper Nikkei said on Saturday that the first year's production is expected to be about 20,000 to 30,000 cars.

Toyota earlier last year said that it plans to start testing 500 plug-in hybrid Priuses in 2010 for fleet owners.

Current Priuses use nickel metal hydride batteries, but for its plug-in vehicles Toyota plans to use lithium ion batteries developed and made through a joint venture with Panasonic.

The plug-in hybrid cars from Toyota will be able to go between 12 … Read more

Electric cars seen as killer app for smart grid

WASHINGTON--Where you see an electric car, your utility sees a battery on wheels.

Forward-looking utilities are gearing up to tap into the stored energy that plug-in electric vehicles can provide using smart-grid technology, said industry executives at consulting firm Kema's Utility of the Future conference here this week.

Car batteries can provide a buffer to lighten the load on the grid during peak times and potentially provide back-up power to homeowners. Down the line, old plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) batteries could be recycled as storage devices, they said.

"I think PHEVs will be the killer application for … Read more

Study: Bioelectricity bests biofuels on miles per acre

Growing plants to make electricity is a more efficient and environmentally sound way to power vehicles than biofuels, according to a study meant to spark a debate over energy policy.

The study's authors modeled how far different classes of cars could go based on the available energy from a unit of land and found that bioelectricity--burning biomass to make electricity--far outperforms ethanol.

The paper, published on Thursday in Science, found that bioelectricity delivered 81 percent more distance per unit area of crop land than ethanol. Greenhouse gas emissions per area of land were 100 percent less than cellulosic ethanol. (… Read more

EnerDel may supply batteries to Fisker Auto

EnerDel has signed an agreement to supply lithium-ion batteries for electric carmaker Fisker Automotive's planned Fisker Karma.

Indianapolis-based EnerDel announced the letter of intent on Friday, a few hours before state senator Evan Bayh is scheduled to dedicate a new production line for auto batteries. The supply deal is contingent on reliability and performance testing. A Fisker Karma will be at the inauguration.

The Fisker Karma is a four-door luxury car, priced at about $88,000, that runs on batteries and gets about 100 miles per gallon. It will have an internal combustion gas engine to charge the batteries … Read more

Fisker Auto pockets funding for electric Karma

Electric-car maker Fisker Automotive said on Tuesday it has reached an agreement to receive $85 million for additional development and manufacturing of its plug-in electric luxury sedan.

Investors are Eco-Drive (Capital) Partners, a New York-based consortium, and venture capital company Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, which is an existing investor.

Fisker Automotive's first car will be the Fisker Karma, a plug-in electric sedan due by the end of this year that will cost $87,900 before tax credits. The company also plans to develop a lower-cost car in the future.

The Karma will be able to go about … Read more