vehicles

It's been said that utilities see electric vehicles as batteries on wheels. A university project to use electric cars to stabilize the grid has brought utility NRG to put that idea to the test.

NRG Energy said today that it will partner with eV2g, a project developed at the University of Delaware to earn EV drivers money by providing services to grid operators. The technology behind the system is being developed by University of Delaware professor Willett Kempton.

The system treats a network of electric or hybrid electric vehicle batteries as a distributed energy source. Plugged-in vehicles provide a … Read more

The approval of the Pedestrian Safety Enhancement Act last year essentially mandated that electric vehicles or hybrids running only on electric power--devoid of the actual engine noise that makes pedestrians (particularly the visually impaired) aware that a vehicle is approaching--must now generate some sort of artificial proximity notification noise. However, although the Act mandated that EVs must make a sound, it didn't specify exactly what sound they should make. This means that every EV and hybrid manufacturer is free to make its cars sound like anything.

Toyota has released a video that explains the vehicle proximity notification sound designed … Read more

At this point, Fisker Automotive has been showing off various incarnations of the Karma series hybrid sedan at various auto shows for about four years now. It's practically done at this point. Not wanting to show up at the 2011 International Auto Show in Frankfurt with the same song and dance, the automaker slapped a hatchback onto its mustachioed Karma and dubbed it the Fisker Surf.

This week, the Surf shows off its shooting brake design in a B-roll video released on the Web by Fisker. Check it out below. There's no music, but if you crank your … Read more

Electric vehicles may seem like the inevitable evolution of the conventional gas-powered automobile, but not every carmaker agrees. Hyundai will sit out the pure-electric car round, and instead concentrate its efforts on designing the next-generation hydrogen fuel cell vehicle.

As part of a decision by the Hyundai-Kia Automotive Group, Hyundai--which owns 51 percent of Kia--will stop all efforts to develop and produce electric vehicles, according to Korean newspaper The Chosun Iblo. The auto manufacturer previously planned to produce the all-electric BlueOn, but it has shelved those plans and instead will focus on developing the Tucson ix Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle. … Read more

Jetpack Joyride is a new distance game from the makers of Monster Dash and Fruit Ninja, but in this game you use a machine-gun jet pack to maneuver past obstacles and use discovered vehicles to try to survive as long as possible. The control system is incredibly simple: touch the screen to propel your jet pack.

As in Monster Dash, you play hero Barry Steakfries, but in this game you'll break into a secret laboratory to steal and use experimental jet packs. As you propel yourself through this side-scroller, you'll need to gather coins you can use between … Read more

With a limited driving range and charging stations that are few and far between, electric vehicle (EV) drivers have good cause to worry that they may not make it to their final destinations. But for many drivers, the mental stress known as "range anxiety" disappears after just three months of real-world zero-emissions commuting.

A study by the U.K.'s Technology Strategy Board (TSB) of 340 ultralow-emissions vehicle drivers--many of which are EV early adopters--found that after three months of driving an EV, range anxiety dropped by 35 percent (PDF). Before the study began, 100 percent of the … Read more

STOCKHOLM (Bloomberg)--Volvo Car and Siemens said they plan a partnership to develop electric vehicles and aim to start testing the autos by the end of this year.

Siemens, Europe's largest engineering company, will develop electric motors and charging systems with Volvo, of Gothenburg, Sweden. Siemens will try out as many as 200 Volvo electric cars under real-life conditions by late 2012 following test-track studies in coming months, the manufacturers said in separate statements.

"We are moving ahead quickly in this area," Volvo CEO Stefan Jacoby said in the carmaker's statement. ''Our aim is to be … Read more

Let's start with a bit of a confession. Despite having reviewed quite a few OnStar-equipped vehicles from automakers under the General Motors flag, I rarely, if ever, reach up to press that little blue "On" button while driving. There's just something about asking for directions that just doesn't sit right with me. So, it's a bit ironic that my first major immersion into the OnStar ecosystem happened in a Ford vehicle equipped with the OnStar FMV.

The OnStar FMV ("For My Vehicle") is a universal, standalone OnStar receiver that replaces the rearview … Read more

Could sewage be the holy grail for clean fuel? The Orange County Sanitation District (OCSD) in Fountain Valley, Calif., recently opened the world's first tri-generation fuel cell and hydrogen energy station, which uses sewage biogas to produce heat, electricity, and hydrogen. The end result of the system is a constant stream of hydrogen that doesn't require large amounts of electricity to produce.

Sewage waiting to be processed at the OCSD treatment plant produces methane gas. A system designed by FuelCell Energy collects the methane and reformulates it into hydrogen, then sends it to a fuel cell. Electricity from … Read more