Keeping Kurrent in the Neighborhood

Still, electric vehicles are getting better and there are some inexpensive models on the road from independent companies like American Electric with their Kurrent selling for around $9,800. However, this is not a family vehicle as it only seats two people. It isn’t meant for cruising down the highway either, the manufacturers suggest that people need to “slow down” a bit anyway and tout this vehicle as a “neighborhood vehicle”. This would be perfect for college students or people who live a short distance from work, but it won’t replace your regular vehicle just yet. Meanwhile, countries like Norway have been driving electric cars like the Think which can go 112 miles on a charge at top speeds of 62 mph for years now and these vehicles are expected to hit US markets within the next couple of years for less than $10,000.

Innovations on the Rise

Most Americans aren’t ready to settle for driving 30-100 miles on a charge and then waiting many hours to get back on the go and so the car manufacturers are still working hard to overcome the obstacles and build better batteries and vehicle designs that will extend the driving distance and increase speed. Ideas being developed include hydrogen fuel cells and plug-in hybrid. Either manufacturers are going to have to find a way to create electric vehicles that are comparable in performance and price to conventional vehicles or Americans are going to have to alter their lifestyles by limiting the number of hours driven per day and their driving speed. Since the latter is unlikely in the near future, automakers will have to keep working on new designs.

Weighing the Options

There are several good, inexpensive electric vehicles on the market right now for people who travel short distances to work or to the grocery store like the Kurrent, the Fly bo (made in China), and the GEM. There are also more expensive electric cars like the Venturi Fetish that top out at speeds of 100mph and have an equally impressive price tag at over 0,000 in the US. Meanwhile, it will likely still be few years into the future before the electric car becomes a viable option for the majority of people in the United States.

The American Electric Car

GM is not the first and certainly will not be the last American auto manufacturers to create a mass marketed electric car. GM did it in the 90′s with the “EV” which was a success to the consumers, but not for GM as it was more of a test car. They are working on a car, the “Volt” which will be designed to travel 40 miles solely on battery power. Something like 75% of Americans travel less than 40 miles in their commute to work. So it can provide a clean means to travel and will have a small engine for those with greater distances. The Volt is highly anticipated to charge into American’s lives.

Today’s Electric automobiles you can find are a bit smallish than the full sized cars we are use to however, they will well seat four adults, but nothing more. normally the style is like to a two-door hatchback. Other ease or necessaries you will find are airbags, seat belts, and air-conditioning. Not only will you savor these characteristics but also the new Electric automobile automobiles can get up to speeds of around 60MPH and move for about 12 hours without breaking and recharging.

The Electric Automobile cars are unthoughtful urban Electric cars as most masses will still not wish to use them on long trips, however, even in larger cities or going from the urban regions to the big urban centers, they will be great. The idea is that you will be able to go longer and faster than before so the Electric motorcar motorcar will be more attractive for those that live in large cities or in the urban areas and travel to the city for work.

At this time, Ford and Nissan are trying out these Electric cars and Daimler-Chrysler is under sign up for the Zap! Smart motorcar to the US. In the past, the Zap! Smart car was imported to the US and then modified to meet the safety standards of the US.

Why are these Electric Automobile vehicles on the Rise? The answer is quite plain. The Electric Automobile car does not let loose carbon dioxide or other harmful gases into the air. Along with this, in the UK, if you have a automobile that does not emit carbon-dioxide you do not have to pay motorcar tax. In the UK, the car tax you pay is defined by the amount of CO2 your vehicle emits, the more your car emits the more you give in car tax. One more great cause to view buying an Electric automobile car is that they are compact, are easy to drive in congested areas, and you can find a spacing space much quicker.

Electric car automobiles are advantageous for the environment while allowing all individuals the chance to get around town or the area, but in a diminutive more compact way. Research is still being done and of course, more Electric automobile motorcars are being made. This means that before long, you will see umpteen improvements in the speed and the space you can move between recharges.

The number of parts in an electric car is also less as against other hybrid cars or cars that run on gas. The noise from electric cars is almost negligible. Basically, an electric car is made up of a simple frame, wheels, an electric motor, car battery and an electric on and off switch. The engine of the electric car is made up of a series of batteries that are attached to an on and off switch and it is in turn, attached to a motor that is electrically operated. Obviously, the electric motor drives the wheels and sets the car in motion.

The amount of electricity that goes into the motor is controlled to drive the vehicle in a controlled manner. There are solar cars available that convert solar energy into electricity. The electricity that is stored within the battery of an electric car can be generated from any source, apart from solar, like nuclear, natural gas, coal and petroleum.

Since electric cars have a low center of gravity, the initial acceleration is quite rapid and can be handled quite easily. But, the fact of the matter is, that the lithium ion batteries used in cars are very expensive making the overall price of the car expensive and these batteries have to be replaced once in three or four years. In addition, the charging of the battery takes almost three or four hours to fully recharge and therefore needs prior planning, if the electric car is to be used for longer distances.

This also means that the batteries can be charged only from the initial point of journey because there may not be too many charging stations on the way. People also feel that the electric cars are not most suitable for driving long distances and can be nightmarish, if the car runs out of battery or in the midst of busy traffic.

Normally, an electric car offers the equivalent of twenty miles per gallon and the cost to run a mile is nearly three cents. Further more; there is no expenditure on tune ups, oil changes and the like in an electric car. So, people who are environment friendly and want to paint a greener world can opt for an electric car.

The choice would not only be appreciated by others but it would also fill the pocket of the owner because it saves a lot of fuel in the long run. Even though man affords to purchase oil what with soaring oil prices, oil is a depleting natural resource and it is our duty to save this resource for our future generations.

First, there are many types of electric cars you can choose from, but all of them use an electric motor that runs on batteries that you recharge. The more batteries you have, the longer you can drive your car. Electric cars come in all different sizes and performances. They are aerodynamically more efficient than gasoline powered cars because electricity stored chemically is lighter than electricity stored electrically.

Another very advantageous fact about electric cars is that they emit virtually no greenhouse gases into the air and thus run much, much cleaner than many other vehicles. Greenhouse gases contribute to the depletion of the ozone layer that has led to global warming. Electric cars that run on batteries alone produce no pollution at all and thus are very environmentally friendly.

How far can you drive on an electric car’s charge? The amazing fact is that electric cars can usually travel for about a hundred miles before needing a charge. The batteries generally need charged overnight and there is a gauge that can tell you how much power you have left. They are perfectly fine for city driving and those who don’t have to go long distances on a regular basis.

This next fact about electric cars may amaze you – I know it did me! Some people believe that an electric car can’t go very fast. But the fact is that electric cars have been clocked at over one hundred miles per hour and can go from zero to that in less than nine seconds! This is because electric motors have a very high torque which allows them to accelerate quickly and travel faster.

There are many more facts to be found out about electric cars such as their price, their range, their availability, and their benefits. Finding out these facts is easy. If you are thinking about buying an electric car, do your research and find one that fits your lifestyle. Most car companies produce at least a hybrid type of electric car that runs on both gasoline and electricity, but you can also find total electric cars if you know where to look. Just get the facts and then get on the electric car bandwagon. You may just find out you like it there!

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David Murray may drive the quietest car in North Texas, powered only by a small electric motor, and not creating any emissions. “The most common question I get is, ‘Is this an electric car?’ and then they’re like, “Is it a hybrid?’ Nope, it’s a real electric (car),” Murray said. When his car is low on fuel, Murray simply plugs the power cord into the nearest outlet. “Yeah, just plug it in here. Just a regular old extension cord,” Murray said. The self-described computer geek from Kennedale bought the 1993 Eagle Talon from a junkyard for just 0. “First thing I did when I got the car home was pull the engine out,” Murray said. He then spent about 00 more to convert the gas-guzzler to run on electricity alone, doing all the work himself in his garage at home. “I bought the electric motor and I was like well, I gotta figure out a way to couple it together with the original transmission,” he said. The car can hit 55 mph, driving right past the high prices at gas stations. “I hear people complain about them at work all the time. I just grin,” he said. Murray spends just per month on electricity to charge the batteries — enough to go about 300 miles. “I don’t even look at the gas prices,” Murray said.
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In the 1890s, though, the first electric cars were actually built at home in the U.S. and actually shown to the general public. To thank for that first electric car we have William Morrison, whose electric car was one of the first to be successfully tested. By the time 1893 had rolled around, there are already several models of electric-powered cars that were showcased in Chicago.

If you have the impression that electric cars are solely known to the public as the new economic fad, think again. Made by Pope manufacturing company in New York City, 1897 saw electric taxis around the city. In fact, by 1899, Thomas Edison was also involved with these ideas, even though he never saw his developments come to fruition.

In 1900, 28% öf vehicles in the U.S. were powered by electric motors, and over one-third of the driving populations in New York City, Boston and Chicago were actually driving electric cars. Had Henry Ford’s new automobile, the gas-powered Model T Ford, not come along eight years later, the electric car could have possibly been the more common vehicle. Unfortunately, Henry Ford’s Model T had taken over electric cars by far by the 1920s.

Around 1966, environmental awareness actually became a concern, prompting the US Congress to actually pass legislation regarding pollution, air cleanliness concerns, not to mention rising gas prices. As a result, the popularity and demand for electric cars has increased.

While most consumers think of old hybrids as being the 1998 Toyota Prius, the first actual hybrid vehicle was constructed from a Buick Skylark by a man named Victor Wouk in 1972. The Federal Clear Car Incentive Program in 1970 brought forward this need for hybrid cars, and Wouk’s hybrid was no different, having been built specifically in response to this Act. Later, in 1974, Vanguard-Sebring built an electric vehicle known as the CitiCar, and was another attempt to respond to the Incentive Program. Unfortunately, the company and program were both out of the picture by 1980.

Although there was an actual act passed by Congress to research and develop hybrid vehicles in 1976, General Motors didn’t actually start its research on their first hybrid vehicle, the EVI, until 1988. Thankfully, the entire country got a kick in the pants when California passed a Zero Emission Mandate in 1990 that required at least 2% of vehicles be ZEV compliant by 1993, and then 10% of those vehicles by 2003. Unfortunately, both of those goals had not been met by 2003, which still left the country in a position to research hybrids.

Finally, in 1997, Toyota was able to make a breakthrough, and the Toyota Prius was released to the commercial mass-market, selling over 18,000 vehicles in one year alone. It didn’t take long after that, and in the next three years, Chevy, Toyota, Nissan, Ford, and GM began to release hybrid vehicles, but they were full of kinks and problems. By 2004, most of them were scrapped and recycled.

In 2006, hybrid vehicles began to see a resurgence in production. This time, the kinks were worked out and now, hybrids will soon become the new standard. The fact of the matter, though, is that while the packaging may be new, the actual technology behind the hybrid has spent a century being developed.

Transport Secretary Andrew Adonis today invited cities and businesses to join together to bid for the money which will help fund the installation of charging points on streets, car parks and in commercial, retail and leisure facilities.

This initiative – called Plugged-In Places – will support the development of between three and six electric car cities and regions across the UK which will act as trailblazers for electric car technology. The experiences of these locations will inform the future development of a national charging infrastructure.

Overall, the Government is investing around £400m to encourage the development, manufacture and use of next generation ultra-low carbon vehicles. Delivered by the Office for Low Emission Vehicles this support is being targeted to create new jobs in a low carbon automotive sector and to cut carbon from UK road transport.

Transport Secretary Andrew Adonis said “The UK can be a world leader in electric and low carbon cars which is why the Government has already committed around £400 million of support to encourage development and uptake of ultra-low emission vehicles.

Our aim is for electric and low carbon cars to be an everyday feature of life on UK’s roads in less than five years. There is still a lot of work to be done, however Plugged-In Places is one very significant step putting us firmly on the path to a low carbon future.”

Encouraging companies to get involved, Business Minister Pat McFadden said: The move to lower-carbon forms of transport is a turning point for the automotive industry, opening up new opportunities for existing UK automotive companies and with the potential to create new jobs and new industries, for example around the charging infrastructure.

I urge British companies to get involved and seize these new opportunities for growth and jobs.

Our aim is for Britain to become a global centre for low carbon transport development, manufacturing and delivery – the Government is backing businesses who want to help make this happen.

The total number and location of charging infrastructure supported by this initiative will depend on local plans and requirements. The intention is that successful applicants will match the Government’s investment.

These plans build on existing measures to support alternative fuels and today the Government is announcing the seven schemes that will benefit from £500,000 of funding through the Alternative Fuels Infrastructure Grant Programme. These schemes will see the provision of 72 electric charging points and four gas refuelling stations in areas across England.

The funding, worth up to £30 million, will be made available to consortia in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland made up of local authorities, businesses, electricity distributors and suppliers and other organisations like the RDAs.  The funds will be made available in two phases.

Consortia will need to show how their plans fit in with other Government objectives, like improving local air quality, and create local incentives to further encourage the uptake of electric vehicles.

The new Office for Low Emission Vehicles (OLEV) will deliver the Plugged-In Places Infrastructure Framework. OLEV is a new cross- Government team, bringing together existing policy and funding streams to drive policy delivery.  Located within the Department for Transport, it incorporates policies, people and funding from DfT, BIS and DECC.

OLEV’s priorities will be accelerating the uptake and delivering ultra low carbon vehicles into the UK transport mix, with a focus on the opportunities that this will have for UK business.

The Alternative Fuels Infrastructure Grant Programme is delivered by Cenex (the Centre of Excellence for Low Carbon and Fuel Cell Technology) on behalf of the Department for Transport.  £500,000 match-funding is available in 2009/10 and 2010/11 for bids from public and private sector organisations in the UK. This funding is for a range of schemes to deliver electric car charging points and bio-gas charging stations.

The successful charging points schemes are in London (23 electric charging points on-street and in car parks, and 13 in underground car parks) and 36 in the West Midlands.

Further details on the scheme and an application form can be accessed from the following link http://www.dft.gov.uk/olev

While General Motors and Nissan will both introduce plug-in cars next year, and Ford will follow in 2011, Toyota does not plan to bring an all-electric car to market until 2012. Yesterday, The New York Times declared, “Toyota has fallen behind in the race for the all-electric car.” San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, an electric car advocate, said earlier this year that Prius-style hybrids are “yesterday’s technology.” And Toyota competitors are touting plug-in cars they claim will get the equivalent of 200 or 300 miles to the gallon—putting the Prius’s 50 mpg to shame.

Earlier this year, Toyota announced plans to launch an urban commuter pure-electric car by 2012, a year or two behind its competition. The company showed the Toyota FT-EV - with a driving range of 50 miles, at the 2009 Detroit Auto Show, but has not confirmed the design, market or price of its upcoming electric car.

One might expect this criticism to spark Toyota to accelerate its plans for electric cars or a plug-in hybrid. But Toyota’s planners are showing more steely concentration than a Buckingham Palace guard taunted by tourists.

“Our hair is never on fire. We’re not looking around at the latest PR articles, and saying oh my gosh, we have to change our plans because somebody said this or that,” explained Doug Coleman, US-based Prius product manager at Toyota. “We’re pacing ourselves in a way that we think that we can be competitive in a few years time for a market that makes sense for both us and the customer.” Jana Hartline, Toyota’s environmental communication manager, added, “Our outlook has never been to be the first to market. We want to be the best to market.”

While GM, Ford, and Nissan—and newcomers like Tesla, Fisker, and Coda—busily generate buzz for their grid-connected vehicles, Toyota has been nearly silent about electric cars. In an exclusive interview with HybridCars.com, we asked Coleman and Hartline to explain Toyota’s position on plug-in hybrids and electric cars.

Turn Down the Noise

To understand Toyota’s approach to plug-in cars, imagine that Toyota’s product planners are listening to three radio broadcasts at the same time. The first program blasts a frenzied chorus of voices from the automotive press, political circles, electric car and clean energy enthusiast groups, and the blogosphere—clamoring for electric cars NOW. This broadcast is the loudest, but Toyota mutters and hits mute (much like you and I would were we listening to Terry Jacks singing “Seasons in the Sun,” circa 1973).

“It’s very easy to construct a story that says Toyota is falling behind by looking for people who are advocates for a certain technology,” said Coleman. “We’re listening to all perspectives, but we’re making our own judgments based upon our own data and our own forecasts.” Depending on your view, Toyota is either turning a deaf ear to early influencers, or putting the pressure of an unrepresentative group in proper perspective. “In terms of the overall population—300 million people in the US—there’s a very small portion of the population that wants to leapfrog [to electric cars] and says hybrid is yesterday’s technology,” said Coleman.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel at the 2007 Frankfurt Auto Show. Merkel steps out of the Opel Flextreme, a plug-in diesel hybrid concept car from General Motors.

The German government plans to spend approximately $160 million for testing introduction of electric cars in eight regions, and about $240 million on battery research. “The program is aimed at having a positive impact on investment decisions, give producers security and support the sale of electric cars,” according to a copy of the plan obtained by the Associated Press.

German automakers have been reluctant to enter the hybrid and electric car race, preferring instead to focus on diesel technology as a fuel efficiency strategy. While US and Japanese automakers have a growing list of electric cars expected to hit the market in the next two years, Volkswagen, Daimler and BMW have been relatively quiet.

Volkswagen, the country’s largest automaker, hopes to produce its first electric cars in 2013, but has not revealed specific product plans. “Our focus in the future will be directed more strongly at making electrically powered automobiles alongside ones driven by more efficient combustion engines,” Volkswagen Group CEO Martin Winterkorn said last year, when the company announced a partnership with Japan’s Sanyo Electric Co. to develop lithium ion batteries.

Daimler has demonstrated an electric version of the Smart ForTwo and unveiled its BlueZero concept vehicles, and BMW is currently leasing about 500 electric Mini Cooper prototypes (with some problems reported).
Still Just a Plan

“One million cars by 2020 is an ambitious but entirely achievable goal,” said Theodor zu Guttenberg, economy minister, at yesterday’s news conference. “We’re taking steps to ensure that Germany’s automobile industry will preserve its leading role, that’s why progress in this area is important.”

Yet, the German plan already is meeting resistance. “At first glance this sounds rather like a nice PR story,” Gregor Claussen, an analyst with Commerzbank, told Forbes. “But more will have to follow. Without the help and the right framework from the politics, it will not work.” The plan is still vague, leaving uncertainty about future financing, and no details about consumer incentives for potential electric car buyers. Guttenberg said financing would be a question for the government that emerges from Germany’s Sept. 27 election.

Some analysts believe the plan doesn’t go far enough. “Keeping in mind that this year alone about 3.7 million cars will be sold in Germany, the 1 million additional sales will have only a minor effect,” Heiko Moehringer, an analyst with LBBW, told Forbes.

Source: Hybrid Cars

General Motors made a big splash this month when it announced its new electric vehicle, the Chevy Volt, will go an astounding 230 miles per gallon (more than 97 kilometers per liter).

Company CEO Fritz Henderson believes the new line of gas-electric hybrids is the company’s ticket back to profitability.

“A car that gets triple digit fuel economy, we believe, can and will be, a game changer for us,” said Henderson.

Now in production, the Chevy Volt is expected to launch in 2010. Industry analyst Rebecca Lindland says there’s a lot riding on the new car.”

“It is very important that it be a homerun for them because they have put a lot of their reputation into this vehicle,” said Rebecca Lindland.

But GM will have plenty of competition. Nissan is set to unveil its new, all-electric Leaf next year, and Honda is expected to roll out a new hybrid gas-electric called Insight.

Although they can’t compete with the Volt’s fuel efficiency, the price tag – between $10,000 to $15,000 less – could win converts.

And there’s also homegrown competition.

Coda, a new company based in Colorado, is promoting a new vehicle that can maintain speeds of 130 kilometers per hour for more than 160 kilometers without using gasoline.

The company has received $45 million in stimulus funds to jump start production.

Colorado Governor Bill Ritter was among the first to test drive the prototype.

“This is the first Colorado company the Department of Energy has provided loan guarantee money,” said Bill Ritter. “It means they believe in the concept.”

Company officials hope to put 20,000 of the battery-powered cars into production this year.

At about $35,000 apiece, Governor Ritter says the Coda produces no emissions and takes only six hours to charge.

“You take that car and it goes to someone’s garage,” he said. “That person plugs it in, their energy’s delivered to their home through solar or wind or geothermal, and there’s zero emissions as part of operating that vehicle.”

But with so many fuel-efficient vehicles vying for attention, analysts say green vehicles are just part of the solution for the ailing auto industry.

After the worst sales slump in decades, General Motors is targeting another emerging market with plans to build a compact car that will sell for about $4,000.

No word yet if the low-cost vehicles will be sold in the U.S.

By Mil Arcega VAONews.com