Electric Cars from the Past, Present, and Future
Transportation plays a major role in our lives. We would all like to keep the benefits that it brings us while getting rid of the negative side effects (global warming, air pollution, etc). Walkable cities, public transit, and...
Electric Car Batteries Made in the USA?
A123Systems has announced today that is has applied under the U.S. Department of Energy’s Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing Incentive Program to qualify for $1.84 billion in loans. The goal? Built lithium-ion battery manufacturing facilities in the United States, with the first construction location in southeast Michigan near Detroit. Read on for more....
Coconuts in the Trunk
Researchers from Baylor University have figured out a way to make trunk liners, floorboards, and car-door interior covers using using fibers from the outer husks of coconuts. Usually these are made from synthetic polyester fibers. This sounds like a (small) win, though we have some reservations. Read on for more....
-10% for 2008
Hybrid cars have suffered from a power 1-2 combo punch in recent months. First, the global economic meltdown (housing bubble bursting, credit crunch, etc) sharply reduce car sales overall, and then oil prices fell like a rock, reducing the pain at the pump. This resulted in a year with a 10% drop in hybrid vehicle sales, and a staggering -42.8% in December compared to last year. Read on for more....
Photo: Lotus Evora
Lotus Electric Car in the Cards
These words were recently spoken by Lotus CEO Michael Kimberley, making us think that being a supplier to Tesla Motors inspired the company to throw its hat in the ring. The concept EV is expected for the Geneva Motor Show in March. Read on for more....
After the Tesla Model S, Here Comes BYD's F3DM...
It was only a couple weeks ago that BYD's F3DM plug-in hybrid went on sale in China. At that time, BYD still said it had plans to "bring the F3DM to the US in 2010", but that has now changed without much in the way of explanations. Read on for more....
Image Credit: kqedquest via Flickr
A Bailout of Sorts for Battery Makers Too?
Looking Back on Green Transportation in 2008
It's the time for a year-end wrap-up of the green car happenings of 2008. We can't possibly included everything here, but we'll try to cover most of the major announcements. To better organize things, we'll look at them by carmaker, from Aptera to Volkswagen. Read on....
As Mike wrote a while back, even the Prius can’t save Toyota. On Monday the world's biggest car-maker announced that, in contrast to 2007‘s 2.3 trillion yen operating profit, for the past year the company made an operating loss of 150 billion yen.
Toyota Not Immune from Downturn
Toyota has invested more than $300 million in the Blue Springs, Mississippi, plant that is under construction. It was supposed to start making Prius hybrid cars (check out photos of the redesigned 2010 Prius here) in 2010, but "the automaker is delaying production there indefinitely because of the industrywide downturn." Read on for more....
Is the Future of Transportation Coming from China?
We've been keeping track of BYD for many months now (see our previous articles on the BYD E6 electric car, and BYD F3DM and BYD F6DM plug-in hybrids), and we're not alone. Warren Buffet's MidAmerican Energy Holdings has bought a 10% stake in the Chinese firm for $230 million.
Fortum is considering designs for charging posts - here's one possibility.
There is a not-so-openly acknowledged race for a select group of cities. It's a case of electric infrastructure one-upmanship.
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