The hybrid will also be joined by a new V8 diesel, returning an SDV8 to the Range Rover Sport line-up. Meanwhile, a four-cylinder version is also teased, with 420kg of shed curb weight meaning that performance is still as perky as drivers would expect.

It’s the hybrid that is arguably the most interesting, however, building on Range Rover’s experimentation with the Range_e concept revealed back in early 2011. That car paired a 69kW electric motor and 14.2kWh lithium-ion battery with a 245PS 3.0-liter TDV6 diesel powerplant, and could be driven for 20 miles on battery power alone.

When the diesel lump kicked in, meanwhile, the Range_e was good for 89g/km CO2 with a fuel efficiency rating of 85mpg (Euro), while the battery could be topped up using a regular 240V outlet.

For the production RR/RRS Hybrid, the car company is aiming for 169g/km of CO2 with a diesel V6 engine. The batteries and the rest of the power system will be hidden under the floor, meaning internal space and luggage capacity will be unchanged, and is expected to feed power through a motor/generator that’s positioned in-between the regular engine and the 8-speed transmission.

However, the US won’t be getting either of those models, since Range Rover’s North American line-up is light on diesels. Instead, there are expected to be unspecified gas-electric hybrids taking similar approaches, though Range Rover is yet to confirm when they can be expected to go on sale.

[via Motor Authority]

The dampers, bushings, and stabilizer bars are all upgraded, while Tesla switches the tires to Michelin Pilot Sport PS2. They’re 20mm wider than the regular 21-inch wheels, as well as being staggered for an extra turn of acceleration.

“Performance Plus takes one of the world’s best sedans into supercar handling territory, while also improving ride quality and range” Tesla crows on its site, billing the Plus package as a no-lose option beyond the hit your wallet takes. “After hundreds of iterations affecting every detail of the suspension, our vehicle dynamics team was able to achieve the rare outcome of simultaneously improving performance, comfort and efficiency.”

According to a message sent to preorder customers, the Plus pack has bigger front and rear stabilizer bars for more predictable handling, and increased lateral stiffness in the rear suspension with springs and dampers that work more efficiently.

Turning your four-door electric car into an eco-friendly beast comes at a cost, however. First off you need to opt for the Performance Model S, which is $87,400 to begin with, and you also need to have specified the 21-inch high-performance tires, at a further $3,500. Then the Plus pack is $6,500 on top.

[via Edmunds]

The study, published this week, looked at stated buying intentions when a group of shoppers with mixed political views were presented with a range of bulbs. All chose the eco-friendly compact fluorescent (CFL) bulbs when each of the options were priced the same, but when the eco-friendly bulbs carried a premium – just as is usually the case, compared to traditional incandescent bulbs – and a label billing them good for the environment, those who described their political beliefs as conservative were less likely to choose them compared to their more liberal counterparts.

“You can lose significant portions of people who would otherwise be interested in these products when you use that environmental labeling” Gromet told National Geographic. “So it indicates that different messages can reach different groups.”

The results are interesting, because all of the 210 participants in the study were previously given information on how a greater upfront price of CFL bulbs could still be offset by lower running costs and a longer lifespan compared to incandescent. That suggests cost was not the primary deciding factor for the conservatives turned off by eco-labels.

“When we asked afterward, those consumers identified the CFL bulbs as providing greater monetary savings over time. But they would forgo that option when that product was made to represent a value that was not something they wanted to be identified with” Dena Gromet, University of Pennsylvania

Nonetheless, there are also indications that a green message isn’t especially effective on those with liberal views either. Comparing those who stated an intention to buy more expensive CFL versus more expensive CFL with eco-labels, the numbers weren’t much different, Gromet pointed out.

One possibility is that the “green” message on products is generally mistrusted, either resulting in an active dislike – such as observed in conservative shoppers – or the promotion being ignored altogether. Future research will look at whether different emphasis on advantages of energy-efficient products, such as reduced ongoing bills, causes the same political divide.

The core of the ME.WE is a structure made up of tubular aluminum, onto which Toyota and the design firm have predominantly applied two types of material. For the bulk of the shell that’s expanded polypropylene, which has the benefit of being lightweight as well as entirely recyclable; other surfaces, such as a panel under the windshield and across the roof, are bamboo, which is known for being highly-sustainable.

Toyota envisages different colors and textures of panels to be offered, encouraging drivers to switch over their car’s appearance at will. That’s something we’ve seen Smart offer on its city-car, though exactly how many owners actually take advantage of that – outside of making damage repairs – remains to be seen.

Inside, the bench seats are fixed on slender rails and can be moved around or laid flat; the rear bench can be folded and pushed under the front seats, increasing the bamboo-clad load area. Rather than have a permanently large trunk, the ME.WE uses a combination of flexible neoprene covers – which can stretch to accommodate things transported on the roof – and integrated webbing that keeps suitcases and the like in place.

As with any concept, the likelihood of Toyota actually putting the ME.WE into production is something we wouldn’t recommend holding your breath for. Nonetheless, the idea of shifting the electric motors into the wheels – rather than inboard, as per most EVs and hybrids – is one the car industry looks to be moving toward. Earlier this year, specialist Protean announced plans to mass-produce such a motor, which with clever software management could dynamically adjust the power to each wheel independently while also freeing up space in the cabin and chassis.

[via Designboom]

Nissan states that the Nissan Leaf taxis have a range of around 100 miles, making it more than enough to handle the average daily taxi route of 70 miles. Nissan and New York wants to see whether or not these taxis are fit to take on the demanding life of New York citizens, who are in constant demand of a taxi at every moment. Just in case these Nissan Leaf taxis are unable to survive the day with only one charge, Nissan has set up quick-charging stations around New York so drivers can recharge their taxis if need be.

These 6 new electric taxis are all part of New York’s Mayor Bloomberg’s goal of having electric taxis make up at least 33% of New York’s taxi cars by the year 2020. If the Nissan Leaf performs well as a taxi, then Bloomberg’s plans are well on their way to becoming a reality. David Yassky, the Taxi and Limousine Commissioner, stated that Nissan is “working on that timeline”, with both the Nissan Leaf and an electric version of Nissan’s NV 200.

The Nissan NV 200 is New York’s “Taxi of Tomorrow”, and is set to become the official taxi of New York. It was approved by the Taxi and Limousine Commission and it beat out several rivals for the position. While not electric, it will be much more fuel friendly than the entirety of the taxis in New York City. Nissan plans on launching the NV 200 by October this year, starting the 10-year agreement it has with New York to be the city’s official taxi provider.

[via The Wall Street Journal]

A halogen lamp in low-beam mode, for instance, demands 135W of power, Audi points out. In contrast, the German company’s LED lights need around 80W, and the firm uses LEDs for the low-beam, high-beam, and license plate lamps.

The testing specifically looked at the Audi A6, with the EU putting the car through ten NEDC cycles. “As a result,” Audi says, “the EU Commission has officially identified the LED headlights as an innovative technology for reducing CO2 emissions.” It’s the first time a car manufacturer has been certified in this way.

However, not all of Audi’s cars come with the same system, nor indeed with the same amount of LEDs. The A3 has just nineteen to play with, switching between low- and high-beam modes; a separate module handles all-weather and cornering lights. In the A8 luxury sedan, however, there are 76 LEDs in each lamp unit.

It’s not Audi’s first flirtation with headlamp tech potential. Earlier this year it revealed its work on so-called Matrix LED lights, which pair LEDs with reflectors and lenses that are computer controlled to react to the surrounding environment. Data from sensors, cameras, and GPS are crunched, and the output of the lights – in addition to even the angle they project at – is adjusted according to daylight conditions, oncoming traffic, upcoming bends, and more.

Matrix LED headlights are expected to arrive on select Audi models before the end of the year, though the company isn’t the only one to be thinking hard about how LEDs make sense in cars. The 2014 Corvette Stingray, for instance, uses special down-firing LEDs and light-guides to blend the output into solid lines of light, rather than leave it as the individual points of brightness as on an Audi.

Even though the car will have a bigger battery than expected – good for 230 miles at 55mph, rather than the 160 miles of the smaller version – it won’t deliver that full range. Instead, Tesla will artificially cap the cheaper Model S using software.

Despite that, there are still some advantages to the strategy, including the ability to “upgrade” the car at some point in the future. Tesla will allow range-loving owners to pay to unlock the extra 20 kWh of potential in the power pack, at any point in the car’s lifetime. Meanwhile, acceleration will also improve, with the software-limited variant matching the 5.9s 0-60mph time of the 60 kWh car, a 0.6s improvement on what customers had been expecting.

It’s not the only bonus Tesla has announced today. The company has also been quietly baking its Supercharger hardware into the 60 kWh Model S, which means that those who later decide to pay to use Tesla’s growing network of cross-US high speed charging points won’t have to have equipment retro-fitted to their car. Previously, the Supercharger tech was only installed by default on the 85 kWh model; it’s a $2,000 option on the 60 kWh Model S.

For investors, though, it’s the big picture around Model S sales that will put the most smiles on faces today. Tesla has confirmed that deliveries of cars this quarter will exceed 4,750, up 250 on the estimates the company previously announced. The result is full-profitability in Q1, both GAAP and non-GAAP, Tesla says, having previously confirmed that it would repay its Department of Energy loans five years early.

Meanwhile, there’s more news afoot. Headline-loving Tesla founder Elon Musk teased a big announcement this coming Thursday, and the car company tells us today’s profitability and Model S tweaking news isn’t it.

Design and Interior

It’s not quite a Twizy, but the i-MiEV is certainly no wall-flower when it comes to Mitsubishi’s aesthetic. The tall, narrow body was intended for snapping down cramped Tokyo side-streets, but it makes for a car that catches more than its fair share of glances while you’re driving. Whether they’re admiring or bemused is unclear.

You still get four doors, however, and four seats inside – the rear seats fold down individually, boosting the trunk’s compact 13.2 cubic feet of storage to a more useful 50.4 cubit feet – with room for adults front and back. It’s an upright ride with plenty of headroom, though the limited width can mean those in the back sit closer together than usual. Despite the price, the only leather you’ll find inside is wrapping the steering wheel and shifter knob; the seats are sturdy fabric, instead, and adjusted manually not electrically.

Mitsubishi i-MiEV walkthrough:

Given the ostentatious exterior, we’d half expected the sort of swooping, LED-encrusted dashboard that would make a concept car jealous. In fact, the i-MiEV’s interior is surprisingly sober. The plastic top dash panels match the purplish-brown seat fabric for color, with a bulbous central stack topped with a sizeable LCD display above the HVAC controls and finally the gear shifter at the bottom. The latter looks like it could’ve been pulled from any automatic car, with the usual park, neutral, drive, and reverse options, as well as an “Eco” mode a notch away.

In the minimalistic driver’s instrument binnacle the view is dominated by a center gage with a digital speedo in the middle, flanked by a simple indicator which shows how economical or profligate you are with your current driving style. A smaller display on the left shows battery level and current gear; range in miles is shown in another screen on the other side. Jabbing at a small plastic button in the binnacle flips over to distance traveled since your last charge.

It’s functional, for the most part. The plastics in general are somewhat flimsy to the touch, though you at least get air-con, power windows and mirrors, and remote central locking as standard. There’s also a heated seat, on the driver’s side only, which Mitsubishi recommends using instead of cranking up the HVAC on a cold morning, since it’s more power-frugal; alternatively, you can turn on the HVAC (to the last used settings) remotely from the keyfob while the i-MiEV is still plugged into the mains. The touchscreen audio system, complete with Bluetooth streaming/hands-free, a reversing camera, and navigation is comprehensive, though not the easiest to use.

Engine and Performance

The i-MiEV’s motor pushes out 66HP through the rear wheels via a single-speed gearbox, and manages 145 lb-ft of torque. It’s good for a top speed of 81mph, and though Mitsubishi isn’t especially keen to talk performance figures (0-60mph is a 13s affair), the combination of the 1.3 ton curb weight., low center of gravity, and immediacy of electric motors means acceleration is surprisingly eager. The i-MiEV is certainly at its best around town, where the combination of pep off the starting line and regenerative power topping up the battery show their worth, but that’s not to say it can’t handle the highway.

Mitsubishi i-MiEV driving:

At highway speeds, there’s a fair amount of wind noise, and while you don’t get the familiar thrum of a gas engine, you have the whine of the electric motor instead. Side-winds can lead to some uncomfortable buffeting, too. The suspension – taut, given the batteries the i-MiEV must lug – is firm but not unduly so.

Battery and Range

As with all EVs, the big question mark hanging over the i-MiEV is range. Mitsubishi quotes an EPA MPGe (miles per gallon equivalent) of 126 for city driving, 99 for highway driving, and 112 combined; total EPA range is 62 miles.

That’s assuming ideal circumstances, of course. In practice, you tend to drive with one eye fixed to the range indicator, alert to how your driving style affects how many miles you’ll be able to do. We found the estimates to be reasonably accurate, though weather more than anything is the big decider. Setting out for town on a particularly cold day and, by the time we’d reached our first stop, the gage had dropped considerably more miles than we’d actually traveled. Mitsubishi does include a single out-of-energy rescue per year for the first three years.

Extremes of temperature are known issues for battery performance, and the i-MiEV tackles one of them as standard. All i-MiEV versions have a cooling fan that counteracts the effect of hot days, but its counterpart battery warmer is only standard on the SE “Premium Package” – $2,790 – or as a $175 add-on.

Charging generally depends on how much juice you have to spare. The i-MiEV can power up from either a 120V domestic supply or, if you have access to it, a 240V supply. A 120V portable charging cable is included to satisfy impromptu recharges while on the move, something which we found takes roughly 20- to 22hrs. A “Level 2″ 240V charger cuts that to seven hours, or if you have access to a “Level 3″ public quick-charger you can take the i-MiEV to 80-percent in 30 minutes.

Mitsubishi includes a total of three warranties with the i-MiEV, covering different aspects of the car. Shortest is the 3-year/36,000 mile New Vehicle warranty, followed by a specific 5-year/60,000 mile powertrain warranty. Finally, there’s 8-year/100,000 mile cover for the Li-Ion batteries, which unlike other car companies Mitsubishi sells rather than leases to drivers. Nonetheless, some degree of battery degradation is to be expected (and isn’t covered by the warranty): you should expect to have 80-percent of total capacity left after 5yrs, falling to 70-percent after 10yrs.

Wrap-Up

Most of the issues affecting the i-MiEV are applicable to every all-electric car. The preoccupation with range, balance of equipment versus saving as much power for actually moving, and the lifespan of Li-Ion batteries are to modern EVs what gas consumption, engine oil, and emissions are to traditional cars.

Where the i-MiEV succeeds is in helping make electric travel more affordable. Thanks to federal tax incentives you can have the Mitsubishi for under $22k (before destination and handling); considering only a couple of years ago you’d be looking at twice that for an EV, it shows how far we’ve come in eco-friendly motoring. The i-MiEV is certainly a second car, unless you’re a resolute city dweller, but for low-cost trips around town and room for four in a small footprint, it’s a perky addition to your garage.

The Twizy may be small, but it’s certainly not discrete: expect to be looked at when you’re behind the wheel. The moon-buggy styling, prominent safety-shell cabin design, narrow footprint and comical dimensions add up to a car that gets noticed. Years ago, I used to drive a Smart car, back when they were still an unusual sight on the roads; the Twizy definitely gets the same sort of attention, with other drivers pausing at junctions to gawp, pedestrians stopping still and turning on the spot to watch you zip past, and kids pointing phone cameras at you.

European sales of the Twizy began almost a year ago, though the car is still relatively uncommon. That’s arguably down to the compromises owners have to make: in its base form, the Twizy lacks any sort of doors, for instance. Renault charges £545 ($832) on top of the base £6,795 ($10,370) for the scissor doors, though that still only gets you the side bars and translucent lower sections. In fact, it was only in October last year that Renault relented and offered plastic upper windows as a £295 ($450) add-on.

Even with the “doors” in place, the Twizy’s cabin can be an uncomfortable place to be. There’s no attempt to make it water-tight – there are gaps all around the edges, including huge holes where the scissor bar clicks into the rear locking mechanism that you could easily fit your hand through – and the waterproof seats are sturdy foam rather than something more cosseting. It’s also not a car you’d want to leave your phone or sat-nav in: security is limited to a lockable cubby behind the vestigial rear seat, and since you have to unzip the window from the outside merely to reach through to grab the door-opening switch, anything left in plain view is likely to be snatched.

Renault Twizy first-drive:

If the Tesla Model S’ vast, touchscreen dashboard is one example of EV usability, the Twizy’s console sits at the other extreme. There are the usual indicator, light, and wiper control stalks behind the steering wheel, and a pod binnacle showing speed, range, battery status, and drive status above. A hazard blinkers button is on the left, next to two buttons to select either drive or reverse (pressing them both puts the Twizy into neutral), while under the left hand side of the dash is a parking brake.

No rear view mirror – there’s no rear window, though a clear plastic roof is a £195 ($298) option – and the wing mirrors are manually adjustable. More worrying is the complete lack of heating options: in an effort to save battery power, you don’t get fans or heated seats, and even with the windows zipped up there was plenty of cold air circulating through the cabin. At least the windscreen gets a heating option for quick demisting. Your right foot is kept occupied with two pedals – accelerator and brake – and there are no gears to consider.

Starting off in the Twizy is an unusual sensation, even if you’re used to driving electric cars. The Renault is pretty much silent initially, and the feeling of openness from the minimal doors makes you feel quite exposed. As the electric motor ramps up (and you suppress the feeling that you really ought to change gear) it starts to work its way up to a heady whine, combining with the whistle of wind noise to make a cabin that you’d struggle to hear the radio in at comfortable levels, if that is Renault actually fitted one.

Then again, perhaps comfort should be left to drivers of $100k Teslas: the Twizy has its own brand of appeal. After the initial disconcert has worn off, you quickly realize that the tiny Renault is in effect a go-kart for grown-ups. The non-power-assisted steering is direct and immediate, and the tiny wheels and minimal seat padding contribute to a ride that tells you everything there is to know about the condition of the road and how much grip you have. Renault quotes a top speed of 50mph (we managed to squeeze out 52mph with the help of a mild slope) but even at sub-30mph rates the Twizy is incredibly fun, demanding you punt it round corners.

Acceleration lacks the instant verve of other EVs we’ve tried, but is perfectly fine for urban use. Less reassuring is the brake, which feels wooden and overly-stiff. Like other electric cars, the Twizy uses regenerative braking to top up its 52V drive battery – stored under the driver’s seat – with graphics on the LCD showing when you’re using power and when you’re creating it. Maximum range is 62 miles, Renault says, but that’s very dependent on driving style and, more pressingly in the 2-degree centigrade conditions we tried the car, temperature. In fact, we never saw more than 38 miles in estimated range on the display, though with the benefit of regenerative braking that didn’t quite drop in parallel with the actual distance we traveled.

A full charge from a 240V European domestic socket takes 3.5hrs, with the Twizy sprouting a curly extension cord from a hatch in its snout. In fact, the sticker price doesn’t actually include the drive battery at all: Renault is instead leasing them to owners, with finance packages depending on estimated usage (from 4,500 to 9,000 miles per year, ample considering this is not a car for the freeway) and length of agreement. For a year’s rental at the minimum mileage, you’re looking at under £0.15 ($0.22) per mile, not including actually charging the Twizy up.

The Twizy is undeniably a silly car. It’s impractical if your travel isn’t limited to urban use, potentially uncomfortable in inclement weather, suffers from limited range (like most small EVs), and is fairly expensive for a supermini once you add in “essentials” like doors and windows. The version we drove came to around £8,500 ($13,000) when you added in the wheels, doors, windows, clear roof, and a Parrot hands-free kit, which is a lot for a city toy.

And yet… there’s something addictive about it. Maybe it’s the purity of the driving experience, or that the bemused and entertained expressions of the people you whiz past can easily distract you from the fact that you’ve had to dig out gloves and a hoodie in order to keep warm. Maybe it’s the fact that you quickly start to believe you’re at the wheel of a lunar rover, or a car from a Gerry Anderson show. Stopping to recharge doesn’t seem like such a chore when you can combine it with warming up again over a coffee, watching pedestrians pause to ogle the Twizy parked outside.

Renault’s ambitions for the Twizy in the UK are conservative: whereas warmer countries on the European continent might be able to ignore the open-air cabin, it’s far less fun in rain and wind. Still, while we can appreciate the efforts of Tesla and the big car companies attempting to make EVs more mainstream, there’s no denying that the ridiculous (and ridiculously good fun) driving experience of the Twizy makes us glad Renault hasn’t gone entirely sensible as it looks beyond gas engines.

The Smart INSECT had an eye-catching gullwing design – complete with proximity sensors so that the doors would open for you automatically as you walked up – and a hook up to a smartphone for traffic reports and other information. Toyota also envisaged it linking with your automated home, so that you could remotely control locks, appliances, and other hardware while on the move.

It’s not clear if the i-ROAD follows the same single-seater approach of the Smart INSECT (and, indeed, the Toyota COMS announced alongside it) or puts two people in tandem. That would certainly make more sense for city use, though it would have an inevitable impact on battery life.

It’s not the first time we’ve seen this narrow style of vehicle attempt to address the frustration of city driving. Renault has been offering its unusual Twizy EV for some time now, though it comes with some compromises: no doors or windows as standard is probably the most obvious.

However, narrow doesn’t have to mean dull. Persu – previously VentureOne - has been talking about its tilting three-wheeler for years now, with a production launch now tipped for 2014. It uses tilt-tech licensed from Carver, which previously offered the Carver One before declaring bankruptcy in 2009.

We’ll know more about the Toyota i-ROAD in early March, when the company shows it off properly in Geneva.

For instance, the onboard logs showing what charge the Model S had at points of the journey, and when Broder decided to recharge, indicate he took the car off the power connection earlier than stated in the original review. “The final leg of his trip was 61 miles and yet he disconnected the charge cable when the range display stated 32 miles” Musk argues. “He did so expressly against the advice of Tesla personnel and in obvious violation of common sense.”

Meanwhile, some of Broder’s claims about how he tried to minimize power consumption are also challenged. Musk points to the typical speeds driven at – 65 to 85 mph – and the average cabin temperature of 72F for the duration of the test, and the fact that the reviewer also actively turned the heating up when charge was getting low.

Broder is even accused of trying to artificially run down the Model S’ battery by more than it would typically, driving “in circles for over half a mile in a tiny, 100-space parking lot” in front of one of Tesla’s Supercharger power stations, in what Musk suggests is an attempt to fully drain the car. Tesla also points out the sheer number of charging points – both its own, and those run by other companies – along the length of Broder’s drive, as a counterpoint to the number of times the reviewer actually stopped to rejuice.

For his part, Broder wrote a follow-up article – prior to Musk’s breakdown of the numbers – in which he challenged some of Tesla’s defenses around the Model S’ performance. He maintains that the car is susceptible to cold weather, with an effect of reducing range, and claims nobody from the company gave the power-saving advice Musk refers to.

Tesla now says it will not be making further reference to the test drive, as it believes the data run-down “speaks for itself.” Whether it will put Broder behind the wheel for a second attempt, as the NYT author says Musk originally offered, remains to be seen.

The test cars are all pre-production – the final car won’t be appearing in Cadillac showrooms until sometime in 2014, GM has said – but they give the company a valuable opportunity to see how the electronics hold up. The tires, steering, anti-lock brakes, and the traction and electronic-stability control systems are all under the microscope.

Meanwhile it’s also an opportunity to see how the ELR’s Continuous Damping Control system handles the more than four inches of fresh snow. That system dynamically adjusts the car’s damping every 2ms to suit the road conditions.

“During this latest test, the ELR continued to perform beyond our expectations” ELR chief engineer Chris Thomason said of the car’s trip, though GM is keeping quiet on full performance reports from the adverse weather testing.

However, with electric car abilities and practicality topical today, given Elon Musk’s critical response to recent Tesla Model S reviews, GM and others will probably come in for increased attention as their real-world usefulness is discussed. The ELR, for instance, isn’t a pure-EV but an “Extended Range Electric Vehicle” (EREV), using a gas engine to top up the onboard batteries, something GM claims makes for a more reliable experience without the usual “range anxiety.”

Fuel-cell electric vehicles, or FCEVs, power their motors by combining hydrogen and oxygen, with water the only physical byproduct. A high-pressure tank contains the hydrogen, while oxygen is extracted from the air.

The three companies involved have, they point out, a cumulative total of over 60 years of fuel-cell vehicle development, and more than 6m miles in test driving and demonstration models. Work on the homogenized stack will take place in multiple locations around the world, while teams from the three companies will also look at collaborating on other components FCEVs will require so as to achieve further economy of scale.

Unlike the BMW-Toyota partnership, however, which will take an active role in pushing the development of hydrogen refuelling infrastructure, Ford, Daimler, and Renault-Nissan instead hope that their work “sends a clear signal” to existing hydrogen network stakeholders that they need to pull their finger out and get working.

Still, that focus means today’s deal may result in a workable car – or cars – before BMW and Toyota have something ready for the forecourts. The trio today claim 2017 is the earliest a fuel-cell vehicle may be on the market, whereas BMW and Toyota gave themselves a little more wiggle-room, estimating that they would have something prepared by 2020.

Based on North American city research, the team identified temperature rises in northern North America and northern Asia, believed to have been a result of the excess heat pumped out. Meanwhile, areas of Europe conversely fall in temperature, usually in the fall.

While the net effect of the fluctuations on the global mean temperature is “nearly negligible” according to the researchers, its impact on climate change predictions could be far more significant. The regional variations may well explain some of the previously puzzling warmer winters than experts had expected. Since many cities are underneath major atmospheric troughs and jet streams, they contribute more significantly to alterations in those circulation systems.

The “urban heat island” effect – where buildings, pavement, and other city elements absorb heat and then radiate it – has already been well documented, but the NCAR team is keen to highlight the differences between it and their newly-observed heat systems. Unlike the “urban heat island” model in which the sun itself loads the infrastructure with heat energy, this newer study looks at the impact of transportation, HVAC, and other man-made activities.

[via Reuters]

On the green side, BMW and Toyota plan to continue their joint work on fuel cell systems. They will share their existing research, and then collaborate on a “fundamental fuel-cell vehicle system” – consisting of fuel-cell stack, system, hydrogen storage tank, battery, and motor(s) – as well as the infrastructure to fuel it, with a mind to producing a working, practical setup by 2020.

Beyond that, however, will come lithium-air batteries, jointly researched as the eventual replacement for lithium-ion power packs as used in most recent all-electric or hybrid cars. That will take a little longer than the fuel-cell technology, but the target is a battery with far greater energy density than current-gen technology, improving range and reducing bulk and weight.

Slimming cars is, indeed, another of BMW and Toyota’s goals, not to mention applicable both to performance models and to green vehicles. Reinforced composites, more traditionally used in racing cars, will play a greater role in mainstream models, it’s suggested, including the fourth strand of the two companies’ collaboration: a new sports car.

A joint platform for a mid-sized car will be created, with a goal to complete that by the end of this year. The system – which will presumably be used as the underlying basis for two differently designed, branded, and positioned vehicles – will combine the best of Toyota’s EV, fuel-cell, and hybrid technology as well as BMW’s strengths in driving experience and dynamics.

It’s unclear when production models based on the platform might appear, though both firms have been flirting with squeezing performance out of what would normally be considered green technology. Toyota revealed the sleek NS4 hybrid concept last year, as well as demonstrating the speeds that could be squeezed out of electric vehicles with its Le Mans car, while BMW’s i8 Spyder is resolutely a sports machine, despite running on electricity.

Meanwhile, there are indications that this won’t be the end of Toyota and BMW’s work together. Comments from Dr. Herbert Diess, a member of BMW’s board, at a press conference in Japan to announce the binding agreement suggested it is the first in “a shared vision” that is necessary to cater for all types of mobility requirement in the future.

The petrol engine is a 1.4-liter four-cylinder plant, and is used to charge the ELR’s Li-Ion battery array. That 16.5kWh system powers two front electric motors mustering 207HP in total, and 295 lb-ft of torque, for a top speed of 100mph; Cadillac is yet to confirm 0-60mph times, but says the ELR should be capable of around 35 miles in pure EV mode, or more than 300 miles with a full battery and a full tank of gas. Interestingly, the steering wheel paddles don’t control gear-changes but battery regeneration efficiency: drivers can adjust how much of the ELR’s momentum is transferred back into electricity, topping up the battery in the process.

In that way, the gas engine never actually powers the wheels directly, but instead keeps the battery full; Cadillac calls it an Extended Range Electric Vehicle (EREV), and says it has broader plans with the system for other models in its upcoming range. Of course, most eye-catching is the clean-cut exterior, complete with 20-inch wheels and vertical front and rear lighting clusters (which use LEDs). There’s also some clever aerodynamic work, with shutters behind the grille to adjust airflow and reduce drag, and a steep rake on front and back glass to make the ELR extra slippery.

Inside, it’s a 2+2 layout, with lashings of leather, wood, and real chrome (while carbon fiber is an option); Cadillac throws in some sueded microfiber too. The center console is dominated by an 8-inch capacitive touchscreen for the company’s CUE infotainment system, as we fondled on the ATS last year, as well as showing details on driving efficiency, energy usage, charging status, and other hybrid-related information. The display motors up to reveal a storage nook with USB connectivity, ideal for a phone.

Charging up the ELR’s battery from an external source is expected to take around 12hrs from a 120V power point, or 4.5hrs from a 240V charging station. The whole process can be scheduled to suit lower electricity rates or to be matched to a specific departure time, and ELR owners will be able to monitor and remotely-control things via a browser or the RemoteLink app.

Cadillac isn’t talking pricing for the ELR at this stage, only saying that the car will go into production late this year. It’ll be offered in limited quantities, however, which suggests this won’t be a direct alternative to the Volt.

Nissan’s base price for the entry-level Leaf will be $28,800, the company has confirmed at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit this week. That’s $6,000 less than the current cheapest model, and forms the bottom rung of a new, three car line-up.

With locally-decided subsidies, however, those in more EV-friendly states could save $10,000 off the sticker price, bringing the Leaf comfortably under the all-important $20k boundary. “Now, customers won’t have to pay a premium for owning a green car that’s really fun to drive,” GVP Billy Hayes said of the new model, “and that’s exciting.”

However, the cheapest Leaf won’t have quite the same kit bag as its more expensive siblings. For the new line-up, Nissan is adding an onboard fast-charging system that can apparently rejuice the EV in roughly half the time of before; that will be standard on the two higher-tier versions, but a paid option on the budget Leaf.

That 6.6kw charging system will be a standard option on the top two tiers of Leaf – known as the Leaf SV and Leaf SL – and should significantly reduce the time it takes the get the car juiced up and back on the road. In fact, the updated charger is expected to roughly halve charging time in comparison to the 2012 Leaf, the batteries of which can be filled in around seven hours.

Those who opt for the cheapest 2013 Leaf will have to pay extra for the fast-charge system, part of Nissan’s cost-cutting for the new car. It will be produced in Nissan’s Tennessee plant, with the batteries manufactured in a nearby facility. Options will include a more premium interior with more advanced infotainment systems.

Range for all three variants will be improved over the models on sale in the past two years, as Nissan tries to be more competitive against popular rivals like Chevy’s Volt. The Japanese company sold under 10,000 Leaf cars in 2012, half of its target amount.

While you’re at your desk, you can charge the V1 up with a power brick that’s apparently akin in size to that of a laptop. A full charge takes six hours, or you can top the bike up to 80-percent in four hours. Overall, the V1 is good for up to 25 miles of assisted cycling, with a maximum speed of up to 16mph.

The standard V1 is a Swiss Army Knife red, but Voltitude also has a special V1 Carbonesium limited edition that it likens to a luxury watch. That tunes the 250W motor for extra perkiness, and replaces parts of the frame, fork, bodywork, wheels, and other elements with magnesium and carbon fiber.

EasyFold Action:

That adds up to a weight saving of 1.5kg; with the battery in place, the regular V1 tips the scales at 27.5kg and the V1 Carbonesium at 26kg. It doesn’t come cheap, however; the V1 is up for pre-order at CHF 4,990 ($5,472) while the Cabonesium is CHF 7,990 ($8,762). They’ll ship on March 30 2013 and April 30 2013 respectively.

[via Gizmag]

The Drive section – shared with the previous BMW i3 Concept – is made primarily of aluminum, again to keep it light and strong, while the modularity of the system would allow BWM greater flexibility in how future EVs are pieced together to target different market segments. For the i3 Concept Coupe, it’s a case of a distinctive “layered” sports design, with some of the CFRP left untouched by the custom Solar Orange paint so that its high-gloss grain is visible.

That’s not to say the aesthetic is solely intended for visual appeal. The front apron’s complex venting creates an “air curtain” which pushes air around the wheel arches, while the rear apron has a diffuser to tweak the rear air flow. CFRP’s inherent strength means no B-pillar is required for structural purposes, so the two rear seats are more easily accessed; the scalloped shoulder line also maximizes light in the back. While the 20-inch wheels are on the large side, they’re narrow and fitted with low-resistance tires.

Inside, it’s a mixture of leather, wool, wood, and other renewable materials, with an electronic gearshift and twin displays mounted across a swathe of eucalyptus wood (sourced from sustainably managed European forests, naturally). BMW’s iDrive system is in the center panel between the front seats, but the space between the dash and where the transmission tunnel would normally be found is left empty. That makes the whole cabin feel more spacious, BMW says, but also allows for easier exiting the car on either side.

Since it’s the future of mobility we’re talking about, there’s no shortage of technology packed into the i3 Concept Coupe. A 6.5-inch screen above the wheel serves instrument binnacle duties, while a second, 8.8-inch panel in the middle is dedicated to BMW i ConnectedDrive: it can show infotainment, navigation, pull contacts, messages, and schedules from a wirelessly tethered smartphone, mixing that data together so that the system can make suggestions as to where and when to recharge the EV based on where the driver needs to go and the predicted range.

That range can be achieved in one of three modes – Comfort, Eco Pro, and Eco Pro+ – which temper the enthusiasm of the electric motors and how fulsome the HVAC system blows, heats, and cools depending on how much driving you need to squeeze from a full charge. BMW claims Eco Pro achieves up to 20-percent greater range than Comfort, while Eco Pro+ – which also limits top speed to 56mph – extends it even further. A roughly 100 mile range is expected in standard conditions, and the center display can show estimated range in each mode using a set of concentric circles (as in the above shot).

Meanwhile, a dedicated modem means the i ConnectedDrive system can get real-time traffic data from the BMW servers, and can map out the most efficient route or the fastest route to the driver’s destination. If a driving mode change is required, it can prompt that too, and remote reservation of charging station is also supported. BMW has created iOS and Android apps which will handle remote control and monitoring of charging, as well as setting navigation details, and how to complete the last stage of a journey on foot or by public transportation.

As for when you might be able to park a BMW EV like the i3 Concept Coupe on your drive, the release schedule still is pretty uncertain. “The study presented at the 2012 Los Angeles Auto Show has been brought out in parallel to the ongoing development process for getting the first ever all-electric model from the BMW i brand ready for series production,” BMW says of the new concept, “and demonstrates the potential for conceivably extending the model range.”

That li-ion battery – which has apparently been through more than 200,000 hours of testing for safety and performance – recharges to 80-percent in 20 minutes time, using an SAE Combo DC Fast Charge system, though that doesn’t come as standard. Alternatively, a 240V outlet can fully charge the Spark EV in “less than seven hours”; expect longer again if you’re using a regular 120V connection.

Chevy’s Mobile App will allow for charging periods to be set around on- and off-peak electricity rates, and the batteries are covered by an 8yr/100,000 mile warranty. There’ll also be three years of standard OnStar service, which forms the backbone of the Spark EV’s remote management.

Inside, there are two 7-inch color LCD screens for infotainment and power management, with Chevrolet throwing in a “confidence gauge” that predicts real-world range based on typical driving style and other conditions. There’ll be plenty of blue LED lighting – to match or contrast with the Electric Blue, Black Granite, Summit White, Silver Ice, and Titanium external color schemes – and Chevrolet’s new Siri-enabled MyLink infotainment kit.

The Spark EV will go on sale in California, Oregon, at “participating dealerships” in Canada, in South Korea, and “other global markets” from summer 2013. International pricing is yet to be confirmed.

The electric car also has different sills, while inside there’s push-button drive selection and matching white and orange trim. Of course, the real differences are going to be under the hood, though Fiat is yet to confirm anything about the powerplant.

According to an announcement back in 2010, the 500e would use battery technology from shuttered firm A123Systems, which sold its assets to JCI back in October. Somewhat ominously, Fiat execs have previously suggested that they are only making the electric car because of California’s Zero Emissions Vehicle program, which demands EV options from manufacturers selling in scale in the state, and have admitted that they could well be taking a hit of roughly $10,000 on each car sold.

Fiat-owned Chrysler currently lacks an EV of its own, lagging behind rivals in the US market. The company’s efforts at frugal motoring have so far centered around refining gas engines, such as those found in the Dodge Dart.

“We have this idea for an electric truck that could really be a big improvement in truck technology” Musk said.  ”I’m really excited about bringing out a whole series of cars that address a wide range of consumer interests and needs.”

One obvious possibility is the amount of torque Tesla’s electric powerplants can deliver, considerably in excess of what gas engines are associated with. In fact, 100-percent of torque is available from the outset, with no ramping up to maximum power. That could pay dividends for the sort of tough driving conditions trucks are often associated with.

As for autonomous vehicles, Musk has ambitious hopes for who Tesla might one day partner with. “I do think it will be interesting to do self-driving cars, perhaps working in conjunction with Google, who’s quite close to us in Silicon Valley” he suggested. “Larry Page and Sergey Brin are longtime friends of mine, so it would be great to work with them, maybe to do self-driving.”

Already on the Tesla roadmap is a new crossover SUV and a replacement to the original Roadster, both expected to arrive sometime around 2016. The crossover will challenge BMW’s X3, while the new sports model will deliver “supercar performance, but not supercar pricing” according to Musk.

That lifespan is estimated at around 25,000 hours, Sylvania says, which means less time up a step ladder. Unlike some LED bulbs, which tend to project a more focused pattern of light, the company claims the new A-Line LED models have an incandescent-style distribution.

If 100W is too much for you, there are 40, 60, and 75W equivalent versions too, and all can be dimmed to as little as 10-percent of their brightness. Inside, there’s none of the mercury or lead that other light fittings can include.

The big drawback for many buyers is likely to be price. Sylvania is asking $49.99 for each of the 100W-equivalent LED bulbs, which is considerably more than the upfront cost of a regular incandescent or even a CCFL bulb. For ten bucks more, in fact, you can have one of Philips’ color-changing hue bulbs.

“Arabica’s history is punctuated by problems with diseases, pests, and productivity problems” Davis explains, “and growers have always gone back to the wild and used genetic diversity to address them.” Although Arabica and Robusta are the two predominant cultivated types of bean, in actual fact there are in excess of 125 species in the wild, with experts suggesting that more are yet to be discovered.

Those wild breeds have proved useful for Arabica growers when crops have proved less hardy than commercial demand requires, and the genetic origins of which date back to a small number of plants from Ethiopia as early as the 17th century. Davis’ study looked at the impact of climate change on Ethiopia specifically, finding that the warming planet could scythe away between 66- and near 100-percent of suitable growing conditions for Arabica plants by 2080.

If that happens, sheer rarity of the beans could see the price of a cup of coffee surge to make it a luxury item. The study has identified what Davis describes as “core sites” where wild Arabica plants stand a greater chance of survival, as well as suggesting that seed banks be built up to preserve wild species before they become extinct. That could happen to certain species by 2020, it’s warned.

The full study has been published in the PLOS ONE journal this week. Recently, scientists looking at animal species concluded that climate change is killing more types faster than new species are being created.

[via National Geographic; Image credit: Mark Prince]

Qualcomm’s trial scheme – in association with Renault and others – kicks off a two year project in London, UK, to see the feasibility and issues around wireless rather than traditional conductive charging. It’s based on Qualcomm’s Halo technology, which puts special inductive coils in both the road and the chassis underneath your car and, when the two line up, can fire across power with much the same efficiency as a regular cable might deliver.

Inductive systems of this sort aren’t new – in fact, industrial facilities have been using similar technology, running automated machinery around factory floors fueled by powerline tracks embedded in the concrete, for more than two decades now – but they’re yet to spread in any effective way from relatively closed systems.

London’s busy and convoluted streets are anything but a closed, controlled system, but that’s exactly why the city was selected by the Qualcomm-led project. It offers a mixture of road conditions, weather types, and usage scenarios, and a combination of sedans, taxis, vans, and other vehicles are expected to take part over the two year period.

Halo is a big step away from plugging in your EV (electric vehicle) to a mains electric point. Instead, you simply drive up to a power-embedded parking space and – being guided in, either by a dialog on the dashboard display or on your smartphone – roughly line up the coils in order for the electricity to start flowing. Early iterations only supported the sort of power you’d get from a slow, overnight charger – around the 3 KWh point, good for a full charge in around seven hours – but the technology now offers a 3hr charge with 7 KWh versions, and even a 1hr charge with the fastest 20 KWh standard.

Qualcomm Halo and Renault Fluence demo:

Renault is the big partner, or at least the one most likely to be seen on roads, with its specially crafted Fluence EV carrying Halo technology (along with a set of regular charging plugs). Citroen is also taking part, with a compact EV, while the more esoteric Delta E-4 will be a rarer sight though probably more eye-catching thanks to its gullwing doors. The Delta also has the most entertaining dashboard, a Tesla-style full touchscreen for navigating through charging programs and efficiency reports. In contrast, the Renault shifts Halo duties to a smartphone app – which we played with on a Samsung Galaxy S III – which helps position the car over the pad as well as begin, end, and monitor charging. The Citroen has a cutesy pod on the instrument binnacle that shows power status.

Unfortunately, the general public won’t be able to snap up a Halo-enabled car during the trial. Instead, they’ll be limited to select fleet users, including cab company Addison Lee, with a further cab deployment planned for sometime in 2014. In fact, the team behind the trial see cabs as being ideal customers for wireless charging, with each waiting period in a taxi rank the ideal opportunity to top up a battery. Initially, though, partner Chargemaster will be adding Halo to six of its London based privately-run “POLAR” EV charging locations, though the goal is to upgrade all 4,000+ points across the UK.

Nor will those with existing EVs be likely to see an upgrade. Qualcomm tells us that the cost of retrofitting Halo – as well as the regulatory and safety hurdles – means the relatively small userbase of current drivers isn’t really a target. Instead, the company is aiming for more widespread adoption with OEMs and upcoming models. It’ll also need to convince buyers to tick the EV box at the point of ordering; Renault says it is attempting to price its models at roughly the point of the diesel-powered equivalent, but there’s infrastructure required for the wireless charging pad if you want one for your garage at home, and you can’t simply plug Halo into a regular power socket. That’s currently along the line of roughly £2,500-3,000 ($4,000-4,800), not including the background infrastructure, though to be fair that’s roughly akin to a wired setup.

In the future, though, your Halo-equipped car may not even need to stand still in order to be recharged. Right now, fixed charging points make sense, from a cost-of-infrastructure standpoint as well as given that most cars sit unused overnight and for several hours during the day. However, Qualcomm also envisages a time when dynamic charging is used: Halo embedded in continuous strings along the roadway, with EVs constantly being powered as they drive over them.

Qualcomm Halo official video:

It’s cost not technology holding back such deployment today. In fact, the current Halo pads support dynamic charging already; right now, though, actually ripping up the road to bury them in place is unfeasible. Qualcomm and others will need to successfully position Halo as a standard, too, in order for the technology to be so broadly adopted that ubiquity makes commercial sense. There are more partners in the trial to be announced, the company told us, and other car manufacturers have been invited to take part, but it’s far from an industry standard yet.

The first evidence of that is likely to be in FIA Formula E, the freshly-announced EV racing cousin to F1. Set to begin in May 2014, it will see new EV racetracks in ten cities across the world, with ten teams pitting their all-electric cars against each other. Right now, the plan is for a relay race setup of sorts – each team would have two cars, driving one for roughly 20 minutes, before leaving it in a pit-stop to recharge while a second car was driven for a further 20 minutes, and then finally returning to the first, “refueled” car for the final 20 minute dash – but the closed environment of a racetrack makes it ideal for dynamic installation.

And don’t doubt that EVs can deliver when it comes to high-speed performance. Drayson Racing Technologies showed us its B12/69 EV, a 200mph+ Le Mans style race car equipped with Halo charging and good for a 3.0 second 0-62mph sprint. The racing team used the B12/69 EV as a Halo testbed during the last Goodwood Festival of Speed, setting a new hill climb record back in July and relying solely on the Qualcomm system for recharging during the entire weekend. In fact, the EV version of the car out-performs its predecessor, which hid a 5.5-litre biofuel engine at the rear instead.

In the end, Halo is a play for a growing market: one where EVs are looked upon more favorably by governments and regulators than traditional gas-guzzlers; where the infrastructure and driver-awareness exists to support them; and where consideration for the environment matches enthusiasm for the independence of having a car. Qualcomm and its partners make a pretty convincing argument for the Halo system specifically, however.

Rather than rely on the sluggish improvement in battery efficiency, or trying to squeeze more batteries into a vehicle to increase range, Halo targets ease of use and ubiquity. By topping up your EV multiple times during the day – without having to fiddle with a power cable or in fact do anything more than park on a certain spot – you can extend your range while also trimming the number of heavy batteries you’re carrying. We’ll have to wait to see how the data crunches at the end of the trial to know if the reality matches the Halo hyperbole, but just as smartphone users are being told they should simply drop down their handsets to recharge, so one day might we just park-up to top-up our zero emissions car.

“Maybe our architecture has been a little bit similar for the last two generations [of Prius]” Hostetter concedes, going on to say that “one of the avenues we’re exploring right now is to evolve it, and the other is to really evolve it.” Adding to the significance of the decision is that the wedge shape is both distinctive and well associated with the Prius brand, and Toyota is loathe to dilute that appeal among existing fans in the hope of attracting new drivers.

However, there’s also the matter of aerodynamics, with the Prius being developed as much in a wind tunnel as it was on an artist’s drawing board. The fared-in windshield and other elements help cut wind resistance, with the slippery Prius boosting efficiency by cutting drag.

New research into aerodynamics could give Toyota some extra flexibility, however. According to Toyota US sales chief Jim Lentz, a car similar to the current design is “still the best aerodynamic shape” but, “based on new aerodynamic trends” it’s possible that the updated car could see “some morphing” in a new direction. The company has already previewed one such possibility with the NS4 hybrid concept (shown above and in the video below).

Toyota NS4 Concept demo video:

Under the shell there’ll be a new hybrid system, part of Toyota’s plan to refresh its Earth-friendly range considerably by 2015, with better driving dynamics promised. The new Prius – which Hostetter says won’t arrive in showrooms for “a little more than a year” – will debut a modular platform with a “whole new architecture” that will go on to form the basis of future Toyota models.

The company has also been working on improving battery technology, in partnership with BMW, to increase range, reduce bulk and weight, and generally make EVs more user-friendly.

Renault previously offered a lower-door add-on, which blocked up the bottom half of the gap, but this new accessory provides full coverage. The system is in two parts, firstly a metal frame which clips on to the door-bar, and then a transparent panel which zips into place.

If you’re thinking this all sounds a bit like the hood you might find on a children’s stroller, you’re not alone; we thought that too. The advantage, Renault says, is that the whole thing can be fitted or removed without tools, and without affecting the standard bodywork. When the weather starts to get better – or when you decide it’s easier to drive while wearing a wetsuit and earmuffs- then you can whip it all off again in short order.

There’s a gap for access to the door handles and vents to prevent everything from misting up inside, and the whole kit will come in at £295 ($473) when it goes on sale at the end of November. Until then, we recommend gloves and a wooly hat.

“The Atlantic is really the volume car that begins to build growth,” CEO Tony Posawatz said on the call, arguing that the EV “creates a business model that is one where we can really generate cash in the future.” However, that cash won’t be landing in Fisker’s account any time soon, with Posawatz also confirming that the Atlantic is still a couple of years away.

The reason for that extended gestation period isn’t clear, though Fisker is yet to decide whereabouts it will actually be produced. “We wanted to make sure it was located in the United States” CFO Jim Yost said, and it’s possible that the existing Delaware facility the company uses could be turned over to making the new model.

Although concerns surfaced earlier today, when it was revealed that Fisker battery supplier A123 Systems was to sell up, that the Karma – and future EVs – might run short of power, the car company says that’s not a worry it shares:

“Fisker welcomes the prospect of JCI, a recognized and strong Tier One supplier with which we already have a relationship, acquiring A123’s automotive operations in order to continue production of the battery pack that we currently use on the Karma to supplement our existing inventory, which is expected to cover our needs through at least the first quarter 2013″ the company told GigaOm.

Fisker closed a further $100m equity round last month, taking its total investment raised to $1.2bn, though its Karma has suffered a number of embarrassing safety hiccups. Several of the cars have overheated and even caught on fire, while Consumer Reports deemed the EV “full of flaws” in its review.

Those changes would include the relocation of some of the components used, along with cheaper versions of them. Nissan will apparently be asking its suppliers to cut their costs, though it’s unclear whether new parts or simply cheaper versions of existing parts will be introduced.

Nissan’s existing model spec levels, the SV and SL, will continue to be offered in the 2013 model year, and there’s no word on whether their current pricing – $36,050 and $38,100 respectively – will be carried over. Similarly, pricing for the cheaper entry-level car is also unknown.

Costs will also be pared back  by shifting production, with US cars now being manufactured in Nissan’s Tennessee plant; until recently, the Leaf has been produced in Japan and shipped to the US.

A combination of pricing and uncertainty among consumers around electric cars has added up to mediocre sales. Nissan aimed to sell 20,000 Leaf cars in 2012, but has so far sold just 5,212. Sales in 2011 were just 9,674.

[via Motortrend]

As well as the four car companies, three hydrogen infrastructure firms are onboard: HyOP AS of Norway, and H2 Logic A/S and Copenhagen Hydrogen Network A/S both of Denmark. Meanwhile five non-governmental organizations – NyNor Norway, Hydrogen Sweden, Icelandic New Energy, Hydrogen Link Denmark Association, and the Scandinavian Hydrogen Highway Partnership – are also signees of the MoU.

Honda already has a fuel-cell vehicle on US and Japanese roads, with the Honda FCX being supplied to roughly two dozen private lessees, including private business owners, lawyers, educators and others. Earlier this year, meanwhile, Honda revealed its next fuel-cell vehicle would launch in 2015, with “significant cost reductions” promised.

Whether Honda, Toyota, Nissan, or Hyundai will be offering fuel-cell cars to individual drivers or prioritizing fleet sales and rentals is unclear at this stage. Even with the MoU in place, there is still plenty of work to be done to actually equip the four countries with suitable hydrogen infrastructure.

Technical details on the new engine are scant so far. Described as a 4-cylinder gasoline unit, with direct-injection and a turbocharger, it will supposedly be “compact” and show up in the first cars from all firms in 2016 at the earliest.

Meanwhile, Nissan has also grabbed a license to manufacture automatic transmissions using Daimler technology, which Nissan has said will take place in Mexico. Daimler gearboxes already help waft-friendly autobahn cruisers like Mercedes’ sedans shuttle through eight gears, and Nissan’s versions will use “park and shift by wire” and “start and stop” tech the German firm has developed.

The new ‘boxes will be used in both Nissan and Infiniti models, also from 2016, likely tuned for various degrees of efficiency, smoothness, and performance, depending on the specific vehicle and target audience.

Daimler and Renault-Nissan are still in discussions regarding fuel-cell powertrains, the companies confirmed, as well as a cross-supply program for battery and powertrain components for zero-emission compact models. City-car manufacturer and Daimler subsidiary smart showed off a concept all-electric model, the forstars, last week at the Paris Auto Show, which pairs battery power with smartphone remote control and an integrated projector for impromptu movie screenings.

“As the Karma is a concept car come to life, packaging and visibility will of course not be that of a minivan” Fisker points out, going on to highlight that “the 66 MPGe recorded during [Consumer Reports'] testing – the highest of nearly any production car — is a great endorsement for Fisker as pioneers of this new luxury segment.” It also mentions its owner feedback section, which has a number of positive reviews.

In fact, there are only really two areas where Fisker concedes it needs to raise its game. “Plans are in place to improve sound quality, which is a new challenge for all silent-running EVs,” the company says, “while software improvements are being made to touch-screen controls to improve responsiveness and functionality.”

Despite mixed results in the market, including several Karma cars bursting into flames, Fisker continues to pull in investment. The company said that it plans to use the extra financing to continue developing the Atlantic sedan, a mid-sized version of the Karma that should be more affordable.

It will also begin a global marketing campaign, particularly focusing on the Middle East and China. So far, since its December 2011 launch, almost 1,500 Karma cars have been delivered to customers, Fisker says.

There’s also a glass bubble roof, for star-gazing, and external speakers built into the sweeping B-pillar for those outside the car. Media playback is controlled by a smartphone – and content can be streamed from there over Bluetooth, too – and the smart app allows drivers to remotely set the aircon temperature before they get into the car.

The rest of the design borrows from the smart for-us concept shown late last year, though with a few tweaks. The charging point is hidden behind the left rear light assembly; the space behind its right counterpart is saved, bizarrely, for a drinks can. Inside, the seat covers can be removed, and the rear load space shifts electrically for easier stowing of your shopping.

smart isn’t saying whether it’ll put the forstars into production, though we’d doubt it; if anything, it’s merely a hint at what the car company has in mind for its next-gen model. However, there’s also a new smart BRABUS electric drive, up for order from today, which uses the same electric engine as the concept and can manage 0-62mph in 10.2s and a top speed of 81mph, with a range of 90 miles.

More importantly, smart says, the new eco-friendly BRABUS can go 0-37mph in 4.4s, a far more useful achievement for a city car. It’s up for sale in 11 countries, priced at €29,990 ($39,000) for the coupé and €33,080 ($43,000) for the cabriolet.

“The Model S is an all new vehicle which we are producing with new employees using new equipment. As our main focus is on quality, we have methodically increased our Model S production at a rate slower than we had earlier anticipated” Tesla says. “To produce a vehicle that meets our quality standards requires us to carefully analyze each step of our production ramp, improve the efficiency of our manufacturing processes and continue to train our employees.”

Responsibility isn’t solely Tesla’s, however. The company is also holding its suppliers to high standards, and that has caused some hiccups with components, it claims. “Certain suppliers have experienced delays in meeting our demand” Tesla says, “and we continue to focus on supplier capabilities and constraints.”

Model S shipments to customers had previously been estimated to reach 5,000 cars by the end of 2012, with Tesla setting a production goal of 20,000 for 2013. While the company still believes that 2013 target is workable, it now suggests it will deliver at most 3,225 cars before the year is through.

Overall, though, Tesla has cut its financial outlook, from the previous $560m-600m to $400m-$440m. R&D spending is expected to diminish by 20-percent in Q3 versus Q2, and Tesla saw a significant number of cancelations from those on its reservations list. That’s predicted to become less of an issue as the delay between placing an order and receiving a car decreases in line with production climbing, however.

[via GigaOm]

“Thermal efficiency” is how much of the energy produced by fuel combustion actually gets converted to mechanical work, and is something traditional gasoline engines are particularly bad at. Toyota says its new 2.5-liter engine should appear in hybrids in 2013, followed by a 2.0-liter turbocharged version for even better efficiency in 2014.

Meanwhile, the existing Prius PHV plug-in hybrid which launched at the start of this year, will soon get an accessory that will allow the car to provide power to external devices in an emergency. The system will be positioned as a way to use the Prius PHV as a standby battery during power-cuts, though it’s unclear what limits there might be on what can be plugged in.

Toyota will also begin wireless battery charging trials in Toyota City come 2013, using wireless coils embedded in the road and in the chassis of the car, to see whether they’re efficient enough.

As for the Toyota eQ, the all-electric vehicle is based on Toyota’s gas-powered iQ city car, with seating for four and a range of up to 100km (62 miles) on a single charge of its new 12 kWh Li-Ion battery. The updated power pack delivers the best electric power consumption rate in the world, Toyota claims, keeping bulk low but still delivering usable range.

It also charges swiftly, the company says, with a complete rejuicing in around three hours from a 200V AC outlet. That extends to 8hrs if you’re stuck with a 100V AC connection, however, though a quick DC charge up to 80-percent can be achieved in just 15 minutes.

Toyota doesn’t talk speed or acceleration for the eQ, which doesn’t exactly bode well for urban racers, but the car isn’t really intended for consumer use. When it hits Japan in December it will be priced at 3,600,000 yen (the equivalent of $46,000 in the US, where it will launch as the “iQ EV”) and be targeted at fleet customers rather than individuals.

Finally, Toyota says it is on-track to launch its own fuel-cell vehicle around 2015, powering the FCV (“Fuel Cell Vehicle”) initially, and then showing up in a bus on track for a 2016 debut. The new fuel-cell has the world’s highest power output density, Toyota claims, and can deliver 3 kW/L which is double what the company’s current prototype can deliver.

That’s despite being half the size and half the weight of the existing prototype. It’s in part down to a new boost converter, which increases voltage and thus allows for fewer fuel-cells and a smaller motor: cost and bulk goes down, while performance goes up.

Traditional heating systems warm air, which is then blown into the cabin. BMW’s new approach would be silent, with no fans required, and also use less power. Even if a car was still fitted with the existing style of HVAC system – a probability, since IR can’t be used to cool the environment, and thus air-con would still be required – BMW suggests that the infrared tech could be an added extra, similar to heated seats, and allow passengers to more directly control their own comfort.

That too would have power advantages, with the car able to turn off heating to those parts of the vehicle unoccupied by passengers. So, the front seats could be heated if it’s just two of you in the car, the back left cold, or alternatively the front passenger seat left cool while the driver and the kids in the back are kept comfortable.

For electric and hybrid vehicles, where minimizing electricity use is of particular importance since it has a direct impact on range, BMW’s new system could be a significant boon. The company also suggests a heat pump could be implemented, using waste heat from the rest of the car. In fact, BMW claims, a heat pump-equipped EV could halve the electricity required for in-cabin heating, while overall range could be improved by up to 30-percent – even with the outside temperature at freezing point.

When, exactly, we might see infrared heating in cars turn up is unclear, though it’s worth noting that BMW already offers some models with its “innovation” tech; the 7 series, for instance, uses the company’s predictive driving system, using GPS maps to decide what gear the driver might require based on the upcoming road.

The crossover will challenge BMW’s premium compact SUV, the X3, in the increasingly competitive (and lucrative) segment of those wanting off-road looks but without sacrificing on-road performance. As for the Roadster replacement, that will supposedly have “supercar performance, but not supercar pricing” Musk says, with a focus on a rewarding driver experience.

The new models aren’t just Tesla being over-ambitious: according to Musk, they’re an essential part of the car company making a profit from the investments it has made in underlying vehicle architecture. Neither has been officially named, though the founder did say that previous comments of the crossover being called the “Model E” were tongue-in-cheek and not to be taken seriously.

Tesla’s second car, the Model S, arrived with buyers in June, and the new sedan is expected to be slightly smaller as well as cheaper. Still, it will “look great and perform better than anything in its price range” Musk insists.

The third car, the Model X crossover unveiled earlier this year, is expected to hit roads in 2014.

According to GE, rather than the quality of the electricity supply coming through the Wattstation systems, it’s actually how the Leaf handles that power that’s the problem. Although the company tacitly admits that the juice can fluctuate, apparently it’s the Leaf’s software that needs to be tweaked, not its own supplies:

“Nissan and GE have completed their investigation into the instances of Nissan LEAFs experiencing on-board charging (OBC) issues when using certain EV chargers. Nissan has traced the root cause of the issue to the LEAFs OBC software that can allow damage to occur to its OBC components while using certain chargers and in certain instances, such as when a brief under voltage or blackout condition occurs” General Electric

The solution, GE claims, is a software update that will allow the Leaf’s systems to better handle the potentially wonky power supply. Until then, however, the advice is to avoid recharging at times when it’s possible that the Wattstations could be unsteady:

“Nissan is working to address this issue as quickly as possible, and in the meantime is advising customers to avoid charging during times when brownouts or momentary power dips may be likely, such as during electrical storms or high power usage on the grid” General Electric

Recharging via a regular 120V outlet is still supported and apparently unaffected by the OBC issue, though the recharging process itself will take longer than through a higher-power Wattstation.

[via Yahoo]

While the C evolution may look a whole lot more conventional than the i-Series, it does share some of the behind-the-scenes technology. The li-ion storage modules are the same as in the i3, for instance, and have been designed with longevity despite cold climates and irregular charging patterns in mind.

Meanwhile, an air cooling system saves weight and power, with specially designed ducts guiding airflow through the chassis to keep the battery from overheating. A die-cast aluminum casing with longitudinal ribs gives plenty of surface area, working as a huge heat-sink.

A flat to full recharge takes under three hours, BWM claims, from a regular domestic socket or a public chargin station; in fact the C evolution is supposedly the first two-wheeler to provide support for the latter. In front of the driver there’s a TFT color display which shows remaining charge and range, together with details on whether the automatic power recuperation system – which tops up the battery as the bike slows – is active.

Outwardly, at first glance you might not even realize this particular BMW is electric, though illuminated “e” symbols on the battery trims might be a giveaway. No word on when the C evolution might turn up in showrooms, nor at what price.