Recently Tesla CEO Elon Musk took to Twitter dropping some teasing details about a future electric vehicle that he and Tesla are dreaming up. Musk said, “It has always been my dream to produce a low cost, compelling electric car. We are 3 to 4 years away. Wish it could be sooner.” That would put timeframe for Tesla’s next electric vehicle at approximately 2016 to 2017.

Musk then answered another question when people were curious what sort of pricing Tesla was considering for its future electric vehicle. Musk tweeted in response to that question, “$30k in 2013 $.” He also said that the new vehicle would have a 200+ mile range with some “really cool tech that we can’t talk about yet.”

I’d wager that really cool tech will be the hot-swappable battery packs that Tesla recently mentioned in an SEC filing or fast battery changing stations. Musk also tweeted that the vehicle would be about the size of the Audi A4 or BMW 3-series compared to the Model S being sized like the Audi A7 or BMW M5.

Musk even said that he thinks when we consider the savings the vehicle will give you in gasoline, that you can actually cross-shop a $30,000 Tesla EV with $25,000 gasoline-powered vehicles. Tesla could be right to assuming this future technology Musk isn’t ready to talk about has something to do with making it quick and easy to recharge or swap battery packs at a low cost.

SOURCE: Forbes

One of the biggest races where electric vehicles play a significant role is the annual Pikes Peak International Hill Climb. The 2013 version of the race will be held on June 30, 2013 and Mitsubishi has announced that it will be fielding a pair of all electric four-wheel drive prototype racecars at the event. The racecars are called the MiEV Evolution II.

These electric racecars are quite strange looking. Whereas some racecars are incredibly beautiful, I don’t think you can call Mitsubishi’s electric racecars beautiful. Vehicles designed specifically for hill climb racing are often very odd looking with gigantic wings and lots of canards to provide more downforce. The Mitsubishi racecars are open cockpit designs with large rear wings and squared off tail sections.

The Pikes Peak International Hill Climb is held each year in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The race takes drivers up the 14,110 foot summit of Pikes Peak with racers covering an elevation of almost 4720 feet. This event is one of the longest running races in all of motorsports in the United States with the first run held in 1916.

The 2013 race will be the 91st running of the hill climb. Behind the wheel of Mitsubishi’s all electric racecars will be Hiroshi Masuoka and Greg Tracy. The Mitsubishi electric racecar has four electric motors with two in the front and two in the rear providing a maximum output of 400 kW. The battery pack has a maximum capacity of 50kWh. The vehicle’s make extensive use of lightweight technologies including a tube frame chassis and carbon fiber.

SOURCE: Mitsubishi

Issues often cited by shoppers when looking for a new vehicle that specifically apply to EV’s include things like range anxiety and having to remember to plug your vehicle in every time you come home or get to the office. With the huge ecosystem of wireless charging products available for smartphones and other gadgets, it makes a lot of sense that people don’t want to have to fiddle with plugging in their car when they get home. Mitsubishi is currently working on a new charging system for electric vehicles that will allow for wireless remote charging.

Mitsubishi is working with Kyoto University and a group of Japanese organizations to develop a remote charging solution for electric cars. The group consists of 22 companies and 13 different universities with the goal of making a long distance electric vehicle charging a reality within the next five years. The technology will reportedly use microwave transmissions, but that’s really the only detail known about the tech this time.

The same technology is also being considered to keep gadgets such as smartphones and tablets powered up and working indefinitely. It’s even being considered for powering things like military drones indefinitely. The goal of the group of developers with this technology appears to be wireless remote charging with the potential to keep an electric vehicle powered as it cruises down the roads allowing an indefinite driving range. I can see a big challenge with determining how exactly the charge drivers for power in a system like this. Considering the Mitsubishi is working with so many other universities and organizations on this technology, it will likely find its way to vehicles other than Mitsubishi’s own i-MiEV electric car.

[via Dvice]

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]

Engineers and designers at GM developed the electric motor for the Spark EV to provide maximum efficiency and extreme reliability. The motor uses a permanent magnet design to precisely deliver power to the driver. The electric motor used in the Spark EV will produce 130 hp and 400 pound-foot of torque.

The electric motor will not only deliver efficiency to drivers, but it will provide impressive performance as well with the ability to rocket from a standstill to 60 mph in under 8 seconds. The first Spark EVs will go on sale in California and Oregon this summer. Sales will later expand to Canada, Europe, and South Korea.

GM said that all of its employees at the Baltimore assembly plant underwent extensive training to be able to operate the sophisticated machinery required to build the electric motors. The workers were also extensively trained on how to configure portions of the electric motor and drive units. There’s no indication at this time of when the vehicle will be offered for sale outside of California and Oregon within the United States.

[via GM]

The Protean technology is designed to be an integral part of the hybrid powertrain system and paired with a traditional internal combustion engine. However, the manufacturer says that the technology is also capable of providing enough power to be the only source of traction drive in a fully electric vehicle. The motors are designed to reside in the space behind the wheel and produce torque and power exactly where the driver and automobile need it.

Protean says that its new production motor provides a 25% increase in peak torque compared with previous generations of its technology. The new electric drive motors can generate 735 pound-foot of torque and 100 hp each. That is a huge amount of torque for each electric motor with such a small physical footprint designed to fit inside your typical wheel.

The motors also weighing only 68 pounds each and Protean says that the electric motors are able to improve fuel economy up to 30% in hybrid configurations depending on the battery size. The design of the electric motors allows of 85% of the available kinetic energy to be recovered during braking to recharge the battery. I would love to see an all wheel drive electric vehicle using these electric motors producing over 2800 pound-foot of torque.

[via Protean Electric]

The SP:01 is an all-electric sports car that will be released as a limited-edition (only 999 will be made) for those with a fair amount of cash to spare. Because it is powered by a 37kWh battery, which can be recharged in a little over 4 hours and has a range of 190 miles, the vehicle is emissions-free. The body is constructed from carbon fiber, making it lightweight (it weighs 2,354lbs) and helping it achieve its high speeds.

The Detroit Electric SP:01 boasts a 0 to 62mpg time of 3.7 seconds, making it the fastest all-electric production car anywhere in the world. The top speed clocks in at 155mph, and is achieved via a 201 bhp motor offering 166lb/ft of torque. There’s a four-speed manual transmission, but also an automatic transmission option for those who prefer it. The SP:01 is also decked out with an infotainment sytsem that can be controlled entirely via a smartphone, with the app also providing information on the car’s various systems.

Detroit Electric’s CEO and Chairman Albert Lam had this to say: “The SP:01 will be exclusive, luxurious and technologically advanced. The car will be an exciting and innovative product, displaying outstanding performance coupled with strong green credentials, and delivering an exhilarating driving experience.” The vehicle will be available for purchase by the end of August this year with a base price of $135,000 USD.

[via PRNewswire]

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.

I think the vehicle may be a bit wide for that. One thing that we hadn’t previously seen is a CGI video that Toyota offered up showing the strange little electric vehicle in action. If you missed our previous coverage, the i-Road has enough room for two occupants who sit tandem style like riders on a motorcycle inside of an enclosed cockpit.

The electric vehicle uses what Toyota calls “Active Lean” technology that leans into a turn sort of like a motorcycle would do. The vehicle has rear wheel steering and a nearly silent electric powertrain. Toyota says that the little vehicle is good to drive for up to 50 km on a three-hour charge.

Toyota has always been upfront with the fact that this is a concept vehicle. However, Toyota said it would be putting compact personal mobility vehicles based on the i-Road to work as part of an experimental project designed to evaluate market response. Toyota plans to start the project at the end of 2014 in Grenoble, France. The project will last for three years.

[via Toyota]

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.

Musk has taken issue with the New York Times story published last week because he says the story is inaccurate. New York Times reporter John Broder took a Model S on a trip where he claims to have completely charge the batteries and driven on cruise control at 54 mph. Broder says that the Model S lost charge and died before reaching his destination.

Broder specifically noted in the review that he charged the car until the display read “charge complete” and then drove conservatively. However, Musk says those claims are not accurate and he has logs from the car to prove it. Musk says that Tesla will publish the actual logs from the car Broder drove and the situation is not a he said she said, it’s black and white fact.

Musk says that the car logs show that Broder did not charge the car to full capacity before leaving for his trip. The logs also allegedly show that the reporter took an unplanned detour through Manhattan while driving well above the posted speed limits, thereby reducing the range. Musk says that these actions reduced the driving distance of the car rather than the cold or any range issues with the Model S. Broder and the New York Times are standing by their story saying that it is completely factual.

[via CNET]

Since the database is crowdsourced, it also includes stations not owned by either of those companies. Any station an EV owner puts and is included in this database. Some of the information in the database includes photographs, reviews, and check-ins from EV owners that use the charging stations.

This data is being integrated into the MyFord Mobile smartphone application to make it easy for electric vehicle owners to find a place to plug in and charge up when on the road. That application also allows owners of electrified vehicles to control some aspects of their car remotely. Another interesting feature of the app is that users can monitor the charge status of their vehicles batteries.

Drivers are able to seek out charging stations using the station finder component of the mobile application. The app also allows the vehicle owner to search for locations near the charging station for other needs. The app has also recently been updated to allow users to keep their own trip and charge log allowing the driver to track their efficiency and use.

[via Torque News]

The more power the systems required to operate, the less power is available to propel the vehicle. It would stand to reason that Nissan would want to place the most power efficient systems inside the Leaf it could possibly find. Nissan has announced that it is equipping some versions of the Leaf with a new energy-efficient Bose sound system.

Not only is the sound system more energy-efficient, but it’s also significantly smaller and lighter than conventional systems. Smaller and lighter in an electric vehicle is almost as important as energy efficiency. Nissan says that the Bose system uses about half the electricity of the standard Leaf audio system.

The new Bose system will be available on SV and SL models as part of the premium package. The system uses smaller and lighter speakers and has a powerful bass unit mounted in the cargo area of the vehicle. The subwoofer is mounted in a 6.2-liter custom-engineered Acoustic Waveguide bassbox. The system has six lightweight speakers placed around the interior of the vehicle.

[via Nissan]

Nissan has announced it is teaming up with NRG Energy to try and triple the number of electric vehicle fast chargers in the Washington DC area. Nissan plans to install at least 500 quick charging stations in the area over the next 18 months. Nissan and its partners estimate that right now 160 fast chargers are available for public use across the United States.

Nissan says that there are no fast chargers available for public use in Washington DC. Adding more fast chargers in the Washington DC area will allow drivers to increase how much they drive their electric vehicles according to Nissan. Nissan plans to install fast chargers including a network of 40 eVgo Freedom Station sites across the city.

Each of those sites will have a Nissan fast charger able to provide EVs like the LEAF with an 80% charge in under 30 min, it’s unclear if the charters will support only Nissan EVs. Nissan says that it currently operates fast charger networks in Houston, Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex, San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Diego, and other locations around the country. Nissan’s plan will cost approximately $150 million.

[via Nissan]

To help get buyers interested in the electric vehicle, Ford has announced significant discounts of over $10,000 for people who lease the electric vehicle. Consumers who opt for a three-year lease can now get $10,750 off the lease price. The catch is that the significant discount does include the $7500 government tax credit.

If the buyer happens to be in a position to pay cash, Ford has dropped the base price for the Focus EV by $2000. A $2000 base price drop is for cash purchases only. Interested buyers who don’t want to lease or pay cash can also be a special 1.9% financing deal on the electric vehicle through Ford Motor Credit.

Ford’s 36-month lease gives buyers 10,500 miles a year and costs $285 per month. People who lease do have to pay $930 at signing. The cash purchase price for the Focus EV is $37,995. Whether or not the new discounts will spur buyers to come in and purchase the vehicle remains to be seen. Ford sold only 685 Focus EVs in 2012.

[via Detroit News]

“The sounds would need to be detectable under a wide range of street noises and other ambient background sounds when the vehicle is traveling under 18 miles per hour” the NHTSA says of the proposed legislation. “At 18 miles per hour and above, vehicles make sufficient noise to allow pedestrians and bicyclists to detect them without added sound.”

The agency even has a page of suggested sounds, as well as some of the reduced-level road noise which it’s concerned about. One key element is Doppler shift, for the distinctive change in tone depending on where a moving vehicle is in comparison to a person, and whether it’s ahead or behind them. Although most people don’t realize they’re doing it, Doppler is used to automatically process whereabouts a moving vehicle is in relation to them.

“Each automaker would have a significant range of choices about the sounds it chooses for its vehicles, but the characteristics of those sounds would need to meet certain minimum requirements” the NHTSA said. “In addition, each vehicle of the same make and model would need to emit the same sound or set of sounds.”

Some manufacturers are already working on custom sounds for EVs. Audi, for instance, cooked up a special “e-sound” which is dynamically adjusted according to driving style, speed, and other factors, much in the same way that a traditional engine changes.

“Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 141″ will be submitted to the Federal Register for public comment this week, with a sixty day period for feedback. The potential standard is another example of how automotive technology is butting heads with legislators and safety demands; last year, the NHTSA proposed driver distraction rules that could threaten complex in-car touchscreen dashboards, such as those which feature in Tesla cars.

Update: We asked Tesla for an official comment on the proposed rules. “As regulations are put in place, Tesla will work to be in compliance with any laws” the company told us.

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.

To address the complaints of Leaf owners Nissan has decided to expand warranty coverage for the vehicle battery packs. Nissan has announced that it will be replacing batteries that have lost capacity for Leaf owners. Nissan says that it is the first and only auto manufacturer to provide limited warranty coverage for battery capacity loss on the EVs it produces.

The extended warranty coverage will go into effect this spring and apply to all 2011 and 2012 Leaf vehicles. The coverage will protect against capacity loss and batteries that fall under nine bars of the maximum 12 bars displayed on the Leaf’s battery capacity gauge. The extended warranty covers the batteries if they fall under nine bars before 60,000 miles.

If the capacity loss occurs before the 60,000-mile mark, Nissan will replace or repair the batteries free of cost. Nissan is also said that it is working to improve the accuracy of the battery capacity gauge in the vehicle. Some Leaf owners have found themselves stranded on the side of the road when that gauge showed that the batteries had enough capacity to make a trip.

[via Inautonews]

Ford and EnerSys teamed up with Bigfoot and outfitted the monster truck with 36 EnerSys batteries, as well as a 350HP electric motor, and has claimed to be the first ones to build the first proper EV monster truck. The result is a much quieter car-crushing machine, which takes away a little of the fun, since half of the entertainment is listening to those crazy-loud engines.

The video shows the new all-electric Bigfoot in action, and while it does appear that it doesn’t have quite the torque of a true gasoline-powered monster truck, it still has the same crushing power thanks to the immensely-large tires and the weight of those 36 batteries. And while the truck isn’t completely silent, you have to admit that it doesn’t make a lot of noise compared to traditional monster trucks.

In all, the truck’s 36 batteries add an extra 1,375 pounds, and while the system includes on-board battery chargers, there is no word on how long such a job would take, or how long the batteries last on a single charge. Don’t expect this new monster truck to be in competitions anytime soon — it’s mostly just for show for the time being.

The facility will manufacture battery components to be used during the ramp-up of production for the all-electric 2013 Nissan Leaf EV early next year. Nissan says that the new plant will only be the third of its kind in the entire world operated by a major automaker. I can’t help but wonder why Nissan is ramping up production of its Leaf when sales of the vehicle have been less than stellar.

Nissan says that since December of 2010 it sold over 18,000 Leaf EV’s to customers in the United States. Nissan also brags that it has sold 46,000 of the fully electric vehicles around the world. While Nissan has struggled to meet its sales goals in the United States, the company claims that the Leaf is the most successful completely electric vehicle in history.

Nissan says that the first batteries produced at the plant have completed the required aging process and are now ready to be charged for the first time. The battery factory is capable of producing up to 200,000 batteries annually depending on the market demand for the vehicle. Nissan says that the batteries produced at the plant can also be used for future vehicles added to its electric vehicle portfolio. Nissan says that the battery plant could add up to 1000 additional jobs depending on demand.

The new version of the Leaf has modifications that were made by Nissan based on feedback from owners of current Leaf EVs. One of the biggest worries Nissan noted from Leaf owners was the fear of running out of electricity and being stranded. The upgraded version has a system that will tell drivers exactly how much battery life is left to help alleviate fears of being stranded.

The new version of the Leaf also has an extended electric driving range. Nissan claims that the new version of the Leaf can travel 142 miles on a fully charged battery. That is an increase from 124 miles on the previous version. However, the caveat for 142 miles on a single charge is that you can’t use the air conditioning.

The longer driving range was made possible thanks to improvements in the vehicle battery system and reductions in vehicle weight. The new version of the Leaf sells for under $31,000 for a base model with no options in Japan once government subsidies are applied. Nissan has sold 43,000 Leaf vehicles globally since it launched in 2010, with half that number sold in Japan. Nissan says it has sold 17,000 Leaf EVs in the US and sells about 1500 monthly.

[via Detroit News]

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.

The system combines the integrated GPS of Ford Sync with some proprietary software algorithms Ford engineers developed to learn frequent destinations for the vehicle. Once those frequent destinations have been learned, EV+ adjusts how electric power stored in the vehicle battery packs is used to power the vehicle.

The system then learns when a vehicle is near a frequent destination, such as your home, and will remain in electric-only mode if possible. Normally, the vehicle would switch between electric and gasoline modes depending on the speed among other things. Ford says that the positional data the system requires and saves can be deleted and the feature can be turned off at the press of a button.

When the system detects that the vehicle is within a radius of 1/8 of a mile or 200 m a frequent stop the ability to stay in electric-only mode is increased. Drivers will know that EV+ is engaged because a EV+ light on the dash will light up.

Luckily, Fisker thought ahead and had each and every Karma insured. The cars were destroyed when the port flooded, though some of the Karmas actually caught fire when the saltwater shorted their batteries. The wind from Hurricane Sandy made things worse, spreading the fire to other cars. In the end, 16 Karmas had caught fire, but Fisker says there weren’t any explosions.

Even though having 300 cars destroyed is a pretty big loss, Fisker says it probably won’t suffer too much of a financial setback and that this shouldn’t cause any immediate problems with stock in the US, since there already cars in the States waiting to be sold. All in all, it sounds like Fisker will be relatively okay despite the fact that Sandy destroyed 300 completed and ready-to-be sold Karmas.

Fisker hasn’t been having the best of luck lately. Earlier in the year there were reports of Karmas randomly catching fire, and it wasn’t too long ago that we heard of one of Fisker’s manufacturing partners running out cash and selling off assets. Fisker could really use a pick-me-up right about now, but at it least it sounds like the company dodged a very expensive bullet when Sandy came to town.

[via Wall Street Journal]

According to the leaked pricing, the car will start at €768,026, which works out to $995,976 in the US. If you opt for something called the Weissach Package, pricing starts at €839,426 or about $1,088,567. That pricing certainly guarantees that only the mega rich will ever get to see the inside of a 918 Spyder.

It’s only the base price the vehicle that’s crazy expensive though, pricing for optional equipment is just insane. The 918 has an option for magnesium wheels costing €29,750 or about $38,500 in the US. The quick charger option will cost another €20,230 or $26,234.

The most expensive option is some sort of special liquid metal paint starting at €47,600. That works out to $61,727 for a special paint color. It’s hard to believe that the paint on your Porsche costs more than a Corvette.

[via Jalopnik]

That hasn’t stopped some the world’s most popular luxury and sports carmakers from showing off pure electric concepts and production vehicles. One of the most interesting and sporty electric vehicles that we’ve seen was the Audi R8 e-tron. Of these vehicles for internal of valuation, but has canceled plans to make production versions for sale to the public.

Part of the reason the Audi has abandoned plans to produce a production version of the electric R8 comes in the form of changing priorities partially attributed to new R&D chief Wolfgang Dürheimer. When he took over the electric R8 e-tron is one the project is said to have made the cut with Audi.

Another major reason for the elimination of the electric vehicle is said to be a limited range of the vehicle. As a carmaker, Audi is shifting away from electric vehicles to plug-in hybrids. The plug-in hybrid makes a lot more sense for many consumers because it offers the same range as a gasoline vehicle with fuel savings. Audi currently plans to produce plug-in hybrids of several of its vehicle models including the A1, A3, A4, A6, and Q7.

[via Wired]

A123 spent over $50 million to replace the battery packs in 640 Karma vehicles when Fisker issued a recall. After shelling out that money, A123 began looking for additional funding to continue operations. That additional funding never materialized and this week the company missed significant payments to its debtors and began talking about bankruptcy or possible restructuring.

A123 Systems has now announced that it has entered into an asset purchase agreement with a company called Johnson Controls. Johnson Controls will purchase the assets of A123′s automotive business arm, including all of the automotive technology, products, and customer contracts. The purchase agreement also includes A123 facilities in the Livonia and Romulus, Michigan.

The transaction is valued at $125 million. In addition to gaining the assets and facilities already mentioned, Johnson Controls also gets the cathode powder manufacturing facilities in China and A123′s equity interest in Shanghai Advanced Traction Battery Systems. Johnson Controls also intends to license A123 to use certain technologies for its grid, commercial, and government businesses. A123 and all of its US subsidiaries filed voluntary petitions for reorganization under Chapter 11 yesterday to facilitate the transaction.

The Smart Electric Drive will be the most affordable electric car in the United States when it debuts at $25,000. The $25,000 MSRP is not counting any of the US federal tax credits that electric vehicles are eligible for. Some cities and states also offer state and local tax credits as well. The federal tax credit on the electric vehicle is $7500 making the car $17,500 after tax credits.

The standard version of the car is hardtop coupe. A cabriolet version will also be available in 2013 starting at $28,000. Previously, the Smart Electric Drive car was only available on a lease. These little electric vehicles have lithium-ion batteries with 93 individual modules the car charges from a standard household outlet or a faster 240 V charging station.

Smart is mum on the exact driving range of the vehicle. Typical EVs can drive around 40 to 50 miles per charge. People interested in the Smart Electric Drive can pre-register to get more information when the car becomes available.

For the most part, however, the COMS and the Smart INSECT look like they could be twins, or at least closely related. This new version of the COMS golf cart looks quite similar to previous versions as well, so we’re seeing Toyota stick with the overall insect theme. As far as golf carts go, the COMS is pretty sexy, and it comes with some decent specs to boot.

According to this chart we were given at Ceatec, the COMS can drive about 50 kilometers on a full charge. That means you won’t be getting a ton of mileage out of a charge, but driving around a golf course is a lot different than commuting to and from work each day. The battery in the new COMS will take about six hours to fully charge, and the COMS is capable of driving as fast as 60 kilometers per hours, which isn’t too bad all things considered.

Oh, and in case there was any confusion, this new version of the COMS can only fit one person. Keep in mind that a lot of the details will be coming at a later date, so we’re just going to have to wait for those to arrive before we find out more. For now, however, we’ll just imagine racing around the golf course in one of these bad boys.

Details are still pretty scarce, but we’re imagining that you can get some pretty good distance from a full charge with a car this tiny. After all, looking at the pictures above, it’s clear that this vehicle only fits one person, so we’re assuming that a full charge can take this thing quite some distance. The doors also open upward instead of outward, which adds to the distinctive bug-like look.

The Smart INSECT features a motion sensor that can detect when you’re nearby. As you approach, the doors open for you, so not only are you helping to save the environment by purchasing this car, but you can also feel a little like James Bond every time you get in your INSECT. The Toyota Virtual Agent can give you traffic reports through your smartphone, and if you’re Toyota Home user, you can even use your smartphone to lock and unlock the door to your house from the car. There are likely many more smart features than the ones we’re hearing about on the show floor at Ceatec, so we’ll be keeping an eye out for those.

As stated above, details are slim – super slim, for that matter – so we’re not sure when this car is launching, where it’s launching, or how much it will cost. One thing is certain: the Toyota Smart INSECT has officially caught our attention, so we’ll definitely be watching for new details to surface. Stay tuned.

Tesla has announced that it plans to build a network of solar-powered chargers along major US highways to expand the driving range of Tesla vehicles. The chargers would be offered to Tesla owners at no charge. The company has already installed the first six of the high-speed chargers along highways in California, Nevada, and Arizona.

The high-powered solar chargers are able to recharge a Model S sedan at a rate of 100 kW. The high power of the souped-up chargers allows the vehicle to travel for three additional hours of highway driving with 30 minutes of charging. Each of the Chargers cost Tesla $250,000.

The charger can charge 4 to 6 Tesla electric vehicles at one time. Tesla’s overall plan is to install 100 of the new solar chargers over the next three to four years at a total cost of $20 million-$30 million. Tesla also plans to begin opening the so-called “superchargers” in Europe and Asia in the second half 2013.

[via Bloomberg]

“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.

A seller has put the 2012 Tesla Model S up on eBay with a buy it now price of $145,000. That’s roughly $47,000 more than sticker price. Clearly, someone is looking to turn a tidy profit. Only 1000 of the Signature models will be constructed, and this one is Signature Red with white leather interior.

The car has the 85 kWh battery pack with an EPA rated 265-mile driving range. It’s also equipped with integrated tech package that features Dolby 7.1 premium sound and other goodies. The car in the auction is on auction for a couple more days ending on September 20.

The car is scheduled to be delivered on October 14. Well to do shoppers looking for a high-end Tesla Model S to add to their garage may not bat an eye at clicking buy it now and paying $47,000 more than the sticker price rather than wait to buy one later. I wonder if the fire issue that plagued Tesla and initiated a voluntary recall will affect this auction.

[via Venture Beat]

Toyota says that the vehicle will go on sale the week of September 24 at the previously announced MSRP of $49,800. Toyota is giving customers the option to purchase or lease with special purchase financing of 1.9% APR for qualified customers. A 36-month lease option will cost $599 per month with $3499 before driving off in the car.

Toyota plans to sell 2600 RAV4 EVs through 2014. Whether or not Toyota will be able to sell that many of the EVs remains to be seen. Toyota’s electric competition such as the Nissan Leaf has been unable to meet sales targets.

The EV is expected to qualify for the California $2500 Clean Vehicle Rebate Program and is eligible for the $7500 Federal Tax Credit. The electric SUV will also qualify for the California High Occupancy Vehicle lane white sticker program. The electric RAV4 is EPA rated for a driving range of 103 miles with 78 city MPGe and 76 combined MPGe.

Many of the vehicles Zipcar operates are green as well. Zipcar has announced that it has teamed up with the City of Houston using the Zipcar FastFleet technology to create the first municipal electric vehicle car-sharing program of its kind. The City of Houston owns 50 fleet vehicles and 25 of those vehicles are Nissan leaf EVs.

All 50 of the city’s municipal fleet vehicles were equipped with Zipcar’s FastFleet fleet sharing technology for use by all city employees across all departments. The City of Houston expects the new municipal fleet sharing program to help improve efficiency, utilization, and cut costs while allowing its city employees the mobility they need to do their job.

Using the technology the City of Houston will be able to design and configure its fleet footprint in real time for optimal utilization. The technology will also allow city workers to manage critical activities, including preventive maintenance, fueling, billing, and fleet distribution. The FastFleet technology will also allow fleet managers to analyze usage and diagnostic data as well as automatically capturing every trip city vehicles take.

Reigning hill climb champion Nobuhiro “Monster” Tajima conducted three days of successful practice runs up Pikes Peak in his new all electric E-Runner Pikes Peak Special race car. Monster was able to qualify first in the electric class with significant distance between him and the second-place qualifier. Some even thought that Monster and his electric vehicle might take the overall win.

However, after several successful practice runs, things went awry during the first official run up the mountain for Monster and his EV. Only about a mile into the race, the electric motor began to overheat and caught on fire. Monster said he saw smoke coming from the motor and had to stop the car so the fire wouldn’t get any worse.

The overall win for the event went to Rhys Millen driving a race-tuned Hyundai Genesis coupe. Millen had an overall time of 9:46.164, beating the course record of 9:51.278. One massive asterisk on that record-setting time is that this is the first year the Pikes Peak course has been fully paved. In previous years, some of the top sections of the course were dirt. You can check out the video to see one of Monster’s practice runs that went well. You can also look at the second video of a massive accident during this year’s event that both the driver and navigator walked away from.

[via Wired]

The researchers working on the project are attempting to develop smart, miniaturized sensing systems with the goal of extending the life of the battery pack inside the EV or hybrid significantly over the conventional systems in use today. GE will be using its ultrathin battery sensor system with sophisticated modeling of cell behavior to control and optimize battery management systems in EVs. Sensors are used inside electric vehicles today to measure the health of the battery and look at factors such as temperature, voltage, and current.

The small size of the sensors GE is using allows sensors to be placed in areas of the battery where the larger existing sensor technology commonly used today can’t be located. The smaller sensors will enable a better understanding of battery performance and life inside current EVs. The data generated by the GE sensors will be used by scientists at the University of Michigan to verify their advanced battery models.

The data will also allow the scientists to create schemes that use instantaneous sensor data to predict future battery cell and battery pack behavior. Once the researchers develop the systems, Ford will place the new system in one of its electric vehicles for validation. This project is a three-year $3.1 million program and the goal is to demonstrate a working system inside an actual electric vehicle.

“The car battery remains the greatest barrier and most promising opportunity to bringing EVs mainstream.” said Aaron Knobloch, principal investigator and mechanical engineer at GE Global Research. “Improvements in the range, cost and life of the battery will all be needed for EVs to be competitive. With better sensors and new battery analytics, we think we can make substantial progress at increasing battery life. This, in turn, could help bring down its overall cost and the cost entitlement of buying an electric car.”

Toyota notes that it expects the EV to have an EPA-estimated driving range of around 100 miles. The car takes about six hours to charge on a 240V/40A charging system. In my mind, one of the big downsides to this E and many others on the market is the sales price. The RAV4 EV costs $49,800. However, when you combine California state and federal EV purchasing incentives, the purchase price will be about $10,000 less than that MSRP. The new electric SUV uses a lot of Tesla Motors technology under the hood.

Toyota also worked hard to reduce the coefficient of drag for the RAV4 EV to help it drive as far as it can per charge. The electric version of the RAV4 has a coefficient of drag of 0.35 Cd compared to the electric version having a 0.30 Cd. Toyota claims that the electric version of the SUV has the lowest coefficient of drag for any SUV in the world. Gains were made by redesigning the front bumper, lower grill, upper grill, side mirrors, rear spoiler, and a tweaked underbody design.

The RAV4 EV is a front-wheel drive vehicle and features two driving modes for sport or normal driving. In sport mode, the SUV can reach 60 mph from a standstill in 7 seconds and has a maximum speed of 100 mph. In normal mode, the vehicle can hit 60 mph from a dead stop in 8.6 seconds and has a top speed of 85 mph. The electric powertrain has a total of 154 HP. The vehicle also has dual charging modes, including standard and extended. In standard mode, the battery pack charges up to 35 kWh and is expected to provide an EPA-estimated driving range of 92 miles. In extended mode the battery pack charges to 41.8 kWh providing an estimated driving range of 113 miles. Standard mode is intended to optimize the battery life.

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.