Now it’s time for high-end politicians: BMW Hydrogen 7 at the Quirinale
admin @ 2007-11-19 22:53:05 | Filed under: General | No Comment:(
A small fleet of BMW Hydrogen 7s was introduced to the President of Italy, Giorgio Napolitano, whose official site is the Palazzo dil Quirinale, and the delegations for the World Energy Congress (WEC) which was held in Rome last week.
The fleet was presented to the President at the Quirinale during a summit with a delegation of the WEC led by Chicco Testa, President of the WEC. Also on hand was Andrea Castronovo, BMW Italia’s CEO. The WEC was celebrating its 20th Congress, a world-wide energy-related event, since 1924.
Related:
- Wired LivingHome gets a BMW Hydrogen 7 in the garage
- BMW Hydrogen 7 transporting celebrities during Rome Film Festival
- Plácido Domingo next in line to get a BMW Hydrogen 7
[Source: BMW Italia]
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Martin Eberhard says the complexity of engineering the Tesla Roadster keeps him up at night
admin @ 2007-11-19 22:36:00 | Filed under: General | No Comment:(
Filed under: EV/Plug-in, Tesla Motors, Green Daily
If you’re one of our readers who likes to point out the many high hurdles that Tesla Motors has yet to scale in their quest to bring the Tesla Roadster to market, you’re not along. In fact, Tesla co-founder Martin Eberhard is right there with you. Eberhard says that, when it comes to engineering the Roadster, “what keeps me up at night is the complexity of the problem.” The quote comes from the Unofficial Stanford Blog, which also has a video of the Tesla HQ and spends some time with the very same Roadster prototype (#10) that our own Sam Abuelsamid recently took for a test ride.
Min Liu and Nir Eyal of iinnovate spoke with Eberhard and reveal that he’s been driving since he was 13. That’s the age when he learned to drive on a farm. Pop psychology might tell us that the Roadster is the fulfillment of a lifetime of wishing the vehicle you’re in could go faster while keeping the air and water clean so the crops can grow. Or something.
[Source: The Unofficial Stanford Blog, h/t to Domenick]
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Cheap E85 for Thanksgiving in South Dakota
admin @ 2007-11-19 22:18:41 | Filed under: General | No Comment:(
Filed under: Ethanol, Flex-Fuel
If you’re driving to see relatives near Baltic, South Dakota (because, honestly, there isn’t too much else to see or do there), you’ll be able to fill up your tank with cheap E85 just before Thanksgiving. Midway Service Station at 525402 475th Avenue in Baltic is offering E85 at $1.85 a gallon from 3 pm until 6 pm on Wednesday. The first 25 people, moreover, will be able to fill up even cheaper, at $0.85 a gallon.
The initiative is supported by the South Dakota Corn Growers Country, the National Ethanol Vehicle Coalition and the American Lung Association of South Dakota.
[Thanks to B. Moffit for the tip]
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Cool videos: mag-lev gears, human powered anti-gravity
admin @ 2007-11-19 22:01:25 | Filed under: General | No Comment:(
Filed under: Etc.
The video above is a demonstration of a magnetic cog by Kundel Magnetics. Using magnetic fields instead of physical gears to transfer energy has many advantages like zero friction and no need for lubrication. Below the fold is a concept vehicle by the design group Oooms. The counter weight at one end of the vehicle allows a person to jump very high as if gravity were low. These two concepts, the gear and the vehicle, attack two major problem of efficiency: weight and friction. Traditional solutions have always been to use less stuff and make better lubricants, but Kundel and Oooms show us another way. They did not solve the problems of weight or friction, but they can inspire and remind us there are different solutions than what we expect. I happen to think they are also very cool.
[Source: Google Video, YouTube]
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PSA leads the way on CO emissions in Europe
admin @ 2007-11-19 21:44:04 | Filed under: General | No Comment:(
Filed under: MPG, DaimlerChrysler, PSA, Legislation and Policy, Fiat
If new CO2 emissions limits do get enacted in the EU soon, the French and Italian automakers will be in the best position to meet them soonest. A new study of the largest automakers emissions in 2005 and 2006 showed that PSA/Peugeot-Citroen led the way last year with an average of only 142 g/km for their fleet followed by Fiat and Renault at 144 and 147 respectively. DaimlerChrysler was at the opposite end of the scale actually increasing emissions by 2.8 percent to 188 g/km which might be related to the 4.1 percent increase in their average vehicle weight. BMW was the next worst at 184 g/km, which is at least was an improvement of 2.5 percent. Volkswagen also increased slightly although they are still at 166 g/km.
[Source: Automotive News - Sub. req'd]
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$8,000 for an at-home plug-in Prius conversion
admin @ 2007-11-19 21:26:45 | Filed under: General | No Comment:(
Filed under: EV/Plug-in, Hybrid, Toyota, Santa Monica Alt Car Expo, Green Daily
Kim Adelman’s plug-in Prius was at the Santa Monica Alt Car Expo back in October, but somehow stayed hidden from my camera and eyes. The good news is that EVWorld’s Bill Moore spotted the car and talked to Adelman about the car and Adelman’s new company, Plug-In Conversions, which will send people to your house to convert your Prius to a PHEV in a day while you’re off enjoying a latte or a game of poker (or, OK, working).
Moore notes that Adelman has discovered a bit of a sweet spot with electric-only range: eight miles. While the big automakers are all shooting for the 25-40 mile range, Moore writes that Adelman says that with an 8-mile range (and the ability to plug the car in before returning home), “you can achieve the same fuel efficiency as a car with a larger, more costly battery pack.” Customers can choose a more powerful battery pack, but for those important eight miles, Plug-In Conversions will hook you up for eight grand.
[Source: EVWorld, h/t once again to Domenick]
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Phoenix MotorCars building a plant in Puebla, México
admin @ 2007-11-19 21:09:50 | Filed under: General | No Comment:(
Filed under: EV/Plug-in, Manufacturing/Plants, Phoenix, Green Daily
An online Mexican newspaper has announced that Phoenix MotorCars is building a manufacturing plant in the state of Puebla in México. The plant, which is made jointly with Pristine International, will create 1,500 jobs in the area. The plant will be built in a new industrial development area near Huejotzingo’s airport. The companies are investing an initial $90 million, but a total of $250 million will be invested in the near future.
Ricardo Lorden, Phoenix’s director for México and Latin America said that the plant would produce a car “able to run up to 200 km/h (130 mph), which can be recharged in 10 minutes.” Mr. Lorden also envisioned a future network of fast recharging stations powered from different sources of energy, which could make gasoline redundant. We’ll see if this plant can help us decipher at all the recent changes in Phoenix’s motor of choice for their all-electric SUT.
[Source: Intolerancia Diario]
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VIDEO: Water fight for water emitting car, first ad for the Honda FCX Clarity
admin @ 2007-11-19 20:52:14 | Filed under: General | No Comment:(
Seemingly only moments after unveiling the 2009 Honda FCX Clarity at the LA Auto Show last week, Honda began running a commercial featuring the first series production fuel cell car. Given that the only thing emitted from the Clarity is water, it seems fitting that the ad features a highly choreographed water fight in the mold of a typical Hollywood blockbuster. The premise is that replacing flying lead with streams of water is analogous to replacing CO2 and other pollutants with water vapor. Given the extremely limited availability of the Clarity when it becomes available next summer, this is clearly more of an image ad for Honda than promotion for the car itself. See also GM’s ads featuring the Volt.
[Source: YouTube]
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Flexcar partners with MARTA in Atlanta
admin @ 2007-11-19 20:28:38 | Filed under: General | No Comment:(
Filed under: Transportation Alternatives, Green Daily
I haven’t spent a whole lot of time driving in Atlanta, but I’ve done enough to know that the city’s highways can be a true nightmare. Wide roads that feel about 18 lanes across and all of them full of traffic. The crazy speeds some people drive there is enough to cause some folks to do “civil obedience” and drive at the 55 mph speed limit. So, for those of you near Atlanta who are sick of driving and have been wanting to give up driving a car most of the time, Flexcar and MARTA would like to speak with you.
The car-sharing service and the Atlanta area public transportation system have teamed up and are now offering almost 40 Flexcars parked at or near a dozen MARTA stations (there are about 100 Flexcars throughout Atlanta). There is also a new Flexcar driving credit available for MARTA users. If anyone in Atlanta want to chime in on the practicality of the stations where the cars are offered, that’d be nice. From the map above, there seems to be a NE bias to the Flexcar-MARTA locations. Does that work for a lot of people?
[Source: Flexcar]
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Nissan Tiida already on sale in Europe
admin @ 2007-11-19 20:11:44 | Filed under: General | No Comment:(
Filed under: Diesel, MPG, Nissan
Nissan has finally started selling the Tiida in Europe, the car Americans know as the Versa, and there are only a few changes between the two (aside from the name) in the engine bay.
Although Nissan has not announced performance and CO2 figures (nor if it’s got a diesel particullate filter or which Euro emissions tier it fits in), the Tiida can be chosen with three different engines:
- 1.6 liter gasoline: 110 HP and 152 Nm torque (112 lb/ft). With manual 5 speed or Automatic 4 speed
- 1.8 liter gasoline: 126 HP and 168 Nm torque (124 lb/ft). Only manual 6 speed.
- 1.5 liter diesel: 105 HP and 240 Nm torque (177lb/ft). Only manual 6 speed.
Pricing (at least for Spain) starts at 15,200 EUR and goes up to 24,400 EUR, depending on trim level and optional equipment.
Gallery: Nissan Tiida
[Source: Nissan]
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