Charged with Electric Vehicle News and Views
ICE fans love the vicious sounds, smells and excitement of combustion cars. But can they learn to love electric cars the same way?
Follow these five steps. With Mike Prichinello and Zac Moseley from the Classic Car Club Manhattan.
It's good to see Bloomberg reporter Matt Miller talking UP Tesla stock for a change.
We've previously posted video of Miller trying to make a case that BMW and Audi are going to squeeze out Tesla at the top-end of the market, but the analysis was fairly poor.
The Telegraph takes the range extended BMW i3 for a test drive in some typically wet English countryside.
Business Insider's Alex Davies compares the Chevy Volt to the Tesla Model S and gives a very brief non-technical summary.
The Colombian capital of Bogota has rolled out a fleet of electric taxis, made by Chinese automobile company BYD.
It is the largest such fleet in South America, and is designed to improve the city’s air quality and reduce pollution. But there are some challenges in maintaining these eco-friendly vehicles. CNN's Nick Parker takes a ride.
CNET's Brian Cooley takes a test drive in the BMW i3.
Autocar road tester Steve Sutcliffe drives the £650,000 Porsche 918 Spyder Plug-In Hybrid Supercar and compares it's performance stats to a Bugatti Veyron Super Sport saying up to 190 mph the 918 is quicker.
Source: Autocar.co.uk
Volkswagen has opened order books in the UK for the new all-electric VW e-Up, pricing the model from £19,250. That figure includes a £5000 government grant.
The e-up! is powered by a 60 kw electric motor with maximum torque of 210 Newton meters is available immediately with the first revolution. It accelerates from 0 to 100 km/h within 14 seconds and reaches a top speed of 135 km/h.
The lithium-ion battery integrated in the underfloor area has a total energy storage capacity of 18.7 Kilowatt-hours (kWh); this means that the car can cover up to 150 km (per NEDC) on a single charge thanks to its low vehicle weight of 1,185 kg.
Deliveries of the first e-Ups are expected from February. A three-year warranty is standard, which can be extended up to five years. The battery warranty is eight years / 100,000 miles.
Mahindra Racing will join the inaugural FIA Formula E Championship beginning in September 2014. The motor sports division of the Mumbai-based USD 16.2 billion multinational Mahindra Group has signed an agreement with series promoters Formula E Holdings to become the eighth and only Indian team to join the new zero emission series.
The innovative all-electric global race series will include 10 races in its first season in city-centre locations around the world, including London, Beijing and Los Angeles, designed to raise awareness about electric vehicles as well as help advance EV technology.
The series has generated significant interest globally, and professional services firm EY recently released a report forecasting that Formula E will help contribute to the additional sale of 77 million electric vehicles worldwide over the next 25 years.
Already a major global force in the development and production of electric vehicles through Mahindra Reva it was a natural step forward for the Mahindra Group to join the Formula E Championship.
“We strongly believe that Formula E can provide an excellent global showcase for our electric vehicle technology,” said Mr Anand Mahindra, Chairman and Managing Director of Mahindra Group. “With advanced operations and expertise in electronics, IT, automotive technologies and manufacturing, we are already seeing the fusion of this technology into our electric vehicle operations. Racing will further accelerate that trend while Formula E is set to raise awareness globally about the benefits of electric vehicles.”
With Mahindra’s participation confirmed, Formula E is guaranteed to start with at least eight teams coming from seven different nations. GP2 team DAMS has confirmed its entry (the delightfully-named e.dams) as well as ex-Formula One team Super Aguri.
The driver line-ups are yet to be confirmed, but former F1 drivers Lucas di Grassi and Karun Chandhok are widely expected to secure a seat. Also, IndyCar’s Takuma Sato is also thought to be set to join Super Aguri, but he will be hoping that this partnership is far more fruitful than their time together in F1.
Nissan has carried out the first public road test of Autonomous Drive on a Japanese highway. A Nissan LEAF electric vehicle equipped with the revolutionary technology took to the Sagami Expressway in Kanagawa prefecture, southwest of Tokyo, with the prefecture's Governor, Yuji Kuroiwa, and Nissan Vice Chairman Toshiyuki Shiga, on board. The vehicle operated fully automatically on the highway. Journalists witnessed the tests and later had the opportunity to experience the car on the highway themselves.
"Nissan seeks a safer, more comfortable and environmentally friendly mobile future," said Shiga, vice chairman of Nissan. "Through these tests on an expressway, we hope to further advance our technological development, with the goal of soon implementing Autonomous Drive vehicles. When starting a new project, serious effort is required to gain an understanding of all the variables involved. We were able to conduct this important testing on the Sagami Expressway thanks to the strong support from Kanagawa Prefecture."
The milestone event in the development of next-generation mobility was carried out with the cooperation of Kanagawa Prefecture. It took place near the "Sagami Robot Industry Special Zone," an area that is being revitalized with the help of the local government. Projects include the development of life-assist robots, which are equipped with sensors, artificial intelligence, and control systems. The public road test conducted in the special zone will help Nissan to develop Autonomous Drive towards its goal of being ready with commercially viable vehicles by 2020.
The Nissan LEAF used on the public road testing was the first vehicle with Autonomous Drive capability to be granted a license plate in Japan last September. Nissan's prototypes are equipped with Autonomous Drive technology that detects road conditions and automatically operates the car's main controls, including steering, braking and acceleration. The vehicles can operate in full automatic mode on the expressway, merge into traffic, change lanes and maintain a safe distance from other vehicles.
