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BMW i3 with F1 Technology [VIDEO]

BMW i3 is one of many cars that now come equipped with F1 technology. The carbon fibre reinforced plastic (CFRP) Monocoque is used to reduce weight and ensure road safety.

The extensive use of carbon fibre keeps the curb weight down to 1,195 kg which is much lower then either a Nissan Leaf (1,500 kg) or a plug-in hybrid like the Chevy Volt (1,700 kg).

When combined with the i3's 125 kW BLDC electric motor, which is more powerful than either the Leaf (80 kW) or the Volt (110 kW), the result is a 0-100 km/h time of 7 seconds.

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Toyota i-ROAD: Tokyo Trials [VIDEO]

Toyota's i-ROAD compact electric personal mobility vehicle takes to the streets in Japan's capital.

Participants in the limited public trials share their feedback on the ultra-compact, fun to drive i-ROAD, which is available in five colors.

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Nissan Leaf Replacement Battery Priced At $5,499

The Nissan Leaf has been on the market since 2010, so there’s a good chance that some of them are getting close to 60,000 miles. This is important because it’s when the 5 years/60,000 miles capacity loss warranty expires. Nissan has announced that pricing for a replacement battery start at $5,499.

As an EV battery pack is defined as 'used' once it's capacity reduces to approx 80% Nissan have developed a new business model to create a market for 'used' Leaf battery packs. The old battery must be exchanged for the new battery as a condition of the sale of the replacement battery, and Nissan’s suggested retail battery pricing reflects a $1,000 core value assigned to the battery. Nissan will ensure that the old battery is recycled and reused as part of their 4R Energy business.

Nissan and Sumitomo Corporation created the joint venture company, “4R Energy Corporation”, in September 2010, to address the secondary use of EV lithium-ion batteries. Earlier this year they launched the world’s first large-scale power storage system which utilizes used batteries collected from electric vehicles.

The used EV batteries that will be recycled into this large-scale storage system have been recovered and have gone through thorough inspection and maintenance at 4R, to confirm safety and performance. The prototype system (600kW/400kWh) consists of sixteen used EV batteries.

The $5,499 price is just for the battery, and that doesn’t include taxes or dealer installation. Owners of the 2011 and 2012 Nissan Leaf will also need to pay $225 for an installation kit that allows the newer battery design to fit into the older models.

Nissan will offer financing options to customers who need to replace their battery. Details about this financing probably won’t be finalized until closer to the end of the year, but Nissan expects to keep monthly payments close to $100 per month.

Like the batteries found in a new Nissan Leaf, the replacement batteries will carry an eight-year/100,000-mile warranty against defects and a five-year/60,000-mile against capacity loss.

Check out the official statement from Nissan spokesman Brian Brockman available below, or head on over to the My Nissan Leaf forum to read more.

Source: AutoblogGreen

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Audi plans plug-in hybrid offensive

Audi plans to launch at least four plug-in hybrid cars as it bets on the technology to counter rival BMW's electric car offensive.

Audi will roll out the A3 Sportback E-tron, its first plug-in hybrid, in Europe this month. U.S. sales are expected to begin in the second or third quarter of 2015, while China deliveries will start in the first or second quarter of next year.

The model will compete with cars such as the battery-powered BMW i3 in a bid to win customers looking for environmentally friendly vehicles.

Audi CEO Rupert Stadler said today the A3 Sportback E-tron will be followed by other plug-in hybrids.

"We strongly believe in plug-in hybrids and we will add a new model each year, beginning with the Q7 next year, followed by the A6 long-wheelbase sedan for China and the A8," Stadler said on the sidelines of the A3 Sportback E-tron's introduction here.

Audi believes plug-in hybrids are the best solution for low-emission vehicles because they don't face the same range constraints as battery-powered vehicles. Plug-in hybrids use a conventional internal combustion engine but can also run on electric power with zero emissions.

“Plug-in hybrids are electric vehicles for everyday driving, exactly what our customers are asking for,” Stadler said.

The A3 Sportback E-tron can be driven under electric power for about 30 miles. Using the gasoline engine, it has a 373-mile range. BMW's i3 has a driving range of up to 100 miles, rising to about 187 miles for the version with a range extender.

Audi’s approach to clean-car technology diverges from the path taken by BMW, which created the “i” subbrand to showcase its environmental technology. The i3 city car and the plug-in hybrid i8 supercar have plastic exterior body panels and distinctive styling to make them stand out from other cars on the road.

“BMW created a product that is totally different,” while Audi as well as Mercedes-Benz “try to integrate e-mobility into their existing vehicles,” said Christian Breitsprecher, a Frankfurt-based analyst with Macquarie Europe. The advantage for Audi and Mercedes is “if there’s lots of demand, they can produce a lot. If not, they can allocate the capacity to their normal cars.”

Stadler said he could not give a figure for how may plug-in hybrids Audi will sell. "Plug-in hybrids could account for 10 percent to 20 percent, even 40 percent of the 2 million units we plan to build annually by 2020. It will be our customers who decide, and we are ready to satisfy their demand,” he said.

“Plug-in hybrids are fully integrated in our platforms and production process, so we are beginning with the A3 E-tron in Germany, but the same technology could be applied to the production lines we have in China and in Mexico,” Stadler added.

Extra cost

Audi's approach may keep spending under control, but the question is whether customers will pay the extra cost for technology that’s not evident from the curbside.

The A3 Sportback E-tron looks identical to its conventional A3 counterpart and starts at 37,900 euros ($51,700) in Germany. That’s 15,100 euros more than the base gasoline-powered version of the A3.

Hiding its green technology under the hood could be a risk for Audi. Inroads by electric-car maker Tesla Motors into the luxury-car segment show that wealthy drivers are ready to buy upscale green cars, if they get noticed. That goes for the BMW i3 as well. Demand for the car prompted BMW to triple production of carbon fiber, which is used for the passenger compartment.

“In an i3 and the Tesla, the attributes of luxury, modern technology and protecting the environment are clearly visible to everyone,” Breitsprecher said. The Audi plug-in “doesn’t show off that the consumer paid extra.”

Still, the threat for Audi is more to its image as a technology leader, with demand for plug-in hybrids and electric vehicles expected to remain restrained. The segment is forecast to account for just 5.7 percent of global auto production in 2019, according to IHS Automotive.

In Germany, Audi is selling the A3 Sportback E-tron via a network of 100 selected dealerships where service employees have been trained to work with high-voltage technology. The E-tron dealerships have an electric charging station that customers can use free of charge during business hours.

The A3 E-tron has a 150 hp 1.4-liter direct injection turbo gasoline engine and a 102 hp electric motor housed within the six-speed dual clutch transmission. As the two power sources never work together at full force, combined system power is 204 hp, Audi said. Top speed is 137 mph in hybrid mode and 80 mph in pure electric mode.

Audi said it takes about 3 hours and 45 minutes to fully recharge the lithium ion 8.8 kWh battery from a 200 volt household outlet. With an industrial 380 volt charging station, recharging time decreases to 2 hours and 15 minutes, the company said.

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Driving Tesla Model S P85 on German autobahn [VIDEO]

Norwegian Tesla owner Bjørn Nyland has uploaded a video demonstrating his Model S at Autobahn speeds.

A Tesla Model S P85 driven at it's maximum speed of 210 km/h (130 mph) has an estimated range of 154 kms (96 Miles)

Having recently returned from Munich I can vouch for the fact that driving at 160 km/h (100 mph) in the fast lane is considered slow, they really do drive at 200 km/h routinely on unlimited sections, yet the road toll is actually lower than in many other countries (including Australia).

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Continental introduce tire optimized for hybrids [VIDEO]

Continental has taken the Conti.eContact that was originally launched in 2011 with electric vehicles in mind and refined it to meet the needs of hybrid models. Thanks to the introduction of numerous new technologies and processes, this new and extensively hand-crafted summer tire is the first from Continental to obtain the top A rating on the EU Tire Label for both wet grip and rolling resistance, while making no significant compromises in terms of the many other performance parameters.

With immediate effect Continental is offering the Conti.eContact in six sizes for 17 and 18-inch rims, specially designed for models such as the Opel Ampera, BMW 5 ActiveHybrid, Lexus LS 600h and Porsche Cayenne S Hybrid, as well as other cars and SUVs with hybrid drive. Given that this is a new vehicle segment that also involves highly complex production processes, Continental is kicking off with low-volume production at its French tire plant in Sarreguemines.

The rolling resistance of the new Conti.eContact for hybrid vehicles is some 20 percent lower than in a conventional tire, while delivering a wet braking performance similar to that of a normal car tire. This is made possible by a combination of advanced technologies in the development, compounding and production sectors. In terms of handling and braking on dry roads, the tire performs at the same high level as a Continental sedan tire of comparable size. As a member of the Continental tire family for hybrid and electric vehicles, the Conti.eContact bears the “BlueEco” logo on the sidewall. Continental’s in-house studies point to incremental growth in the proportion of hybrid vehicles in the passenger car segment, which could account for as much as eight percent by 2020.

Green Chili compound
Featuring the newly developed Green Chili compound, the silica compound of the new Conti.eContact for hybrid vehicles is made up in such a way that the internal friction of the filler particles and the polymers is lower than in conventional rubber compounds. The use of special additives provides an additional boost in terms of handling properties. With this new compound, the chemists at Continental have achieved a marked reduction in rolling resistance, while maintaining a high level of handling and braking performance on dry roads.

Hydro-sipes

On wet roads the specially configured twin sipes in the tread blocks generate a ‘windshield wiper’ effect that breaks up the film of water under the contact patch. This smart thinking by the tread designers at Continental enables the water between the surface of the tread blocks and the road to be rapidly dispersed, making for very short stopping distances in the wet. The fast dispersion of the water also benefits the tire’s wet handling – even at higher speeds. The tread design makes a valuable contribution to the short stopping distances in the wet that led to the Conti.eContact’s A rating for wet grip on the EU Tire Label.

AeroFlex technologyAlong with the new technologies adopted for the compound and tread design, the sidewalls of the new Conti.eContact have also been redesigned. In this case the tire designers focused on minimizing aerodynamic drag and rolling resistance. This they achieved through the aerodynamically modified sidewall and its flexible, lightweight design. As a result, in the new Conti.eContact less energy is lost when the tire deflects and rebounds than in a conventional tire. In addition, the drop in turbulence has led to a further reduction in the tire’s contribution to fuel consumption.

ContiSilent

When hybrid vehicles run in electric mode they are virtually silent. As tire noise is no longer drowned out by other sources of noise such as a conventional engine, it is all the more noticeable. Consequently, the new Conti.eContact is designed to generate minimum audible noise in the vehicle interior. This is achieved with the aid of ContiSilent technology. A thin layer of polyurethane foam attached to the inside of the tread reduces the vibrations that are generated as the tire rolls along the road. This means that less vibration is communicated to the chassis, leading to a lower level of noise in the cabin.

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Outlander PHEV to Tackle Asia Cross Country Rally 2014

Mitsubishi Motors Corporation (MMC) announces that it will dispatch a team of technical support engineers for an Outlander PHEV entered in the T1.3 4x4 Electric class of the grueling 2,200km FIA-certified Asia Cross Country Rally 2014 (AXCR) from August 9 through 15, to be run from Thailand to Cambodia. The Two & Four Motor Sports rally team (Two & Four), headed by Kenji Ishida, will run an Outlander PHEV in the race for the second straight year. MMC engineers will provide Two & Four's team technical support for the plug-in hybrid four-wheel drive SUV for the duration of the rally. MMC will utilize valuable data and knowhow acquired by the technical support team in future vehicle development.

The 19th edition of the AXCR will get under way with the Ceremonial Start in the Thai beach resort of Pattaya on Saturday August 9. The next day, August 10, sees the start of the rally proper as Leg 1 takes entrants from Pattaya to Sakaeo. On August 12, Leg 3 of the rally takes the competitors into Cambodia and past the World Heritage site of Angkor Wat. The event finishes in the Cambodian capital of Phnom Penh on Friday August 15. The AXCR covers a total distance of 2,200 km and offers a grueling test of all-terrain performance and durability as it requires competitors to conquer mountains, forests, swamps and river crossings.

The Outlander PHEV rally car will use competition suspension and reinforced mountings to raise ground clearance and improve all-terrain performance over poor surfaces. The vehicle's S-AWC integrated vehicle dynamics control system will be tuned for competition use to deliver better traction. Other modifications include the fitting of a roll cage and underbody skid plate, the use of lighter engine hood, rear gate and interior parts, and additional sealing and a snorkel for water crossings.