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Posted by Alex Bale
Tuesday, February 26, 2013
This is, arguably, the least practical of the current crop of high-end electric cars, but we don't really care.
Gullwings,
SLS AMG looks, a hot electric blue exterior, and up to 155 miles of all-electric driving range? Sign us up. The SLS AMG Coupe Electric Drive is a winner.
Also, for once, we're not really bummed they put music over the sound the car driving--because it's nearly silent.
Of course, we'd rather have the snarling, awesome 6.2-liter V-8 in the 2013 SLS AMG GT, but we wouldn't kick this one out of bed for eating electrons.
Articles Source : Motorauthority
Posted by Alex Bale
Thursday, January 31, 2013
Using an electric taxi has saved taxi driver, Padraig Daly, approximately €6,500 over the last 18 months. The 100% electric Nissan LEAF which has been part of a trial between ESB ecars and National Radio Cabs (NRC) and has clocked up over 55,000km. The trial, to evaluate electric vehicles as part of the taxi industry, has been deemed so successful that it will be extended for another year.
Analysis shows that savings of up to 12.9 cent per km can be achieved by driving an electric vehicle, powered by night rate electricity, in comparison with a conventional car. For 55,000km, this would equate to fuel savings of over €6,500 and a net reduction in over four tonnes of CO2 emissions.
In addition to the fuel and emission savings, electric vehicles also benefit by availing of a government grant of up to €5,000 on the purchase price, qualifying for the lowest band of road tax (€120 per annum), and from significantly lower maintenance and service costs. Over the 18 months, services costs experienced by the e-Taxi were minimal.
The ecar can be re-charged at night at the taxi driver’s home through a dedicated home charge-point, allowing him to avail of low night rate electricity tariffs. He can also easily charge during the day at any of the on-street charge-points around Dublin city which have been installed by ESB.
Manager of ESB ecars, Dermot McArdle said: “Ireland's first e-Taxi trial has been a huge success and we are delighted in conjunction with our partners, NRC Taxis, to extend it by another year. The long term trial in a real life environment endorses the suitability of Electric Vehicles as both taxis and for the general public. To support electric vehicles, ESB is continuing to roll out a growing network of public charging infrastructure. In Dublin alone, there are over 120 public charge-points including ten fast chargers.”
“The e-Taxi has proved really popular with passengers,” said Padraig Daly of NRC Taxis. “Most are pleasantly surprised at how well it performs in comparison to petrol-or diesel-fuelled cars, and how quiet it is,” he said.
Liam Brady, Managing Director of NRC Taxis said: "NRC Taxis are honoured to be associated with the ESB and the e-Taxi over the past two years. It has been enlightening for us, as a company, to engage with such an initiative; which not only is good for the environment but also beneficial as a cost saving measure in running a taxi. We would expect more drivers to take up the electric option in the coming years and NRC look forward to being a part of that e-Taxi future."
Posted by Alex Bale
Tuesday, January 29, 2013
Generally, the accepted wisdom on useable fuel cell vehicles is that they are always 15 years away. It has been that way for almost as long as anyone can remember, and while the zero-emissions technology is certainly alluring, the investment and technology needed to make it palatable to customers always seems to be just out of reach.That could be about to change though, following an alliance between Renault-Nissan, Mercedes and Ford to jointly share development of future fuel cell systems. Mercedes has already committed to having fuel cell cars on sale to the public by 2015 and last year, a trio of fuel-cell powered B-Classes managed a complete round-the-world trip to prove the reliability of the technology.
A fuel cell is a relatively simple thing, and they've been around for more than a century. By chemically combining hydrogen and oxygen to produce water, they generate an electrical current and the only emission at the tailpipe is water vapour. Simple and brilliant, but making them work in a car has proven difficult, and the arguments over creating a hydrogen refueling infrastructure still rage.
“Fuel cell electric vehicles are the obvious next step to complement today's battery electric vehicles as our industry embraces more sustainable transportation,” said Mitsuhiko Yamashita, Member of the Board of Directors and Executive Vice President of Nissan Motor Co., Ltd., supervising Research and Development. “We look forward to a future where we can answer many customer needs by adding FCEVs on top of battery EVs within the zero-emission lineup.
“We are convinced that fuel cell vehicles will play a central role for zero-emission mobility in the future. Thanks to the high commitment of all three partners we can put fuel cell e-mobility on a broader basis. This means with this cooperation we will make this technology available for many customers around the globe,” said Prof. Thomas Weber, Member of the Board of Management of Daimler AG, Group Research & Mercedes-Benz Cars Development.
“Working together will significantly help speed this technology to market at a more affordable cost to our customers,” said Raj Nair, group vice president, Global Product Development, Ford Motor Company. “We will all benefit from this relationship as the resulting solution will be better than any one company working alone.”
Engineering work on both the fuel cell stack and the fuel cell system will be done jointly by the three companies at several locations around the world. The partners are also studying the joint development of other FCEV components to generate even further synergies.
Posted by Alex Bale
Tuesday, January 22, 2013
Porsche's 918 Spyder supercar, which claims to offer the performance of a true road-racer with the emissions of a Prius, has officially gone on sale... but only in the US for now. We Europeans will have to wait just a little longer for a price tag for our dream car.
And the price tag for American Porsche-philes? $845, 000, or around €634,000, and yes, that's before taxes, delivery and related charges. Wow. Time to start a Post Office savings account, chaps...
Of course, this being a German car, that $845k is just the starting point. There are extras...
If you want the track-focused 'Weissach Pack' which lowers the car's weight by around 34kg, you're going to have to find $929,000 down the back of the sofa. And things like those retro-seventies Martini racing stripes will cost a wee bit more too.
Still, with a reported output of 729bhp and a plug-in hybrid transmission that allows you to cruise around town in silent, zero-emissions mode, perhaps knocking on for a million dollars is cheap at the price, really.
Posted by Alex Bale
Wednesday, January 9, 2013
Electric vehicles are set to lose one of their most distinctive features this year, as a new US law compels them to make noise at low speeds.In spite of the slience that mass electric motoring could potentially bring to our cities and towns, US lawmakers have decided that all electric and hybrid cars must emit an automatic warning sound at low speeds so that blind or partially sighted pedestrians don't walk out in front of them.The move is set to prevent 2,800 injuries and as many as 35 deaths per year.Currently, the Toyota Prius is designed to automatically emit a low whirring noise at low speeds (below 25kmh) and the Nissan Leaf has a similar system that works at the drivers' discretion. From this year though, all similar cars will have to have a system that works automatically, without driver intervention or choice. The proposed law is being introduced by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration."Our proposal would allow manufacturers the flexibility to design different sounds for different makes and models while still providing an opportunity for pedestrians, bicyclists and the visually impaired to detect and recognize a vehicle", said NHTSA Administrator David Strickland.
