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Amp opens first dealership in Cincinnati

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Amp, the Ohio-based maker of battery-electric SUVs, has opened its first dealership in Cincinnati and said first deliveries would start by year end.

Amp of Cincinnati opened last week and showed off both its Jeep Grand Cherokee- and Mercedes-Benz ML350-based battery-electric vehicles. The dealership has started taking $5,000 deposits for the SUVs, which Amp says have a single-charge range of as many as 125 miles. Amp said in March that its SUVs qualified for the $7,500 tax credit from the IRS. That month, the company also said it reached an agreement to sell its SUVs in the Caribbean.

The company in January said the Jeep-based Amp would be priced at $57,400, bringing the out of pocket price just under $50,000.

Continue reading Amp opens first dealership in Cincinnati

Amp opens first dealership in Cincinnati originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Sat, 19 May 2012 16:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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GM says the Volt has saved a supertanker of gas

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Chevy Volt

That's one small step for man, and one less really big barge full of fuel for mankind.

That's basically what General Motors' Chevrolet division is saying in its latest effort to pitch the Volt extended-range plug-in as a way for prospective drivers to save both money and the earth.

Chevrolet estimates that Volt drivers have saved more than 2.1 million gallons of gas - or one supertanker - by driving their vehicles in electric mode. Since the model launched in late 2010, Volt drivers, who, on average, use electricity 60 percent of the time and fuel from the car's on-board generator the rest of the time, have put on 40 million electric-only miles on the car, saving a combined $8 million in unused gasoline the process.

While the Volt fell about 2,300 units short of Chevy's goal to sell 10,000 units last year, 2012 sales through April tripled from a year earlier to 5,377 units. We anxiously await Nissan's own claim on how many fleets worth of gas its Leaf drivers have saved...

Continue reading GM says the Volt has saved a supertanker of gas

GM says the Volt has saved a supertanker of gas originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Sat, 19 May 2012 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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EVS: Utah State University quietly working on in-road wireless charging

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utah state university wireless charging

If you had to name one of the biggest game-change moments that the electric vehicle could bring to the world, try this one:

Every prior attempt to electrify the car has assumed the vehicle would be the energy carrier. By comparison, the grid is much more efficient at moving energy from point A to point B, so if you can make dynamic charging safe and affordable, you are truly introducing something new.

That's the vision of Jeff Muhs, director of Strategy and Business Development for Utah State University's Energy Dynamics Laboratory (EDL), whom we spoke with at the 26th Electric Vehicle Symposium (EVS26) in Los Angeles recently. Dynamic charging is another way to say charging while a vehicle is moving by using in-road wireless charging units, something that USU has been working on for a while.

Most people believe that in-motion charging is inevitable.

For now, USU is focusing on stationary wireless charging and will launch an electric bus route later this summer in Salt Lake City at the University of Utah campus. The electric bus will travel along a mile-and-a-half route, stopping at either end for a few minutes to charge up. Using a bus at this stage makes sense as a way to test the technology because it's big, it travels along a fixed route and there is recharge time built into the schedule. An electric bus also helps reduce noise and emissions on campus, which is something the university wanted. USU's wireless charging team is also working on improving the space tolerance (making the charger work even if things are not perfectly aligned), the power levels (systems that are 20-50 kW instead of just 5-10 kW) and efficiencies.

Continue reading EVS: Utah State University quietly working on in-road wireless charging

EVS: Utah State University quietly working on in-road wireless charging originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Fri, 18 May 2012 19:48:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Mitsubishi previews bonkers i-MiEV Evolution for Pikes Peak

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Mitsubishi i-MiEV Evolution - front three-quarter view

No, that's not a Mitsubishi i-MiEV in a fat suit, it's the automaker's brand-new all-electric race car, and it's set to take on the 2012 Pike's Peak International Hill Climb in July. This isn't the first time we've seen an EV enter the Pike's Peak challenge - Nissan commissioned a Leaf for battle last year, a car that set the bar for all future electric racers.

Mitsubishi says that its race car, dubbed i-MiEV Evolution, uses the same motor, drive battery and other major components as the standard, bean-shaped electric car that we haven't quite grown to love. Aside from the additional bodywork, the chassis has clearly been lengthened and widened, and the race car now uses an all-wheel-drive configuration rather than the rear-wheel drive of the standard i-MiEV.

To give you an idea of just how big the racer is, a quick glance of Mitsubishi's specs show that the i-MiEV Evolution's dimensions are within a few inches of the stock Lancer Evolution. We wouldn't be surprised if the all-wheel-drive system was sourced from the Lancer, as well.

Mitsubishi will also be bringing two more of its EVs to the Pike's Peak event, including an i that has been updated with a more aerodynamic front bumper and new safety equipment, as well as a bone stock model. Scroll down for the official press blast.

Continue reading Mitsubishi previews bonkers i-MiEV Evolution for Pikes Peak

Mitsubishi previews bonkers i-MiEV Evolution for Pikes Peak originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Fri, 18 May 2012 18:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Automaker-backed study sounds the alarm against E15

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No E15 gas cap

Another day, another opinion on the feasibility of E15.

This time, a group called the Coordinating Research Council released a study saying that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's decision to push for allowing gas with a 15-percent ethanol blend (aka E15) to be sold to the general public for newer cars may have been a bad one because of potentially harmful effect the fuel may have on older vehicles, the New York Times reports.

E15 may compromise the durability of the engines of most of the cars on the road because automakers didn't design the vehicles to run on E15, which has 50% more ethanol than the current maximum of a 10-percent ethanol blend (i.e. E10), the group says.

Of course, Coordinating Research Council is backed by - wait for it - eight automakers as well as the American Petroleum Institute (API), according to the Times. The automakers have long pushed to delay E15 approval because of engine durability concerns while the API represents a petroleum industry whose demand is inversely related to how much ethanol's being used in light-duty vehicles.

With that in mind, Patrick B. Davis, an Energy Department program manager specializing in vehicle testing, said in a blog post that the new study is "flawed" in part because the study didn't involve the testing of E10's impact on engines. Renewable Fuels Association CEO Bob Dinneen called the report "junk science."

The EPA in April approved the first applications to make E15 amid protests from automakers and recreation vehicle makers that have claimed that the higher alcohol content may damage engines and fuel systems. The government has gone back and forth on the issue, both pushing for higher ethanol production levels to cut foreign-oil dependence while last year terminating a 30-year tax subsidy on corn-based ethanol.

Recently, The Auto Channel reported that researchers at University of Wisconsin and Iowa State University estimated that ethanol production cut the average cost of fuel last year by $1.09 a gallon because of lower ethanol prices and broader use of fuels such as E10.

Automaker-backed study sounds the alarm against E15 originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Fri, 18 May 2012 16:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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NHTSA launches inquiry into Fisker Karma garage fire

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Fisker Karma

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has launched a formal field inquiry into the garage fire that may or may not have been started by a Fisker Karma sedan, Bloomberg reports. The conflagration, which destroyed the Karma, the garage and a few nearby vehicles, took place on May 3rd in Sugarland, Texas.

Claude Harris, NHTSA's director of vehicle safety compliance, said that the investigation is "ongoing," adding that "no determination has been made at this time." Until an official cause is isolated, we're betting there will be a good bit of he-said, she-said finger pointing in all directions...

It's worth noting that NHTSA has also been actively investigating the safety of battery packs used in the Chevrolet Volt after reports of fires in the wild and after NHTSA's own crash testing procedures.

NHTSA launches inquiry into Fisker Karma garage fire originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Fri, 18 May 2012 14:05:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ethanol production shaved $1.09 a gallon off of last year's gas prices

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ethanol pump

If you thought last year was a bad one at the gas pump, it could've been worse. That's what one report partially funded by ethanol advocate Renewable Fuels Association says.

U.S. ethanol production actually cut wholesale gas prices by $1.09 a gallon last year because of relatively lower ethanol prices and the greater use of ethanol blends, The Auto Channel said, citing a PDF report written by researchers at University of Wisconsin and Iowa State University for Iowa State's Center for Agricultural and Rural Development.

Ethanol production cut the typical U.S. household's spending on gas by more than $1,200 last year and by an average of $340 a year since 2000, according to the report.

Ethanol advocates have been pushing for blends with a higher percentage of ethanol as a way to cut both gas costs and dependency on foreign oil, while opponents have decried subsidies given to ethanol producers. Late last year, Congress ended a three-decade tax subsidy for the corn-based ethanol, which was reported to have received $45 billion in subsidies since 1980.

Ethanol production shaved $1.09 a gallon off of last year's gas prices originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Fri, 18 May 2012 11:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Neal Saiki claims battery breakthrough gives more range, costs less

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Computer render of battery pack design

Engineering challenges are like a siren's call to Neal Saiki. Since leaving Zero Motorcycles in early 2011, the company he co-founded with his wife Lisa, he's spent lots of time and effort wrestling with the human-powered helicopter conumdrum. As engaging as that might be, however, he still hasn't been able to keep himself from considering how to build a better electric motorcycle; work that has, it seems, proved slightly less Sisyphean as he has just announced a pretty cool battery pack breakthrough.

His approach tackles the big battery drawbacks of cost and energy capacity head on by employing the same "18650" cylindrical cells that Tesla Motors so successfully uses. Then, to get around the labor intensive connection method of welding thin strips of nickel to each one, he has devised a way to mechanically connect the cells with enough pressure to keep the current dependably flowing through them.

This configuration makes it easy to replace a single cell if it goes bad - each one is thermally monitored for signs of failure - and also makes it super easy to upgrade when new, better cells become available. What's not to like?

Saiki calculates a 200-pound pack will hold a nominal 16.1 kWh of energy using 1440 individual cells. That, he says, should provide for a real-world, driving-down-the-highway, 100-mile range. By contrast, the "100-mile" bikes by Zero Motorcycles and Brammo hold around nine kWhs.

The system can also be adapted to four-wheeled vehicles. In that application, the pack would be arranged as a three-inch thick plate holding 26.6 kWh of energy per square meter (22.2 kWh per square yard). It's too soon to say whether or when the pack will be commercially available. Saiki's new company, NTS Works, is currently looking to work with "select OEM's on custom battery pack design and licensing." Scroll down below for the official press release for more details.

Continue reading Neal Saiki claims battery breakthrough gives more range, costs less

Neal Saiki claims battery breakthrough gives more range, costs less originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Fri, 18 May 2012 09:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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EEStor and ZENN still alive and kicking... out the press releases

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Zenn Motor Company, the former purveyor of a neighborhood electric vehicle (NEV), and Eestor, the eternal purveyor of promises of a supercapacitor-based energy storage unit, have managed to defy at least one of the predictions hurled their way. The two intertwined companies have survived.

Despite the loss of its CEO a year ago, Zenn has been idling along, putting out mundane press releases about its financial maneuverings. Eestor, as is its custom, has remained mostly quiet. Until now. Both companies have issued announcements that are sure to excite the handful of people who still believe they will achieve the energy storage breakthrough that we first heard about in 2006.

Zenn's missive is mostly about a doubling sextupling down on its Eestor relationship, upping the ante to $30.5 million and receiving, in return, all rights to supply eventual energy-storing product regardless of territory or vehicle type.

For its part, the Eestor statement concerns technological developments. Apparently, the company has now successfully manufactured 20 micron-thick voidless squares of material capable of handling more than 3,500 volts that have "a dc resistance of greater than 700 terra ohms" (mmm... terra ohms... mmm). While this obviously sounds very impressive, the company warns that the aforementioned layers "do not yet achieve the level of permittivity necessary for commercial production." They are working on that though.

For all the pertinent details, you can check out both official press releases by scrolling down below.

Continue reading EEStor and ZENN still alive and kicking... out the press releases

EEStor and ZENN still alive and kicking... out the press releases originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Fri, 18 May 2012 07:55:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Nissan Leaf ensures high-quality whisky from Isle of Islay

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Nissan Leaf Scotch whisky

The Bruichladdich Distillery has been making artisan single malt Scotch whisky since 1881 on the Isle of Islay in the UK. As the southernmost island of the Inner Hebrides of Scotland, you may not expect the island's 620 square kilometers (239 square miles) to be the ideal habitat for electric cars.

Apparently, though, the Nissan Leaf works out quite well for Mark Reynier, managing director at the distillery. The island's inhabitants are also benefited, says Reynier, by Nissan's Power Control System, which allows the Leaf's high-capacity lithium ion battery to power other devices - important when a single storm can completely cut the island's link to the outside world.

Watch Reynier describe how the Nissan Leaf has improved his life and his distillery in the video below. And, if you're interested in other ways to use Bruichladdich's whisky as a biofuel, you can also watch James May run a Radical SR4 race car on the spirit in a separate video.

Continue reading Nissan Leaf ensures high-quality whisky from Isle of Islay

Nissan Leaf ensures high-quality whisky from Isle of Islay originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Thu, 17 May 2012 19:55:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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EVS: After 24 million EV miles, Ecotality and Blink are ready for both CHAdeMO and SAE

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One can think about conspiracy theories that maybe that's the way they wanted it be.

The Nissan Leaf is the most mainstream electric vehicle in the U.S., and it has a CHAdeMO DC fast-charge option. Ecotality's Blink network offers CHAdeMO chargers. Ecotality is the managing organization behind The EV Project, which recently announced it had collected information on 24 million electric vehicle miles. So, if any group would have an opinion about the potential challenge to CHAdeMO from the SAE combo charger announcement, Ecotality would be that group.

To find out, we spoke with Donald Karner, Ecotality's chief innovation officer, who said what others in the charging business told us during the Electric Vehicle Symposium (EVS26): the cars - and EV buyers - will dictate which standard wins.

"We're in the infrastructure business," Karner said. "We supply infrastructure to fuel advanced vehicles. We've done hydrogen, we do level 2 AC. On the DC side, if and when vehicles come to market that utilize the combo connector in sufficient numbers that justifies us making the investment in installing those connectors and developing chargers that will operate under that protocol, of course we will."

Can we accommodate two different standards? Yeah, we can do that. Is it going to cost more? Absolutely.

As you can see in the picture above, the Blink fast charger is dual port. "We did that a year and a half ago," Karner said. "The guys back here [he indicates a competitor's booth] are now saying, 'oh, what everybody should do is dual port so that you can do CHAdeMo on one side and combo on the other side. Well, that's exactly why we did that. A year and a half ago, we went to the SAE and said, 'look, you guys have a problem. You are two years behind schedule. DC fast chargers are coming, the Nissan Leaf with CHAdeMo is coming. We're sitting here as an EVSP [electric vehicle service provider] and we have to build a charger to service this. There's no U.S. standard. What are you guys going to do?' And the answer from the SAE committee was, 'Not our problem. We don't care. We're going to focus on J1772 AC and that's all we can do at one time.'

Now, there are clearly some competitive issues in there (between the automakers) so here the auto industry has shot itself in the foot again. Can we accommodate two different standards? Yeah, we can do that. Is it going to cost more than having one standard? Absolutely it's going to cost more. Fast charging is already very expensive and the auto companies, because they couldn't get along and are going to squabble, just like they did last time with inductive and conductive, are going to shoot themselves in the foot."

Continue reading EVS: After 24 million EV miles, Ecotality and Blink are ready for both CHAdeMO and SAE

EVS: After 24 million EV miles, Ecotality and Blink are ready for both CHAdeMO and SAE originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Thu, 17 May 2012 17:54:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Lexus kills off slow-selling HS 250h

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Lexus HS 250h

Are you one of the few people looking to put a brand-new Lexus HS 250h in your driveway? Better act fast. Inside Line reports that Toyota's luxury division has killed off its slow-selling HS model:

"Production of the HS 250h ceased in January, 2012. Lexus continues to monitor sales for each product and we make adjustments to make sure that we meet market demand, and the discontinuation of HS was part of that adjustment. The ES 300h is not replacing HS in our lineup. It's merely part of the hybridization of many of our existing vehicles in the Toyota and Lexus lineups."

We can't say we're surprised. Reports first surfaced in November of 2011 indicating that the HS 250h's days were numbered. After selling 10,663 units in 2010, which was already well shy of projections, HS sales dropped a whopping 73 percent to just 2,864 in 2011.

It's interesting that Lexus says the HS Hybrid is not a replacement for the HS, but we'd be a bit surprised if another standalone hybrid model made it into Lexus showrooms to replace the canceled HS - it seems to us that the current CT 200h hatchback and ES 300h ought to satisfy the needs of Lexus hybrid shoppers.

Lexus kills off slow-selling HS 250h originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Thu, 17 May 2012 15:55:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ford now taking orders for C-Max Hybrid at $25,995

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2013 Ford C-Max Hybrid

Ford is putting a big "X" on the Prius V.

The U.S. automaker said its dealers began taking orders for its 2013 model-year C-Max Hybrid and is pitching the model as a cheaper, more fuel-efficient alternative to the Toyota Prius V wagon.

Ford will start deliveries of the C-Max Hybrid this fall, while a plug-in hybrid version - the C-Max Energi - will be available by year-end. Ford's pricing the C-Max Hybrid at a base of $25,995, or about $500 less than the cheapest Prius V. While Ford didn't specifically give a miles-per-gallon estimate, the company said the C-Max Hybrid would beat the Prius V's 42-mile-per-gallon-combined rating from the EPA.

Last month, Toyota boosted U.S. Prius sales doubled from a year earlier to 25,168 units in part because of the 3,847 Prius V wagons sold.

Ford, which sold just 1,175 hybrids in April, late last month tapped the first 67 West Coast and New York-area dealers that will sell the Ford Focus Electric and published a map indicating where the EV would be rolled out during the rest of the year.

Continue reading Ford now taking orders for C-Max Hybrid at $25,995

Ford now taking orders for C-Max Hybrid at $25,995 originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Thu, 17 May 2012 13:56:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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University of Michigan hopes to set new 3,300-mpg record in SAE Challenge [w/video]

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University of Michigan Supermileage Team

The University of Michigan has had one of the preeminent solar car teams in the world for more than two decades, but a new group of students is looking to make its own mark in the world of green engineering. The school will be fielding its first entry in the annual SAE Supermileage competition this year.

If you think a bunch of newbs would launch their effort somewhat low-key, you probably aren't from Michigan or familiar with the Wolverine Way. Michigan has set its goal at nothing short of the North American record of bettering 3,169 miles per gallon with its single-cylinder, Briggs & Stratton lawnmower engine. The expectation is that the Michigan car will hit 3,300 mpg.

The Supermileage competition has been held since 1980, requiring students to design and build extremely lightweight, single-seat vehicles. The competition itself involves circling the Eaton Corporation Proving Grounds test track. Last year, 27 teams competed, with Quebec's Universite de Sherbrooke dominating the competition, recording 2,158 mpg, over 500 mpg more than its cross-province rival, Universite' Laval.

The 2012 Supermileage competition is scheduled for June 7-8 in Marshall, MI. Scroll down to read the press release and watch Michigan's promotional video.

Continue reading University of Michigan hopes to set new 3,300-mpg record in SAE Challenge [w/video]

University of Michigan hopes to set new 3,300-mpg record in SAE Challenge [w/video] originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Thu, 17 May 2012 11:55:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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IIHS crowns Prius c and Malibu Eco Top Safety Picks [w/video]

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2012 Toyota Prius C

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has crowned two eco-friendly new models as Top Safety Picks: the 2013 Chevrolet Malibu Eco and 2012 Toyota Prius c. The redesigned 2013 Malibu joins its 2012 model-mate as a Top Pick, and the 2013 earned a good side impact rating even without its optional side airbags.

The Prius c also has siblings that have won the award, the Prius and Prius v. Also earning top honors in the latest round of testing is the redesigned Hyundai Azera. The Top Pick moniker is given to vehicles that score "Good" in the IIHS's front, side, rollover and rear-impact tests.

Have a look below for video of the Malibu and Prius c going through their side-impact exams.

Continue reading IIHS crowns Prius c and Malibu Eco Top Safety Picks [w/video]

IIHS crowns Prius c and Malibu Eco Top Safety Picks [w/video] originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Thu, 17 May 2012 09:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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California lawyer pitches class-action services in wake of overturned Honda fuel-economy ruling

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Heather Peters 2006 Honda Civic Hybrid

There is safety in numbers, and not the kind put out by the EPA.

That's what one California-based attorney representing class-action claimants against General Motors and Hyundai is saying in the wake of Heather Peters' now-unsuccessful attempt to sue Honda over allegedly overstating fuel economy figures for the Honda Civic Hybrid.

Redlands, Calif.-based McCuneWright LLP principal Richard McCune, fishing for business, obviously, notes that, among other things, plaintiffs lose both the right for attorney representation and the right to appeal, both of which class-action members have.

"If you are filing against a big company, you are already at a disadvantage when you enter the small claims courtroom," McCune said in a statement last week.

Of course, McCuneWright has skin in this particular game, as it's representing a number of plaintiffs in class-action lawsuits against General Motors and Hyundai over - you guessed it - fuel-economy claims.

That said, TheDetroitBureau.com publisher Paul A. Eisenstein, in an AutoblogGreen editorial last week, essentially said the same, noting that class-action plaintiffs have a better record of success than those taking on large companies in small claims court.

Peters won a small-claims case worth almost $10,000 against Honda in February after a judge ruled in favor of her claim that Honda overstated the fuel-economy of her 2006 Civic Hybrid. Last week, a superior court judge reversed that ruling. The automaker had already agreed to pay out members of a larger class-action claim from $100 to $200 each and as much as a $1,500 discount on a new Honda purchase, an offer that about 1,700 Honda owners had accepted, according to the Detroit News.

Continue reading California lawyer pitches class-action services in wake of overturned Honda fuel-economy ruling

California lawyer pitches class-action services in wake of overturned Honda fuel-economy ruling originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Thu, 17 May 2012 07:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Retrofitted BMW M3 electric will compete in Pikes Peak race

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EV West Electric BMW M3

Last year, a BMW i8 plug-in hybrid was featured in the Tom Cruise-starring Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol. This year, another BMW electric-drive vehicle is looking to make a star performance, and without the editing or tricky camera angles.

A 1995 BMW M3 has been retrofitted with a 420-horsepower electric motor and will compete in the "electric" heat in this year's Pikes Peak International Hill Climb in Colorado, aka the 90th Race to the Clouds.

EV West, which built the car, posted a minute-long video on YouTube showing the car laying waste to a poor set of tires. EV West is based in San Marcos, Calif., about 35 miles (or, in this little beast, about 20 minutes) north of San Diego.

About 100 cars and about 120 motorcycles will be competing in the Pikes Peak competition in July, including six other electric vehicles. See the complete list here, and scroll down below to watch the video.

Continue reading Retrofitted BMW M3 electric will compete in Pikes Peak race

Retrofitted BMW M3 electric will compete in Pikes Peak race originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Wed, 16 May 2012 19:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Translogic examines the power of plug-in hybrids for commercial fleets

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ALTe Ford F-150

The crew at Translogic took the time to stop by and see the the team at ALTe Powertrain Technologies. Founded by a group of former Tesla Motors executives, the company focuses on building plug-in hybrid conversions for fleet vehicles. From creations like a Ford F-150 with a 2.0-liter gasoline engine and two 60 kW electric motors to full-size delivery trucks, buses and vans, the company is focused on reducing fuel consumption on some of the largest and hardest-working machinery out there. ALTe says the F-150 conversion supplies up to 465 pound-feet of torque, which is more than the old 4.6-liter V8.

Most of the truck conversions come with 22 kWh lithium-ion battery packs, yielding 25-40 miles of all-electric range. From there, the four-cylinder kicks in to keep the batteries charged and the motors spinning.

ALTe says the company has focused on Ford conversions first, since the F-Series is the best-selling pickup in the country. While E-Series and Panther-based creations are also on the docket, ALTe is also focusing on partnering with OEMs in China. Scroll down below to check out the video for yourself.

Continue reading Translogic examines the power of plug-in hybrids for commercial fleets

Translogic examines the power of plug-in hybrids for commercial fleets originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Wed, 16 May 2012 17:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Antique EVs get their due at auctions, new museum

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As Americans buy more Nissan Leafs, Chevrolet Volts and other electric-drive vehicles, some of those models' forefathers are getting their due by way of auctions and museum exhibits.

A 1909 Walker Vehicle Co. delivery van recently sold on eBay for $127,500, signifying that old-school vehicles that predate the Nissan Leaf by a 100 or so years can fetch a pretty penny, according to the Wall Street Journal.

The 1909 Walker, which is mounted on solid rubber tires, is one of hundreds of EVs produced around the turn of the 20th Century as early car customers looked for a quieter, cleaner alternative to what were loud and dirty internal combustion engines. Chicago-based Walker also made early variants of hybrid vehicles, according to the WSJ.

With contemporary EV sales expected to rise during the next few years, car collectors are seeking out and paying for early versions of battery-electric vehicles. In fact, those thinking that the Walker set some sort of pricing record from the eBay sale would be mistaken. Last August, an 1899 Columbia Electric Landaulet sold at an auction for $550,000, making it the priciest antique EV ever sold.

Meanwhile, America's Car Museum, which opens in Tacoma, Washington, on June 2 will have an "Alternative Propulsion" exhibit that will include a 1912 Standard Electric Open Tourer (still roadworthy, the museum says) and a 1914 Detroit Electric Priscilla. In all, the 165,000-square-foot museum will have more than 350 cars, trucks and motorcycles.

Antique EVs get their due at auctions, new museum originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Wed, 16 May 2012 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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EVS: Coulomb readying San Francisco with 100 stations, finds "museum tour of electricity"

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Coulomb Technologies' big news at EVS26 was a collaboration with Fuji Electric Corporation of America to add Fuji's 25-kW DC Quick Charging Stations into the ChargePoint Network. In fact, the very first such charger on the network was sitting there in the booth, and actual deployment in the U.S. is scheduled for later this year. Coulomb is already neck-deep in actual deployments of electric vehicle charging stations: more that 6,300 non-residential stations are online now and Coulomb says that about half of all EV drivers in the U.S. have a ChargePoint card. To get the latest, we spoke with Coulomb's Michael Jones about the Multicharge SF program and - yes - the SAE combo charger announcement.

It's like the museum tour of electricity. It's really kind of scary.

First, about Multicharge SF, which is a partnership with the City of San Francisco, Coulomb and PG&E and is funded by the California Energy Commission. The goal, perhaps unsurprisingly for San Francisco, where upwards of 60 percent of people live in multi-family units, is to find a way for apartment dwellers to recharge their EVs. Jones said the city government took the lead and identified places where chargers would be most useful, then reached out to the property owners to get them interested. In the end, about 70 different properties applied to be a part of the $900,000 program - and around 45-50 of them will be selected to actually get some of the total of about 100 chargers. "[The locations] represent all the different demographics: large properties and small properties, condos, co-ops, TICs [tenant in common, which means one mortgage for multiple units] and rental communities," Jones said. The variety extends to different income brackets as well as new and old properties. "One of the things we ran into early on is that there are some incredibly old power systems in San Francisco. Glass tubes in the fuse boxes. It's like the museum tour of electricity. It's really kind of scary."

The only way to get this many different groups involved was to start with a diverse set of partners. "It has to be a multi-stakeholder proposition to really work in the region," he said. "If I didn't have the city out with its resources, legal and building codes and everything else, it would be impossible for me to organize all those things. It really becomes a great template that other cities and public-private partnerships can use."

For example, Jones said, there's a rule in San Francisco that says that if you charge money for a parking space, you need to register as a parking operator. So, how does that apply to EVs? Does every building owner who installs a charger then need to go get a parking license? The city attorney is currently researching the answer to this question, he said, adding that the mayor standing by to quickly go to bat and get the rules changed if it is determined that the answer is "yes."

With its Chargepoint Network, Coulomb doesn't really care what connector people are using to get their cars on the grid. As long as the communication systems are there, Chargepoint can work with whatever kind of charging station is out there. But he did have a few things to say about the SAE combo charger. Specifically, that it doesn't encourage fast infrastructure deployment.

"Having that Level 2 standard [J1772] gives certainty to drivers," Jones said. "With fast charging, because you still have competing standards, I think that makes it a pilot proposition for a lot of communities as far as really getting behind a specific charger type. I think until the market coalesces around a technology, you're still just going to see a lot of uncertainty about what to deploy on any large scale."

As Coulomb works to solve some of the infrastructure problems, others arise. The trick is to not have partners hesitate too much, and so get as many chargers into use as makes sense.

Continue reading EVS: Coulomb readying San Francisco with 100 stations, finds "museum tour of electricity"

EVS: Coulomb readying San Francisco with 100 stations, finds "museum tour of electricity" originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Wed, 16 May 2012 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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