Filed under: EV/Plug-in, Ford

The all-electric Ford Transit Connect Electric utility van became available for ordering during the recent Chicago Auto Show and Azure Dynamics, the company in charge of converting and selling the trucks, has announced that AT&T will be the vehicle’s “Lead Customer” with an order for two units.

AT&T announced about a year ago that it would spend up to $565 million to introduce 15,000 substitute fuel automobiles to the company’s fleet over the next decade, starting with CNG automobiles. AT&T’s first electric automobile, a Smith Electric Automobiles Newton, joined the fleet last November. For the run-down on the Transit Connect Electric, including our first drive report, read this.

[Source: Azure Dynamics]

Continue reading AT&T agrees to buy at least two Ford Transit Connect Electric vans

AT&T agrees to buy at least two Ford Transit Connect Electric vans originally appeared on Autoblog Green on Tue, 09 Mar 2010 14:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Diesel, Ethanol, EV/Plug-in, Flex-Fuel, Hydrogen, Green Daily

[Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration]

U.S. Annual Energy Outlook predicts “alternative vehicles” won’t top 50% market share in 2035 originally appeared on Autoblog Green on Sat, 06 Mar 2010 09:34:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: EV/Plug-in, BMW, Europe/EU, USA

BMW said recently that participants in the Mini E lease program were “Delighted with [the] Electric Vehicle Experience.” The Mini E, though, will probably seem absolutely lame compared to the production version of the BMW ActiveE concept (an all-electric 1 Series). After all, who doesn’t like a rear seat? Oh, and the 100 mile range per charge and a 90 mile per hour top speed aren’t bad, either.

There are around 450-500 duplicates of the Mini E out and about, and BMW is reportedly going to offering up a few more units of the all-electric 1 Series when it becomes available some time in the next year. BMW’s board member for sales and marketing, Ian Robertson, told Automotive News that between 600 and 700 units will be leased to selected customers in major global cities. Robertson said the leases will be divvied up with 200 destined for the U.S. and between 300 and 400 driving around in Europe. As for the other hundred or so, maybe those will be demonstration or fleet or test units?

[Source: Automotive News - sub. req.]

Report: BMW will offer up to 700 urbanites an electric 1 series lease originally appeared on Autoblog Green on Thu, 04 Mar 2010 19:44:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: EV/Plug-in, Bright Automotive

The one contract from the United States Postal Service (USPS) to begin bringing electric trucks to the huge national fleet of Long Life Cars (LLVs) that we knew about went to Zap. That contract was for a single truck, and it looks like Bright Automotive has been awarded a similar deal.

Bright announced today that the company’s eSolutions team has gotten a contract to convert an LLV. Unlike Bright’s Idea plug-in hybrid (PHEV, pictured), the LLV conversion will be a pure electric. Some of the technology from the Idea will make it into the LLV, though, specifically, the rear electric drive from the Idea’s powertrain will be used. Once completed and delivered (target date: July 2010), the truck will be tested in the Washington, D.C. area for a year.

We’ve heard that five companies have received these conversion contracts from the USPS. The Bright press release, pasted after the jump, mentions that EDAG, Inc. also received one and Bright is working with EDAG on that project. Anyone know who the other two are?

[Source: Bright Automotive]

Continue reading Bright Automotive latest to get USPS contract for electric truck conversion

Bright Automotive latest to get USPS contract for electric truck conversion originally appeared on Autoblog Green on Fri, 05 Mar 2010 14:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: EV/Plug-in, On Two Wheels, USA

Remember how blown away you were when TV made the big switch from black and white to color? Neither do we. But we have the ability to imagine it was similar to how we felt yesterday when Zero Motorcycles lifted the curtain on their new color-infused line up for 2010. It’s not just the pigment of their product that has us itching to grab some handlebars, they say that improvements have been made across the range giving each of the models superior acceleration and increased power.

The streetable S and DS now have a new “Z-Force[TM] Air Induction System” that should help them avoid overheating and the throttle response is stated to give riders more “exacting control.” Furthermore, the top speed of the S has been increased to 67 miles per hour. Also new for 2010 are custom Corbin seat options that not only offer improved comfort and control but can grant for reduced stand-over height. To help us bide our time while we wait for snow to melt and riding time to be arranged, Zero has provided us with tons of pics over which to salivate. Want more? Hitting the jump will not only bring you to the official press release but a huge batch of videos with each model in motion, including versions with and without auditory augmentation.

[Source: Zero Motorcycles]

Continue reading Zero Motorcycles adds color and power to 2010 line-up

Zero Motorcycles adds color and power to 2010 line-up originally appeared on Autoblog Green on Wed, 03 Mar 2010 14:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: EV/Plug-in, Nissan

In a lengthy article comparing the long-term costs of the Nissan Leaf and the Chevrolet Volt on Boston.com, we find this interesting tidbit:

[Mark] Perry [Nissan’s director of product planning, pictured above] states Nissan also will provide roadside assistance and envisions motoring-aid companies such as AAA having fast charge units on their trucks.

We’ve here two things worth noting. First, that Nissan is already planning on ways to combat range anxiety and is thinking of what will happen when the reality of electric cars (EVs) meets the public-at-large. Second, there are some serious logistical challenges to remote recharging from a AAA truck. How big a battery must the service car carry around to provide enough energy for your car? Would it be better/easier to just tow the automobile to an outlet somewhere? How much sense does it make to send out a gasoline-burning truck to charge up an electric car? However these questions get answered, it’s clear that driver education will need to go hand in hand with reassurances that someone will come save you if you run out of juice as EVs go mainstream.

[Source: Boston.com]

Nissan: AAA could provide roadside electric vehicle charging originally appeared on Autoblog Green on Mon, 01 Mar 2010 19:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Volkswagen

For years, European automakers (mostly) have used the color blue to identify their eco-friendly cars and initiatives, forgoing the green emphasis on this side of the pond. We have Hyundai’s Blue-Will, Mercedes‘ Bluetec and so on. Heck, back in 2007, advertising agency JWT predicted a lingo shift from green to blue in 2008. Green still rules the environmental word world, but blue is making its presence known.

Volkswagen has heavily promoted its Bluemotion brand for the past few years and the company is now starting a “Think Blue” campaign tomorrow to show that, “Environmental protection is the top priority for Volkswagen.” Conveniently, VW’s logo already contains some blue in it, so if you happen to Think VW when you Think Blue, we’re sure VW salespeople won’t mind.

Back in the 1960’s, VW had a “Think Small” campaign to promote the Beetle, and the company sees this new slogan as an evolution of that successful sales push. VW promises the traditional print and TV ads, as well as “web specials and an e-game for iPhone and iPod Touch.” We’ll think about that what we want to think, thank you very much.

[Source: VW]

Continue reading VW asks us to “Think Blue” now that we’re done with “Think Small”

VW asks us to “Think Blue” now that we’re done with “Think Small” originally appeared on Autoblog Green on Fri, 26 Feb 2010 18:11:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: EV/Plug-in, Chrysler

For those of you who can’t wait for a factory-built electric car, and can’t swing the cash for a Tesla Roadster, a seller on eBay is offering up a recently converted 2001 Chrysler Sebring. This is the previous-generation Sebring, before the design went from plain to unsightly.

As this is written, there are still five day left to bid on this Sebring and the price tag is at $4,276. While this may seem like quite a deal, potential bidders might want to read the whole description before proceeding. The vehicle was converted by ATC of Texas just a few months ago. The current owner has only put 100 miles on the car and blames tough economic times for selling. We can’t help but suspect a bit of buyer’s remorse as well.

The engine compartment and trunk are stuffed with 24 6-volt flooded lead acid batteries. That’s enough to yield about 20-30 miles of realistic range. You can apparently push it 45 miles in some circumstances, but that’s not recommended since it shortens the battery life. No trunk space is left and the back end of the vehicle rides pretty low as a result of all that weight. Since it looks like the suspension has not been upgraded to cope with the mass, this thing will probably ride pretty rough. Also, you’ll probably want to charge it outdoors since the batteries give off hydrogen gas as they’re being stuffed with electrons. If all of those warnings haven’t already made you turn away, you can check out the auction here. Thanks to Joe for the tip!

[Source: eBay]

eBay find of the day: 2001 Chrysler Sebring EV conversion originally appeared on Autoblog Green on Sat, 27 Feb 2010 17:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: GM, HUMMER

For years, Hummers - each one somehow more massive and more polluting than the next - were the easiest target in the automotive world for environmentalists . Need examples? How about this and this and this and, oh, you get the picture.

General Motors has been trying to sell the brand to Tengzhong, a Chinese company, but announced yesterday that this will not happen. GM said that it is still listening to offers for the brand, but it’s looking likely that Hummer isn’t long for this world. To mark the news, we wanted to have a moment of silence for this tribute to the excesses of the 1990s and Naughts and the military mindset of the drivers bold enough to get behind the wheel, even the ones who think driving a Hummer is “a highly moral consumption choice.”

There, that’s long enough.

Don’t worry, Hummer haters. These automobiles will be on the road for years to come and, when they’re all gone, attention can turn to other gas guzzling monsters, like this year’s thirsty champion the Ford F-250 Lariat.

[Source: GM]

Continue reading RIP: Hummer, 1992-2010

RIP: Hummer, 1992-2010 originally appeared on Autoblog Green on Thu, 25 Feb 2010 14:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Hybrid, Lexus

Earlier this week, we got a sneak peek at the new Lexus CT 200h from a brochure that somehow leaked out onto the Interwebs. Now, Lexus has seen fit to pull the curtain back all the way on its new premium hybrid hatchback ahead of its official debut at the Geneva Motor Show next week. A worldwide launch is promised later this year, but we can’t confirm whether that includes the United Says.

From what we can tell, the vehicle retains some of Lexus’s L-finesse design philosophy as seen on the LF-Ch concept that debuted in Frankfurt last year, except in a somewhat more production-ready (read: toned-down) say. Inside, Lexus employs an asymmetrical dash design that’s split into what Lexus refers to as an upper Display Zone that includes an eight-inch LCD multi-display screen and a lower Operation Zone, which includes the shift lever and other controls such as Lexus’s Remote Touch multi-function controller.

As expected, the baby Lexus is equipped with a 1.8-liter VVT-i gasoline-fed engine that’s mated up with an electric motor using Toyota’s proprietary Hybrid Synergy Drive technology and a continuously variable transmission. Sadly, we have no official power figure, but we imagine it should be somewhat close to the 134 combined ponies of the latest Toyota Prius.

According to Lexus, its hybrid hatchback can run in EV mode for up to 1.2 miles at speeds up to 28 miles per hour. In addition to pure EV mode, the driver can also choose from Eco, Normal and Sport modes. Setting the CT 200h apart from other Toyota offerings is its dedicated double wishbone and trailing arm rear suspension system. Want more? Find all the details in the official press release after the break, and be sure to check out our high-res image gallery below.

[Source: Lexus]

Continue reading Officially Official: Lexus drops the curtain on CT 200h

Officially Official: Lexus drops the curtain on CT 200h originally appeared on Autoblog Green on Thu, 25 Feb 2010 20:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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