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Home > 2008 December Electric and Hybrid Car News 2008 December Electric and Hybrid Car News
The 10 Biggest Cleantech Disappointments of 2008(December 27) - There was a lot to cheer about in the cleantech sector in 2008: record investment levels, a U.S. president-elect that supports clean power, and the extension of tax credits for renewables. But there were a lot of missed opportunities this year, too, as markets crashed, fundings were delayed and technologies hit hurdles. Complete Story Electric-Car Battery Makers Seek Federal Funds(December 27) - In the race to make the lithium-ion batteries that will run the electric cars of the future, the United States is losing to Asian countries, and start-ups and big companies need to band together to build a lithium-ion battery industry in the United States, says Jim Greenberger. Complete Story Electric cars coming soon to a road near you(December 26) - Tom Gage is a patient man. As chief executive of AC Propulsion, he's watched the ebb and flow of electric-car momentum for more than a decade. Complete Story Ford Fusion Hybrid Delivers Most Efficient Electric Car(December 24) - Car makers such as Ford are beginning to tackle gas prices while meeting consumer demand. Ford has unveiled its new 2010 Fusion Hybrid electric car which is the most fuel efficient mid-size car on the market. The new Fusion has a 41 mph certified rating. Complete Story Will 2009 see the return of the electric car?(December 24) - Every generation thinks it has discovered sex, and every generation thinks it has discovered electric cars – until they realise their limitations. So says a car industry sceptic, quoted in The Sunday Times. Complete Story Toyota to debut small, battery-powered 'city car' concept(December 23) - Responding to consumer concerns about volatile energy prices and government regulations to curb greenhouse gas emissions, Toyota wants to produce a small "city car" with a limited driving range but with an affordable price tag of about $20,000, analysts say. Complete Story Mitsubishi i MiEV Nominated for 2009 Green Car Vision Award(December 23) - Mitsubishi Motors' i MiEV electric car was selected by the Green Car Journal as one of five nominees for its 2009 Green Car Vision award, an honor that recognizes one vehicle that best envisions the future of transportation. Complete Story Readying America for the Volt(December 21) - Interestingly, she also appears to suggest that the Volt, when it is released, may initially be sold only in selected regions of the country, presumably to help GM more closely monitor the vehicle in customers hands. Complete Story Enterprise to rent hybrids(December 21) - Four Enterprise Rent-A-Car locations in Houston have been designated hybrid branches, where customers can choose from gas/electric vehicles including the Honda Prius, Nissan Altima, Toyota Camry and Ford Escape. Complete Story Eestor granted patent(December 20) - Energy storage developer EEStor Inc, a key partner of Canadian electric car maker Zenn Motor Co (ZNN.V), has secured a U.S. patent for its battery, its chief executive said on Friday. Complete Story US Tech Firms Team to Juice Up Electric Car Batteries(December 19) - A collection of over a dozen U.S. technology companies are collectively asking the government to help subsidize the development of the domestic lithium ion battery industry. Complete Story Auto Execs Say Divert Bailout to Support Electric Car Companies(December 18) - Two veteran automotive executives, H. Dennis Kammerer and Rodger L. Cornish, say electric car pioneer ZAP (OTCBB: ZAAP) is already building all-electric models and the US government should offer support to companies who are already building plug-in transportation. Complete Story Chrysler Sticks to Ambitious Electric Car Plans(December 18) -Troubled American auto giant still hopes to produce new electric vehicles in the next few years. Also see the Auto X Prize teams. Complete Story Electric-car maker Think hits brakes(December 17) - Reuters reported on Monday that Think CEO Richard Canny held a news conference where he said that the company needs up to $29 million in loan guarantees. It plans to reduce staff by at least 50 percent and stop production with an eye toward restarting in the first quarter of next year, the report said. Complete Story First Manned, Hydrogen-Powered Flight (March 2008) -Boeing announced that one of its pilots recently took to the air in an airplane powered by hydrogen fuel cells. This marks the first time a manned aircraft running on fuel cells has ever successfully completed a flight, though robotic drones have done so in the past. Complete Story A Silent Electric Plane(December 16) - Popular Science - In August, at the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) AirVenture show in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, Randall Fishman’s ElectraFlyer-C made a virtually silent pass over the audience at a mere 200 feet. Complete Story Next Generation Plug-in Hybrid Car Tested in Florida(December 15) - Pierce Jones, a researcher with the university's Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, is working with North Carolina companies Progress Energy, Advanced Energy and Duke Energy to test a Toyota Prius modified to use electricity delivered through a regular household electrical outlet. Complete Story BYD to Introduce China's First Electric Car(December 15) - Wall Street Journal - A Chinese auto maker plans to unveil the country's first homegrown electric vehicle for the mass market, at least a year ahead of similar efforts around the world. Complete Story It takes a village to sell an electric car(December 15) - Cnet - Auto industry executives say they will couple their first mass-market electric cars with a big dose of community outreach, with the hope of making the new generation of vehicles more desirable and convenient to consumers. Complete Story Tesla Roadster: Six Times More Efficient Than The Average Sports Car(December 14) - Auto Racing Daily - The Tesla is an electric car based on the Lotus Elise but with an electric motor. The Tesla is six times more efficient than the average sports car while producing only 10% of the pollution. Complete Story Mercedes-Benz Concept BlueZERO: Three-fold Proof of the Everyday Practicality of Zero-emission Vehicles(December 13) - The Auto Channel - Mercedes-Benz is showing the way ahead in environmentally responsible electromobility by presenting its near-series Concept BlueZERO at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit. Complete Story Environmentally friendly car is purely ZENN-ful(December 13) - The electric ZENN car, which stands for zero emissions, no noise, is a European -built diesel car that is converted with an electric engine in Canada. The vehicle has six 12-volt lead acid batteries. Complete Story Neil Young charged about electric car(December 12) - Young is charged up about this. He’s making a film about his re-engineered Linc Volt, due out next year. With Johnathan Goodwin, the engineer behind his car, he started a company aimed at winning the Automotive X Prize - a $10 million challenge to develop a 100-miles-per-gallon vehicle by 2009. Complete Story Ford Fusion Hybrid Posts Prius-Like MPG Numbers(December 11) - US News - Ford claims the Fusion hybrid will get at least 39 mpg city/ 37 mpg highway when the EPA numbers are calculated in the coming weeks," Autoblog notes. But a group of auto writers was invited to Los Angeles to test drive the car recently - and every single one of them beat those estimates easily. Complete Story Low Gas Prices, Troubled Economy Slow Toyota Prius Sales(December 10) - Remember this summer, when a new Toyota Prius hybrid would cost you $25,000 and your first-born? Well, the acknowledgment of a year-long recession and rock-bottom gas prices have turned demand for the most fuel-efficient car in the country upside down. Complete Story Dodge charges up the EV prototype(December 9) - We have some stealthy spy shots of a rolling prototype of the Dodge EV, an all-electric two-seat sports car that is part of the electric-car blitz Chrysler says it will start in 2010. Complete Story Jungle Motors Now Converting Toyota Prius into High Mileage Plug-In Hybrid(December 9) - Jungle Motors, which has been converting gasoline-powered Porsche 911s and Chrysler PT Cruisers into clean, green commuter cars, is now offering its latest conversion: a Plug-In Hybrid modification for the Toyota Prius. Complete Story 2009 Cadillac Escalade 4WD Hybrid review(December 9) - : The concept of a Cadillac Escalade Hybrid is something of an anachronism, but it's still fascinating. Still, there's an increase of 8 mpg over the non-hybrid, so that's a plus. Complete Story Test drive: Zap's new electric car(December 8) - The dealership showcased various models of Zap's new three-wheel electric car, a four-wheel small truck, an electric scooter and even an electric bicycle. Complete Story Hybrid Sales Decline as Gas Prices Decrease(December 8) - They've been the it cars for the last few years, but drivers appear to be falling out of love with hybrids. Gas prices are driving people to car dealerships, but not to go green. Complete Story Crazy-looking Fiat Phylla electric car has solar panels for charge assist(December 7) - Is this a real electric vehicle or a clown car? It's as real as a prototype can get, put together by Fiat and a few other designers, all of whom must have a substantial sense of humor. The Fiat Phylla is an 80-mph electric car that takes between 3 and 4 hours to charge from a regular wall socket. Complete Story Why EEstor Hooked Up With Zenn(December 5) - We’ve always wondered why, if high-profile Texas energy storage startup EEstor has such disruptive technology, it did an exclusive deal with small Toronto-based electric automaker Zenn Motor Co. for small- and mid-sized cars. EEstor’s energy storage technology can supposedly provide 10 times the energy of lead-acid batteries at one-tenth the weight and half the price, and move a car 400 kilometers after a 5-minute charge. Complete Story Infinite Power raises $13M to ramp thin-film batteries(December 5) - CEO Ray Johnson told the Cleantech Group that IPS is now operating the world's first facility for volume manufacturing of solid-state, rechargeable thin-film batteries, capable of producing millions of devices a year. Complete Story 150MPG ExtremeHybrid: The Real Deal(December 4) - EVWorld - AFS Trinity’s problem is their Extreme Hybrid™ drive system seems just too good to be true. 150 miles per gallon in an SUV platform that, at its best, might normally be expected to do one-fifth that number just isn't credible in many people's minds. Complete Story Hawaii Endorses Plan for Electric Cars(December 3) - NY Times - The State of Hawaii and the Hawaiian Electric Company on Tuesday endorsed an effort to build an alternative transportation system based on electric vehicles with swappable batteries and an “intelligent” battery recharging network. Complete Story Bay Area seeks to become electric-car capital(December 2) - CS Monitor - The mayors of San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose announced an ambitious public-private partnership last week to develop a $1 billion network of charging outlets for electric cars. Complete Story Why electric cars have stalled(December 2) - CNN Money -The Wrightspeed X1, a sports car whose three-second acceleration from 0 to 60 makes it one of the fastest autos in the world, is also super-clean: It's powered by an electric motor and gets about 170 mpg. Complete Story
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