Ten Thoughts on Advanced Vehicles: EVs and Beyond

EVs, alternative fuels, advanced vehicles and renewable energy news is coming fast and furious since Labor Day and John Voelcker projects a possible 100,000 plug-in vehicles for 2013. For more on these stories, click on the live links in the copy. When I think of charging infrastructures I was surprised to see that Orlando, Fla. is home to more than 300 electric charging stations. So with conducive weather electric vehicles and a charging infrastructure in place, Drive Electric Orlando, a public/private partnership, was born. The partnership announced that Enterprise Car Rentals will now be offering Nissan Leafs as rental car options for visitors and business travelers. After some research, the rental price comes to $95, approximately, for three days (see image, right).

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How to Sell Electric Vehicles, See Design

Recent surveys and personal surveys in the last couple of weeks illuminate a subtle trend among some electric vehicle owners when considering alternative powertrains. The subtle takeaway is that MPGs may not be the overiding factor for electric vehicle owners when well-executed styling can't be ignored, namely with the Tesla Model S and Ford's Fusion Energi Plug-In Hybrid Electric Vehicle (PHEV).

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Weekend Video: Mercedes SLS Electric & the Tesla Factory

It's the weekend and a little entertainment is needed, below are some video clips of how they make the Model S and a Mercedes SLS race.

A friend of mine (thanks Dave!) pointed out this clip from Top Gear about the Mercedes SLS electric taking on the regular ICE version at airport race track in the U.K., I believe. The electric is in yellow, watch the start. Love the SLS body shape. 

And, second, is Wired's video of Tesla's Fremont, Calif. factory—the former NUMMI plant. It shows how they build the Model S. Seems like there should be a Beethoven symphony behind this video. By the way, Tesla is currently using a little less than 1/3 of the plant. Great video for factory and automation geeks like myself. Enjoy.   

Mercedes SLS race

How they make the Model S (courtesy of Wired)

Electric Vehicles: Battery Insights and Weekend Reads

Last week the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) announced that 22 battery research programs have received $36 billion via the Robust Affordable Next Generation Energy (RANGE) Storage Systems program. The projects aim to accelerate affordable battery technology for electric vehicles but from a systems approach, rather soley on improving the density of a battery.

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Welcome to the Open-Source Community, Hyperloop

The fifth mode of transportation or, the "hyperloop," from Elon Musk made a splash in the news today with word that El Segundo, Calif.-based JumpStartFund is presenting it as the company's first project for its new, crowd-sourcing" venture capital platform. As you recall, Elon Musk provided provided a white paper on the hyperloop concept last month to much fanfare—deservedly so—and instructed developers (tech community) to pick up the ball and run with it.

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ARPA-E's Recent Battery Investment, Heading in the Right Direction?

Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) announced on Aug. 21 that twenty-two projects across fifteen states will receive a total of $36 million “to develop transformational electric vehicle (EV) energy storage systems” in order to “accelerate” commercialization of lithium batteries. The program is called Robust Affordable Next Generation Energy Storage (RANGE) program and the direction moves from energy density research for lithium batteries to the “packaging” of battery system.

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Is BMW's Strategy for Electric Cars or Carbon Fiber Panels?

BMW's legendary, car design oozes elegance and simplicity, so why didn't they leverage this branding for their new compact electric car, the i3? The answer lies with BMW's strategy to drive down the costs of carbon fiber (CF) reinforced composite—to reduce the weight of battery-pack car—for not only their electric and hybrid cars but to become a supplier of CF to the rest of the automobile industry in the near future. It's a bold and big strategy considering CF is typically known as high-cost low volume product.

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