Ten Thoughts on Advanced Vehicles: Electric Vehicles and Beyond

The new 2014 Cadillac ELR (Extended Range Electric Vehicle) will tangle with the Tesla Model S at a price point of $75,995.

Great strides being made in EV infrastructure and a huge solar plant with energy storage capabilities connects to the grid.

1. Phoenix residents will continue to soak up the sun and so will the Solana solar plant, located in nearby Gila Bend. This new plant went online today and offers a large parabolic solar array "trough", while also using molten salt and generators to provide six hours of energy storage capabilities. Solar power and storage seems to be hitting its practical stride this year and the Crescent Dunes Solar Energy in Nevada is due to come online this year. [Update: it looks like 2014 the unveiling\

2. File this under marketing sophistication. Dell announced today that Elon Musk will be speaking at DellWorld 2013 in Austin, Tex., in December. So speaking at this event will create a lot of buzz, good media coverage in a state where Tesla Motors can't sell cars via its stores and a bunch of IT tech people that will find out more about the company. The dude is shrewd with the advertising "budget" for Tesla.

3. GM releases the price for the 2014 Cadillac ELR, today. Wait. For. it. Comes in at $75,995 when it goes on sale in 2014. Production starts in December 2013 and it qualifies for the $7,500 tax credit. With this pricing, they are leveraging the Cadillac brand at the Tesla Model S price point. Bad strategy, does the Cadillac ELR have a 17-in. IPad for its main dashboard and provide 275 electric miles at quarter the price of gas miles? It makes you wonder if they want a big electric car sales success? 

4. The City of Chicago is “all in” on electric fleets for the right applications, according to Samantha Bingham, environment policy analyst, Chicago Dept. of Transportation. At the High Efficiency Truck Users Forum (HTUF), held in Chicago this week, she added, “We see economics there for natural gas and propane, but we really see the economics for electric.”

5. Battery maker A123 named a new CEO this week, Jason Forcier, and he is looking to leverage its China ties and sell more batteries to Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp (SAIC). SAIC is a state-owned automotive company. 

6. Speaking of Chinese automotive market, Ford and GM are continuing their sales success there with the Ford Focus being the best-selling sedan and GM setting a China car sales record in September. Car sales are up in 2013 and Edmunds.com predicts U.S. Auto sales will reach 16.4 million units in 2014. 

7. Vermont is finding creative ways to fund charging infrastructure in designated downtowns. Looking toward the state, one initiative uses funds from the Agency of Natural Resources and provides matching grants to build a statewide network of municipal charging stations within Vermont's 24 designated downtowns. According to driveelectricvt.com, “the program with fund 75% of the cost of installing electric vehicle charging stations.” Smart policies.

8. In late September, CALSTART (www.calstart.org), a non-profit organization dedicated to clean transportation technologies, released a workplace charging best practices document that provides “information on the most cost effective ways to install and use EV chargers at the workplace.” This is an extension of the Dept. of Energy's strategy to build-out more EV infrastructure via businesses. A smart strategy, but one that will need state and local support in terms of tax incentives. In terms of tipping points for EVs, I'm warming up to the idea that workplace charging could be the key.  

9. One of the sessions at the High Efficiency Truck Users Forum (HTUF) event in Chicago centered on new alternative fuels for fleets and Volvo Trucks is promoting its venture with dimethyl-ether from biogas. Ed Saxman, from Volvo Trucks, also mentioned DME can be made from pipeline gas, but Volvo is partnering with Oberon Fuels in the central valley region of California (the breadbasket of America), where the focus will be on regional feedstocks—bio focused.

10. Speaking of Volvo Trucks and alternatives, Gothenburg-Sweden based Powercell (www.powercell.se) is developing a new fuel-cell technology that used diesel as its source fuel, instead of hydrogen or methanol. This company originally started in the Volvo Group in the early 2000s and is now targeting long-haul tractor trailer trucks in the U.S with its fuel-cell technology, similar to a stop/start technology in the hybrid vehicle area. Powercell is targeting commercialization by 2015. For more on this technology, click here.