Video | What to Know when Driving EVs in the Winter

In this review, Ciminillo plans to drive from Chicago to Milwaukee with a 100% charged Mustang Mach-e.

This test drive reveals what's needed for small or big road trips in the winter and how to gain some "EV freedom."

This 17-minute Ford Mach-e Mustang video review dives into EV winter driving and reveals that electric car drivers should always be looking for destination charging to extend trips and provide EV freedom. The trip documents a test drive by Jill Ciminillo, a contributor to Pickup Truck + SUV talk, and shows how driving at 75 to 80 mph and unexpected stops in the winter can quickly drain your battery pack.

~ Plugged In - Buying Insights and EV knowledge from experienced owners.

This review is great example of how a new EV driver needs ditch their gas mindset when it comes road trips and winter driving. First and foremost, EV drivers need to look or plan for EV charging opportunities when you embark on an extended metro trip (Thanksgiving) or longer road trip in the winter.

In this review, Ciminillo plans to drive from Chicago to Milwaukee with a 100% charged Mustang Mach-e — though the electric battery bar doesn’t seem reflect 260+ miles. The drive from Chicago to Milwaukee can be approximately 90 to 115 miles. The trip is going fine but the review takes a lunch break and then reverses course once they were near Milwaukee and come back home Chicago.

>> Related Content | Three Essential Components for a Successful Road Trip

On the way to Milwaukee, Ciminillo was driving at 65 mph and this conserved the battery range quite nicely, but on the way back Ciminillo states that she wanted to keep pace with traffic and was traveling at 75 to 80 mph.

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Thermal Battery Research Could Reduce Range Anxiety

In the hallway at the most recent Fox Valley Electric Auto Association (www.fveaa.org) meeting, some EV owners were discussing winter temperatures and how it might affect battery range in the coming months in Chicago. Most owners were agreement that 20 deg F or below would be the point where you could see some battery range loss, up to 7 – 10 percent.

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Ford Looks to Advanced Battery Research

Ford Motor Company enhances its standing in the electricfication race by announcing its stake in a battery lab at the University Michigan, Ann Arbor, today. The company looks to collaborate with battery cell manufacturers, suppliers, university researchers and startups to test new battery concepts on a small scale that could be replicated for full production

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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.

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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Ten Thoughts on Advanced Vehicles and Alternative Fuels

BMW released technical specs and images of its i3 all electric vehicle today and it looks like what my 83-year old Mom would think an electric car would look like. It's a funky looking car with its two-tone color scheme and the no-handle back doors—they swing open (cool), design-wise, horrible. This car is not eye-candy and doesn't leverage the BMW brand at all. Seems like a total miss to me.

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