Electric vehicles use electric motors not internal combustion engines. You can probably find a number of smaller electric motors in your house running everything from the washing machine to the garbage disposal. You might also have a cordless power tool that you charge and then run with power from the internal battery. Electric cars use the same approach. Plug in to charge the batteries and then drive away.
All-wheel drivers may soon get record fuel economy. Mitsubishi is showing a crossover SUV with AWD in Tokyo which is likely to go on sale U.S. in 2012 or 2013. The MITSUBISHI PX-MiEVⅡ is a midsized plug-in hybrid (PHEV) with a 500-mile cruising range. The PX-MiEV is a 5-door, 7-passenger SUV with all-wheel drive.
Here at the LA Auto Show, car buyers are paying a lot of attention to midsized and compact sedans and crossover SUVs. For years, Toyota Motor Corporation has dominated with car buyers that want “all of the above,” first with its classic Prius, and now with over a dozen hybrid and plug-in hybrid cars. Toyota Prius V challenged by Ford C-MAX Hybrid for crossover SUV mpg leadership. 2012 Toyota Camry Hybrid now gets better mileage than Ford Fusion Hybrid. New plug-in hybrids include Prius Plug-in, C-MAX Energi, and rumors of Camry Plug-in Hybrid and Fusion Plug-in Hybrid.
CODA is $39,995 for an electric car with a 50% larger lithium battery than offered by Nissan and Ford. My test drive of the new CODA showed that this new electric car is similar in handling and performance to the Nissan LEAF and Ford Focus Electric which I have also driven. CODA has at least 40 percent more electric range than the LEAF and Focus Electric which each have 24 kW lithium batteries in comparison to CODA’s 36 kW lithium iron phosphate battery. Battery size isn’t everything, but it’s a lot when driving an electric car 80 miles on the freeway and wondering if you will get home.
The Audi e-tron Spyder is a convertible sports coupe with dramatic styling and is likely to be the first diesel plug-in hybrid car to be sold in the United States. With two electric motors and a 3 liter turbodiesel engine, this car has the power to race past the popular Chevy Volt. This Audi e-tron goes zero to 60 in 4.4 seconds. The Audi performance and styling will provide serious competition to Fisker.
I drive this electric smart fortwo to Balboa Park, a popular destination with its vast acres, museums, and famous San Diego zoo. We park the car, sign-off and walk away. If we were paying members, this trip would have cost us only $3 or $4. We got there in minutes without the hassle of car rental or bus transfers. Car2go is a point-to-point car sharing service. You pay 35 cents a minute. If you use lots of minutes your automatically lowered $12.99 per hour. Keep the electric car overnight and pay $65.99 per day.
The number of countries running high-speed rail is expected to double over the next few years, according to new research by the Worldwatch Institute. By 2014, high-speed trains will be operating in nearly 24 countries, including China, France, Italy, Japan, Spain, and the United States, up from only 14 countries today. The increase in HSR is due largely to its reliability and ability to cover vast geographic distances in a short time….
In the future, we will have the tools to reduce massive power outages and use energy stored in homes and buildings for emergency backup power. With distributed generation and energy storage, the 24×7 demand for electricity will be more balanced. Dynamic pricing signals to smarter homes and buildings will be used by systems that match our preferences for heating, cooling, lighting, and charging electric cars.
REC Solar has teamed with GE Energy Industrial Solutions, a leading supplier of power generation and energy delivery technologies, to distribute the GE WattStation™ electric vehicle (EV) charger. The partnership signals the movement toward the inevitable collision of two rapidly growing sustainability movements – solar and electric vehicles – for a cleaner, more secure world.