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Chevy Volt, Nissan Leaf earn Top Safety Picks in first IIHS electric vehicle crash tests

Filed under: Hybrid, Sedan, Safety, Hatchback, Chevrolet, GM, Nissan, Electric

chevy volt crash test

Chevy Volt and Nissan Leaf Crash Tests – Click above for high-res image gallery

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has completed its first test of mainstream plug-in vehicles, and both the 2011 Chevrolet Volt and the 2011 Nissan Leaf have were named “Good” for their front, side, rear, and rollover crash protection. Testing procedures for these plug-in vehicles were exactly the same as for any other automobile the IIHS tests, as they should be.

The two plug-in pioneers join 80 other 2011 vehicles in earning the Top Safety Pick title, thanks to their fine performance in instrumented crash testing and their standard electronic stability control. For what it’s worth, other fuel sippers like the 2010 Toyota Prius and 2010 Honda Insight have also been named Top Safety Picks in the past. That said, the IIHS has taken issue with some plug-in electric vehicles in the past, specifically the not-quite-a-car NEVs like the Gem e2 or the Wheego Whip.

Of course, we all know how much fun it is to watch brand-new cars being smashed to bits in the name of safety, so we’ve gone ahead and embedded a video of the two plug-ins undergoing the crash testing process. Hit the jump to see for yourself and to check out the official press release.

Gallery: 2011 Chevrolet Volt crash tests

2011 Chevrolet Volt crash tests

Gallery: 2011 Nissan Leaf crash tests

2011 Nissan Leaf crash tests

[Source: Insurance Institute for Highway Safety]

Continue reading Chevy Volt, Nissan Leaf earn Top Safety Picks in first IIHS electric vehicle crash tests

Chevy Volt, Nissan Leaf earn Top Safety Picks in first IIHS electric vehicle crash tests originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 26 Apr 2011 00:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Video: Steam Whistle Brewery’s electric 1958 Chevrolet Apache

Filed under: Classics, Truck, Etc., Videos, Work, Chevrolet, Canada, Electric

1958 Chevrolet Apache

Steam Whistle Brewing electric 1958 Chevrolet Apache – Click above to watchvideo after the jump

Steam Whistle Brewing is known for three things: making high-quality pilsner beer, a green-sensitive ethos and an awesome collection of ’50s, ’60s and ’70s American iron to haul their wares around. The latest addition to their stable is this very green 1958 Chevrolet Apache. The truck was originally motivated by the omnipresent General Motors small-block V8, but for a company with an eco-friendly mindset, that wasn’t going to cut it for long.

Instead, the guys at Steam Whistle teamed up with some local Vancouver, Canada mechanics and restorers to replace the truck’s fossil fuel-chugging guts with a brushless AC motor turning out an incredible 465 lb.-ft. of torque. That kind of motivation means this thing can ferry bedloads of brew to destinations all around Vancouver by day and then cruise the strip and shred tires with the best of them at night. The best part is Steam Whistle’s high-voltage Apache is nearly 100-percent carbon neutral, thanks to wind-generated charging. Click past the jump to see videos of the truck in action.

[Source: YouTube/Steam Whistle via Carscoop | Image: Carscoop]

Continue reading Video: Steam Whistle Brewery’s electric 1958 Chevrolet Apache

Video: Steam Whistle Brewery’s electric 1958 Chevrolet Apache originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 23 Apr 2011 20:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Video: Steam Whistle Brewery’s electric 1958 Chevrolet Apache

Filed under: Classics, Truck, Etc., Videos, Work, Chevrolet, Canada, Electric

1958 Chevrolet Apache

Steam Whistle Brewing electric 1958 Chevrolet Apache – Click above to watchvideo after the jump

[Source: YouTube/Steam Whistle via Carscoop | Image: Carscoop]

Continue reading Video: Steam Whistle Brewery’s electric 1958 Chevrolet Apache

Video: Steam Whistle Brewery’s electric 1958 Chevrolet Apache originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 23 Apr 2011 20:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Report: FIA president Jean Todt interested in new electric F1 series

Filed under: Motorsports, Technology, Electric

jean todt

Are you prepared for Formula One, Electric Boogaloo? Jean Todt, President of the FIA, apparently is, and he hopes to introduce a few new racing series that will provide a platform for an electrified Formula One racing series.

Before we get to see a fully-fledged electric F1 league, The Telegraph reports that Todt plans to roll out electric car, go-kart and single-seat events. The goal is to increase awareness of electric propulsion and drum up support for its use in a variety of motorsports applications.

Jean Todt may have a tough road ahead of him, though, thanks to assumed opposition from F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone. Todt is looking to bring hybrid powerplants to F1 and Ecclestone has already voiced his opposition to that plan. We’re going to guess that Bernie won’t take too kindly to all-electric racing either.

[Source: The Telegraph | Image: Roni Rekomaa/AFP/Getty]

Report: FIA president Jean Todt interested in new electric F1 series originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 04 Apr 2011 16:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Will Japan’s nuclear woes dampen electric vehicle enthusiasm?

Filed under: Government/Legal, Safety, Electric

2011 Nissan Leaf

2011 Nissan Leaf – Click above for high-res image gallery

We’ve already seen the panic here in the U.S. as activists and analysts question our nuclear infrastructure, and Congress considers a re-examination of our existing facilities. These new fears about nuclear power have everything to do with the events unfolding at Japan’s Fukushima power plant, and Automotive News wonders if that trepidation could dampen the prospects of electric vehicles as well.

Plans in Europe call for about 1 million EVs on the road by 2020, and a lot that push centers around increasing the number of nuclear power plants to feed these vehicles. Let’s face it, an EV that’s charged via electricity generated at an oil or coal-burning plant doesn’t do much to decrease our reliance on fossil fuels, so nuclear makes a lot of sense. And as costly and time-consuming as it is to erect a nuclear facility, it’s likely easier and less expensive than relying on solar, wind or hydro-electric energy sources.

So what does all this have to do with electric vehicles? If the events unfolding in Japan lead governments to question the safety and viability of nuclear power, then new plants will be slow to come online. If car buyers know that their EV is likely burning the same CO2-emitting fossil fuels as their neighbor’s internal combustion engine, what’s the point of paying more for something that’s just as dirty, more expensive and not as easy to fuel up?

Right now the situation at the Fukushima power plant is dire, but if the situation gets worse, the future of nuclear power, and possibly even EVs, could be just as bleak.

[Source: Automotive News sub. req.]

Will Japan’s nuclear woes dampen electric vehicle enthusiasm? originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 26 Mar 2011 14:04:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Volvo considering insanely high $2,100/month lease for C30 Electric

Filed under: Car Buying, Hatchback, Volvo, Electric

volvo c30 electric

Volvo C30 Electric – Click above for high-res image gallery

A trial fleet of around 400 Volvo C30 Electrics is coming, and anyone who wants one had better have an awful big piggy bank. Speaking at a media launch near Indianapolis, IN today, the president of Volvo Car Special Vehicles, Lennart Stegland, said that, while the final price for the car hasn’t been set, Volvo will not sell the EV, but instead offer the car through a three-year lease for around 1,500 Euros. Per month.

1,500 Euros comes out to about $2,129.85 at today’s exchange rates, so if you stick it out for the full 36 months, you get to spend $76,674 to not buy a car. Even worse, Stegland said that Volvo will lose money on the deal. Ouch. Developing electric vehicles for mass production (which, on Volvo’s schedule, will happen sometime around 2013 or so) is more than mildly expensive.

Sure, for the three years you drive the C30 Electric, you’ll probably be quite happy with the car. We certainly were when we drove it last fall and fell for it again in Indiana today (our full write up is coming soon). To convince EV skeptics, Volvo is pushing its traditional safety message pretty hard with the C30 Electric, and we’re sure the car is as safe as can be. We’ll see how powerful this argument is when a hundred C30 Electrics come to the U.S. in the first quarter of 2012. An official lease price hasn’t been set but, as much as we like it, it’ll be hard to justify two-large a month for four-seat hatch.

Gallery: Volvo C30 Electric

Volvo C30 Electric

Volvo considering insanely high $2,100/month lease for C30 Electric originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 24 Mar 2011 16:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ford Focus Electric gets connected by AT&T

Filed under: Technology, Hatchback, Ford, Electric

MyFord Mobile App

MyFord Mobile App for the 2012 Focus Electric – Click above for high-res image gallery

Hot on the heels of Audi’s announcement to use T-Mobile for its future wireless data needs, Ford has partnered with AT&T to provide connectivity to the 2012 Focus Electric.

Nearly every EV or plug-in hybrid coming to market will offer some combination of embedded wireless data and an accompanying smartphone app, and as we saw at CES with our exclusive hands-on of MyFord Mobile, FoMoCo will be offering a similar solution for its all-electric Focus hatchback.

The partnership Ma Bell and the Blue Oval involves an embedded wireless connection in the EV that allows drivers with the MyFord Mobile app to keep track of charging, set specific times of the day to juice up (late at night when electrons are cheap) and receive a variety of notifications, ranging from battery status to maintenance reminders.

MapQuest has been tapped to provide charging station locations, range alerts, trip planning and vehicle location, and the MyFord Mobile app also includes the ability to remotely lock and unlocks doors, heat and cool the interior and download performance and system data. And if your phone doesn’t have the app, you can use any HTML5-based or WAP 2.0-supported browser to keep tabs on your EV. Hit the jump for the full details and check out our write-up on MyFord Mobile.

Gallery: Hands On: MyFord Mobile App

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Ford Focus Electric gets connected by AT&T originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 22 Mar 2011 19:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Mirrored Smart Fortwo Electric Drive: Seven years of bad luck if you crash? [w/video]

Filed under: Coupe, Videos, Smart, Electric

disco-ball smart fortwo electric drive

Apparatjik rocks the disco-ball Smart Fortwo – Click above to watch video after the jump

What happens if you take a Smart Fortwo Electric Drive, add a disco-ball finish and then throw in Electriconic Rock group Apparatjik? You get the mirrored two-seater shown above, as well as a rather odd video featuring enough flashing lights to push epileptics into DEFCON 1.

The electric party-mobile is a one-off creation thought up by the Apparatjik crew. It’s a music group comprised of Coldplay bassist Guy Berryman, A-Ha guitarist/keyboardist Magne Furuholmen, Mew lead singer Jonas Bjerre and producer Martin Terefe. The car will be used in a film called Pixel City. It also has a starring role in an Apparatjik music video, which can be seen after the jump. Just don’t crash… that’s a lot of mirrors ripe for a shattering.

Gallery: Disco-ball Smart Fortwo

[Source: Daimler]

Continue reading Mirrored Smart Fortwo Electric Drive: Seven years of bad luck if you crash? [w/video]

Mirrored Smart Fortwo Electric Drive: Seven years of bad luck if you crash? [w/video] originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 17 Mar 2011 18:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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BMW confirms New Energy Vehicle, an electric 5 Series for China

Filed under: Concept Cars, Sedan, China, BMW, Shanghai Motor Show, Electric, Luxury

2010 BMW ActiveHybrid5 Concept

2010 BMW ActiveHybrid 5 Concept – Click above for high-res image gallery

The Chinese will get their very own plug-in hybrid BMW at next month’s Shanghai Motor Show when BMW debuts the 2011 5 Series New Energy Vehicle. According to BMW CEO Norbert Reithofer, the car – based on the long-wheelbase 5 Series – is aimed specifically at the Chinese market.

There wasn’t much else to be had from BMW about the New Energy Vehicle, except that it probably won’t hit North American shores. It may, however, loan some of its technology to the ActiveHybrid 5, which BMW showed off as a concept last year. So far, we’re still waiting on the production version of that car, which uses a more traditional gasoline-electric hybrid set up.

Gallery: Geneva 2010: BMW 5 Series Active Hybrid Concept

[Source: Motor Authority]

BMW confirms New Energy Vehicle, an electric 5 Series for China originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 15 Mar 2011 18:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Veritas RSIII Hybrid does the electric slide

Filed under: Performance, Etc., Europe, Technology

Veritas RSIII Hybrid

Veritas RSIII Hybrid – Click above for high-res image gallery

Vermot AG is on the cusp of unleashing a hail of all-new models, including a fully-electric vehicle and a coupe version of the delicious Veritas RSIII. But before we get a taste of those, the company is dipping a pinky toe into electric waters with the introduction of the Veritas RSIII Hybrid. The vehicle basically throws a 105 kilowatt electric motor into the already delectable mix that makes up the standard RSIII. That means that you still get the sounds and feel of the 507-horsepower BMW-built V10 engine in the standard RSIII, but with a little extra electron punch.

Even with the additional drivetrain components and a stack of lithium-ion batteries, the Veritas RSIII Hybrid tips the scales at 2,821 pounds, which is around 500 pounds heavier than the standard version. Even so, Vermot says its battery-operated speedster can do away with the 0-62 mph sprint in a skinny 3.1 seconds thanks in part to the fact that the electric motor kicks power to the front wheels, effectively making the machine an all-wheel drive terror. For reference, that’s .1 seconds faster than its predecessor.

Gallery: Veritas RSIII Hybrid

[Source: Translogic]

Veritas RSIII Hybrid does the electric slide originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 08 Mar 2011 12:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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