electric cars:

20,000 members on Volt’s waiting list

Over 20,000 people have expressed interest in buying a Chevy Volt when it arrives by signing up on GMVolt’s virtual waiting list. It still isn’t clear how much the Volt will cost, although most estimates put it around $35,000. Also not clear is how many Volts will be produced in the first model year, estimates put that at at least 10,000.

There are about 4000 Chevy dealerships, so if only 10,000 cars should be made, how will they be distributed? GM vice-chair Bob Lutz has mentioned the possibility of early distribution to “smile states” such as California, New York, Washington D.C., and Florida, but also indicates that final plans haven’t been made yet.

GM Volt will be powered by a 160-hp electric motor that will allow it run on electricity for up to 40 miles. Recently Bob Lutz was reported saying that the price of the Chevrolet Volt could reach about $48,000. Lutz said that $40,00 would be possible only if GM doesn’t make a dime on the car.

Chevrolet Volt Concept

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Pininfarina to produce electric cars

Who thought that the well-known coachbuilder Pininfarina is going to take the „green” way? Well, it’s true! The Italian manufacturer announced that it’s going to produce an electric car in a joint venture with the French manufacturer, Bollore. The new vehicle will be produced in San Giorgio, Italy due to the fact that the production of the Alfa Romeo Spider and Brera will be moved from San Giorgio to Bairo.

The plant will be modified in order to make place for the new production line of the electric vehicle. The yet-unnamed car will be launched as a concept in October, at the Paris Auto Show while the production version will be unveiled in March 2009 at the Geneva Auto Show. According to Pininfarina CEO Sergio Angori, some pre-production units will be released by the end of 2009 while the production vehicles will be released after September 2010.

Progressive Automotive X Prize Entry

Motive believes that the transportation sector needs to undergo a rapid evolutionary change in order to maintain current standards of living while reducing our energy needs dramatically. In order to achieve this, a shift is required toward low volume high-tech manufacturing techniques.

This will enable us rapid evolution of individualized vehicles that use a fraction of the energy required by today’s automobiles and public transportation vehicles. The Automotive X-Prize will help to push the boundaries of what is perceived not only as possible, but also as probable.

Motive’s intent in entering the X-Prize is to demonstrate our capabilities in the fields of automotive design and engineering. Motive believes in the need for innovation and sustainability and is thus committed to developing and using ecologically sensitive materials and manufacturing methods.

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BMW’s electric baby renderings

BMW will unveil a small Zero Emissions Vehicle (ZEV) sometime in 2012. Supposed to be called Isetta, the future tiny car was created because of new Californian regulations which require big car makers to sell between a few hundred and a few thousand ZEVs every year from 2012.

BMW chief Norbert Reithofer recently said the company “would be obliged to sell a Zero Emissions Vehicle under the US regulations and that a battery car was “the most likely answer”.

Reithofer also said that BMW could have built just a few hundred cars to meet the US regulations but admitted that the company was also wondering if it could use the basic concept “not just for an electric car but also for a range of city cars”. These cars would use petrol and diesel motors, and could even feature BMW motorcycle engines.

ThoRR - Electric Sports Car

It is an enormous thrill to develop and actually built a high performance sports car, especially when you can use state of the art propulsion technology. Mind blowing, smooth acceleration, razor sharp cornering, scaring high speeds, perfect balanced re-generative and friction braking, who wouldn’t like to be involved in such a project.

Yet, it only has been a relatively simple project for Evisol. The real challenge has been to develop, compose and actually assemble the drive train that makes it possible to properly propel this car, fully electric.

ThoRR uses a chassis that has been inspired by the Lotus Super 7 concept. This concept stands for high performance through simplicity and light weight. Because of the absence of ABS, power assisted braking, power assisted steering, any form of sound absorption, even a roof and a windshield, only the basics of a car remain.

Driving becomes a symphony composed by the drive line, the chassis, the wheels, the wind and the road. The simplicity of the car, that doesn’t even uses a gearbox, makes it possible to actually feel all the aspects of the electric drive train. Just what is needed to test the real performance of this drive train.

Technical details after the jump.

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Venturi Fetish on sale starting June 2009

Venturi unveiled the Fetish for the first time at the 2004 Paris Motor show. This year during Top Marques Monaco Venturi announced we will see the production version on the streets starting June 2009. Well, the price is quote spicy - about 297,000 euro (or $465,000).

The production version will have a maximum power of 300 hp and a peak torque of 280 lb-ft. The efficiency of the car has been improved with 92%, while the production version lost 30kg from the original prototype’s weight.

Fetish will make the 0-100km/h sprint in just 3.5 seconds and will hit a top speed of 160km/h.

2006 Venturi Fetish Picture Gallery

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First Lithium-ion Prototype Volt testing

And this is not a rumor. Bob Lutz himself confirmed that the first fully operational Chevy Volt protptype has hit the road!

But this is only the proof that the concept car exist! But, on the other hand, the mule has all of the basic components the final Chevy Volt will although in rough form, now most importantly including the full 16 kWh 40+ mile range lithium-ion battery pack. So, this means the car is on its way! It will be unveiled in two years.

Here’s what Lutz had to say: "The only things that were wrong with the EV1 (GM’s first electric car) was that it was way too expensive to make; it was only a two-passenger; and the battery technology was not ready," Lutz said. "It was a noble effort, but it was a technological force job and at a time when nobody cared. We could not find more than 800 buyers for that thing no matter how hard we tried or no matter how much we dropped the price. Finally we had to lease them out."

"We’ve got the first car running (with lithium-ion batteries) ... and what the guys get on ’sightings’ is a picture of an old Malibu with black wheels and a very long extension cord," he said chuckling at the thought. We have gasoline and 350 to 400 volts (of electricity) in the same vehicle and we have to be careful about it," he said.

Think Global wants to sell $25k electric car in USA

Think Global, a Norwegian automaker plans to sell in the United States an electric car that goes 110 miles (177 kilometers) without a charge and costs less than $25,000. The first model will go on sale by the end of 2009.

The car, named Think City, is a two-seater with a top speed of about 65 mph (104 kilometer), the company said. It runs on sodium batteries and is 95 percent recyclable. It’s "a mass-market vehicle," said Ray Lane of venture capital firm Kleiner, Perkins, Caufield & Byers. "Our desire is to be selling 30- to 40- to 50,000 of these cars in a couple of years."

A few testing vehiclea will be brought to the U.S. in coming months.

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HST International reveal electric Mustang and Shelby Cobra

No later than this weekend Long Beach, California will host the 34th Annual Toyota GP, a show during which we can assist the debut of 2 new electric vehicles. Although the idea of an electric Mustang or electric Shelby Cobra is not very well seen, HST International together with the design company Tjaarda developed a pair of new zero emissions models also named Tjaarda EVX Mustang and HST Shelby Cobra EVX.

Their electric motors use lithium iron phosphate battery packs which are developed by K2 Energy Solution. With 1,355NM of torque at zero and an output of 300hp, both cars can reach 60mph in less than four seconds and can be driven over 100 miles on a single charge. Charging the batteries takes about eight hours with 110 volt outlet and just over three hours with a 220 volt plug.

The cars have been tested and as a result the Tjaards EVX Mustang can reach 60mph in 3.9 seconds being capable of a top speed of 120mph while the HST Shelby Cobra EVX does a little better, reaching 60mph in just 3.2 seconds and a top speed of 150mphwith a range of 120 miles. Prices start from $80,000 for the Mustang and from $125,000 for the Cobra.

Chevrolet Volt Mule Underhood Shot

Lately a spy shot with a supposed Chevy Volt mule with li-ion pack started to circulate on the internet. But what’s the real deal with the car in that picture? It is true that GM is testing E-Flex mule vehicles for a few month now, but this is not one of them.

According to GM EFlex spokesman Rob Peterson: "We have had E-Flex mule vehicles testing components on our test tracks in Milford for over five months. However, the one being shown is not one of them. The photo circulating on the web is a Volt ride and handling test vehicle. It does not include E-Flex propulsion components - specifically, it does not include the li-ion t-pack."

So, what you see in this pictures is a real E-Flex mule with the E-Flex drivetrain, but no li-ion pack.