Clemson University Develops Interactive Display

At the 2011 SEMA Show's Vehicle Technology Center, Joshua Ekandem, a student at Clemson University, demonstrates an interactive display for the CU-ICAR, a research and development project at Clemson. Studies by students and a psychologist have discovered that different ages have preferences for display & interaction.

Joshua is developing designs for the interface that will be intuitive & customizable by the driver, yet not contribute to driver distraction. Programming is being developed that will give presets on display preferences for various drivers.

Mercedes Unveils iPhone Integration Plans

With today's consumers expecting to be able to access info & entertainment easily, Mercedes-Benz has implemented their @yourCOMAND in its F 125! research vehicle to provide an "always on" environment available to the drivbeer & passengers.

Primarily @your COMMAND will be largely voice activated to minimize driver distraction, will integrate with the iPhone, and will be able to recognize some gestures. The driver will be able to remotely check status of the vehicle from their computer or smart phone for service needs, & even fuel level.

Future Parking: San Francisco's Smart Parking Spots

San Francisco is replacing 5,000 of it's parking meters with new Smart Parking Meters. Not only will the meters take credit cards, they also have sensors in the pavement that can locate clear spots, and (in the near future) tell your smartphone where the nearest parking space can be found (yes, soon there will be an Ap for that). Another smartphone feature is a phone alert when your parking time gets low, and the possibility of paying for the first and a subsequent time block by phone.

Watch the Video from the Wall Street Journal.

Electric Vehicle Pioneers Celebrate

Dr. Andy Frank, Ron Gremban and Felix Kramer- calcars.org photo

Dr. Andy Frank, "father of the plug-in hybrid," now drives a Chevy Volt from a Davis , California Chevy dealership, in a milestone after years of engineering, experimentation and advocacy.

Dr. Frank has been experimenting with various advanced vehicle technologies for the last 25 years with teams of students at UC Davis, where he is a Professor of Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering.

The next day Ron Gremban and Felix Kramer picked up their Volts at Novato Chevrolet.
Ron is the CalCars Technology Lead, who first drove an electric car in the 1968 Caltech-MIT cross-country race and led the 2004 open-source PRIUS+ Project, converting hybrids so they could plug in. Felix is the founder of CalCars, and the three men have been important influences on bringing Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles to the mainstream.

The Novato event was covered by the Marin Independent Journal.

Felix spoke at Plug-In 2010. A transcript of his perspectives on the development of PHEV can be read here.

See the Professor Plug-in music video a fun way to see some PHEV modern history.

As published by Larry Holser at Examiner.com

Electric Cars Going Mainstream This Year

Nissan & Chevy are just now beginning delivery of their electric cars.

An electric car had actually been introduced at the 1900 Paris World’s Fair by Ferdinand Porsche. The car broke speed records and had a range of about 30 miles. Later he combined the electric drive with an internal combustion engine, creating the "System Mixt." a gasoline-electric hybrid that broke more records. A century later the first electric-gas hybrid vehicle was introduced to the US in 1999 by Honda with it’s Insight, followed the very next year by Toyota’s Prius.

Some consumers had expressed “range anxiety” about electric cars. “Range Anxiety” is the concern that an electric vehicle will run out of power with no recharger nearby, or that the driver may need to wait hours to recharge away from home.

How is Range Anxiety being addressed?

1. More EV charging stations.

There are three levels of EV chargers. Level 1 and 2 power the internal charger.

• Level 1: 120 volts & charges in 11 hours.
• Level 2: 240 volts & charges in 6 hours.
• Level 3: 480 volts in under 30 min.

The Nissan Leaf can take all three levels. The GM-Volt can take level 1 and 2.

How do you find a EV charging station?

• EV Charger Maps On-line
• EV Charger Finder – Yes, there’s an app for that, and as of December 2010, it’s free!

2. The EV batteries have increased capacity.

The Nissan Leaf website says that “depending on the conditions, when your battery is new your range may vary anywhere from 138 - 62 miles.” For the majority of drivers, that battery capacity will handle the commute to and from work with stops for shopping, even without charging.

3. EV with gasoline engine - a safety-net

The GM Volt’s approach is all-electric power to wheels with a small internal combustion engine that GM calls an “emergency generator” to the batteries. Since the battery-only range is about 25-50 miles (depending on conditions) , the gasoline engine can increase the range to about 400 miles.

4. Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles (PHEV)

PHEVs have the ability to drive on batteries only, after charging, with a full-size engine that can be used after the batteries are depleted. They will be coming to Ford, Toyota, Volvo and Peugeot showrooms in 2012, with BMW, Mitsubishi, and Volkswagen in 2013.

Google has tracked a fleet of Hybrid and PHEV vehciles for two years, getting over 100 mpg in the city. See the details.

5. Swappable batteries

Drivers go to a “switch station” which swaps their low batteries for a fully charged ones. The swap is faster than refuelling at a gas station. Will auto manufacturers standardize their batteries and access?

Much of the innovation is coming from Silicon Valley, and we look forward to reporting it. Please send insights and news items to holser@futurecars.us.

As published by Larry Holser on Examiner.com

EV Charge With Your Meal?

A recently opened McDonalds restaurant in West Virginia is the first McDonalds in the nation to have an EV charging station.

Cracker Barrel Restaurant & Country Store plans to offer EV charging stations in twenty-four of it's Tennessee stores.

Walgreen's Pharmacy Offering EV Charging Stations

The Walgreens pharmacy chain will offer rapid-charging EV stations at 18 Houston-area stores next year, through a partnership with power utility NRG Energy.

NRG's eVgo Network will initially include over 100 charging stations and cost NRG about $10 million. The eVgo Network will be rolled out in early 2011 throughout Houston and Harris County,Texas.

The eVgo network will include both Level 2 chargers, which generally take four hours to recharge EV batteries to full charge, and DC rapid chargers, which can charge an EV in about 30 minutes.

Electric Vehicle Charging Stations Increasing

Electric Vehicles are getting more charging locations across the United States and around the world.

Public electric vehicle charging stations that take credit card went on-line in November at San Francisco's Pier 27 parking garage. Drivers can use a credit card to charge their electric vehicles. The cost to charge a vehicle all day is normally between two to three dollars.

The first public EV charging station opened this month in Kansas. Last month Minnesota launched it's first EV charging station in St. Paul at First National Bank. The power to charge the vehicles comes from wind & solar energy generation. Plans are for 150 of the stations to be in place in the Twin Cities area in four years.

First Nissan Leaf Delivered Today

The first all electric Nissan LEAF is delivered today in Northern California.

The Leaf is, as Nissan states "A car with no oil, no gas tank, no transmission, no tailpipe.
A car that runs on 100% electricity..." Unlike GM's soon-to-arrive Volt, or Toyota's well-established hybrids, the Leaf has no gasoline engine. As part of the ownership, the purchaser gets a personal "Filling Station" at their home to charge the car overnight. See the video.

Public charging stations for electric vehicles are already in some businesses in the San Francisco Bay Area. A list of charging stations can be found HERE.

Nissan has taken 20,000 reservations for the Leaf. All the major manufacturers (and some you probaly have never heard of) have electric vehicles in development.

First Chevy Volt Auctioned for Detroit Schools

DETROIT – The first Chevrolet Volt available for retail sale will be offered at public auction with the proceeds benefiting math and sciences education in the Detroit Public Schools.

Honda Presents Plug-in Hybrid at LA Auto Show

Honda's platform's lithium-Ion battery, plug-in capability, hybrid function and petrol combustion engine to provide clean performance. See the video of the Honda Plug-in Hybrid platform HERE:

Hard Economic Realities for Hybrids

Bloomberg.com, after interviews and research has brought some harsh realities of the market & economics of hybrids. I personally own a hybrid (Toyota Highlander), and am usually positive in my reports, but to honestly report reality, I have to report the research and expert interviews.

Bloomberg quotes a J.D. Powers Director of Forecasting:

At some point, the reality is that for this technology to be accepted, it needs to be done without a government crutch,” said Jeff Schuster, director of forecasting at J.D. Power & Associates in Troy, Michigan. “But without a huge gas-price increase or further government demand, the natural demand just isn’t to be there.

J.D. Power also reports "Global sales of hybrids, plug-in hybrids and electric cars are projected to be 954,500 vehicles, or 2.2 percent of the 44.7 million passenger vehicles projected to be sold this year, J.D. Power said in an Oct. 27 report. That may rise to 5.2 million units in 2020..."

Others interviewed in the article were concerned that government subsidies seem to be needed to make economic sense for consumers. The article states that "The government purchased about 64 percent of GM’s Chevy Malibu hybrid models and 29 percent of all Ford Fusion hybrids manufactured since Obama took office in 2009, the data show. GM stopped making the Malibu hybrid in 2009 after lack of consumer demand."

Bloomberg.com also quotes Dan Becker, Director of the Safe Climate Campaign with a positive view of the US government's alternative fuel vehicle purchases:
“At a time when we’re just beginning the era of the hybrid, it’s a positive sign that the government is stepping up to the plate and helping build that market.”

The article states that the Obama administration is promising over $11 billion in taxpayer funds to develop plug-in hybrid vehicles.

ATT Fleet To Increase Alternative Vehicles

AT&T plans to purchase 15,000 alternative fuel vehicles over next 10 years. The purchases will include hybrid and compressed natural gas (CNG).

See the AT&T video HERE:

New Website for Plug-in Electric Vehicles

Southern California Edison today announces a website for plug-in electric vehicles (PEV).


It has tips for cities for working with electric vehicles, for perspective buyers on shopping for PEV, and preparing your home for a PEV.

See it HERE.

Future Cars at SEMA Show 2010

SEMA Show 2010 opened the exhibit halls today.

Yesterday seminars to help the business operators do a better job in technical, sales, marketing, and operations were in full swing, with continuation through the week. Open only to members of the auomotive industry, the seminars, new products, opportunities to get hands on with products and ask questions make this an important time for those in the industry. SEMA Show 2009 drew more than 50,000 domestic and international buyers. The displays are segmented into 12 sections, and a New Products Showcase featured nearly 1,500 newly introduced parts, tools and components.

From SEMA_Show2010

Today I interviewed Julian Calvert of Edison2, the creators of the Very Light Car and winners of the Progressive Automotive X Prize, a $10 million competition to build a production-capable, clean, well-performing and safe 100+ mpg car.

SEMA Show 2010 Coverage

This is NOT your reporter looking for a parking space in Las Vegas.
It is a shot of the SEMA Show 4WD Test Drive track in 2008.

As we cover the cars, products, & events, post a comment here if you see something you'd like us to check out in more detail, & we'll see what we can do.

Green Power from Brown?

The Bio-Bug runs on methane gas generated during the sewage treatment process.

Waste flushed down the toilets of just 70 homes in Bristol is enough to power the Bio-Bug for a year, based on an annual mileage of 10,000 miles.

In Sweden, more than 11,500 vehicles already run on biomethane produced from sewage plants. Engineers say that the driver cannot tell how it is powered.

Read more about the Bio Bug HERE

First Chevy Volt Rolls off Assembly Line

The first 2011 Chevrolet Volt rolled off the assembly line in Hamtramck, Michigan, on Monday.

Earlier cars were made in limited numbers at other GM locations. Some have been seen at auto shows. One quarter of th cars have been used for crash tests so far, and the remaining ones have logged well over half a million collective miles of testing. VIDEO: Test Drive of the Volt (Wall Street Journal)

Ford Announces Electric Vehicle Strategy

Ford’s global electrification strategy includes plans to produce five full electric or hybrid vehicles in the compact, midsize and light commercial segments for the North American market by 2012 and European markets by 2013.

Specifically, Ford will launch two zero-emission all-electric vehicles including the Transit Connect Electric light commercial vehicle in North America in late 2010 and in Europe in 2011, followed by the Focus Electric in North America in 2011 and Europe in 2012. Three other yet-to-be-named vehicles – including two next-generation hybrid electric vehicles and a plug-in hybrid vehicle – will follow in North America in 2012 and Europe in 2013.

Toyota Begins Plug-in Hybrid Demo in 2010

The 2010 Toyota Prius Plug-in Hybrid vehicle (PHV) made its North American debut at the Los Angeles Auto Show in December, 2009.

The vehicle expands Toyota’s Hybrid Synergy Drive technology with the introduction of a first generation lithium-ion battery that enables all-electric operation at higher speeds and longer distances than the conventional Prius hybrid. When fully charged, the vehicle is targeted to achieve a maximum electric-only range of approximately 13 miles and will be capable of achieving highway speeds up to 60 mph in electric-only mode. For longer distances, the Prius PHV reverts to “hybrid mode” and operates like a regular Prius.

A total of 350 vehicles will begin delivery in Japan and Europe in support of model programs with business and government partners aimed at raising societal awareness of, and preparedness for, this important new technology, with 150 vehicles in the US. Regional programs are currently slated for California, Washington D.C., New York, Oregon and Pennsylvania. Each placement scenario will have a variety of ‘use cases’ or driving conditions to gain maximum input to vehicle performance and customer needs.

The battery powering the Prius PHV is the first lithium-ion drive-battery developed by Toyota and its joint venture battery production company, Panasonic Electric Vehicle Energy (PEVE).

All vehicles will be equipped with data retrieval devices which will monitor activities such as how often the vehicle is charged and when; whether the batteries are depleted or being topped off during charging; trip duration, all-EV driving range, combined mpg and so on.

Plug-in Hybrid Website