3p Contributor: Steve Puma
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Navistar’s eStar Electric Truck is an Ideal Urban Delivery Vehicle
Commercial EV news has taken a back seat of late, with all of the hype surrounding the Chevy Volt, the Nissan Leaf, and other recent additions to the consumer market. However, it is almost certain that most of the growth in the adoption of electric vehicles will come from fleet buyers, especially those with large numbers of delivery vehicles. There is good reason for this: EVs help fleet managers control their costs, while, at the same time, providing numerous additional benefits, such as zero pollution, lower noise, and less downtime due to maintenance. This is why a large number of companies are attempting to capture a piece of this lucrative market.
One of these is Navistar International Corporation, whose affiliates produce, among other things, International® brand trucks. Navistar recently signed a joint venture with Modec Limited of the UK to create the Navistar-Modec EV Alliance. The joint venture will produce Class 2c-3 all-electric commercial trucks for sale in North, Central and South America.
The first product of this joint venture is the eStar all-electric commercial truck, which, according to Navistar, is a “purpose-built” vehicle, designed from the ground up to operate on electric power. The eStar can achieve a range of 100 miles on a full charge, while carrying up to a 4,000 pound payload, and has a number of other interesting features (read on to learn more).
Plug In America Releases Final Three PSAs (Video)
Still shot from Plug-In America's PSA, "Military"
Plug-In America, the nation’s leading electric vehicle advocacy group, has released three more PSAs, the last of a recent awareness campaign that humorously highlights the benefits of EVs, while taking some light-hearted jabs at gasoline-powered cars. The release of the videos was timed to coincide with President Obama’s State of the Union address.
“President Obama and Congress have taken significant steps to incentivize plug-in vehicles,” said Plug In America Legislative Director Jay Friedland. “We urge even bolder actions to sustain this vital new technology, which will help our economy in these challenging times.”
The three new spots each spotlight a benefit of plug-in vehicle transportation. “Military” looks at the high cost of protecting America’s petroleum assets; “Therapist” analyzes range anxiety; and “Tow Truck” extols the superior safety of plug-in vehicles.
Continue on to see the new videos. I think they are pretty funny!
Chevy Volt Released: Efficiency & the Big Question
There is no question that General Motors has a lot riding on the 2011 Chevrolet Volt: it is the first new vehicle model to be delivered (on GM’s 100th anniversary), since the company filed for Chapter 11 reorganization in 2009, with significant help from U.S. taxpayers. Not only is the Volt a huge opportunity for “New GM” to prove that American automakers are still relevant, it is also an opportunity for the company to make good on its promises to deliver competitive alternative-fuel vehicles. In the latter department, GM will have its work cut out for it: Toyota’s Prius is way out in front, Nissan’s Leaf appears to be an excellent product, Ford has announced an all-electric Focus, and numerous others will soon to be available.
So, it was no surprise that the San Francisco stop on the Volt’s cross-country press blitz was held at the amazing Cavallo Point Lodge and included a 100-mile test drive through some of the most gorgeous scenery that the Bay Area has to offer (nothing like a spectacular view of the Golden Gate bridge, or lunch at Nick’s Cove, to generate some good will). Fortunately for General Motors, the Volt makes an excellent impression all by itself. I don’t think that anyone was more surprised that yours truly. Although there are some lingering questions, the Volt is a solid car and should prove to be a worthy addition to the growing list of EV offerings.
Battery Swapping Won’t Work for Ford, But it Doesn’t Matter…
According to this FastCompany article, Ford Motors is not too keen on the notion of designing its future electric vehicles to be compatible with battery-swap infrastructure, such as that developed by Better Place. Sue Cischke, Ford’s vice president for Sustainability, Environment and Safety Engineering, was quoted as saying, “For Ford, it doesn’t seem to be a solution that makes sense.” The main bone of contention with battery swap is that, in order to work, it requires automakers to settle on battery standards that are compatible with the swapping machinery.
BetterPlace, whose robotic battery switch stations “can swap out depleted EV batteries for fresh ones in two minutes,” maintains that this is will not be the case. Company spokesperson Julie Mullins claims that “From day one, accommodation of multiple battery types has been a core engineering requirement for our battery switch stations. We have made significant R&D investments to develop a toolkit/adapter in our battery switch stations that can anticipate and supply different battery types for different vehicles with different battery-to-vehicle connection mechanisms.”
After the break, I’ll explain that, even if BetterPlace were correct about the battery type disagreement, there are still several other reasons why swap stations will likely achieve only limited market penetration, and may ultimately be a very short chapter in the unfolding EV saga.
Monster EV is Both Daily Driver and High-Speed Dragster (Video)
Michael Tyrannous (yes, the middle name is real) Kadie is a man with a dream: to make a living spending time on stuff he’s good at, and that includes designing, building, and driving really fast electric cars. His favorite creation, affectionately known as “T-Rex,” recently put on an impressive display of EV performance, by beating a Chevy Nova dragster in the 1/4-mile (check out the video after the break).
But there’s more to this story than just a drag race: according to Mr. Kadie, T-Rex has been his daily driver since 2006. (He even scored one of California’s coveted “white” carpool stickers, awarded to EVs only.) The San Diego-based engineer works with SSI-Racing, which is bringing several electric vehicles to market.
Plug In America PSAs Highlight Benefits of Electric Vehicles
Los Angeles-based Plug In America is one of the leading non-profit organizations working to accelerate the shift to plug in electric vehicles. The organization has recently launched a series of Public Service Announcements (PSAs), with a unique twist: many of those involved in producing the commercials have driven EVs, for up to nine years. The PSAs, presented in a humorous and lighthearted manner, are also “spoofs” of Apple’s extremely popular “Mac vs. PC” ads.
Read on to view the ads…
Infineon Raceway Shows Speed Freaks that Green Means Excitement
There are many things that come to mind when one thinks about automobile racing: super fast cars, high speed, noise, excitement, and even danger. For most people, it would be almost laughable to consider “sustainable” or “green” as words that could possibly describe auto racing.
For Infineon Raceway president and general manager Steve Page, sustainability has been part of racing at the Sonoma facility for a number of years, you just didn’t know about it. He fully intends to make Infineon, already a major race facility, and one of NASCAR’s few road courses, a showcase for alternative energy and green transportation, and has taken the first bold step by partnering with Panasonic in a major solar installation.
Mr. Page feels that the Raceway is uniquely poised to place sustainability front-and-center to, as he puts is, “the horsepower-and-performance crowd,” a group that “have not necessarily been the early adopters in this movement.”
Infineon Raceway Announces Solar Partnership with Panasonic
What solar panels might look like on turn 10 at Infineon Raceway
On a perfect fall day in beautiful Sonoma, California, Infineon Raceway president and general manager Steve Page, along with Jim Doyle, president of Panasonic Enterprise Solutions, announced a multi-year partnership between the two companies, marking the launch of Infineon’s comprehensive sustainability initiative.
The centerpiece of the collaboration will be a major solar-power-generating installation at the raceway, with a capacity of more than 350 kilowatts, along with a new dual-sided, solar-powered LED billboard along Highway 37, replacing the existing signage.
The cooperation with Panasonic also includes the renaming of the Infineon Raceway Technology Center, based in the paddock. It will now be known as the Panasonic Technology Center.
Panasonic Invests $30 Million in Tesla Motors
Tesla Motors’ stock is up on news that Japanese electronics giant Panasonic will invest $30 million in the Silicon Valley electric car manufacturer. Panasonic is a preferred supplier for the lithium cells that Tesla uses in its Roadster model, and is now almost certain to be the supplier for the upcoming Model S sedan.
According to Reuters, “This comes amid a much larger campaign by Panasonic to bolster its energy storage business and become a heavyweight player in the world of electric cars, shifting its focus away from the consumer electronics market.”
The US Government, Daimler and Toyota have also recently taken the plunge, leaving Tesla with quite a war chest. However, the company’s survival is almost entirely reliant on the success of the Model S, because the company will be halting Roadster production after 2011
Even more problematic, the Model S is not slated to arrive until 2012. During this time, several less expensive options will already be on the market, including the Nissan Leaf, the Coda, and the Chevy Volt.
It will be interesting to see if Tesla can pull it off.
Blasterous.com is Hyper-Local and Private: Interview with Founder Tim Reeth
While social media has generally been a force for good in our lives, there has also been a downside: information overload. The major players try to be everything to everyone, and, in the process, leave us overwhelmed, sifting through that which is meaningful and relevant, from that which is, well, frankly, meaningless drivel.
Blasterous.com founder and CEO Tim Reeth hopes to change all that, at least as far as managing the communications people have with their genuine network of friends, family and neighbors. To him, that means providing them with better controls, and allowing them to organize their connections into custom lists which are 100% private to those people who are part of the list.
Currently in Beta, Blasterous is a hyper-location-based social platform, with mobile apps for iPhone, and Android. Users can share local and time sensitive information in the form of a “blast”; which, unlike Twitter’s 140, are 240 characters in length, can have up to 5 images per blast and contain hyperlinks. Additionally, those with permission to view a blast are able to add their comments, thereby generating a stream of dialog.
Recently, we caught up with Mr. Reeth, and asked him some questions about what makes his company unique in an ocean of social media startups.
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