Americans keeping their cars on the road longer than ever
According to a study recently published by R. L. Polk & Co., Americans are keeping their cars on the road longer than ever before. One look at our recent posts on monthly sales figures should be enough to explain the phenomenon, as drivers are delaying the purchase of a new vehicle as long as possible. Much of this trend can be attributed to the current economic climate since consumers have less money each month to spend on transportation needs. Last summer’s record high fuel prices were also a contributing factor. After analyzing data from July 1, 2007 to June 30, 2008, Polk has found that the average passenger car in use in 2008 was 9.4 years old, a figure that surpasses the previous record of 9.2 years from the last two years . Light trucks don’t survive quite as long, though the 7.5 year average is still higher than the 7.1 figure from ’07. A total of 5.6 percent of all vehicles were scrapped in 2008. An interesting side note to all of this data is that older cars are almost universally dirtier and less fuel efficient that their newer siblings, meaning that this could turn into quite the dirty trend if it continues in the coming years. [Source: R. L. Polk & Co.] Continue reading Americans keeping their cars on the road longer than ever Auto Blog: Etc. , Green Daily , USA Americans keeping their cars on the road longer than ever originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Wed, 04 Mar 2009 11:54:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds .Car Blog Green | Car Blog Green | Car Blog Green
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Americans keeping their cars on the road longer than ever
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Leave a commentGeneva 2009: Ford Tourneo Connect BEV concept
Click the Tourneo Connect BEV for a high res gallery When Ford announced at last month’s Chicago Auto show that it would collaborating with Smith Electric Vehicles to bring an electric version of the Transit connect van to the U.S. market in 2010, they didn’t actually bring a sample along. Here in Geneva the automaker did have a vehicle much like the one we will get. The Tourneo BEV is the low roof passenger version of the Transit Connect but the important bits of this concept are what will appear in the TC EV. The wheels get drive torque supplied by an AC induction motor and the electrons are stored in a lithium iron phosphate battery pack. Dan Jenkins from Smith declined to reveal who the cell supplier is or will be. A similar Transit Connect EV will be sold by Smith in Europe beginning this fall. Gallery: Geneva 2009: Ford Tourneo Connect BEV Continue reading Geneva 2009: Ford Tourneo Connect BEV concept Auto Blog: EV/Plug-in , Ford , Geneva Motor Show Geneva 2009: Ford Tourneo Connect BEV concept originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Wed, 04 Mar 2009 11:04:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds .Car Blog Green | Car Blog Green | Car Blog Green
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Geneva 2009: Ford Tourneo Connect BEV concept
Toyota announces 150 plug-in Prius hybrids are coming to Europe in 2009
Click above for a high-res gallery of the 2010 Toyota Prius Toyota Motor Europe CEO Tadashi Arashima has announced that Europe will get 150 plug-in Priuses this year, followed by another 350 in 2010. These PHEV units will be used for testing purposes and will not be available for the masses. Even better news from ToMoCo: 2012 will see the introduction of an all-electric vehicle. Toyota could use the plug-in help to meet its self-set goal of average corporate CO 2 emissions of 140 g/km, including Lexus offerings, this year and drop to between 120 and 130 g/km before the mandatory limit comes dues in 2015 . Arashima also said that, since the price of diesel cars will climb significantly with the introduction of the Euro V and VI anti-pollution rules, diesel vehicles won’t be as attractive to buyers who might also consider a hybrid vehicle. He did acknowledge that diesels will continue to be significant in European markets. [Source: Automotive News (subs. req'd)] Auto Blog: EV/Plug-in , Toyota , Europe/EU Toyota announces 150 plug-in Prius hybrids are coming to Europe in 2009 originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Wed, 04 Mar 2009 10:17:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Car Blog Green | Car Blog Green | Car Blog Green | Car Blog Green
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Toyota announces 150 plug-in Prius hybrids are coming to Europe in 2009
Posted in Auto Green, Hybrids | a-sample-along-, cars, data, entry, europe, fordtransitconnectev, geneva 2009, introduction, market, median car age, plug-in toyota, transit-connect, year | Leave a commentNissan plans EV network where Americans actually stop
The Nissan EV team may have been spending some time in Sweden . The automaker is thinking out loud about an EV charging network that takes into consideration where people actually stop their cars. The planned network for America may therefore include places such as fast-food restaurants and other roadside stops or even car dealers, which could offer recharging as a courtesy. Electricity at these posts would be paid using a credit card. With these chargers, a car could get up to 80 percent battery charge (enough for about 80 miles) in about 30 minutes, is Nissan’s upcoming EVs, scheduled for 2012, perform as expected. The general layout of the planned network uses three types of charge points: home chargers in the garage; workplace charging, including parking lots and garages in downtown business areas; and a public infrastructure built around normal transportation areas like shopping malls, movie theaters, restaurants and airports. [Source: Automotive News (subs. req'd)] Auto Blog: EV/Plug-in , Nissan , USA Nissan plans EV network where Americans actually stop originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Wed, 04 Mar 2009 08:47:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Car Blog Green | Car Blog Green | Car Blog Green | Car Blog Green
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Nissan plans EV network where Americans actually stop
Tesla Roadster on sale in Canada as of… today, deliveries start in Q4 ’09
Click above for a high-res gallery of the Tesla Roadster Canada has not always been the friendliest territory for electric cars, but that’s changing . After the Tesla empire officially expanded to Chicago yesterday, the company has announced it will join the northern rush and is now ready to take orders in Canada. Canadian buyers will have to wait until the fourth quarter of 2009 to actually get their cars, but they should feel free to sign up for the $109,000 electric car whenever they feel like it. Oh, and that’s the U.S. price; the cost for Canadians will be set later this year) The first deliveries will be made out of upcoming Tesla “regional centers” in Seattle and New York, but Canada-based stores are in the works. In the announcement of the Canadian sales, Tesla highlights one big difference between American and Canadian Roadsters: the electricity used to power the vehicles is much more likely to be clean up north: Canada and Norway are the only two countries worldwide where the majority of electricity comes from renewable resources, including run-of-river small hydro, wind, biomass, geothermal and solar energy. An EV recharged from the current Canadian grid, on average, would reduce greenhouse gas emissions by about 85 percent compared to an equivalent gasoline-powered vehicle. In hydro-dominant British Columbia, Quebec and Manitoba, the reduction would be an impressive 98 percent. Click here for some fun video of the Tesla Roadster undergoing ice testing, and see more images of Roadsters in the snow here . Gallery: First Drive: Tesla Roadster [Source: Tesla] Continue reading Tesla Roadster on sale in Canada as of… today, deliveries start in Q4 ’09 Auto Blog: EV/Plug-in , Tesla Motors , North America Tesla Roadster on sale in Canada as of… today, deliveries start in Q4 ’09 originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Tue, 03 Mar 2009 16:05:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds .Car Blog Green | Car Blog Green | Car Blog Green
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Tesla Roadster on sale in Canada as of… today, deliveries start in Q4 ’09
Posted in Auto Green | a-friend-via, after-the-jump, cars, co2limits, fox carbon offset, norway, show, tesla, tesla roadster, tesla-motors, teslaev, teslamotors | Leave a commentABG reader sends in Colorado Current electric car update
So, earlier this week we looked into a tip we got about an all-electric car called the Current. The website for the car left a little to be desired , and it looked like maybe another tale of someone with promising just a little more than they can deliver. Well, AutoblogGreen reader Brian from Colorado, who lives in – surprise – Colorado, actually paid the show a visit and sent in some pictures and a report. You can find some of what he wrote in hisCar Blog Green , things like that these are Chinese imports (via Pakistan), that they can go 70 mph and that they haven’t yet been through any crash testing. Brian also wrote the following to us directly: He [the shop owner] told me he plans on bringing in 4 to 6 more models in the next 90 days including the car that looks like the Mini and a small truck. He also told me he has been working on bringing and/or making battery powered cars for 5 years. He did not want me to take pictures of the motor, inverters, or the batteries but he told me they are testing several brands. He says he is asked everyday by phone and email what electronic parts he is using in the cars. He said they are available products and he wants to put as much US made products in the cars as he can. He also had a 5 speed transmission that he was testing. Personal observation: he is a car salesman and I have looked at his website and spec sheets and most of the cars I saw did not match, such as AC and CD stereo so take that for what’s it’s worth. The cars I saw had not been delivered and as you can see in the pictures were being built . The car I was able to ride in on the test drive did have AC but still had a crappy cassette player . I just wanted to find out if the cars are real and available for sale and if they can be driven on the highway and it appears to me that they can be driven, at least in Colorado on the highway. The red car I drove was going to Florida and two cars, Silver and White I think, are going to California. So, that’s what one reader reports. You can see Brian’s pictures here (the big ones are from him, the smaller are from the website). Any more questions? Gallery: Current EV Auto Blog: EV/Plug-in , AutoblogGreen Exclusive ABG reader sends in Colorado Current electric car update originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Fri, 27 Feb 2009 19:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Car Blog Green | Car Blog Green | Car Blog Green | Car Blog Green
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ABG reader sends in Colorado Current electric car update
Better Place announces 19 "Vision Partners" (aka early buyers) in Israel
Click on the image above for a gallery of Better Place images “Vision Partner” sure has a nice ring to it. So positive, so optimistic, and so perfect a name for Better Place’s new partners in Israel. Better Place announced this week that it has agreements with 19 companies who want to support Better Place’s plug-in vehicle/infrastructure project by being the first to buy the cars when they become commercially available in 2011. Better Place founder and CEO says that these agreements prove “that there is a real demand for electric cars powered by the Better Place network.” The Jerusalem Post lists 13 of the companies : Israel Corporation, Teva Pharmaceuticals Industries, Partner Communications, Pelephone Communications, Orange Communications, Matrix IT, Direct Insurance, Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, Netafim, Keter Plastics, Orbotech, Manpower Israel, and Glasshouse Technologies. Globes also names Jafora Tabori, SQlink, and Nike Israel as partners. We’re trying to find the names of the other three. Gallery: Better Place [Source: Better Place , Globes , Jerusalem Post ] Continue reading Better Place announces 19 “Vision Partners” (aka early buyers) in Israel Auto Blog: EV/Plug-in , Green Daily , Middle East , Better Place Better Place announces 19 “Vision Partners” (aka early buyers) in Israel originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Thu, 26 Feb 2009 15:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Car Blog Green | Car Blog Green | Car Blog Green | Car Blog Green
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Better Place announces 19 "Vision Partners" (aka early buyers) in Israel
Mitsubishi i MiEV hopes to hang out in Hong Kong
As Mitsubishi prepares for its electric car, the i MiEV , to go on sale this summer in Japan and the UK, more territories wishing to try it out on their own streets are coming forward. We can now add the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China, known to most of us simply as “Hong Kong,” to a list that includes Finland , New Zealand and the U.S . Universal Cars Ltd, the Hong Kong distributor for MiMoCo, signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MoU) with the Environment Bureau today that could see the little electric jellybean rolling down Hong Kong Streets by May. The trial is seen as a precursor to the vehicle being offered for sale there and will examine such issues as market acceptability and the “suitability of the charging infrastructure.” China is also home to several automakers with their own electric car ambitions. BYD is supposed to begin selling its all-electric e6 later this year and Chery just revealed a prototype of their S18 . Press release after the break. Gallery: Mitsubishi i MiEV – LIVE [Source: Mitsubishi ] Continue reading Mitsubishi i MiEV hopes to hang out in Hong Kong Auto Blog: EV/Plug-in , Mitsubishi , China Mitsubishi i MiEV hopes to hang out in Hong Kong originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Thu, 26 Feb 2009 14:17:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds .Car Blog Green | Car Blog Green | Car Blog Green
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Posted in Auto Green | a-friend-via, cars, defense-systems, green-daily, hongkong, image, imiev, live, mitsubishi i miev, vision partners, visionpartners | Leave a commentAs Formula 1 prepares to launch KERS, safety concerns mount
The opening of the 2009 Formula one season is only a month away in Melbourne, Austraiia and, for the first time, teams will be able to compete with KERS hybrid drive systems aboard. It’s not clear yet how many of the teams are actually ready to run their systems, but there is one big concern: safety. Most of the teams are believed to be working with some sort of electric hybrid rather than a mechanical flywheel system. Drivers and pit and safety crews are working on procedures for handling the cars in the pits or in the event of a crash. Pit crews have been wearing heavy rubber gloves during winter tests and drivers are taking two footed jumps out of cars instead of stepping out to prevent contacting the car and ground at the same time. Puma is also developing special racing shoes for the drivers to try and prevent them from being shocked. So far, shock hazards haven’t proved to be much of a problem with production hybrids. However, the environment in race cars is very different. Race cars are designed to dissipate energy by shedding parts in the event of a crash in order to protect the driver. Everyone will have to be much more careful in F1 this year. [Source: F1-Live ] Auto Blog: Hybrid , Racing As Formula 1 prepares to launch KERS, safety concerns mount originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Wed, 25 Feb 2009 15:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Car Blog Green | Car Blog Green | Car Blog Green | Car Blog Green
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As Formula 1 prepares to launch KERS, safety concerns mount
Electric cars prove ideally suited for Detroit taxi service … in 1915
The New York Times has taken a look at the suitability of electric vehicles for use as Detroit taxis compared to gas and “other” vehicles. Needless to say, the Times found the EV to be a very good option for the low speed urban duty cycle typical of a modern cab. Compared to gas powered cabs, pulling juice off the grid was very cheap making for low operating costs which are critical to cab profitability. The maintenance costs are also lower, due to the relative mechanical simplicity. Passengers also preferred the electrics for their smooth acceleration and low noise compared to gas cabs. Passengers were surprised to learn they were in electric vehicles, expecting them to be much slower. When this particular article was published, there were already more than 600 electric taxis running in Berlin, Germany (compared to 1,600 gas versions). The biggest American operator of electric cabs, according to the report, is Detroit Taxicab and Transfer company. The company even installed chargers at cab-stands to keep the cars ready to go. According to the Times, the electric may not be able to compete with gas cars in all applications but for urban cab service, EVs definitely work. The article was published in 1915. [Source: New York Times ] Auto Blog: EV/Plug-in Electric cars prove ideally suited for Detroit taxi service … in 1915 originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Fri, 13 Feb 2009 11:56:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Car Blog Green | Car Blog Green | Car Blog Green | Car Blog Green
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