Nissan 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
VW CEO Martin Winterkorn: Electric cars 15-20 years away
Click above for a high-res gallery of the VW up! Show season is upon us, which means there will be a ton of interesting new concept vehicles and freshly announced production models for all of us gearheads to ogle over. Another sometimes overlooked feature of auto shows like the one that’s currently taking place in Geneva is the presence of top executives of major automakers who are uncommonly willing to share their thoughts. Such is the case with Volkswagen CEO Martin Winterkorn, who told a group of reporters that electric cars are an important piece of the puzzle when it comes to the greening of our transportation industry – just not any time soon. In the short term, VW, which recently teamed up with Toshiba to develop electric drive systems, is focused on increasing the efficiency of the tried-and-true internal combustion engine. According to Winterkorn ( and others ), electric vehicles won’t have a majority share in the market for another 15-20 years. Perhaps it’s not surprising to hear this projected timetable from Volkswagen, which is recognized as a leader in modern diesel technology. Still, we think he’s got a point. Currently, of the millions of automobiles sold worldwide each year, a minimal percentage are powered by electrons. Even after new vehicles like the Chevy Volt come online, it will take a number of years before their combined sales even begin to approach that of the gasoline or diesel engine. Whether or not it will take 20 years we don’t know, but it’s definitely coming. Gallery: Volkswagen up! concept [Source: Automotive News - sub. req'd] Auto Blog: EV/Plug-in , Volkswagen VW CEO Martin Winterkorn: Electric cars 15-20 years away originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Wed, 04 Mar 2009 07:57:00 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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VW CEO Martin Winterkorn: Electric cars 15-20 years away
Swedish McDonad’s might offer plug-in hybrid stations soon
A book I Car Blog Greena long time ago about the rise of McDonald’s in America explained that what Ray Kroc was really interested in was real estate, not hamburgers. The idea being that if you made your food available absolutely everywhere, then you would always be an option for people when they got hungry. Since there are now so many McDonald’s restaurants, it makes sense that plug-in vehicle proponents in Sweden are gearing up to use all those acres of parking lots for PHEV charging stations. Treehugger says that the plan will see McDonald’s paying to install the posts while the Elforsk company makes sure there is enough juice to the posts to charge vehicles quickly (more information in this Swedish PDF ). A 230 volt – 16 amp pilot post should be installed at a Stockholm McDonald’s soon. The posts will be made by Eldon, which currently says it will take between 30 and 45 minutes to fully charge an EV or PHEV. Perhaps Better Place should step in and suggest putting battery-swapping robots in the drive through lane. [Source: Elforsk via Treehugger ] Auto Blog: EV/Plug-in , Green Daily , Europe/EU Swedish McDonad’s might offer plug-in hybrid stations soon originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Mon, 16 Feb 2009 17:52:00 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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Swedish McDonad’s might offer plug-in hybrid stations soon
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