Miles per gallon: Overrated?
Auto Blog: Green Culture , MPG , Green Daily Sure, there are plenty of things in the automotive world that are overrated. Enough, in fact, to compile a whole list of them, as seen here . Come on, join in… it’s fun! For instance, in addition to the small SUVs that already made the list, why not add big SUVs too? Most buyers of the big behemoths rarely use the full capabilities of their rigs and could almost always use a smaller vehicle. What about those rare instances when a monster ‘ute is necessary? Rent one. Remember, even if one more giant SUV was never made, there’s an endless supply of perfectly good used ones to choose from. Moving right along, what else is on this particlar overrated list? The Prius? Well, perhaps, since quite a number of people admit to choosing them simply to look like they care. The Tesla? Eh, fine. It’s expensive and seats only two occupants. We’re not sure overrated is the right word for these two vehicles, but whatever. Miles per gallon? Um, no, not overrated in the slightest bit. Why’s it on the list? To quote the anonymous author, “In case you haven’t noticed (and nobody has) gas is really cheap again.” Ugh. Isn’t this the attitude that got us into this mess in the first place? [Source: Inside Line ] Miles per gallon: Overrated? originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Wed, 14 Jan 2009 18:47:00 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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Miles per gallon: Overrated?
Electric vehicle-to-grid network arrives in Newark, DE
Auto Blog: EV/Plug-in , Scion , USA Newark, DE has gotten the green light for one of the first two-way Vehicle to Grid infrastructure. Sponsored by a $730,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Energy, the project helps the state and the University of Delaware to purchase specially-equipped cars (retrofitted versions of the Scion xB) which would get electricity from the local utility and give back some of it when the car is parked and plugged in. Of course, a handful of cars aren’t enough to make any dramatic impact on the grid, but regional grid manager believes that a thousand will make a noticeable difference. The demonstration vehicles, plugged into a single 208-volt, 50-amp outlet, can each use or send onto the grid 10.4 kWh of electricity. What Delaware needs now, besides the EV cars, is a complete network of garages, apartment parking lots and city streets outfitted with the right size plugs, as the grid is actually ready to go. Thanks to GoodCheer for the tip. [Source: Delaware Online ] Electric vehicle-to-grid network arrives in Newark, DE originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Wed, 14 Jan 2009 17:56:00 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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Electric vehicle-to-grid network arrives in Newark, DE
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Leave a commentDaimler only planning to use Tesla batteries for first 1,000 smart eds
Auto Blog: EV/Plug-in , Tesla Motors , Daimler Click above for a high-res gallery of the smart ed When Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk told us yesterday that his company would be supplying battery packs and chargers for the first 1,000 second generation electric Smarts he expressed hope that the deal might be expanded beyond that. He told us that if the test program went well, he would like to supply packs and other components on an ongoing basis to Daimler. That may still happen, but the odds are likely against it. For one thing, most of Daimler’s production is in Europe and Tesla packs are assembled in California, making the logistics of overseas shipping expensive. The bigger problem is Daimler’s desire to keep battery technology in-house. This is not unique to Daimler; Toyota, Honda, Mitsubishi, and Nissan all have joint ventures for lithium ion batteries. At the Detroit Auto Show this week, GM announced that it will assemble the packs for it’s ER-EVs in its own factory with its own battery management systems. Matthias Brock, Head of Media Relations for Daimler’s Research, Development and Environmental Communications told Green Car Congress that the Tesla deal, “helps us to bridge the time until the industrialization of Lithium-Ion batteries within our Joint Venture with Evonik will be ready.” That JV was announced in December. Gallery: Detroit 2009: smart ed [Source: Green Car Congress ] Daimler only planning to use Tesla batteries for first 1,000 smart eds originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Wed, 14 Jan 2009 17:10:00 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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Daimler only planning to use Tesla batteries for first 1,000 smart eds
Posted in Auto Green | a-friend-via, daimler, fuel mileage, made-the-list, newarkdelaware, online, smart ed, smartgrid, tesla-motors, teslamotors, the-automotive, time | Leave a commentToyota to sell batteries to other automakers
Auto Blog: EV/Plug-in , Toyota Click above for a gallery of the Toyota FT-EV concept Part of Tesla Motors’ ongoing business plan involves selling complete lithium ion battery packs to other auto manufacturers. The most recent example of this strategy was just announced at the Detroit Auto Show , with Tesla supplying packs to Daimler for its smart ed . Daimler, for its part, also wants to sell battery packs to its competitors. Joining these two manufacturers may soon be Toyota, as Executive Vice President Masatami Takimoto has said in an interview that the Japanese giant would like to produce packs for its rivals. Since Toyota has such a large investment into batteries for its current and future range of hybrids, plug-ins and fully electric vehicles, it only makes sense to capotalize on all forms of incoming profit. Toyota owns 60 percent of a joint venture with Panasonic to produce lithium ion batteries specifically for use in electric vehicles, and the JV already sells nickel metal hydride packs to some automakers. Gallery: 2009 Toyota FT-EV Concept [Source: Bloomberg ] Toyota to sell batteries to other automakers originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Wed, 14 Jan 2009 16:19:00 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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