GM responds to Carnegie Mellon study
Click above for a high res gallery of the 2011 Chevy Volt After reading through the recent study from Carnegie Mellon University that suggested the best compromise between price, performance and environmental benefit would put a 3kWh battery in plug-in hybrids – enough for about 7 miles of electric-only travel – Jon Lauckner, GM’s Vice President Global Program Management, decided that he should weigh in with his own analysis of the situation. The big problems that GM has with CMU’s study are its suppositions on the cost of large-scale battery packs and the omission of the federal tax credits that plug-in hybrids like the Volt will be eligible for. A vehicle that only allows for a 7-mile EV range would not qualify for any credits while the Volt would earn the full $7,500 allotment due to the capacity of its lithium ion battery. What’s more, GM says that CMU is overestimating the cost of the pack that GM will be using for its Voltec powertrain. The Chevy Volt’s 16 kWh of capacity should provide an electric range of about 40 miles, which GM believes will be sufficient for nearly 80 percent of the population to get to work and back on an average day. If the Volt were primarily driven under this 40-mile limit, GM says drivers could recharge the car at night when electricity is cheap and plentiful. After already holding back on hybrid technology once due to cost considerations, GM’s not about to make that mistake again. Gallery: 2011 Chevy Volt [Source: GM Fastlane ] Auto Blog: EV/Plug-in , Hybrid , Chevrolet , GM , Green Daily GM responds to Carnegie Mellon study originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Thu, 05 Mar 2009 10:11:00 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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GM responds to Carnegie Mellon study
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Leave a commentGeneva 2009: Pininfarina and Bolloré now accepting orders for all-electric B0
Click on picture for a complete high-resolution gallery of the B0 concept If you’re a fan of Pininfarina’s B0 concept , go and join the list. The two partners in the car, Pininfarina and Bolloré, have officially opened their registration list for a €330 per month lease for the car. The lease includes 24 hour roadside assistance. Vincent Bolloré announced during the Geneva Motor Show that the first orders will be delivered in about a year, and future buyers will be able to test-drive one of the 15 current prototypes before that. The car will first be leased in six European countries (France, Italy, Germany, United Kingdom, Spain and Switzerland) and the B0 will also someday reach U.S. and some Asian markets. You will be able to lease the car online, and the marque is planning to create dealer networks to distribute and repairing the car. According to Bolloré, B0 is able to go 100 kilometers for €1. It’s got a 50 kW (68hp) motor, a 250 km (155 miles) range and is able to run for 30 km (20 miles) on a charge of “a few minutes” (a full charge is achieved after 5 hours plugged into any wall socket). Bolloré also mentioned that the car will be built at Pininfarina’s site in Turin, Italy, with planned production rates of 10,000 cars in 2010, 20,000 in 2011 and 30,000 units in 2012. Two additional production sites are also planned in Quimper and Montreal and, depending on lithium reserves, one could be installed in Bolivia . Gallery: Pininfarina B0 [Source: Le Blog Auto ] Auto Blog: EV/Plug-in , Europe/EU , USA Geneva 2009: Pininfarina and Bolloré now accepting orders for all-electric B0 originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Thu, 05 Mar 2009 09:26:00 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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Geneva 2009: Pininfarina and Bolloré now accepting orders for all-electric B0
Posted in Auto Green | bolivia, bollore, chevy, italy, lithiumion, montreal, plug in hybrids, plug-inhybrids, switzerland, university, usa | Leave a commentEPA opens up public comment window on CA emissions waiver
President Obama announced in January that he was asking the EPA to reconsider a December 2007 decision by the Bush Administration’s to deny California an emissions rules waiver (for background, Car Blog Greenthis ). Today, the EPA is holding a (the first?) public hearing on the subject in Arlington, Virginia (for specifics, click past the jump). Earlier this year, we heard that the EPA would acceptCar Blog Green from the public for at least 45 to 60 days, but the comment period ends on April 6. The good news? The EPA says it “will consider writtenCar Blog Green submitted during the comment period with the same weight as oralCar Blog Green presented during the public hearing.” Find out how to submitCar Blog Green here , and get your typing fingers ready. [Source: EPA ] Continue reading EPA opens up public comment window on CA emissions waiver Auto Blog: Legislation and Policy , Green Daily , USA EPA opens up public comment window on CA emissions waiver originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Thu, 05 Mar 2009 08:34:00 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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EPA opens up public comment window on CA emissions waiver
Posted in Auto Green | bolivia, bush, california, californiawaiver, daily, epacaliforniawaiver, italy, lithiumion, obama, plug in hybrids, public, switzerland, university | Leave a commentStudy: modern ethanol plants are A-OK for this one land use issue
Conflicting study overload. That’s the only way to explain all the messages that we’re getting regarding biofuels recently. They speed up global warming . Ethanol is no better than gasoline . You know what I mean. Here’s another one, courtesy of the totally non-biased Illinois Corn Growers Association . The findings this time are that “a modern ethanol plant does not meaningfully change farmland use, neither the amount of land farmed nor the mix of crops planted (e.g., corn, soybeans).” Apparently, the ICGA felt the need to counter the “often cited” link between building new ethanol plants and shifting more land to cornfields. I didn’t know that was a troubling rumor, but Dr. Steffen Mueller from the Energy Resources Center at the University of Illinois at Chicago looked at data from one plant for three years and came to the “no impact” conclusion. You can find the full study here if you really need to Car Blog Greenit yourself. [Source: Illinois Corn Growers Association ] Auto Blog: Ethanol Study: modern ethanol plants are A-OK for this one land use issue originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Sat, 28 Feb 2009 13:20:00 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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Study: modern ethanol plants are A-OK for this one land use issue
High Performance, Higher Education: Ferrari estalishes lightweight research lab at Italian university
Ferrari technical training center pictured above for illustrative purposes If there’s one thing on which treehuggers and tire-smokers can agree on, it’s the need to reduce weight in vehicles. It hurts performance and it hurts fuel efficiency. Few know that as well as Ferrari, which has just taken things to another level by dedicating a new research lab at the University of Modena and Regio Emilia. Called the Mille Chili lab, it bears the same name and the same purpose as the lightweight concept car which the sportscar-maker unveiled in 2007. In the new lab, students will work with faculty members and Ferrari engineers to find new ways of reducing weight in automobiles, which is something we can all get behind, whether your banner color is red or green. Details in the press release after the jump. [Source: Ferrari] Continue reading High Performance, Higher Education: Ferrari estalishes lightweight research lab at Italian university Auto Blog: Ferrari , Lightweight High Performance, Higher Education: Ferrari estalishes lightweight research lab at Italian university originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Wed, 18 Feb 2009 08:51:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds .Car Blog Green | Car Blog Green | Car Blog Green
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High Performance, Higher Education: Ferrari estalishes lightweight research lab at Italian university
U-Haul jumps onto the car sharing club bandwagon
Auto Blog: Transportation Alternatives U-haul has long been one of the top choices for people that needed a truck or trailer to move bulky stuff across town or across the country. You could easily pick up a moving van on one coast, load it up and drop it off on the opposite coast. Now the company is branching out into renting smaller transport for those that only need to move a couple of bodies – in the passenger seats, of course. U Car Share has been operating for a while in Madison WI, Portland, OR and Portland, ME. The most recent branch just opened at the University of Berkeley in California. Like ZipCar and other car sharing services, users pay a $50 sign-up fee and then have access to cars at $9/hour for small cars and up to $14.95 for a van including gas and insurance. People who are already members of another service can actually join U Car Share without having to pay the sign-up fee. Members can reserve a car online and get a smartcard that gives them access to the car. Every car has a gas card and members get a PIN so they can fill the car. [Source: SustainableBusiness .com, U Car Share ] U-Haul jumps onto the car sharing club bandwagon originally appeared on Autoblog Green on Fri, 30 Jan 2009 08:11:00 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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U-Haul jumps onto the car sharing club bandwagon
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
Posted in Auto Green | a-friend-via, delaware, detroit 2009, energy, fordfocusev, fuel mileage, green, list, made-the-list, newark delaware, newarkdelaware, online, smartgrid, the-automotive, university | Leave a commentGet Approved!
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