The ONE British Invasion

The One stings like a bee

British Automaker BEE has plans on releasing an affordable full electric car called The One in the near future.   It’s a five-door hatchback made of a light aluminum body frame that will get 100 miles on a single charge and hit 80mph.  It will also have an exchangable battery pack to keep up with battery innovation–toss out the old, put in the new just like that. 

The price tag?  A wopping $19,400.  The car will be released in London in 2011.  However, they are looking into California emission and safety standards to see if the car can roll out in Beverly Hills one day soon. 

The car looks like a bee too.  Awesome!

http://www.popsci.com/scitech/article/2009-07/clever-innovations-greener-future?page=1

 

Electric Cars For The Not To Distant Future

A  number of car companies have promised that they will wheel out electric model cars to the general consumer within a few years.  Below is a list of electric cars.

1. Chevrolet Volt- powered by a 400 pound lithium-ion battery, the car will travel 40 miles until it needs to be recharged again by the gas engine.  The price tag is in the near $40,000 range and the likelyhood of this car being produced is still unclear since GM fell into bankruptcy.  However GM hopes to release this in November 2010

2.  Ford’s Electric Focus is due out in 2011.   On one charge, it will cover 100 miles.  It plugs into a 220 volt outlet and it will recharge in six hours.  On a 110 volt, it will take 12 hours.  Since Ford didn’t need to be shackled by the Govt bail out, chances of this car hitting the streets are high. Price is yet to be determined.

3. Nissan EV-02 will have a  limited release in North America  in 2010 and enter world wide production in 2012. It’s a five-passenger fully electric subcompact car that can travel up to 100 miles on one charge when using a 220 volt outlet.  Speeds reach up to 85 mph. The price tag which Nissan claims, will be affordable to the masses at below $30,000.00.

http://www.chevrolet.com/pages/open/default/future/volt.do

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/05/06/ford-takes-steps-to-mass_n_198009.html

http://www.inhabitat.com/2009/05/19/nissans-ev-02-to-be-the-first-mass-market-electric-car/

 

 

 

 

 

Dodge Circuit EV for a Cool 100,000 Dollars

Since the recall and destruction of GM’s EV1 in the 90s, there has been little hope that an affordable, reliable and practical EV will be on the market within the near future.  The Dodge Circuit EV though with all its bells and whistles has done little to restore confidence in a future without oil dependence.  While the Dodge Circuit is the adequate competitor for the Tesla Roadster it’s quite unacceptable that this automaker’s version of an EV is unreasonably priced at a cool 100k allowing for only the wealthy and elite to sport this luxurious Green Car.  The Dodge Circuit will maintain between 150-200 miles on a single charge and can be plugged into any household 110-volt socket.

http://www.autoblog.com/2009/01/11/detroit-2009-dodge-circuit-ev-now-with-cross-hairs/

 

A Love Note From Gas Prices

Im gonna go down on you and make you soo happy.  Then Im gonna come back up and {expletive} u really good!

Sincerely,

GAS PRICES

 

Old & New Insights, All that’s In-between & 99 MPGs

His name is Mike, he’s an inventor from the East Coast and has managed to rig up Honda’s first hybrid, the Insight, to achieve a whopping 99 miles to the gallon-superior to any of those so called “Gas Sippers” as the various auto ads like to put it and certainly surpassing Gas Guzzlers though with any luck, may soon shrink in numbers as GM contemplates the discontinuation of their Hummer brand.

Source:  www.99mpg.com/projectcars/MikesInsight/  

Mike’s system, the Manual Integrated Motor Assist or MIMA, includes quite a number of “gizmos and gadgets” as demonstrated here.  Those who are not technologically inclined can still appreciate the MIMA system for two reasons: obviously for its improved fuel efficiency and for it’s sophisticatedly complicated  system essentially created by a “dude tinkering around in his garage” rather than one of Honda’s seasoned engineers.  The system is in high demand, so once you’re off the wait list, you’ll drop a cool grand for the system plus labor.  Furthermore, modifications to the Insight don’t stop with the MIMA.  As you can see, Mike’s own has all the bells and whistles, which consists of an extra wheel called an E-wheel, a controller and a V-booster battery. 

Average nationwide gas prices are lower today when compared to a year ago but the sting of 4 dollars a gallon for regular unleaded still looms – as evidenced by numerous factors, such as the change in commuter behavior and dealer shortages of the compact and fuel efficient Mini Cooper.  With that said, if you aren’t one of the lucky dogs who own an Insight, which even without Mike’s MIMA system, V-booster battery, controller and extra drop down E-wheel, still gets an impressive 60-70 MPG.   

Furthermore, amidst the completion of this article it has been brought to light by an Insight enthusiast whose website is insightman.com, that Honda has two new hybrids on the horizon (as do many other car companies do-ahem the Chevy Volt and Nissan to name a few) for 2010: one of them is the CR-Z, shorthand for “Compact Renaissance Zero”, a coupe or as Honda puts it a “sporty hybrid.”  The other is, surprise, surprise a revamped 5-door, 5-seater Insight.  Two observations:  the new Insight has a strong resemblance to the Toyota Prius and second, doesn’t it seem plausible that the CR-Z is actually the descendant of the originally discontinued Insight?  Honda has preemptively explained that the new Insight’s similar physical attributes to the Prius is all about aerodynamics.  Just a coincidence?  Pump N’Go surmises it’s all business strategy: admist a gas price crises where consumers have become highly concerned citizens, bring back a once popular and yet discontinued vehicle and re-release it as a direct competitor to Toyota’s successful hybrid.  With that said, Honda did their competitor one better with a $19,000 MSRP, thousands less than it’s hybrid counterpart.    

The New Honda Insight

 

 

The New Honda CR-Z

 

 

Who Killed The Electric Car???

 

To date, Americans have managed to send a man to the moon more than once and yet lack the ability to produce a viable, inexpensive and mass-produced electric car.  If you’ve poked around our site (or around the web), you’ll find there are plenty versions of GM’s EV1′s.  The dream that American’s could whisk around in their cars without ever making the routine trip to the fueling station to fill up and empty your wallet was once realized, though only for a moment.  General Motors can arguably be blamed for the rise then suspicious and arduous fall of GM’s Electric Vehicle, better known as the EV1.    

In the 90s GM manufactured the plug-in electric vehicle without ever selling them to the public though instead leasing the vehicle for a moderately pricey 400 to 500 dollars a month.  What most Americans may not know is that the California Air Resources Board (CARB) passed mandates which forced automakers to produce a Zero Emissions Vehicle (ZEV), meaning the amount of ZEV’s manufactured and sold would constitute 10% of a car company’s market share in California exclusively.  CARB issued the mandate in response to growing smog-related health issues in California. In the southern California region alone, which constitutes LA, Orange, Riverside and Orange Counties among others, there were 41 stage-one smog alerts issued by the state. 

Though GM initially began research and development of a practical consumer electric vehicle in the 80′s they eventually “pulled the plug” on the EV1 lease program in the 90′s, laying off their top sales force first, recalling the vehicles despite purchase offers and ultimately crushing and destroying the entire fleet.  In 1999, GM bought the Hummer brand and soon thereafter publicly stated there was no need to produce any more electric vehicles. Thanks to http://dandelionsalad.wordpress.com/2008/05/15/who-killed-the-electric-car/ you can watch the documentary, “Who Killed the Electric Car” in full and for free and if you really get it, go to http://www.sonyclassics.com/whokilledtheelectriccar/electric.html

 

 

Avoid High End, High Price Gas Stations

ü Shell, 76, Chevron, Texaco, Exxon and others are usually the priciest name brands – avoid them at all costs

ü Avoid all gas stations in affluent neighborhoods, prices are always higher

ü Avoid all gas stations close to freeways as they tend to always charge more

ü Try not to purchase the gas station car washes or other perks and offers – you’re only helping their bottom line, thus keeping them in business, selling high priced gas

ü Opt for memberships to warehouse clubs such as Costco and Sam’s Club – these memberships will run you about 50-75 dollars a year but you can split the fee between your friends and family to curtail the membership fees

ü Remember carpooling? 

ü If you are currently looking for job opportunities find ones close to home or that are easily accessed via public transportation;  if you currently are dissatisfied with your position this is the perfect opportunity to find a job with a shorter commute