While the company formerly known as Vectrix Corporation has just changed its name to the more descriptive Electric Scooter Wind Down Corp. appellation, New Vectrix is out and about doing deals and moving forward. In fact, it's just been announced that Hesketh Motorcycles (HMC) has taken the electric maxi-scooter under its wing in the UK, where it will now be known as the Hesketh HZE-Vectrix. The British boutique brand is itself recently-revived, having previously functioned as a marque in the early Eighties when it produced a relatively small number of gas-powered machines. Current company director Charles Hesketh had this to say about the deal,

This is a brand new chapter in the life of what we know as the World's first high performance, zero emission, production motorbike. We spent a considerable amount both financially and energetically searching for a zero emission two-wheeled vehicle worthy of the Hesketh brand, and the Vectrix VX-1 meets all our requirements.

HMC will now offer the UK dealers a warranty extension plan that covers their previously-sold bikes and supply the shops with new product as well. There might also be two new models in the pipeline for 2010, though no details are being given at this time. We can only hope they decide to move the technology forward with lithium cells rather than lead-based backward direction of the two disastrously-debuted models from last January. Perhaps they'll be bold enough to pull out the eye-popping and multi-award winning superbike concept they had earlier shelved. Press release after the break.




[Source: Hesketh Motorcycles / Providence Business News]










http://www.heskethmotorcycles.net/index.php?p=home

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While some of the automakers that skipped the 2009 Detroit Auto Show are apparently returning for 2010, there still won't be enough to fill up the basement. As a result, the EcoXperience exhibit will be back again for a second year. The landscaped track on the lower level of Cobo Hall will provide attendees the opportunity to try out a variety of electric drive vehicles.The last show featured the likes of the Mitsubishi iMiEv, Ford Escape PHEV, and GM's fuel cell Chevy Equinox.

Perhaps this year, Ford and Nissan will add the Focus and Leaf BEVs. In addition to the driving track downstairs, the main floor will have a 37,000-square-foot static exhibit featuring electric cars. The Electric Avenue display will have 20 different EVs from a variety of manufacturers.

[Source: Automotive News - sub. req'd]

As we announced, SEAT is trying to maximize the possibilities of the sunny Mediterranean climate for its factory in Martorell, near Barcelona, Spain. SEAT's plan is ambitious, and could allow the plant to be able to function almost off the grid. The factory will use 320,000 m² of solar panels on the roof, the equivalent of 10 MW of electric power. Annually, the plant could generate 13 million kWh. That's enough to power 3,000 homes and will save up to 6,200 metric tons of CO₂. The first project will start working next year, and will be Spain's second largest photovoltaic installation. Now let's see if solar power can be used for the Brisa and Duna models

[Source: SEAT]

Last night, General Motors publicly unveiled the 2011 Buick Regal that goes on sale in North America in the first half of next year. The Regal will be Buick's new mid-sized sedan entry and is essentially just a re-grilled version of the Opel Insignia that went on sale in Europe last year. The North American Regal will be built at the Oshawa Ontario assembly plant in Canada beginning in calendar 2011 and will only be offered with a choice of direct-injected four-cylinder engines. However, the Regal is actually slated to go on sale in calendar 2010, and some are suggesting that the sedan will be sourced from Germany for 12 to 15 months.

The base engine will be the 2.4-liter normally aspirated unit that debuted earlier this year in the Chevrolet Equinox, among other models. With a six-speed automatic transmission, the Regal should hit 30+ mpg on the highway. The optional unit will be a 220-hp version of the 2.0-liter turbo, but that powertrain likely won't come on-line right away.

Earlier this year, documents were leaked that listed the Oshawa plant as building a new mid-size hybrid sedan in 2011. It looks like the Regal will be that car with GM's new second generation mild hybrid system that was announced in 2008. The new system uses a more powerful motor/generator and a lithium ion battery. According to Ward's Auto World, the Regal could also get GM's plug-in two mode hybrid system, but that likely won't appear before late 2011 at the earliest.



[Sources: Ward's Auto World - sub req'd | GM-Volt.com]

When we saw the Coda Automotive promotion team during the AltCar Expo last month, most of the participants were wearing (and giving away) T-shirts labeled "End Dependence Day" (there was also at least one bad sunburn). The idea they were trying to give out was that the company's fairly normal-looking sedan holds within it a lot of potential. Coda's new website, unveiled yesterday, takes the "practical revolution" message from the shirts to the Interwebs. As Coda wrote to us:

Because CODA is less about a car and more about a cause, what you can expect to see is a hype-free zone, where consumers can learn not just about the CODA, but about the important issues surrounding the EV industry. Visitors can check out new images of the all electric sedan, which reflect a slightly updated front and rear fascia and exterior lighting. And for the first time, you will also be able to see renderings of the car's ecologically progressive interior, with fabric made from recycled plastics (PET) including soda bottles.

The new website will also soon feature a new company blog and an impact calculator to see what it would mean to switch over to the Coda Sedan from your current gas guzzler. Revolutionary? No, but not a bad thing to have.

UPDATE: We had an old version of the site in our browser cache. New image uploaded.

[Source: Coda Automotive]

Fans of the normal-car-as-EV style of the Coda Sedan, you've been warned. What we have here is the AirRay, a totally unusual vehicle that (theoretically, at least) uses solar, wind and plug-in power to decrease gasoline consumption. It's also a little bit crazy.

The giant air scoops on the hood and rear of this car are used to power the air turbines – three in front, one in back – that generate energy for some sort of unspecified battery system. Said battery can also be charged using a plug, and the whole apparatus is Vehicle to Grid (V2G) capable. On the roof, a "solar honeycomb-membrane panel" sucks up rays for additional power.

The AirRay is the product of EarthSure Renewable Energy Corp., which bills itself as "an American corporation innovating technologies to produce energy in a clean and affordable way." What are they all about? Well, "Our goal is to offer a cost-effective way for all businesses to use Green Energy, regardless of size or industry. We are on the cutting edge of compliance with America's Green Initiatives as they relate to the energy and environmental provisions in the Stimulus Plan. Sounds like this car will be ready ... never, but there's a video of the rendering in action after the jump. Thanks to Sean J. for the tip!

[Source: AirRay]

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Speaking at the U.S. launch of the Nissan Leaf this morning in Dodgertown, Los Angeles, Nissan President and CEO Carlos Ghosn was supremely confident and optimistic about the chances of his company's first electric vehicle – and plug-ins in general – in the U.S. market.

"This car should sell without advertising," Ghosn said, noting that Nissan's plan to sell a normal-looking (mostly), family-style vehicle with the "free premium" of an electric drivetrain will be an easy sell. Because the Leaf's batteries will be leased, Ghosn said, the Leaf will cost almost exactly the same as a similar gasoline-powered vehicle (it'll be one to two percent higher, without factoring in the cost of the battteries). For someone who drives between 12,000 and 15,000 miles a year, buying the Leaf and leasing the battery will be cheaper than owning a similar gas-powered car and filling up with liquid fuel. Using the "free premium" strategy, Ghosn said, the U.S. can easily reach and then beat President Obama's goal of having a million plug-in vehicles on the road by 2015.

Another bonus of leasing the battery, Ghosn said, is that the consumer won't have to worry about when to replace or upgrade it. Nissan will make that decision for the user, simplifying what it means to own an electric car. Nissan has publicly stated that they expect 10 percent of all cars sold in 2020 will be plug-ins, a number some criticized as too optimistic. But Ghosn said that Nissan's internal polling shows that even today, before most people have driven an EV, eight percent of Americans say they want their next car to be an EV. This gives Ghosn confidence that the 10 percent number is probably too low – and doesn't even account for possible dramatic political or social changes (wars, huge spikes in the price of oil, etc.). The question might not be if Nissan can drum up enough interest in the Leaf, but if they can produce enough to meet demand.

We'll have a full report about the launch – and what it's like to drive the Leaf – up shortly.

Our travel and lodging for this media event were paid for by the manufacturer.

Over the past two years, sales of SUVs from virtually all automakers have sagged deeply as fuel prices have risen and the economy has gone into the dumper. Mercedes-Benz is no exception, as sales of its ML, GL and R-class have dropped from a combined 152,500 in 2008 to just over 83,000 so far this year. At the same time, the U.S. dollar has lost significant value against most world currencies, including the Euro. The declining dollar makes it increasingly difficult for companies importing cars to the U.S. to make a profit, especially on low end models.

For Mercedes, this may be the perfect time to shift some production of its smallest model currently offered in the U.S. to its American plant, the sole global source of the aforementioned SUVs. The plant in Vance, Alabama could soon add production of the C-Class which is also the company's top seller in this market. At a media briefing in New York Thursday, CEO Dieter Zetsche acknowledged that a decision on U.S. production of the C-Class would be made soon. If it happens, it will give Mercedes a significant cost advantage on those cars. That cost advantage could allow Mercedes to reintroduce smaller, four-cylinder engines in the C, which is currently only offered with a V6 in the U.S.



[Source: Automotive News]

Zero Motorcycles is getting more than its fair share of attention. Recently, the company's Zero X was selected as the "Best Electric Motorcycle" during eCarTec in Münich, Germany in mid-October. This year's eCarTec was the inaugural event, but by the looks of the website, they plan on investigating the future of electric mobility for years to come.

Before the win in Germany, at AltCar in California in early October, Governor Schwarzenegger stopped by the Zero booth to learn about the S motorbike during his tour of the show. The company just issued a release calling on the Governator to "Switch Out Your Harley for an All-Electric Zero S!" A nice message, but we won't hold out breath.



[Source: Zero Motorcycles]

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We've disagreed with Detroit News columnist Manny Lopez in the past, but his most recent column is absurd. At issue is a bill in the Michigan State legislature that would require adding an environmental component to driver education programs. Lopez is against this. OK, fine. But his reasons are illogical. How many wrong points does Lopez make? Let's count, shall we?.

Lopez says that making young student drivers learn about fuel-efficient vehicles, carpooling and public transpiration is "environmental activism." He also believes teaching students these facts won't help them to make better decisions. Uhhh, say what? Is he really arguing that people can make smarter, more informed decisions with less information? We can only assume he employs the same logic when he pens a new opinion column.

Lopez also writes, "Since these courses aren't in the schools and parents have to pay for them out of their own pockets, they shouldn't have to pay for someone else's religion -- and trust me, environmental activism is a religion." BS. Avoiding jackrabbit starts and stops saves fuel. It's also safer to accelerate and decelerate in a responsible manner. Science, not faith, can prove this. Does anyone at the News even read what Lopez writes before it's published?

And then, finally, this: "Most young people don't have the resources to choose what they get to drive, never mind shop around for one that has the 'attributes of a fuel-efficient vehicle.' They're just happy to get behind the wheel of a car, any car. And they're certainly not going to pay much, if any attention, to someone telling them to take the bus when their only goal in life at that moment is driving." No one is forcing young people to go buy a hybrid, no matter what bogeyman Lopez tries to conjure here. Driver training is exactly when we should be teaching young people about the ways that driving style affects fuel economy -- of any vehicle. Do it right and everyone benefits: the new driver saves money over his or her entire driving life, the U.S. imports less fuel. As we move to gasoline alternatives, having a smart right foot is going to be even more important to maximize the electric-only range of plug-in vehicles.

We can only assume that, sometime soon, Lopez will say he believes that green-minded politicians "hate the American auto industry." Oh, wait.


[Source: Detroit News via Green Car Reports]
Photo by Robert Couse-Baker. Licensed under Creative Commons license 2.0.