Skip to Content

Sebastian Blanco

- http://www.autobloggreen.com

First Fisker dealership opens in LA, 120 pre-orders already taken

by Sebastian Blanco (RSS feed) on Nov 7th, 2009 at 11:46AM

Fisker Karma - Click above for high-res image gallery

Take an old Lexus dealership in Santa Monica, repurpose the showroom to display a Fisker Karma, invite a bunch of plug-in hybrid-loving locals over a grand opening and – boom – you've got yourself a fun night. This is what happened recently in Los Angeles, with about 200 people attending the invite-only grand opening of the Santa Monica Fisker dealership, the first. The car was popular with attendees, some of whom put down deposits once they saw the PHEV in person for the first time.

Dealer Mike Sullivan told Automotive News he already has 120 reservations, including many from impatient celebrities, for the Karma. "There's not a guy here who wants to be second in line. Two-thirds of the people waiting, you would recognize on the cover of a magazine. Yet, we all know it has to be a slow roll-out. It's a startup. There are always issues," he told AN.

Still, Sulllivan said he's confident he can sell up to 15 Karma and Karma S models a month once production starts next year. At least 32 Fisker dealerships are scheduled to open. If each is able to garner the same number of pre-orders as Sullivan's Santa Monica store and sells 15 cars a month – a huge if – that would account for 9,600 Karmas sold in the first year, well over the 7,500 that Fisker plans to sell in the U.S. (global sales are a hoped-for 15,000). Thanks to everyone who sent this in!

Gallery: Fisker Karma

  • fisker_karma006b
  • fisker_karma016
  • image003-fk
  • fisker_karma_1747re
  • fisker_karma_1798re-3
  • fisker_karma_1701re
  • fisker_karma_1695re
  • fisker_karma033

[Source: Automotive News (subs req'd)]

Zytek teams up with Gordon Murray for T.27, an all-electric version of the T.25

by Sebastian Blanco (RSS feed) on Nov 6th, 2009 at 1:01PM



Zytek Automotive has worked on electric drivetrains for the Smart ED and the Mercedes F1 KERS system. This week, Zytek announced a partnership with Gordon Murray Design for a new all-electric city car called the T.27. Gordon Murray is the force behind the T.25, the tiny three-seater that was designed to use a 660cc turbocharged engine. The T.27 is basically a plug-in version of the efficient T.25.

The UK government, through the Technology Strategy Board, is funding the project with 4.5 million pounds. This is half of the 9 million pounds it will take to make four prototypes by February 2011. Aside from the vehicles, the project will also:
further explore the possibility of scaling up and building a manufacturing facility in the UK, with the ultimate goal of producing the T.27 in Britain; to keep the new technology and intellectual property rights within the UK; and to make this affordable, fun and environmentally friendly car available for purchase.
Many more details after the jump.

[Source: Gordon Murray Design]

Read more →

It's Friday: Swedish automatic PHEV charging prod gets a big WTF? from us [w/VIDEO]

by Sebastian Blanco (RSS feed) on Nov 6th, 2009 at 11:38AM

Trinnovator - Click above to watch the videos after the break

Is it too harsh to say that the Trinnovator is a solution without a problem? At the very least, we don't think that a flexible, extendable prod coming out of the front bumper of a plug-in car and creepily finding its way into a grid of receptacles is the best way to recharge a vehicle. This is the method that the Swedish team behind the Trinnovator has come up with to make getting electrons into a PHEV or BEV somewhat automatic. It's kind of hard to explain, so we recommend just watching the video pasted after the jump.

A few immediate thoughts: real-life implementation of this system seems needlessly complicated. The receptacle grids would also have to be much wider (and maybe taller for trucks and SUVs) and installed all over the place – regular plugs make more sense, no? Plus, shouldn't there be prods on the back of the car, too? And what about parallel parking spots? We've used plug-in cars and it's really not that difficult to remember to plug in every night. If we're going to have automatic and easy recharging, we want to see wireless/witricity get real. Thanks to Anders J. for the tip! Watch the video after the jump.

[Source: YouTube]

Read more →

CAFE credits for EVs - will we repeat the E85 system?

by Sebastian Blanco (RSS feed) on Nov 5th, 2009 at 2:49PM



What is a plug-in vehicle worth? When it comes to CAFE credits, the answer to this question is a bit complicated. As we discussed in our Greenlings look at CAFE, the system allows for credits. One effect is that automakers who build vehicles that can burn E85 – even if these cars don't actually use the biofuel – get a bit of a pass for their dirtier vehicles. When it comes to EVs, a potential "sell one, get one free" deal is in the works.

Basically, the system might allow plug-in vehicles to count as 1.2 or even 2 vehicles in the fleet calculations,and so each EV could offset something big and fuel inefficient. This might result in getting plug-in vehicles to market while also allowing bug SUVs to remain in production. Unsurprisingly, the Auto Alliance, made up of most of the big OEMs, loves the idea. Alliance spokesman Charles Territo said that, "The ability to earn, trade and bank credits" by producing electric and hybrid vehicles "is essential to meeting the goals of the national program." The next big CAFE goal is 35.5 mpg by 2016.

John DeCicco, senior lecturer at the University of Michigan's School of Natural Resources and Environment, told HybridCars that the EV credit system under discussion is potentially confusing. "Funny math can't substitute for engineering breakthroughs. EVs of any sort can only make a real difference if they succeed on their merits for both customer value and emissions reduction. Bonus credits may fool a few starry-eyed policymakers, they won't fool either the marketplace or the Earth's atmosphere."

Source: HybridCars]

Toyota's long hybrid patent fight with Paice continues in court

by Sebastian Blanco (RSS feed) on Nov 5th, 2009 at 12:55PM

2010 Toyota Prius – Click above for high-res image gallery

Toyota's legal battle to over making and selling the Hybrid Synergy Drive has a long history. Toyota has fought with both Solomon Technologies and Paice LLC over the gasoline-electric technology. In 2008, Toyota was ordered to pay Paice LLC $4.3 million for patent infringement, based on a cost of $25 per infringing car (defined at the second-gen Prius, the Toyota Highlander hybrid and the Lexus RX400H). But that didn't end the problem. Instead, this past September, Paice issued a new suit trying to get U.S. Customs to stop all of Toyota's hybrids at the border.

Paice believes that Toyota is using Paice technology in its hybrids and a court agreed in the $4.3 million settlement. Paice – Power Assisted Internal Combustion Engine – was started in 1992 by Russian immigrant Alex Severinsky. In 1994, Severinsky was awarded a patent for a microprocessor that coordinated power flows in both an ICE and an electric motor. Severinsky's patent expires in 2012 and Paice wants Toyota's imports halted until then. But, a semi-related legal decision involving eBay issued in May of 2006 may impact the Toyota situation because Paice, which does not make any hybrid cars, does not meet the new four-factor test that decision created. The lawsuit trying to get the vehicles stopped at the border is simply a new chip Paice is trying to gain in the ongoing fight. Learn more at Law.com.

[Source: Law.com]

Plug-in vehicles will get special license plate in Ontario next year

by Sebastian Blanco (RSS feed) on Nov 5th, 2009 at 8:09AM

Want to emblazon your ride with Ontario's new "environmentally friendly vehicles" license plate? There are two hurdles you'll have to jump. First, wait until next year when the plate actually becomes available on July 1. Second, you'll need to get a car with a plug. According to the Toronto Star, the new green vehicle plates are for plug-in hybrids and battery-powered cars only.

Like the Clean Access stickers that were so popular in California, the special plates will allow the cars to drive in high occupancy vehicle highway lanes through 2015 no matter how many people are in the car. Drivers will also get to pull up to recharging facilities at GO Transit and some government-operated parking lots, and will be allowed to park in special spots at some Wal-Marts and at the University of Toronto. The provincial government is offering the benefits as a way to reach Ontario's Electric Vehicle initiative goal of getting EVs to make up five percent of the fleet mix in Ontario by 2020.

[Source: Toronto Star]

Perennial wishes: Auto industry execs calling for higher gas tax yet again

by Sebastian Blanco (RSS feed) on Nov 4th, 2009 at 7:59PM



How often do the Wall Street Journal, Bill Ford, Jr. and Thomas Friedman agree on something? When it's the gas tax, it's 100 percent of the time, and now a number of auto executives have added their voices in favor of a gas tax in order to reach the end goal of getting more fuel efficient vehicles into use.

Speaking at the Reuters Autos Summit in Detroit, people like Jerry York, a former GM board member, and Mike Jackson, chief executive of AutoNation Inc., said that setting the price of gas at at least $4 a gallon would be a better way to get Americans to use less gasoline than giving out billions in loans and grants to develop new, more efficient technologies. Only with some pain at the pump, Jackson said, will car buyers care about fuel efficiency, adding that the best way to set the price floor would be with gradual gas tax increases until the $4 or $5 price limit is reached. Tim Leuliette, chief executive of supplier Dura Automotive, suggested that $8/gallon should be the target by 2020, stressing that the increases need to be telegraphed far in advance so that automakers and buyers can prepare for them. Rebates or other assistance for low income families should also be considered, the executives said.

Of course, any politician who pushes hard for these increase will likely face tremendous opposition and criticism, but these guys are making sense. How is it that the auto industry is so far ahead on this issue?

[Source: Forbes]
Photo by functoruser. Licensed under Creative Commons license 2.0.

Rendered racing fantasy: 1-Liter Racing surfs to the future

by Sebastian Blanco (RSS feed) on Nov 4th, 2009 at 2:53PM

One Liter Racing - Click above for high-res image gallery

We recently saw a rendering for the purely-speculative Audi Avatar, which was based on the outlandish vehicles seen in some futuristic racing video games. A new set of renderings takes the unreal racing game concept a bit further and imagines an entire league that uses hyper-efficient racing vehicles sprinting around a course while using just one liter of fuel. As we know from VW's 1-liter concept vehicle, in the right vehicle, a liter of fuel can take you quite a distance.

Designed by Moritz Martin, the 1 Liter Racing League would be run in unusual locations (think shallow water and beaches) in order to mimic "the effortless gliding of skim boards" on some patches of the course. The wheels can retract in order to "surf" over wet patches and the cars have "a rear wheel-mounted air nozzle for frictionless steering during slides." Check out the renderings in the gallery below.

Gallery: 1 Liter Racing League


[Source: One Liter Racing via Yanko Design]

Officially, Official: Fisker chooses Emil Frey Group for European distribution

by Sebastian Blanco (RSS feed) on Nov 4th, 2009 at 10:57AM Breaking


Fisker Karma - Click above for high-res image gallery

Speculation that Fisker's new big dealership partner in Europe would be the Emil Frey Group has turned out to be correct. The start-up automaker announced today that Emil Frey will be its largest partner to import, market and service the company's plug-in hybrid cars in Europe, starting with the Karma. Emil Frey's operations span six countries – Switzerland, Germany, France, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland – and over 100 stores offering a variety of brands. Fisker already has distribution deals in place with the Nellemann Group in Copenhagen, Denmark and GP Supercars in Merano, Italy.


Gallery: Fisker Karma

  • fisker_karma006b
  • fisker_karma016
  • image003-fk
  • fisker_karma_1747re
  • fisker_karma_1798re-3
  • fisker_karma_1701re
  • fisker_karma_1695re
  • fisker_karma033

[Source: Fisker]

Read more →

X Ray Frankenstein wants to keep Halloween going all year

by Sebastian Blanco (RSS feed) on Nov 3rd, 2009 at 7:49PM



Jesse Field wants your input. The designer of the Xrayfrankenstein, a "revolutionary high-tech ultra-light 3-wheel EV" wrote in to say that the website for the snub-nosed trike is now up and running and ready for critics to take a look. Field wrote:
This vehicle was develop by (myself) a former big 3 automotive engineer, and is completely unique from anything else being proposed out there. The web site contains lots of product info because the vehicle is very unique -- including features such as a pressure absorbing impact body shell. [...] I am eagerly looking for feedback and insight as well as exposure--the website is brand new.
The basic idea for the Xrayfrankenstein is that the technology to make more efficient vehicles exists, but it really needs to be mashed together – like Frankenstein's monster – in the most efficient vehicle possible. Currently, the trike only exists in rough renderings on the site, but the concept is a superlight, four-person vehicle. The Xrayfrankenstein can handle a variety of powertrains but is designed to be all-electric. Aside from the mashed-up quality of the vehicle, Field says that this car is well-named because of its attitude:
No mechanismo is hidden, just as bolts sticking out of its neck, or stitches in flesh, motors and attachments become an integral part of its character. And yet it is a monster with a human side, as opposed to today's unholy steel exoskeleton insect-bodies. The Xray is an endoskeleton structure, with an impact absorbing shell, making it less susceptible to dings and scratches, and unsightly, undesired incidental damage.

Thoughts?

[Source: X Ray Frankenstein]

Next Page →


Featured Galleries

  • 1 Liter Racing League
  • Suzuki Alto in Global Green Challenge
  • Proterra Electric Bus
  • Local Motors Rally Fighter
  • 1916 Woods Dual Power Model 44 Coupe
  • Audi Avatar
  • Global Green Challenge Tesla Roadster goes 313 miles
  • Meyers Motors NMG
  • Cozmo NEV
  • Tokyo 2009: Suzuki Swift PHEV
  • Tokyo 2009: Suzuki SX4-FCV
  • Honda mobility devices

Categories

Autoblog

Daily Finance

Download Squad

Engadget

Joystiq

Autoblog Spanish

Switched.com

FanHouse

Asylum