According to Auto Express, a new version of the Ford Focus RS has been greenlighted to see production, based, as you would expect, on the new Focus platform that was recently unveiled at the Detroit Auto Show. At this point, file this firmly in the Rumormill folder, but it seems possible that this model would have a chance of coming Stateside, being that the next Focus will be a true global vehicle.

If you're the type that likes to save fuel while scorching the asphalt, you'll like the rumored inclusion of a hybrid powertrain centering on Ford's 2.0-liter Ecoboost four cylinder. That boosted mill would reportedly drive the front wheels while an electric motor would send its torque to the rear, resulting in an estimated 0-60 run of five seconds and a top speed of 155 miles per hour.

Interestingly, AE reports that this is the same powertrain Peugeot used in its SR1 concept, and the French automaker is said to have co-developed the hybrid drivetrain with Ford. We won't know whether or not any of this is accurate for quite some time, as the car reportedly won't be ready for another three years, but a 240-horsepower Ecoboost Focus ST may be on the way within the next 18 months. We'll see.



[Source: Auto Express]

In reporting on a $350 million funding round for Better Place, we said that we doubted another automaker besides Nissan-Renault is building vehicles that would work with the company's battery-swapping system. Might a report in Globes prove us wrong? According to the Israeli business news site, the "Chinese media" has disclosed that the Chery-Quantum joint venture (a 50 percent stake of which is held by Israel Corp., Better Place's chief investor) is designing a compact electric jeep at a studio in Milan code-named T21. Said jeep would have a "double floor" that will accommodate a swappable battery they suggest may use cells from A123 and generally resemble a small version of the Chery Tiggo. Got all that? Is it true?

While we finally had to admit defeat in finding a Chinese media outlet discussing a creature exactly as described by Globes, we did find reference to a T21. From what we can tell from those reports, the T21 is not a jeep and not electric. Heck, it's not even designed in Milan. According to the Chinese media sites (via Google translate) that we checked out, the T21 is actually a compact SUV dubbed the Chery Tiggo 5 (pictured above), designed in Turin, that had been axed but is now being put back on the menu. Now, perhaps there is a stone out there big enough to hide a jeep under that we left unturned but all signs seem to point this Better Place battery-swapper to be non-existent, though if you can prove otherwise, we'd be happy to hear about it.

As far as we know, plans are still in place for Chery to sell some eco-friendly cars, beginning with the electric S18 (though it may now be called the Riich M1 EV) as early as this June. And its batteries don't swap.

[Source: Globes / Gasgoo]

The U.S. biofuel industry gets a potential boost and some new rules from the federal government this week.

First, the White House – which sort of passed over biofuels with nothing more than a tiny shout-out in the State of the Union speech last week – said in a 14-page report that the government needs to set targets for fuel crop production in a way that makes sense by region. The report also mentions "guaranteed markets" for biofuel producers, but doesn't take a stand on the E15 issue (more information on this is expected later this spring).

As for the new rules, known as the Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS2), these are expected to be released by the EPA sometime today after being pushed back late last year. The most controversial part of these rules are that:

The standard could include a requirement that corn-based ethanol produce less carbon dioxide over its life cycle than gasoline. The ethanol industry opposes the life-cycle emissions requirement, which would include emissions from land cleared abroad resulting from growth of biofuel crops in the U.S. -- the so-called "indirect land use" effect.

The ethanol industry says any rule like this would be unfair.

[Source: Des Moines Register, Clean Skies, Reuters | Image: diaper - C.C. License 2.0]

Powerhouse Chinese motorcycle manufacturer Zonghshen has signaled its intent to invest in California-based Mission Motors. At this point, nothing more than a letter of intent has been signed, but the deal would give Zongshen access to Mission's proprietary electric drivetrain technology as well as allow Mission access into the Asian markets and give the start-up a fresh injection of cash.

Before any deal takes place, Zongshen has requested a full three-year business plan from Mission, due before the end of the month. If all goes well – which is still a very large 'if' at this point – some sort of deal could be completed by June of this year.



[Source: China Knowledge]

With all the bad news about Toyota recently, it's about time for something a bit more positive. Toyota is in the process of deploying a fleet of several hundred plug-in Priuses in Japan, North America and Asia. Of the 200 Prius PHEVs destined for Europe, two are headed for the Norwegian capital of Oslo. Toyota Norge has reached an agreement to supply the plug-in hybrids for a three-year field test. The city of Oslo and trade group Energy Norway will run the test program jointly to evaluate real world performance as well as driver perceptions of the cars.

The vehicle usage tracking system will look at the efficiency of the PHEVs as well as how frequently and where drivers plug them in. Getting any advantage out of a plug-in hybrid requires that drivers keep the battery charged as much as possible in order to enable electric driving. If the car is not charged at every opportunity, it will not perform any better than a significantly less expensive non-plug hybrid. The cars will be delivered to Oslo in June 2010.



[Source: Toyota]

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With the news that Tesla Motors will soon go public, there's been a lot of scrutiny of and discussion about the company's future plans. On the corporate side, that involves things like former Toyota production engineering general manager Gilbert Passin joining the company as leader of Tesla's vehicle manufacturing operations. On the media side, that means digging into the SEC filing and reporting that the current-gen Roadster is not long for this world and that:

• The Roadster wait list is down to 220 people and that a "significant number" of people who had reserved cars have canceled their orders. There have been Model S cancellations, too. Tesla has taken in about $24.8 million in vehicle pre-orders, even for cars that are not yet ready. California law restricts this practice.
• Tesla CEO Elon Musk is paid just a dollar a year, but he got "about $22.3 million in stock options, with another $22.3 million available once he meets goals for production of the Model S," writes the New York Times. He was also given $175,000 to fly the his private jet while doing business for Tesla.

Interesting times.

[Source: Tesla Motors, New York Times]

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Now that Smith Electric Vehicles is assembling its Newton electric truck here in the United States, it needs to line up some customers for them. A big potential pool has opened up with U.S. government agencies and the military thanks to a decision by the General Services Administration (GSA). Among other things, the GSA arranges government wide pricing deals that any agency can take advantage of.

Smith Electric Vehicles has been added to the GSA purchasing schedule. The GSA Automotive division acquires $1 billion worth of vehicles every year. Smith's Newton has a 16,000 pound payload capacity along with a range of about 100 miles per charge. The Newton is the only all-electric truck currently available through the GSA.



[Source: Government-Fleet.com]

The converted Citroën C1 Ev'ie will someday get a better battery thanks to Axeon, Europe's largest independent lithium-ion battery systems supplier. The current C1 Ev'ie, offered by the Electric Car Corporation, has been available since last April and has a range of more than 60 miles and a top speed of 60 miles per hour. Specs for the Ev'is using the new ii-ion pack were not announced, but the pre-production pack will have an energy density of 230 watt hours per kilogram and offer "improved performance and extended range in a smaller, lighter and less rigid package." If the pack tests well, Axeon says it will supply ECC with between 300 and 500 batteries over the next year. Axeon batteries are also used in Modec vans and the eRuf concept. Axeon currently offers batteries ranging from five to 180 kWh.

[Source: Axeon]

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The pain just keeps on coming for Toyota. First came the complaints of cars running away without the driver pressing the accelerator. Now the Japanese government has ordered an investigation of the brake system on the 2010 (third-generation) Prius. Like most other hybrids, the Prius uses an electro-hydraulic brake system that blends the regenerative and friction braking functions.There have apparently been dozens of complaints in Japan and North America of a momentary loss of braking power at low speeds on slick or bumpy road surfaces.

We can't say for sure what is or is not happening on the Prius, but we can offer some possible insight. On hybrids vehicles, the brake system monitors the state of charge of the battery, the available amount of regenerative braking and the driver's brake demand (as measured by the brake pedal apply). As the vehicle comes to a stop, the amount of regenerative braking is ramped down to zero since you can only capture kinetic energy when the wheels are rolling. Doing this smoothly requires an accurate software model of the friction braking behavior. If the friction brakes are generating less torque than the model says it should be, the brake system will apply less pressure to the brakes. The result would be a momentary loss of deceleration during the hand-off from regen to friction braking.

Because the behavior of friction brakes varies over time depending on temperature, moisture, wear and other factors, it is very difficult to calibrate these models. The other part of this equation is the fact that this is happening at low speeds. The wheel speed sensors become less accurate at low speeds as the time period between sensor pulses is extended. Rough or slippery surfaces exacerbate the problem, which could make the brake system think there is slip that might not be there, resulting in lower brake pressure. The result is a perceived loss of deceleration.

If these are the problems that the Prius is experiencing they could be corrected with an update to the control software. However, that will take some time to calibrate and validate.


[Source: New York Times]

It seems like cities all over America want to participate in the upcoming Nissan electric vehicle party. The latest locale to plug in to the program is Orlando, FL, home of more theme parks than you can shake a stick at. The automaker and the city will work together to promote the build out and use of an electric charging network in public places as well as at workplaces.

Nissan will help the city and the Orlando Utilities Commission will work together to streamline the requirements for installing charging stations. Nissan will also provide a fleet of Leaf EVs to the central Florida city. One of two charging stations recently installed by the utilities commission is solar powered. The commission will also purchase 10 Leafs for its transportation fleet.



[Source: Nissan]

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