futurescope:

BMW, Daimler partner on ultra-light Visio.M city EV

If you like the idea of German electric vehicles like the BMW i3 and i8, but you’re worried they may be more than you really need when they arrive next year, you’ll be glad to know that a more to-the-point EV auf Deutsch is on the way. Along with Munich’s Technische Universitaet Muenchen (TUM), BMW, Daimler and14 others are jointly developing the Visio.M urban runabout. While it should only muster the equivalent of 20 horsepower, it should be about 45 percent lighter than a Smart Fortwo — important when you want to use a small battery to keep the cost down. The project is also tackling safety and other chronic problems with tiny electric cars. TUM’s MUTE prototype (pictured here) is serving as the testbed for the technology being rolled into the Visio.M, although the €10.8 million ($14.2 million) in funding from Germany’s Federal Ministry for Education and Research is expected to produce something more original when the EV project reaches its eventual close.

[via] [more & image credit: BMWBLOG] [BMBF Project]

thisistheverge:

Electric DeLorean makes auto show appearance: 0 to 60 in under 6 seconds for $95,000

2013 can’t get here soon enough

smarterplanet:

Honda’s FCX Clarity can power a home for 6 days | The Car Tech blog - CNET Reviews

Honda equips an FCX Clarity with a mobile power supply system and reveals a new solar-powered hydrogen-fueling station in Japan.

A story from FuelCellToday shows how Honda has turned the FCX Clarity into a zero emissions electric generator on wheels. The auto manufacturer outfitted the hydrogen fuel cell vehicle with a mobile power supply system, enabling the car to provide 9 kilowatts of electricity continuously for more than seven hours on a full tank of hydrogen at peak generation. At the lower-generation rates needed to power a typical home in Japan, the FCX Clarity could provide electricity for six days.

Nissan and Mitsubishi also have vehicle-to-home power systems, albeit with smaller energy capacities. These systems can be used in emergency power outage situations or to offset the cost of electricity during peak use hours.

jstn:

Fisker Atlantic revealed. Hybrid with a 2.0L 4-cylinder motor from BMW (same as the new Z4.)

fastcompany:

Elon Musk’s Tesla Motors isn’t just an electric car company—it’s perhaps the greatest test of Silicon Valley’s innovation model. And now is do-or-die time, when everything is riding on a new $50,000 sedan.

Why Tesla Motors Is Betting On The Model S 

8bitfuture:

Electric car can be used to power homes.

A new system developed by Nissan allows the electric ‘Leaf’ car to be plugged into a house, providing it with energy. Leaf owners will have to buy a separate Power Control System (PCS) box, which is installed in their home.

According to Nissan, the Leaf’s 24kW per hour battery is enough to power a home’s lights, fan, television, fridge and other appliances for two days. 
In an ideal world, the technology would operate in a smart home fitted with solar panels and fuel cells, thus free from the electrical grid. 

However, until those types of homes are the norm, it could still be used to reduce a household’s electricity bills. The car would be charged at night through the electrical grid but homeowners might use the vehicle’s battery to power certain appliances and devices during peak times to save money. It could also be used to power the home during blackouts. 

The PCS box will go on sale at the end of March in Japan, where it will cost more than US$6,300.

(Source: metro.co.uk)

jstn:

Tesla Model X electric SUV with “falcon wing doors”, announced last night. Production starts next year. Very few actual specs available, as usual.

Also: my first animated gif (thanks topherchris). Keeping it under 1MB is tough! HQ version

infoneer-pulse:

Stanford researchers may have solved the problem of range anxiety by wireless charging technology that could one day create an electric highway.

Wireless recharging already is used by some electric vehicle charging stations to fill up batteries without cords or plugging into an outlet. MIT helped pioneer this technology and spun it off into a wireless charging startup, WiTricity. However, Stanford researchers improved on this concept and devised a way to transmit 10 kilowatts of electric power across a 6.5-foot distance with minimal energy loss. By overcoming transmitting electricity across a significant distance, researchers will make it possible to pave a highway with wireless conduits that can provide addition power to EVs and let them operate indefinitely.

» via CNET

trendd:

Magnetic fields in roads could also power hover boards. (I wish)

“While we used AC and wires to build a massive electrical grid in the 20th century, wireless energy could be a game changer in the years to come. Researchers at Stanford just announced that they have developed a way to charge moving electric vehicles using a series of coils embedded in freeways. The system would power cars while they drive at full speed, effectively untethering the electric car from the plug and providing unlimited range at high efficiency.”

(via Stanford Develops Wireless Electric Car Charging System For Highways | Inhabitat - Green Design Will Save the World)

discoverynews:

Fold-Up Car of the Future

A tiny revolutionary fold-up car designed in Spain’s Basque country as the answer to urban stress and pollution was unveiled Tuesday before hitting European cities in 2013.

The “Hiriko,” the Basque word for “urban,” is an electric two-seater with no doors whose motor is located in the wheels and which folds up like a child’s collapsible buggy, or stroller, for easy parking.

The car was dreamed up by Boston’s MIT-Media lab.