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Posts Tagged “

Electric Car

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choose your eternity

PCH, No Blood For Oil Edition: Veggie Oil Peugeot or Hybrid Austin Marina?

The French car beat the German one in our last Choose Your Eternity matchup, which means we need to give France's cross-Channel rival an opportunity to snatch the PCH Trophy (which features several rods hanging out the side and a spreading pool of oil below) today. We're going with something a bit different this time, however; ever since the What Should Mad_Science Drive To Work QOTD, we've been thinking about non-petroleum-fueled car projects. Not boring ol' electric cars that can barely buzz up to highway speed, or seen-one-ya-seen-em-all veggie-oil-powered Mercedes-Benzes, though. Something fun! Something... HELL!
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5:20 PM on Mon May 5 2008
By Murilee Martin
1,507 views, 58 comments

Latest by HUMONGUS: Find a Rover automobile, remove the engine and tranny, and make the Marina a V8 (they did make them). As for the Peugeot, I hear they're running entire cars thru the crusher in Denver... more »

venturi fetish

Venturi Fetish Gets Upgraded Power, Retains Weird Name

A constricted passage though which fluid flows and accelerates while the internal pressure drops and an object or action upon which unreasonably excessive attention or reverence is placed, Venturi Fetish. It's French, who knows. But, it's still a pretty slick car and it's ready to join the quickly expanding field of electric sports cars. Just as the Venturi is going into production, we're hearing news... More »

3:40 PM on Tue Apr 29 2008
By Ben Wojdyla
956 views, 19 comments

alternative energy

ThoRR Electric Se7en Should Have Shocking Performance

Thor is of course the Norse god of thunder, thunder comes from lightning and lightning is made of electricity, thus naming an all-electric se7en ThoRR is appropriate. The chassis we all know and love is largely unmolested, but the powertrain is pure electrons with a Siemens 3-phase electric motor sporting a redline of 10,000 RPM, a peak horsepower of 272, and max torque of 331 lb.ft. Interestingly, there is no transmission to get in the way so this gets even closer to go-kart like driving.

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12:15 PM on Mon Apr 28 2008
By Ben Wojdyla
1,617 views, 40 comments

Latest by Bad Juju: @FreeMan: Looks like a radiator from a motorcycle, actually - they tend to be curved. Wonder which model they borrowed it from. more »

new york auto show

Popular Mechanics Drives The Subaru R1e Electric Car

Mike Allen over at Popular Mechanics had a chance to spend some time behind the wheel of the new plug-in microcar — the Subaru R1e. With acceleration lower than a "determined taxicab," it wasn't what you'd call an "exciting" test — and definitely a step below our test of the Hybrid Technologies' melty-looking Lithium-Powered Super Car but Pop-Mech can't have everything now, can they? [via Popular Mechanics]

Feature

10:15 AM on Mon Mar 24 2008
By Ray Wert
582 views, 2 comments

found on ebay

The Sebring-Vanguard Electric CitiCar Takes You Anywhere At 40 MPH...As Long As It's Only 40 Miles

So you want a plug-in electric but don't feel like waiting to buy a Chevy Volt or a Tesla Roadster? Do you also only need to hit 40 MPH on a straightaway and said straightaway is only 40 miles long? Then maybe you need to get yourself a 110V plug-in 1979 Sebring-Vanguard electric CitiCar. Oh, you can't find one of the 2,200 little 3.5 HP two-seaters powered by eight 6V golf-cart batteries made by the Sebring-Vanguard car company from the Florida city of the same name? No worries, there's one up on EBay and you've got about two hours left before the gavel drops. The current bid's just $1,550. Wait, you want to know more? Hit the jump — we'll pass for now, we're waiting for a second one for the other foot.

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1:00 PM on Sun Feb 24 2008
By Ray Wert
1,644 views, 51 comments

Latest by mcguirev10: A used-car dealership here in Jax, FL has had one of those out front for the past 20-25 years or so. For some reason I always thought it was an old Saab. Either somebody told me that, or I assumed more »

retro

CitiCar, The Most Produced Electric Car In U.S. History

With word of more alternative fuel cars coming out (like the possibly electric Cadillac Provoq), we thought it was time to visit the most successful electric car in our country's history. Approximately 2,200 Citicars (a.k.a. CommutaCars) were built by a company based out of Florida. The two-seaters were powered by a 3.5 horsepower motor connected to eight 6-volt golf-cart batteries. The result was a wedge-shapped oddity capable of approximately 30 mph and a range of 40 miles in optimal conditions. More »

4:30 PM on Mon Jan 7 2008
By Matt Hardigree
1,439 views, 18 comments

Latest by mr.choppers: @CarFreak: Anorak of the day award. Good work, sir! more »

top gear

The G-Wiz Electric Car Crumples Like A Tin Can


After Top Gear took the G-Wiz to the heights of what you can do with a remote control last Sunday night, we wanted to remind folks why the British boys dislike the G-Wiz 'lectric so much. We feel like maybe it has something to do with the way the "Aww" G-Wiz crumples like a tin can when it hits anything at pretty much any speed. Like here, in what we're told is a 40 MPH offset head-on crash. The end result is nothing short of epicly bad. Hey, is the driver door supposed to flop open and forward like that? Oh, it's not?

7:00 AM on Wed Dec 26 2007
By Ray Wert
8,045 views, 34 comments

Latest by klide: Let's move ahead with the time, GoinGreen has released the new G-Wiz i, which is pretty cool and assures a lot more safety. I am on my toes to exchange my G-Wiz for the new G-Wiz i. Have look at the new more »

found on ebay

Buy Hyper-Autographed BugE, Help Autistic Kids!

How would you like to buy a "Special Edition BugE Personal EV Transport" signed by 100 celebrities, including John Legend, Ne-Yo and Adrienne Curry? Max speed in this little electric devil is 50 MPH; range is listed at 40 miles. Sure, the starting bid is a cool 10 grand, but every dollar over the MSRP will be donated to a charity that helps autistic kids! Say, what is the MSRP of a BugE? Is this what we'll all be driving in a few years? [eBay Motors]

4:00 PM on Thu Dec 13 2007
By Murilee Martin
585 views, 16 comments

Latest by Novaload: NOT ONE BID YET on eBay. more »

news

Tesla Store Being Built in Los Angeles

A little birdie (who may or may not be the VP of Sales and Marketing at Tesla) just sent in this photo of the construction wrap that's currently shrouding the future home of a Tesla store. It's located on Santa Monica Blvd., just east of the 405, home to some of the world's most wretched traffic and close to lots of celebs and environmental types. A Tesla dealership seems to balance out the news we reported last week that storms clouds are gathering for the world's first electric production sports car. [Yeah, or not so much balance out the news from last week at all. — Ed.] The truth? You couldn't handle the truth! Er, I mean, we'll tell you more when we know. Bigger pic below.

5:05 PM on Mon Dec 10 2007
By Jonny Lieberman
23,214 views, 21 comments

Latest by stopcrazypp: @slowinthefastlane:I think rishi was referring to the fact that their car is extremely reasonable from an engineering stand point. If it wasn't, you wouldn't even see prototypes driving around. This is different from the typical vaporware companies who either only more »

detroit auto show

Chevy Volt Production Image Breaks

A lot of people were excited about the Volt concept and were a bit shocked to learn that the design we saw was not the design we'd get. What we have here, in a press release about wind tunnel testing, is the first teaser image of GM's new electric car. The company plans to reduce the drag as much as possible on the Volt so as to increase the electric range. The nose in the drawing is not quite as dramatic as the Volt concept, but is definitely derivative of the current GM stable. Larger image and press release below.

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4:00 PM on Mon Dec 10 2007
By Matt Hardigree
3,263 views, 39 comments

Latest by billstewartx: i want this look more »

news

Suck Amps With Electric Drag Racers!

We've been following the saga of the amazing White Zombie, a '72 Datsun 1200 that runs low 12s on pure electrons, for quite some time now. First the Zombie makes the Wall Street Journal, and now the Gray Lady herself is covering electric drag racing (although we scooped 'em both). And the story doesn't just cover White Zombie; we also see an electric Shelby Cobra Daytona replica that ran a 13.18 its first time out, among other quick voltmobiles. [New York Times]

10:15 AM on Mon Nov 26 2007
By Murilee Martin
707 views, 9 comments

Latest by pug306: 1979 AMC Concord ELECTRIC. If this doesn't qualify for PCH I don't know what does, especially with seller comments like this: "I have been asked many questions. No I did not build this car. Legend has it that the more »

tokyo auto show

Tokyo Auto Show Preview: Nissan Pivo 2 Concept Car, Now With Video!


It's adorable, it's blue — no, wait, it's adorable and blue! It's the Pivo 2, complete with robotic agent and powered by Lithium-ion batteries. Now, when we first revealed the new Pivo 2 concept car this morning, we saw it as nothing more than a more bubbly version of the old Pivo. Now that we've seen this video of the Pivo 2 swallowing its gal pal whole and then watching the robotic agent in action, we totally want one. If only so we can have highly enlightened conversations in both Japanese and English with our new blue friend. Nissan better hide the keys so we don't steal it at the official reveal at the Tokyo Auto Show later this month.

Feature

7:45 AM on Fri Oct 5 2007
By Ray Wert
51,628 views, 34 comments

Latest by bobby08: cool! more »

choose your eternity

PCH, Electric Edition: Electric Escort or Lectric Leopard?

We're not really surprised that the goat-damaged Torino fastback trounced the Katrina Special Road Runner in yesterday's Choose Your Eternity poll; after all, it's not fair to put a Malaise Era car up against a 60s fastback. Today we're going to get all green on your fossil-fuel-swilling asses and make you choose between a couple of cool- yet totally nightmarish- electric cars! We'd all love driving a Tesla, of course, but why pay all that money when you can build your own DC demon?
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5:00 PM on Tue Sep 18 2007
By Murilee Martin
2,098 views, 39 comments

Latest by n/a: Call me crazy - but I've been watching the Leopard/LeCar auction, just in case it looks like it will close for reasonable money. I've been looking for a doable EV project that can handle my commute (a reasonable 5 miles each more »

we're shocked, shocked

News Flash: Clarkson Hates The G-Wiz!

So what happens when you take the incredibly tall, environmentalist-bashin' horsepower fiend Jeremy Clarkson and shoehorn him into the tiny Reva G-Wiz DC electric car? We'd like to report that he he promptly had it modified with ten times the recommended voltage and pressed pedal to metal for a 190MPH run through London whilst blasting Motörhead's "Killed By Death" on the stereo, but unfortunately we cannot do that. But still, Clarkson's general grumpiness and way with words makes his profoundly negative review of the G-Qiz an entertaining Monday read. [Times of London]

3:00 PM on Mon Aug 6 2007
By Murilee Martin
1,203 views, 10 comments

Latest by brandegee: @bd_juju: Exactly. A car plugging in to the grid to recharge is drawing from multiple sources--coal, hydro, nuclear, oil, even geothermal and solar. Moreover, you could probably recharge it at home using solar panels if you cared enough to put up more »

how many volts you got in that thang?

Electric Datsun Drag Car Makes Front Page Of Wall Street Journal!

We covered the amazing White Zombie electric Datsun 1200 last year, which should have been glory enough for John "Plasma Boy" Wayland. But now Mr. Wayland (who got his nickname from the superhot plasma pouring out of his car during an unfortunate dead-short battery-fire mishap a while back) is featured on Page One of today's Wall Street Journal, which has a pretty good story about the man and his car. We'd like to see what this guy would do with a Lectric Leopard. [Wall Street Journal]

6:00 PM on Wed Aug 1 2007
By Murilee Martin
993 views, 5 comments

Latest by lascauxcaveman: @elhigh: Though I neglected to report on it, I was at the PIR drag races two weeks ago when the White Zombie broke its old 1/4 mile time (by a lot) with its new LiON battery pack (700 lbs lighter more »

forget the tesla

Low-Mile Lectric Leopard Sells For Only $3750

How will you one-up the Joneses when they roll up all green and proud in their new plug-in Prius? You could do like eBay user armie253 did, scoring an electric Renault Le Car with only 221 miles on the clock for only $3750. Sure, it only goes 55 MPH and the range is on the limited side, but it's an electric Le Car! The Lectric Leopard was a late-70s product of the now-defunct U.S. Electricar Corporation; what we want to know is why the intensely citrus-flavored Le Car, rather than something like a Civic? But forget all that- the real question here is: how quick would this car be if upgraded from the current 48-volt setup to, say, 240 volts? [eBay]

3:00 PM on Mon Jul 30 2007
By Murilee Martin
1,544 views, 12 comments

Latest by Spasticteapot: @rgseidl:   I've heard that nice things can be made out of an old Porsche. The whole weight distribution problem should be neatly solved by cutting the weight of the engine by 75% and some great big batteries mounted wherever convenient.   And, unlike more »

nikola would be proud

Jay Leno Reviews The Tesla

Jay Leno, as part of his gig writing car reviews for some sort of furrin newspaper, was handed the keys to a shiny new Tesla Roadster. Of course, first thing he does is sell out the good ol' US of A by stating that the Tesla is merely an "electric version of the very British Lotus Elise," but then he goes on to crank out a more-or-less glowing review of the electron-guzzling car from San Carlos. We're just waiting for an enduro-style race between the Tesla and Leno's '09 (that's 1909) Baker Electric.

The most fun you can have without fuel [The Times of London]

Related:
The Great Traffic-Law Controversy: Tesla Tagged With Ticket [internal]

2:30 PM on Tue Jul 10 2007
By Murilee Martin
2,717 views, 29 comments

Latest by rubicon_65: Wasn't it Nikolai Tesla who wanted to create a power grid using wireless transmission towers? I can well imagine a tower in the middle of the Brickyard transmitting power to the cars, effectively eliminating the refueling issue... more »

alternative energy

SUPER EFFICIENCY! 200 MPG Velozzi Micro-Turbine Electric Hybrid

Using technology and design together to create a hybrid supercar is Velozzi. The company claims the first working model indicates a 0-60 time of 3 seconds and 200 mph top speed. The car achieves anywhere from 100 to 200 mpg in normal driving conditions. The key to this high performance parallel hybrid is the micro-turbine. The super efficient engine is designed to run on any "heavy" fuel - such as diesel, gasoline, biodiesel, or ethanol. The micro-turbine acts as an onboard generator to charge the batteries. Low vehicle mass is achieved by use of space age polymers and composites, along with super-light lithium ion batteries. Velozzi wants people to buy green machines, and figures the best way to do that is give them something fun to drive. He also wants to make the technology non-exclusive and available to whoever wants to license it. Says Velozzi, himself: "We want to change the public perception that environment-friendly cars look like boxes and that they are under performing. It is not so!" – Mike Bumbeck More »

12:45 PM on Thu Apr 26 2007
By Mike Bumbeck
7,018 views, 21 comments

Latest by ruggels: woahhhh... someone better hold these Volt busters back another three to five years until the Volt comes out, it'd hate for it to be still born, GM being the captain of industry and all that :P. This thing looks pretty sick, more »