MetaEfficient Reviews » Cars

GM And Segway Unveil Their Electric 2-Seater

Justin — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 15:46:10 +0000

Yesterday, GM and Segway unveiled an electric-powered urban vehicle called the Puma. The Puma seats two people, and is said to reach a top speed of 35 miles per hour. The vehicle can go 35 miles before needing a recharge.

Larry Burns, vice president of research and development for GM, said it would cost about 35 cents to charge the Puma’s lithium ion battery system — essentially a larger version of the power system for the Segway Personal Transporter. (more…)

How To Convert Your Car To An Electric Vehicle

Justin — Sat, 31 May 2008 02:15:05 +0000

Gasoline-powered cars are perhaps the most inefficient devices that many of us use daily. The internal combustion engine is inefficient in term of pollution, gas costs and maintenance costs. Electric motors are comparatively simple devices that do not require much maintenance at all. But, as you may know, it’s difficult to obtain an commercial electric car today. One option is to buy a used vehicle that somebody else has converted to an electric vehicle. (more…)

A Round-Up Of 100% Electric Cars

Justin — Wed, 28 May 2008 23:30:15 +0000

At MetaEfficient, I am a strong advocate of car-free living (see my review of the books How To Live Well Without Owning A Car and Car-Free Cities). However, clean, electric vehicles can be useful in some situations. If you recharge them using a renewable energy source such as solar power, they are completely emissions-free. The least expensive way to get an electric car is to convert your current car to an electric vehicle — see this article I wrote more info. Here’s a round-up of the pure electric cars that can be ordered today: (more…)

Danish Drivers To Fill Their Tanks With Wind Power

Justin — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 16:40:42 +0000

Denmark has a problem — it’s generating too much power from the wind. Currently, Denmark gets about 20% of its total electrical power from wind. On windy days, that percentage can double. The ups and downs of wind power can strain an electricity grid. In western Denmark, the price of electricity can drop to zero on a windy day, leaving utilities scrambling to offload excess power or take a financial hit. To solve this problem, the Danish utility company Dong Energy plans to build a nationwide system to charge electric cars with the surplus wind power. (more…)

Toyota To Release Plug-In Hybrid In 2010

Justin — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 17:38:52 +0000

Toyota has just announced that it plans on building its first plug-in hybrid by 2010. This car will be direct competition with GM’s high-profile Volt, which is set to released that year. However, many pundits believe that the Volt is “vaporware” and will not be released in 2010. (more…)

Hybrid Gets 150 Miles Per Gallon Using Ultracapacitors

Justin — Sun, 13 Jan 2008 00:25:05 +0000

It’s a prototype hybrid car that gets 150MPG, and goes 40 miles on electricity alone, drawing its power from a combination of lithium-ion batteries and ultracapacitors. The ultracapacitors provide a burst of energy to the engine, when needed. They are then recharged by the lithium-ion batteries. This avoids the problem of emptying the batteries too fast, which can cause them to heat up, and possibly catch on fire.

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Aptera Test Drive A Success!

Justin — Mon, 24 Dec 2007 18:48:16 +0000

It’s the Aptera — a futuristic car that has generated a lot of buzz lately — and with good reason — the Aperta is a very, very efficient vehicle (just check out the video: you’ll see what I’m talking about). The car’s head-turning design has a purpose: the shape is highly aerodynamic (much like a jet). It ready available for pre-order, and priced at about $27,000. There will be two models of the Aptera: an all-electric version that goes 120 miles on a charge (for 2008), and a gasoline version that will get 300 mpg (for 2009). The car is also said to be very safe, see the safety FAQ here.

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First Hybrid Car To Use Lithium-Ion Battery

Justin — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 18:39:35 +0000

Ener1, an alternative energy company, has become the first to successfully integrate a lithium-ion battery into an operating hybrid electric vehicle (HEV), an important milestone for the electric vehicle industry. The company’s battery division, EnerDel, will exhibit its lithium-ion battery pack in an operating HEV at the EVS-23 show in Anaheim, California Dec. 2-4. (more…)

Volvo Unveils A Plug-In Hybrid

Justin — Sat, 08 Sep 2007 05:13:51 +0000

Volvo is unveiling an innovative plug-in hybrid at the Frankfurt Motor Show. The ReCharge Concept is a specially designed Volvo C30 with individual electric wheel motors and batteries that can be charged via a regular electrical outlet. When fully charged the Volvo ReCharge Concept can be driven approximately 62 miles on battery power alone before the car’s four-cylinder 1.6 Flexifuel engine1 is needed to power the car and recharge the battery. The concept car also retains the Volvo C30’s lively and sporty drive thanks to an acceleration figure of 0-62mph in 9 seconds and a top speed of 100mph.

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Lithium-Powered Electric Car Now Available In U.K.

Justin — Thu, 06 Sep 2007 20:47:38 +0000

This month sees the launch of the Elettrica, the first production electric car on the UK market with the option of a lithium power supply. The car is said to provide almost twice the range of other small electric cars at 70 miles. Lithium-ion batteries are more commonly found in laptops and mobile phones. They offer higher performance, but have yet to become commonplace due to cooling and battery life problems.

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