Green Options » Benjamin Jones

Hybrid Fest 2008: July 19th & 20th in Madison, WI

Benjamin Jones — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 21:03:30 +0000

Now that you know when it is and what it’s called, I’ll tell you a bit about what it is. Firstly, it’s a bit of a misnomer. Hybrid Fest isn’t really all about hybrids. I know this because my website is a sponsor this year, and we’re definitely not all about hybrids.

So what is HF really? It’s a get together with tons of green car enthusiasts, including hybrid owners, biodiesel producers, ecomodders, and everyone else. The show will be kicked off early on Friday with a fuel economy competition and then get down and dirty on Saturday and Sunday with speeches, discussions, hybrid test drives, and a whole host of other goodies you can find out about on the website. HF will also be a time for companies to show off new green tech, including some of the big guns like GM and Toyota, but also many smaller companies working on things like plug-in hybrid conversions.

If you live anywhere nearby, it should be great fun, and I highly suggest you come out. Personally, I’m driving 925 miles from NJ to run a booth and show off my car. If you care to swing by, I’ll have my heavily modified CRX out for show as well as Ben Nelson’s DIY electric motorcycle. The show was a big success last year, and the plans are even bigger for this go around, so don’t miss the opportunity to see in real life the kinds of things talked about on gas2.0.

Ethanol Use in US and Brazil Rises Sharply

Benjamin Jones — Thu, 22 May 2008 14:49:58 +0000

In Europe, not so much…

Brazil, which has to a large degree lead the ethanol charge because of its ability to use sugar cane for ethanol production rather than corn, now relies on the biofuel for 16% of its energy needs. This puts ethanol at #2 in Brazil for largest energy sources, right ahead of hydroelectric, which accounts for 14.7% of electricity production. Both of these sources, however, are behind petroleum, which is the largest energy producer in Brazil.

In the US, on the other hand, ethanol still does not play such a prominent role, even though 23.7% of the annual corn crop is going to create biofuels. The market share that ethanol commands in the US will likely only increase, especially as new technologies allow for the production of cellulosic ethanol and sources other than corn come into vogue.

Even though ethanol seems to be one of the waves of the future, this year production was actually down in Europe, even though that loss in production was made up for by imports from ethanol-rich Brazil. Globally, ethanol only contributed 1.3% to oil consumption in 2007, but that share does appear to be rising rapidly, especially as US politicians push ethanol subsidies and Brazil continues to ramp up production in order to satisfy world demand.

Posts Related to Ethanol and the Food vs. Fuel Debate:

Source: agra

Image credit: Jeffrey Beall under Creative Commons

Run Your Car on Wood? No Joke.

Benjamin Jones — Tue, 13 May 2008 17:40:58 +0000

I’ve heard of making fuel from wood before, but rarely does using wood as fuel come up. However, just today I was pointed to this site, hosted by a local radio station, with a real-life example of someone burning wood as a fuel in his truck.

I can’t say for sure how the system works, whether it’s dual fuel or the wood-burning supplies all the fuel the engine needs, but it doesn’t appear to be a hoax and is certainly interesting. Evidently, during WWII, there was some experimenting with alternative fuels (due to shortages caused by the war), and one of the results was the wood burning automobile.

I can’t comment on emissions, but something tells me this practice would be not the choice of people concerned about air quality or GHGs. Another problem I see is that wood is not very energy dense compared to liquid fuels, meaning you would need a lot of trees and a big “wood tank” to get any sort of range out of your wood-powered vehicle (WPV).

That said, this WPV is definitely on the neat side of things. For another real-life example, check out a truck that runs on coffee grounds.
See two more pictures below, and for more, visit this site.

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Image credit: Claire L. Evans at Flickr under a Creative Commons license

100+ EcoDriving Tips to get Better Mileage in Your Car

Benjamin Jones — Sun, 11 May 2008 01:52:47 +0000

Source: greefus groinks

There’s been a lot of buzz on the internet and on TV about ecodriving, hypermiling, ecomodding, or other techniques for saving fuel. EcoModder.com, a site dedicated to modifying cars and driving habits for fuel economy, recently released a list of 100+ hypermiling tips.

These tips are definitely worth a look for anyone interested in saving a few dollars at the pump, but before diving in, you should take a few cautions. This list seems pretty exhaustive, but that doesn’t mean you need to do every single thing. Practicing more techniques will save more gas, but they’re not all appropriate to every driver, car, or situation, so exercise this advice with care.

Does anyone do any of these things already? I wouldn’t call myself a hardcore EcoDriver, but I definitely practice quite a few.

VW Confirms 1L Concept Will Become Reality in 2010

Benjamin Jones — Wed, 07 May 2008 01:21:02 +0000

Image source: Wikipedia

There’s been talk about the VW 1L concept for years. Since VW built the original, fuel economy, safety, price, and release date has been speculated upon and argued about, and I’d finally stopped thinking it was ever going to happen. However, according to VW’s CEO, it should hit the market in 2010.

The VW 1L is so named because, in theory, it only consumes one liter of fuel per 100 kilometers traveled. For those of us in the US, this translates into about 235 MPG. Definitely far and above anything on the market currently. The concept, developed in 2002, actually got better fuel economy, scoring a sweet .89L/100km in VW testing. It’s likely to use more fuel in real world use, but with that kind of mileage in testing it’s unlikely that anyone would complain about an “unsatisfactory 200 MPG.”

The thing is, that kinda of fuel economy comes at the price of riding in an extremely small two seater, with the two seats being one in front of the other, a la jet plane, rather than a standard side by side. The 1L also looks frighteningly close to the ground, which is part of how it pulls off a drag coefficient of .159, much better than any current production vehicle. While the final design isn’t done, VW will probably power the car with a 1 cyclinder diesel engine of displacement lower the .5 L, meaning the car’s speed will top out at 120 km/h.

The other obvious issue is the one I’m sure you’re all wondering about too. How safe is this thing? While I’m not usually one to complain about small cars, the 1L is extremely light and low to the ground. If it were released in the US I could easily see it being run over by any old F150 or Hummer. Nothing is out right now about safety, but as the production date nears, I’m sure VW will be doing lots of testing to reassure the public.

2010 isn’t that far off, in fact, it’s about the same time the Volt is supposed to be hitting the streets, so you’ll likely hear a lot more good and bad about this car in the coming months.

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Source: Motorauthority

Six New Technologies Will Help Manufacturers Reach the 35 MPG Goal (Without Hybrids)

Benjamin Jones — Thu, 01 May 2008 14:45:33 +0000

As the automakers scramble to make plans for achieving 35 MPG by 2020, it seems that our suspicions that the task is entirely possible without fancy hybrids or hydrogen cars has been confirmed. The manufacturers been achieving high mileage in Europe and Japan for years now, so I expect to see it in the US eventually. Luckily, there are six exciting new technologies that are going to make it possible in the US.

These technologies are interesting because they come without the paradigm shift that seems to accompany buying a hybrid or a small economy car. Cars equipped with this green tech will be just like any other car, just more efficient.

More on the six new engine technologies after the break.

Multistage oil pump: Oil pumps usually only pump oil out through one port, meaning that under every circumstance the pump ends up doing about the same amount of work. Multistage oil pumps, like those that are beginning to be released with some Toyotas, use two oil ports, one small and one larger, to make sure that the amount of oil being pump is optimized based on the operating conditions of the engine. During low-stress operation, only the smallest pump will be used. As the engine is put through its paces, it will switch to the large port, and finally, if you’re really going all out, both ports will open up to allow maximum flow.
Shortened cylinder head: In the past, cylinder heads have remained a certain height in order to keep the valves aligned in operation. While this presents and issue for shorter cylinder heads (which save weight), guides on the top of the valve springs can be used in conjunction with standard valve guides to ensure smooth operation. The weight difference might not be that dramatic, but at the very least, it will cut down on some materials usage.
Variable compression ratio: Engines are more efficient at higher compression ratios, but that doesn’t mean it’s always best to be running at the highest compression ratio you can. With that in mind, several manufacturers have begun exploring variable compression ratio engines, where the connecting rod length can be changed using an actuator so that during low-load operation (like driving on the freeway) compression ratio is reduced and fuel economy improves dramatically.
Guided-spray turbo: The most important thing here is not the turbo, but the method of creating the air-fuel mix in the combustion chamber. The injectors and chamber have been redesigned so that spark plugs are positioned to more efficiently ignite the fuel-air mix and pistons have also been redesigned to create a swirling in the chamber (something that’s been used since Honda since 1992 in fuel economy-conscious engines). Together, all these designs make for incredibly efficient combustion, resulting in impressive power output and comparably good fuel economy numbers.
Electromagnetic valve actuators: In my opinion, this is probably one of the neatest new technologies out there. By using electromagnets to control the valve train, the camshaft and all its friction losses and rotating mass would be replaced with a system of almost no moving parts that can also precisely control valve timing and adjust it to run the most efficiently in any condition. While expensive, this change could bring up to a 19% improvement in fuel efficiency, and might very well be implemented down the road.
Hydraulic power electrification: Car makers have already begun this switch-over, as it is one of the most common-sense, and easiest things to do. Beginning with the move from belted radiator fans to electric, car makers have started trying to reduce parasitic loads on the engine. Because electric versions of things like power steering and A/C are more efficient (and run when the engine isn’t on, which is necessary for full hybrids), we’re already starting to see these things popping up on Honda and Toyota hybrid models. Soon manufacturers will be moving even to electric water pumps, which are more efficient and precise.

So, do we at Gas 2.0 anticipate seeing these technologies any time soon, or are they just more pie in the sky stuff that the automakers like to trot out to “prove” they’re “doing something.” Well, several of these we have seen already, and with the automakers scrambling to make 35 MPG in a very unfriendly market, it seems like the cheapest way to do so will be to use some of these tricks rather than trying to upgrade everyone to hybrids. Hopefully we’ll begin seeing these technologies in run-of-the-mill engines sooner, rather than later.

Source: PopMech

Posts Related to Fuel Economy and Engine Technology:

Formula 1 Racing to Go Hybrid from 2009-2013

Benjamin Jones — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 15:02:01 +0000

It’s not quite the same type of hybrid drive-train you’d see in street vehicles, but in an exciting announcement, Max Mosely of F1 has announced that all cars will become hybrid by 2013, along with other changes to the vehicles.

The hybrid system that will be phased in is known as KERS, which stands for Kinetic Energy Recovery System. KERS doesn’t store as much energy as a traditional hybrid system, but it only weighs 55 pounds and the limited energy storage capacity is well suited for Formula-style racing.

The biggest difference between KERS and a regular battery-electric hybrid is that KERS stores recovered waste energy in a rotating flywheel. Instead of converting waste energy into electricity and than back into useful energy again with an electric motor, KERS simply transfers the kinetic energy to a ~5kg flywheel in the F1 car’s transmission. The energy stored in the flywheel can then be used by the driver by pushing a “boost” button.

KERS is particularly exciting for us regular car drivers because the creators have claimed that it is twice as efficient as a standard hybrid system. If this system can be applied to production vehicles, it will be possible to realize huge improvements in fuel economy and pretty respectable reductions in GHG emissions.

MIT Study Predicts Well-to-Wheel Vehicle Emissions for 2030

Benjamin Jones — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 04:54:22 +0000

Recently, I discussed the interaction between clean energy and the future of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs). The study cited makes it clear that unless we clean up power production, there isn’t much point in moving to PHEVs from regular, old hybrids (HEVs).

Interestingly enough, MIT has just come out with a new study, profiled by Green Car Congress, which studies all sorts of vehicle options and how each vehicle will perform in well-to-wheel greenhouse-gas (GHG) emissions. This study was done particularly on HEVs, PHEVs, battery electric vehicles (BEVs), and fuel-cell vehicles (FCVs). The MIT researchers came to the conclusion that ultimately, electric propulsion in automobiles could eliminate our dependence on petroleum, which to me sounds like an exciting prospect, regardless of GHG emissions.

Looking at the graph (click on it for larger view), you can quite clearly see that with the predicted grid energy mix 2030, HEVs fair just as well as PHEVs, and even better than some technologies like BEVs and PHEV-60 (PHEVs with an electric range of 60 miles).

To do this study, the researchers predicted some basic advances in technology and applied them over the 22 years between now and the target date, but to keep it simple they did not include trends that have caused manufacturers to build large and more powerful cars. Instead, they kept size and power constant relative to a baseline 2.5L Toyota Camry.

While the researchers note that in 2030 HEVs will represent a 63% GHG reduction over current automobiles and 43% over 2030-era gasoline cars, PHEV, FCV, and BEV GHG reductions will depend heavily on how efficient the grid is.

This certainly begs the question of what the point is, anyway. If everything past HEV looks like it’s coming out a wash, why should we change our habits and throw all this money at PHEV and FCV production? The answer is simple, though not always apparent. When the energy burden is shifted from each individual automobile (with numbers in the millions) to a much smaller number of power plants, government regulations and new technologies will be much easier to apply. Try to imagine changing every car on the road to a HEV, and then imagine making a law saying that the grid must be 20% renewable in 10 years. It will be much easier, especially on the average citizen, to have a large change take place in a much more concerted, and less individual manner.

Without Clean Electricity, Plug-In Vehicles aren’t So Hot

Benjamin Jones — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 16:47:05 +0000

This is something I (and a lot of other people) have been wondering about for a while in regards to plug-in electric vehicles (PHEVs, like the Chevy Volt) and pure electric vehicles (EVs, like the Lightning GT and Subaru R1e). PHEVs are not a new thing, and they have been discussed on Gas2.0 before, but there is some interesting news that recently came out of Carnegie Mellon University suggesting that if we don’t make our power generation system less carbon intensive, PHEVs could have little benefit over regular hybrids (HEVs).

More after the jump!

Unfortunately, if you want to see the original article, you’ll have to buy it, but for the rest of us, Green Car Congress has written a good article about the findings and the implications of this study.

There is no doubt that PHEVs result in good fuel economy figures — GM is currently touting its PHEV-to be, the Volt, as getting 150MPG over all. However, they aren’t necessarily super efficient. Instead, they achieve these high numbers by supplementing the power produced by their gasoline engines with power taken from the grid. This has caused controversy lately, as hybrid-opponents often claim that battery production and the use of energy from the grid actually makes these cars bigger GHG polluters. However, if you look at this chart posted by GCC, you can see that both HEVs and PHEVs have a clear advantage over conventional cars, even when battery production is factored in:

This chart assumes the national mix of power from the grid, and as I said, shows pretty clearly the advantage of HEVs over conventional vehicles (CVs), but also shows that with the current mix of power sources on the grid, PHEVs aren’t that much better than your standard HEVs. I don’t say this to suggest that we should be shutting down PHEV research or production, but rather I think we should embrace the ability to consolidate our efforts in “greening” only one particular industry rather than trying to attack every one separately.

What I mean by this is that if our vehicles all drew power from the grid, making the grid more efficient would both improve standard energy usage as well as make motor vehicles less polluting. As it stands now there is a huge rift, where some are trying to improve the grid by adding things like wind power and others are trying to improve vehicle fuel economy or introduce hydrogen cars.

In fact, as noted by GCC, if the grid were low-carbon, PHEVs would reduce lifecycle GHG emissions of 51-63%, something anyone would admit is a huge improvement for motor vehicles.

You can check out this chart (if you can read it, click for a bigger version) to see how the different vehicles compare under different scenarios:

How do you all feel about PHEVs? Are they the new thing of the future or just another set-back on the way to pure EVs? Or is a hydrogen economy in store for us in the future?

Audi TDI Place Second in European LeMans

Benjamin Jones — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 00:12:54 +0000

I’ve posted in the past about a possible hybrid LeMans car and performance diesels, but today there is some actual news on some non-gasoline race cars from Audi. As reported by AutoBlogGreen, Audi recently took second place in their first showing with the diesel-powered cars in the European LeMans (this is after having raced these cars since 2006 outside of Europe).

Sure, a diesel engine isn’t that much different from a gasoline engine, when you really get down to it (in terms of environmental impact in racing), but it’s interesting to see a shift from the traditional thinking in auto racing. As we all know, sometimes an idea has to hit the limelight before it hits the showroom floor, even if it is more practical.

So what do you think? Is this a good thing or is racing just racing, no matter what fuel is used?

Is Ethanol Production Fueling the Size of the Dead Zone?

Benjamin Jones — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 14:05:35 +0000

Photo Source: marinebiology.edu

In case you didn’t know, the “dead zone” isn’t just a novel by Steven King or an old TV show, it’s an area about the size of New Jersey in the Gulf of Mexico that during the summer months is incapable of supporting sea life. The dead zone is created when fertilizer run off promote algae growth, which in turn throws off the oceans equilibrium by using all the available oxygen, killing everything else. So, good for algae perhaps, but bad for the sea life in general.

Carectomy recently reported that ethanol production for passenger vehicles could be responsible for a growth in this dead zone. In their words:

Corn is the biggest culprit in creating these environments, and now that the U.S. is looking to biofuels as a solution to its energy needs, the problem’s only getting worse. Bush signed legislation at the end of 2007 that will triple the amount of corn ethanol produced over the next several years.

More after the jump!

Because corn is the crop most used for ethanol in the US (other countries, such as Brazil, use sugar cane), it is clear that corn will have an adverse affect on the Gulf of Mexico’s ecosystem as the fertilizer heavy crop’s run off travels down the Mississippi and dumps itself into the ocean.

Carectomy goes on to give a scathing overview of how ethanol is the wrong direction for the US and the world, as it solves no problems, but simply makes it seems like problems have been solved. While I would heartily agree with them on many counts, there is much more to ethanol than meets the eye. Political pressures have made most US ethanol production corn based thus far, but other technologies have a promising future.

Cellulosic ethanol, for example, can use any plant matter and turn it into ethanol. That means that food waste, grasses, and just about anything that’s a plant could be made into ethanol. With this technology extremely efficient ways of producing ethanol with environmentally friendly crops could be used, therefore lowering the impact ethanol has on the environment.

With that said, the dead zone is truly an alarming spectacle, and if the US wants to continue to hurdle towards an ethanol economy, it’s going to have to reform its ways and “kick the corn habit” as much as it needs to kick the oil habit.

Toyota to Pioneer Hybrid Racing Technology?

Benjamin Jones — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 02:45:37 +0000

Image source: Nordvik

According to AutoBlogGreen there is currently a bit of buzz surrounding the possibility that Toyota will enter a hybrid into the 2009 LeMans race. They’ve already missed the deadline if they wanted to enter a hybrid in 2008, but since they’re in it to win it, it appears that they will wait until 2009 in order to enter a vehicle with every chance of winning.

Hybrid packages are usually packaged as environmentally friendly or with fuel efficiency improving features, but in many cases hybrid technology can be used for plain, old-fashioned power. With performance batteries (or capacitors in the case of the Toyota) and large electric motors, additional energy can be gained from regenerative braking that is later used to assist a gasoline engine when performance is needed most. It is in this way that many hybrids (like those made by luxury manufacturers or the former Accord Hybrid) both perform better and get better fuel economy.

This news follows on the coattails of stellar performance by the Toyota HV-R, which won the 24 hours of Tokachi race (very similar to the LeMans) in 2007. This same car, which is based on the Toyota Supra also won the “Race engine of the year 2007″ award. If the car fielded by Toyota in the LeMans is anything like the HV-R, it will use three electric motors, one main, rear motor as well has two in-hub motors in the front wheels. This allows the car to capture and use maximum amounts of energy from regenerative braking.

I’m definitely excited to see if Toyota (or any other manufacturer) fields a hybrid powertrain in the LeMans, and if so how they fair. Do you think hybrids are poised to take a leading role in racing?

Here are the specs on the HV-R (thanks to ABG):

Specifications of Toyota Supra HV-R

Vehicle name	Denso Toyota Supra HV-R
Entry Class	GT/TP1
Engine	Modified (Super GT version 3UZ-FE engine)
Engine displacement	4,480cc
Air restrictor	29.6mm i2
Maximum output	480ps min/6,800rpm
Maximum torque	510 Nm at 5,600rpm
Electric motor	Front motor: 10kW i2 (in-wheel motor) Rear motor: 150kW
Vehicle weight	1.080 kg
Team name	TOYOTA Team SARD
Drivers	Katsuyuki Hiranaka (Japan) Andre Couto (Portugal) Akira Lida (Japan) Tatsuya Kataoka (Japan

Japanese Man to “Hang 10″ in Pacific Journey with Wave-Powered Boat

Benjamin Jones — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 23:42:46 +0000

There are various ways to travel the sea in style. One of the most environmentally friendly ones would certainly be using sails alone. I mean, wind is free, right?

Well, a Japanese man named Kenichi Horie is attempting to be just as environmentally friendly but without the sails.

How does he do it? With a wave-powered boat. Wave power has been discussed quite a bit recently, with a lot of applications including traditional grid energy generation. However, Kenichi is taking things to the next level by powering his ocean going vehicle with the very thing it bobs atop.

As you can see in the photo (click for larger view), the boat is powered by two fins that raise and lower with the tide, which drive the propellers. On board energy is provided by solar panels and the boat is primarily made out of recycled aluminum.

By sailing from Japan to Hawai’i, Kenichi and his Suntory Mermaid II hope to set a Guinness World Record for the longest distance traveled in this type of wave-powered ocean goer. To be sure, this boat doesn’t go very fast (it’s got about half of the speed potential of a diesel powered craft), but this type of innovation is certainly interesting to see. As long as recreational sailing exists, why not try to minimize environmental impact as much as possible, right?

In fact, if you visit the sailor’s page you can track his progress as he crosses the wide Pacific. As of writing he looks to be almost there!

Source: EcoFuss and Kenichi Horie’s page

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Need a New Car? Nope, Just a New Engine!

Benjamin Jones — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 02:34:01 +0000

Image source: motoringfile

Engine Repower is a new (as far as I can tell) service that gives car owners the option of replacing their old, worn out engine with a rebuilt engine of the same vintage instead of simply buying a new car or repairing specific problems. When a first saw this page, I was very interested, as I am a proponent of keeping your car as long as possible to reduce wasteful manufacturing processes, even in the face of promises of lower emissions made by newer cars.

For more on repowering, follow the jump!

Here’s what Engine Repower has to say about their service:

Technology and auto manufacturing have advanced dramatically in the past two decades. Cars and trucks last longer. Paint is better. Bodies are more corrosion resistant. Interior materials are more durable, and even suspension and other components last longer. So when an engine “dies,” it does not have to be the end of your vehicle. When a car or truck suffers major engine damage, the first response and reaction of many consumers is to buy a new or used vehicle. Sometimes disposing of your current vehicle might make sense, but often it’s simply not necessary.

Obviously, being an advertisement, they are very high on themselves, but they do make some good points. When cars die, it seems it is most often due to accidents or blown engines. Very rarely do cars rust so badly or generally devolve to a point of undrivability before the engine begins to have trouble. Also, one of the biggest issues with emissions from old vehicles is that those vehicles have fallen out of spec and are no longer getting the best fuel economy or releasing the least emissions.

The Engine Repowering Council seems to focus on domestic vehicles, but using their find-a-shop feature, it’s likely that you can find someone to rebuild an engine of almost any make. These engines almost always come with warranties and, in my opinion (as someone who has worked at a shop in the past), will be rebuilt as carefully as anything else coming from that shop. So, if you’re considering this, pick a shop you know and trust, and that offers a good warranty.

While the service is certainly not ideal (you can’t just put a newer, cleaner engine in an old car), the ability to put life and reliability back into an old car is about as close as you can get to recycling and reusing in the automotive world.

Electric Tara Tiny Steals Tata Nano’s Position as World’s Cheapest Car

Benjamin Jones — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 21:35:25 +0000

There’s been a lot in the news recently about the Tata Nano, the world’s cheapest car, which also has a lot of green features. However, just recently, Tara International announced that it will be selling two electric vehicles for even cheaper than the Tata Nano.

These two cars will be priced at approximately 99K Rupees (2,475 USD), and are built in partnership with a Chinese company named Aucma. To compare, the cheapest Tata Nano comes in at just about 100k Rupees. Not much of a difference on the face of it, but the Tara vehicles being electric compared to the Tata’s gasoline powertrain would make you think the Tara would be much more expensive.

More after the break!

These cars will be able to travel between 80 and 100KM after an 8 hour charge (but a 220 volt, 15 amp socket is necessary for the charging). Tara will also be selling electric bikes with a similar range that charge more quickly and require less beefy plugs (just 5 amps).

But what’s the biggest disadvantage? The speed. The Tara Tiny can only reach speeds up to 50 KM/H.

About competition with the Tata Nano and the Tara’s image as a green car, Tara Ganguly (company head) had this to say on the website Reddiff:

But the cars that I have conceptualised are ‘green’ cars. Therefore, the question of comparing these (environment-friendly cars) with the Nano doesn’t arise at all.

It will certainly be interesting to see how this plays out in the coming months after so much controversy with the Tata Nano. Will another cheap car cause bigger problems on Indian roads? Would a mass-production electric vehicle strain the country’s power network? All these things remain to be seen.

In the meantime, Tara will be rolling these cars out onto Indian streets with plans to release them in the US in the future. One English company has already placed an order for 100 of these tiny electric vehicles.

More news to come as the story unfolds!

Here are some more images from Reddiff:

Source: Reddif via Darin @ EcoModder

Subaru Unleashes R1e Electric Car on New York

Benjamin Jones — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 23:50:51 +0000

ABG recently reported on the fact that the new Subaru R1e has recently been spotted tooling around the streets in New York City as part of an official trial in the US, which is an extension of the 40 (soon to be 100) car trial currently taking placing in Japan.

In light of this new development, I thought it would be prudent to show off some of the most exciting features of theR1e, beginning with the fact that it is an all electric version of a production car made by major manufacturers to be affordable and useful to average citizens (though these needs might be a bit different depending on the market).

It’s exciting enough in and of itself to see a major initiative from a major manufacturer (yeah yeah, the Volt, sure), but this car is pretty sweet on its own.

More after the break!

The test is taking place in Kanagawa Prefecture, where Subaru plans to set up 150 of its “fast charge stations” to complement predicted sales of 5k+ EVs in the next five years. These fast charge stations are different from normal outlets and can deliver an 80% charge to the R1e in just 15 minutes! At home the 40 kW lithium-ion pack requires 8 hours for a full charge.

The R1e’s lithium pack is good for 50 miles at up to 65 MPH, with its most impressive feature being a 10 year or 124,000 mile lifetime expectancy. This issue has troubled hybrids and EVs in the past, so this kind of durability guarantee is certainly exciting to see in a production vehicle.

For those of you who don’t know, the Subaru R1 is a small car that is well known in Japan and perhaps perfectly suited for EV conversion. It might be a little smaller than the norm in the US market, but we’re seeing more and more talk about importing these kei-class cars to the US so by the time it happens it might not be as revolutionary as it seems.

I’ll be looking forward to more news, for sure.

Source: ABG

Green Options » Benjamin Jones

Hybrid Fest 2008: July 19th & 20th in Madison, WI

Ethanol Use in US and Brazil Rises Sharply

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Run Your Car on Wood? No Joke.

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VW Confirms 1L Concept Will Become Reality in 2010

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Six New Technologies Will Help Manufacturers Reach the 35 MPG Goal (Without Hybrids)

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Formula 1 Racing to Go Hybrid from 2009-2013

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MIT Study Predicts Well-to-Wheel Vehicle Emissions for 2030

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Without Clean Electricity, Plug-In Vehicles aren’t So Hot

Audi TDI Place Second in European LeMans

Is Ethanol Production Fueling the Size of the Dead Zone?

Toyota to Pioneer Hybrid Racing Technology?

Japanese Man to “Hang 10″ in Pacific Journey with Wave-Powered Boat

Need a New Car? Nope, Just a New Engine!

Electric Tara Tiny Steals Tata Nano’s Position as World’s Cheapest Car

Subaru Unleashes R1e Electric Car on New York