Green Options

[Editor's Note: Karen Pease has developed many personal relationships with people inside and out of Aptera over the years. She's been able to get the best picture we've seen so far of the quirky EV manufacturer's troubles from her inside sources. In most cases names and identifying specifics have been withheld at the source's request to protect their livelihood.]

How did a woman who the Securities and Exchange Commission says planned one of the largest accounting frauds in US history end up as Chief Financial Officer of Aptera Motors?

It’s just one of many questions swirling around what appears to be a meltdown in progress at the beleaguered manufacturer of safe, hyper-efficient electric vehicles (see the posts here, and here if you don’t know what’s going on).

When a business is running smoothly, there are strong incentives for everyone to be a team player and hide any signs of internal strife. However, as the rate of layoffs and “vacations” has increased over at Aptera, so has the potential for leaks. And sometimes a simple name can take you places you never thought you’d go.

Researchers at the University of San Diego have discovered that carbon nanotubes don’t have to be perfect to do a better job.  The team of UCSD Professor Prabhakar Bandaru and grad student Mark Hoefer found that defective carbon nanotubes actually store energy more effectively than their unflawed counterparts.

The effect, which was originally studied at UCSD by grad student Jeff Nichols, rests in the creation of just the right amount of defects - enough to create additional charge sites on the nanotube, but not enough to break down its electrical conductivity.  Though it’s a long way from commercialization, the breakthrough brings us one step closer to the Holy Grail of the electric car, and to the entire battery operated sustainable infrastructure of the future: a genuine quick-charging, long lasting battery.

Canadian province Ontario is to introduce green-coloured licence plates, available only to drivers of plug-in hybrids and battery-powered electric vehicles.

Sounds like another gimmick? Well, here’s the deal - vehicles sporting the new green plates will be able to drive in the province’s dedicated carpool lanes until 2015, even if only one person is in the vehicle.

Speaking about the initiative, Transportation Minister Jim Bradley said, “The McGuinty government’s plan is to have one out of every 20 passenger vehicles on Ontario’s roads an electric vehicle by 2020.”

A US-built Tesla Roadster has broken the world record for the distance travelled by an electric production car on a single charge.

While competing in the Global Green Challenge, Australian Simon Hackett and co-driver Emilis Prelgauskas drove an incredible 313 miles before the batteries finally died in their Roadster.

Until now, the record has been held by another Tesla Roadster, after completing a 241 mile road rally on one charge.

Cops based near Oxford in the UK have revealed that they are unable to to use flashing blue lights on their new electric car - in case it drains too much power from the battery.

The Thames Valley police force is testing out the £20,000 ($33,000) Mitsubishi iMiev in an effort to improve its environmental credentials. Apart from this quite obvious setback, they have been pleased with the silent, emission-free car, capable of travelling 100 miles on a single charge (with the lights off).

One major obstacle on the road to widespread acceptance of electric cars is reliability. Electric cars are still relatively new ground, and anybody who has ever gotten a cellphone wet or left a laptop in a car during a hot summer day (guilty on both counts) knows that electronics are very sensitive to the elements. Apparently, they are also sensitive to potholes.

One of the “lucky” few who were given an Electric Mini to test out—the founder of GM-Volt.com found out just how sensitive when the Mini came to a dead stop in a construction zone after hitting one such pothole.

The Nissan LEAF promises to be the first affordable all-electric car on the market when it hits showrooms around this time next year. With a target price in the $25,000 range it is affordable, anti-petrol, and kinda cute too. The production model makes its North American debut next month in Los Angeles. It will be the first chance for the American public to see this car in person. [ed. note: Gas 2.0 will be there for the unveiling in L.A.]

After making its debut, Nissan will take the LEAF on a countrywide tour, giving the denizens of 22 cities a chance to sit and drive an important part of our electric future.

I am a firm believer that if electric cars are to gain widespread acceptance, they first need to be proven in America’s congested cities. Most city dwellers usually don’t drive that far, have access to alternate forms of transportation, and likely spend more time on their iPhones than in a car anyway. It is the perfect proving ground for electric cars.

The MINILUX Solar Car concept realizes this, and rather than serving as an expensive paperweight while sitting idle, it can actually return energy back to the grid. It’s pretty neat looking too, aside from those funky wheels.

One deft criticism of electric cars is that they lack ambient noise to warn others of their impending approach. This is especially worrisome for the blind or elderly, and even early hybrids like the Prius are criticized for being too quiet in a world weened on engine noises. Then there are those of us who demand a growling engine as part of the automotive experience.

But that may all change in the not too distant future, as hybrid or electric cars may come equipped with artificial engine noises. You may even be able to customize the tunes coming out of your automobile.

Legendary Italian carmaker, Pininfarina, may yet have some surprises up its sleeves. Even with recent financial difficulties, Pininfarina’s CEO, Silvio Pietro Angori, told Italian newspaper, Il Sole 24, that the company’s Bluecar electric car venture with french investor Vincent Bollore is not simply a concept car and still on track for a 2011 market debut.

The Audi E-Tron electric sports car is a go, according to Audi of America President Johan de Nysschen. The super-futuristic electric car that debuted at the Frankfurt Auto Show was such a hit that de Nysschen thinks there will be working examples on the road within two years.