The biggest problem holding back the electric car is simple infrastructure. Currently there are maybe a handful of charging stations that might be near the owner of an electric car. The only current recharging options are at home for most electric car owners.
Decades of gas powered transportation has resulted in a gas station on every corner. And for the most part, each car ran on one of the few types of gasoline offered. Now we have different battery technologies, and connection types for electric cars. Imagine if Ford, Honda, and GM all needed a different type of gasoline, and each refueling method was different.
Electric car technology is emerging and changing rapidly, so to pick a standard now might be foolish, but until that happens, the electric car will never be seen in every garage in America.
This is why cars like the Volt will have an early advantage because they have engineering around this problem by combining the best of electric power with the features of the gas-world infrastructure.
So how does the electric car quickly advance?
Choose an early standard of charging?
Offer many charging options per charging station?
More government subsidies for building infrastructure?
The Hertz Corporation announced today that New York will be the first city to receive electric vehicles (EV) as part company’s Hertz Global EV initiative with cars also being delivered to Washington DC and San Francisco. Beginning December 15, 2010, Hertz will make next generation of electric vehicles available to the general public through its Connect by Hertz car sharing operation and, starting today, local area residents and visitors can go to www.hertzev.com to sign up to be among the first to try an EV such as the smart Electric Drive and Nissan LEAF.
Connect by Hertz. Choose from 3 different plans.
Connect
- $50 Annual Membership
- $25 Application Fee
- 180 Free miles per day
- from $10 per hour with free gas
Connect 50
- $50 per month, no annual fee
- $25 Application Fee
- 180 Free miles per day
- from $9 per hour with free gas
Connect 125
- $125 per month, no annual fee
- $25 Application fee
- 180 free miles per day
- From $8.50 per hour with free gas
The hourly rate includes:
- Gas
- Insurance
- GPS turn-by-turn navigation
- 24/7 Roadside Assistance
- 24-hour Member Care Center
- 180 free miles per day
The nations first publicly available quick charge station.
“This quick charge station will allow customers to charge their cars in 20 to 30 minutes. They can stop at a rest stop, get a quick bite to eat and they can charge their vehicle very quickly and get on their way down the road. So this is a big milestone for the electric vehicle, a big tipping point for the industry.”
-Jim Piro, President and CEO Portland General Electric
The charging station is a colloborative effort between Portland General Electric, Nissan, and NEC Corp.
“I think it really opens the doors to confidence in drivers moving outside of their local area, and really opens the market up. Not only for the quick chargers, but electric vehicles and the infrastructure that can support them.”
-Rich Moran, NEC Corp of America
The price of the upcoming Chevrolet Volt has been revealed: $41,000
From 1997 to 2003 Toyota leased an electric version of the RAV 4 sport utility vehicle. The users were so happy with the electric Rav 4 that many of them purchased them at the end of the lease.
The Electric RAV4 (EV) has a top speed of 78 MPH and an impressive driving range of 80 to 120 miles per charge. This is really incredible for an electric vehicle that is over 10 years old. Many users report just about the same performance numbers as when the vehicle was new, and they are still using the original batteries.
The EV Rav 4 has not been available since 2003, now in 2010 Toyota has announced a partnership with Tesla to resurrect the EV Rav 4. The new RAV 4 EV will use the Tesla electric motor and batteries and the Toyota RAV 4 platform and body. This new EV could be one of the first electric SUV’s to hit the market.
Porsche Developing Electric Vehicles.
We will definitely be offering an electric sports car in future. But such a concept only makes sense if it offers product qualities typical of a Porsche.
—Michael Macht, President and Chief Executive Officer of Porsche AG
The list of electric sports cars is beginning to grow with Porsche being added to the list. Porsche has always been one of the greatest names in performance and styling for sports cars. Expectations will be high for an electric Porsche.
Having another major brand with an electric sports car on the market will increase the innovation for all other manufacturers. The technology that evolves out of the sports cars will provide a boost to the everyday electric car as well.
via Green Car Congress
Nissan has announced a new lithium-ion battery plant in Smyrna, TN.
This facility will also begin manufacturing the 100% electric Nissan LEAFTM in 2012, which will create 1,300 jobs.
The Nissan Leaf will offer 4 different charging options.
- 110 volt “opportunity” charger. For use when no other charging option is available. A full charge will take about 16 hours using this method
- 220 home charger. This is an at-home installed charger that is meant to be your daily charging solution. Total charge time is about 8 hours using this charger.
- Commercial Fast Charge. This will give an 80% charge in just about 30 minutes.
- The Commercial Fast Charge can also be set to give an extra 30 miles with a super quick 5 minute charge.
Is Jaguar trying to join the electric car market? The Jaguar XJ Range Extended electric car is a possibility for 2011. This would seem to follow the latest offerings of high-end model electric vehicles by other car manufactures like the Tesla sports car.
This is another sign of the transformation that is going to happen over the next decade for all cars. Electric cars are stepping out of the tiny, ultra light weight category towards the higher end luxury car lines. Could this Jaguar give Tesla a run for its money?
The all electric car for everyone? The Volt could be that car. Only time will tell, once the initial excitement of Volt’s release has settled and the car gets some heavy use by average drivers, only then the Volt be proven a success or something other than success.
We can only wonder where the electric car would be today had the EV-1 research continued on and not have been stopped and entirely killed in 1999? Fast forward to the summer of 2008 when gas prices sky rocketed through the roof, and all the car companies are scrambling to get out an electric car. GM would have had a 10 + years to refine and perfect a high quality electric car. In 2008 the car would have been ready for the huge surge in demand that it would have enjoyed.
The Volt is set to be released in 2010 and it is one of the most important new cars GM has ever produced. The volt will be different than other current hybrid offerings in the fact the sole propulsion system will come from the electric motor. The Volt will contain a gasoline powered motor, but it’s sole purpose will be to provide power to the electric motor. A solar charging roof option will also be available.
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