Luxury Automakers to Debut EV/Hybrids at New York International Auto Show

The all-electric BMW MINI E. Photo courtesy of Autocraze.com.

If you’ve ever wanted to test drive a concept car - with the bonus of it being environmentally friendly too - then you’re not going to want to miss next month’s New York International Auto Show.

Events will run from March 31-April 11, with the showroom floor opening to the public on April 3 and running to the last day of the show. Among the daily all-day events/exhibits will be the “Indoor Ride & Drive” in the Electric Vehicle Pavilion, which will give attendees the experience of driving non-emission vehicles.

Sponsors, participants, and exhibitors will include Mitsubishi Motors, as well as:    

• THINK - an electric vehicle manufacturer. 
• BMW MINI E - a fully electric, zero emissions brand vehicle.
• PEP Stations - a provider of charge stations for electric vehicles to commercial facilities. 
• Amp Electric Vehicles - a manufacturer and installer all-electric high performance drive trains for Chevrolet Equinox, Saturn Sky, and Pontiac Solstice vehicles.

Also at the show will be some luxury automakers that have stepped into the ‘green’ design arena, and will be exhibiting their newest concept cars.

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New York on the Leading Edge of Hydrogen Fuel Station Infrastructure

Hydrogen fuel station at JFK Airport. Photo courtesy of Reuters.

For people in the New York City area that think about buying a hydrogen fuel vehicle, but don’t because of deterrents like limited places to refuel, here’s some news that might interest you.

Working on providing more fueling infrastructure for these vehicles, Shell Hydrogen in its continuing partnership with General Motors just opened up a hydrogen fuel station at the JFK Airport, and is planning to open up one more in the Bronx this month.

With the opening of another station in White Plans last year, Shell announced that this creates “the first metropolitan cluster of stations anywhere in the world to power hydrogen fuel cell vehicles.” These three stations will be about 30 miles from each other.

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Obama Pledges $2.4 Billion to Fund Next Generation Electric Vehicles Production

Chevrolet Volt. Photo by Xinhua News.

POMONA, Calif.- President Barack Obama has announced that his administration plans to make available $2.4 billion in funding to American manufacturers for the development of next generation plug-in hybrid vehicles and the advanced battery components that will make these vehicle run.

The announcement was made late last week to an audience at the Edison Electric Vehicle Technical Center, where he pledged that “the initiative will create tens of thousands of jobs, and Americans who decide to purchase these plug-in hybrid vehicles can claim a tax credit of up to $7,500.”

President Obama went on to say that the Department of Energy is offering several grant programs in an effort to bring these initiatives to fruition.

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Michelin Reaches Initial Prototype Development Stage For New Tires Geared Toward Reducing Rolling Resistance

All of the Audi Mileage Marathon vehicles were outfitted with Michelin Green X low rolling resistance tires. Low rolling resistance tires help improve fuel economy. Photo courtesy of About.com.

GREENVILLE, S.C.- Michelin - at the one-year marker of its three-year partnership plan with Clemson University - has begun testing the first of a series of tire prototypes being developed to reduce rolling resistance and increase fuel economy in next generation vehicles.

“We have been doing a lot of computer simulation work. We are getting some results that are helping us in our path toward the goals that we have for the project. We learned a lot about aerodynamic losses in this first loop that we weren’t expecting,” said Jim Anderson, research director for passenger car and light truck tires of Michelin America’s research and development company.

“When you work on a long-term project like this, new approaches are tried, which also bring up new challenges. Our ambition is quite high for this project in terms of being able to significantly reduce rolling tire resistance and reduce the energy contribution that tires make in operating a vehicle,” added Mr. Anderson.

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Better Place Partners With Ontario Government to Develop Electric Car Infrastructure in the Province

Image courtesy of Treehugger.com

PALO ALTO, Calif. - Better Place is partnering with the government of Ontario in an effort to develop an electric car infrastructure in the province.

The company, which was unavailable for comment, released a statement saying that Better Place plans to install a network of charge spots and battery exchange stations in Toronto and later across Canada, which it hopes will give drivers the same convenience as gasoline stations.

Better Place says that it plans to “install charge spots in parking spaces at home, at work, and at retail locations, which [will] enable the network to automatically top off the electric car.”

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