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.

Click to read more ...

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.”

Click to read more ...

New Prototype Technology Expected to Use Road Bumps to Regenerate Battery

GREENWICH, Conn.- A new prototype technology that can use the bumps in a road to regenerate power to the batteries of hybrid and electric vehicles has been exclusively optioned to Electric Truck, a privately held licensing and technology firm.

The commercial rights were optioned to the company by Tufts University, Boston, which originally developed and patented the technology through its Office for Technology Licensing and Industry Collaboration.

Drivers of hybrid cars could increase their miles per gallon by 20 to 70 percent through the use of this new technology, according to Martin Son, associate director of the OTL&IC at Tufts.

The new technology was illustrated as “one that can be implemented as a shock absorber and instead of having the energy as heat and dissipating, it can be converted into a usable electrical energy which can then be used to recharge the battery,” said Mr. Son.

Click to read more ...