Fisker Karma

Development of electric and electric/gasoline powered cars is increasing rapidly. Nearly all the manufacturers are planning production of a number of models. These technologies are gaining popularity since battery manufacturers have been in race to improve the battery life. Improving the battery life extends the driving range of the vehicle. it appears that the battery life question has been overcome, since the Tesla Roadster won the Monte Carlo Rally For Alternative Energy Vehicles.

Fisker Automotive has developed a plug-in hybrid luxury sports sedan the Fisker Karma. Fisker Automotive is a joint venture between Quantum Technologies and Fisker Coachbuild LLC. The Karma is anticipated to have a 50 mile (80km) all-electric range. The Karma is powered by Q-drive technology, which is a series hybrid where the engine is mated with a generator to provide an electrical connection to the electric motors. Electric motors are what propel the vehicle, the engine recharges the batteries.The Karma has a feature that one day may become standard on electric cars. It has a factory option of a solar power roof that can assist recharging the lithium batteries and the climate control system.

Also, Fisker will offer a set of solar panels for the garage/house which may charge the Karma entirely off the grid. Fisker automotive has not released information on the Karma fuel economy.

Electric Car Races?

Electric cars are now becoming a reality! The Tesla Roadster is in production, the Chevrolet Volt will be out next year, Nissan, Chrysler, Ford, Smart, Lotus, and Mitsubishi are all coming out with their versions of an electric car.

It appears that putting those cars into racing is the next step! The Monte Carlo Rally For Alternative Energy Vehicles is where this is starting!

The Tesla Roadster actually won the event in the electric car category. It completed the 241 miles of the rally with 38 miles of range left in the batteries.

Ford captured the 1st, 2nd and 4th in the fossil fuel category with some Ford Fiesta Econetic diesels. The Ford Fiesta diesels averaged 59 mpg in the race. The Ford Fiesta is currently produced in Europe and will be manufactured in the U.S. starting in 2010. Many of the auto writers would like the diesel versions brought to the U.S. due to the high fuel efficiency .

For more information on the Monte Carlo Rally for Alternative Energy Vehicles see the Wired Blog!

General Motors EV1

Most people are not familiar with the Saturn EV1 now called the GM EV1. which was the first modern production electric vehicle from a major automaker. It was also the most recent fully electric car produced by General Motors in the United States.

Introduced in 1996, The EV1 electric cars were available in California and Arizona with a 3 year/30,000 mile lease only agreement. This was because the EV1 and its leasees were to be participants in a "real-world" engineering evaluation created by GM's Advanced Technology Vehicles group. GM was doing a market analysis and feasibility study as to the feasibility of producing and marketing a electric car in the U.S.

The EV1 was directly based on a prototype vehicle created by AeroVironment called the GM Impact. The Impact in turn had been based on design ideas first tested out in a record-breaking race car called the Sunraycer, a solar-electric vehicle the company created in 1987 specifically to win the World Solar Challenge, a trans-Australia race open to solar powered cars only.

All this effort was a result of the ZEV Mandate which required by 1998, 2% of all new cars sold by the seven major auto manufacturers in the state of California were to meet 'zero emission' standards as defined by the California Air Resources Board and 10% by 2003. The California ZEB mandate was subsequently cancelled.

The EV1 was discontinued after 1999, with all examples subsequently removed from the roads in 2003 by General Motors and crushed, except for a select few kept for educational purposes or as museum pieces. The car's discontinuation remains controversial.

In late 2003, GM officially canceled the EV1 program. GM stated that it could not sell enough of the cars to make the EV1 profitable. GM alleges that the EV1 cost GM $1 billion dollars. This, combined with the fact that their parts and service infrastructure costs required to maintain the existing EV1's for the state legislated minimum of 15 years, would mean the existing leases would not be renewed and all the cars would have to be returned to GM's possession.

According to GM Chairman and CEO Rick Wagoner, his worst decision of his tenure at GM was "axing the EV1 electric-car program and not putting the right resources into hybrids. It didn’t affect profitability, but it did affect image." Wagoner repeated his assertion after the December 2008 Senate hearings on the U.S. auto industry bailout request.

According to the March 13, 2007, issue of Newsweek, "GM R&D chief Larry Burns . . . now wishes GM hadn't killed the plug-in hybrid EV1 prototype his engineers had on the road a decade ago: 'If we could turn back the hands of time,' says Burns, 'we could have had the Chevy Volt 10 years earlier.'"

A documentary film debuted entitled Who Killed the Electric Car?, which outlines the debate. Also, people who had leases on EV1's were refusing to turn their cars in after the lease ended, that should have indicated something to the GM brass.

My take is that the EV1 was a decade ahead of its time. GM basically looked at the numbers and figured that it had cost enough money $1 billion dollars. The problem is GM did not have the vision to fully develop the project. The battery was the limiting factor at the time, the EV1 did not have the driving range necessary to be a commuter for many people. If GM had the vision to complete this project, GM would still be the largest car company in the world with the profits to match.

Cadillac Converj Concept

Last month General Motors (GM) gave us a preview of what GM is capable of producing. Bob Lutz (chief product guru) introduced this gorgeous 2+2 concept the Cadillac Converj. Wow!!! This a an absolutely gorgeous car! It is designed with the thought that a car's beauty should dictate its appeal - not the powertrain. Although, the high-tech electric powertrain named the Voltec has alot appeal in today's green auto market. The powertrain is an upgraded version of the Chevrolet Volt concept.

The electric motor for the Converj is the sole powertrain and can travel up to 40 miles on electricity alone before requiring the gas engine to power the electric motor. Here is the best part - the batteries can be recharged on a regular 110-volt household outlet which takes 8 hours or a 220-volt outlet which takes 3 hours.

The interior is just a gorgeous as the exterior with white suede, black leather seating and as aluminum and wood trim. The LED instrument panel has blue console illumination while the interior is bathed in white ambient lighting.

GM has not announced production plans but the Chevy Volt is scheduled to happen by the end of 2010. Also, the pricing has not been announced but I would estimate in the $55 - $60k range.

Wow!! I love the styling and cannot wait until I can drive this car! If GM had started making cars like this ten years ago, they would be flush with cash and would not be begging the government for funds.