Gadget guide Gearlog has put together an excellent postabout the Top 10 green cars shown at the New York auto show.
The by far most extravaganz concept is the GM/Segway PUMA.
The Project PUMA (Personal Urban Mobility & Asscessiblity) seated-not-standing vehicle is a self-balancing, two-person rickshaw with an electric motor and lithium-ion batteries replacing the coolie.
Check out the article for a picture of the PUMA and 9 other fine automobiles that will hopefully change the world.
Tesla Motors is opening its first European sales and service center in London. The first of three stores in Europe that the electric vehicle manufacturer plans to launch this year.
Tesla is also scouting sites in Munich (Germany) and Monaco. Tesla says it will begin delivering cars to European customers in late June. These cars will comply with all EU safety, environmental and durability regulations.
“We expect that Tesla sales will eventually be split evenly between the US and Europe,” said Tesla CEO, Chairman and Product Architect Elon Musk. “Opening three Tesla stores in Europe this year is a critical part of that plan.”
Greater London is a key customer market and premier showcase for Tesla – not only for the Roadster sports car but the Model S sedan, which Tesla expects to produce in 2011. The Model S, which will be among the world’s first mass-produced, highway-capable EVs, will carry five adults and two children up to 480 kilometers per charge.
Teslas qualify for a $7,500 US federal tax credit and enjoy incentives in several European countries and cities, including waivers of luxury tax, reductions in VAT, free parking and free charging. In London, Teslas are exempt from the congestion charge, a saving of up to £2,000 per year for commuters.
You’ll find the whole story in the press release.
The Swiss auto powerhouse Rinspeed presented the ‘iChange’ at the Geneva Motor Show 2009. It is the world’s first car whose body adapts to the number of passengers on board. For Rinspeed boss Rinderknecht the vehicle is more than just a clever concept car. “The „iChange“ is a symbol for the fundamental changes the auto industry undergoes worldwide. And it is clear that only those companies will survive that have innovative answers for the demands of a new automotive era.”
The visionary Rinderknecht is convinced that the days of gas-guzzling behemoths are coming to an end: “The „iChange“ is a signal for the coming global changes to individual mobility. We need to be ready to meet these challenges with new ideas.” In seconds a streamlined one-seater sports car transforms into a comfortable car with ample room for
three. The trick: At the push of a button the rear end of the teardrop-shaped car magically pops up. “We have designed and built an extremely flexible vehicle. In it we have brought the themes of versatility and continually changing energy demands to their logical conclusions.” The result is a streamlined, lightweight zero-emission car with dramatically reduced energy consumption.
All the news coverage about the Greeny – VisionGreen’s ecological friendly car – is from 2007. The website still promises change.
Cars without emissions, eco-houses and green cities, clean air and healthy people, new ways and fresh thinking. That’s what we dream of and what we work for – day and night and sometimes in-between.
Do sustainable living and having fun go together? Can we embrace responsibility and enjoy beauty? Dare dreams and create realities?
Yes, we can! That’s why we want to challenge us and others every day to step out and free our minds from stuffy drawers and old prejudice, from resignation and inaction, from senseless norms and silly conventions. Instead we trust our strengths, our vision and our reason to make our world a little greener.
Sometimes many little things can indeed make huge changes.
Come and join us – join the revolution.
Source: VisionGreen
What’s the status of this company and its first product? I haven’t seen a single Greeny on the roads, yet. Does anyone have news?
Bernd Bohr – chief of vehicles at Bosch – criticizes the recent discussion on electric cars as too euphoric in an interview with German magazine “auto motor und sport”. He does not think it is realistic that in 2010 affordable electric cars that have the same comfort as conventional cars will be available in the market. As late as 2015 there will be small test series which are subsidized by the state through tax reductions or the industry for image reasons. Bosch’s forecast except 2.5 million to 3 million hybrids and 800.000 electric cars in 2015 with 80 million cars alltogether.
Source in German: Autokrise: Bosch kritisiert Hype um Elektroautos
German magazine Manager Magazin is covering electic cars in a long running series. The following excellent articles (in German) are available online with lots of pictures:
Fourteen U.S. technology companies are joining forces and seeking $1 billion in federal aid to build a plant to make advanced batteries for electric cars, in a bid to catch up to Asian rivals that are far ahead of the U.S.
A project by one of the SAP founders aims to make the world a better place by building a network of recharge stations for electric cars. You subscribe to a plan to exchange your car’s batteries at any of their stations. Better Place is the electric car’s way of a petrol station and also replaces other infrastructure needed for personal mobility. See the video for more information.