Zoomi Life

I normally don’t like so-called “micro” vehicles and I especially despise “commuter” vehicles. These are usually one-in-the-same and are generally some of the worst perpetrators of ugly design and lame looks in the EV market. While the Tazzari Zero may not be a real looker, it’s much better than average and hopefully is part of a new trend.

This little car has a top speed of 56mph and has a range of about 93 miles per charge. It’s a pure-electric. The website for this car is pretty low on detail and high on style. They’re Italian, so I guess that’s understandable, Italy being the home of Gucci and all.

A video of the prototype for this one makes it look pretty good, though. The guy definitely doesn’t hold back on the throttle. I suspect he’s seen “Fast and Furious” one too many times.

For a car that does 0-31 in 5 seconds (that’s about 9 seconds 0-60), this video manages to make it look downright zippy.

Concept cars are not usually known for their realism or great looks. They’re sort of the modern art of car design: only those who made them understand what they are to represent and then usually only after certain, uhhh, altered states of consciousness have been achieved.

Honda isn’t any different and the FC Sport concept car is nothing short of, well, “Funky Ugly” as described over at Treehugger.com. That’s better than anything I can come up with to describe the thing.

The car debuted at the LA Auto Show earlier this month and is straight out of a 1990s Batman movie, to say the least. The front grille looks like the back-end of a 1990s Chrysler and the trunk-end of this Honda looks like a hybridized Batmobile jet exhaust. So, in essence, the car looks like it’s got two trunks.

What’s in the car is what it’s all about, though. All concepts are about the innards, the modern art outer shell being only to wow the crowd at unveiling. Incidentally, the Honda FC Sport was greeted by utter silence by the crowd on its unveiling. That’s how strange it looks.

Inside the car is Honda’s pride and joy: a hydrogen fuel cell concept. Honda’s focus is on hydrogen rather than pure electric, which I find both bold and to possibly be a more realistic approach to the future. Not only is hydrogen easily made from zero-emissions sources (Honda also has an “energy home” concept involving solar panels to split water into hydrogen and oxygen), but it exhausts…pure water. This gives longer ranges and much wider operational parameters than pure electric. So Honda might be on to something here.

Regardless, the FCX Clarity is Honda’s current test platform for the hydrogen-fuel concept (it’s a hybrid-electric) and has been proceeding well under test trials in California and Japan. The FC Sport will undoubtedly become a “sporty” version of the Clarity, which is a 4-door sedan based on the Accord.

This means even more power (the FCX offers 134 horsepower) and higher speeds and handling with the streamlined Sport. All while dribbling nothing but pure water out the tailpipe. Nice.

[Show as slideshow]

This Post via TreeHugger.com

You might remember the Enertia Electric Motorcycle - we covered it a while back here at ZoomiLife. The Enertia is a 100% electric motorcycle with a single-charge range of about 45 miles and a top speed of about 50mph and is available for purchase from Brammo Motorsports.

For those of you that might be interested in this awesome electric bike, check out the Test Ride video created by MotorcycleUsa.com. It’s about 6 minutes long and does a great job of covering the test ride in detail. You can watch the video by following this link or via the embedded video below:

Alright, I’ll admit that the title is a bit of a teaser since Nissan hasn’t actually produced a model of a car that does those things yet. So no, you won’t be able to buy any kind of an “infinity machine” from Nissan anytime soon. No, what Nissan is doing is researching recharging units that use neither the existing electrical grid nor gasoline or diesel burning motors to supply power to a battery storage bank or electric motor.

So it’s a Chevy Volt without a gasoline motor. “…it’s very futuristic,” says Minoru Shinohara, V.P. Of the Technology Development Department at Nissan, “but we need zero emission vehicles. With India, Russia and China, there is a large increase in vehicles expected.”

This means that Nissan hopes to be able to field a zero emissions car by the time huge demand from Russia, India, and China have risen high enough that sales expectations in those countries could offset the R&D costs. The Japanese have long been the marketing masters of “get in first, hit hard, hold your position” tactics—witness the Toyota Prius, for instance, which is now almost a verb for “green car.”

“Ya, I decided to Prius up my Ford, Earl. Git er donnnne!”

Nissan already plans to release electric “city cars” (sub-55mph) to the U.S. and Japan in 2010 with standard vehicles (probably hybrids) to follow soon after. Since the company has already made it clear they aren’t interested in biofuel technology, seeing the future of cars as electric, and that they have plans to release production-model plug-in hybrids by 2010 (as 2011 models).

Japan has already announced plans to begin infrastructure upgrades that will allow for parking meter-style charging stations to be used by commuters to recharge their cars from a timed parking device, which are meant to augment your vehicle’s charge (not totally recharge it) to extend your range. Nissan has announced plans to integrate “battery swap” stations at service centers around Japan so that electric drivers can pull in, swap batteries for freshly-charged ones, and move along.

Nissan’s other innovation will be their now-patented “eco-pedal.” This is a throttle (gas pedal) that increases resistance against the driver’s foot when acceleration begins to reduce gas mileage. It won’t stop drivers from “punching it,” but it will give them feedback to remind them of the cost of this action. Pretty good idea, though I’m sure we’ll get used to it eventually just as many of us remember getting used to the “loose clutch” in our first jalopy. Expect to see this eco-pedal in Nissan models starting next year.

None of these innovations is perpetual motion, obviously.

Now back to the title of this article: the self-recharging car. A Ukranian company called ApowerCap has been working on ultracapacitor chargers for cars and Nissan has been in talks with them. Nissan has also got some stake in hydrogen, though not nearly what Honda has invested. Other than these innovations, nothing new has been announced from Nissan about how they’re planning to charge a car without plugging it in or burning gasoline. Only that they are working on ways to do just that.

So it’s still all speculation, but what fun speculation it is! Can you imagine an infinity machine with four wheels and a steering wheel? Seats would be nice too, but I’m not gonna push it. I’ve got an old couch I can bolt on there if the machine will drive me around, perpetually, for free!

This Post via SeekingAlpha.com

You can thank the lawyers for this concept. Chevrolet’s new Volt, the hybrid-EV coming out next year, will have “car sounds” added. Yep, the worry that blind or deaf people won’t hear it (yeah, they said “deaf people won’t hear it”–you can’t make this stuff up) and will get hit by a motorist, who will in turn sue Chevy for making a car that’s too quiet, caused the thinkers at General Motors to come up with a sound-producing speaker for the car.

Obviously, they didn’t pay attention to the other noises cars make: like horns, tires on the roadway, 1500 decibel speakers pumping out Fitty-Cent, and so forth. Lucky for us, the Volt won’t sound like a souped up Camaro or anything, but apparently more Star-Trekkish.

Great, the nerds figured out how to take a real car that happens to be electric and make it nerdy anyway.

On the up side, it’s apparently controllable by the driver, so it can be turned on and off. I expect to quickly see customer-hacks of this doing everything BUT alerting people that the car is coming. I know I’d be tempted to ad a loop-recording for the speaker that I can change once a while. Imagine driving around one day sounding like a broken down tractor and the next sounding like a hoot-owl on a calm night? I expect my neighbor would pipe porno music through his…

OK, what about blind people? Unfortunately, I don’t personally know any I can poll, so I had to make a guess. They probably hear cars, but I’d think they can hear much better than we can and are a little more aware of the sounds around them. Plus they have those cool dogs, which we all know are super-human in hearing abilities. Lucky for blind people, my “bark at ghosts” canines aren’t trained seeing-eye dogs.

Here’s how the sound is described by Frank Weber, GM’s E-Flex vehicle line executive (what the heck kinda title is that??): “highly technical, like when on Spaceship Enterprise you hear the doors close, or use the transporter.” Uhh… OK, those are really sci-fi sounds there, buddy. Maybe this car will sound like the Jetson’s “Bbbbbbbmmmpppppppppppp” flier.

He also used words like “highly pleasing” and “almost imperceptible” in his description. Both are relative terms, I’d like to point out. What you find to be “highly pleasing” might, to me, sound like Celine Dion.

There are also rumors that the car will have some kind of artificial “feedback” to make it feel more like a regular car in acceleration and tactile movement. This could be interesting as well. I mean, the joystick on my nephew’s PS/3 has “tactile feedback” too. I don’t think I want the steering wheel of my car vibrating every time I take a hit. This could have advantages, tough. Imagine how cool it’d be to drive your car by playing your wireless Guitar Hero II guitar. I’d face paint like Gene Simmons just to ad to the effect.

I don’t know if you can tell, but I’m pretty dubious about this whole concept. At first, it was really great to see a “normal” car put out by a big-time car company that had most of what I’d expect from today’s EV. Now they’re apparently falling for all the techno-hype and going dork. Sigh

“Hey, that thing got a Hemi?”

Ya, it does and it’s still slower than the electric. The LA Times featured a video from Dodge’s marketing buildup to the LA Auto Show held earlier this month. The video features a Dodge Challenger with a 6.1L Hemi racing a Dodge EV (electric). In both runs, the EV clearly smokes the Hemi.

The EV puts out 268 horsepower versus the Challenger’s impressive 425hp. Despite that, the EV has the clear advantage in this short run, putting out 480 foot pounds of torque from 0rpm while the Challenger peaks at 420 foot pounds at 4200rpm.

While the race was clearly won by the EV, a cynic can say that there are clear reasons for that and, given more space, the Challenger would have caught up and easily passed the EV. Probably right, but who cares? This blog isn’t about high-output, gas-sucking super cars, it’s about electrics!

Besides, the video is fun to watch. I just needed an excuse to post it.

For all my talk, I’d be happy with either car, I think. I could wow my neighbors with either and would be happy to spend my Saturdays washing and waxing one or both models. Financially, however, I could only afford to drive one of them. Guess which one? Give a hint: gasoline here is $1.80/gallon for the low-grade stuff and electricity is 0.15/kwh from the utility…

I know that I’ve touted the Tesla a lot and tend to use it as a benchmark for other electrics, but there’s a reason for that: it rocks. Why? Because it goes fast, does so for a long time, and looks cool. My biggest beef with it is its price tag, but that’s neither here nor there.

Tesla has announced that the Roadster will be seeing some upgrades and improvements in the 2009 and 2010 models, mainly having to do with the transmission and drive train. “Transmission?” You ask. Ya, betcha didn’t know the Tesla has a two-speed transmission that they’ve locked into second gear for performance and maintenance reasons. Guess what? Turns out that was slowing this car down.

Wait…the car that does 0-60 in 3.9 seconds is getting faster?

Yep, although that acceleration speed will stay the same. What changes is the quarter mile numbers, which go up about 30% (making it now 12.9 seconds).

So what’d they change?

Little things. They’ve improved the drive train with another one-gear transmission, but this one helping the motor deliver higher torque values. The motor itself also sees improvement as does the inverter and other items. Here’s the new spec sheet for the changed items:

• An improved inverter (PEM) to deliver higher motor current
• An improved motor to handle higher current and torque
• A new single-speed gearbox
• A new motor to gearbox coupler and an improved motor cable
• Upgraded vehicle firmware
• Weight of gearbox reduced by 8kg while improving strength

All these changes mean that the Roadster’s now labeled the “1.5” (same car, new innards). You can read more detailed information on the upgrades on Tesla’s website.

This Post Sources: 1, 2

In what could potentially be a revolutionary breakthrough for everything from laptops to electric cars, a South Korean team of researchers have made a major discovery in Lithium-Ion battery technology. A team of researchers at South Korea’s Hanyung University, led by professor Cho Jaephil, has claimed a discovery that could extend lithium ion battery energy capacity by up to 1000% or more.

The key to Jaephil’s discovery was the application of a three-dimensional porous silicon graphite material which has the ability of holding up to ten times the number of lithium ions as conventional graphite cathodes. Patents have already been applied for. from the press release:

Lithium ion accumulator batteries produce current by moving lithium ions. The battery usually contains a cathode (positive electrode) made of a mixed metal oxide, such as lithium cobalt oxide, and an anode (negative electrode) made of graphite. While the battery is being charged, lithium ions migrate into the anode, where they are stored between the graphite layers. When the battery is being discharged, these ions migrate back to the cathode.

It would be nice to have an anodic material that could store more lithium ions than graphite. Silicon presents an interesting alternative. The problem: silicon expands a great deal while absorbing lithium ions (charging) and shrinks when giving them up (discharging). After several cycles the required thin silicon layers are pulverized and can no longer be charged.

Cho’s team has now developed a new method for the production of a porous silicon anode that can withstand this strain. They annealed silicon dioxide nanoparticles with silicon particles whose outermost silicon atoms have short hydrocarbon chains attached to them at 900 °C under an argon atmosphere. The silicon dioxide particles were removed from the resulting mass by etching. What remained were carbon-coated silicon crystals in a continuous, three-dimensional, highly porous structure.

If this is for real, it could have a huge impact on the electric vehicle industry. For example, the Tesla Roadster currently gets about 150-200 miles per charge. Imagine having an electric car that gets 1600 miles per charge, with a full charge costing you less than a regular tank of gas. You’re getting more miles for less money, with no fossil fuel use - especially if your electrity comes from a renewable source.

This Post Source: Eurekalert

The Subaru R1e Electric Car

Quietly, Subaru has been working on some electric vehicle concepts. Without the hoopla of GM or the immediate green cred of chief rival Toyota, Subaru has been carefully working out the details and bugs for its newest line of electric cars.

The R1e has been seen around New York City and Tokyo this past year as it goes through some test runs and limited fielding. It’s a 2-seater electric in Subaru’s style that looks like it’s an electric (meaning it looks lame). Most people, however, think that this is a red herring test platform for Subaru’s real street model, the G4e.

Inside the Subaru R1e

While the R1e undergoes public trials and testing, Subaru has been quietly hiding the much more stylish (though admittedly still small) G4e, which leads many to believe that the while the R1e might see limited sales as a vehicles for corporations and public utilities, it’s not meant for consumer sales. That’s probably the intended domain of the G4e, which is still under wraps. This is a rare tactic, but American car companies have employed similar maneuvers in the past, most notably when Ford added the high-tonnage diesel pickups to its line in the ’90s.

Regardless, the R1e has impressive statistics that could give a hint as to the G4e’s intended capabilities. Subaru has been working closely with NEC on the battery technology, utilizing a fast-charging lithium-ion battery that can be topped off or only partially charged without affecting the battery’s life or charge memory loss. These impressive battery banks can recharge to 80% in only 15 minutes! An optional special charging station can cut that number in half.

The Subaru G4e Electric Car

The car uses a 40kW motor and can see speeds up to 65mph with a 50 mile range. The G4e hatchback is expected to have a longer range, however, due to an increase in battery bank size. The R1e seats two while the G4e will seat five.

Inside the Subaru G4e

The price tag for this? No one’s sure yet, but the car (which one is speculative) is expected to see limited sales in Japan next year at around $15,000USD, with the price dropping as production increases over the next couple of years after that. A North American release date is not given, but since the R1e is seeing testing here, it’s obviously fit to pass highway standards.

[Show as slideshow]

[Show as slideshow]

Piaggio makes unique scooters, to say the least, that utilize 3-wheeled designs. Unfortunately, Piaggio decided to name this machine the MP3, which their marketers failed to tell them would instantly make it seem less hip as it tries to rip off the popular music format’s household status.

When I tell you I’m riding an MP3, you’ll assume I’m using a creative euphemism for listening to a song. No one thinks of scooters when they hear “MP3.” If you see a scooter and someone tells you it’s called an “MP3,” you’ll just shake your head and say “what a stupid name.”

Other than the lame name, though, these scooters do have a lot of great technology behind them. Stuff you don’t see, like the great engineering that allows it to tilt 40 degrees to either side, allowing for motorcycle-style turning without fear of spilling.

This plug-in hybrid can move around too, doing a reported 0-60 in 5 seconds. That’s impressive. It charges to full in about three hours, travels 13 miles on batteries alone (about the average one-way commute) and utilizes regenerative braking. The little 125cc motor can charge the batteries even while underway at top speed.  All told, the Piaggio MP3 gets about 141 MPG.

This stylin’ machine will be out next year, worldwide. Check out the Piaggio USA website for more information.