Redshift is what happens when stuff moves away from you really, really quickly. And that’s what electric motorcycle startup BRD hopes their new RedShift MX bike will do on the trails—at least until its batteries run out. Read More…
Engineers are taught to constantly think outside the box. They’ve been programmed to question that whatever exists today, can be made better tomorrow as long as you align the right pieces of the puzzle. Take the engineering students from the University of Adelaide in Australia for example. You see they’ve just invented an electric vehicle that they’ve name the Diwheel and according to them it’s half motorbike, half unicycle and could, if they play their cards right, be a glimpse into what we’ll be seeing on tomorrow’s roads. The Diwheel is made up of two mammoth outer wheels that enclose a center mounted cockpit for the driver. It also utilizes active rotation damping so as to keep the cockpit centered when the vehicle comes to a stop. Granted this contraption is a bit unconventional, but hey, so are the engineers who designed it. Click through for the video.
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The Fisker Karma. Image: Fisker
In the we-saw-this-coming-months-ago department, deliveries of the Fisker Karma plug-in hybrid have been delayed for another month. Motor Authority says that initial deliveries of demonstration vehicles and customer cars will begin in July, but didn’t give any indication of quantities. Their source is Roger Ormisher, Fisker’s director of global communications, so even the July timeline may prove to be a bit optimistic. Read More…
They’re silent, have gobs of torque and thanks to a low center of gravity, handle pretty damn good. These are the electric race cars of the Grand Prix Electrique, a race that was held at the Pau street circuit in France last weekend. The race was off to a great start until six of the eleven cars racing were damaged early on in a collision. The rest of the field finished the race with an average speed of 62 mph and proved to the world that electric cars can indeed race, even if its only for 13 miles.
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Assembled Volt battery packs. Image: Alan Holmes
As you get older, you begin to realize that some things just aren’t possible, no matter how badly you want them. Part of becoming an adult is drawing that line in the sand between fantasy and reality, and accepting that Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, the Tooth Fairy and honest politicians simply don’t exist. Break from that reality often enough and you’ll wind up heavily medicated, living in a padded cell without a view, holding in-depth conversations with the voices in your head. The United States Energy Secretary, Steven Chu, appears to be going down the path to three-hots-and-a-cot himself, based on a a recent story in the Los Angeles Times. Read More…
Image: Jaguar Land Rover South Africa, via Inside Line
Your opinion may differ, but I’m calling a battery powered safari vehicle a really, really bad idea. Sure, you can get closer to wildlife without the fumes or exhaust note of a turbo-diesel warning them of your presence, but is that really a good idea in an open vehicle with limited range? Do you really want to surprise a sleeping lion, only to find out that 12 miles of reserve range only equals 2 miles with the accelerator pinned to the floorboard? Getting eaten by a wild animal always struck me as a stupid way to die, and this particular EV conversion might as well come with nozzles that spray a basting sauce on tourists. Read More…
The 2012 Mitsubishi i. Image: Mitsubishi
Want to buy your own Mitsubishi i, their funky cartoonish EV set to hit the market in the U.S by year end? Mitsubishi has released pricing and order details for battery powered urban commuter. The base model, called the Mitsubishi i ES, starts at $27,990 before you factor in the federal tax credit. Even the base model gives you speed-sensitive steering, LED tail lights, a heated driver’s seat, air conditioning with a micron particle filter, remote keyless entry and a 4 speaker, 100w audio system. Base models come with a 120V, 8 amp charging cable, which allows for overnight charging. Read More…
The Nissan Leaf NISMO RC. Image: Nissan Motors
There are no electric-only automobile racing series in the United States at the current time, and a quick glance at the specs for the Nissan Leaf NISMO RC (for “Racing Competition”, not “Remote Control”) gives you an idea why. Even stripped of all unnecessary components, the Leaf NISMO RC still weighs in north of a ton. It’s quicker from zero to sixty than a standard Leaf, but it still takes nearly seven seconds to get there, before topping out at a maximum speed of 93 miles per hour. Under “racing conditions”, the Leaf NISMO RC is only expected to run for around 20 minutes per charge, which would make a Nissan Leaf spec series ideal for those suffering from attention deficit disorder. Still, I have to give Nissan a thumbs up for thinking in this direction; as it stands today, the Nissan Leaf NISMO RC isn’t much of a race car, but it is a testbed for improving the current road car. Sooner or later, racing will include electric vehicles, and Nissan is wise to get in at the forefront, instead of spending years playing catch up. Read More…
Jay Leno, aside from being one of the most well respected car collectors out there, does not discriminate when it comes to automobiles. He likes fast cars, slow cars, steam powered cars and now, electric cars. What’s great about Jay is that he is first and foremost an automobile enthusiast, which means that he appreciates cars from all time periods and genres. The Smart Electric is powered by a 16.5 kilowatt lithium-ion battery pack that sits in the same place where the Smarts traditional 3-cylinder gas mill sat. This battery power means a range of about 60 to 70 miles and a top speed of about 65 mph, and that’s with the throttle pinned wide open. My advise, don’t even bother with this little bugger, just go out and buy a Chevrolet Volt and be happy. Trust me on this one…
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Image: Bremach USA
If you wanted a go-anywhere truck to haul you and your stuff out where the busses don’t run, Mercedes-Benz’s Unimog is perhaps the best choice in the world. What if you’re concerned with saving the planet, even after the zombie apocalypse, and you prefer your heavy duty 4×4 truck in EV flavor? Until now, you were out of luck, but Bremach is looking to change that with their T.Rex. Sure, you can still get it in fossil fuel versions (one variant comes equipped with a 6.0 liter Chevy V8), but tree hugging survivalists can also opt for a hybrid version, a compressed natural gas version or a full-on EV model. Read More…
