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Marking the tenth anniversary of adorable (if slow) little
smart cars roaming the streets, Daimler AG has teamed with NASA and equipped the
fortwo with solid rocket boosters enabling the vehicle to launch into space and orbit the earth. A moon landing is planned for 2011.
In another zinger, Dr. Dieter Zetsche, President and CEO of Daimler AG, proudly announced, "we invented the car - and we will do it again!"
But in all seriousness,
smart is gearing up to produce an all-electric
fortwo model, the
fortwo ed, that will be beta-tested in Berlin, and will be part of the program known as "e-mobility Berlin." While all-electric
smart fortwos have been on the road since 2007, when the brand leased 100 of them to Londoners, the
fortwo ed will make use of the ultra-efficient lithium-ion battery, and that is the big news here from
smart at the
Paris Auto Show.
Automakers are still perfecting the operating characteristics of the lithium-ion battery, so this
smart stands as a concept for now. But the promise of a high-range, zero-emissions city runabout with a cult following like the
smart has enjoyed since 1998 (over one million on the road in a total of 37 countries) makes a lot of sense for European cities, where fuel costs are outrageous and congestion is a serious issue. Daimler AG promises test versions in Berlin at the end of 2009.
e-mobility Berlin is a consortium of the German government, the state of Berlin, and energy provider RWE. Daimler AG is stepping in to provide 100
smart ed vehicles, and RWE will be providing 500 charging stations. With all four entities working together, the group represents the largest electric vehicle program of its kind, and they all plan to work out the kinks of an electric-only infrastructure, the issues presented by charging, and the challenges of bringing reliable and safe lithium-ion technology to the mass market.
Posted in : 2008, Driving, Electric Cars, Europe, Green Machines, Paris Auto Show, Technology, smart
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Styling house Pininfarina and battery/supercapacitor manufacturer Bolloré have teamed up to bring B0, an all-electric vehicle, to market by the "end of 2009." Pininfarina-Bolloré, as the joint venture is called, will use Bolloré's "proprietary LMP technology," which is corporate-speak for the firm's combo of batteries and supercapacitors, to handle the vehicle's energy storage and delivery.
Batteries and supercapacitors will come from Bollore's plants in Quimper, France and Montreal, Canada. Pininfarina-Bolloré point out that unlike some other electric vehicles, the B0 will be designed from the ground up as an electric vehicle, and will of course produce no carbon dioxide emissions. Batteries will be underslung and between the axles, lowering the vehicle's center of gravity and "providing it with outstanding road-holding properties."
Pininfarina lends its styling hand to the four-seat, hatchback design. The Italian design house will incorporate solar panels into the B0's roof and hood, making it that much more in touch with the environment and perhaps increasing its range on sunny days.
B0 features "potent" acceleration, according to the firm, who seems to have invented a new standard in the drag race wars: 0-37 mph. It will accomplish this feat, they say, in 6.3 seconds. Top speed is electronically limited to 80 mph, and the LMP battery provides a range of 153 miles and is rechargable "in a matter of hours from a standard domestic main socket."
--Colin Mathews
Posted in : 2009, Concept Cars, Electric Cars, Green Machines, New Products, Paris Auto Show
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Renault joins the ranks of carmakers thinking about electric vehicles here at the
Paris auto show with the Z.E., a
Honda Element-like concept that draws power from batteries and its greenhouse, apparently, from a crate full of those inexpensive levels you find at the Home Depot.
Renault actually has a nascent relationship with electric car plans around the world, and along with
Nissan, Renault is planning some sort of electric car for release in two years' time. This concept may not be the final form, but it is based on an existing Renault production car--the oddly named Kangoo Be Bop.
The Z.E. gets its EV credentials from a 70-kilowatt electric motor and a set of lithium-ion batteries. An unlikely set of 21-inch wheels puts all the motor's torque to the road via a direct-drive transmission.
Renault's invested energy in reducing the Z.E.'s energy needs. The paint is heat-reflective; headlamps are low-energy LEDs. Even the mirrors have been tweaked to reduce the Z.E.'s drag in the slipstream.
Oddities of the concept include polyurethane-gel bumpers (they feel like wrist-friendy mouse pads), a charge indicator for the batteries that's lifted from cell-phone displays, and a scooter that lives in the Z.E.'s cargo area for even less energy-intensive travel.
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Posted in : 2008, Concept Cars, Electric Cars, Paris Auto Show, Renault
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It's a grim future that
Nissan predicts for the world's urban areas; "within just a few years, cities all over the world will be at near bursting point," they intone ominously inside the press kit for the cute new Nuvu concept, a car that doesn't look at all concerned with the imagined coming Armageddon.
The Nuvu's an electric-car concept, with two front seats and a third jump seat for occasional users (aren't all users occasional?). Built on a new platform, its electric drivetrain previews that which
Nissan will put into production in 2010, and into mass production by 2012, it says. The electric motors and lithiu-ion battery packs are said to be good for about 78 miles and a top speed of about 75 mph.
The Nuvu mates a huggable style with earth-hugging credentials. From its soft, touchable surfaces and curvaceous body, the concept proved so feminine, two male British reporters in the front row were said to have spontaneously grown an ovary. Possibly that isn't true, but it is true
Nissan uses organic and recycled materials throughout the Nuvu to create "an urban oasis complete with its own tree inside." In reality, the "tree" is a set of solar panels in the glassy roof, each one only vaguely leaf-shaped and each one adding to the electric charge for the Nuvu to proceed in its gasless way. In the electronic idiom, all the controls--braking, steering and acceleration--are done by wire.
It's loopy minimalism done with a Parisian flair--something the world's current plans for somber, serious EVs could use.
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Posted in : 2008, Electric Cars, Nissan, Paris Auto Show
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On Saturday, one half of our bicameral legislature, the U.S. Senate, passed the
$25 billion low-interest loan guarantee package to the struggling U.S. auto giants. To recap, this money is largely desired by and designed for
Ford, General Motors, and
Chrysler, who have been hit especially hard by declining sales of their full-size
SUVs and
trucks. Recently, both GM and
Chrysler launched
ambitious electric and hybrid programs that all but necessitate these monies in order to press forward with R&D and eventual production. Both companies were nervously wringing their hands behind the scenes, with some speculating that GM might be forced into bankruptcy were it not for an intervention.
Interestingly, not only American brands qualify for the low-interest loan guarantees. Claims
Breitbart: "under provisions of the new legislation, not only U.S. carmakers are eligible for the guarantees but also suppliers and foreign automakers with plants in the United States that are more than 20 years old --
Nissan and Honda's U.S. operations qualify."
Realizing public skepticism and fear run amok when it comes to
Chrysler and government assistance, Chairman Robert Nardelli stated flatly: "This is not a bailout." Perhaps not, but would Chrysler's proposed trio of electric and E-REV vehicles have any legs without this taxpayer assistance? The last time
Chrysler got major help from the taxpayers, their hard-earned dollars produced the K-Car (
Dodge Aries,
Plymouth Reliant, and a decade of spin-offs too numerous to mention here). A comparatively minuscule $1 billion rescued
Chrysler (it
was called a bailout back then) and sent the K-Car roaring onto the highways and byways of America. Here's hoping $25 billion results in vehicles less woeful than the 1983
Chrysler LeBaron
Convertible.--
Colin Mathews
Posted in : 2008, Electric Cars, Industry News, Politics
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