A Plug-In Hybrid Without A Plug?

After reading the title about the post, you might think that the car I'm about to talk about is a regular hybrid, but it's not. This plug less plug in hybrid has removable batteries. The car was designed by MIRA, a "a design, development & certification consultancy in the UK". MIRA designed it with three removable batteries. AutoblogGreen gives some reasons why its a good idea:

This scheme has a few benefits, especially for those individuals who do not have access to an outlet where they park, as the batteries can be moved to a better location. Also, those batteries could be used in other applications, for instance as power when you're camping or for other outdoor applications like quads or electric bikes.

The program is being tested in a Skoda Fabia, which before the batteries were added got 39 miles per gallon. With the batteries it gets 64 miles per gallon, a 61% improvement.

Head over to AutoblogGreen with the link below for the press release and full info.

Link: AutoblogGreen

Chart Shows What You Already Knew

Click the picture for an enlarged view

For those doubters out there, or those who like to say told you so to their friends who are doubters, we give you this chart, as seen on EcoGeek.org. It shows that plug in hybrids, even if they receive their power from coal plants, are still much more efficient that conventional gas cars. Please note, by clicking on the picture, it is enlarged and you can see the text better. Read the full article, the link is below.



Link: EcoGeek

UPDATE: TH!NK Will Sell Electric Cars In America

You may have seen our story the other day about how Norwegian electric car maker TH!NK, is starting operations in America. Well, EcoGeek, has confirmed it, and they claim that a $25,000 electric car will have a top speed of 65 miles per hour, and a range of about 110 miles per charge. It will of course be emission free. It will be tested with companies at first, but sometimes in 2009, sales should go public.

Link: EcoGeek

We Now Have A Forum! - And Other Fixes

Electric Cars Now! is back and better than ever! We have more new posts, new quotes, and now a brand new forum! The forum can be found by clicking the "Forum" link on the navigation bar at the top right of every page on the blog.

When in the Forum, please only discuss relevant topics, such as global warming, the environment, electric cars, and the Electric Cars Now! site. The forum will be moderated, and there is a zero tolerance policy for profanity. If the forum gets out of control, we will shut it down.

Click here to have fun in the new Forum!

Also, we have done some bug fixes here on the site. For example, we have fixed some missing pictures on the "What Is Available Now?" page, and the "Who Killed The Electric Car?" page.

Thanks for visiting Electric Cars Now!

Happy Earth Day!

Today, April 22, is the 38th Earth Day! To help you go green, why not visit some environmental friendly sites today:

• Treehugger
• TIME Magazine's List of Top 15 Green Blogs
• Green Daily
• Green Daily's Earth Day Page

The above links will be posted on the "Links" page, for easy, everyday access, because everyday should be Earth Day!

Also for Earth Day, we have updated the Quotes, which is located on the middle of each page of the blog on the right side, under the Search bar.

Happy Earth Day from Electric Cars Now!

*Please Note: Electric Cars Now! is not affiliated with the above sites, and the content on the above sites does not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Electric Cars Now! staff. Electric Cars Now! is not responsible for the content on the above sites.*

London's Taxi Cabs Go Green

London is famous for their iconic black taxi cabs. Sadly, those cabs have always used a very harmful diesel fuel. Now one of the largest of those taxi makers, Manganese Bronze, has plans to produce an electric version. Business has been bad lately because some cities are refusing to buy the diesel versions due to the emissions.

The cars will be produced in China, have a top speed of 50 miles per hour, and a distance of 100 km per charge. The car is expected to cost £30,000 more than the diesel, but running costs will be significantly less.

Link: AutoblogGreen

Paris Courier Company Uses Electric Scooters

When you need something delivered across the city you call a courier company. Usually, they will deliver in a van, car, or maybe a scooter. Lungta, a Paris courier company, will deliver your packages, up to 100 kg, to anywhere in Paris using electric scooters. Lungta says the service produces 40 times less carbon dioxide than using a diesel van. Prices are decent as well, running from £10 to £40, or about $20 to $80.

Link: AutoblogGreen

New Contact Info

Electric Cars Now! is back and better than ever! If you have any questions, comments, or concerns, please feel free to email us at: electriccarsnowinfo@gmail.com

And we will get back to you as soon as possible! This email address can be found at the bottom of every page in the blog.

*PLEASE NOTE* We will no longer be using the Yahoo! email address we previously listed.

TH!NK Coming To America

UPDATE: Please click here for more info.

The electric auto maker from Norway, TH!NK, is coming to the U.S. TH!NK makes small electric cars. Here is some info from the TH!NK website about the TH!NK City Electric Car:

TH!NK city demands very little of you. In fact, not much more than a mobile phone. Just an overnight power top-up, and it’s ready to go in the morning. It can travel up to 200 kilometres (124 miles) in city driving on a fully charged battery, with a top speed of 100km/h. It is fun, clean and simple.

There are no dates on vehicle availability.

Link: AutoblogGreen

BYD Unveils an Electric Car

You might have seen our posts recently (here and here) about the Chinese automaker BYD's new plug in hybrids. Well, now BYD has introduced a fully electric crossover! The E6 was recently unveiled at the Beijing International Auto Show, and Treehugger has some specs:

So far, all we know is that the E6 will be a 5 seater with an acceleration of 0 to 100 kph of around 10 seconds. Top speed should be top speed of 160 kph (100 mph), and the battery pack, which is located under the rear passenger seats, will be based on BYD's own lithium-ion iron phosphate technology. Range per charge is expected to be 300 km (186 miles).

But most impressive of all:

"BYD projected the battery had a life of 2,000 cycles, for a lifetime range of about 600,000 km (373,000 miles)"

The link below has a picture of the spec sheet.

Link: Treehugger

BYD Introduces Another Plug In Hybrid

BYD, the Chinese battery maker that unveiled the F6DM plug in hybrid, has introduced another plug in hybrid. The F3DM is a smaller version of the F6DM, which is similar in size to Toyota's Camry. The F3DM is comparable in size to Toyota's Corolla. Details are few on this car, but it looks good. It can go 100 miles per charge on electricity alone, but for longer drives, a gas engine kicks in.

Treehugger has this to say about the batteries:

The F3DM uses BYD's self-developed iron batteries, which the company said could be recharged for more than 2,000 times and can power the car to run over 600,000 miles. The car equipped with BYD's batteries can travel as long as 100 miles after one charge, much longer than the 25-mile duel model vehicles offered by other automakers.

BYD's chairman says they hope to bring a plug in hybrid to Europe within 3 years.

Link: Treehugger

China's Biggest Battery Maker Unveils a Plug In Hybrid

BYD is China's biggest battery maker, but has recently entered the auto market. If you have a cellphone or MP3 player, you probably have a BYD battery.

There first move into the auto world, is the F6DM plug in hybrid. The mid-size sedan can go 62 miles alone on electricity and 267 miles when the gas engine kicks in. The F6DM should be available the second half of this year, with a fully electric F6E in 2009.

Treehugger has some more info about the batteries:

What makes the F6DM and F6E special is the battery pack: the lithium iron phosphate battery is said to be safer, less expensive, without heavy metals, completely recyclable and should be rechargeable to 70% in 10-minute at special charging stations. It can also be recharged more slowly with a home charging station, of course.Currently BYD has no plans to sell the car outside of China.

Will the F6DM beat GM's Chevy Volt as the first production plug in hybrid? Only time will tell.

Link: Treehugger

CARB Does it Again

The California Air Resources Board, or CARB, has yet again cut the number of zero emission vehicles, or ZEV's, required that the automakers produce. Instead of 25,000 ZEV's to be produced between 2012 and 2014 as the 2003 revision to the mandate had said, that number dropped 70% to 7,500. Many had feared that number could have been a 90% drop.

However, a silver lining has been found. While 100% electric cars have taken a massive hit, automakers are now required to produce 66,000 plug-in-hybrids. This was not part of the original mandate.

Links: AutoblogGreen, and AutoblogGreen