Electric motor
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As automakers develop more efficient electric motors, EVs pulling electrons from dirtier, coal-powered grids are as clean or cleaner than even the most efficient fossil-fueled cars when it comes to equivalent tailpipe emissions. But electric vehicles still have a supply-chain problem. A partnership between some of the world's largest automakers is looking to fix it. DON'T MISS: BMW battery-sourcing ethics highlight cobalt-mining issue for electric cars On Wednesday, the Drive Sustainability partnership announced it would establish a "Raw Materials Observatory" to address and rectify "ethical...
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Rare-earth metals in magnets for electric-car motors: what you need to know
It's not surprising that the powertrains of electric cars differ quite a bit from traditional internal-combustion engines. Although they have fewer moving parts, the rare-earth magnets that help power electric cars can be quite complex to fabricate. So, what is there to know about rare-earth...
Sean Szymkowski -
Smart Electric Drive has a little Renault-Nissan underneath
One of several new electric cars and concepts at last week's Paris Motor Show was the electric version of the second-generation Smart minicar. As Smart pointed out, it's the only maker that offers the option of gasoline or electric powertrains in every model it makes. Those are the ForTwo two-seat...
John Voelcker -
Why Can't Other Plug-In Hybrids Copy Chevy Volt's All-Electric Running?
The distinguishing feature of the Chevrolet Volt has always been that as long as it has charge left in its battery, it runs solely on electricity. The gasoline engine doesn't switch on even under maximum acceleration (except in certain cold-weather situations, to provide heat for the cabin and...
John Voelcker -
Famed Audi Quattro AWD System To Go Electric As e-Quattro
Audi will use electric all-wheel drive on future models.
Stephen Edelstein -
Is The 2016 Chevy Volt GM's Future Hybrid System In Disguise?
At 50 miles, the 2016 Chevrolet Volt offers the longest range of any plug-in hybrid (though the range-extended BMW i3 electric car is rated at 72 miles). Announced this week at the Detroit Auto Show, following an October technical briefing, the technology in the new Volt may turn out to hold some...
John Voelcker -
General Motors took the wraps off its second-generation Voltec electric-drive system this morning that will power its 2016 Chevrolet Volt range-extended electric car. Company executives declined to give specifications for power of the two electric motors, the range-extending engine, or range of the final vehicle. DON'T MISS: 2016 Chevrolet Volt To Use New 1.5-Liter Four As Range Extender Engine But they did give some percentage improvements and weight reductions for the new powertrain over that used in the current first-generation Volt. [EDITOR'S NOTE: This article has been expanded from the...
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Puzzling New Power Numbers For Tesla Model S: What's the Deal?
Last week, while the press and Tesla owners were entranced by the introduction of the dual-motor Tesla Model S P85D with all-wheel drive, Tesla quietly changed the listed horsepower ratings for all three single-motor versions of its Model S electric sport sedan. Since their introduction in 2012...
David Noland -
Electric Boats: As In Cars, Battery Power Offers Advantages On The Water
The world now has something around half a million plug-in electric cars on the roads, and electric propulsion is slowly spreading into other types of transportation. One of them is electric boats, which have been around for more than a century but are now seeing renewed interest. Just as with...
John Voelcker -
Mitsubishi's Mini-Motor For Electric Cars Integrates...Well, A Lot
Electric vehicles already offer car designers much greater freedom than internal combustion vehicles, eliminating the need to find space for the rigid shape of an engine, its transmission and its ancillaries. That's not to say electric vehicle packaging can't be improved though, and Mitsubishi is...
Antony Ingram -
More Efficient Electric-Car Motor? Startup KLD Claims It Has One
KLD Energy Technologies says its redesigned motor and battery pack will improve efficiency.
Stephen Edelstein -
GM Now Building Chevy Spark EV Electric-Car Motors In Maryland
Eighteen months ago, GM announced that it would build the electric motor for its upcoming Chevrolet Spark EV electric car in the U.S. Now, that motor is officially in production at the company's Baltimore Operations plant in White Marsh, Maryland--along with the associated final-drive...
John Voelcker -
All that sitting in front of the TV watching bad sitcoms could pay off, if a new electric motor proves successful in field trials. A startup in Melbourne, Australia, has developed a new motor for use in an electric-powered Holden Commodore. There's nothing wildly special about that, but the new, more efficient design was only possible due to the popularity of plasma televisions bringing down the cost of certain electrical components. According to GoAuto, the motor, developed by David Jahshan and his company Axiflux, is claimed to be smaller, lighter and less expensive than existing designs...
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Is This Your Future Hybrid And Electric Car Motor?
General Electric scientists have developed a prototype electric motor designed to improve the performance and efficiency of hybrid and electric vehicles. The Interior Permanent Magnet traction motor improves on existing designs in several key areas, and would result in hybrids and electric vehicles...
Antony Ingram -
Protean 'Inside-Out' Wheel Motor Design: A Company To Watch?
Starting a company to build electric cars is tough, as Tesla, Fisker, and others have found out. Building electric motors is tough, too. It's tougher yet if you intend to turn the traditional design inside out, and build big, powerful, slim wheel motors to be used in large sedans, full-size pickup...
John Voelcker -
Mitsubishi Develops Lighter, Smaller Electric Car Motor
Weight, we're told, is the enemy of the car. The more of it you have, the more of it you need to overcome. Efficiency takes a turn for the worse, performance suffers, handling becomes less nimble--the problems are many. In electric cars, that makes the job of improving range more difficult. To this...
Antony Ingram -
What Killed Electric Cars? The Electric Motor, 100 Years Ago
Ever felt a bit cranky in the morning? Chances are, it's not for quite the same reason as it would have been for your great grandfather. Because originally, "cranky" was what people called you if you'd become flustered from trying to hand crank your recalcitrant automobile. But in 1912, that all...
Antony Ingram -
GM To Build Electric Motor For Chevy Spark EV Domestically
Chevrolet announced today that it would build the electric motor for its upcoming Spark EV battery electric car in a plant in Maryland. The carmaker also released the power specification for the motor, which will offer 85 kilowatts (114 hp) of peak output and roughly two-thirds of that in sustained...
John Voelcker -
As hybrid cars and electric vehicles increase in market share, rare earth metals like neodymium - a soft metal which is used to create the ultra-strong magnets used in electric motors - are becoming increasingly expensive and sought-after. But it’s not just demand causing a rise in prices: China, home to one of the largest neodymium mining projects in the world, is keen to use its rare earth metals to hold the world to ransom with unpredictable supply and price hikes. Enter Toyota. According to a report by the Associated Press, the world’s largest automaker is working on a new...
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GM Doubles Down on Electric Cars, Will Hire 1,000 Engineers For Them
It doesn't really matter whether GM sells the first Chevrolet Volt electric cars at a loss or not. The company announced yesterday that it plans to hire 1,000 new engineers over the next two years to focus exclusively on developing and expanding its work in electric-drive vehicles, everything from...
John Voelcker -
Why Recycling Used Electronics Could Help Build Electric Cars
Recycling old electronics isn’t necessarily something most Americans do. Many of us, it turns out, just stash our old computers, printers, and TV sets in the closet. Or we leave them at the curb. But suppose properly recycling those electronics could help redress a potentially critical...
John Voelcker -
2011 Chevrolet Volt: Full Driving Impressions
Finally, after almost four years, we've driven the 2011 Chevrolet Volt in a variety of conditions, talked over our impressions, and reached a conclusion: Yes, the 2011 Volt electric car is a real car. It may be propelled by electricity. It may plug into a wall socket or a special garage recharger...
John Voelcker -
Will the 2011 Wheego LiFe Be the First Electric Car On Sale?
Sometimes we avoid covering certain cars, for good reasons or not. One of those cars is the 2011 Wheego LiFe, a derivative of the 2009 Wheego Whip. Never heard of it? Not surprising. Wheego Electric Cars is a startup electric-car company, in this case selling an electric conversion of a...
John Voelcker -
Report: Production Porsche 918 Spyder Will Be More Powerful Than Concept
Who ever said green cars can’t be fun? You only have to look at the Tesla Roadster and upcoming hybrid and electric sports cars from Audi, Mercedes-Benz and BMW to see that there is a future for sports car fans beyond the internal combustion engine. Porsche, too, is getting on the green car...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran