Eric Loveday, Author
Articles
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The Better Place battery swapping system that we have previously covered here has now completed 1,000 battery swaps without any problems or complications.
Last week the company announced that its...
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GM Unveils New State of the Art Battery Lab at Tech Center in Warren, MichiganThe new battery lab at the General Motors Tech Center in Warren, Michigan is now fully operational after undergoing a huge expansion over the course of the last 10 months. GM CEO Fritz Henderson officially announced the opening of the new lab called the Global Battery Systems Lab on Monday in front...
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Lutz Says Letterman is Number 7 In Line For Volt, Who Will Get the First 6? Your Thoughts?A few weeks back, Bob Lutz took to the stage at the Late Show with David Letterman. His appearance was much anticipated as there was an uproar last time when Letterman invited Tesla CEO Elon Musk on the show. Read about it here (Letterman Rips on Volt and Tesla CEO Elon Musk) Letterman could...
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Modified Plug-in Prius Attempting 1,100 Mile Trip on Single Tank of GasFlorida Toyota dealer Earl Stewart hopes to have driver Rick Kearney pilot a modified plug-in Prius on a 1,100 mile trip on a single tank of gas. The journey began in Florida and will end in Washington, D.C. At 1,100 miles, the plug-in Prius will need to hit the mark of 92.4 mpg for the trip. ...
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MINI E Mix Up, 220 Volt Charging Cable Still Needs UL Approval, MINI Says Cable Will Be Available By End of JulyThe MINI E is currently being delivered to 450 lessees in the state of New York and California. For now, MINI E drivers will have to make due with charging from a 110 volt outlet until the Underwriters Laboratories approves the 220 volt charging cable. In a slight mix up, MINI was not capable of...
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Chinese Company New Power Develops Four Seat Electric With Claimed 250 Mile Range, Test Drive is Shocking!The Chinese are eager to become worldwide leaders in new vehicle technology with much of the focus being directed towards electric cars. Recently, a Chinese company called New Power developed what they claim is the first production ready, electric car with a range similar to a conventional...
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The new Prius has many things that the old Prius lacked, for instance a solar moonroof. Just what does the solar moonroof do for the Prius?
The solar moonroof is manufactured by Kyocera. It is...
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New Prius Tops Sales Chart in Japan For Month of May, Knocks Insight From Top SpotWith the release of the new Toyota Prius in Japan, Toyota regains the top spot as the best selling vehicle in the month of May. Honda had previously held top honors for April with the introduction of the new Honda Insight, but their supremacy only lasted a month as Toyota knocked them back down the...
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Wall Street Journal Questions Future of Chevy Volt
What now for GM? With the bankruptcy announcement, many are wondering what will become of the General. GM wrote a letter to customers that states the Volt is here to stay and we reported on an interview with GM's own co-creator of the Volt Jon Lauckner who also states that the Volt is here to...
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Tesla Owner Recalls Trip to Yosemite Park, The Never Ending Search for a Charging OutletAs EVs begin to hit our roads, the questions remain. Will the charging infrastructure be in place to support such a vehicle? Without a charging infrastructure, will owners be willing to make certain sacrifices such as hunting down suitable outlet to receive a charge, or sidetracking from their...
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Responses Are In, Detroit Free Press Readers Critical of Negative Review of InsightEarlier this week, we posted a review by the Detroit Free Press which was as some would say overly critical of the new Honda Insight. We have received several comments regarding the article and the vehicle, most of which were praising the Insight. Owners chimed in stating that their gas mileage...
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Subaru To Begin Sales of Electric Stella Next Month, World's First Mass Produced EV For Sale To PublicSubaru has decided to go ahead with their battery electric version of the Stella minicar and swing into full scale production making it the world's first mass produced EV available for purchase by the public. The electric Stella will go on sale in Japan next month. Though Subaru is using an...
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Prince of Monaco Gets First Drive of Electric Venturi Volage During Monaco Grand Prix Weekend Eric LovedayMonaco, a small country in Europe situated on the Mediterranean coastline, aims to be a world leader in the adoption of electric cars. Their prince has signed agreements with auto companies in the...
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Battery Maker Valence Technology Inc. Eyes Texas as Site For New Production FacilityValence Technology Inc., a battery manufacturer, is eyeing a production facility in the state of Texas to meet the demand of the U.S. hybrid and electric vehicle market. Valence is a leading overseas producer of lithium iron magnesium phosphate batteries, but they are hoping to expand production in...
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Toyota to Have 500 Plug-in Priuses In the Hands of Lessees By End of YearToyota announced that it plans to begin leasing 500 plug-in Priuses for fleet use by the end of this year. The vehicle would mainly see use in the hands of government and corporate employees as a test for more widespread application of plug-in technologies. The converted Priuses will use a...
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Caught Testing, Spy Photos Reveal BMW 755iH Hybrid Development is Well UnderwayBMW plans the launch of two hybrid models late this year. The models include the X6 and the 7-Series hybrid. Recently, spy photos of the 7-Series hybrid were released, confirming BMW is well along in the prototype stages of this model. The 7-Series hybrid designated as the 755iH is based off of...
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According to Recent Survey EV Prices Will Be Too High, Many Buyers Not InterestedAccording to a survey conducted by Reuters in Japan, most car buyers would willingly consider an electric car if the price was around $15,000. The numbers from the survey are in and the makers of EVs will have a long way to go in terms of price cuts before the average buyer will consider an...
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Michael Moore Posts Blog on GM Bankruptcy titled Goodbye GM, Lists EVs and Hybrids as Possible Savior for CompanyWith the announcement of GM's bankruptcy, you can definitely count on one thing. Michael Moore will have something to say. And he sure does. Most will never forget Moore's documentary "Roger and Me". Nor will they forget the controversy that ensued after the release of the movie when your...
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Today, officials for the city of Cincinnati will unveil plans to allow electric vehicle drivers to park for free within the city limits.
Officially, Cincinnati only lists the ownership of 8 EVs city...
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Consumer Reports Posts First Look at 2010 Honda Insight, Full Review to Follow SoonHonda has a hit seller on its hand with the Insight. With a sub $20,000 price point and strong fuel economy, sales have exceeded expectations. But how does the Insight stack up to its competitors? Now that the Insight has taken to the streets, many reviews are in. Some are negative and some...
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Firefly Working on 2nd Generation Lead Acid Battery; Lightweight, Low Cost Lithium-Ion AlternativeFirefly, the 6 year old startup battery company that we previously reported on has additional information regarding their second generation advanced lead acid battery. You can read the original story here Firefly Develops Breakthrough Lead Acid Battery After making the first generation battery...
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How Does Tesla Benefit from the Partnership With Daimler?The partnership announced last month between Daimler and Tesla has been widely discussed. The agreement, Daimler gets about a 10% stake in Tesla and provides some funding to the company and in return gets their electric drivetrain expertise. At this point, we know Daimler's interest. It will...
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Toyota Increases Production of 2010 Prius in Response to Huge DemandWith pre-orders of the new Prius in Japan exceeding expectations, Toyota was considering holding or reducing shipment to the U.S. until they could meet the demand in Japan, but has now reconsidered and will increased production instead. Initially, Toyota had set a sales goal of 100,000 units in...
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Lumeneo Smera City EV on Sale Now in Paris for 24,500 EurosThe Lumeneo Smera, a French built pint sized electric car went on sale earlier this month for 24,500 Euros or about $33,000. The Smera was on display for its first public viewing at the 2008 Geneva Motor Show. Since then, it has made a few appearances throughout the world with stops in France...
Eric Loveday