Eric Loveday, Author

Eric Loveday is a car enthusiast with a love for everything automotive. He purchased a 1970 Chevelle at age 16, quickly outgrew its dated engineering and gas consumption and sold it off. Eric has a passion for writing and graduated from the University of Michigan with a degree in print journalism. He has spent most of his time since then writing for online sites. Eric's automotive background stems from his father, a long-time mechanic for GM, now a part of the product development team at Chrysler. Eric believes that efficient vehicles are the wave of the future and reducing this nation's dependency on foreign oil will be the driving force behind electric and hybrid vehicles.

Articles

165 Companies Submit Applications for $2.4 Billion From Government to Charge Up Battery Makers, Money Will Be Distributed in Late July Eric Loveday May 31, 2009

The rush to the White House is on as automakers, battery makers, and other suppliers have flooded Washington in search of funding. Sound familiar, asking Washington for money has become commonplace...
House Bill Cash For Clunkers Meets Resistance From Senate; Bill May Be Dead on Arrival
The Cash For Clunkers program presented by the House of Representatives a few weeks back has hit a brick wall as the Senate decides to offer up what they say is a better plan. The program which we talked about here, Cash for Clunkers Approved by House, has been widely praised by many as a way to...
Eric Loveday May 30, 2009

Ruff and Tuff Electric Vehicles Creates Spin Off Company Wheego to Make Electric Cars
Ruff and Tuff Electric Vehicles, makers of electric recreational vehicles, announced that they will produce electric cars through a spin off company called Wheego. The companies, while technically carrying different names, will still have the same CEO and shareholders will now own shares of both...
Eric Loveday May 30, 2009
Nissan Seeking $1.1 Billion in Loans From Federal Government for Electric Vehicle Program
Nissan is enduring hard times right now and is seeking $1.1 billion in low interest loans from the U.S. Government to help fund their hybrid and electric vehicle programs. The government has set aside $25 billion in funding to help support advanced technologies in the automotive field. These...
Eric Loveday May 29, 2009
Bright Automotive Adds Evan House as VP Battery Development; House Credited With 100 Mile EV Range
The privately held company Bright Automotive has added a bright science star to its lineup of employees. The company welcomes the addition of Evan House as their vice president for battery development. Evan House has formerly worked for well known scientific and technology related companies such...
Eric Loveday May 29, 2009
City of Amsterdam Chooses ChargePoint Charging StationsTo Energize Electric Cars
Yesterday, 365-Energy Group announced that the city of Amsterdam has made their choice regarding charging stations for electric vehicles. The city has chosen to go with ChargePoint Networked Charging Stations provided by Coulomb Technologies. Initially, they will install 45 charging stations as...
Eric Loveday May 28, 2009
Honda Fit Hybrid Coming 18 Months Ahead of Schedule; New Release Date Fall 2010 Eric Loveday May 28, 2009

Many automakers fall behind schedule and delay releases but not Honda, not this time at least. Honda just announced the Fit Hybrid will be released some 18 months ahead of schedule.

The Fit Hybrid...

Ford Considers Partnership With BYD to Collaborate on Hybrid and Electric Vehicles
Just yesterday we announced that VW signed a memorandum of agreement with Chinese automaker and battery maker BYD, well today there is more news on that front. Ford is considering partnering up with BYD in a similar agreement. The news is not confirmed by Ford at this point, but rumors suggest...
Eric Loveday May 28, 2009
Miles to Unveil BEV on June 3rd
Miles Electric Vehicles is ready to reveal its electric sedan on June 3rd. This much anticipated vehicle will be a fully electric sedan capable of obtaining highway speeds and is expected to reach mass production in 2010. We have previously reported about this vehicle several times including...
Eric Loveday May 27, 2009
VW Signs Agreement With BYD, May Work Together on Hybrid and Electric Cars
Volkswagen has teamed up with BYD to explore their options of forming a partnership for production of hybrid and electric vehicles. The agreement, technically called of memorandum of understanding, states that both companies will work together to see if a partnership for developing hybrid and...
Eric Loveday May 27, 2009
Lithium Energy Japan to Build Battery Factory to Support Increased i MiEV Production
The joint venture between Mitsubishi Motors and GS Yuasa Corporation called Lithium Energy Japan plans to build an additional battery factory to support the recently announced increase in production of Mitsubishi's i MiEV. The new lithium-ion factory will be built in Kyoto, Japan at a...
Eric Loveday May 26, 2009
EPA Holds Public Hearings on Greenhouse Gases, Accepting Written Comments Until Late June
Greenhouse gases, those harmful pollutants emitted by fuel powered vehicles, has come under scrutiny lately. First, the EPA finally discovered just a short month ago that greenhouse gases are dangerous. Who would have thought? Now, the EPA is holding public hearings to see what people have to...
Eric Loveday May 26, 2009

Honda May Release Sporty Hybrid as Replacement for S2000 Eric Loveday May 25, 2009

Honda has quietly entered the hybrid market by slowly adding additional models to their lineup of cars. From the Insight, to the Civic, to the defunct Accord hybrid, they have covered most of the...
Freightliner Introduces World's First Hazmat Hybrid Truck
Freightliner, a truck division of Daimler, has teamed up with Eaton to introduce a world first in hybrid trucks. Together they have developed a hybrid truck for the transport of hazardous materials. The vehicle, a Freightliner Business Class M2e, will see its first use by a propane company called...
Eric Loveday May 25, 2009
Audi CEO Says EVs Are Years Away From Affordability, Q5 Hybrid Release Date Unknown
On the heels of the VW announcement that feasible electric cars are years away, Audi's CEO Rupert Stadler confirms that they too believe EVs are years away from becoming affordable, mainstream vehicles. Last week, Audi held an annual meeting in Germany. They discussed future product plans and...
Eric Loveday May 25, 2009
Sanyo Ramps Up Production of Lithium-Ion and NiMH Batteries
In response to hybrids gaining market share, Sanyo has decided to ramp up production on batteries. Sanyo, despite losses near 1 billion dollars in 2008, plans to spend millions in the next two years to build new battery plants and expand current production plants. The decision comes as industry...
Eric Loveday May 24, 2009
VW CEO Says Profitability of Plug-In and Electric Vehicles at Least 10 Years Away
VW of America CEO Stefan Jacoby recently spoke out about his opinion and the company's point of view on plug-in hybrids and electric vehicles. According to Jacoby, the technology is simply not ready for the masses yet. There are cost hurdles in the way and although VW and Audi will look into...
Eric Loveday May 24, 2009
GE Building New Sodium Chemistry Battery Plant in New York
General Electric, the massive corporation that owns among other things NBC Network, is currently building a $100 million plant in the state of New York. The plant's initial focus will be on sodium-chemistry batteries for applications ranging from locomotives to tugboats. Located in Albany, the...
Eric Loveday May 23, 2009

Tom Hanks Early Adopter of EVs, Rav4 EV Has Over 50,000 Miles, Still Sees Daily Use Eric Loveday May 23, 2009

Tom Hanks, the movie star, is also an early adopter of electric vehicles. His 2003 Toyota RAV 4 EV is still in use today, and runs on the original batteries that came with the vehicle.

Hank's RAV4...
Battery Company Firefly Has Breakthrough in Lead Acid Battery Design
The rise of the lead acid battery may not be far off as several companies are working on ways to reinvent the old standby battery. The downside to this battery type being weight and discharge and recharge cycle, the upside being low costs. What if a company could find a way to cut down on the...
Eric Loveday May 22, 2009
Times Online Writer Rips New Honda Insight; Says Its Worst New Car Money Can Buy
Controversial car reviewer Jeremy Clarkson made his hatred of the Honda Insight widely known. His review of this car for the Times Online is to say the least negative. At one point, he states that the only newsworthy bit about this car is his hatred towards it. Describing the Insight as "biblically...
Eric Loveday May 22, 2009
FAW Building New Hybrid Production Facility For Buses and Cars
FAW, a large scale Chinese automotive group, recently announced plans to build a new factory that will focus on building hybrid buses and cars. The factory is scheduled for completion as early as 2012. The new factory will give FAW the ability to build an expected 1,000 buses and 11,000 sedans...
Eric Loveday May 21, 2009
Ford Presented With Green Choice Award
Ford Motor Company was recently presented with the Green Choice Award from the Natural Health magazine. The award is given to companies who display green thinking and make sound environmental choices. Ford was one of 10 companies to receive the award. Amongst automakers, they were chosen for...
Eric Loveday May 21, 2009
Citreon Reintroduces DS Badge, DS5 Diesel Hybrid Coming in 2011
Citroen recently announced that it plans to reintroduce its DS badge. The DS lineup of cars will be premium Citroen models. Citroen showed off the first vehicle in its new lineup at the Geneva Motor Show in March. The first DS vehicle displayed was the DS3 concept, a vehicle about the size of...
Eric Loveday May 20, 2009