Ideabing - Ideas for the world, FREE! Blogs on Ideation, Innovation, Technology and such. » electric cars

Don’t buy a new electric car, convert your old one to electric

Allison Reilly — Sat, 28 Aug 2010 01:00:11 +0000

David Noon on Maui, Hawaii converts cars (anything from Hummers to Isuzus to 1950s Studebakers) to run on biodiesel. Noon, of Maui EVs, is the only one in Hawaii providing such a service. He’s outfitting a Ford Ranger XLT for $17,000. That’s enough for a used car, but for an electric car, you can make that money back in no time.

Hey, Now We Have Wireless EV Chargers

Akshaya Murthy — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 18:17:02 +0000

Think only the iPhone can be charged wirelessly? Evatran has released the first wireless “Car Charger” for your plugin EV. This tech works thanks to magnetic induction via a wireless charging tower and an adapter on the car’s charging port. 2 drawbacks – 1- its wireless, so expect some energy loss while charging. 2- it will take out about $4300 of green from your pocket before a $2000 tax refund. But come on, do you want to bend you back and plug that wire into the car everyday? Guess the loss of green is worth it. So much for wired power! Wireless power is the way of the future and I think technologies like these will keep the world on track for wireless power. Remember the wireless induction charging article we had posted some time back?

The company is running a field trial program right now so if you are a tree hugging EV owner go here.

[via Inhabitat]

Ideabing Daily Roundup: Tesla Roadster Edition

Akshaya Murthy — Fri, 02 Jul 2010 03:00:14 +0000

Tesla Releases Roadster 2.5, Shows Off Innovations

Design: Bamboo Taxi

Legos For Gorwnups

Wireless Induction Charging For Plugin Cars?

Akshaya Murthy — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 01:00:57 +0000

While efforts are on to build entire networks of charging stations to fuel your power hungry plugin automobiles, a German company Vahle has been proposing induction coil lined roads to charge cars wirelessly while in motion. This type of charging works the way a Palm Pre’s touchstone based charging works – wireless induction. This could well be reality, now that German cars are getting all sorts of capabilities. Video after the break.

[Source Vahle]

Tesla Motors and Toyota Motor Corporation Intend to Work Jointly on EV Development, TMC to Invest in Tesla

Akshaya Murthy — Mon, 24 May 2010 01:00:34 +0000

TESLA MOTORS, INC. (Tesla) and TOYOTA MOTOR CORPORATION (TMC) announced that they intend to cooperate on the development of electric vehicles, parts, and production system and engineering support.

The two companies intend to form a team of specialists to further those efforts. TMC has agreed to purchase $50 million of Tesla’s common stock issued in a private placement to close immediately subsequent to the closing of Tesla’s currently planned initial public offering.

“I’ve felt an infinite possibility about Tesla’s technology and its dedication to monozukuri (Toyota’s approach to manufacturing),” said TMC President Akio Toyoda. “Through this partnership, by working together with a venture business such as Tesla, Toyota would like to learn from the challenging spirit, quick decision-making, and flexibility that Tesla has. Decades ago, Toyota was also born as a venture business. By partnering with Tesla, my hope is that all Toyota employees will recall that ‘venture business spirit,’ and take on the challenges of the future.”

“Toyota is a company founded on innovation, quality, and commitment to sustainable mobility. It is an honor and a powerful endorsement of our technology that Toyota would choose to invest in and partner with Tesla,” said Tesla CEO and cofounder Elon Musk. “We look forward to learning and benefiting from Toyota’s legendary engineering, manufacturing, and production expertise.”

Carnegie Mellon, Nissan Team Up For Electric Vehicles

Akshaya Murthy — Sun, 09 May 2010 07:00:10 +0000

Students at Carnegie Mellon University spent the spring semester exploring the future of electric vehicles through a partnership with Nissan North America (NNA).

The class is a cross-campus collaboration among faculty and researchers at the university’s Carnegie Institute of Technology (College of Engineering), School of Design and Tepper School of Business. The classroom challenge for this semester focused on addressing issues and developing solutions related to electric cars projected to be in the market in the next five years. Professionals from Nissan’s advanced planning and product planning groups, engineers from Nissan Technical Center North America, researchers and designers from Nissan Design America supported the students as they executed their projects. The students’ goal: developing real-world innovations for Nissan electric vehicles.

“Nissan’s electric vehicle program presents an unprecedented opportunity for re-imagining the future of transportation,” saidRachel Nguyen, director, advanced planning, NNA. “The student teams offered uniquely informed perspectives on zero-emission mobility and what that means for their generation.”

The class worked in six teams, each of which spent the semester working towards a single concept, presented today in the final class. Nissan has committed to moving beyond a single electric vehicle solution through the introduction of several electric vehicles, and these different solutions are designed to help Nissan explore future possibilities. Projects include: an in-car work station; an interactive dashboard for entertainment and connectivity; grocery-shopping support system; an automated vehicle cleaning system; a suite of ergonomic features to reduce stress; and a vehicle trash, recycling and organization system.

“Carnegie Mellon University’s interdisciplinary approach to teaching offers these students the opportunity to gain experience on real-world projects,” said Jonathan Cagan, Ladd Professor of Mechanical Engineering and co-director of the Master of Product Development program. “We’re looking forward to the possibility of seeing these solutions on the road, in future iterations of Nissan electric vehicles.” Cagan teaches the course with Peter Boatwright, Associate Professor of Marketing, and Eric Anderson, Associate Professor of Design.

Ideabing - Ideas for the world, FREE! Blogs on Ideation, Innovation, Technology and such. » electric cars

Don’t buy a new electric car, convert your old one to electric

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Hey, Now We Have Wireless EV Chargers

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Wireless Induction Charging For Plugin Cars?

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Carnegie Mellon, Nissan Team Up For Electric Vehicles

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