Green Car News & Blogs

Fisker Buys Ex-GM Plant, Will Build Affordable Plug-In Hybrid

Joined by Vice President Joe Biden and Delaware's Governor Jack Markell, fledgling plug-in hybrid entrepreneur Henrik Fisker announced that his firm has signed a letter of intent to purchase the shuttered GM assembly plant in Wilmington for $18 million and turn it into the new home of Fisker Automotive's Project NINA. When an additional $175 million in modifications and upgrades are completed, the facility will turn out a new line of more affordable mainstream plug-in hybrid sedans to complement the high-profile Karma luxury model that will be made by Valmet in Finland and go on sale here next summer. Fisker says the still-unnamed Project NINA vehicle, which is due to start production sometime in 2012, will cost under $40,000 after federal tax...
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Name The Volt's Signature Color and Win a Test Drive

General Motors has launched a contest to help determine what it will call the "signature" exterior color of the new Chevrolet Volt when the car goes on sale late next year. GM describes the paint -- which will be exclusive to the Volt -- as "silver with an emerald hue," and is asking the public to suggest a fitting name that will round out an exterior palette that already includes Black, Silver Ice Metallic, Cyber Gray Metallic, Crystal Red Metallic and a premium White Diamond Tri-Coat. Full details regarding the competition can be found at chevroletvoltage.com, but the basics call for entries to be accepted from now until the morning of November 4, at which time a team at Chevy will pick three finalists. According to Maria Rohrer, director of...
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Ford and University Of Michigan Team to Speed up Hybrid Development

Hoping to accelerate the learning curve that will lead to a new generation of even more desirable hybrid vehicles, Ford Motor Company has joined forces with researchers at the University of Michigan. This pioneering effort, which is based around extensive virtual testing procedures, allows the teams to simulate up to 175,000 different control programs per week, a task that Ford hopes will ultimately yield results that lead to hybrid cars that deliver noticeably better fuel economy and enhanced drivability. Currently, the group is busy analyzing data from 2,500 road trips to determine how internal electronic vehicle controls could be modified to realize gains in mileage as well as making the cars even more fun to drive. Ford indicates that beyond...
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Nissan and Sumitomo Plan New Life for Old EV Batteries

Nissan Motors and the Sumitomo Corporation have joined forces to undertake a feasibility study for an innovative and forward-thinking business venture aimed at capitalizing on tomorrow's potential market in used battery packs from electric vehicles. This "4R" plan -- for Reuse, Resell, Refabricate and Recycle -- will focus on developing new -- and profitable -- ways to both protect the environment and create new energy-storage solutions for Lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries that have come to the end of their initial service life in cars. While the current state of the EV business has yet to generate much in the way of "feedstock," the firms feel that by 2020, the demand for "second-life" batteries in Japan alone will be the equivalent of 50,000 EVs per...
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Fraunhofer Foresees a Quick-Charge Future in Liquid-Filled Batteries

While Lithium-ion (Li-ion) battery chemistry has become the emerging favorite among automakers, researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Chemical Technology (ICT) in Pfinztal, Germany are making a case for an alternative in the form of a new strain of enhanced-capacity redox flow batteries they are now developing. According to ICT engineer Jens Noack, "These batteries are based on fluid electrolytes. They can therefore be recharged at the gas station in a few minutes. The discharged electrolyte is simply pumped out and replaced with recharged fluid, for example, using a wind turbine or solar plant." Redox flow batteries in one form or another have been around for some time. Physically, they consist of two charged fluids that flow through...
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