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Fisker says 100,000 plug-in hybrids a year could be built at Delaware plant

Sebastian Blanco — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 23:53:00 +0000

Filed under: EV/Plug-in, Hybrid, Green Daily, Fisker

Fisker Karma - Click above for high-res image gallery

Fisker Automotive CEO Henrik Fisker gave a presentation at the New Castle County Chamber of Commerce's annual dinner Monday night about his compnay's plans to build plug-in vehicles (PHEVs) in Delaware. Over 450 people from the community where Fisker's new plant (and General Motors' old plant) is located heard Fisker speak about the Karma and the upcoming Project Nina vehicle. Nina, of course, is the lower-cost ($50,000?) plug-in hybrid that Fisker wants to build in and export from Delaware.

Based on local news reports, work on the plant is progressing smoothly, with "no major problems" discovered during an environmental assessment. Prototypes could be made there as early as next year, with full production - an estimated 100,000 cars a year - scheduled for 2014. As for vehicle sales, Fisker said that Europe and China could be big markets for the PHEVs, and he reminded the crowd that Fisker has announced 45 dealerships in the U.S., including Union Park in Wilmington, DE.

One bonus bit of information Fisker said during his speech: the prototype Karma that ran around the track at Laguna Seca cost $1.5 million. You can watch a video of part of Fisker's talk after the jump. The videographer apparently just discovered panning, so listening without watching is recommended. Thanks to Roy B. for the tip!

Gallery: Fisker Karma

[Source: Delaware Business Ledger, Delaware Online]

Continue reading Fisker says 100,000 plug-in hybrids a year could be built at Delaware plant

Fisker says 100,000 plug-in hybrids a year could be built at Delaware plant originally appeared on Autoblog Green on Wed, 10 Mar 2010 18:53:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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First Look: 2011 GMC Sierra Denali Heavy Duty

Automobile RSS Feed — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 23:03:00 +0000

First Look: 2011 GMC Sierra Denali Heavy Duty

The Sierra Denali HD marks the first time the luxurious Denali trim has been offered on GMC's toughest trucks.

GMC has always been about "Professional Grade" trucks, but the Denali trim level takes it up a notch or two -- it's the package for people who work hard but like to do it in style, too. Now, the folks in the big trucks will get their own pampering as GMC reveals the new 2011 GMC Sierra Denali Heavy Duty.inline_mediumwraptextright28350700/features/news/1003_2011_gmc_sierra_heavy_duty2011-GMC-sierra-denali-heavy-duty-front.jpgTrue

Photo Gallery: 2011 GMC Sierra Denali Heavy Duty - GMC Fullsize Pickup Truck - Automobile Magazine

California homebuilder offers to pre-wire homes for electric vehicle charging

Sam Abuelsamid — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 22:56:00 +0000

Filed under: EV/Plug-in

Chevrolet Volt home charging - Click above for high-res image gallery

If electric cars are ever to make a serious dent in the new vehicle market, owners will have to be prepared to charge their vehicles at home on an almost nightly basis. But, as some early drivers of the Mini E and Tesla Roadster learned it is HIGHLY recommended that you have a high voltage-high current outlet available for charging. Otherwise you could be waiting a very long time - up to 23 hours - to fill up from a standard outlet.

California-based home builder KB homes is angling to take advantage of what could be a strong demand for home chargers by offering a new entry on its options list. People who buy from KB will now be able to check a box that will see their homes pre-wired for electric vehicle charging. Running the wiring will only cost buyers an extra $250, but this likely only brings the circuit out to a junction box. Homeowners will probably still have to add a charging box of some kind. Still, semper paratus and all that.

Gallery: Chevy Volt Home Charging Units

[Source: BusinessWeek]

California homebuilder offers to pre-wire homes for electric vehicle charging originally appeared on Autoblog Green on Wed, 10 Mar 2010 17:56:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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2011 Nissan NV1500 / NV2500 HD / NV3500 HD – Car News

David Gluckman — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 22:17:00 +0000

Japan creates its own Mercedes Sprinter, and it’ll be built in America.

There’s nothing terribly creative about the name of Nissan’s new commercial van—NV stands for Nissan Van—but the Japanese Sprinter-fighter is a fresh take on the commercial carryall box. Nissan will launch the van in three strengths with a choice of a V-6 or V-8 engine.

Keep Reading: 2011 Nissan NV1500 / NV2500 HD / NV3500 HD – Car News

2010 Toyota Venza AWD

Automobile RSS Feed — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 22:03:00 +0000

2010 Toyota Venza AWD

We can't seem to generate any enthusiasm for this Toyota Venza.

The Venza is a perfectly nice five-passenger tall wagon, as far as space, appointments, and utility are concerned. I just don't understand why Toyota is building it. The company already had an overfull quiver of hatchback crossover things, so why add the strange-looking Venza to the bunch? Well, it turns out that Toyota sold a very respectable 54,410 Venzas last year (nearly as many as Scion's 2009 brand total), so I guess there's the answer. It saddens me, though, that consumers apparently prefer the bulky Venza alongside competent RAV4s, Highlanders, Matrixes, 4Runners, et al. instead of a more carlike, more efficient, and no longer offered Camry station wagon.inline_mediumwraptextright27087650/reviews/editors_notebook/1003_2010_toyota_venza_awd1003_01_z+2010_toyota_venza_aWD+front_three_quarter_view.jpgTrue

Photo Gallery: 2010 Toyota Venza AWD - Toyota Crossover SUV Review - Automobile Magazine

EMXGP inaugural race will be held in Barcelona this October

Domenick Yoney — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 22:02:00 +0000

Filed under: EV/Plug-in, Europe/EU, Racing

This October, the center of the zero-carbon racing universe would appear to be Spain following the announcement by the eGrandPrix that the inaugural EMXGP will, with apologies to Paris, be held in Barcelona on the 16th and 17th of that month. Of course, one race does not a center-of-universe make and so we remind you, gentle reader, that the TTXGP Grand Final takes place the following weekend down the road in Albacete. The competitions will bookend a Zero Carbon Transport Conference in sunny seaside Barcelona that will be a "unique global gathering of experts, enthusiasts and industry to share ideas, explore solutions and make new partners."

With lots of details about the race yet to be announced, there is still lots of time for speculation about what vehicles will enter. While there has already been mention made of Tesla Roadsters and even the Ruf Greenster, the photo accompanying this latest news reminds us of another contender who had already stated their intentions to join the fray; Saba Motors. Their Marlin 5EXi-based Carbon Zero roadster wouldn't appear to have the numbers (0-60 is a leisurely five seconds) to out-duel their Californian competitor, but they have over six months to get their game face on. Let us know who you would like to see beating the pack on Spanish streets in the comments section after the break.

[Source: eGrandPrix | Source image: Tango7174 - C.C. License 2.0]

EMXGP inaugural race will be held in Barcelona this October originally appeared on Autoblog Green on Wed, 10 Mar 2010 17:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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David E.’s Take: What Luxury Should Be

David E. Davis, Jr. — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 21:55:50 +0000

The Ford Motor Company has at last made Lincoln into something considerably more than the nicest car you can rent at the airport. Meanwhile, Lexus is being tarred with the same brush that tars all Toyota products. In Toyota’s case it is not the straightforward fact of unintended acceleration plaguing legions of Toyota and Lexus drivers. It is the backing and filling, confessing and unconfessing that most plagues Toyota’s reputation in North America and the world.

We are driving from Ann Arbor, Michigan, to the Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance through the mother of all rainstorms in a Mercedes CL550 coupe. Nine hundred miles in this phenomenally good car is proving that Mercedes-Benz, having utterly lost its way for a few years, is back on the high road with better-than-world-class luxury cars. This car is as solid and tight as a steel billet. Its acceleration is massive. It has wonderful brakes. It is absolutely surefooted in this Biblical rainstorm through which we are now driving.

Yesterday we pulled into a McDonald’s in Ohio, and a young cook who had stepped outside for a smoke swept the restaurant door open for us, like the most regal of Parisian doormen and said “That’s a beautiful Mercedes you’re driving, Sir!” Not bad.

2011 GMC Sierra HD Introduced, Denali HD Trim Added

Jon Yanca — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 21:38:30 +0000

Just a month ago, the 2011 Chevrolet Silverado HD was revealed at the Chicago auto show. No big surprise here, The General has followed up with its GMC variant, the Sierra HD. Since the two are identical under the sheetmetal, we won’t go into too much detail (you can read about all the same improvements here). The biggest news for the Sierra HD is the addition of an upscale Denali trim package and newly exposed—and massive—power figures from the revised 6.6-liter Duramax diesel.

This marks the first time the Denali package has been offered on GMC’s heavy-duty pickup line. The package is all appearance, taking on the unique Denali chrome grille, body-colored bumpers, chrome accents and door handles, as well as 18- and 20-inch polished aluminum wheels. Inside, brushed-aluminum trim, power-adjustable pedals and seats, and a Bose sound system all come standard, while a heated steering wheel, and heated and cooled leather seats are available as options. The Denali package is offered only on the four-wheel-drive 2500-series crew cab standard box configuration which will allow bed payloads of up to 2959 pounds and a maximum tow rating of 15,600 pounds with a fifth-wheel hitch. Color choices are limited to black, Stealth Gray, and white.

Beating the 2011 Ford Super Duty by seven horsepower and 30 lb-ft of torque, the updated optional diesel engine now puts out 397 hp and a staggering 765 lb-ft of torque. An improved Allison six-speed automatic transmission will disperse all that power when the HDs goes on sale early this summer.

A123 Systems gets battery supply contract for Navistar-Modec JV

Sam Abuelsamid — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 21:04:00 +0000

Filed under: EV/Plug-in

Modec electric truck - Click above for high-res image gallery

The joint venture that was formed last year between Navistar and Modec has selected A123 Systems to develop and produce lithium ion battery packs for its trucks. Modec is a British company that has developed a dedicated electric drive medium duty truck chassis. Navistar will be building the Modec trucks in Wakarusa, IN for the North and South American markets.

A123 Systems will be building the packs at its new factory in Livonia, MI that is scheduled to open this month. The goal is to give the Navistar-Modec trucks a 100 mile range on a single charge. A123's battery technology is capable of absorbing energy at high rate so that it can be fast charged without degrading the lifespan. This could be very beneficial to the commercial users of such vehicles because they don't want them sitting idle while waiting for a charge.

Gallery: MODEC - Electric Delivery Van

Gallery: EVS23: Modec electric delivery truck

[Source: A123 Systems]

Continue reading A123 Systems gets battery supply contract for Navistar-Modec JV

A123 Systems gets battery supply contract for Navistar-Modec JV originally appeared on Autoblog Green on Wed, 10 Mar 2010 16:04:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Markey and Reed: opening up carbon-based energy sector will bring jobs, lots of them

Sebastian Blanco — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 19:53:00 +0000

Filed under: Legislation and Policy, USA

Just how important are plug-in vehicles (PHVs) to America? According to Rep. Edward Markey (D-MA, pictured), the chairman of the Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming, and Reed Hundt, chairman of the Federal Communications Commission from 1993-1997, PHVs are one of the three items that can potentially revitalize the U.S. economy with millions of new jobs. Markey and Reed write at TPM:

Nothing will pull innovation into the energy sector more than wind farms demanding better storage technology, solar farms demanding better ways of capturing and converting sunlight into electricity, and appliances and electric vehicles that can talk to the grid if it is smart enough.

Markey and Reed take their inspiration from the "market-opening Telecommunications Act of 1996." They believe that the Waxman-Markey bill, which passed the House in June, is the kind of law that can do for the carbon-based energy sector today what the Telecomunications Act did in the mid-'90s. That is, encourage "private investment in a 21st century energy economy built on alternatives such as wind, sun, biomass and geothermal." When we replace the old networks (literally then, and literally and figuratively now) with something clean and green, we will see billions of private money stimulate the overall economy. Or so they say.

[Source: Talking Points Memo]

Markey and Reed: opening up carbon-based energy sector will bring jobs, lots of them originally appeared on Autoblog Green on Wed, 10 Mar 2010 14:53:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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