Cars That Run on Sunshine

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The electric car has been around for a long time. In the late 1930’s Robert Anderson (A Scottish inventor) built the first crude electric carriage. Over the years the car has been improved to a point where it could be a practical mode of transportation for many people. One of the main reasons we don’t see many on the roads is because charging a large number of electric cars will require huge upgrades to the nation’s infrastructure

SolarCity and Tesla Motors hope to change the amount of electric cars on the road by installing solar-powered car charging stations in Rabobank locations along California Route 101. These quick charging “gas stations” delivers up to 70 amps (240 volts) of electricity which would charge a Telsa Roadster in about 3.5 hours. SolarCity has also installed over 100 in home-charging stations throughout the state.

The Beautiful Earth Group, a solar and wind farms company started last year, has paired up with BMW and the mini, to build solar charging stations in the Red Hook, Brooklyn area. These stations are truly “green”. Built out of recycled shipping containers the station can provide enough energy to charge the Mini E in three hours. Lex Heslin, chief executive of Beautiful Earth, claims two firsts: He got the keys to the first electric version of the Mini Cooper in New York and his company is operating the city’s first solar E.V. charging station.

Silicon Valley based company, Coulomb Technologies, have been building charging stations around the world since 2007. Their recent partnership with Envision Solar has allowed them to integrate their ChargePoint technology into a “solar grove” at Dell headquarters in Round Rock, Tex. This system provided 131,000 kilowatt hours of electricity annually, and doubles as shade for 56 parking spaces.

With the environmental issues we face today, solar charging could become big business. Ideally, solar charging stations will be connected to the grid so they can feed electricity back when the power is not needed for car-charging. When the sun isn’t shining, cars can be charged on grid power.

Cash For Clunkers

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Cash for clunkers is a program set up earlier this year by the Senate in an attempt to get older less fuel efficient cars off the road and to boost the new car buying economy. Vehicles from 1984 or newer having a mpg (miles per gallon) rating of 18 or less are eligible. Owners of passenger cars could get $3,500 if they buy a vehicle that is rated at least 4 mpg better or $4,500 for 10 mpg or better than what they are driving. SUVs, trucks and van owners will get $3,500 for an improvement of 2 mpg and $4,500 for 5 mpg or more. The owner of the trade-in must have had the vehicle for at least a year, and it must be drivable.

The government programs, officially called the car allowance rebate system (CARS), has been so popular that one week after its launch the programs funding had been used up. The US transport secretary, Ray LaHood, is asking the senate to vote for an additional two billion in financing to continue the program. Germany, Italy, Britain, Romania, Austria, the Netherlands, Spain and Serbia have also introduced their own versions of cash for clunkers programs and have experienced stronger sales almost immediately.

What’s In Store For The Auto Industry In 2010?

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Happy New Year! I hope that everyone has had a safe and happy holiday season.

Even after the government pumped in more than $123 billion in support of the auto industry and its suppliers during the past year, 2009 still turned out to be a disastrous year with some of the lowest car sales since the 1970s. Companies have been selling their technologies and subsidiaries in an attempt to keep their heads above water and although there are some great deals to be had out there, it seems that in general, people just don’t have the money to spend. Sales increased towards the end of 2009, but this was mostly due to government incentives and a push for dealerships to get rid of their 2009 and discontinued models.

Overseas the car industry has faired a bit better. Car sales in China last year jumped almost 45% percent to 13.5 million vehicles, overtaking the U.S. market, according to analysts polled by Reuters. In Spain, December car sales were up 25 percent, the fourth consecutive monthly increase, supported by government subsidies and the French carmakers’ association said on Monday that new car sales in France surged 49 percent in December to 228,451 vehicles also supported by government incentives.

If you listen to the auto analysts you really don’t get a feel for what 2010 has in store. Some say 2010 will be a good year, while other say a bad one. So who can you believe? It seems to me that the auto industry is being backed by government incentives and subsidies and unless they want to continue pouring money into it, it could be a bleak year. I guess we will have to just wait and see.

Ford and Microsoft In ‘Sync’

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With concerns about distracted drivers causing automobile accidents, Microsoft has created Sync, a voice controlled in car system where there is no LCD screen distracting you from the road. Push a button on the steering wheel, tell the system what you want and your request is confirmed by a robotic female voice.

Sync is Ford’s voice-controlled in-car system for wireless hands-free operation of a cell phone and for playing music from a connected MP3 player. Automated calls for 911 assistance in the event of an air bag deployment are also part of the Sync package Ford has been adding features to Sync since its introduction. The latest version includes built-in GPS navigation with spoken turn-by-turn directions; traffic updates; recorded news and sports articles; and vehicle health reports.

There is no monthly fees for the first three years (Ford has not determined whether fees may be applicable after that), and drivers do not need to pay extra for a data cell phone plan. The system sends information over a voice channel of the driver’s phone.

Though the system is quite simple to use, drivers do need to learn Sync’s preset commands which means either reading the manual or waiting for prompts from the interactive voice menu. People who have tried the system say they are never 100% comfortable with only voice commands and having passengers in the vehicle make it difficult to have a conversation and follow directions at the same time. Like all new technology, Sync has it’s glitches but hopefully with more testing it can become a tool in making our roads a little safer.

Tax Credits For Batteries

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Automakers will be receiving $220 million in tax credits to help develop battery packs for hybrid and plug in hybrids vehicles. The credits, which include $100 million for battery manufacturers and $120 million for battery pack assembly, are designed to benefit Ford Motor Co., General Motors Corp. and Dow Chemical Co.

Ford plans to move production of battery packs from Mexico to southeastern Michigan and to invest up to $500 million to assemble hybrids and lithium ion batteries there. “This is huge,” said James McBride, vice president of the Michigan Economic Development Corp. “This is the rebirth of the auto industry in this state.”

Despite the recent excitement over electric cars, the National Research Council thinks that it will be a few decades before we see hybrids in “meaningful numbers”.

Chrysler to Challenge Legislation

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Complaints made to Congress from GM and Chrysler dealerships has led to a House approved $1.1 trillion spending bill. This bill will give dealerships a chance to dispute their closure depending on their past success. G.M. and Chrysler proposed their own review processes last week in an effort to keep Congress from getting involved, but their proposal was rejected.

Today, Chrysler came back challenging the decision, calling it ‘unconstitutional legislation’. Sergio Marchionne (CEO of the Fiat and Chrysler Group LLC and Chairman of the European Automobile Manufacturers Association) said that restoring large numbers of dealerships could cause havoc within Chrysler. “We are in a completely different position than G.M.” he said. G.M. has about $42 billion in cash in September, paying back $6.7 is easier than it would be for us.” Mr.. Marchionne also said G.M. was more focused on repaying the loans because the government owns 60% as opposed to 10% of Chrysler. Chrysler’s majority shareholder is the United Automobile Workers union’s retiree health care trust.

Chrysler is planning to make investments that would provide jobs and other economic benefits. Building a fuel-efficient engine with Fiat technology in the United States is one of three goals that each allow Fiat to gain an additional 5 percent of Chrysler.

Honda Mileage Over Inflated

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In March of 2007, John True of Ontario, California purchased a Honda Civic hybrid hoping that he could save a bit on fuel and do his part for the environment. He chose Honda because they had advertised their hybrid mileage as 49 miles per gallon in the city and 51 miles per gallon on highways. After about 6 000 miles of driving he found that it was almost impossible to reach this. Many other Honda hybrid owners came to the same conclusion including one by Consumer Reports. John filed a lawsuit against Honda claiming Honda had inflated the mileage. The settlement covers almost 160 000 people who owned or leased a 2003 through 2008 model Honda Civic Hybrid.

The class action has been settled, but more than half the nation’s state attorneys are objecting to the settlement. In this class action, Honda will send DVD’s to current and former Civic owners with tips on improving the fuel economy. Owners who trade in their Honda Civic Hybrid for certain Honda or Acura vehicles could get up to $1,000 rebate on some vehicles or $100 in cash if they had made a complaint previously. Others who no longer owned their hybrid would get a $500 coupon. “The coupons offered to consumers are of limited value: They are worth only a fraction of the price of the original car,” the attorneys general said in a court filing Monday. ” “Cars like the Honda Fit, Insight, Civic Hybrid and CRZ are the class of vehicle these hybrid owners would most likely buy, yet they have been excluded from the list.”

In the beginning of 2007 new Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) tests, were unveiled to better reflect real world driving. As a result, fuel economy for all vehicles fell an average of 12% in the city and 8% on highways.