First of all, you are buying a very limited range vehicle, for around $30,000.  Personally, for that kind of money, I'd like to be able to drive wherever, whenever I want.  I don't want to wait around for a charge or risk not being able to find a suitable charging station while I'm out and about.  But of course, I'm not the target audience, those living in the big cities that don't have to worry about rural commutes.

Next, consider the Nissan dealership just might be pushing a $150 per month battery lease option.  Meaning, you buy the car, but lease the battery that powers the car.  This is done to help alleviate the concern of replacing a battery in the coming years, if there were a problem, or they don't have the shelf life they are counting on.

Too many if's and's or's and but's for me.  However, I wish them all the luck and the more competition Toyota has, the better it is for the consumers.  Check out the Nissan Leaf pics below.

Original automotive content: Automotive Blog

Nissan Leaf Expects 20,000 Orders

Green News

The Chevy Volt and other electric, hybrid, or alternative fuel vehicles need high gas prices.  Without the threat looming of $4 per gallon gasoline it makes it difficult to stomach a $40,000 investment, in some cases.  Obviously the higher the fuel prices the shorter time it takes to break even and to have the electric car start actually saving you money.

Looking at it this way makes me look like I hate the environment, but that's not the case.  I'm all for doing my part to keep the Earth green and blue, but not at the cost of being in debt up to my eye balls without any return.  There must be a breaking point, where investment shows return, even when talking about green technology.  So, I guess this idea only applies to those who aren't independently wealthy green freaks.

No doubt if fuel prices remain relatively low it will devastate the huge investment companies like Chevrolet have made with the Volt.  Everyone was able to jump on board the research and development when gas prices were high, but what will happen financially to the company now that sales will be directly effected by the fuel prices?  Surely there will be more financial incentive to buy a new all electric car or at least lower the expected price all across the board.

I hope that we will see falling vehicle prices on all cars, trucks, suv's, and not just the special niche green market.  The idea that a vehicle should cost 1/2 as much as most peoples homes is getting to be a little bit ridiculous.  Let's start by slashing that all electric Chevy Volt price.

Original automotive content: Automotive Blog

Volt Needs High Gas Prices

Jay Leno took a step down (or up) from late night TV and started broadcasting in Prime Time.  Well, Ford is taking advantage of this exposure and Leno's love for vehicles, to help get the American public accustomed to driving Electric vehicles.  That's why the Sept 18th show will feature Drew Barrymore racing a new all electric Ford Focus.

The car Barrymore will be driving won't actually be available until sometime in 2011, so don't get out your checkbooks just yet.  However, it might not be a bad idea to start saving now.  Most estimates put the new all electric Ford Focus at $10,000 higher than it's all gasoline counter part.  eeek!

Original automotive content: Automotive Blog

What Does Drew Barrymore And Electric Focus Have In Common?

Unlike other traditional Plug-In style electric cars, the 2010 Prius PHV will only have a limited distance of 12 miles to run on battery alone.  After reaching a distance of 12 miles the plug-in battery is depleted and the Prius returns to standard hybrid mode.  The hybrid mode of this PHV is similar to that of what's found in existing model Toyota Prius's.

Original automotive content: Automotive Blog

Plug-In Prius At Frankfurt Auto Show

There have been a number of people speculating about the all new hybrid coming from Lexus and it's relation to the wildly popular Toyota Prius.  Most of  the speculation claims that the Lexus HS 250h is as similar to the Toyota Prius as the Ford Ranger is to the Mazda pickup.  Thankfully for those in the market, this isn't true.

There is a single shared component between the HS 250h and Prius, which is the hybrid technology.  The name of  the system is the series/parallel and refers to the technology, not the actual components.  The series/parallel type hybrid means that the traditional engine component can drive the wheels directly and be disconnected from the drive train to allow the electric motor component to drive the wheels.  This type of system is used in the Prius, Ford Escape Hybrid, and soon Lexus HS 250h.

The rest of the HS 250h is completely different than the Prius.  Some of the main component differences is the 2.4 l engine, double wishbone suspension, and a ton of electronic creature comforts.  There will nothing to confuse onlookers as to what type of car it is, the Toyota or the Lexus.

Original automotive content: Automotive Blog

Is The Lexus HS 250h The Same As a Toyota Prius?

Mitsubishi announced that it would be releasing it's iMiEV Electric car and is hoping to get some chargers throughout Japan.  Specifically Mitsubishi is trying to get EV chargers in parking lots and any public spaces where these cars may frequent.  Electric cars have a limited range, so parking lots would be a good place for people on longer trips to stop by and charge up before heading home.

Furthermore it would show the cars success if more chargers were placed throughout the country.  If everywhere you looked there was a charge station for an EV vehicle, wouldn't you want one?  As it stands now, the only place people will be charging the Mitsubishi iMiEV will be in their own garages and driveways while they sleep.

Original automotive content: Automotive Blog

Mitsubishi Urges EV Chargers

Fuel Efficient Sports Cars

Chevrolet is showing the world that big power can also translate into big fuel efficiency.  The 2010 Camaro comes in several different trim packages, each sporting it's own miles per gallon ratings and some of these numbers will really surprise you.  Let's start with the smallest of the engines, the 3.9 V6 which is available in the base model 2010 Camaro.

3.9 V6 2010 Camaro LS

According to Chevy the 2010 base model V6 Camaro is capable of a whopping 29 miles per gallon.  Impressive on it's own, but this motor is also producing over 300 horsepower.  This technological advancement is a far cry from the 67 Camaro outfitted with the inline 6 cylinder.

6.2 V8 2010 Camaro SS

The beefiest version of the 2010 Camaro sports a huge 6.2 liter V8, which produces over 420 horsepower.  It's a bulging muscle machine, that's also capable of producing some respectable miles per gallon.  Consider that the SS Camaro gets 24 mpg highway, an efficiency never conceived in this size engine package before.

What the fuel economy in the 2010 Camaro means?

The numbers don't lie and if the 2010 Camaro proves to be dependable, then we will have a true leap in efficiency for usable sport vehicles.  This type of fuel efficient technology will slowly find it's way into SUV's, Trucks, and hopefully even more sports cars.  Perhaps the fear of single digit gas mileage in sports cars will permanently be a thing of the past.  Of course, depending on how heavy your foot is, mileage may vary.

Original automotive content: Automotive Blog

2010 Camaro Gas Mileage

Testing Usable Life Span

There have been specific cases of electric cars like the Toyota Rav 4 EV reaching 100,00 miles on it's original battery with no significant loss of battery life.  The battery in question is the Nickel-Metal Hydride (NiMH) battery, which is composed of cells, otherwise known commonly as the rechargable batteries you buy in the store.  In electric cars however instead of say a AAA or D battery, the NiMH battery in your electric car utilizes cells on a much larger scale.

Testing on the NiMH Electric Car battery life was done by the Southern California Edison, Electric Vehicle Technical Center(pdf).  They state that the likely hood of your typical electric car cell battery life to be anywhere in the 130,000 to 150,000 mile range.  Considering you don't have to perform regular maintenance like oil and air filter changes, over the life of the vehicle the cost of replacing the battery would be far under gas engine maintenance costs.

Cost Of Replacing Electric Car Batteries

The cost of replacing the battery in a Toyota Rav 4 EV, in the example above, may be the exception to the maintenance cost comparison rule.  Recent figures put the RAV 4 EV NiMH battery replacement cost at $14,000.  This would be for a custom pack that would provide 2000 usable cycles, compared to 1000, which translates into about 8 years of normal driving.  The NiMH for this particular vehicle seems high, but smaller vehicles like the new Toyota Prius have battery replacement costs of uner $3,000.

In closing, before jumping on the bandwagon and becoming an early adopter, check out what the replacement cost for the battery will be.  However, as years pass and electric cars become more popular, the price of these NiMH replacements will be dropping dramatically just like any technology that becomes old hat.

NiMH Battery

Original automotive content: Automotive Blog

Battery Life In Electric Cars