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Green Overdrive [video]: We spend a day driving the i MiEV

Katie Fehrenbacher — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 07:00:49 +0000

Yeah, we’ve test driven a lot of electric cars on the Green Overdrive show, but we don’t usually get to spend all that long driving the cars. Most of the time it’s just around the block or a few minutes on the driving track. But for our latest episode, we took Mitsubishi’s all-electric i MiEV out for a full day of driving, running it through its paces on the highway, in the city, parallel parking, looking for a charge, and packing it with people (and stuff). Here are our impressions:

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Green Overdrive [video]: We test ride a Tesla Model S Beta!

Katie Fehrenbacher — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 07:00:08 +0000

The Model S Betas got buffed between rides.

Electric car maker Tesla has reached a milestone. It’s developed several Beta versions (the production-ready final version) of its second electric car the Model S sedan, and the Valley auto maker is now giving test rides of the Betas to potential customers and the press. For our latest Green Overdrive show we ride in one of the Betas (a burgundy/red beauty) around a closed track at Tesla’s Fremont factory, and we show you how an electric vehicle designed from the ground-up handles. Because the Model S was designed with the car-length flat battery on the underside of the car, it’s center of gravity is low and we took the turns at the track at a blazing speed. Check out our ride and our interview with Chief Designer Franz von Holzhausen.

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Green Overdrive: An exclusive look at Getaround’s new app

Katie Fehrenbacher — Fri, 05 Aug 2011 07:00:00 +0000

If you thought renting out a room in a house via Airbnb was cool, try renting our someone’s car. That’s what Getaround does, and for this week’s Green Overdrive show, brought to you by GigaOM TV, we sit down with Getaround founder Jessica Scorpio to check out the company’s brand new, yet-to-be unveiled, iPhone app, and learn about some of the reputation and security features that the company has built into its service. What do you think? Would you rent out your car to the network?

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VIDEO: Volvo Cranks Up C30 Electric

Katie Fehrenbacher — Fri, 10 Jun 2011 15:46:54 +0000

Volvo has reportedly started producing its all-electric C30, and will start shipping cars to fleets (mostly under leases) in Europe by the Summer. Lennart Stegland, President of Volvo special vehicles, told us late last year that Volvo plans to only build about 1,000 cars for this first production run, and he said while there is a high probability that Volvo will bring the electric C30 cars to the U.S., it’s got to start with Europe first.

The C30 electric has a range of about 80 miles, and takes around 8 hours to charge. Stegland stressed how the placement of the battery — underneath the seats and down the bottom tunnel of the car — will make the car one of the safer EVs out there.

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Green Overdrive: Lit Motor’s Electric Folding Scooter

Katie Fehrenbacher — Wed, 01 Jun 2011 07:00:40 +0000

While there are a growing number of electric scooter and motorcycle makers out there, there’s not many that are making a cargo-carrying, foldable version. San Francisco-based startup Lit Motors has been developing an electric scooter that can carry a large box (or a person) and can fold down into almost half its driving size. For our latest Green Overdrive show, we drove around with Lit Motor’s CEO Daniel Kim on the company’s electric cargo scooter, and also checked out a prototype of its upcoming electric two-wheel car. The scooter could be available in about 6 months in the U.S. and cost around $2,000 to $4,000, though Lit Motors is looking to focus mainly on selling a more low cost version of the scooter ($500 to $800) into developing markets like India and China.

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GreenRoad Raises $13M (and Check Out Our Video)

Katie Fehrenbacher — Wed, 18 May 2011 14:10:56 +0000

GreenRoad’s greener, safer driving technology has gotten another round of investment. The startup, by Al Gore and Richard Branson’s funds, as well as Benchmark Capital and others, has raised another $13 million from existing investors and brought on new CEO Jim Heeger.

GreenRoad has developed a technology — including an embedded computer in the car, a GPS and cellular connection and a website to remotely check on driving progress — that can help corporate fleet drivers become safer and greener drivers. The IT tech monitors drivers and gives them consistent feedback (green light, yellow light, red light), and then rewards them for changing their driving behavior.

The company says its technology can help companies save significantly on fuel costs (10 percent less fuel), as well as fewer crashes (50 percent fewer accidents). GreenRoad says its technology is embedded in 60,000 corporate fleets.

Check out our Green Overdrive episode we did on GreenRoad in March, with then CEO Patrick Burtis.

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Green Overdrive: Tesla Takes a Cue from Apple Stores

Katie Fehrenbacher — Thu, 14 Apr 2011 07:00:24 +0000

The exec formerly in charge of Apple’s famously successful in-store experience, is paving a new path for electric vehicle company Tesla Motors. For this week’s episode of our Green Overdrive show, Tesla’s VP of Worldwide Sales and Experience, George Blankenship, shows us around Tesla’s first experiential store on Santana Row in San Jose, Calif. The idea is to create a new hands-on experience around buying one of Tesla’s EVs, and the store officially launches this weekend. Does it convince you to buy one?

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I’ll be interviewing Tesla’s Model S Program Manager, Jerome Guillen, and Coda Automotive’s VP, Corporate Strategy and Business Development, Chris Paulson, at Green:Net next week on April 21 in San Francisco! Other connected car speakers include execs from Ford, GM’s Onstar, and startups like Virtual Vehicle Company. Get tickets here while they last!

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Green Overdrive: Safer, Greener Driving With GreenRoad!

Katie Fehrenbacher — Thu, 10 Mar 2011 08:00:02 +0000

Safer driving isn’t only better for your car and your personal well being, it can also lead to more fuel efficient driving, which means a lower fuel bill and less carbon emissions. GreenRoad has developed a technology that it sells to companies that enables corporate fleet drivers to become safer and greener drivers. The tech includes an embedded computer in the car, a GPS and cellular connection and a website to remotely check on driving progress. The company is also backed by Al Gore and Richard Branson’s funds.

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To learn more about the intersection between EVs and mobile come to our Green:Net 2011 event on April 21 in San Francisco.

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Green Overdrive: Cruisin’ In An Electric VW!

Katie Fehrenbacher — Thu, 17 Feb 2011 08:00:52 +0000

Entrepreneur Al Bullock electrified his classic VW and has been driving it around the streets of Livermore, California for the past three years. For $18,000 Bullock created a stylin’ EV that costs less than a Nissan LEAF and has the same battery range. Nice! Check out our video interview and test drive with Bullock and his electric VW.

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Green Overdrive Video: Gettin’ Greasy With Got Grease!

Katie Fehrenbacher — Thu, 10 Feb 2011 08:00:39 +0000

This week’s Green Overdrive is the greasiest yet! Got Grease is a San Francisco company that picks up cooking grease from restaurants and hotels, recycles and cleans it at its factory and sells it to local biodiesel producers. As founder David Levenson has it advertised on his new biodiesel-burning car, the path is: “From your fryer to your fuel tank.” For this week’s episode the Got Grease crew takes us on a tour of its plant and a local grease run and we learn the messy ins and outs of cooking grease recycling.

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