The federal tax credit for plug-in hybrid and all-electric vehicles in the U.S. — $7,500 — is just enough to let Tesla Motors tout a sub-$50,000 base price for its planned Model S electric sedan. But is the credit, and other incentives now coming into play […] Read more »
Electric and hybrid car enthusiasts who were just beginning to warm up to General Motors for its recent work on the plug-in hybrid Chevy Volt, and who years after the film “Who Killed the Electric Car?” skewered the automaker for pulling the plug on its electric […] Read more »
The Obama administration is certain about a couple things in its plan for a new national fuel economy and tailpipe emission standard: It’s meant to start taking effect in 2012, and have automakers achieving a fleet average of 35.5 MPG by 2016, four years earlier than […] Read more »
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Updated with comments from GE: This month General Electric is powering through proposals for cleaner technologies for heavy-haul locomotives like, well, a freight train. This morning the company is unveiling a new locomotive model that it says will produce fewer emissions and offer better fuel efficiency […] Read more »
For plug-in car and battery makers, there’s a lesson in the Obama administration’s recent decision to pull funding for research of hydrogen fuel cells for vehicles: Don’t rely too heavily on the dole for too long. Hydrogen fuel cell vehicles, you may recall, formed a cornerstone […] Read more »
Uncle Sam, Hybrid Car Salesman: Soon the Obama administration and whoever is running GM and Chrysler will have to confront the challenge of how to sell the cars they want America to buy, given that demand for hybrid sales has plummeted. — Wall Street Journal Gaga […] Read more »
EPA Ethanol Rule on the Way: The U.S. EPA is slated to release a draft of the updated Renewable Fuels Standard this week that will set the course for how emissions from biofuels production and use are measured — and test the Obama administration’s approach to […] Read more »
If you’re planning to roll out a hybrid or electric fleet vehicle technology in China, it’s nice to have the government on board. That’s what powertrain developer Adura Systems (not to be confused with lighting management company Adura Technologies) has found. Two-year-old Adura — a self-described […] Read more »
In his first day at the helm of General Motors, Fritz Henderson wants to deliver one message: We’ll get the job done. Henderson repeated that pledge, in various ways, at a press conference this morning, saying that the automaker aims to quickly reinvent itself as a […] Read more »
Sunset for Solar?: Solar companies and investors who planned for silicon that was scarce and high-priced must adjust their business models for a glut that looms larger than most anyone expected. First Solar and other low-cost panel makers now face growing pressure on margins. — Barrons […] Read more »
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Asia is the region to beat when it comes to cutting-edge battery technology. But there are groups in both Europe and North America that are forming with an eye to stealing some of that Asian dominance in what could someday be a booming market for electric […] Read more »
These days, “going green” is all the rage. So it should be no surprise to anyone that “green” apps for the iPhone are, ahem, sprouting up all over. I wonder though, with green-ness being such a trendy topic, are some developers just using the term as […] Read more »
Toshiba Delays Fuel Cell Launch: Toshiba said today it will not begin selling its first fuel cell product — a battery charger that produces electricity from a reaction between methanol, water and air — before the end of this month, as planned. The launch is now […] Read more »
Less than six months after Michigan lost one high-profile R&D center for alternative-fuel vehicles (that of Tesla Motors, shuttered last fall), the state has wooed another: Daimler AG’s Mercedes-Benz Hybrid subsidiary plans to build a $9.9 million R&D facility in southeast Michigan for propulsion systems that […] Read more »
Every day, millions of car owners drive home, fire up their video game of choice, and devote more time and energy trying to win gold coins, magic swords, and other virtual rewards than they do behind the wheel. So what if their cars also came with […] Read more »
A recently released application for the iPhone exploits an interesting new market — tracking conversations and following up calls. FollowUp aims to provide a location for noting down the action you need to take after receiving or making a call, along with a due date. Functionality […] Read more »
Automakers around the world may be feeling the pain of the global credit crunch, but some big car companies and their suppliers are expressing confidence in the future of hybrid and electric vehicles. French auto parts maker Valeo said today it’s teaming up with fellow French […] Read more »
The current downturn is likely to be a tipping point for e-commerce, as thrifty buyers search for bargains on the web. We saw early signs of this trend recently when Amazon reported great sales performance for the holiday season — quite the opposite of its brick-and-mortar […] Read more »
Financial Wizards Wanted: Tax equity investors, the financial specialists that convert tax credits into capital that developers can use to build new wind turbines and solar farms, have all but disappeared — just when they’re needed most. — BusinessWeek Mass Transit Squeeze: More Americans than ever […] Read more »
It’s not just cars that are getting a cleantech makeover in Michigan; buses are getting a shot at cleaning up, too. Troy, Mich.-based Fisher Coachworks has raised $3.2 million for its new lightweight plug-in hybrid buses, according to a regulatory filing found by peHub. Hybrid buses […] Read more »
Sony Ericsson recently reported huge losses for the second straight quarter, for which it blamed the struggling economy. The results included a $240 million quarter loss and a 21 percent drop in phone shipments, garnering a vote of low confidence among analysts. And as Dick Komiyama, […] Read more »
When Toyota Prius sales sank more than 40 percent last May compared with the same month a year earlier, the automaker blamed it on a global battery shortage. But while the 7 percent drop in fiscal 2009 sales Toyota forecast this week has less to do […] Read more »
Biting Mad About Bus Emissions: A woman in New York City bit a driver’s arm (through three layers of clothing) because she was upset his bus was not a hybrid. Ouch and yikes. — New York Daily News Cleaning Up Cement Production: Mexico-based cement maker CEMEX […] Read more »
Smart-charging startup Coulomb Technologies, announced today that it has raised $3.8 million in its first round of venture capital funding. The round, led by Berlin’s Estag Capital, could be the cash the company needs to make a move into overseas markets. Richard Lowenthal, founder and CEO […] Read more »
Quizzing the Car Czar: With the U.S. auto industry hanging in the balance, an expected federal “car czar” faces ten fundamental questions, from whether the SUV is dead (or close to retirement) to how close we really are to having mass-market electric cars. — Wall Street […] Read more »
Dong Energy of Denmark unveiled a deal this week to invest in Dutch battery management system developer Lithium Balance. The company didn’t reveal how much it was investing, or how big of a stake it’s getting in Lithium Balance, only that it joined a group of […] Read more »
It was a big day for transportation in the UK today, but is the region’s transportation getting greener? Buried in a long list of initiatives announced by the UK’s Department for Transport today was £250 million ($364.4 million) in funding to get more low-carbon vehicles on […] Read more »
Why Little Guys Threaten the Big Three: Technology levels the playing field for a latecomer to the auto industry, China’s BYD, to compete with established manufacturers in the race to market an electric car. — Wall Street Journal Audi’s Diesel Bet: While other automakers have gone […] Read more »
Hybrid Hacking 101: A delay with the battery pack has made Toyota pull its plug-in Prius from the Detroit Auto Show. Hybrid hackers needn’t wait for battery perfection. — The Economist X Prize Baits Big 3 to Create 100 MPG Cars: Organizers of the Progressive Automotive […] Read more »
The North American International Auto Show will go light on the glitz and gas guzzlers this year, as exhibitors (two of them fresh from a bailout) seek to demonstrate efficiency, innovation and frugality. Even SUVs — most notably the 30-mpg-highway 2010 Chevy Equinox — are sporting […] Read more »
Car buyers in California could be getting a different kind of sticker shock in the new year. Starting Jan. 1, every 2009 model year and newer car sold in California will be required to carry a label that ranks, in addition to the existing requisite smog […] Read more »
Why wait for a plug-in hybrid when you can roll your own? Soon there will be even more places to get your Prius converted into a plug-in hybrid, now that Hong Kong-based GP Batteries International has taken an undisclosed stake in Poway, Calif.’s Plug-In Conversions. GP’s […] Read more »
In 2008, worldwide interest in hybrid cars began to spike at the beginning of the summer, just as gas prices began to skyrocket. At least that’s when Google’s year-end Zeitgeist, released (and covered on GigaOM) today, shows a jump in searches for the term. Surely that’s […] Read more »
UPDATED In the interest of avoiding another Jetgate, Detroit’s Big Three auto executives are leaving their leased corporate aircraft on the ground this week. All three will drive to Washington, D.C. to present “viability plans” as part of their second bailout plea. Ford CEO Alan Mulally […] Read more »
The Chinese market is set to get more home-grown alternative energy vehicles, with SAIC Motor joining the list of companies that plan to work on hybrid and electric cars in the country. According to Reuters, the automaker will form a joint venture with its state-owned parent, […] Read more »
Who says corporate blogs can’t be informative? Sometimes what is deemed worthy of a blog post can speak volumes about the companies publishing them. Let’s look at two companies and their posts. Both employ a lot of U.S. autoworkers. One of them is seeking a massive […] Read more »
As an avid Apple fan, I use a MacBook as my primary machine along with a Cinema Display to provide some extra screen estate. When choosing to buy the display, I never really considered the possibility that I would need to plug any device into it […] Read more »
Chetan Sharma of Chetan Sharma Consulting: Let’s talk about the user experience. What does it mean to you in a product that gives you that zen moment for user experience? John SanGiovanni, Zumobi: We look at the user experience as built on the cognitive theories of […] Read more »
Dopplr, a travel-focused social network based in Helsinki, has raised an undisclosed amount of money from an investor group led by well-known technology industry insider, Esther Dyson. It was an all-angel round of funding, something we’ve discussed on our FoundRead channel. Apart from Dyson, other investors in […] Read more »
Fisker Automotive is moving full-steam ahead to get its $80,000 plug-in hybrid Karma on the road by the end of 2009 and today announced it will be using $65 million in Series C funding to do so. The company says the round closed on Sept. 4 […] Read more »
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