General Motors Co. has decided to produce the Cadillac Converj, an extended-range electric car using the same technology as the Chevrolet Volt, The Detroit News has learned.

Cadillac included the Converj, a concept car that wowed industry critics and the public at the 2009 North American International Auto Show, in a presentation made to the automaker's board of directors Nov. 2, according to sources familiar with the production plan.

A production date has not been set, and it likely will be a few years before consumers can buy a Converj. A Cadillac spokesman declined comment.

Before GM emerged from bankruptcy July 10 with about $50 billion in federal aid, company executives said there were no plans to build the angular Converj.

At the auto show, Vice Chairman Bob Lutz said if the Converj was approved, the production model would resemble the concept, likening it to the Chevrolet Camaro's evolution from concept to production.

Source: Detroit News

Bob Lutz, vice chairman in charge of marketing, says 50,000 people have registered at Web sites and indicate a strong intention to buy the vehicle, which is scheduled to arrive in November 2010.

But many may be scared off by sticker shock. Sources familiar with GM's plans have said the price will be about $40,000.

A federal tax credit of up to $7,500 will take some sting out of the price.

GM will build about 10,000 Volts next year. In 2011, the company expects to build 50,000 to 60,000 Volts. GM plans to ratchet up Volt marketing at the Los Angeles auto show in December.

Once GM has about 200 preproduction Volts in stock next year, it will "pull out the heavy artillery and get Volt buzz" going with media and customer events, Lutz says.

Source: AutoNews

Speaking for the first time publicly at the 2009 Frankfurt Motor Show, Porsche’s new CEO, Michael Macht, said that the Stuttgart automaker is “considering and working hard on an electric-powered sports car that would meet the high demands of the Porsche brand.”

“I am also convinced that one day Porsche will have an electric sports car in its line-up,” said Macht. He cautioned that so far the available battery technology is not “sufficient to meet Porsche’s strict requirements.”

Macht said that Porsche engineers are working hard on improving battery technology and that “an electric sports car would therefore only make sense for Porsche if it offers performance and a cruising range similar to that of current sports cars in the market.”

“We are therefore taking the first step in this direction with a full hybrid – in the Cayenne, the Panamera and maybe in the not too distant future also in a racing car or a production 911. Why not?,” he said.

Source: eGMCarTech

A recent survey making its way around to those interested in purchasing the 2011 Chevrolet Volt next year has revealed some pricing details on the new plug-in hybrid.

In the short 15-minute survey GM said: “Depending on content, the vehicle will effectively cost between $32,000 -$38,000 after a tax credit of $7,500.”

The survey also showed that an optional 220V charger will be sold between $800 and $1500. GM says that the cost of operating a Volt will be 2 cents per mile.

The 2011 Chevrolet Volt will carry a 16kWh electric-motor that runs on lithium-ion batteries. It will be able to travel 40 miles on battery-power alone. After battery power is depleted a small 1.4L 4-cylinder engine will kick in to provide a driving range of more than 300 miles.

Source: eGMCarTech

Kleiner Perkins investor, and former President of Oracle, Ray Lane, said that electric vehicle maker startup Fisker is gearing up to make a major announcement about a $39,000 plug-in hybrid vehicle later this week or next week. The venture capitalist, whose firm funded Fisker, let the news slip at the AlwaysOn Going Green conference in Sausalito, Calif. on Tuesday. Fisker has already developed its inaugural plug-in car the Karma, which will be sold for $87,900, but as Lane put it on the panel “who would not want to buy a Fisker Karma if you could afford it.”

Does that mean that Fisker has received a Department of Energy loan? In March, Henrik Fisker, founder and CEO of the Irvine, Calif.-based company, said that Fisker plans to refurbish a factory in the U.S. and develop a lower-cost plug-in hybrid car than its $87,900 Fisker Karma if DOE loans come through. Back then Fisker did not specify how much money the company requested, but said “If we get the DOE loan we will start the project this year. . . It could be in the market in as little as 26 months from when we start.”

Fisker Automotive has raised some $100 million since its founding in 2007, but, like Tesla, needs much more to build an auto factory and produce a cheaper plug-in at scale. Competitor Tesla received a DOE $465 million loan in June.

Source: earth2tech

Fisker says that its 403-horsepower Karma high-performance luxury hybrid will average an impressive 67 mpg in the combined cycle and it will emit just 83 g/km of CO2. The automaker says that the extra-green sedan will cost about $0.03 per mile to operate.

Fisker had a production-ready version of its Karma high-performance hybrid-electric sedan on display at the 2009 North American International Auto Show in Detroit. Though not quite a series production model, the Karma on display was significantly closer to production than the concept car shown previously. Ultra-luxurious inside and out, the Karma is aimed at well-heeled enthusiasts looking to use a little less fuel.

The Karma’s styling is modestly tweaked from the concept car and the interior is considerably better finished. Every surface is covered in hides with a rubbery finish – good for cornering, bad for entry/exit. Fisker showed the Karma with two sets of golf clubs in the trunk, further illustrating its no-compromises intent.

Production is expected to begin in mid- to late-2009. The company says it is sold out of the $87,900 (base price) through mid-2010.

Source: LeftLaneNews

Usually, I don't condone these green hippies. But, they are in bikinis. One of my weaknesses.

Source: Angry Green Girl

It's been seven months since Tesla first announced its intentions to build the Roadster Sport, a higher performing version of its standard electric sportscar, and the Silicon Valley-based automaker has finally offered up some real high-res images of the EV along with a bevy of details on what makes the Sport extra special.

First and foremost, the Sport's hand-wound electric motor adds a bit more oomph to the already quick Roadster, taking off two-tenths of a second in the rush to 60 mph (it now checks in at just 3.7 seconds). Also included are bare carbon fiber hood louvers and rear spoiler, a push-button transmission selector to replace the aluminum shift knob and a central touch screen that displays estimated range along with the total number of oil barrels saved over a fossil-fueled automobile.

Source: AutoBlog

The BMW X6 ActiveHybrid has arrived, the new gas-electric X6 will be the most powerful hybrid in history, with 480 peak horsepower and diesel-like plateau of 575 lb-ft of torque.

That impressive powertrain consists of twin electric motors (delivering 91 hp and 86 hp, respectively) and a twin-turbo 4.4-liter V8 engine. All those horses will be corralled through a seven-speed dual-mode transmission and BMW's xDrive all-wheel-drive system. The run to sixty will take just 5.4 seconds and the top speed will be limited to 130 miles per hour.

The EPA has yet to test the vehicle, but the German automaker is estimating its X6 Hybrid will return a 20-percent fuel mileage improvement average over the standard twin-turbo X6. That should mean about 18 miles per gallon combined in the States. The official public debut is scheduled for the Frankfurt Motor Show in September and the sale date is slated for four-quarter 2009.

Source: AutoBlog

Raging bulls, supermodels, ridiculous horsepower figures and outrageous styling - not your traditional recipe for hybrid success. But Lamborghini CEO Stephan Winkelmann is betting that his brand will be ripe for the transition to gasoline-electric power as early as 2015.

The news comes from a recent interview with the German-language Automobilewoche, during which Winkelmann said he could easily imagine a small electric motor joining the cacophony of 10- and 12-cylinder engines for which the brand is famous.

Rather than going totally green, however, such hybrids would be serve more as environmental mitigators - improving fuel efficiency in urban areas where emissions are worst, but getting out of the way when it's time to hit the track or back country.

Before you get all hot and bothered over the idea of having your supercar cake and eating it too, Winkelmann says Lamborghini isn't interested in following Audi or Mercedes-Benz's footsteps into the all-electric arena anytime soon. The hybrid stretch is enough, it seems.

Source: Car Connection

This much seems certain about the Cash for Clunkers program: Consumers are happy to take government rebates to buy new cars.

The fate of the $1 billion trade-in program was up in the air over concerns that it may have already burned through its funds less than a week after it was officially launched.

It was unclear whether car buyers would be able Friday to trade in clunkers.

Congressional sources said early Thursday evening that the program would be put on hold. But Obama administration officials said later that Clunkers had not been suspended and that they were studying the situation.

"Auto dealers and consumers should have confidence that all valid ... transactions that have taken place to date will be honored," a White House official said in a statement.

An official at the Department of Transportation, which manages Cash for Clunkers, said the administration would try to work with Congress to find more funds to keep it going.

Source: CNN Money

Nissan has developed a prototype iPhone application that would allow electric car owners to dial into their vehicles and check battery levels. The application, a working version of which was demonstrated by the company at its research facility in Yokosuka, Japan, links to the car's IT system to check the status of the Lithium Ion batteries that power the car.

Using it, owners will be able to monitor charging of their cars while away from the vehicles. The system could come in handy, for example, when cars are parked at public charging stations and owners want to fully charge the batteries before driving away.

In addition to the basic monitoring of battery level, more detailed information can be sent to the phone that includes the time required for a full charge and the approximate cost. The information also includes the current temperature inside the car and that ties into a second function of the application: remote control of the car's air conditioning system. That might sound like a random and perhaps strange function but it's all in the name of energy efficiency.

The system is still a prototype and part of Nissan's research towards the 2010 debut of a production electric car in Japan and North America. The car will be unveiled on Sunday.

Source: PC World

GM says that the 2011 Chevrolet Volt electric drive unit helps the Volt produce produces 150-hp and 273 lb-ft of torque allowing it to hit a top speed of 100 mph. Earlier today during a live chat with Jon Lauckner, GM’s Vice President of Global Program Management, and one of the Chevy Volt’s founding fathers, a question about the Volt’s performance specifications was asked.

“0-60 will be approx 8.5-9 seconds depending on how many people are in the car, luggage, etc. But, thanks to the characteristics of electric motors (max torque at 1 RPM), the launch feel of the Volt is equivalent to a 250 hp V6 engine…and even capable of squawking the tires, which I’ve done,” said Lauckner.

Asked whether it is possible to create an all-wheel-drive version of the Voltec drive train Lauckner said: “Definitely possible, but not planned at this time.”

Source: eGMCarTech

While owners of the current Tesla Roadster get the benefit of driving their bad ass electric vehicle today, people who are on the list for a 2010 model will get a few benefits that make 2009 owners jealous. Tesla Motors Club member DrComputer wrote about "a conversation with Ted at corporate" that revealed some improvements to the new cars. A tipster sent in a similar list of upgrades. The upgrades include:

* New power electronics module
* Better cooling for the power electronics
* Improved AC with variable speed fans
* Built in WiFi cards that connect the Roadster to the Internet (unless you turn the feature off) and gives Tesla the ability to interact with the car remotely. Also, this could open the door to mobile phone apps that talk to the car.
* Glove box locks when you lock the car (to leave it out with the top down)

Both sources mention the ability to switch vehicle performance modes – from Range to Standard or Performance (but not back to Range) – with the key instead of needing to change modes via the screen. There has been no official confirmation about these upgrades, but none of them would surprise us if they were true.

Source: AutoBlog

Best Buy Co., best known as a vendor of giant televisions, is veering in a new direction: selling green vehicles.

America's largest consumer-electronics retailer by sales has quietly begun offering electric-powered scooters, bicycles and Segway Inc. transporters in 19 locations in California, Oregon and Washington.

It is throttling up the venture this summer with the introduction of the Brammo Enertia, a futuristic electric motorcycle that can travel 45 miles at speeds of up to 50 miles per hour and plugs into a standard wall outlet. Best Buy wouldn't disclose when it will begin.

Source: Wall Street Journal