DailyDirt: Bespoke Cars

from the urls-we-dig-up dept

It seems like custom-built cars are getting more attention, lately. Some car enthusiasts are trying to preserve cool-looking cars that could be considered iconic. Other car builders are trying to retrofit old cars with "green" technologies. Here are a few examples. (And maybe someday Xzibit can pimp-my-ride with a biodiesel hybrid powertrain...)

• Converting a classic VW bug into an all-electric vehicle sounds a bit pricey at $25,000. But the battery pack could outlast the vehicle and also serve as a backup power supply for your house? [url]
• What do you get when you combine the front end of a 1957 Chevrolet, the mid-section of a 1958 Impala, and the bold tail fins of a 1959 Chevy? A pretty funky-looking car, apparently. [url]
• Local Motors has built the first crowd-sourced military vehicle, the XC2V, in just a few weeks. DARPA sponsored this "proof of principle project" to demonstrate how quickly a new military vehicle could be prototyped. [url]
• If you want to re-paint your car on a really tight budget, you could actually do it for about $50. Rustoleum, FTW! [url]
• To discover more interesting car-related content, check out what's driving around StumbleUpon. [url]  

By the way, StumbleUpon can recommend some good Techdirt articles, too.

Filed Under: $50 paint job, cars, electric vehicles, xc2v
Companies: darpa, local motors, n2a

DailyDirt: High Performance Vehicles Without Internal Combustion Engines

from the urls-we-dig-up dept

Racing cars is supposed to lead to technologies that eventually end up in consumer vehicles. So if that's the case, there should be a lot more electric car races on the way, right? Well, there are... But the performance of electric cars isn't always awe-inspiring (except for straight-line drag racing, perhaps).

• The European Union is talking about starting a Formula One racing event for electric vehicles. It could begin in 2013 if everything runs smoothly. [url]
• Peugeot set a production electric car record at the Nürburgring track -- finishing a lap in about 9 minutes. Too bad that translates to a somewhat unimpressive average speed of 86 mph, though... [url]
• All-electric cars usually suffer from limited range (compared to hydrocarbon-burning vehicles), but putting motors in the wheels eliminates drivetrains and other components -- which could produce electric cars with more practical recharging requirements. The Japanese SIM-LEI vehicle uses the same batteries from Toyota and gets a 200 mile range, which might help to end "range anxiety" for EV drivers. [url]
• The National Electric Drag Racing Association (NEDRA) promotes all kinds of electric vehicle performance competitions. Instant torque is a nice feature for electric motors, apparently. [url]
• To discover more interesting car-related content, check out what's driving around StumbleUpon. [url]  

By the way, StumbleUpon can recommend some good Techdirt articles, too.

Filed Under: electric vehicles, f1, racing, range anxiety
Companies: nedra, peugeot, toyota

Utah Legislators Want Extra Tax For Owners Of Hybrid & Electric Vehicles

from the incentive-structure dept

Pickle Monger points us to the news that some Utah legislators are hoping pass new laws to add an extra fee for owners of hybrid and electric vehicles. The complaint is that those people don't spend as much (if anything) on gas, and thus don't pay gas taxes. Of course, they're also not polluting the air quite as much, which was part of the point. The article notes that other states are considering similar taxes and fees on those who buy such cars. It's as if politicians don't recognize how incentives work...

Filed Under: electric vehicles, hybrid cars, tax, utah

How GM Plans To Dominate The Electric Vehicle Market... In The 1980s

from the flashback dept

There's an awful lot of talk these days about efforts by both startups and big automakers to bring electric vehicles to the market, with the widespread expectation that they'll be commonly available in the near future. In fact, GM is apparently rushing the production of its Chevy Volt to get it to market faster than expected. That may actually be the case, but Chris Maresca writes in to point out that this all sounds mighty familiar. He was flipping through a 1980 copy of Car and Driver magazine and found the following:

The media are making all kinds of noise lately to the effect that electric cars are coming, that they’re going to help us kick our imported-oil habit, and that you’ll be able to drive them for pennies a day.

A company that can develop a non-petroleum-fueled car palatable to the masses stands to make a pretty good buck. That’s why GM will shell out some undisclosed number of billions on electric vehicle development during the next five or so years.

It’s a tall order, but GM is already well on the way to pulling it off. Whether the buyers will be there, however, is a question GM is still struggling to answer.

A study commissioned by Gulf & Western predicts that we’ll have something like 34 million EVs - about one quarter of the national fleet - on the road by the year 2000. GM ... has publicly committed itself to mass-producing electric cars by the mid-to-late 1980s – probably 100,000 per year or more.

It's good to remember that these sorts of plans don't always work out as announced.

Filed Under: 1980s, electric vehicles, predictions
Companies: gm