Monday, August 31, 2009

REPORT: Toyota braces for rare earth metal shortage

0 comments

Filed under: EV/Plug-in, Hybrid, Toyota, Green Daily



2010 Toyota Prius - Click above for high-res image gallery



As we once again learned last week with the news that China was considering an effort to limit the amount of rare earth metals that are exported outside its own borders, there's a finite supply of available resources on our planet. Could there be a fight looming in the not-so-distant future for these precious rare earth metals? Maybe. And, if that's the case, Toyota may have reason to be concerned.



According to Jack Lifton, a commodities analyst and leading authority on rare metals (via Reuters), "The Prius automobile is the biggest user of rare earths of any object in the world." How much are we talking? Lifton says there's 1 kilogram (2.2 lb) of neodymium in the Prius hybrid's electric motor and 10 to 15 kg (22-33 lb) of lanthanum in the car's battery pack. Those figures would likely rise if the car were fitted with a larger battery pack and motor for higher fuel efficiency.



Not surprisingly, Toyota is said to be searching for additional suppliers of these materials outside China. An open-pit mine in Mountain Pass, California, is scheduled to begin operations within the next few years and there are reportedly potential sources in Canada and Vietnam.







[Source: Reuters]

REPORT: Toyota braces for rare earth metal shortage originally appeared on Autoblog Green on Mon, 31 Aug 2009 19:54:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
Read more...
0 comments

Read more...

REPORT: Toyota braces for rare earth metal shortage

0 comments

Filed under: EV/Plug-in, Hybrid, Toyota, Green Daily



2010 Toyota Prius - Click above for high-res image gallery



As we once again learned last week with the news that China was considering an effort to limit the amount of rare earth metals that are exported outside its own borders, there's a finite supply of available resources on our planet. Could there be a fight looming in the not-so-distant future for these precious rare earth metals? Maybe. And, if that's the case, Toyota may have reason to be concerned.



According to Jack Lifton, a commodities analyst and leading authority on rare metals (via Reuters), "The Prius automobile is the biggest user of rare earths of any object in the world." How much are we talking? Lifton says there's 1 kilogram (2.2 lb) of neodymium in the Prius hybrid's electric motor and 10 to 15 kg (22-33 lb) of lanthanum in the car's battery pack. Those figures would likely rise if the car were fitted with a larger battery pack and motor for higher fuel efficiency.



Not surprisingly, Toyota is said to be searching for additional suppliers of these materials outside China. An open-pit mine in Mountain Pass, California, is scheduled to begin operations within the next few years and there are reportedly potential sources in Canada and Vietnam.







[Source: Reuters]

REPORT: Toyota braces for rare earth metal shortage originally appeared on Autoblog Green on Mon, 31 Aug 2009 19:54:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
Read more...
0 comments

Read more...

REPORT: Toyota braces for rare earth metal shortage

0 comments

Filed under: EV/Plug-in, Hybrid, Toyota, Green Daily



2010 Toyota Prius - Click above for high-res image gallery



As we once again learned last week with the news that China was considering an effort to limit the amount of rare earth metals that are exported outside its own borders, there's a finite supply of available resources on our planet. Could there be a fight looming in the not-so-distant future for these precious rare earth metals? Maybe. And, if that's the case, Toyota may have reason to be concerned.



According to Jack Lifton, a commodities analyst and leading authority on rare metals (via Reuters), "The Prius automobile is the biggest user of rare earths of any object in the world." How much are we talking? Lifton says there's 1 kilogram (2.2 lb) of neodymium in the Prius hybrid's electric motor and 10 to 15 kg (22-33 lb) of lanthanum in the car's battery pack. Those figures would likely rise if the car were fitted with a larger battery pack and motor for higher fuel efficiency.



Not surprisingly, Toyota is said to be searching for additional suppliers of these materials outside China. An open-pit mine in Mountain Pass, California, is scheduled to begin operations within the next few years and there are reportedly potential sources in Canada and Vietnam.







[Source: Reuters]

REPORT: Toyota braces for rare earth metal shortage originally appeared on Autoblog Green on Mon, 31 Aug 2009 19:54:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
Read more...

Frankfurt Preview: Fiat Punto Evo

0 comments

Filed under: Fiat, Frankfurt Motor Show


Fiat Punto Evo - Click above for high-res image gallery




The already-efficient Fiat Punto will get a stylistic and efficiency upgrade at the Frankfurt Motor Show next month. On the outside, the Punto Evo is a bit longer than the Grande Punto, which it replaces, and has different bumpers and lights. Inside, the Punto Evo now represents "the most evolved expression of Italian style," if we believe Fiat PR.



The environmental enhancements, including new engines and lowered emissions, are easier to quantify. The Punto Evo will get the company's line of MultiAir engines that, when compared to conventional gas engines of the same size, produce up to 10 percent more power while reducing CO2 emissions by up to 10 percent and consuming up to 10 percent less fuel. Particulate and NOx emissions are also greatly reduced. Because it is standard on all of Fiat's Euro5 gas and diesel poweplants, Start&Stop will also be available on the new Punto Evo. LPG- and methane-fueled engines will also be offered. The Punto Evo will also feature the Blue&Me infotainment system (as a brand new "Blue&Me-TomTom" version) which means the eco:Drive driver education efficiency system will be included. More details in the two press releases after the jump and fresh images are available in the gallery below.





[Source: Fiat]

Continue reading Frankfurt Preview: Fiat Punto Evo

Frankfurt Preview: Fiat Punto Evo originally appeared on Autoblog Green on Mon, 31 Aug 2009 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments
Read more...

El(ectric) Camino takes to the road in Wisconsin

0 comments

Filed under: EV/Plug-in, Green Culture, Solar, Chevrolet




For the last month, Tom Leitschuh has been cruising around Racine, Wisconsin in a 1981 Chevrolet El Camino without a single worry about his emissions or the price of gas. The reason is that his El Camino has been converted to all electric power and he generates electricity using wind and solar panels at home. This means he doesn't care what the utility rates are, either. Sounds good, doesn't it?



Leitschuh bought the car on eBay and spent a total of $30,000 on the project. A local electric parts company, Quick Cable, donated some pieces as well. The El-ectric Camino uses 46 lithium ferrite batteries, which Leitschuh says are "the safest batteries in the world, and they'll work down to zero degrees." These electron carriers give him a 200-mile range (if he drives carefully) and go about 100 miles on an average driving cycle. All sorts of details on the conversion itself - including a failed motor, how to pack in the four dozen (almost) batteries and Leitschuh's simple economic reasons for swapping gas for electronc - are available here.



[Source: Journal Times, Quick Cable]

El(ectric) Camino takes to the road in Wisconsin originally appeared on Autoblog Green on Mon, 31 Aug 2009 18:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
Read more...

Corvette and Acura win first Canadian Green Challenge race

0 comments

Filed under: Ethanol, MPG, Acura, Chevrolet, Racing



Corvette C6.R GT2 - click above for high-res image gallery



This past weekend, the American Le Mans Series headed north of the border for its annual outing at Mosport northeast of Toronto. This is the first Canadian race since the Michelin Green X Challenge debuted last year at the Petit Le Mans. As has been the case several times before this season, the prototype and GT classes were won by Acura and Corvette. This time around, the same Highcroft racing Acura ARX-02a that took overall victory on the track also won the efficiency challenge.



The cellulosic E85-fueled Corvette C6.R had the best combination well-to-wheel emissions and the best tank-to-wheel efficiency of any of the GT cars. This time it wasn't the race-winning Johnny O'Connell / Jan Magnussen car that won, but the third place #4 car of Oliver Gavin and Olivier Beretta . Next up is the 2009 edition of the Petit Le Mans in three weeks.





Photos Copyright (C)2009 Sam Abuelsamid / Weblogs, Inc.



[Source: American Le Mans Series]

Corvette and Acura win first Canadian Green Challenge race originally appeared on Autoblog Green on Mon, 31 Aug 2009 17:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments
Read more...

Tesla hires ex-Audi exec, YouTube director for sales and communications jobs

0 comments

Filed under: EV/Plug-in, Tesla Motors





Tesla Motors has filled two of about 150 job openings as it moves to sell more cars and get the Model S on the road. The company announced today that John Walker, formerly the
general manager of sales operations at Audi, will be Tesla's new VP of North American sales. No stranger to the auto industry, Walker has previously worked at GM and BMW and will be present at the Tesla store openings happening this fall.



Secondly,
Ricardo Reyes, the director of communications at YouTube, will move to the Tesla Team in the middle of next month to be VP of communication. Ricardo's ties to the auto industry don't run as deep as Walker's, but he did advise automotive suppliers while he worked for the Bracewell and Giuliani LLC law firm. His first assignment for Tesla will be to travel to the Frankfurt Motor Show.



Tesla's Rachel Konrad said that the electric car company will be making more announcements of
"high-profile hires" in the coming weeks, adding that, "Tesla has more than 150 job openings -- mostly in engineering -- and is aggressively recruiting top talent from the automotive industry and Silicon Valley." Details on both hires are available after the jump.






[Source: Tesla]

Photos by Lennon.

Continue reading Tesla hires ex-Audi exec, YouTube director for sales and communications jobs

Tesla hires ex-Audi exec, YouTube director for sales and communications jobs originally appeared on Autoblog Green on Mon, 31 Aug 2009 15:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments
Read more...

Oil age celebrates 150th birthday, death urged

0 comments

Filed under: Etc.





It has now been 150 years since Edwin Drake first successfully struck oil in Titusville, Pennsylvania and, while it certainly wasn't the first well created (the earliest known dates back to 347 AD in China), that discovery is marked by many as the beginning of the oil age. As that original production of 25 barrels a day has grown to 85 million worldwide, the end of the oil age is being urged in a piece published in Houston Chronicle, the paper of record for the city referred to by some as the energy/oil capitol of the world. Written by Gal Luft, the executive director of the Institute for the Analysis of Global Security (IAGS), it looks back over the history of the black stuff and notes its ties with major conflicts in the past as well as its uncertain future supply and price volatility and argues that more domestic drilling and increases in fuel economy can not offer relief of energy uncertainty except for in the very near term. It's interesting to note that the environment doesn't even come up in the piece.



To reach the desired end of the oil age, the author notes the need to stop making the vehicles which burn black gold and replace them with those that rely on different technology, offering up two of the usual suspects - biofuels and electricity - as the most possible candidates. Of course, we can only concur but, barring a significant scientific breakthrough, fear that the oil will continue to flow much longer than we would wish and are saddened that the political and popular will to make it stop will likely only arise from the tragedy of oil-funded or motivated attacks, economy-crumbling price shocks and/or environmental catastrophes.



[Source: Houston Chronicle]

Original photo by Zamoose. Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.5.

Oil age celebrates 150th birthday, death urged originally appeared on Autoblog Green on Mon, 31 Aug 2009 14:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
Read more...

Manhattan developers get ready for the age of the electric vehicle

0 comments

Filed under: EV/Plug-in





Many proponents of electric vehicles espouse the benefits of using them in urban areas. The problem is that in many of those cities - like New York or Chicago - people often live in apartments or row-houses and parking is at a premium. A private garage with a plug is a true luxury. Some property developers in Manhattan are now trying to address this problem by installing charging points in the garage facilities of new apartment buildings.



One company, Glenwood Management, is installing chargers made by Coulomb Technologies in the garage of its newest building. Only four chargers are being installed, but, given the number of EVs available right now, that should be sufficient. Glenwood will monitor the usage of the first chargers before moving ahead with adding more at this building as well as the 38 other buildings it owns.



Coulomb's charging stations are designed to work with a subscription service that allows EV owners to subscribe and get billed according to usage. Currently, the chargers are running at 110V with standard three prong plugs. As the new standard J1772 connector becomes available in the next few months, Coulomb will retrofit the existing chargers with new cables and 220V charging capability.



[Source: New York Times]


Manhattan developers get ready for the age of the electric vehicle originally appeared on Autoblog Green on Mon, 31 Aug 2009 13:55:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
Read more...
0 comments

Read more...

Manhattan developers get ready for the age of the electric vehicle

0 comments

Filed under: EV/Plug-in





Many proponents of electric vehicles espouse the benefits of using them in urban areas. The problem is that in many of those cities - like New York or Chicago - people often live in apartments or row-houses and parking is at a premium. A private garage with a plug is a true luxury. Some property developers in Manhattan are now trying to address this problem by installing charging points in the garage facilities of new apartment buildings.



One company, Glenwood Management, is installing chargers made by Coulomb Technologies in the garage of its newest building. Only four chargers are being installed, but, given the number of EVs available right now, that should be sufficient. Glenwood will monitor the usage of the first chargers before moving ahead with adding more at this building as well as the 38 other buildings it owns.



Coulomb's charging stations are designed to work with a subscription service that allows EV owners to subscribe and get billed according to usage. Currently, the chargers are running at 110V with standard three prong plugs. As the new standard J1772 connector becomes available in the next few months, Coulomb will retrofit the existing chargers with new cables and 220V charging capability.



[Source: New York Times]


Manhattan developers get ready for the age of the electric vehicle originally appeared on Autoblog Green on Mon, 31 Aug 2009 13:55:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
Read more...

GM's Britta Gross promotes both sides of the hydrogen, EV fence

0 comments

2011 Chevy Volt - Click above for high-res gallery



We've heard Britta Gross, GM's manager of Hydrogen and Electrical Infrastructure Development, speak on various occasions about the Volt and other advanced technology projects, so we're familiar with some of what she has to say. We wanted to point out two items from her recent interview with the
Orlando Sentinel, though, since they pretty much define GM's green messaging today.



First, on the Volt as a "halo car" to change people's perception of GM (something the company is going to need if it keeps doing stuff like this), Gross said:


No program alone can change a company, but what [the Volt] does is draw your eyes to a company that is really, really working hard to capture leadership again. It will make people take a fresh look at General Motors and make them realize that this is a great car company, that can do an awful lot of great things. That kind of symbol, representing a major change in a company, is a really big deal.

Second, on GM's continuation of hydrogen vehicle research, she said:


We have a very aggressive development program for the fuel cell. [...] The only way we can reach a lot of the targets we have set as a society - for, as an example, greenhouse gas emissions - is to have a very broad approach to bringing in alternative fuel programs. And hydrogen gets you certain performance benefits that you don't get from other alternative fuels. The advantages are too big to discard. We can't just assume batteries are going to solve all our problems.

There you have it: GM green efforts in a nutshell.





[Source: Orlando Sentinel]


GM's Britta Gross promotes both sides of the hydrogen, EV fence originally appeared on Autoblog Green on Mon, 31 Aug 2009 13:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
Read more...

Gordon Murray's T25 will get turbocharged 660cc engine; could come from Apple, Virgin or Sony

0 comments

Filed under: EV/Plug-in, Hybrid, Lightweight





It's been a few months since we last heard from Gordon Murray, designer of the legendary McLaren F1 supercar and upcoming (hopefully) T25 city car. Back in February, Murray mentioned that his firm had received interest from over a dozen international companies that could license the car's design and iStream production method to set up franchises selling the innovative machine. Speaking to Car Magazine in the UK, Murray expounds:

We've had 20 inquiries from 15 different countries; only seven are existing car producers. We've had governments saying "we need a car for our cities." But equally you could start seeing cars coming from brand owners like Apple or Virgin or Sony.

Murray further explains that the T25 will be equipped with a 660cc engine sourced from Mitsubishi in both turbocharged and naturally aspirated forms. Future iterations of the platform are planned with hybrid and electric powertrains.



Interestingly, Murray suggests that much of the philosophy behind the T25 was taken from the motorcycle world, including driver involvement and low environmental impact. All told, Murray estimates that the T25 will use 40 percent less energy than a conventional car over its entire lifecycle.





[Source: Car Magazine]

Gordon Murray's T25 will get turbocharged 660cc engine; could come from Apple, Virgin or Sony originally appeared on Autoblog Green on Mon, 31 Aug 2009 11:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
Read more...

Rumormill: BMW in talks to use iQ platform for future models, Toyota to get Mini in return?!

0 comments

Filed under: BMW, Toyota



2009 Toyota iQ - Click above for high-res image gallery



Aston Martin may not be the only premium European automaker interested in Toyota's innovative iQ microcar. According to Inside Line and Autocar in the UK, BMW and Toyota are in talks to collaborate on future small cars based on the Mini and iQ platforms. BMW may possibly use the interior and diminutive platform from the Japanese automaker's next-gen iQ for its long-rumored Isetta revival, possibly with an electric powertrain.



In return, Toyota would gain access to the German automaker's Mini division - specifically the Coupe and Roadster that were recently shown in concept form ahead of their expected debuts at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September - though its not currently clear what Toyota would do with them. Neither company has confirmed these reports, so we're currently taking this rumor with an appropriately large grain of salt.







[Sources: Inside Line, Autocar]

Rumormill: BMW in talks to use iQ platform for future models, Toyota to get Mini in return?! originally appeared on Autoblog Green on Mon, 31 Aug 2009 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
Read more...

Seattle electric vehicle advocates ready for new charging infrastructure, federal investment

0 comments

Filed under: EV/Plug-in, Legislation and Policy, Green Daily


2010 Nissan Leaf EV - Click above for hi-res image gallery



When Nissan announced the cities where the first 5,000 Nissan Leafs would be sold - Tennessee, Oregon, San Diego, Seattle and the Phoenix/Tucson region in Arizona - it picked those areas for their likely high rates of electric vehicle adoption. The local Seattle news site Seattle PI (the remnants of the once-printed Post-Intelligencer) took a look at the lay of the land to see if the city is ready for a thousand new EVs. One bit that caught our eye was a mention of the 230 members of the local Electric Vehicle Association chapter - the nation's largest. Getting to be first with the Leaf can only help grow that number. Seattle's EVA chapter president, Steve Lough, told the PI that, "There's a perfect storm this time around," for widespread adoption of EVs.



The Seattle charging infrastructure will come from Nissan's partner eTec with help from the federal government's $2.4 billion investment in EVs and related items. About $20 million will be used to install 2,550 chargers in Seattle between next summer and the summer of 2011. Each Leaf buyer will get a charger, and the other 1,550 might be put in "parking garages and places where people shop for one or two hours." Questions on where, exactly, the chargers will be built and other details will be decided in the near future.



[Source: Seattle PI]


Seattle electric vehicle advocates ready for new charging infrastructure, federal investment originally appeared on Autoblog Green on Mon, 31 Aug 2009 10:08:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
Read more...
 

Auto Blog Trends | Copyright © 2009 | Original Design By Deluxe Themes | Converted To Blogger By Technolizard