Hasta La Gadget!

There has been plenty of interest in all-electric vehicles, but comparatively little attention paid to the infrastructure required to charge them. (Charging them every night in the garage is one thing, but what about long trips or heavy errand days?) Now Romag, a specialty photovoltaic cell manufacturer, has unveiled the PowerPark, a parking station with built-in solar cells
that can charge an electric vehicle on the go.

The company installed the first unit at its UK-based headquarters, and plans to install an unspecified number of them around the UK as well, according to Wired. “Interest has been received from supermarket chains, schools, airports,
train stations, hospitals [and] commercial office buildings in the
U.K., Middle East and Far East,” Kevin Webster, the company’s technical
director, said in the article. “The U.S.
would be an excellent market for the canopy.”

Romag claims that each parking space could generate about kilowatt hours of electricity annually, according to the report. Interestingly, the spaces are each linked to the
electric grid so energy “can be generated for use in the associated
buildings when cars are not being charged,” Webster said in the article. “No
electricity is wasted.”

It’s been a while since the first hybrid taxi cabs hit major cities. Now San Francisco’s first 15 hybrid taxis, all Ford Escapes, have made it
to about the 300,000-mile mark, according to the LA Times. The milestone means that those first cabs are nearing retirement age; the city will soon take them off the road as a result.

“Their longevity
shows that hybrid technology is more durable than previously imagined;
they also have saved drivers about $9,000 a year, depending on gas
prices and number of shifts driven,” the report said.

About 15 percent of both San Francisco and New York’s fleet of cabs are currently hybrids. Hybrids are considered ideal for taxi cab use. Not only do they get better mileage than conventional gasoline cars, but they also have cleaner emissions, and do better still at idling and lower speeds–where city taxis spend most of their time. (Image credit: Wikimedia Commons)

Toyota and Honda have new hybrid cars hitting the market any day now, and they can’t come a moment too soon. The Department of Transportation has just announced the first of several planned increases for U.S. fuel economy standards, according to CNNMoney.com. New vehicles sold in the 2011 model year will now have to average 27.3 miles per gallon, an increase of 2 mpg over the current standard. That breaks down as follows: new cars must average 30.2 mpg, while pickups and SUVs need to hit a 24.1 mpg average target.

Congress passed new laws in 2007 that will require the nation’s fleet of new vehicles to average 35 miles per gallon by the year 2020. The rules for 2011 mark the first step toward that new target. “These standards are important steps in the nation’s quest to achieve
energy independence and bring more fuel efficient vehicles to American
families,” said transportation secretary Ray LaHood in a statement.

The new Toyota Prius delivers on its promise: better than 50 mpg in everyday driving. I found it was easy to beat 50 mpg in a mixture of city and highway driving and approach 60 mpg in suburban driving. Add in more efficient hybrid technology, a roomier cockpit, a raft of high-technology offerings such as active cruise control and lane departure warning, more comfort, and you’ve got one of the world’s most desirable hybrid cars when it goes on sale in late spring. With even fewer hybrid quirks this time around, you might consider a Prius if you want a great midsize car, regardless of its hybrid drivetrain. You might even forgive Toyota for a couple blunders such as the lack of iPod adapters and funky, hard-to-read instruments. It’s available in late spring as a 2010 model and probably little changed in price.

Hop in, press the start button, the instrument panel comes to life, and a small ready indicator shows it’s okay to drive off after you push the stubby shift lever (now on the console) into Drive. If you like, choose one of the three dashboard engine management buttons that suits your driving style: EV, ECO, or PWR. Press the EV (electric vehicle) button and can you travel up to one mile at 25 mph before the gasoline engine kicks in, which is a nice trick for creeping away early in the morning or late at night without waking anyone or for annoying all the cars stacked up behind your self-satisfied, hypermiling self as you pull away from a traffic signal. The Prius defaults to ECO (economy) with smooth acceleration, or you can press the PWR (power) for more aggressive performance. If you need full power, you get it in any mode by flooring the throttle pedal. And there’s more PWR to be gained for 2010 by flooring it, 134 hp total from gasoline and electric combined vs. 110 in the 2009 Prius. It now breaks 10 seconds 0-60 mph (9.8) which at least isn’t embarrassing.

Hyundai has revealed the first pictures of the BLUE-WILL, a plug-in hybrid concept car the automaker will reveal at the Seoul Motor Show on April 2nd, 2009. The car’s parallel hybrid system features a 1.6-liter direct injection gasoline motor, a 100 kilowatt electric motor, a continuously variable transmission, and a lithium ion polymer battery pack.

The lithium ion polymer pack is the first use of the technology in a production car, according to Hyundai, and is situated next to the fuel tank underneath the rear seats to maximize storage space in the trunk. The car also has a panoramic roof which integrates dye-sensitized solar cells in order to regenerate the batteries without blocking the view. Various parts of the car will be made from recycled materials, including bioplastics, plants, and soft drink bottles and will also be bio-degradable.

(More photos after the break.)