Hasta La Gadget!

Now here is an idea that you might want to explore if you happen to be in charge of a city or country – how about revamping the laws to make the purchase of electric vehicles (EVs) a whole lot easier and more affordable for the masses, throwing in generous tax breaks in between? After that, you can also create more jobs and stimulate the economy be constructing more and more EV charging points throughout the city’s arteries, so that purchasing an electric vehicle would end up being far less daunting whenever it is “thirsty” after a particularly long day of driving around. (more…)

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Modi-Corp unveils build-it-yourself electric vehicle, A123 claims new battery technology will result in cheaper EVs ,

Fisker Automotive can’t seem to catch break — because its Karma hybrid EV sedan has yet again become too hot. Similar to an incident last spring that left a model burnt to near smithereens and damaged its owner’s house, the Karma above caught fire in a Woodside, CA parking lot while powered off. Jalopnik was the first to get word of the incident, noting that the damage remained reserved to the front left of the vehicle, near where an exhaust is located. As the story goes, the owner found the vehicle emitting smoke after returning from a grocery run, prompting a call to Fisker and then the local fire department, which arrived as it was already engulfed in flames. In a statement to Wired’s Autopia, Fisker has been vehement to note that the damage appears to be far from where the car’s battery and sensitive electrical components are located, and that it wasn’t plugged in for a charge — furthermore, it’s already had correspondence with the owner and is actively investigating the matter with plans to issue an update when there are findings to share.

All that said, it remains to be seen whether the Karma’s battery system, supplied by A123 Systems (and the focus of previous recalls), had any role in igniting the car. Thankfully there were no reports of injuries from the incident, but as you can tell from the photo, the car was essentially totaled. You’ll find a video of the Karma in flames being quelled by firefighters after the break, along with the official statement by Fisker given to Autopia.

Continue reading Fisker Karma owner returns from grocery run to find hybrid EV on fire

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Fisker Karma owner returns from grocery run to find hybrid EV on fire originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 12 Aug 2012 05:44:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Believe it or not, EV battery life is still something of a Pandora’s Box, even for automakers: they can tell you the battery pack’s current and voltage, but not how it’s really performing under pressure. Ford, GE and the University of Michigan are uniting to unlock that mystery through a new ARPA-E project. In its role, GE is developing a minuscule sensor array that will track the nuances of battery cells that existing technology misses; it will promptly hand the baton to researchers at the University of Michigan, who plan to both prove that GE’s data is on the mark as well as develop tricks for predicting behavior. Ford handles the last mile, almost literally: it’s planning to fit the GE sensor technology to one of its cars and test in a more realistic environment. Before you fantasize about knowing the lifespan of your Focus Electric’s battery down to the minute, however, the new alliance is stressing that it’s only just getting started — there’s another three years and $3.1 million to go before the project wraps up. If all goes according to plan, though, we’ll have electric cars and plug-in hybrids that can not only tell when they’ve seen better days but can eke out extra miles through smarter battery designs.

Continue reading Ford, GE and University of Michigan team up on sensor to track EV battery life, keep us on the road

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Ford, GE and University of Michigan team up on sensor to track EV battery life, keep us on the road originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 05 Aug 2012 12:50:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Mercedes-Benz has already committed to bringing the SLS AMG E-Cell gullwing to dealers in 2013, but we’d advise holding back on taking out a second mortgage to pay for it until you’re done reading. The Netherlands’ De Telegraaf hears from an unnamed spokesperson that there’s enough interest to make a roadster version of the EV supercar. What action the automaker takes depends on sales of the hardtop: if it’s clear more people want an open-air experience, that’s what will happen. The electric motor layout is easily transferred to a roadster, the representative says. If that E-Cell variant becomes a reality, Audi might want to hurry up and build a production-grade e-tron Spyder before Mercedes claims all of the (very niche) German electric roadster market for itself.

Filed under: Transportation

Mercedes-Benz said to be exploring SLS AMG E-Cell in roadster guise originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 01 Aug 2012 18:51:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We’ve chronicled Flight of the Century founder and CEO Chip Yates‘ record-breaking 202.6MPH flight in his Long-ESA EV craft before. What we didn’t quite touch on, however, is the power loss Yates’ aircraft suffered after earning that electric plane speed record. Now Yates has released new video of the flight, which includes the moment his aircraft breaks the record, the ensuing power loss and his dramatic deadstick landing. That smile you see in the photo up there is the smile of a man who just made history and is also happy to be alive. Hey, we’re glad he’s safe, too. You can witness the close call yourself by checking out the video after the break.

[Image credit: Flight of the Century]

Continue reading Extra footage of record-setting Yates electric plane flight shows power loss, dramatic deadstick landing (video)

Filed under: Transportation

Extra footage of record-setting Yates electric plane flight shows power loss, dramatic deadstick landing (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 27 Jul 2012 02:39:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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