Hasta La Gadget!

Headed to Pawnee, Indiana anytime soon? Don’t lie, it’s a place that survives in only two places: your mind, and NBC’s studios. The only “Pawnee” in proximity of the Hoosier State lies in Illinois, but it’s cool, we can still pretend. After hearing that Think was planning to hawk its City electric vehicle in the Big Apple this year, it looks as if Indiana’s government will actually be first to acquire it. Fitting, though, given how Think’s primarily manufacturing facility is parked in Elkhart, IN. The first 15 City EVs — described by the company as “all-electric, zero-emission cars designed in Scandinavia for fleet applications and urban commuters” — have hit the ground running, delivered to the Department of Administration to be used principally by the Department of Natural Resources in the state’s park system. Naturally, Ron Swanson was at the ribbon-cutting ceremony with a mind to swipe one for his own personal use, but once he learned of Think’s plans to finally roll out retail distribution in select US cities in the second half of 2011, his conscience got the better of him. Phew.

Continue reading First Think City electric vehicles delivered to Indiana government, Leslie Knope calls dibs on all of ’em

First Think City electric vehicles delivered to Indiana government, Leslie Knope calls dibs on all of ’em originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 16 Dec 2010 12:05:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It took half a score to actually get real, but did you know that it takes but two minutes to construct a 2011 Chevrolet Volt? Okay, we lied — one minute, fifty-five seconds. Hit play below to enter what Kenny Loggins would describe as “The Danger Zone.”

Continue reading 2011 Chevrolet Volt: constructed from start to finish in two mind-melting minutes (video)

2011 Chevrolet Volt: constructed from start to finish in two mind-melting minutes (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 02 Dec 2010 21:50:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Cue the pundits. Nissan’s incoming Leaf has just nabbed an official EPA sticker, with a mind-melting 99MPG “equivalent” rating set to grace every single window. That’ll undoubtedly catch eyes, but it’s also likely to spur a huge debate on what “miles per gallon” truly means when you’re throwing a battery into the mix. We actually had the pleasure of driving one ourselves late last month, but we weren’t able to take off on any extended joyrides to really put MPG claims to the test. At any rate, the 99 rating breaks down to 106MPG in the city and 92MPG on the highway, but there’s quite a bit of fuzzy math here that gas guzzlers aren’t accustomed to considering. Nissan claims that the EPA uses a formula where 33.7 kWhs are equivalent to one gallon of gasoline energy, and that the entity also found the Leaf’s efficiency to be 3.4 miles per kWh. Given that the car has a 24 kWh battery pack and can go 73 miles officially, then the EPA says it could theoretically go 99 miles if it had a 33.7 kWh pack. Still, the Leaf has to await its other label from the FTC, but it’s apt to show a range of 96 to 110 miles of range. Head on past the break for the full presser.

Continue reading Nissan Leaf blessed with 99MPG ‘equivalent’ sticker, roundtable arguments ensue

Nissan Leaf blessed with 99MPG ‘equivalent’ sticker, roundtable arguments ensue originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 24 Nov 2010 06:23:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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If there’s one thing we’ve learned from years of toying with technology, it’s never to believe a manufacturer’s estimate regarding battery life, but it seems like the estimates Nissan provided for its Leaf electric car may not be too far off the mark. Though the vehicle obviously isn’t getting 367 miles to its non-existent gallon, PluginCars did manage to eke out a solid 116.1 miles in the car’s first anecdotal test, and all they had to do to go the distance was drive casually and slightly below the speed limit. “It wasn’t like I was driving like an obsessed hypermiler,” said the driver, who spent most of the trip with the A/C blasting. Nissan recently revised their range estimates for the Leaf to anywhere from 62 to 138 miles depending on speed and weather conditions, so 116.1 is a pretty solid run, but until those charging stations permeate the countryside, we’re still going to take the ol’ gas-guzzler on our road trips.

Nissan Leaf goes 116.1 miles in first anecdotal test, with the air conditioning on originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 23 Oct 2010 20:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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What if you could plug any smartphone into your car and control your GPS, music and apps with large, vehicular controls? That’s the entire idea behind Nokia’s Terminal Mode. We trekked over to Volkswagen’s research laboratories in Palo Alto, California to test the first working prototype actually integrated into a car — a VW Passat, to be precise — and got to put some German pedal to the metal with Ovi Maps guiding our every move. What did we think? Not bad for a product that’s nearly two years away. Find out why (and get a video tour!) right after after the break.

Continue reading Exclusive: VW’s Terminal Mode prototype with a Nokia N97 at the helm, we go hands-on

Exclusive: VW’s Terminal Mode prototype with a Nokia N97 at the helm, we go hands-on originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 29 Sep 2010 17:57:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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