Hasta La Gadget!

With gas prices topping $4.50 per gallon in some parts of the country, a car that costs a fraction of a penny per mile to drive (and looks like it belongs on the road) is sure to get our attention. The 275-pound, 2,200MPG Celeritas appears to be the closest we’ve come to having a solar-powered car that could one day take to the streets, however, which explains why the vehicle scored first prize in the Urban Concept category in this year’s Shell Eco-marathon. While it can only transport a single person (the driver), the car includes headlights, taillights, a trunk and even backup cameras. Notably absent from this version are air conditioning and a license plate — the latter of which would (naturally) be required before the car becomes street legal. The Purdue University design team chose “Celeritas” (Latin for “swiftness”) as the name for this soon-to-be-street-legal roadster, though in a category that’s notorious for slower vehicles, we wouldn’t expect the prototype to fly past us in the fast lane. Perhaps we can get Celeritas and IVy together for some alone time before we’re dropping Hamiltons for a gallon of regular?

Purdue’s Celeritas car scores 2,200MPG from the sun, wins Shell Eco-marathon originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 25 Apr 2011 18:47:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Geely McCar comes with an electric scooter for people who hate walking originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 25 Apr 2011 13:37:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Amsterdam is known for its affinity for two-wheeled transportation, but the cycling-crazed city is also making a serious commitment to EVs for those Dutch who prefer driving. As a part of a plan introduced two years ago to eliminate internal combustion from its streets by 2040, the Netherlands’ capital is looking to add to its existing 100 EV charging stations. The City Council has charged Dutch power company Essent with the installation of an additional 125 public plug-in points this year, with the possibility of adding 625 more. These new chargers may make it easier to juice up your electric car, but given the current price of EVs, we aren’t sure how many Amsterdam residents will trade in their Kalkhoffs for Fiat 500s and Smart ForTwos. PR’s after the break.

Continue reading Amsterdam orders 125 public EV charging stations, hastens the death of internal combustion

Amsterdam orders 125 public EV charging stations, hastens the death of internal combustion originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 24 Apr 2011 06:06:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We have some good news from the Land of the Rising Sun — a fresh batch of Leafs are on their way to American shores. At the New York Auto show, Nissan announced that the first shipments of post earthquake-produced EVs should be in the hands of American consumers by April 27th. The company still expects to fulfill current orders by the end of summer and on May 1st will begin accepting new reservations for vehicles in Arizona, California, Hawaii, Oregon, Tennessee, Texas, and Washington. Buyers in the southeastern US will be able to join the plug-in parade this fall, to be followed by a nationwide launch in 2012. Now that the auto manufacturing plants are getting back to business as usual following the tsunami that ravaged Japan, we can only hope the rest of the country isn’t too far behind. PR after the break.

Continue reading Nissan recovering from quake, ramps up Leaf deliveries

Nissan recovering from quake, ramps up Leaf deliveries originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 21 Apr 2011 11:16:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The company is insisting it can’t “really be interpreted as a delay” given that it’s gone from prototype to production in just 37 months, but Fisker is now saying that the first all-electric Karma luxury vehicles will delivered to their owners sometime in June or July — which you’ll notice is neither late 2010 nor the first quarter of 2011, as had been promised. Fisker’s Roger Ormisher also points out that the company did begin “limited series production” at the end of March as planned, and he says the company is “ramping up slowly to ensure absolute quality.” Is it worth the nearly $100k price tag? It certainly seems to be if you’ve got the cash to spare.

Fisker Karma production slowly ramping up, first deliveries expected in June or July originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 20 Apr 2011 16:03:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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