Hasta La Gadget!

We’ve heard rumblings of BYD coming to America before, but it seems it won’t be making a big deal of its Stateside entrée — at least not yet. According to the Los Angeles Times, China’s sixth-largest car maker is quietly making its presence known in the US, occupying the offices of Cars 911 — a dealership in Glendale, CA — and solidifying plans to open 10 American dealerships by the end of 2011. BYD is also in the process of building its US headquarters in downtown LA, and has been servicing a fleet of its F3DM hybrids, leased to the city’s housing authority, from the Cars 911 lot. BYD’s e6, which is slated as a Leaf competitor, is suspected to appear on the American market, alongside the F3DM, by year’s end. Considering the Leaf’s recent woes, this might be just the right time for BYD to strike.

BYD Motors sneaks on to American market, could make US debut official by year’s end originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 17 Mar 2011 06:29:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Autoblog  |  LA Times  | Email this | Comments

Continue reading GE kicks off EV Experience Tour, promises WattStations for all

Filed under: Transportation

GE kicks off EV Experience Tour, promises WattStations for all originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 14 Mar 2011 08:57:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments

We’ve certainly had some complaints about the Chevrolet Volt, including mediocre highway mileage, but far and away it’s that $41,000 MSRP keeping it from being a real contender for mass adoption. Now we’re hearing rumors that GM is thinking about down-sizing the car’s batteries in an attempt to drop that price as well. The battery pack is far and away the most expensive single component in the car and the thought is that a reduction of the pure EV range to just 20 miles (down from its current 30 – 50) could have a whopping $10,000 reduction in cost. That would mean buyers would dip into the gas tank a little sooner but be a lighter on their bank accounts — at least in the beginning.

GM looking to offer lower-cost, shorter-range Volt? originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 10 Mar 2011 21:48:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Autoblog Green  |  FavStocks  | Email this | Comments

Everywhere you go in Japan there are vending machines. Whether you’re in a Buddhist monastery or a botanical garden you’re never far from a cold bottle of Pocari Sweat or Gokuri Apple. Soon Japanese drivers will never be far from a place to charge their EV, either. Forking Company, which oversees 1.2 million vending machines across Japan, is going to start working with Panasonic to deploy chargers for electric vehicles along with those machines. It’s a potentially perfect solution, since these stations already having power and, often, connectivity. Over the next 12 months the plan is to deploy 10,000 such chargers — and probably just as many menacing looking posters of Tommy Lee Jones hawking his particular blend of coffee.

Continue reading Japanese vending machines to get EV chargers, will quench both thirst and range anxiety

Japanese vending machines to get EV chargers, will quench both thirst and range anxiety originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 09 Mar 2011 19:48:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  PhysOrg  | Email this | Comments

Though well on its way to joining the Dodo, one of the internal combustion engine’s advantages over its plug-in competition is refuel time — it only takes a few minutes to gas up, but you’re talking hours for an EV to top off its batteries via a standard 220 / 240-volt socket. This fact is not lost on Nissan, as it just revealed plans to offer a higher-rate charger in its 2012 Leaf — the current model’s 3.3kW charger needs eight hours to power up — in order to better compete with the Ford Focus Electric’s three to four hour charge time courtesy of its 6.6kW. And all you early adopters won’t be “orphaned,” as 2011 model Leafs can be retrofitted with the new electrics — no word if Daddy Warbucks will be footing the bill.

Nissan to give Leaf faster charger in 2012: home charging goes from glacial to a snail’s pace? originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 09 Mar 2011 04:40:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Autoblog Green  |  Green Car Reports  | Email this | Comments