Hasta La Gadget!

Who says people aren’t willing to pay upwards of $30k for a car that can only go 100 miles before needing to be tethered to a wall outlet? Evidently Nissan has struck a chord with the US populace, as the automaker just announced that 8,000 orders for the all-electric Leaf were booked in a mere nine days after orders went live. According to Mark Perry, the company’s North American director of product planning and strategy, Nissan is “on its way to have 25,000 firm orders by December,” and considering that it’ll only ship initially in California, Arizona, Washington, Tennessee and Oregon, that’s a pretty bold assumption. Better still, Nissan plans to “make money at the price that it announced,” though we’ve no doubt that the $7,500 Federal tax credit has urged fence-sitters to jump in the pre-order line. Still, it’s good to see consumers putting their money into unconventional automobiles, but we can’t say we’re eager to see a special run of Parking Wars dedicated to brawls over what motorist gets the last charging socket on Main Street. Or maybe we are, in a sick and sadistic sort of way.

Nissan books 8,000 Leaf orders in nine days, gets turned on with that electric feel originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 02 May 2010 17:11:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Autoblog Green  |  Reuters  | Email this | Comments

It was a busy week in green design as the design world’s most important trade show, the Milan Furniture Fair, wrapped up, and Earth Day hit with full force on Thursday, April 22nd. Inhabitat brought you the most incredible green designs from Milan — from LED lamps made almost entirely from soap to Inigo Mauerer’s stunning new stripped-down OLED chandelier to gigantic architectural LEGO bricks (with life-size lego furniture to match!)

We also caught wind of several curious new energy developments from across the pond — first, the UK is hatching a plan to recycle human waste into fuel by piping biomethane from the sewage system back into homes in Oxfordshire. Meanwhile a farmer in Norther Ireland has created a treadmill for cows that he thinks could generate 6% of the world’s power. More conventional alt energy sources are on the rise as well – this week researchers announced advances in dye solar cells that make strides towards grid parity and a gasification process that is capable of doubling biofuel production.

Several major auto manufacturers also got our engines racing this week as they unveiled the next generation of sleek electric rides. Toyota officially revealed plans for a minivan sequel to it’s ever-popular Prius while Chevy charged ahead with the MPV5, a larger version of the Volt sedan that seats five and packs extra space in the trunk. And finally, if classic cars are more your style, don’t miss this cloth-covered retrofit to a rusty old MG Midget.

Inhabitat’s Week in Green: cow treadmills, electric cars, and the Milan Furniture Fair originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 26 Apr 2010 20:17:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments

This week Inhabitat explored the high-tech side of green building, showcasing Shigeru Ban’s new design for the Pomidou-Metz art museum, and announcing the near-completion of the greenest skyscraper in the world. We also explored green building strategies ranging from super efficient LED lamps.

We also saw several signs that the next generation of efficient vehicles is right around the corner – this week Chevrolet rolled out its first production Volt while Nissan announced the final pricing of its Leaf EV – a remarkably affordable $25,280. Even the hard working vehicles at FedEx are getting some much-needed relief as the company rolls out its first round of electric delivery vans. And if you’re concerned about green vehicles going the distance, look no further than this student-built supercar that’s able to get 2,487 MPG.

This week biotech also blew our minds as researchers unveiled plant-based molecules that could create more efficient solar cells and a new type of photovoltaic frog foam that’s capable of capturing carbon. Finally, sticks and stones may break bones, but scientists have figured out a way to grow new ones — using liposuctioned human fat.

Inhabitat’s Week in Green: hypermiling, electric FedEx, and frog foam originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 04 Apr 2010 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments

PU_PA EV concept is cute, light, and deadly originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 01 Apr 2010 16:09:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  Tech-On!  | Email this | Comments

We’ll confess — the Segway did a lot of damage to urban mobility as a whole, but General Motors (of all companies) might have just mended a wound we thought un-mendable. Unveiling today in Shanghai, the two-seater EN-V concept is a play on last year’s altogether riveting (albeit forgotten) P.U.M.A., and yes, it seems as if some of those design cues have worked their way into this one as well. The Electric Networked-Vehicle was engineered to “alleviate concerns surrounding traffic congestion, parking availability, air quality and affordability for tomorrow’s cities,” and they’re also fully capable of transforming this place we call Earth into a next-generation Epcot. A trio of designs made their debut — Jiao (Pride), Miao (Magic) and Xiao (Laugh) — and we’re told that twin electric motors and “dynamic stabilization technology” allow ’em to turn on a dime and operate autonomously (!) using integrated GPS. The Li-ion batteries can be juiced from a conventional wall outlet, and the expected range is around 40 kilometers on a single charge. Best of all? There’s built in wireless of some sort, enabling your fellow EN-V owner-friends to keep track of your late-night escapades if you so allow. We know — you’d buy one of each if these were available today, but mum’s the word on when (or if) they’ll ever hit the production line; meanwhile, expect something called a “Malibu” to remain in the product pipeline for the better part of next decade.

GM’s two-seater EN-V concept makes ‘urban mobility’ hip again originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 24 Mar 2010 11:43:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  General Motors  | Email this | Comments