Electric cars have unique safety issues

The imminent arrival of the state’s first electric-car dealership in Hudson has produced a lot of excitement, but for firefighters, EMTs and police, it also produces questions about dealing with accident scenes.

“We have to have a heightened sense of safety, dealing with the voltages these things are carrying,” Hudson Fire Chief Shawn Murray said. “We used to just walk in there and cut battery cables. You can’t do that anymore.”

Emergency officials fear that long-established safety practices designed for accident scenes may not be appropriate when dealing with vehicles powered by banks of high-voltage batteries instead of gasoline, where the concern is electrocution more than explosion.

For example:

If an electric car is burning, should water be applied, or fire-suppressing foam, or some other type of foam?

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GM to launch more green cars in China by 2015

Jun. 15, 2010 (China Knowledge) - U.S.-based auto giant General Motors Corp on Friday said it plans to launch more fuel efficient vehicles in China, as it aims to cut fuel consumption by 15% by 2015, the Shanghai Daily reported.

Some new hybrids and vehicles powered by electricity will be launched within five years, the JV will initially show a Chevrolet New Sail electric vehicle prototype this year and roll out the new Buick LaCrosse hybrid and the Chevrolet Volt electric vehicle with extended range capability.



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Volvo to deliver 10 new electric vehicles

It was the green car of the year even before it went electric, and now Volvo is planning to introduce a battery powered version of the C30.

The Swedish manufacturer is teaming up with energy company Goteborg Energi to co-operate on electric vehicles and recharge infrastructure. The former Ford brand will now provide 10 Volvo C30 electric cars as part of a test fleet with delivery to start this autumn.

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Paul A. Eisenstein: Electric car a Smart choice

The auto industry is starting to embrace the concept of electrification, with plug-in hybrids like the Chevrolet Volt and pure battery-electric vehicles like the Nissan Leaf. Even Mercedes-Benz is exploring its options with a battery-powered version of its SLS supercar.

But the German maker’s sibling brand, Smart, seems especially well-suited to enter the electric field, delivering a battery version of its nimble urban microcar, the fortwo.

Smart will launch sales of 250 Electric Drives in the U.S. late this year, a prelude to the ED’s full retail introduction as a 2013 model. We got the chance to drive a prototype in New York City, an appropriate place for a battery microcar and one of a handful of markets where the ED will initially be targeted.

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Spotlight on Electric Vehicles

I recently cited an upcoming conference solely focused on the electric vehicle space, and as the date approaches, it’s a good time to say more about it. The event is theElectric Vehicle Consumer Adoption Summit, and is put together by IQPC (News -Alert), a well-known conference producer. While our Smart Grid Summit has a fairly broad scope, this event is narrow but deep. We have one panel in our program about electric vehicles, and it’s one of the sessions I’m most looking forward to.

For that reason I’d like to tell you a bit more about this conference. This is one of the most exciting areas of smart grid and will have far reaching implications, not just for utilities, but for our everyday behaviors. While it’s a given how important the electric vehicle will be for auto-centric North America, the opportunity is in fact even greater in emerging markets like China and India. As an example, for the first time ever, the United States was passed by China in 2009 as the largest auto market in the world.

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All-electric Nissan Leaf to "Whistle" While it Works to Alert Pedestrians

Leaf will get artificial "sound" sweeteners

On a number of occasions, DailyTech has discussed a concern that appears to be growing among advocates for blind pedestrians. With the rise of hybrid vehicles which run nearly silent at low speeds and fully-electric vehicles, many blind pedestrians are concerned that they won't be able to listen for typical audible cues present in modern internal combustion engines.

The NHTSA is already working on guidelinesthat would require hybrids and electric vehicles to produce sounds that can be heard by pedestrians at low speeds. However, Nissan it taking matters into its own hands with the upcoming Leaf electric vehicle.

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GM to recharge electric car after Reva split

Calcutta, June 13: General Motors (GM) is looking forward to developing an electric car for India on its own. It had to drop its plan for the electric Spark following a break-up with Reva.

The American car maker, which is expected to launch the plug-in hybrid electric vehicle, Chevrolet Volt, in the US by the year-end, will “certainly not bring the Volt to India”.

“The country is still not ready for such plug-in hybrid vehicles. The expensive Chevrolet Volt may get few Indian buyers, who are fascinated to drive a green car. It will certainly not be a huge success in a sensitive market such as India,” GM India vice-president (marketing, sales and after sales) Ankush Arora said.

In March, GM had said the eSpark would not reach customers by the promised date. It had also moved part of its operations back to Detroit, in an early sign of its faltering partnership with Reva.

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