AMP seeks dealers for electric vehicles

BLUE ASH

- As it prepares for next week's final competition for the $10 million Progressive Insurance Automotive X Prize, local electric vehicle converter

AMP Holdings Inc.

is planning to establishing a sales and service network among General Motors dealers.

AMP officials say they have retained a former GM executive, Mark Valerio, as a consultant to develop its dealer network.
"As we move forward with a GM car to sell, it makes sense we have GM dealers do the sales and service," said Steve Burns, AMP's CEO.
Launched in 2007 to convert gas-powered vehicles to all-electric drive, AMP (originally Advanced Mechanical Products) has done conversions of Saturn Sky and Pontiac Solstice sports cars. It recently began converting Chevrolet Equinox SUVs to all-electric drives.
At GM, Valerio was involved in dealer network development, real estate image management and dealer franchising for GM brands in the Northeast.
Burns, one of AMP's founders, said he couldn't disclose the number of GM dealers it hopes to recruit or timing for the effort.

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Mitsubishi i-MiEV electric, coming late 2011, about $30,000 before gov't incentives

CAPTION

By H. Darr Beiser, USAT

Mitsubishi says it, too, will have a pure-battery car in the U.S. before long -- well, fall of next year. Called i-MiEV (innovative Mitsubishi Electric Vehicle), it'll be more than a year behind the Nissan Leaf's planned U.S. launch late this year.

Even so, it'll be among the first wave of true electrics aimed at showroom shoppers rather than fleet operators. Mitsu forecasts a price of about $30,000 before any government clean-car incentives are applied. Nissan's Leaf is $32,780 before the federal $7,500 tax credit. Nissan notes that at least three states -- California, Georgia and Oregon -- offer their own tax credits.

GM says it'll have the Chevy Volt electric sedan out this December, roughly same time as Leaf. Volt runs entirely on electricity, but unlike the others it carries a small gasoline engine that kicks in to run a generator for power when the batteries get low. Leaf and i-MiEV both claim about 100 miles on a charge. Volt is 40 miles, then the gas engine takes over.

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Citroen mulls building electric racecar (concept car Friday)

First unveiled at the 2010 Geneva Auto Show, the Citroen Survolt is a techno-organic beauty with its tasteful use of color, sharp creases, and flowing curves. Beneath those curves, the concept packs dual electric motors that convert flowing electrons into a combined 300 horsepower and enough twisting force (738 pound-feet, to be exact) to motivate the Survolt silently to 62 mph in less than five seconds and onward to a reported top speed of 162mph.

The concept's twin 31 kW lithium ion batteries should enable it to cover 124 miles between two hour charging cycles with a vehicle specific high-output charger (or a 10-hour charge from a 220-volt appliance outlet). However, the most interesting tidbit is that Citroen is reportedly considering producing the electric racecar, albeit in limited quantities.

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Will Electric Cars Catch On?

Currently, the U.S. government has a sort of 'if you build them, they will come' attitude towards electric vehicles. Just yesterday, the President appeared at the opening of a new electric battery plant in Michigan, which benefitted from stimulus funds. Electric cars also qualify for generous tax rebates up to $7,500. Yet, an article in the Wall Street Journal argues that consumers in the U.S. might not be quick to embrace electronic cars. Is the government making a poor bet?

Here's the WSJ explaining a major obstacle:

Proponents of the technology will tell you that anyone buying an electric vehicle will want to know at least two things: How far can I drive before I have to recharge? And, where can I go to recharge when I am on the road, far from home? Companies acknowledge that clear answers to those questions aren't yet available--and may not be until a good while after the coming flock of electric cars has hit showrooms.

Of course, there are other obstacles as well. Americans have developed an appetite for giant, fast cars. Most electronic vehicles are on the small side and don't have the same zip. It isn't easy to change cultural norms. So is the industry doomed, despite the government assistance?

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Are electric cars ready to transform Britain’s motoring in the Age of Energy?

There's little doubt that electric vehicles will play an important role in the Age of Energy, eradicating emissions at street level at the same time as cutting costs for motorists.

By Andrew Cave
Published: 6:42PM BST 15 Jul 2010

Andrew Cave in an electric car

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Toyota-Tesla plan to build electric RAV4 shows partnership is serious

Electric SUV is the first project announced by the companies since Toyota purchased about 3% of Tesla for $50 million this year, a move that had raised eyebrows.

A plan to sell an electric version of Toyota's RAV4 sport utility vehicle two years from now demonstrates that the alliance between Tesla Motors Inc. and the Japanese automaker is more than just window dressing, analysts said.
Tesla and Toyota Motor Corp. said Friday that they were developing the vehicle and that Tesla was working on a fleet of prototypes to begin testing.
The venture is the first project announced by the companies since Toyota purchased 3.2% of Tesla for $50 million this year.

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