Let’s be clear: TTAC is not in the business of bashing EVs just for the hell of it; there are good reasons why battery-power is the gas foe’s great white hope. But this story is just too crazy. In BMW’s rush to launch its 450-unit MINI E test lease program, it has failed to secure Underwriter’s Laboratory approval for its high-voltage charging cord. As many as 300 of the 450 customers who’ll be getting Mini Es many not get their high-voltage charging cables for a month or so and will have to use sloooooowwwwww 110-volt trickle charging to replenish their car’s power pack when the battery runs down,” according to Edmunds. Which means instead of taking 4 hours to recharge the MINI E’s 150-mile-range batteries, users will have to wait 23 hours to fill up through a 110V cable. At an $850/month lease rate, that makes the MINI E the mother of all EV debacles. Approval for the charger will happen “within weeks,” say BMW. But as professional EV booster Chelsea Sexton puts it, “they are guaranteeing virgin customers a poor experience.” And ain’t that just the way it tends to go for virgins.
Mitsubishi has announced Japanese market pricing for its MiEV electric car, and it’s a staggering ¥4.38 million, or $45,660 according to Automotive News [sub]. And what does that buy you? 100 miles of lithium-ion powered range, 4 doors, a 14 hour charge time on 100-volt power (seven hours on 200 volts and 30 minutes on a high-output quick charger) and LED headlights. Unlike Subaru’s $40K+ Stella, however, the MiEV is headed stateside. Eventually. Hopefully the staggering price-point will have come down a bit by then.
California’s zero-emissions vehicle law could cost Toyota, darling of the environmental crowd, up to a billion dollars reports Bloomberg. That’s more than any other automaker is looking at. Why? Because by 2012, California will require that 3 percent of unit sales over a three-year period be zero-emissions models. Since Toyota has over 24 percent of the California car market (nearly double Honda, which is number two at 12.9 percent), it’s facing far stiffer requirements. And unlike Honda it doesn’t have a hydrogen fallback (although Honda’s FCX Clarity is not yet on sale). According to Bloomberg, Toyota will have to sell 16,000 plug-in hybrids (PHEVs) and EVs come 2012. “If you’re only discussing the cost of batteries and other components, a $1 billion cost for Toyota may be a stretch,” says Brett Smith of the Center For Automotive Research. “Add in all the things needed to support these vehicles — service, dealer training, marketing, warranties, new manufacturing equipment to get them into production, and [$1b] sounds reasonable” Toyota is declining comment on the exact cost of CARB compliance, but has already questioned whether PHEV demand will live up to enthusiast expectations.
We rip on the Volt a lot around here. And with good reason. But at least GM’s moonshot has a few things going for it, like a gas range-extender, a real (if devastated) dealer network, a metric ton of government money and over a year of relentless hype. Coda Automotive has none of those things, but apparently widespread ridicule of the Volt and other overly optimistic variations on the overpriced EV theme aren’t stopping the firm from letting it all hang out for the LA Times.
Does this sound strange to you: Chrysler proposes spending $224 million of your tax money (bailout bucks) to land another $244 million of your tax money (Department of Energy green bucks). They plan on using the money to develop and, yes, build electric vehicles. Volt Envi much? Hang on; is the DOE money a “grant” or a “loan”? I mean, in all this $100 billion bailout excitement, has everyone forgotten about the $25 billion Department of Energy retooling loans? Is this deal part of that deal or the billion dollar battery research thing? Anyway, Reuters doesn’t say from whence cometh this particular part of the feds’ attempt to fix Motown’s meltdown. But they do put quote marks around Chrysler’s “partners” (you and Fiat sitting in a tree?) and parrot the zombie automaker’s enviro-agitprop without question.
According to Forbes, German automaker Daimler has purchased a 10 percent stake in Silicon Valley’s EV sweetheart, Tesla Motors. “The two companies are already working together on using Tesla’s lithium-ion battery packs and charging electronics in Daimler’s electric version of its two-seat Smart car. The stake’s value was not disclosed, but [Daimler’s R&D meister Thomas] Weber said it was in the double-digit millions.” Don’t you just love it when German managers go all coy about their American acquisitions, like, say, when Daimler bought Chrysler? Of course, we mustn’t forget Musk. Announcing the news, Elon did what he does best: pile on the hype. “Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk said in a statement that the partnership would help it bring the Tesla Model S car to production faster and ‘ensure that it is a superlative vehicle on all levels.'” Excuse me? Other than providing cash for battery packs for the Smart, where’s the bit about Mercedes helping Tesla develop the Model S? Oh maybe it’s something to do with this . . .
Actor Tom Hanks recently defended himself against the New Yorker, who called him out on his appearance in “Who Killed the Electric Car?” Here’s his letter to the editor:
Peter J. Boyer, in his otherwise spot-on piece about the car industry, assumes that I once leased G.M.’s sadly fated EV1 electric car and, like other drivers of that twin-seat rocket of a vehicle, watched the emission-free car be wrested from my garage, towed away, and busted up into pieces of metal, glass, and rubber smaller than razor blades (“The Road Ahead,” April 27th). Luckily, I did not. The source of Boyer’s slight inaccuracy may have been the documentary film “Who Killed the Electric Car?,” which used a clip of a visit I made to the “Late Show with David Letterman,” during which I claimed to be saving America one electric car at a time. However, by the time I began shopping for an all-electric car, in 2003, the EV1 had already been yanked from showrooms as if the car had never existed. Instead, I found what was purported to be the very last electric car available for sale in the state of California—a Toyota EV. It had four doors, a rear hatch, room for my family, including a dog in the back, power windows, A/C, a great sound system, and the fastest, most effective windshield defroster known to mankind. When the car companies collectively, and, to some, diabolically, decided to take these cars back, the electric vehicles disappeared. But not mine. I have the pink slip. I own that car, and it is still driven every day, albeit by one of my crack staff of employees. My electric car recently crossed fifty thousand miles on the odometer with its original battery but without so much as a splash of gasoline.
Wired Autopia has a video of Better Place’s prototype $500,000 quick battery swap station. Think of a Jiffy Lube station but much slicker and no scruffy guys in the basement. Driver pulls up, automated lift unscrews discharged battery from beneath and slides it down a conveyor belt, and then another battery is bolted in. Total time is a few minutes, similar to a gas tank fillup. The conventional-looking Nissan EV’s battery goes in where the gas tank was and has a similar shape. Tesla is to have their own battery swap setup that’s not compatible with that of Better Place. Let the hypothetical swappable battery wars begin!
. . . will keep Chrysler from delivering the most fuel efficient cars possible. To the US government. But then, ChryCo kinda owes them one, no? Luckily we still get to marvel at the sophistication of Chrysler’s wind tunnel, as operated by the Pentastar’s three remaining employees. On casual Friday, apparently.
And that’s just the prototype. The LA Times‘ Dan Neil (the automotive journalist’s automotive journalist) got an exclusive first up-close look at Tesla’s Model S and comes away with some healthy skepticism. What did he learn? “Tesla has already had to walk back a claim regarding the Model S’ recharge capacity. The car will not have the capacity to accept 440-volt current, which would allow it to be charged in 45 minutes,” for one thing. The prototype “is just barely ambulatory,” writes Neil. “More like a glorified golf cart than a harbinger of tomorrow tech.” Also, “the car’s signature design flourish—a 17-inch, touch-screen control panel with haptic feedback in the center console —may not even make it to production.” And Neil’s skepticism is contagious: The Business Insider concludes that “There’s No Way Tesla’s Model S Will Cost $57,400” even after hefty government incentives. Ouch.
“Just in time for Earth Day,” trumpets Chrysler Blog, “Chrysler showed off four all-electric Town & Country minivan concept vehicles to the U.S. Postal Service, with the hope that mail delivery service across the country could soon be cleaner and quieter.” Digging a little deeper, Automotive News [sub] reports that Chryco “plans” to provide a fleet of 250 EV T&Cs to the postal service, with testing to begin later this year in Michigan, NYC and North Carolina. The A123 Systems-powered EV minivans, previously seen only in Chrysler’s ENVI vaporware lineups, are reported to have a range of 40–50 miles. Just like Chevy’s Volt! With about as much chance of making it into production. Never mind; Pr waits for no man.
Are electric cars a dead end? Just as Ho Chi Minh said when asked about the French Revolution, it’s probably too early to tell. In the meantime, interesting things are happening. Der Spiegel reports that a European consortium of car makers and utilities has agreed on a standard for plugs. That means you’ll soon be able to drive from Lappland to Sicily, or from Lisbon to Moscow (albeit in 50-mile spurts), without worrying about compatibility. The plug will be in a three-phase, 400V configuration. But what about loading stations connected to the plugs? The news here: a consortium including Volkswagen, Daimler, BMW, Ford, General Motors, PSA, Fiat, Toyota, Mitsubishi as well as major western-European utilities are working on a standard electric “filling station.” So much for infrastructure. But what about the cars?
Normally, the MSM “sells” whatever the automakers are selling. Something to do with advertising, perhaps. The autoblogosphere—no stranger to junketry and the press car gravy train—is not unfamiliar with this paradigm. You’d be forgiven for thinking that Chrysler’s incipient collapse would force both camps to at least mention the domestic’s forthcoming dissolution when hyping a new model. You know, “As Chrysler struggles to survive, the company has announced plans to produce an electric roadster, which has less chance of seeing the light of day than a Palestine Mole Rat.” To its credit, Autobloggreen almost goes there: “It looks like the Dodge Circuit EV may have won the ‘who wants to be the first electric Chrysler concept to go into production’ contest. Although they still haven’t officially made an announcement, Chrysler’s viability plan did list an ‘EV Roadster’ as part of their 2010 product line. Based on the lightweight Lotus Europa and using drivetrain parts pilfered from UQM . . . its 150 to 200 mile range is significantly higher than many other electric vehicles in the works and should add to its appeal . . . Since the Circuit will probably change somewhat as it makes the transition to a production vehicle, tell us in the comments section what you would like to see in the sales-floor version.” I’m thinking cupholders. You?
What the hell is a “random visit to Tesla”? Is Project Better Place’s Shai Agassi an adherent to the philosophy and practice found in George Cockcroft’s “The Dice Man”? If so, that’s not exactly a better way to run a car company (unless you’re GM). Or perhaps Agassi’s a fan of Andrew “Dice” Clay. If so, Shai should ditch the mermaid joke for something with a bit more punch. Elon Musk sat on a wall. Fuck you! This stuff writes itself. Anyway, Shai’s epiphany: a machine could automatically swap out EV batteries. Kinda like you do with, I dunno, a flashlight. Except the resulting eMiles follow Moore’s law, apparently. Which means EV drivers will be racking-up zero-carbon (a.k.a. “clean electron”) electric miles at two cents a mile by 2020. Did I miss something there? Agassi says this is “fascinating to most people.” Define “most.” [Skip to to 8:36 and you’ll actually hear a non-fictional sentient being say he’s going to save the world.]
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