EV Report

This is definitely something you don’t see everyday…an electric Jeepney or as filipinos refer to it as an e-jeepney. Looks like they’re doing test runs to see if they can hold up with the regular usage that jeepney’s get which is quite a lot. If your from the western world and didn’t know…Jeepney’s are a staple in daily Filipino transportation…its kind of a cross between a bus and a taxi and they’re everywhere.

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According to ‘the register’ Honda will be using an ultracapacitor in their new Honda FCX Fuel cell vehicle. The reason they opted for ultracapacitors over batteries is because ultracapacitors can provide a higher discharge of voltage at peak usage than their battery cousins. The life expectancy of ultracapacitors is also much higher because its not using chemicals like batteries do. Maybe Honda learned a thing or two from watching Sony recall all of those faulty laptop batteries. Imagine going through that with thousands of car batteries…ouch! No one wants to deal with that!

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It looks like Zenn Motors has purchased a 2.3% stake in eeStor. Not a bad bet if they can produce the mysterious ultra capacitors that they say they’re working on. If all is true ultra capacitors could be the next big thing but right now its hard to tell with so much skeptics and so few details. Time will tell on this one and patience will pay off. One thing is certain…if eeStor ever goes public you can bet we’ll be waiting in line to purchase some of that stock!

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Cameron Motor Work’s Electric VW Beetle is a definitely a slick conversion. It kinda makes you wonder why all Beetle’s aren’t designed this way. They explain the reasoning of this project is for EV research and advanced battery systems but we really think its to be the coolest kid on the block with the EV Bug and they have a 1st place award to prove it. Not much is known about performance as it is not displayed on the website but it would be interesting to know.

Specs:
Model: 1998 Volkswagen New Beetle
Motor: 30kW Siemens AC drive
Batteries: Type: Deka 8G34R Gel Battery
Range: ?
Top Speed: ?
0-60Mph: ?

Visit Cameron Motor Works Electric Vehicle Conversion for more info on this project

This is where cars become real works of art. When singers like Neil Young spend the big bucks to get them converted to electric biodiesel hybrids. In this case a 19 Foot long 1959 Lincoln Continental. When they get done with this rig it’ll get 100 Mpg. Not bad for a tank ‘o’ steel. This is pretty cool and we think we’ll be seeing a lot more of this as time goes on and parts get cheaper and electric cars get cooler!

Look for progress at on this project at H-Line Conversions where they are converting the largest guzzlers of them all including H1 and H2 Hummers.

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The Auto Show is in Los Angeles again and I have to say I wasn’t that impressed. I was more wowed by the neat display technologies for the show booths and all the lcd displays than I was about the cars. As far as new technologies went the main hype was fuel cells. Only a handful of car companies even had fuel cell displays and the ones that did just showed it as a concept and nothing that looked as if it were nearing production.

The only electric vehicle to be seen were the Tesla and the Chevrolet Volt. Kind of weird considering many car companies seem to have many things in the pipeline and you’d think a major show like the L.A. Auto Show would be a perfect medium to display their new technologies and get some good PR but nope…its like they didn’t even care. It made you feel like everything with the auto industry is in super slow motion and someone is making sure at all costs that it stays that way. I would bet if you ask the general public about new technologies they know very little about what is going on with new advancements in EV and fuel cell technologies. With the exception of Honda and Toyota the majority of the auto companies were very happy to display all of the new gasoline cars and kind of shoved the new tech stuff to the side as a ‘yeah we’re working on it’ kind of thing. I hope next year will be different.

Shaun’s Toyota Echo conversion took roughly 10 Months to complete. The project involved extensive removal of stock parts, reconnecting of instrument gauges and on-board computer system. Shaun’s electric conversion is beautifully documented in his online journal complete with photos, schematic drawings and a parts list.

Specs:
Model: 1999 Toyota Echo
Motor: 23 HP (nominal) DC electric motor
Batteries: 10 x 12V traction batteries
Range: ?
Top Speed: ?
0-60Mph: ?

Click Here to get more information on the Toyota Echo Electric Conversion

The Miles XS500 comes from a company who is very passionate about electric cars. Compared with other up-and-coming EV’s the XS500 could pass as a regular car. Its like an EV in disguise! The specs are rather impressive 120 Mile range, up to 80 Mph top speed and at 30K you just can’t go wrong. Set for a 2009 launch we’ll be looking forward to seeing more details and video postings. Hopefully this car won’t experience the same launch date setbacks that the Tesla is going through.

To read more about this car check out Miles Electric Vehicles

The smart car (european version) has an electric version. Made by Daimler Benz this car has some neat battery / fuel cell technologies packed inside that require only electricity and air!
Range is about 200 KM
0-100 KM in about 10 Seconds

Think Electric Car was hurtin’ for a while but now they’re back with a shot in the arm in the form of new raised capital. Think’s car looks like it has the charm of a VW bug and has that european ‘look and feel’. It has a range of 110 miles and is available right now in Norway. Look out soon…they’ve got plans to ship this car to the United States. We’re gonna keep an eye on this one. The car is just so cute you can’t help but look at it twice! If the price is right I’m puttin’ my old gas guzzler on the auction block and snatchin’ one of these babies right up!

Think’s Website