Tag: electric car

Secretive Electric Car Startup Rivian Emerges From Stealth Mode With 600 Employees and Half a Billion in Funding | Inc.com

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After nine years of secrecy, an electric car startup with a whole lot of funding is revealing its vehicles to the public.

On Monday, San Jose-based Rivian unveiled its pickup truck at an event in Los Angeles, the first of two gas-free cars the company is revealing this week. Founded by MIT grad R.J. Scaringe in 2009, the company has racked up more than $500 million in funding while keeping a tight lid on its futuristic-looking designs.

On Tuesday, the startup will pull the lid off its SUV. Rivian says neither car will be available until 2020.

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Ex-Tesla rival Fisker rejoins electric car race | BBC News

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Tesla’s former rival in pioneering electric cars, Henrik Fisker, has re-entered the electric car market announcing two new models.

Mr Fisker’s previous company, Fisker Automotive, founded in 2007, built luxury cars popular with celebrities until its high profile 2013 bankruptcy.

For his new venture, Mr Fisker has announced both a high-end car as well as an affordable mass-market model.

Carmakers worldwide are increasingly focusing on the electric market.

Reviving his rivalry with Tesla, Mr Fisker promised “a significantly longer battery life and range than any battery currently on the market”.

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First Drive: Chevrolet Bolt Is A Shocker That Might Convince You To Buy An Electric Car | Forbes

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General Motors Wednesday introduced the Chevrolet Bolt, the first long-range, plug-in electric car that real people can afford to drive.

Priced around $30,000 (after government rebates), the five-passenger Bolt has an electric range of around 200 miles, more than enough for families to use as their daily driver without fear of running out of juice. Most people would never need to recharge anywhere but home. But if you do, you can refill the battery to 80 percent of capacity in about 30 minutes.

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The BMW i3 Is a Peppy, Efficient Pain in the Back | Bloomberg Business

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Here’s the difference between an optimist and a pessimist.

An optimist drives the BMW i3 electric car and marvels at how great it is that he has only to lift his foot off the accelerator for the car to stop. The moment the foot releases pressure, the regenerative braking system will make actual braking—placing your foot on the pedal and pressing down—unnecessary. The car slows dramatically on its own.

A pessimist drives the BMW i3 electric car and finds himself annoyed that those blasted regenerative brakes make it feel like you’re stutter-stepping through every stoplight.

I tended toward the latter. It could be a character defect. I’m OK with that.

Immediate deceleration is not the defining characteristic of the car—the oblong body, 117-mpg efficiency, and variety of interior materials are all good candidates for that—but the sensation certainly commands your attention. And it gets more wearisome over time.

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Driving Solar Electric | Green Car Institute.org

~ lmehit ~ Leave a comment

Driving Solar Electric

Ford is offering an innovative package that pairs electric car ownership with a rooftop solar energy system generating enough electricity to offset an average of 1,000 miles of driving each month. The result is what many electric vehicle owners dream of – the ability to drive with zero emissions and effectively, without additional load on the grid. While the SunPower system doesn’t actually charge Ford’s upcoming 2012 Focus Electric directly, it does feed enough solar-generated electricity into the grid to offset the energy required for keeping batteries charged. Focus Electric owners can add the solar option for less than $10,000 after federal incentives.

The ‘Drive Green for Life’ program not only provides an all-new option for those who want to go the extra mile to drive sustainably, but also is big win for solar energy. Moves like this will motivate consumers to embrace solar energy who may not have done so otherwise.

via Driving Solar Electric | Green Car Institute.