Now Ford is asking its most important shareholders (the general public) what the Focus EV should sound like, as there are members of the world community that think silent cars are a danger to the blind and the deaf.
From January through May, the Volt was only 17 cars behind the Leaf, but in the following month, sales of the Volt plunged to just 561 cars, while those of the LEAF took off with a record 1,708 units, giving Nissan’s EV the lead. The LEAF costs $33,000 before a $7,500 federal tax credit, while the Volt costs $41,000 before government incentives.
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The new budget model is called the ‘M’ and its price comes down to 2.6 million Yen (US$32,070 -€22,170) or 1,880,000 Yen (US$23,190 - €16,040) after Japanese government subsidies. It is powered by an electric motor producing 41-horses and has a reduced driving range of 120 kilometers (75 miles).
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The company recently showed off a validation prototype at the Magny Cours racing circuit in France with Nicolas Prost, who is the oldest son of four-time Formula One World Drivers' champion Alain Prost, sitting behind the steering wheel of the 2+2 model.
The Furtive e-GT is scheduled to go on sale in late 2012 with the company planning to build around 100 cars per year. The 2+2 seater coupe will be offered in two flavors, a standard model powered exclusively by two electric motors and a more sophisticated version equipped with an internal combustion engine range extender that works in a similar way to the powertrain system found on GM’s Chevrolet Volt.
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With the passing of Assembly Bill 511 in the Nevada Senate, the U.S. Department of Transport will now have to draw up rules governing autonomous vehicles on the state’s roads.
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So today his company, Gordon Murray Design, unveiled in London their latest ultra compact city car, the T.27. It is a project that was completed in just 17 months from conception to a running prototype, including the design of a new electric powertain by Zytek Automotive Ltd.
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Greenpeace went ahead with the attack to draw attention to its concerns over the German company’s ecological record.
The environmental activist group claims that the car giant is “spending millions of Euros every year funding lobby groups who are trying to stop Europe increasing its commitment to greenhouse gas reductions from 20% to 30% by 2020” and calls Volkswagen to turn away from the Dark Side.
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The four-door, five seat Fluence Z.E. saloon will carry an on-the-road price of £22,850, which drops to £17,850 (US$28,500) after the £5,000 UK Plug-In Car Grant has been deducted.
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You see, the Japanese company has set its sights on claiming two special records at the Goodwood Festival of Speed that takes place in Britain on 1-3 July with the aforementioned models.
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The location will allow the Renault-Nissan Alliance, which already employs more than 350,000 workers and accounts for 1 in 10 new cars sold globally in 2010, to benefit from the regional engineering talent in shaping the cars of the future.
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Advances in technology concerning engine downsizing, turbocharging, direct fuel injection, more efficient cooling, electric power steering and variable valve timing will help achieve this, according to the 23-page study.
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Internet-giant Google has just adopted the largest workplace charging installation for electric vehicles in the U.S. with the completion of 70 “ChargePoint” stations at its Mountain View, California headquarters.
The new charging infrastructure will support both employee-owned EVs and “GFleet” plug-in vehicles such as the Chevy Volt and Nissan LEAF. And there are 250 more charging stations on the way, with the goal of making Google’s HQ parking facilities 5% EV-ready.
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And while GM is betting on the introduction of a slightly lower priced base model as well as the extended availability of the Volt in all 50 states to win this battle, Nissan is counting on increasing output to ease customer delays after production was disrupted by the Japan’s earthquake and tsunami on March 11.
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Some 700 four-seat Autolib’ vehicles will be rolled out from December of this year, offering green motoring for both residents and tourists alike. The Italian-built four seaters come with a 250 km battery range, radio and GPS navigation system.
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Believe it or not, it’s a fierce neck-to-neck sales battle so far in 2011 with only 17 cars separating the Leaf from the Volt. Nissan has delivered 2,184 examples of the pure-electric Leaf from January to the end of May, while GM has sold 2,167 units of Chevrolet’s extended range electric vehicle in the same period.
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By acknowledging that wind resistance is one of the key factors in improving vehicle economy, Leong’s Prius III hybrid is extremely slippery. Described by the designer as moving, “through [the wind], not into it”, this design study channels air over its surface through a series of vanes.
