London’s classic black taxicabs are slowly but surely going electric. The new Range Extended Electric Metrocab, a plug-in hybrid taxi designed and built in the UK by Ecotive, a subsidiary of electric powertrain developer Frazer-Nash, will begin real-world trials in the British capital this month. London’s famous black taxis must conform to a host of… Read more »
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2014 Cadillac ELR: Technology trickling up
Nowadays, when the in-crowd thinks of the planet’s coolest car, a Model S or one of the European brands might come to mind, but there was a time when the unchallenged monarch of automotive luxury was the Cadillac. Surely no other car has been mentioned in as many classic movies and blues songs. And a… Read more »
Creatively displaying BMS data
Brian Gallagher has had a variety of engineering and management roles designing human machine interfaces (HMIs) in the biotech and automotive industries. Most recently, he is the cofounder of Andromeda Interfaces, which develops HMIs for many different industries. With the adoption of lithium-ion battery technology in electric vehicles, the role of battery management systems (BMS) has become… Read more »
Tesla fixes overheating wall adapters – but don’t call it a recall!
When is a recall not a recall? Perhaps when an automaker can fix a problem without owners having to bring their cars in for service, then as Elon Musk recently tweeted, “the word ‘recall’ needs to be recalled.” NHTSA has issued an official recall for 2013 Model S cars with certain NEMA 240 volt adapters,… Read more »
United Auto Workers union comes calling at Tesla factory
Tesla, the classic auto industry outsider, may soon be dealing with an issue that has defined Detroit for decades. The San Francisco Chronicle reports that the United Auto Workers has set up an organizing committee at Tesla’s Fremont factory. UAW President Bob King also said in August that union representatives had met with CEO Elon… Read more »
New microscopy technique gives researchers a better look inside batteries
Electricity may seem invisible, but storing it in batteries has some very physical effects. As a battery is charged and discharged, electrons and ions rush around from place to place, sometimes causing electrodes to change their shapes over time. As researchers experiment with improved electrode materials, it’s critical to get a microscopic view of what… Read more »
GM invests $121 million to expand Volt plant
GM has announced plans to invest $121 million to improve its Detroit-Hamtramck Assembly Plant, where the Volt, Ampera and the new 2014 Cadillac ELR are built. The company will expand the 3.6 million-square-foot plant, adding an additional 450,000 square feet to give it more space to store parts on-site. “We basically started busting at the… Read more »
Tesla wins Buckeye state battle as dealership war spreads
Ohio was the site of the latest battle in the war between Tesla and the auto dealers, and the subversives from Silicon Valley seem to have won the day. The Ohio Dealers Association got an anti-Tesla amendment added to Ohio Senate Bill 137 – an unrelated bill that requires drivers to change lanes when highway… Read more »
Tesla requests NHSTA investigation, confirms suspension update and amends warranty
(Updated 11/19/2013 – 11:10 am ET to include comments from NHTSA Administrator David Strickland) Tesla has taken a lot of heat since the third Model S fire in six weeks occurred earlier this month – the press pounced and the stock plummeted. Last week, Elon Musk reassured us that Tesla continues to build the safest cars… Read more »
Musk says there will be no Model S recall
“There’s definitely not going to be a recall. There’s no reason for a recall,” said Elon Musk in a recent CNBC interview. “If you read the headlines, it sounds like Teslas have a greater propensity to catch fires than other cars. In reality, nothing could be further from the truth.” The spate of press coverage… Read more »