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 »
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Fuel cells vs batteries for vehicle powertrains
Jeffrey Wishart, a Senior Project Engineer at Intertek, conducts research and development on products and services in the areas of energy, the environment, and advanced transportation. In addition to his supervisory position at Intertek, Dr. Wishart worked for several years at ETEC LABS (the research and consulting division of ECOtality) and at a utility company… Read more »
YASA Motors secures 5 million pounds in funding
UK-based YASA Motors has secured an additional £5 million in funding. The new equity finance has been raised from a combination of existing and new investors, and will be used to increase production capacity and to expand the company’s commercial activities. YASA manufactures a highly differentiated axial flux electric motor and generator based on its… 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 paper: US policies to support plug-ins are ineffective
Governments around the world are taking many different measures to encourage the adoption of plug-in vehicles, but it’s far from clear which of these policies will prove to make sense in the long run. A new paper published in Energy Policy argues that current US policies are inefficient and ineffective. One of the main culprits… Read more »
December plugin sales: LEAF has best month ever, but Volt wins top spot for 2013
It was a banner year for plug-in vehicles, as 2013 sales (94,019) almost doubled 2012’s figure (52,581), and several new models made strong debuts – US buyers now have a choice of 16 mainstream plug-in models, compared to 9 at the end of last year. Overall US auto sales are up 8% in 2013, according… 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 »
The most interesting part of the 2014 Cadillac ELR is the software
We often hear automotive engineers talk about the need for a better understanding of the components of an EV. Some have said that there is an inherent inefficiency in many systems because the parts – like the battery cells, motors and inverters – have historically been developed independently of each other and then integrated together…. Read more »
Rumors grow of redesigned Volt and another new Chevy EV in 2016
It’s technically still a rumor at this point, but it’s beginning to sound likely that Chevrolet plans to launch not only a next-generation Volt, but a new EV with a 200-mile range, around 2016. A recent article in Bloomberg Business Week about Mary Barra, who will take over from Dan Akerson as CEO of GM… Read more »
ABB earns UL listing for SAE Combo DC fast chargers
ABB, the international power broker, announced that it has received the Underwriters Laboratories (UL) listing for its latest family of DC fast chargers, the Terra 53 with SAE Combo functionality. The Terra 53 is available in 20 kW, 30 kW, 40 kW and 50 kW models, and buyers have the option of compatibility with SAE… Read more »