Electric Car
Tesla planting electric engines into two Toyota prototype bodies
Word on the street had it that Tesla’s $50 million deal with Toyota wasn’t formal back in late May, but evidently things have made positive progress since. According to a new (though admittedly brief) report over at CNN , Toyota is currently working with the electric automaker on a pair of prototype vehicles
Chrysler’s Peapod NEV killed in bankruptcy
Chrysler’s Peapod neighborhood electric vehicle always seemed like more of an experiment than a profit-maker, and unfortunately idealism isn’t too popular with creditors — according to Edmunds , the Peapod was canceled in March as part of the company’s bankruptcy proceedings. Apparently adapting the Peapod’s button-cute design to federal safety standards was overly expensive, so Chrysler and new part-owner Fiat will convert the existing Fiat 500 to electric operation. The Peapod design and other assets are up for sale, so there’s a chance someone else will pick up the pieces, and Peapod designer Peter Arnell may yet build a full-speed EV in the future, so we’ll keep our eyes open.
Coulomb partners with Ford, Chevy, Smart to deliver 4,600 free EV charging stations in US
Looks like Australia and Poland were just the beginning: Coulomb Technologies is looking to roll out nearly 5,000 electric vehicle charging stations in the US, effective immediately. If one of those cherry-red push pins is pointed at your neighborhood, you’ll likely see the stations popping up at local businesses soon, and if you’re looking to purchase a Chevy Volt , Tesla-powered Smart or one of Ford’s two new EVs, you can even qualify to have a free station installed in your home. Partially paid for by a $15 million grant from the Department of Energy, the ChargePoint America program won’t necessarily give you free electricity to go with it — that “charge” in ChargePoint has a double meaning, after all — but we’re happy to see the zero-emissions future is finally on a roll.
Inhabitat’s Week in Green: electric cars, solar planes, and really sweet lights
This week several ultra-efficient transportation stories got Inhabitat’s engines running as we watched a custom built Daihatsu Mira EV travel a record-breaking 623 miles on a single charge.
Tesla deal with Toyota is ‘not formal,’ $50m investment dependent on IPO
Tesla Motors seemed to have scored quite the coup earlier this month when it landed a deal with Toyota , but it now looks like things might be a tad more complicated than first suggested.
Nissan opens all-electric Leaf pre-orders to the US public: $99 to reserve
Nissan didn’t hesitate to gloat about its ability to book 8,000 Leaf pre-orders in just nine days during a pre -pre-order for those who specifically requested early access to the automobile, and now the outfit’s looking to make good on plans to have 25,000 orders in place by December. If all goes well, the all-electric car will be “widely available” in 2012, with a semi-wide release slated for next Spring.
