How to Achieve Obama's 1 Million 'EV' Goal

EV WORLD ODDS & ENDS

The average rush hour speed on L.A. freeways is 20 mph. Another Happy Volt Owner. Are there now too many electric cars?
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COUP D' TATE INC.

How big business has taken over the government.
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Famed designer takes up challenge of redefining the bicycle for the city of Bordeaux and creates an intriguing 'hybrid' for use in the French town's bikeshare program.

Copenhagen closed a major thoroughfare in the Nørrebro district in 2008 to all but local residents, raising concerns at the time that it would make traffic worse and harm business. Guess what? It did the oppose.

Benjamin Shepard at New York School of Technology/CUNY describes the critical role the bicycle played in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy and argues that the city needs to plan to include them in its future emergency planning.

Located on the outskirts of Chengdu, China, Great City is specifically designed to be walkable to any point in the high-rise, high-density development. Cars will not be needed.

Nissan Electric Taxis In Japan Showing Performance Degradation
Battery range has degraded by as much as half in some taxis, which is also impacting fast charging, turing a 15-minute operating into a 40 minute one, forcing drivers to sometimes refuse longer fare rides.

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Renault Wins Initial Order in France for 2,000 Zoe Electric Cars
French public procurement group UGAP will deliver 2,000 Renault ZOE and 100 Renault Fluence Z.E. electric vehicles over the next three years.

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Moving Employees Electrically to Save Money
Michelin, Siemens and Karlsruhe Institute of Technology are funding a new electric mobility service called RheinMobil to investigate potential costs savings of transporting employees between facilities across French and Germany borders.

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Larger Cities, More People Pose Transportation Problems for Planners
Cities and businesses are looking for ways to move people and goods more efficiently and sustainably including improving public transit and promoting greater use of bicycles.

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New EV Sales: Where Should We Be?
Tali Trigg compares the sales of the original Toyota Prius to the current crop of EVs and finds reasons for optimism.

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Is Ford Serious About Selling the Focus EV?
Green Car Report's John Voelcker doesn't think so in the light to dismal sales and SAE presentations that highlight the shortcomings of battery technology.

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'Online' EV Charging Gains Momentum
The World Economic Forum selects the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) OLEV system as one of the world's ten most promising technologies for 2013.

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'All Roads Lead to Electric'
That's the message of the president of DesRosiers Automotive Consultants, it's just a question of how long the road is; he thinks 20-30 years before EVs become mainstream.

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GM's $1 Billion a Year Recycling Business
Forbes bureau chief Joann Muller discovers one of General Motor's lesser known enterprises, the business of recycling and repurposing its 2.5 million metric tons of industrial waste.

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Electric Car Deals Today Will Move Transportation Tomorrow
Ken Silverstein considers the early successes and inevitable failures of the news electric vehicle industry and how transportation will be transformed... eventually.

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Ford Fusion Energi Electric Hybrid Granted HOV Access In California
Fusion Energi electric hybrid is now third Ford model eligible for coveted carpool lanes in California.

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Volkswagen to Produce XL1 1-Liter Diesel Hybrid
The company has permission to build 1,000 annually of the two-seater hybrid that gets the equivalent of 235 mpg.

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Audi to Reveal A3 e-tron Electric Hybrid Concept in Geneva
The A3 e-tron concept can drive up to 31 miles on electricity at up to 80 mpg.

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Estonia Leads World in National Electric Car Charging Network
Estonia now has 151 EV charging stations in operation, with plans to eventually install 700 publicly-accessible units with 200 to be Fast-Charge.

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Electric Car Future Seen as Bright in China
20 year veteran of China auto industry, Michael Dunne reports on developments in the country, noting that the government wants to avoid 'American-like' oil addiction, while also dealing with nation's air pollution.

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Suzuki, Intelligent Energy Debut Ready-to-Scale Fuel Cell Production Plant
SMILE FC joint venture aims to accelerate commercialization of Suzuki's fuel cell vehicles, including motor scooters.

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Peak Oil Isn't Dead, Certainly Not For Prof. Chris Rhodes
The youngest professor of physical chemistry in Britain urges governments to begin to collaborate to reduce their oil consumption as the world's oil fields decline in production 5 percent each year.

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More Information Leaked on Upcoming VW e-Golf
AutoForum.cz web site purportedly leaks images of Volkswagen's pre-production electric Golf, which may be revealed at Geneva Auto Show.

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Tesla Expects to Turn Profit In 2013, Produce 20,000 Model S
Since launch of production in 2012, Tesla has manufactured 2,750 Model S luxury electric sedans and aims to reach 20,000 annually.

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Forest Grove Public Charging Stations: One Year Later
Six ECOtality BLINK public electric car charging stations were used 72 times for nearly 300 kWh of energy consumption since being installed in February 2012.

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SF Bay Area Trending Towards Electric Vehicles
Ellie Van Houtte chronicles the adoption of electric vehicles in and around Los Altos, California in part one of a two-part series.

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Is There 'Green' In Electric Car Ownership?
Part two of series by Ellie Van Houtte on the growing infusion of electric vehicles in the San Francisco Bay region, including the city of Los Altos.

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NREL's PEV Scorecard Helping Communities Become EV Ready
NREL's PEV Scorecard walks users through a variety of PEV readiness topics, including permitting and inspection processes for charging equipment installations, incentives and promotions, education and outreach, as well as coordination with utilities.

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Is Tesla 'Getting There' Or Has It Already Arrived
Part two of Mark Rogowsky's series asking the question, 'Are electric cars the small niche vehicles critics claim they are?'

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The Rise and Decline of Fisker Automotive
Craig Cole recounts the travails of Fisker Automotive and its search for a new lease on life.

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DongFeng Said to Be Lead Bidder in Fisker Takeover
Chinese state-owned automaker reportedly offering to buy 80% of plug-in electric luxury sedan.

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Chinese Firms Quietly Buying Up US Advanced Automotive Assets
From promising Boston Power to struggling Fisker Automotive, Chinese firms are acquiring control of US, as well as, European firms pioneering advanced automotive technologies.

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Tesla Plans for White Plains, NY Service Center Slowed By Approval Process
What would be the first service facility of its type in the region sits in an industrial neighborhood occupied by auto body shops and junk cars; yet the opening is being delayed by what are said to be a 'thicket of federal environmental safeguards.'

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PNNL Researchers Develop Iron-Based Fuel Cell Catalyst
Iron-based catalyst offers similar efficiency to that of current PEM-based catalysts based on platinum, but work needs to be done to speed up the process and determine its best working conditions.

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The Real Game Changer: Driverless Electric Cars
Matthew Yglesias sees the real payoff of electric cars is making them driverless, especially taxis where the only real cost is the price of the fuel, already cheaper than gasoline.

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Everything You Ever Wanted To Know About EVSE Installation and Were Afraid to Ask
WXY's 34-page report provides detailed guidelines on the citing, installation and operation of electric vehicle service equipment.

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Company's Sign Up for Employee At-Work Electric Car Charging
GM has 239 charging stations for its workers at company facilities, mainly in Michigan and California, but also the eight in White Marsh, Maryland plant.

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Electric Cars Battle for Hearts, Wallets
Firestorm over NY Times article on Tesla Model S is only a minor pothole in the road to wider electric vehicle adoption, in view of most EV drivers.

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Trailing the Solution to EV Range Anxiety
Blogger 'Brad' speculates that maybe rental of spare battery banks incorporated into towable trailers could solve the problem of EV range.

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Guess What? Gas Cars Are Niche Vehicles, Too
Part one of series by Mark Rogowsky in which he argues that there is no such thing as a all-purpose automobile. All have their limitations, just like electric cars.

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UK Gov't Launches Phase Two of Plugged-in-Places Scheme
With some 2,800 public charging stations already installed around Britain, the next phase will raise this total to 8,000 units.

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German Transit Operator Will Trial Wireless E-Bus Charging
During an initial period of 12 months, two completely electrically powered and inductively charged electric buses will be trialled in daily passenger operation on the existing RNV bus route.

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Racing Will Make Electric Cars Cool
The advent of Formula One-style racing will not only introduce new technologies, but allow more people to see them perform; though organizers will have to create new types of races and rules for them.

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Indiana Lawmakers Calling For Hybrid Road Tax
A new proposal would require owners of clean energy vehicles to pay a road use tax in place of gas tax.

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Spark EVs Initially Destined for Canadian Fleets
The Spark EV will be first electric car to utilize new SAE Combo DC Fast Charging system that can enable the car to be recharged to 80 percent of battery capacity in just 20 minutes.

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Chicago EV Road Rally Retraces 1895 Event
Technabob blog recounts participation in modern electric-drive vehicle rally as part of the 2013 Chicago Auto Show.

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Tesla Model S Owners Disprove NY Times Article
Group of Tesla Model S owners replicate controversial road trip by NY Times reporter John Broder, without running out of charge.

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Taking on Gasoline Cars: Tesla's Strategy the Right One
While a supporter for electric vehicles, Christof Demont-Heinrich sees gasoline engine vehicles still having an advantage over EVs, but applauds Tesla's head-on assault on ICE-age auto technology.

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Which EV Had Best Marketing Launch
Nino Marchetti considers the marketing and sales track records to date for the Toyota Prius, Nissan LEAF and Chevrolet Volt, concluding that based on the numbers, the LEAF had the best launch.

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Telsa vs NY Times Fight Focusing On Wrong Issue
Grist's David Roberts argues that instead of obsessing over 'widget' solutions to our energy and transportation problems, we need to rethink the entire system.

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Telephones, Computers, Electric Cars and Other Marketing Failures
W. L. Leow analyzes the consumer uptake of electric vehicles compared to other technological innovations, concluding predictions of market failure will join similarly short-sighted pronouncements.

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Spanish Group Develops Competing Foldable Electric City Car
Casple Group develops their own folding electric city car in competition with Basque-developed Hiriko.

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Russia's Yo-Mobil Delayed Again to Fall 2015
Russia’s first hybrid vehicle using dual fuels and ultracapacitors is to be made available as a coupe, hatchback, and minivan: range is estimated at 250 miles and MPG rated at 67mpg

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Israel Rental Firm to Offer Renault Electric Car
Eldan Car Rental Company will rent, for a 25% higher rate, the Renault Fluence ZE, the same car used by Better Place.

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Readers Respond to Washington Post Op-Ed Critical of Electric Cars
Three Washington Post readers take issue with Charles Lane's Feb. 12, 2013 op-ed critical of electric vehicles, including NRG Energy CEO David Crane.

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California Lawmakers Proposing Medium-Speed Electric Vehicle Law
Assembly Bill 225 would prohibit medium speed - greater than current 25 mph federal limit - electric vehicles from freeways and major highways, but would allow them to travel 35 mph or faster, as is allowed in 10 other states.

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Ontario Community Wants to Get On Electric Car 'Bandwagon
London, Ontario's director environmental programs and solid waste, Jay Stanford sees electric cars taking off over the next five years and it's his job to help the city prepare by identifying the best locations for public chargers.

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Electric Cars Running Out of Juice? Just Ask Their Owners
In the wake of the NY Times vs. Tesla dust up, Chevy Volt and Nissan LEAF owners come to the defense of electric-drive cars.

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