Wheego Electric Cars has officially became its own entity; previously, it was part of Ruff and Tuff Electric Vehicles Inc. (RTEV). Due to the distinct differences in markets and product focus, the split is the best decision for both entities.

“Wheego Electric Cars is a high growth potential venture that will have large capital needs as it launches its first electric car, the Wheego Whip LSV, in late July. It is pursuing a national dealer distribution strategy and is building out its infrastructure. Wheego has a sales growth strategy.” Source: PR Newswire

The Wheego Whip is a low-speed two-seater that sells for under $19,000. The vehicle is currently eligible for a 10% Tax Credit but once the vehicle is modified and is no longer classified as a low speed vehicle, it will likely qualify for a $7,500 tax credit.

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Filed Under: electric cars

Tesla Motors has announced several hundred of its Tesla Roadsters due to a problem with a bolt. As soon as this announcement came out, several sites have questioned if this would be a major setback for the electric vehicle company.

I immediately thought back to the early 1990s when Saturn recalled nearly 400,000 vehicles due to a fire hazard. Fast-forward to today, Saturn is still in business. Okay, so the timing may be a bit off as beleaguered General Motors is looking to sell Saturn, but the company emerged from the mass recall and did rather well.

An article that appears on BusinessInsider.com provides more details on the recall:

“The rear hub flange bolts may be under-torqued and may become loose,” says the notification. That leads to poor handlng, and a rubbing noise from the back of the car. If it’s not addressed properly, then, “The driver could lose control of the car, which could lead to a crash.” Source: Business Insider

Tesla will be providing on-site repair for this problem. For those of you lucky enough to own a roadster, you can contact Tesla for more information: 1-877-888-3752.

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MINI is beginning its field study of the all-electric MINI E here in the United States. The first of 450 vehicles was delivered to Peter Trepp in Pacific Palisades, California. More vehicles will arrive to lucky test drivers in California as well as residents in New York and New Jersey.

“The 450 U.S. vehicles will be leased to customers like Trepp, who applied online at MINIUSA.com to be part of the one-year field study, and a portion will also be used as fleet vehicles. The fleet vehicles will be dedicated to full-time extensive and intense daily use in select fleets, such as the NYC Street Condition Observation Unit (SCOUT) and those that are being provided to the city of Los Angeles. As part of their participation in the field study, Trepp and the others selected will provide ongoing real world use feedback to MINI on their experiences with the zero-emission electric cars. More than twice the number of people applied as there are cars available in the U.S.” Source: PR Newswire

The MINI E made its debut at the 2008 Los Angeles Auto Show and was subsequently named as a finalist for the Green Car Vision Award (ultimately awarded to the Chevrolet Volt.) The MINI E gets approximately 100 miles per charge, can travel from 0-62 mph in 8.5 seconds and has a top speed of 95 mph.

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Filed Under: BMW

The Honda Fit is already one of the more fuel-efficient vehicles on the market. The vehicle was recognized by KBB.com as one of the top ten green cars of 2009 and US News named it as the best in class. Today, Reuters is reporting that the Honda Fit might just be getting a little bit greener – Honda may be introducing a hybrid Fit in the fall of 2010.

“Japan’s No.2 automaker, which introduced the Insight hybrid in February, has said it plans to launch three more low-cost gasoline-electric cars by 2012, starting with the CR-Z sports car next year. It has not officially disclosed the timing of the launch of the Fit and Civic hybrids which will follow.” (Source: Reuters)

Right now, it looks like plans are in place for a Japanese launch but I was unable to find anything definitive about a North American expansion.

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Filed Under: General

Today, Chrysler submitted three proposals to the U.S. Department of Energy. The $448 million plan will help the company produce electric and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles and get them on the streets as soon as possible. The three vehicles that were included in the proposal include a Dodge Ram 1500 plug-in hybrid, a Chrysler Town & Country plug-in hybrid, and a Chrysler Town & Country electric vehicle.

“Chrysler LLC applied for two initiatives established by the DOE–the Electric Drive Vehicle Battery and Component Manufacturing Initiative and the Transportation Electrification Initiative. Both are designed to speed up development, demonstration, evaluation and manufacturing of EVs and PHEVs. The programs represent a 50/50 cost-share opportunity with $224 million from Chrysler LLC and its partners, combined with a matching $224 million from the DOE. These funds will accelerate the market introduction and penetration of advanced powertrains.” Source: PR Newswire

Chrysler plans to demonstrate 100 Dodge Ram PHEVs and 100 Chrysler Town & Country PHEVs. The models were chosen, as they are two of Chrysler’s most popular product lines.

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Filed Under: Chrysler, Dodge

Memorial Day is upon us and the summer travel season is about to get into full swing. Thule, a transportation accessories manufacturer, has named their choices for the 2009 Road Trip Vehicles of the Year. The winner in the under $30,000 category is a familiar vehicle to readers of The Green Motorist, the Volkswagen Jetta Sportwagen TDI.

“Volkswagen did a great job with the Jetta SportWagen TDI. It is a reasonably priced vehicle with lots of great standard options. With a gas mileage rating of 30 mpg city and 41 mpg highway the Jetta SportWagen TDI can go 600+ miles without refueling,” remarked Tripp Wyckoff, Thule’s VP of Sales, Marketing and Service. Source: PR Newswire

I was able to get a good look at the SportWagen at a recent green building show and I was impressed with the vehicle. The backseat provided ample legroom, which is important when you have two kids that like to stretch out on road trips. I wasn’t able to take a test drive of the vehicle, but the Jetta SportWagen TDI and the Jetta TDI have been receiving rave reviews since their debut last fall.

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Filed Under: Volkswagen

I’m doing something a bit different today here on The Green Motorist. I have been following Van Jones as he’s migrated from a local green economy advocate to a spot in the White House as the nation’s green jobs guru. He recently appeared on a Planet Forward segment discussing new fuels and the impact that adopting new fuels may have on our nation’s economy. The video is a bit long, but well worth the 21 minutes of time.

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Filed Under: General

Yesterday, President Obama announced his Administration’s plans to increase fuel efficiency in the U.S. and help the country lessen its dependence on foreign oil. The standards begin with model year 2012 vehicles and by 2016, we should be seeing an average fuel economy of 35.5 mpg.

This standard has really caused an uproar, despite its support from the auto industry, state Governors of all political persuasions, and others in the industry. This morning, a segment of The Diane Rehm Show on NPR focused on this new standard and there is some concern about the safety of the vehicles, as the overall fleet of cars gets smaller, the safety concerns go up.

In addition to the conversations today on NPR, yesterday many Twitter conversations were dominated by the fuel efficiency standards. The same argument was made – cars will get smaller and be more dangerous.

My impression of the Twitter discussion is it was a partisan discussion and those on the right feel that this is a bad direction for the U.S. to take while those on the left think that 35.5 mpg isn’t enough.

I’ll keep my personal opinion to myself but I’d love to hear what the readers of The Green Motorist think. Is this standard sufficient? Are we potentially putting our lives in danger by reducing the size of the fleet?

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Daimler AG and Tesla have already been in collaboration on a lithium ion battery project. Now, the company has acquired a nearly 10% stake in Tesla. Prof. Herbert Kohler, Daimler’s VP of E-Drive and Future Mobility, will be joining Tesla’s Board of Directors.

“Daimler has set the benchmark for engineering excellence and vehicle quality for more than a century. It is an honor and a powerful endorsement of our technology that Daimler would choose to invest in and partner with Tesla,” said Tesla CEO and Product Architect Elon Musk. “Daimler is also on the leading edge in the field of sustainable mobility. Among others the lithium-ion pouch-cell battery developed by Daimler and especially designed for automotive applications is of interest to us. We are looking forward to a strategic cooperation in a number of areas including leveraging Daimler’s engineering, production and supply chain expertise. This will accelerate bringing our Tesla Model S to production and ensure that it is a superlative vehicle on all levels.” (Source: Daimler)

I wonder if the ‘accelerate’, in this case, means getting the Model S on the streets prior to late 2011/early 2012. Tesla is currently taking reservations for the Model S. A $5,000 refundable deposit will get you on the list for a Tesla Model S in early 2012.

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Filed Under: Tesla

The domestic auto industry is in turmoil – Chrysler is in bankruptcy and will be closing hundreds of dealerships nationwide, there are reports that GM will be importing cars made in China, and Ford…well, Ford is doing okay (relatively speaking).

Congress is trying to find ways to help automakers and encourage their production of fuel efficient vehicles at the same time. The latest news is that automakers would receive pollution credits in exchange for making more fuel efficient vehicles. The proposal is part of the cap and trade plan being discussed in Congress.

Neil Roland of Automotive News reports, “The industry would get 3 percent of all free permits for their factories from 2012 to 2017, and 1 percent of such allowances after that through 2025, House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Henry Waxman said today in a statement.”

The cap and trade program is not without controversy here in the States. Regardless of what happens with the proposal, domestic automakers need to continue the trend towards a more fuel efficient lineup.

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Filed Under: General