If you have not picked up a newspaper, turned on the TV or read a blog in the past few weeks then you are not aware of the Detroit 3’s plea to Congress. Let me bring you up to speed. In mid-November, Richard Wagoner (CEO of General Motors), Robert Nardelli (CEO of Chrysler) and Alan Mulally (CEO of Ford) went to Washington to ask Congress for financial help. Although this was newsworthy, what ended up in the headlines was the fact that these three flew in private jets to Washington DC. Yup, these three who make millions of dollars a year, and are asking for billions of dollars in assistance, hopped on company-paid private jets.

They were called on the bad choice and instructed to come back with a better plan by tomorrow. Now, a whole host of hybrid and electric vehicle technology companies are looking to get their chance before Congress. Ener1, a company that makes advanced lithium-ion batteries, is one of the companies attending the Electric Drive Transportation Association conference this week in DC. They are also hoping to get their chance to speak on the issue in front of Congress.

Ener1 CEO Charles Gassenheimer had this to say:

“Whether it is a plug-in hybrid like the Chevy Volt or a fully electric car like the Th!nk City, the future depends on better batteries. We need dedicated federal support to ramp up production and drive down costs. That’s already happening in China, Korea, and Japan, as well as in Europe. It needs to happen here, and it needs to happen quickly or we will miss the boat.” (Source: PR Newswire)

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Filed Under: Li Ion, electric cars

Looking for an electric vehicle now? There is one currently available in California, the Triac EV. This three -wheeled electric ride as you can see below, is not super roomy, in fact, it is being marketed as a commuter only car.

Although the Triac is not big in size, it is big in fuel savings, as it is an electric plug-in. In all it takes about 6 hours to fully charge it. The EV averages top speeds of up to 80 MPH, and has a range of up to 100 miles charged up. The green Triac is made by the folks at Green Vehicles, and will definitely make a statement on the road. This eco friendly vehicle is available in two towns in California, including Mill Valley and San Jose.

Is this an affordable EV? Yes and No! The price tag on the zero-emissions Triac as of this writing is $20,000, but it is rather small and has no airbags. Not to mention there are no incentives from the state/federal government. The value is debatable and will vary by consumer need.

Can you see yourself in the Triac? How does the idea of a three-wheeled vehicle strike you? Share your opinion below.

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Filed Under: Eco Friendly, Green, Li Ion, Zero Emissions, electric cars, electric vehicles, ev

Nissan is serious about taking the lead in next gen green vehicles. They have recently begun talk and negotiations with tech corp NEC, to mass produce and market LI-ON batteries.

This NEW partnership will allow Nissan to get closer to what it wants the most right now, which is to be the leader in the electric vehicles market. Nissan would like to make it to market first, over Honda and over irking eco minded competitor Toyota.

The Nissan-NEC venture, to be called Automotive Energy Supply Corp, is supplying the batteries Renault will use in the electric cars it’s building for Israel and Denmark. The governments of those two nations have rallied behind Silicon Valley startup Project Better Place and its plan to bring affordable EVs to the masses. Nissan is looking at a similar arrangement with the government of Japan’s Kanagawa Prefecture, which wants to develop an electric vehicle fleet and charging infrastructure. Getting a few thousand electric cars on the road before its rivals will give the joint venture a solid lead in the market.

This will certainly give Nissan a leg up in the electric vehicles sector. The Li-ION batteries will be mass produced, power up the next generation of plug-in hybrids and electric cars, PLUS they have been proven to out perform the current crop of Prius, nickel-metal hydride batteries. On average lasting more than 60,000 miles. In fact, Nissan and NEC are so confident in their new EV batteries, they plan to sell them to other manufacturers, as well. Production is ready to start at 13,000 batteries for next year, rising to 65,000 a year by end of 2011.

Toyota and Honda, no doubt, are not resting on their laurels. Let’s see how they compete.

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Filed Under: Autos, Eco Friendly, Green, Li Ion, electric cars, electric vehicles, ev, honda, nec, nissan, toyota, transportation