Keeping with the tradition of one manufacturer’s car having a strong resemblance to another manufacturer’s car, the Nissan EV-02 that was pictured in the UK-based Times Online website looks remarkably like a Scion XB.  Nissan is just one of several companies that are planning to have a production-ready electric vehicle available for public purchase in the United States in 2010.

Nissan EV Stats
Although the car is not in full-production status, the car that was tested in the Times Online article featured a single electric motor with three cases of lithium-ion batteries, 107 base horsepower, a top speed of 85 miles per hour and a 0-62 mph time of a whopping 13 seconds.  Taking 13 seconds to get to highway cruising speed is rather lengthy so the engineers at Nissan are working on this and hope to get that down to less than five seconds.  Obviously quite slower than the all-electric Tesla Roadster which puts down a 0-60 mph time of under four seconds but this car is meant for a completely different market. 

Future Availability
It is currently expected that the Nissan electric vehicle will be available in the United States and Japan in 2010 and global expansion in 2012, at the earliest.  According to the article, Denmark, Portugal and Israel will be likely 2012+ target markets as each of these countries is planning to provide tax benefits and create the needed infrastructure to support electric vehicle expansion.

Driving Range
When it comes to electric vehicles, consumers usually ask how far the car is going to take them.  Right now an EV is not meant to be a replacement for cars taken on trips but merely for around-the-town errands, commuting, etc.  The model tested by the reporter has a range of between 62 and 75 miles on a full charge.  The goal is to reach a 100 mile range on a full charge; it takes between six and eight hours to completely charge the Nissan EV.

In closing, the author had this to say of the Nissan EV-02 that he tested, “I’d be lying if I said the EV had not impressed me. Sceptics will find little to hate about a car that goes as fast as (or faster than) a prehistoric piston-powered motor, corners and stops like one but has running costs on a par with a Flymo.”

Source:  TimesOnline

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Filed Under: electric vehicles, nissan

With the recent dramatic increase in gas prices (okay, I paid less than $4 gallon today, but it is still high!), car companies across the world are looking at alternative fuel vehicles to add to their lineup. It seems that 2010 is the forecast year for several of the big name car companies to have electric vehicles for sale to the public. The following cars are projected to be released in 2010.

Chevrolet Volt
If you’ve read any of my previous entries here at The Green Motorist then you know I am a fan of the Chevy Volt. If General Motors stays on track, the Volt should be ready for purchase in 2010.

Saturn Vue Plug-in Hybrid
General Motors has plans to release a Saturn Vue Two-mode Hybrid in 2009 and then hopefully release a plug-in version in 2010. Preliminary statistics show that a fully-charged Saturn Vue Plug-in Hybrid will be able to go 10 miles without the need to use gasoline. Not bad for a quick trip to the store.

Toyota Prius Plug-in
Of course we’d expect to see the Prius on this list. The Toyota Prius is the most popular hybrid vehicles and it is only natural for Toyota to plan a plug-in version of this bestselling hybrid car.

Jeep Renegade Concept
Chrysler gave car enthusiasts a glimpse of three concept electric vehicles at the Detroit Auto Show in January 2008. In typical Chrysler fashion, they are planning one for each of their individual brands – Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep. The Jeep Renegade Concept is projected to go up to 40 miles on a full charge (then the diesel engine would kick in).

Nissan Electric Car
Nissan has plans to release an electric vehicle in the United States sometimes in 2010 as well. The designers at Nissan are actually pretty close-lipped about the project other than the fact that they want to enter the electric car market in 2010 alongside their competitors.

These are just five vehicles out of many that might be released in 2010. It will be interesting to look back at this post, and others like this, as 2010 rolls around to see exactly which cars make it to market and which are but a distant memory.

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Filed Under: chevy, electric cars, electric vehicles, nissan, toyota

If you’re a Green Motorist and are going out-of-town on vacation or business, do not despair.  You can still do your part and rent a hybrid or high fuel efficiency car.  Most of the major national rental car companies as well as many regional brands offer hybrid rentals in some of the larger markets.  The rental car companies have seen the increased demand for hybrids and have added these green cars to their rental fleet. 

The Hertz Green Collection

In a magnificent branding move, Hertz offers the Toyota Prius as part of the Hertz Green Collection.  Although the Prius is only available in a select few markets, Hertz has also added several high fuel-efficiency vehicles to its Green Collection.

Enviro-friendly travelers seeking to rent a car in a non-Prius Hertz area are invited to try the Ford Fusion or the Corolla or Camry by Toyota.  These three vehicles offer a spacious yet fuel-efficient car for the more conscientious traveler.

Budget’s Trio of Hybrids

Budget Rental Car offers the popular Toyota Prius as well as the Nissan Altima Hybrid in some of their markets.  These hybrids offer drivers up to 60 mpg plus the benefit of reduced fuel emissions.  Although the fees are a bit higher than a comparable non-hybrid, the increased cost is not cost-prohibitive.

Budget currently has the highest availability of hybrids with a Toyota Prius or a Nissan Altima available in 47 different states.  To find out if Budget offers hybrid rentals in your area, check out the Budget U.S. Hybrid Locations page.

Avis’ Hybrid Rentals

Continuing the trend towards the Prius hybrid, Avis also offers its customers the ability to rent a Prius hybrid.  The Prius is considered a compact hybrid and thus a bit small for families traveling so Avis has expanded its hybrid fleet to include the full-sized Nissan Altima hybrid sedan. 

The Altima is currently only available to renters in certain California markets.  The Prius can be rented in parts of California, Portland, Seattle, Washington DC, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Philadelphia and New York City. 

As the nation’s demand for hybrid options increases, rental car companies will be answering.  More rental car companies will offer hybrid choices in more locations throughout the United States.

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Filed Under: Eco Friendly, Fuel Efficient, nissan, toyota

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