It appears that Nissan has the Chevrolet Volt clearly in the crosshairs with the announcement that it will begin taking reservations for the 2011 Leaf, its new electric car, starting in spring 2010. However, critical details, such as pricing and the cost of a deposit, are still being finalized, said the automaker.

Nissan credits “strong initial demand” for the decision, saying that nearly 22,000 people in North America have contacted the company since the car’s unveiling in August. The five-passenger hatchback is expected to be priced between $28,000 and $35,000 before any government incentives. The Leaf is due to hit showrooms in late 2010.

Those who wish to place a reservation for the Leaf can visit a dedicated Web site.

The demand for the Leaf appears to be strongest in the western states. Nissan listed San Diego, Tucson, Seattle, Los Angeles, and Portland, Oregon, as areas of high demand for the car and noted that the cities “are among the first markets where Leaf will be available globally.” More

The Chevy Volt, General Motors says, should earn an EPA rating of 230 mpg.  The Nissan Leaf will beat that, its builders say, with a 367 mpg rating.

The EPA isn’t so sure.

USA Today reports, “The concept of judging fuel efficiency on electric cars by the ‘miles per gallon’ they consume is dying a slow death. The EPA and other government agencies are working on a formula that will accurately tell people how fuel efficient electric vehicles are — but since those cars don’t use gas, miles per gallon doesn’t make any sense.”

GM and Nissan based their claims, the New York Times explains, “on a draft Environmental Protection Agency standard for plug-in hybrids and battery cars. But the agency says that work isn’t complete, and it is searching for meaningful ways to present the information to car buyers on the window sticker.”  The agency may never use the standard GM and Nissan used to back up their claims.

But developing a new standard is a controversial process. The Times reports, “Automakers and environmentalists interviewed have their own take on what an ideal E.V. window sticker would look like.” More

Bob Kruse, who recently led a critical Chevrolet Volt team and devised the automaker’s long-term electric vehicle strategy, has resigned months before the vehicle’s debut, The Detroit News has learned.

Kruse’s resignation, effective end of September, comes at a crucial time for General Motors Co., which is banking on the Volt to change public perceptions of the company and also help meet stringent new fuel rules.

Kruse, 50, executive director of global vehicle engineering for hybrids, electric vehicles and batteries since early 2008, left to start his own consulting company, E V Consulting LLC. He will provide automotive and vehicle electrification expertise for companies looking to seize a piece of more than $1.3 billion in federal grants available to Detroit’s Big Three automakers and the state.

“My departure from General Motors has nothing to do with my view of the future success for the Volt,” Kruse said on Tuesday. “I’ve left on very good terms. I have a lot of respect for the leadership of General Motors.”

But, he added: “I’m not going to lie. Are they happy about my departure? Probably not.”

GM said the extended range electric Volt remains on target for production in November 2010 and stressed that Volt battery testing was under way when Kruse was promoted. The team is largely responsible for designing and testing the Volt’s lithium-ion battery. Kruse’s team also focused on integrating the battery into the vehicle, and he developed GM’s battery and electric vehicle strategy beyond the Volt.

The company will soon have 80 pre-production Volt vehicles on the roads.

“There’s no good time to lose good people,” GM spokesman Rob Peterson said. “But that said, the Volt team goes way beyond one person.”

Kruse’s move is understandable given the amount of federal money available, cuts imposed on white-collar workers and retirees by GM and government restrictions on executive pay, said analyst Joe Phillippi of Auto Trends Consulting Inc. in Short Hills, N.J. More

It’s been Christmas for a while now for automakers that intend on making EVs.  The DOE has a large pool of money set aside to dole out to those it deems worthy.  Fisker recently passed that test and was awarded $527 million to help them develop hybrids that will be affordable.

As of now the only car that Fisker has announced is the Karma.  At $80,000+ I wouldn’t call that exactly affordable.  So Fisker is going to have to produce another, cheaper car.  And that’s exactly what they state they’re going to do.  The majority of the loan will go to developing a plugin hybrid in the same vein as the Karma or the Chevy Volt that will cost just under $40,000.

“This conditional loan represents a significant step in America’s future,” said Henrik Fisker, CEO. “With it Fisker Automotive can rapidly develop affordable clean cars that satisfy our passion for driving and help restore the U.S. as an auto industry leader.”

Fisker says that the loan will save or create 5,000 jobs in the US.

It’s about time that Lotus decided to cash in on the EV market.  So far their cars are the basis for the Tesla Roadster, the Dodge Circuit, and a Mercedes concept.  Now it seems that instead of selling just the chassis they might try to sneak an engine in with it.

Lotus range extender engine

The engine is a gasoline powered internal combustion engine designed to be a range extender for an Extended Range Electric Vehicle.  The advantage this one has over the ones used in the Chevy Volt and the Fisker Karma is that this engine is designed for the sole use as a range extender.  The engines used in the Volt and Karma also serve double duty as the primary powerplant for other cars.

Lotus says that this will give their engine a distinct advantage over the other engines that are repurposed for use as generators.  Since this engine is designed as a generator from the ground up it is markedly different from a traditional internal combustion engine.  It is also simpler in certain areas.

The engine block, cylinder heads, and exhaust manifold are all casted from the same block reducing complexity and cost.  Some of the pieces that you would normally see in a combustion engine, like the head gasket, are left out all together.

It is a 1.2 liter engine with two valves per cylinder and a single overhead cam.  The design includes the electric generator coupled to the engine.  It can be operated in two different modes, a 15 kilowatt and a 35 kilowatt mode.  No mention of how fuel efficient the engine is, though it would be tough to figure that out without knowing the car it’s attached to.

It’s good to see a market cropping up for designs specific to EVs.  I think in the future we’ll be seeing a lot more parts made especially for electric cars and not something that’s repurposed from a traditional dinosaur burner.

Ford Motor Company has teamed up with “The Jay Leno Show” in the United States to provide an all-new battery electric version of the Ford Focus ST five-door for celebrities to drive in the programme’s regular “Green Car Challenge” segment.

Ford has especially made the car for the programme, using an Electric Orange Ford Focus ST five-door as the basis.  It uses the same prototype technology that Ford is developing for its future North American Focus BEV production model in 2011.

At the 2009 Frankfurt Motor Show, Ford of Europe unveiled its first Focus BEV prototype for the UK Low Carbon Vehicle Initiative, which uses similar technology and which will join a 15-car fleet in 2010 for evaluation in everyday use by drivers and scheme partners.

“Having a Focus ST battery electric vehicle on the new Jay Leno programme in North America is a great way to demonstrate that a BEV can also be fun to drive,” said Ian Porter, Ford of Europe’s powertrain strategy manager. “Beyond the immediate excitement of driving, it demonstrates that Ford is investing in this technology and that we’re committed to electric vehicles.

“The European Ford Focus ST was chosen specifically for the programme, even though the model is not available in the US, because the ST offers both ‘stand out’ styling and dynamic handling,” Ian said. “We were delighted to assist the North American development team by supplying the appropriately coloured Electric Orange five-door.”

Nissan’s first EV, the Leaf, is set to go on sale in the not too distant future.  Some people are concerned that the Leaf, along with the bevy of other EVs that will be hitting the road next year will pose a risk because of how quiet they are.

Most people, especially the blind, can hear cars coming from a long way out and know to stop before they have a chance to look.  If the car is powered by an electric motor and uses only batteries then it doesn’t make nearly as much noise as their gas powered brethren.

To alleviate this concern Nissan has announced that it will add a sound effect to the car while in motion so that it also has a distinct sound.  Early reports are that they are going to use an effect very similar to the one used in Blade Runner.  So now we know how all those cars in the future make all those neat sounds.

A CANBERRA group of Electric Vehicle (EV) enthusiasts is proposing a set of policies, in the lead-up to the National Electric Vehicle Festival, to be held on Sunday 4 October 2009, from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm at the grounds of the Old Parliament House Lawns in Canberra, Australia.

The group, known as Canberra EV, proposes a range of legislative changes to support Electric Vehicles, which covers electric cars, trucks and buses, and also ships, aircraft, bikes and further means of of transport.

Proposals include grants for purchases of new EVs and for converting vehicles to EVs, in line with the existing program for LPG conversions and new LPG vehicle purchases.

Canberra EV further calls for recharging points and the introduction of Green Vehicle number plates and Electric Vehicle number plates.  These green-coloured plates would give exclusive access to parking spaces with recharging points, free parking at parking meters and in public parking facilities, access to special lanes such as transit lanes and zero stamp duty and registration duties, while getting a rebate for the first year of registration.  More

Volkswagen gave us a preview of its first series electric vehicle at last week’s 2009 Frankfurt Auto Show, where the company also confirmed that the first cars will be on sale around 2013. The preview was in the form of the 2009 Volkswagen E-Up! electric-vehicle concept, which featured an efficient all-electric powertrain packaged in the body of a minicar.

News today reports that an electric car, slightly larger than the E-Up!, will likely be sold in North America.

“The reason we are working on an electric vehicle is the American market,” said Volkswagen R&D chief Ulrich Hackenberg at last week’s Frankfurt event. He also reaffirmed plans to launch the production version of the E-Up! in Europe in 2013, which means the American version could be on sale by 2014.

For the North American market, Hackenberg said he envisions a front-drive model measuring about 146-inches in length. More

Mission Motors, an electric motorcycle startup based in San Francisco, said Tuesday that its prototype vehicle had set a world speed record for battery-powered bikes of 150.059 miles per hour at the Bonneville Speedway in Utah.

That was the average speed achieved during two, mile-long trials but the motorcycle, called the Mission One, hit 161 m.p.h. on the Bonneville Salt Flats during one run on Sept 1.

Speed matters for what amounts to the Tesla Roadster of electric motorcycles. More