In part... Seattle will be one of the first cities where Nissan sells a new electric car, and the city will help make the vehicles viable here, officials from the city and auto maker said Tuesday.
The new plug-in vehicle will be able to exceed highway speed limits, go 100 miles on a charge and recharge in four to eight hours using a 220-volt line, similar to those for clothes dryers, said Mark Perry, director of product planning for Nissan North America.
It will seat five, be similar in size to Nissan's Versa and Sentra and be affordable to a typical family, he said. "We think the market is ready. We think the consumers are ready."...
Will this jump-start smart USA into the EV/ED business?
Will I say buh-bye to my smart?
Stay tuned for the next episode of As The World Turns....
I would love this, but would probably get it and keep my smart for the longer summer drives I take regularly. I could easily garage the smart for the winter, since I don't take longer trips in the winter.
I can't wait till an electric option is available...
This thing sounds like golf cart technology. Give me a break -100 miles on a charge. They are gonna hafta do way better than that. If you carried a long cord and sweet talked all your buddies into using thier dryer outlets and a place to camp out for 8 HOURs so you could go another 100 miles. Do they even listen to what they are saying?
As car companies lined up in Washington, DC last November for the first round of federal bailout money - in San Francisco we announced another way - our comprehensive plan to make the San Francisco Bay Area the "Electric Vehicle (EV) Capital of the US."
Our efforts to advance electric vehicles are not limited to San Francisco. We've engaged the entire Bay Area - a region of 7.3 million people - to make our region the cornerstone of the coming market for EVs. Not just governments, but key companies, business associations, policy advocates, and international car and EV infrastructure companies are all working together to make the San Francisco Bay Area the EV Capital of the U.S. . .
Portland and San Francisco have been battling for the title of the most sustainable city for years. .
1. Government: This effort is comprised of city and county staff from throughout the region (fleet managers, transportation policy directors, etc). This group is sharing information on the current permitting requirements in each jurisdiction, as well as current EV incentives, with an eye toward standardized permitting and incentives for EVs by early 2010. This group, under San Francisco's leadership, is submitting a regional proposal to the federal government for stimulus funding to implement EV infrastructure throughout the region. We are hopeful that this funding will allows us to break ground on thousands of new EV charging stations throughout the Bay Area.
2. Businesses: Led by the Bay Area Council and Silicon Valley Leadership Group, this group is focused on sharing best practices from companies like Google and making the case to large regional employers to embrace EVs in company fleets and EV chargers for employees.
3. Advocacy: Led by Richard Schorske of the Marin Climate and Energy Partnership this working group will lead an effort this spring to invest over $100M in available state funds annually for alternative vehicles in electric vehicles and not only biofuels.
Through our shared EV goals with Portland and other cities, we'll bring electric vehicles into the mainstream of American life. In the process, we'll greatly advance efforts to fight climate change and reinvent our ailing car industry.
This thing sounds like golf cart technology. Give me a break -100 miles on a charge. They are gonna hafta do way better than that. If you carried a long cord and sweet talked all your buddies into using thier dryer outlets and a place to camp out for 8 HOURs so you could go another 100 miles. Do they even listen to what they are saying?
I believe they are doing this with the 'everyday commuter' in mind. How many of us travel OVER 100 MILES/DAY? I have a decent size trip that is 60 miles round trip. It would be perfect for me, as I could recharge it each evening when I get home and be ready to go the next morning.
Would this work for those who TRAVEL for a living? No, of course not, but it's a step in the right direction. I would LOVE to have a Sentra or Versa EV AND my smart in the garage someday.
Manufacturers have to start somewhere and this is a great 'start'. Getting the cities envolved with the recharging stations, even if it's to help Nissan now, will only pave the way for others (smart) to join in.
AND Because the car can go highway speeds it is beating the competition. Most EV's brought here have to limited to NEV speeds and make it imposible for folks to even be able to get around Cities let alone make a commute from 30 miles outside town. Saw a Zen, Got me thinking
This thing sounds like golf cart technology. Give me a break -100 miles on a charge. They are gonna hafta do way better than that. If you carried a long cord and sweet talked all your buddies into using thier dryer outlets and a place to camp out for 8 HOURs so you could go another 100 miles. Do they even listen to what they are saying?
Frhedders, why so grumpy...didn't you get your nap yesterday afternoon?
At this point, 100 miles is great for most commuters. For me -- 50 RT daily to work and 50 to spare.
But this isn't for ranchers in the middle of BFE that want to drive to the big city. F-150's will still be around for that.
This thing sounds like golf cart technology. Give me a break -100 miles on a charge. They are gonna hafta do way better than that. If you carried a long cord and sweet talked all your buddies into using thier dryer outlets and a place to camp out for 8 HOURs so you could go another 100 miles. Do they even listen to what they are saying?
Dam speedy golf cart!
100 miles on a charge!
Certainly would work for me, as I average 150 miles per MONTH.
Of course you need a car for the longer trips, but for me this would work 94% of the time. Sounds like a good start towards the electric future.
100 mile range is phenomenal! The new MINI-E is the only other car I know of that can claim this. Most are talking about 40 miles.
100 miles actually gives you a 200 mile range if you are going anywhere that you will be staying for 6 hours or so to recharge - like going to work for example.
Also you don't have to recharge the battery completely. If you are just stopping for an hour or two, you can still partially recharge & thereby improve your range.
The biggest problem with electrics is going to be diminishing battery capacity. The "range" that's being quoted refers to the range when the batteries are new. However, the battery gradually loses a little capacity continuously throughout the life of the batteries. I know because I have an electric boat & learned the hard way. I ran out of power several years into the life of my boat because it no longer had the range that I thought it did. I recently replaced my batteries after 8 years. At the end, the boat had nothing like the range that it did when it was new. Now I'm back in business for long trips.
Last edited by Bill Marshall; 05-01-2009 at 08:35 AM.
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