Cars

We gave you the details on the all-electric i3 over the weekend but BMW just released some press images in conjunction with their Announcement/live stream.

Full gallery and press release below:
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This looks like a cool way to get your electric motorcycle on if you don’t like what Mission, Zero and others are doing. Check the source for some really cool renders.

Others? Brammo Enertia, Brammo Enertia Plus. Brammo Empulse, CRP Energica, Zero X,Zero S, Yamaha EC-03, Vectrix VX-1, and the Lito Sora.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h746QIGIMOc#at=3345

The next step in lighting up the east cost is complete with the east and west side of Florida getting getting superchargers. The new addresses:

• Port St. Lucie, FLI-95
  Exit 1211773 N.W. St. Lucie W. Blvd
  Port St. Lucie, FL 34986
• Fort Myers, FLI-75
  Exit 128 9903 Gulf Coast Main St
  Fort Myers, FL 33913

2 Supercharger stations in 2 days for Florida! Fort Myers opened today. Travel free between Miami, Tampa & Orlando! pic.twitter.com/Vm9VaSIEz1

— Tesla (@Tesla) July 25, 2013

Oh, and Norway just got put on the map.

One of the first Tesla Supercharger stations in Europe is being built in Cinderella, Norway #KatieWoodencloak

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 28, 2013

Model S' groundbreaking platform is displayed in the center of London for @DesignMuseum "The Future is Here" exhibit! pic.twitter.com/7ODJY5QZ12

— Tesla (@Tesla) July 24, 2013

This is pretty identical (except the glass box) to what you’ll find in a Tesla store. Perhaps the installation can move to a London Tesla Store? More from the London Design Museum – exhibit goes on 24 July – 29 October

New York’s Citi Bike program, modeled on Paris’ Velib and others has been a success depending who you ask. What’s also interesting is that all of that rider data is available and the New Yorker popped it into the above illustration (Check their interactive to control the knobs). From the images you can see the general influx into Manhattan from Brooklyn and back during the commute as well as the migration to the West Side during the 4th of July fireworks.

Some good news for those of you worried about the state of electric vehicles. The Electrification Coalition’s “EV Market Outlook” series produced by the EC in consultation with PricewaterhouseCoopers has posted results of a study on the uptake of electric cars this weekend. Key findings of the paper include:

• Since market introduction in January 2011, more than 110,000 plug-in electric vehicles have been sold in the United States.
• Compared to hybrids’ first years on the U.S. market, twice as many plug-in electric vehicles have been sold since market introduction in 2011.
• The uptake rate of plug-in electric vehicles is nearly three times what it was for hybrids over their first three years on the market.
• Tesla’s Model S has captured 8.4 percent of the luxury market in the first six months of 2013, and sold more units than several in-class competitors including the Audi A8, BMW 7-series, and Mercedes S class.
• The Nissan LEAF has captured 3.3 percent of the sub-compact vehicle market.
• In comparing satisfaction surveys between PEVs and their marketplace competitors, PEVs outperformed their internal combustion engine (ICE) and hybrid counterparts on almost all counts.
• Battery costs are expected to drop by about half by 2020, when we project an industry average price of $300-325 per kilowatt hour.

Read the whole release below the fold:
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GHWvkEzVRjM#at=32

BMW’s first Electric Car will hit the US in mid-2014, it announced today. The i3 is aimed at urban dweller-types with a Nissan Leaf-type 80-100 mile range and interior similar to the common BMW 3 series sedans. The shell of the i3 is much smaller than the 3 series lending to the smaller amount of space needed by electric drive trains.

I had a chance to drive a BMW concept electric car earlier this year and with the exception of a long stall at a stoplight, it drove very nicely in New York City.

“We’re at the dawn of this electric era,” sales chief Ian Robertson said during a test drive outside Munich on July 15.

Coming after an estimated $2.7 billion investment program, the i3 launch is a milestone for the world’s biggest luxury carmaker as well as the electric car fraternity.

“This is a significant move for BMW,” said Lincoln Merrihew, vice president of transportation at market researchers Millward Brown Digital. “They’re launching a new brand in a new segment with new vehicles … And they’re going all in.”

Priced like a Chevy Volt but with specs similar to the $28,800 Nissan Leaf, BMW will have to rely on its reputation as a performance/luxury car-maker for differentiation.

Tesla is expected to roll out a $30K-ish mid sized sedan followup to its popular Model S in 2015. The BMW comes in at about $28,000 less than the base Model S.
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Northwest: I-5 Superchargers are live! Model S owners now travel for free between Portland, Seattle, and Vancouver! http://t.co/QzdX2pBX7X

— Tesla (@Tesla) July 18, 2013

The company is now about two shy of having Canada to Mexico covered on the West coast. Eureka and somewhere in S. Oregon should cover it.

Source. The work here will allow more efficiencies for electric powered flight as well. The prize went unclaimed for 33 years.

The AHS Igor I. Sikorsky Human Powered Helicopter Competition was established in 1980 for the first successful controlled flight of a human powered helicopter that could reach a height of three metres while hovering for at least one minute in a 10-square-meter area.

Congrats to team AeroVelo — a small team of University of Toronto alumni, students and volunteers.[ooyala code=”RxMXA3ZDpLh5dsZbWhf-vFqR1BZpUJT1″ player_id=”undefined”][ooyala code=”RxMXA3ZDpLh5dsZbWhf-vFqR1BZpUJT1″ player_id=”undefined”]

Swiss-based ABB announced today that it had won a contract by Fastned to build out the EV infrastructure of the Netherlands.

The contract is to supply chargers to more than 200 electric vehicle fast-charging stations bringing an EV fast charger within 50 kilometers (33 miles) of all of the country’s 16.7 million inhabitants.

“This countrywide network of locations will lay the basis for the commercially viable development of e-mobility,” said Bart Lubbers, one of Fastned’s founders. “I foresee a race towards faster charging and larger batteries throughout the car industry.”

The plan to deploy EV fast-charging stations along Dutch highways started in 2011 when Fastned asked the Ministry of Infrastructure for permission to implement an EV-charging network. In December 2011, the government announced a public-tender process to facilitate the deployment of charging facilities at the 245 service stations along the Dutch highways. Fastned gained concessions for 201 locations.

ABB (www.abb.com) is a leader in power and automation technologies that enable utility and industry customers to improve their performance while lowering environmental impact. The ABB Group of companies operates in around 100 countries and employs about 145,000 people.

The charging stations will have a solar canopy to help reduce the load during peak operating hours reminiscent of Tesla’s supercharging stations of similar design.

Tesla announced some new Superchargers went online today including the first in the Midwest in central Illinois.

• Normal, ILI-55
  Exit 165 – Uptown Station Parking Deck
  11 Uptown Circle
  Normal, IL 61761

Also, to alleviate some of the Milford CT overflows, nearby Darian, CT is now lit up. Unfortunately for those of us looking to hit the South Jersey, Maryland and Deleware Shores, the rumored location the 95 south of New York City near Edison NJ wasn’t one of the locations announced today.

• Darien, CTI-95 North
  Between Exits 11 and 12Connecticut Welcome Center
  11 Uptown Circle
  Darien, CT, 06820

Also California got 2 more new locations.  Compare vs. yesterday:
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This Specialized looks like one of the best electric bikes out there yet. It hits a few good spots:

• Regenerative brakes (don’t waste the downhills – recoup energy!)
• 25 mile range (assisted -ish)
• Quick L-ion charging (2 hours) direct or you can remove the battery
• Perhaps most importantly, it looks like a normal bike

The question remains: How much? Anything close to $1000 and sign me up

Swapping will take 90secs. You'll never get out of your car. Return the pack on your journey back or keep it & we'll bill you the difference

— Tesla (@Tesla) June 21, 2013

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C6_2AywGIa8

OK that title is pretty harsh but what’s worse? Agism (something we’ll all succumb to) or pulling all kinds of lies about New Yorks ambitious bike-share program (it is a fire hazard because they block subways!? Are your F’ing kidding?!)

And saying she speaks for the majority of New Yorkers? Have you left the UWS lately?

Legislation which would have provided exemptions in Texas did not make it to a Senate or House vote.

The audacity of an American electric car company trying to sell electric cars to the people of Texas isn’t lost on us.  Interesting when Republicans choose when government regulation is good for lobbyists voters